Toltai Balakaev (13.04.1923-20.11.2017) – historian, scholar, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, and laureate of the Sh. Sh. Ualikhanov Prize.

Tolthai Balakaev was born on April 13, 1923, in the Abayraly district of Semey region. He participated in the Great Patriotic War and sustained serious injuries near Stalingrad. In 1944, he entered the history faculty of KazMU and graduated successfully in 1949. From 1949 to 1956, he worked as a junior and senior researcher at the Institute of Party History under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. From 1956 to 1967, he served as a scientific secretary and senior researcher at the Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnology of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. From 1968 to 1985, he was the head of a department, and from 1985 to 1988, he was the deputy director for scientific work at the institute. From 1988 to 1991, he was the chief researcher.

Balakaev's main works focus on the history of Kazakhstan during the Soviet era, particularly the issues related to the heroism of the republic's people in the rear and on the front during the Great Patriotic War. His fundamental work titled "Kolhoznoe krestyanstvo Kazakhstana v gody Velikoy Otechestvennoy voyny 1941-1945 gg." published in 1971, which discusses the contribution of Kazakhstani people to the great victory, earned him the Sh. Ualikhanov Prize. In 1972, he defended his doctoral dissertation on this topic, and in 1979, he received the title of professor. Balakaev participated in the 1st World Congress of Historians held in Moscow in 1970. He contributed to fundamental studies such as the multi-volume "History of Kazakhstan" and works showcasing the labor of Kazakh peasants during the war, publishing 15 books and collections.

Professor Balakaev was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class for his military valor in defending the country and his long-standing service in the field of science, along with 18 medals, the silver medal of the BHShJK, and twice received the Honorary Certificate of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR. He was named "Honored Worker of Kazakhstan," became a laureate of the Sh. Ualikhanov Prize, and was honored as an honorary professor of Shakarim State University of Semey.