Orazak was born in the
Mendykara District,
Kostanay Region,
Kazakh ASSR and graduated the Mendykara teacher school in 1950 and the historical faculty of
the Al-Farabi National University in 1955. In the year 1956, worked as a teacher. Next year, worked in the
Shoqan Walikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology (
ru), while also being a trainee in an Almaty Medical Institute. In 1958 he worked at the Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology of the Moscow State University. In 1958–1961 a post-graduate student of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (scientific adviser G. F. Debets). Since 1965 a senior researcher. Between the years 1984 and 1986, Head of the Department of the Code of Historical Monuments of Kazakhstan and the New History of Kazakhstan, since 1989 is the Head of the Laboratory in the
Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences. From 1960, Ismagulov was a permanent participant and a head of anthropological expeditions in
Kazakhstan and beyond:
Indian-
Soviet (1974–1975),
Kazakh-
Mongolian (1991–1993),
Kazakh-
Italian (1993–1994). In the 1993–1994, within the framework of scientific cooperation with the Institute of Anthropology at the Bolonia University in Italy, Ismagulov headed an international project for problems of adaptation of high-mountain
Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan populations in respect to ethno-cultural processes in the region. Ismagulov is the author of about 100 scientific works. Among them a special place takes a compendium of
monographs for
craniological series, genetic markers, and
odontological attributes, compiled to establish a
genetic continuity between ancient and modern populations of the Middle Asia, integrity of the historical process, study the Kazakh genetic fund, and the sources of its formation, and major historical phases of Kazakhstan local ancient populations and newcoming ethnic groups from
Central Asia. Ismagulov is a frequent lecturer about
anthropology in
Delhi,
California and
Bolonia universities. His only known child is his daughter
Ainagül Ismagulova Orazaqqyzy, a person he often works and collaborates with when it comes to research and publishing. He mentioned her as his successor, saying that "our work combined equals a 100 years, we two did a job of a whole institute" Under his scientific supervision 4 doctors and 3 candidates of sciences were trained. He credits
Georgy Debets (
rus),
Yakov Roginskiy (
rus) and
Viktor Bunak (
rus) as his tutors. ==Main scientific works==