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Kazakh Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Уикипедия" redirects here. For the Bulgarian Wikipedia, see Bulgarian Wikipedia.
Favicon of Wikipedia Kazakh Wikipedia
Screenshot
Type of site
Internet encyclopedia project
Available inKazakh
HeadquartersMiami, Florida
OwnerWikimedia Foundation
Created byKazakh wiki community
URLkk.wikipedia.org
CommercialNo
RegistrationOptional
Launched3 June 2002; 24 years ago (2002-06-03)
Content license
Creative Commons Attribution/
Share-Alike 4.0 (most text also dual-licensed under GFDL)
Media licensing varies

The Kazakh Wikipedia (Kazakh: Қазақша Уикипедия, romanized: Qazaqşa Uikipedia) is the Kazakh language edition of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia, founded on 3 June 2002.

History

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Collective photo of participants of Kazakh Wiki-conference 2023
WikiBilim business card featuring the name of Rauan Kenzhekhanuly

The Kazakh Wikipedia was launched in June 2002. It experienced exceptionally rapid growth in 2011, expanding from 7,000 articles to over 100,000 in less than a year,[1] largely as a result of the incorporation of material from the Kazakh Encyclopedia, which had been released under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike Licence (CC BY-SA). This rapid expansion was initiated by the non-profit Wikibilim Foundation.[2] The Samruk Kazyna Foundation, Kazakhstan's sovereign oil wealth fund, sponsored the project, allocating 30 million tenge in 2011 for paid editing, digitisation and the transfer of authors' rights.[3][4] At the Wikimania 2011 conference, the president of WikiBilim, Rauan Kenzhekhanuly, was awarded the Wikipedian of the Year award by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales for his work on the expansion of the Kazakh Wikipedia.[4]

In April 2012, Tengrinews.kz reported that "in 2011, the Samruk Kazyna sovereign wealth fund allocated a total of $204,000 to develop the Kazakh-language Wikipedia. This year, another $136,000 will be earmarked", citing the fund's press service.[5] Wales expressed his gratitude to the Kazakh government for its support of the Kazakh Wikipedia at Wikimania 2012.[6]

The Kazakh Wikipedia can be viewed and written in three different scripts: Cyrillic, Latin and Arabic. On 26 October 2011, it passed the 100,000‑article threshold, and by early 2013 it contained just over 200,000 articles.[1]

On 2–3 September 2023, the first Kazakh Wiki Conference was held at the Eurasian National University in Astana.

Features

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The Kazakh Wikipedia used ZhengZhu's character mapping program to convert between Cyrillic, Latin, and Arabic scripts,[citation needed] while its Latin script utilized Kazinform's own romanization system.[7]

The character conversion system was removed from the Kazakh Wikipedia in 2023.

Controversies

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Questions have been asked about WikiBilim's closeness to the Kazakh government, given that WikiBilim president Rauan Kenzhekhanuly had a long prior career as a Kazakh government official and the government has been widely criticised for its crackdown on free speech.[4][8] Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales' friendship with ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who advises the Kazakh government, has also come under scrutiny,[4][8] as has the neutrality of the Kazakh Wikipedia's content, much of which is a reproduction of the state-published national encyclopedia.[9][10]

In 2015, Jimmy Wales stated on Reddit that at the time he gave Kenzhekhanuly the inaugural Wikipedian of the Year award, he'd been unaware of Kenzhekhanuly's prior positions as first secretary at Kazakhstan's embassy in Moscow and as an adviser to the governor of Kazakhstan's Mangystau region; by 2015, Kenzhekhanuly had gone on to become deputy governor of Kazakhstan's Kyzylorda region and founding director of Eurasian Council on Foreign Affairs, a think-tank funded by the Kazakh government.[11]

Statistics

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As of June 2026, the Kazakh Wikipedia has about 244,000 articles. The overwhelming majority of its readers originate from Kazakhstan.

As of April 2013, the Kazakh Wikipedia's number of articles accounts for approximately 14% of all the articles written in a Turkic language, making it the second largest edition in the family after Turkish, which accounts for 28% of all Turkic articles.[12]

Origin of views (2012/03 - 2013/02) Source
Kazakhstan
 
 94.7%
Other
 
 5.3%

Books contributed to the Kazakh Wikipedia

[edit]
A letter from the Kazakh Encyclopedia granting permission to publish its materials under the CC BY-SA licence
  • Kazakhstan: National Encyclopedia / Editor-in-Chief Ä. Nysanbaev – Almaty: Editorial Board of the Kazakh Encyclopedia, 1998. ISBN 5-89800-123-9 – 50,000 articles.
  • Kazakh Culture: An Encyclopedic Reference. Almaty: "Aruna Ltd.", 2005. ISBN 9965-26-095-8
  • Kazakh Television: An Encyclopedia. Almaty: "QazAqparat", 2009. Vol. 1. ISBN 978-601-03-0070-5
  • The Traditional System of Kazakh Ethnographic Categories, Concepts and Names: An Encyclopedia. Almaty: DPS, 2011. ISBN 978-601-7026-17-2
  • Kazakhstan – A Land of Athletes: An Encyclopedic Reference. Almaty: "Sözdik-Slovar". ISBN 9965-822-57-3
  • Dictionary of Finance and Economics. Almaty: Institute of Economics of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan; "Ziyatker" LLP, 2007. ISBN 978-601-215-003-2
  • Islam: An Encyclopedic Reference. Almaty: "Aruna Ltd.", 2010. ISBN 9965-26-322-1
  • Taraz Encyclopedia.
  • Economic and Social Geography of Kazakhstan: A Textbook for the 9th Grade of General Education Schools / V. Usikov, T. Kazanovskaya, A. Usikova, G. Zöbenova. 2nd ed., revised. Almaty: Atamūra, 2009. ISBN 9965-34-934-7
  • Russian–Kazakh Explanatory Dictionary: Science Studies. General editorship supervised by E. Aryn, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor – Pavlodar: ECO SF, 2006. ISBN 9965-808-78-3
  • Tūrsyn Q., Nūsqabaiūly J. Dictionary of Television: A Reference for Television Journalists: A Study Guide. Almaty: "Bilim", 2001. ISBN 9965-09-033-5
  • Sectoral Scientific Explanatory Dictionary of Kazakh Terminology: Water Management. Almaty: Mektep, 2002.
  • Encyclopedia of Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
  • Sectoral Scientific Explanatory Dictionary of Kazakh Terminology: Geology / Scientific supervisor of the series of explanatory dictionaries A. Q. Qūsaiynov, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Almaty: "Mektep" JSC, 2003. ISBN 5-7667-8188-1, ISBN 9965-16-512-2
  • Russian–Kazakh Explanatory Dictionary of Pulmonology Terms. Almaty: Ana tili, 1996. ISBN 5-630-00473-5
  • Qanysh Satbaev: An Encyclopedia / Editor-in-Chief B.Ö. Jaqyp – Almaty: Kazakh Encyclopedia, 2011. ISBN 9965-893-74-8
  • Dictionary of Geological Terms. N. Seitov, A. Abdulin. Almaty: Qazaqstan, 1996. ISBN 5-615-01738-4
  • Mukhtar Auezov: An Encyclopedia. Almaty: Atamūra, 2011. ISBN 978-601-282-175-8
  • Five Hundred and Five Words. Almaty: Rauan, 1994. ISBN 5-625-02459-6
  • Russian–Kazakh Explanatory Dictionary of Dentistry Terms. Almaty: Qazaqstan, 1991. ISBN 5-615-00789-3
  • Russian–Latin–Kazakh Explanatory Dictionary of Pathological Anatomy Terms. Aqtöbe. ISBN 9965-437-40-8
  • Explanatory Dictionary of Biomorphology Terms. Almaty: "Sözdik-Slovar", 2009. ISBN 9965-822-54-9
  • Sectoral Scientific Explanatory Dictionary of Kazakh Terminology: Informatics and Computer Technology / Scientific supervisor A. Q. Qūsaiynov – Almaty: "Mektep" JSC, 2002. ISBN 5-7667-8284-5
  • Kazakh Language: An Encyclopedia. Almaty: Ministry of Education, Culture and Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Kazakhstan Development Institute, 1998. ISBN 5-7667-2616-3
  • Russian–Kazakh Explanatory Dictionary of Petroleum and Gas Geology Terms. General editorship by T. N. Jūmağaliev and B. M. Kuandyqov, Honoured Oil Geologists of Kazakhstan, 2000.
  • Kazakh–Russian Dictionary of Banking Terms and Concepts / Ğ. Seitqasymov, B. Beisenğaliev, J. Bekbolatūly – Almaty: Ekonomika, 2006. ISBN 9965-783-20-9
  • Rakhimbekova, Z. M. English–Russian–Kazakh Explanatory Dictionary of Materials Mechanics Terms. ISBN 9965-769-67-2
  • Russian–Kazakh General Explanatory Dictionary: Transport / Professor E. Aryn – Pavlodar: "ECO" SF, 2006.
  • Russian–Kazakh Explanatory Geographical Dictionary. Edited by Academician of the Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Prof. S. K. Kenesbaev and Candidate of Philological Sciences A. A. Abdrakhmanov. Alma-Ata: "Nauka", 1966. (Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, Institute...)
  • Shañyraq: A Household Encyclopedia. Almaty: Editorial Board of the Kazakh Soviet Encyclopedia, 1990. ISBN 5-89800-008-9
  • Qarağandy: Encyclopedia of Qarağandy Region. Almaty: Atamūra, 2006. ISBN 9965-34-515-5
[edit]
  • The letter from the Kazakh Encyclopedia stating the release of its materials under a CC BY-SA license.
    The letter from the Kazakh Encyclopedia stating the release of its materials under a CC BY-SA license.
  • The Kazakh Wikipedia's 100K commemorative logo. (Fall 2011)
    The Kazakh Wikipedia's 100K commemorative logo. (Fall 2011)
  • Kazakh Wikipedia logo at the time of the Turkic Wikimedia Conference. (April 2012)
    Kazakh Wikipedia logo at the time of the Turkic Wikimedia Conference. (April 2012)
  • The Kazakh Wikipedia's 200K commemorative logo. (Nov 2012)
    The Kazakh Wikipedia's 200K commemorative logo. (Nov 2012)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Wikipedia Statistics Kazakh". Wikimedia Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  2. ^ Проект по расширению казахскоязычной части "Википедии" стартовал в Казахстане (in Russian). gazeta.kz. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  3. ^ На развитие "Казахской Википедии" выделили 50 миллионов тенге (in Russian). Tengri News. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Williams, Christopher (24 December 2012). "Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales restricts discussion of Tony Blair friendship". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  5. ^ "$136 thousand channeled into development Kazakh-language Wikipedia. Internet. Tengrinews.kz". En.tengrinews.kz. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  6. ^ Lotto Persio, Sofia (23 July 2012). "Kazakh Wikipedia awarded for its impressive development". netprophet.tol.org. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  7. ^ Higgins, Andrew (15 January 2018). "Kazakhstan Cheers New Alphabet, Except for All Those Apostrophes". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b Morris, Kevin (25 December 2012). "The Daily Dot – Wikipedia's odd relationship with the Kazakh dictatorship". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  9. ^ Hermans, Steven (8 January 2013). "Critics question neutrality of Kazakh Wikipedia". NET PROPHET. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  10. ^ Smith, Myles G. (27 December 2012). "Kazakhstan Wikipedia Controversy Raises Questions About the Crowd". EURASIANET.org. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
  11. ^ Michel, Casey G. (2 April 2015). "Wikipedia Founder Distances Himself from Kazakhstan PR Machine". EURASIANET.org. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  12. ^ "List of Wikipedias by Language Group". Meta.wikimedia.org. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.

Sources

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[edit]
Wikipedia logo
Kazakh edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kazakh_Wikipedia&oldid=1357021285"