SOUTH TO THE GREAT STEPPE - THE TRAVELS OF THOMAS OF LUCY ATKINSON IN EASTERN KAZAKHSTAN, 1847-1852
Bibliographic Description
South to the Great Steppe - The travels of Thomas of Lucy Atkinson in Eastern Kazakhstan, 1847-1852 / Fielding, Nick. – London, 2015. – ISBN 978-0-9546409-9-6.
- Author
- Fielding, Nick
- Year of publication
- 2015
- Classification index (UDC)
- —
- Language
- English
- Publication type
- Book
- Country of Publication
- —
- Access
- Available to all
Description
In the summer of 1846 Yorkshire-born Thomas Witlam Atkinson arrived in St Petersburg with a plan to travel to some of the remotest parts of Siberia and Central Asia. An architect-turned-artist, he had decided to follow the advice of the great German geographer Alexander von Humboldt and seek permission to visit regions that few Europeans had ever seen. Tsar Nicholas I approved the plan and Thomas left Moscow the following spring, armed with a royal passport. A year later, having visited the Urals and the Altai Mountains in Western Siberia, he returned briefly to marry Lucy Finley, an English governess. Only two days after their marriage they set off together from Moscow on a journey that would last almost six years, during which Lucy gave birth to their son. They travelled more than 40,000 miles - much of it on horseback - throughout Siberia and Central Asia, all the way to the Chinese border. South to the Great Steppe describes Thomas and Lucy's travels in what is today Kazakhstan and is one of the most remarkable travel stories of all time. Thomas also made a large number of vivid paintings and drawings, which together with his and Lucy's journals, offer the only detailed descriptions of the lives of the steppe nomads in the middle of the nineteenth century. This book contains high-quality reproductions of many of these paintings, including views of the Tamchiboulac Spring, the Ac-Sou River, the many kurgans surrounding Kapal, the remarkable Kora Valley, the Bascan River, the Terric-Sou and many other notable places in the region. Atkinson's portraits of the Kazakh leaders at that time are particularly important. He painted Sultan Soyuk, Sultan Boulania, Sultan Ianantuck and many other significant leaders. He shows them in their finest clothes, surrounded by their hunting eagles, their camels and horses and their families. No other contemporary paintings of this period in Kazakh history exist.
Reading room rules
Approved by Order No. ______ of the Director of the Republican State Institution "Digital Presidential Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan" dated ____ September 2026
1. General Provisions
1.1. These Rules for the Use of the Reading Room of the Republican State Institution "Digital Presidential Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan" (hereinafter, the Rules and the Digital Presidential Fund) have been developed in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Culture" and "On Copyright and Related Rights", the Regulations on the Republican State Institution "Digital Presidential Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan" approved by Order No. 05/255 of the Head of the Administrative Department of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 28 August 2023, and other regulatory legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
1.2. These Rules set out the procedure for using the reading room of the Digital Presidential Fund, the terms of service for users, and the rights and obligations of users and of the staff of the Library Service.
1.3. The library collection of the Digital Presidential Fund is part of the institution's library collection and is subject to registration, storage and safekeeping in the manner established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund.
1.4. The right to use the library resources of the Digital Presidential Fund is granted to citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan and foreign nationals registered as users of the Digital Presidential Fund, in the manner established by these Rules.
1.5. These Rules are binding on all users of the reading room.
2. Procedure for Using the Reading Room
2.1. The reading room is a form of library service that enables users to work with library documents directly on the premises of the Digital Presidential Fund without removing them from the institution.
2.2. Users are served in the reading room free of charge.
2.3. Users are admitted to the reading room on the basis of their user identification number (ID number), in the manner established by the Digital Presidential Fund.
2.4. Reading room opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 18:30; Monday is a day off. Users are admitted to the reading room until 18:15.
2.5. Access to the reading room may be temporarily restricted or suspended during events, scheduled maintenance, technical and other works, and in other cases provided for by the internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund.
2.6. On registering as a user of the Digital Presidential Fund, a person reads these Rules and confirms having read them and undertakes to comply with them. This confirmation is given by the user's personal signature or in electronic form, in the manner established by the Digital Presidential Fund.
