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Some Kazakh tribes are of Mongol origin. So I was expecting them to be closer.
It's interesting how Tatarstan is a whole other dimension when it's just a stone's throw away from Kazakhstan. It's likely that Northern Kazakhstan was a more even Caucasoid-Mongoloid mix before Russian migrants settled that area. If that area was still Kazak, it might have been less distant (although still very distant) to Tatars. Orenburg also used to be Kazakh in the past.
Also, another thing to keep in mind. The Mongols used here are likely Khalkha Mongols from Central Mongolia. Western Mongolia is Oirat and Oirats are not that far away from Kazakhs. The Kalmyks are ethnic Oirats and are at a distant of "only" @16.
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