Shoqan Walikhanov

Who was Shoqan Walikhanov?

Shoqan Shynghysuly Walikhanov, given name Muhammed Qanafiya was a Kazakh scholar, ethnographer, historian and participant of The Great Game. He is regarded as the father of modern Kazakh historiography and ethnography. The Kazakh Academy of Sciences is named after him. His name is written Shoqan Walikhanov in English based on the transliteration of the Russian spelling of his name, which he used himself. The Kazakh language variant of his name was written in the Arabic script, and was similar to the Russian version.