The article presents the results of a scientific study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of teaching the history of East Kazakhstan in the 1920s and 1930s in the system of modern historical education. The relevance of the research is due to the need to improve the methodology of studying regional history and increase the level of historical literacy of students. During the research, special attention was paid to topics related to the disintegration of traditional livestock farming, the policy of forced collectivization and the consequences of the famine of 1931-1933 in Eastern Kazakhstan. The empirical basis of the study was the results of a survey of 96 respondents. The analysis of the data obtained made it possible to determine the level of students' understanding of key historical processes, identify the most common difficulties in studying these topics, and evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching methods used. The results showed that the majority of the survey participants generally have a good understanding of the content of the historical events under consideration and positively assess the quality of teaching regional history. At the same time, the study revealed a number of problems related to the insufficient use of interactive educational technologies, historical documents and visual materials. It has been established that students are interested in a wider use of maps, diagrams, archival sources, documentaries and practice-oriented tasks. It is concluded that it is necessary to further improve the educational process by introducing modern teaching methods that contribute to a deeper understanding of the history of East Kazakhstan and the development of students' research competencies.