was it under the rule of another empire earlier?
Yes, the Russian Empire.
Kazakhstan
The tsars effectively ruled over most of the territory belonging to what is now the Republic of Kazakhstan.

what is the siberian accentor? A small passerine bird. how could its voice be described? The call is  is a trisyllabic "ti-ti-ti". The male's song, given from the top of a bush or tree, is a loud, high "chirichiriri", where is this commonly found? Northern Russia east from just west of the Ural Mountains to the Pacific coast, and in northern Siberia. in which country are the mountains found? Russia and Kazakhstan. what kinds of plants are found there? Forests and steppes containing vegetation like zigzag, mountain clovers, dropwort, meadow-grass, Siberian fir, Siberian pine and others. any water bodies near this mountain? There are rivers like Vishera, Chusovaya ,and Belaya , and lakes like Uvildy, Itkul , Turgoyak and Tavatuy. where is the afore-mentioned latter country located? mainly located in Central Asia with a small portion in Eastern Europe.
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Kazakhstan [SEP] Russian Empire
The tsars effectively ruled over most of the territory belonging to what is now the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Russian Empire introduced a system of administration and built military garrisons and barracks in its effort to establish a presence in Central Asia in the so-called "Great Game" for dominance in the area against the British Empire, which was extending its influence from the south in India and Southeast Asia. Russia built its first outpost, Orsk, in 1735. Russia introduced the Russian language in all schools and governmental organisations. Russian efforts to impose its system aroused the resentment by the Kazakh people, and, by the 1860s, some Kazakhs resisted Russia's rule.