Category of freedom in nomadal pastological societies

The study reveals the perception of freedom as a universal, and at the same time, unique value in the worldview of peoples, the main basis of whose livelihoods for centuries was pastoralism. The source base for this study was materials on the political and cultural history, social structure, and spiritual culture of various pastoral societies and ethnic groups. The author of the article tried to substantiate the manifestation of freedom and the struggle for freedom among pastoral peoples through the prism of political events, as well as cultural phenomena. As the subject of the study, materials were taken about the largest Mongolian (Buryats, Khalkha-Mongols, Oirat-Kalmyks) and Turkic (Kazakhs) peoples.

As a result of the study, the author came to the conclusion that due to various circumstances and conditions, primarily events of political history, features of the social structure, freedom presumably found its most vivid expression among various nomadic peoples in the culture of the Kazakh people. The concept of individual freedom in traditional Kazakh society partly corresponded to the modern one, therefore, “steppe democracy” made its own contribution to the development of the initial “cells” of the modernized institutions of modern civil society.

Meanwhile, in the scientific works of foreign researchers there is still a prejudice regarding the historical role of pastoralists (nomads) in world history. Pastoral societies are still portrayed as “savage”, “uncultured” and warlike societies whose main occupation was robbery and war. However, it should be especially noted that in the social structure of pastoral peoples there was no dependent serf population; social relations were based on hierarchical principles, to a certain extent different from European ones. Pastoral societies, based on a special life support system, had their own ideas about freedom, which are relevant and important for studying the national mentality of civil society in the modern period.

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