Formation dynamics and features of the middle class in Kazakhstan

In this thesis, the dynamics and characteristics of the formation of the middle class in Kazakhstan after the independence were analyzed. For this purpose, a sociological research was conducted in Nur-Sultan, which is one of the most important cities of Kazakhstan in many respects, and various results were reached. The main purpose of the study is to reveal the social and economic transformation of Kazakhstan, which switched to a market economy after independence, and to cover the formation, characteristics and change of the middle class in this direction. In the first part of the study, the conceptual framework is revealed and the ways in which the concepts of class, middle class and new middle class considered in sociology are explained as an analysis tool. In the second part, due to the fact that Kazakhstan was a member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for about seventy years, the general characteristics of the social structure and stratified structure in the USSR were examined and how the Soviet regime shaped the general social structure of Kazakhstan. In the third chapter, a general evaluation of the social structure, stratification and middle class discussions in Kazakhstan after independence was revealed. In particular, the analyzes of Kazakh social scientists on the Kazakh middle class have been presented and these studies have been critically examined. In the fourth and last part of the study, the results of the research on the formation dynamics and characteristics of the middle class in Nur-Sultan are shared. Quantative research method was used in the study. A structured questionnaire was applied to 385 people consisting of small and medium-sized business owners, doctors and faculty members that were selected as a sample group, and thus data about the same variables were collected from many sources. Attention has been paid to the fact that participants are people who can be positioned as middle class in terms of their profession, economic income, education levels, worldviews and values, consumption habits and lifestyles. Keywords: Kazakhstan, Middle Class, New Middle Class, Social Structure, Social Change, Social Groups.