The aim of the article is to analyze the socio-economic conditions and the historical development of traditional animal husbandry among the Kazakhs of Mongolia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Kazakhs who settled on the eastern slopes of the Altai Mountains represent an integral part of the broader Kazakh world. Today, Mongolia is one of the countries with a significant Kazakh diaspora. This study places particular emphasis on the historical analysis of the socio-economic situation, as well as the peculiarities of the economic and cultural development of the Kazakhs in Mongolia. According to both domestic and foreign historiography, scientific works concerning the settlement of Kazakhs in Mongolia and their social and political fate indicate that the migration of tribes from the Middle Zhuz – namely Kerei, Naiman, and Uak – continued from the second half of the 19th century until the early 20th century.

The natural conditions of the Bayan-Ölgii and Khovd regions, where the Kazakh population is most densely concentrated, contributed to the development of traditional nomadic and semi-nomadic animal husbandry. Since livestock breeding was the basis of the Kazakhs’ socio-economic life in Mongolia, statistical data confirm the steady growth of livestock numbers. The granting of national district status to the Bayan-Ölgii aimag in 1940 had a positive impact on the well-being, living conditions, and preservation of the national values of the Kazakh population. The natural and climatic conditions of the Bayan-Ölgii region also played a significant role in the region’s socio-economic development and the increase in livestock numbers. Bayan-Ölgii remains one of the few regions where the Kazakh people’s traditional economy, pure native language, customs, traditions, and culture have been preserved in their original form. In the years following Kazakhstan’s independence, the Kazakhs of Mongolia were among the first to return to their historical homeland in what became known as the “Great Migration.”