Culture in post-independent Kazakhstan is influenced more by Russian than by Islamic traditions, a reflection of Kazakhstan’s more than 200 years of close association with Russia. Because of their nomadic life, Kazakhs traditionally had little written literature; instead, oral epic poems songs were used to preserve and share traditional folklore. This changed after the Kazakh written language was developed in the late 19th century. The foundations of modern Kazakh literature were laid in the early…and they are Turk.