The history of the archive

The Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was established in 1994 by a Decree of the Head of State on the basis of the Central State Archive of Contemporary History.

On 12 April 1994, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, approved the Regulations of the Archive, granting it the status of an independent legal entity with direct state funding and defining its rights and responsibilities as a central state archive. The Archive was mandated to acquire and preserve documents generated in the course of the activities of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Presidential Administration (Office), and state bodies operating under the Head of State.

The Archive in Almaty was housed in a building constructed in 1974 according to a standard design and includes eight archival storage facilities and administrative premises. The repositories are equipped with stationary and mobile metal shelving with a total capacity of approximately 29,000 linear meters and are connected to automated climate control and fire and security alarm systems.

The Archive of the President holds an extensive body of documents reflecting the socio-political and socio-economic life of the republic since 1918. Of particular interest are records relating to the establishment of the Kazakh ASSR, the history of forced collectivization and political repression, industrialization, the deportation of repressed peoples, Kazakhstan during the Great Patriotic War, the Virgin Lands campaign, the formation of Kazakhstan as an independent state, domestic and foreign policy, international relations, economic reforms, and the country’s socio-cultural development.

By Presidential Decree No. 808 of 9 February 2022 “On Certain Issues of the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” signed by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the Archive was reorganized and its new Regulations and structure were approved. In June 2022, the Development Concept of the Archive until 2035 was adopted. The Concept provides for the modernization of the institution’s activities, its digital transformation, and its development as a scientific, methodological, and coordinating center in the fields of records management and archival science. It also envisages a transition from the methodology of archiving physical carriers to the methodology of archiving information based on innovative applied and forward-looking research solutions.

In 2021, the Center for the Study of Materials on Political Repressions of the 20th Century was established within the Archive in Almaty. In 2022–2023, the Center received materials from the special archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Security Committee, and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, reflecting the history of political repression in the 1930s–1950s. In total, more than 700,000 storage units were transferred, including criminal case files, registration cards, and other previously classified documents.

In 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a Decree “On Certain Issues of the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan,” marking a new stage in its development. The institution was granted the status of a legal entity under the authority of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 2025, by instruction of the Head of State, the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was relocated from Almaty to Astana.

The new building of the Archive in Astana has been constructed in accordance with international standards and includes archival storage facilities, laboratories, an interactive exhibition area, a reading room, service premises, and administrative offices. It houses 24 specialized modern repositories designed not only for paper documents but also for audio and video recordings, microfilms, and backup copies of electronic records. The total storage capacity reaches up to 2 million units.

In 2025, all documents relating to the period of Independence were transferred to the capital. The branch of the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty retains holdings reflecting the history of the 20th century, including records on the establishment of the Kazakh ASSR, industrialization, political repression, Kazakhstan’s participation in the Great Patriotic War, and related subjects.

Today, the Archive of the President is not only the largest repository in the country for documents on the socio-political history of the 20th and 21st centuries, but also serves as an educational, scientific, and methodological center.