The first such step of creation of Kazakh public university стали в тяжелейшие тридцатые годы прошлого века. At that time, on the one hand, fundamentals of industrialization were established, on the other hand – forceful confiscation of food supplies by totalitarian power led to unprecedented famine which drove Kazakhstan back for decades in social development and which brought unforgettable tragedy almost to every Kazakhstani family. The foundation for the emergence of high-qualified national human resources of the Great Steppe was laid in such extremely difficult circumstances.

Officially the first university in Kazakhstan was created in 1928. However, there was a fast recognition that to be named as university is one thing, but - to be consisted with the spirit and meet the initial high-level requirements is another. These requirements are applicable to educational institutions of such level in the world practice. And in those years, Kazakhstan especially needed the ascetic teachers, therefore this university almost immediately was reorganized into Pedagogical Institute.

After the space of five years, when the necessary conditions were matured, on October 20, 1933 № 2293 "On personnel training for Kazakhstan" resolution was adopted by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, in which the decision of organizing the Kazakh State University - KazGU was recorded on the basis of the Pedagogical Institute in Alma-Ata. January 15, 1934 was the date of its official opening, when the order on the academic teaching staff and department enrollment of the first 54 students to - Mathematics & Physics and Biology was signed.

By the end of the 30s other three departments were discovered (chemistry, foreign languages, philology), preparatory division for Kazakh youth, the list of specialties is expanded. In the process of science development an important milestones were to open a graduate school and the creation of the Scientific Council for awarding PhD degrees and assistant professor titles that opened new opportunities for the national academic teaching staff training. All these difficult years the head of the University was its first Director Fedor Trofimovich Olikov.