2.7. Users who violate these Rules or cause damage to the library collection or other property of the Digital Presidential Fund are liable in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2.8. Liability for harm caused by minors is determined in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2.9. In the event of loss of or damage to library documents, the user shall compensate for the damage caused in the manner and on the terms established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund.
2.10. Lost or damaged library documents may, by agreement with the Library Service, be replaced with equivalent documents in the manner established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund.
3. Rights and Obligations of Users
3.1. Users have the right to:
- use the library documents and the basic library and information services of the Digital Presidential Fund free of charge;
- receive advice from the staff of the Library Service when searching for and selecting the information they need;
- use the computers and software provided by the Digital Presidential Fund for work in the reading room, within the access rights granted;
- submit proposals, comments and complaints on library service matters in the manner established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund.
3.2. Users shall:
- present their user identification number (ID number) when receiving library documents;
- comply with these Rules and the established opening hours of the reading room;
- keep silence, maintain public order and observe the rules of conduct in the reading room;
- treat other users and the staff of the Digital Presidential Fund with respect;
- comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on copyright and related rights when using library documents and information resources;
- handle library documents, equipment, furniture and other property of the Digital Presidential Fund with care;
- use the reading room premises and equipment solely for their intended purpose;
- comply with sanitary and fire safety requirements;
- leave outerwear in the cloakroom when visiting the Digital Presidential Fund, in accordance with the established procedure;
- bring personal working materials, including dissertations, notebooks and other documents, into the reading room in the manner established by the Digital Presidential Fund;
- in an emergency, including a fire, natural disaster, industrial accident, terrorist act or threat thereof, immediately follow the requirements and instructions of the staff of the Digital Presidential Fund and of the staff of the organisations providing security for the facility, and follow the established evacuation procedure.
3.3. Users are prohibited from:
- passing on to other persons their identification data, including the login and password provided for access to information systems and resources;
- disturbing the silence, public order or the established rules of conduct;
- being in the reading room under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other intoxicants, or in a condition that endangers safety or infringes the rights and legitimate interests of others;
- making any changes to library documents, including underlining, marking, correcting, folding pages or otherwise damaging documents;
- taking library documents out of the reading room or passing them to third parties without the permission of the staff of the Library Service;
- removing sheets, individual pages, photographs, drawings, stamps or other component parts of library documents;
- being in the reading room in outerwear, including carrying outerwear as hand luggage;
- bringing food, drinks and bulky items into the reading room, except in cases provided for by the internal requirements of the Digital Presidential Fund;
- using mobile phones and other devices with sound that disturbs the silence in the reading room;
- changing the settings of computers and other equipment, or installing software, without the permission of an authorised staff member;
- photographing, filming, audio recording, scanning or copying library documents without prior agreement with the staff of the Library Service and without regard to the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on copyright and related rights;
- holding tours, classes, lectures, presentations or other events in the reading room without prior agreement with the management of the Digital Presidential Fund.
4. Rights and Obligations of the Library Service
4.1. The Library Service has the right to:
- require users to comply with these Rules;
- temporarily restrict or suspend users' access to library resources and the reading room in the cases provided for by these Rules and the internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund;
- refuse to provide certain services where a user violates these Rules, safety requirements or the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- demand compensation for damage caused to the library collection, equipment and other property of the Digital Presidential Fund, in the manner established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- take other measures provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund against persons who have violated these Rules.
4.2. The Library Service shall:
- serve users in accordance with these Rules;
- provide users with information on library and information services, the procedure for obtaining them and the opening hours of the reading room;
- ensure users' access to library resources in accordance with the established procedure;
- provide proper conditions for users to work in the reading room;
- take measures to ensure the safekeeping of the library collection;
- ensure a high standard and quality of service to users;
- promote the library collection and help develop an interest in reading;
- comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan when processing users' personal data.
5. Final Provisions
5.1. The administration and the staff of the Library Service are not liable for the loss of or damage to users' personal belongings left unattended, except where such liability is provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
5.2. Matters not governed by these Rules are governed by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other internal documents of the Digital Presidential Fund.
5.3. Where the provisions of these Rules conflict with the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the provisions of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan apply.
5.4. Amendments and additions to these Rules are made in the established manner and approved by order of the Director of the Digital Presidential Fund.
5.5. These Rules enter into force on the date of their approval and remain in effect until they are amended or declared invalid.
*The Digital Presidential Fund reserves the right to amend these rules.