Early history Throughout the history, Armenians tended to have a complex connection with
Kipchaks, the ancestors of various Kipchak tribes, including the modern-day
Kazakhs. This was due to the interesting presence of various Kipchak tribes in Armenian soil, ranged from the era of
Kimek–Kipchak confederation,
Cumania, and ultimately the
Golden Horde of the
Mongol Empire, with varied migration of Kipchaks to the Armenian territory. This had contributed to the emergence of a distinct language called
Armeno-Kipchak, which speakers used Armenian alphabet to speak the Kipchak Turkish language in Eastern Europe, mainly among the Armenian,
Crimean Tatar and
Lipka Tatar groups inhabiting modern-day Poland, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Crimea and Lithuania. A fragment of the Kipchak troops that was routed by
Timur during his
war against
Tokhtamysh also fled south, where they mixed with Armenians and lost Kipchak identity in process. Following the breaking of Golden Horde into multiple smaller Kipchak groups, Armenians developed relations variedly depending on the context of whatever Kipchak groups they were in. In particular, Armenians had developed an interestingly, excellent relations with
Lipka Tatars, having lived side-by-side and fought together to protect the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Armenians in the
Crimean Khanate, a
Borjigin Kipchak Khanate within
Crimea and vassal of the Oghuz-based
Ottoman Empire, had a complex tie with the
Crimean Tatars, having developed a multi-vector relationship of both military rivalry, religious persecution under the Ottomans, and friendly cultural relations that resulted in the presence of an old
Armenian community there. With the
Kazakh Khanate, Armenians had rather limited relations, being mostly traders and economic businessmen instead; their relationship was minimal and isolated; and similar thing existed in Armenian perception on other subgroups of Kipchak people like
Siberian Tatars,
Kyrgyz,
Karakalpaks,
Volga Tatars,
Bashkirs, and North Caucasian Kipchaks like
Karachays,
Balkars and
Kumyks. Later on, most contacts were conducted either via the
Ottoman Empire,
Persian Empire and
Russian Empire.
Tsarist and Soviet era Before 1918, both countries were part of the
Russian Empire. Armenians were largely irrelevant in Kazakh public life, even during the time of the
Russian conquest of Central Asia, in part due to the absence of major Armenian presence. However, neither were able to withstand the Soviet onslaught, and by 1922, the
Soviet Union had conquered both Armenian and Kazakh statehoods. During this point, Armenian-born
Levon Mirzoyan was appointed the First Secretary of the Communist Party branch in
Kazakh SSR, succeeding
Filipp Goloshchyokin. His reign in Kazakhstan coincided with the infamous
Kazakh famine of 1930–1933 that was caused by his predecessor, which more than 40% of Kazakh population perished; Mirzoyan's his policies have long been debated because, while his policies were repressive and devastating, he also contributed a key role in the recovery of the Kazakh nation. Ultimately, Mirzoyan grew increasingly disagreeing over multiple policies of the Soviet regime by
Joseph Stalin, which would result in his execution by
NKVD during the
Great Purge later on. After that, they would not restore their independence until 1991 as their relations were dictated via
Moscow instead.
Modern era Diplomatic relations were established between both countries on August 27, 1992. In 1991-1992, Kazakhstan took part in the settlement of the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Since June 1993, the Armenian Embassy was opened in Kazakhstan. The Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Armenia has been operating since March 2007. On 21 November 2025, the two nations elevated their ties to Strategic Partnership. == Cultural relations ==