In this episode of the ZZF Podcast in English (fourth episode), Abigail Scripka shares insights into their research on contemporary spirituality, Tengrism, and the impact of perestroika on Kazakhstan’s cultural identity. Scripka talks about the influence of perestroika on religious practices in Kazakhstan, the resurgence of shamans since the 1980s, and the country’s diverse geography and cultural landscape. Discover how history, religion, and politics intertwine in their exploration of Kazakh society.

Abigail Scripka is a Doctoral Candidate at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam (ZZF) and the Central European University in Vienna. Their research focuses on Everyday Spirituality in Kazakhstan during Perestroika, and is being conducted as part of the European Research Council project, ”Perestroika from Below“. Scripka’s research uses mixed-method anthropological and oral history approaches, and they conduct their research in Kazakh, Russian, and English. Their past work focuses on Tengrism as a youth movement in contemporary Kazakhstan and secular policy-making in Kazakhstan. Additionally, they have worked extensively for NGOs across the region, as well as in the Public Affairs departments of US Embassies.

Lee Holt is a Research Associate (Copy Editor and International Research Coordinator) at the ZZF (Department “Globalizations in a Divided World”), where he has worked since September 2023. He received his Ph.D. in Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 and has worked as a translator and editor since 2007.

Further Reading:

• Sarah Cameron, The Hungry Steppe. Famine, Violence, and the Making of Soviet Kazakhstan (Cornell University Press, 2018).

• Diana T. Kudaibergen, What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani? Power, Identity and Nation-Building (Oxford University Press, 2025).

• Eren Tasar, Soviet and Muslim. The Institutionalization of Islam in Central Asia, 1943-1991 (Oxford University Press, 2017).

Photo: ”Aule“ (saint) - a burial site for local Islamic saints - in the Mangystau region of Western Kazakhstan, Copyright: Abigail Scripka