Kazakhstan's enemies include Russians.
The Kazakh Steppe , also called the Great Dala , ecoregion , of the Palearctic temperate grasslands , savannas , and shrublands biome , is a vast region of open grassland in northern Kazakhstan and adjacent portions of Russia , extending to the east of the Pontic steppe and to the west of the Emin Valley steppe , with which it forms part of the Eurasian steppe . Kazakhstan . The Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century , and by the mid-19th century , they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire .