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Chingiz Aitmatov biography in English. State awards and titles

Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov is a writer who created his books in two languages: Russian and Kyrgyz. But his works are read all over the world, as they have been translated into more than a hundred languages.

This writer entered the history of Russian literature more than half a century ago, when one of the most penetrating works was published. Soviet literature- The story of Jamila. Later it was translated into other languages ​​of the world. It can be said with confidence that the era of talented people ended on June 10, 2008, when Chingiz Aitmatov passed away. Biography brilliant writer is the topic of this article.

Son of a repressed communist

He was born in 1928 in Kyrgyzstan, in a remote countryside. Aitmatov's parents belonged to the first generation of communists, who were repressed in the late thirties. The writer's father did not escape the arrest either. Later, in his first novel, Chingiz Aitmatov will reflect these events.

The biography of this man is amazing. Decades later, even Aitmatov could not believe that, as a fourteen-year-old teenager, he could fulfill the duties of secretary of the village council and resolve issues that concerned various parties. rural life. By the start of the war future writer managed to finish only seven classes. But all the men went to the front. In the villages there were women and children who had to grow up too early.

Kyrgyz nugget

IN cultural policy Soviet period, the leadership was given a direction to support and develop national literatures. Surprisingly, this program was able to identify talented authors whose names became known outside the vast country. One of these names is Chingiz Aitmatov. The biography of a man who was born in a Kyrgyz village and was the son of a communist arrested in 1938 could not be joyful. With such a fate it is difficult not only to become outstanding writer but also get a basic education. But in this article we are talking about a real national nugget. Such people are born once in a hundred years.

Human themes

It is worth saying that Chingiz Aitmatov is not an exclusively national author. His biography is echoes tragic events Soviet history. That is why the books created by him are devoted to universal topics. They are close not only to the inhabitants of Kyrgyzstan, and not only to those who live in the territory of the post-Soviet space. The works of this author are able to penetrate into the soul of everyone, regardless of nationality.

Kyrgyz writer and Russian prose

The work of Chingiz Aitmatov miraculously joined the works of such Russian authors as Valentin Rasputin and Viktor Astafiev. In the books of all these writers, the following are observed: common features: richness, metaphor, complete absence of socialist optimism. And it seems strange that the rather pessimistic story "The White Steamboat" was included in school curriculum already in the seventies.

The writer's father, as already mentioned, was a major Kyrgyz party worker who was repressed in 1938. That is why the life that Chingiz Aitmatov lived seems especially surprising. The biography and work of this man took shape in difficult times, but, despite this, already in 1952 his first works began to be published in the republic.

"Jamilya"

After the Agricultural Institute, he worked for three years as the chief livestock specialist at the Research Institute of Animal Breeding. And then there were higher literary courses at the Institute. Gorky. And after their completion he was able to publish his first famous work Chingiz Aitmatov. Photo main character in a movie based on a story Kyrgyz writer can be seen in this article. It's about about the work "Jamilya". This story was created within the walls of a hostel on Tverskoy boulevard. She became significant in the life of Chingiz Aitmatov, as she brought him fame not only at home, but also abroad. The book has been translated into European languages, and on the shelves of Parisian bookstores it appeared thanks to the work of Louis Aragon himself.

"Jamilya" is the story of a young woman who, at first glance, harmoniously fits into the Soviet ideology. The heroine Aitmatova breaks with her family past in order to start a new bright life. However, this book is extremely sad story love. The same can be said about the work "My poplar in a red scarf."

The story “The First Teacher” became more straightforward, in which Chingiz Aitmatov portrayed the horrors of patriarchal violence. Photos from the filming of the film of the same name by Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky are presented below. The name of the Kyrgyz writer thundered throughout the country when he was not yet forty.

"Mother Field"

In 1963, another heartfelt story was published about the fate of a mother who lost her sons. The writer Chingiz Aitmatov knew about the hard life of women during the war years. In addition, he was familiar with the hardships of rural life firsthand. But when reading the story "Mother's Field" it still seems surprising that the man created it. With extraordinary authenticity and bitterness, he conveys the thoughts of a woman whose sons did not return from the front. There is no patriotic pathos in this work. It is not about a big victory, but about the grief of a little man - a woman who finds strength only in her love. Even when her husband and three sons die, she has warmth and tenderness in her heart for someone else's child.

Big prose

What else is known about a person named Chingiz Aitmatov? Biography, family, personal life this personality is inextricably linked with his literary creativity. It is known that the world-famous writer did not amass wealth. After death, only the house remained, in which the most valuable thing is literary works and Aitmatov's awards. The writer invested all the money earned in the education of children. The writer of whom, undoubtedly, was reflected in his books, was extremely reverent towards family values. And it is difficult to doubt this after reading the works that brought him world fame.

It took him an extremely long time to reach great prose. The first truly great novel was the work "And the day lasts longer than a century." This insightful book was published in 1980. It is dedicated to love and suffering, happiness and pain. In the novel, the author has achieved true mastery. After writing this book, Aitmatov began to rightfully be called a modern philosopher. The author conveyed the experiences of his heroes in the novel “And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century” with such authenticity and sincere pain that it seems that he knew the feelings of a person suffering from a totalitarian regime and preferring death to parting with his wife and children.

Poetic prose

By the time the first novel was published, Aitmatov already had the publication of such works as “The White Steamboat”, “Piebald Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea”, etc. behind his back. And, despite the fact that this writer was accepted considered one of the representatives of socialist realism, there is an extraordinary poetry in his book. The works created by Chingiz Aitmatov have a carefully constructed text and are devoid of any ideology.

Biography, summary which is set out in the article, covers only the main events. It may seem that creative way the writer was extremely easy. However, this is a misleading impression, since Aitmatov walked a long painful road to each of his works.

The most significant work of Aitmatov was the "Blach" published in 1986. In this novel, the author spoke for the first time about what used to be a closed topic: about faith, about drug addiction and about cruelty, which has already ceased to amaze people. After the publication of this work, Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov was almost included in the host of literary celestials.

A short biography of this writer includes the lightning success of this book, for which there were long queues in stores. The block was passed from hand to hand. She was talked about at every turn. Aitmatov's book became a bestseller.

Not a single subsequent work of this writer had similar success. And it's not that they were worse, but the fundamental changes that have taken place in society. The first readers of "Plakha" were representatives of the outgoing era, for whom literature was of particular importance. Subsequent works did not enjoy such wide success. And this, rather, speaks of the spiritual poverty of modern society, in which it is customary for literature to assign an entertaining function.

TO post-Soviet period Aitmatov's work includes such works as "Cassandra's Brand", "The White Cloud of Genghis Khan", "Childhood in Kyrgyzstan", "When the Mountains Fall".

In 2006, together with his associates, the writer established charitable foundation, whose activities were aimed at the development and dissemination of the Russian language in the countries of the post-Soviet space.

Personal life

The first wife of the writer was a girl who later became an honored doctor of Kyrgyzstan. Her name was Kerez Shamshibaeva. Before her death, this woman bequeathed to her sons to honor and respect their father. The children kept their promise to their mother. However, Aitmatov, according to acquaintances and close people before last days life blamed himself for leaving Kerez. The writer left for another woman when he was at the zenith of his fame. The second wife of the writer is Maria Urmatova, from whom Aitmatov had a daughter and a son.

unknown novel

After the death of the writer, his relatives found in his office a manuscript of a work that no one had known about before. The novel is dedicated to the events of the construction of the Chui Canal. Main character- one of the builders. Aitmatov's daughter suggested that the writer did not dare to publish this work, because it was too liberated for its time. But relatives hope that soon it will be published and translated into other languages.

Aitmatov and cinema

The influence of this writer's work on domestic literature well known. It has become the subject of study and the topic of numerous articles. However, his influence on cinema is no less strong. Many films have been made based on Aitmatov's works. The most famous of them:

  • "Pass".
  • "First teacher".
  • "Jamila".
  • "Mother Field"
  • "White Ship".
  • "Stormy Station".
  • "Farewell, Gulsary!"

In 2008, from the set where the work on the film based on the novel “And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century”, the writer was hospitalized. Aitmatov was diagnosed with acute pneumonia. Later he was transferred to one of the Nuremberg clinics. Chingiz Aitmatov died in Germany, he was buried not far away in the Ata-Beyit historical and memorial complex.

Aitmatov's work was marked by many awards, but his main achievement was the love of readers. So many people gathered at the funeral of the classic of Russian and Kyrgyz literature that the stampede almost turned into a tragedy. In May 2008, the writer was planned to be nominated for the Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, Aitmatov did not manage to get it.

Chingiz Aitmatov was born in the village of Sheker in the Talas canton of the Kirghiz ASSR (now the Talas region of Kyrgyzstan). His father, Torekul Aitmatov (1903-1938), was at first a peasant activist, then a Soviet and party worker, a prominent statesman of the Kirghiz SSR, but in 1937 he was arrested and shot in 1938. Mother, Nagima Khamzievna Abduvalieva (1904-1971), a Tatar by nationality, was an army political worker, later a public figure. Genghis, his brothers and sisters grew up in Sheker, where they arrived shortly before their father's arrest at his insistence. During the Great Patriotic War, when all the men went to the front, he, a fourteen-year-old teenager, became the secretary of the council in the village.

After graduating from eight classes, he entered the Dzhambul zootechnical school, from which he graduated with honors. In 1948 he entered the Kyrgyz Agricultural Institute in Frunze, from which he graduated in 1953. He made his debut in print in 1952 with the short story “Newsman Juido” written in Russian (newspaper Komsomolets Kirgizii, April 6, 1952), after which he published stories in Kyrgyz and Russian. After graduating from the institute during three years worked as a veterinarian while continuing to write and print short stories. In 1956 he entered the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow (graduating in 1958). The story "Face to Face" in the Kyrgyz language was published in June 1957 in the magazine "Ala-Too" and the following year in the magazine "October" in the author's translation into Russian. The story "Jamila" was published for the first time in French in the translation of Louis Aragon also in 1957. In the same year, his stories were published in the magazine " New world”, and also the story “Jamilya” was published in Russian, which brought Aitmatov world fame. In 1959-1965 he was the editor-in-chief of the journal "Literary Kyrgyzstan", at the same time he worked as his own correspondent for the newspaper "Pravda" in the Kyrgyz SSR. Member of the CPSU since 1959.

After "Jamili" the novels "Camel's Eye" (1960), "The First Teacher" (1961), "Mother's Field" (1963) and the collection "The Tale of the Mountains and Steppes" (1963) were also published, for which the writer received Lenin Prize. All these works were published simultaneously in Kyrgyz and in Russian translation. In 1965, the story "The First Teacher" was filmed by Andrei Konchalovsky at Mosfilm, and "Camel's Eye" was also filmed by L. Shepitko with Bolot Shamshiev in the role of Kemel, Shamshiev subsequently became one of the best directors for staging films based on the works of Chingiz Aitmatov.

The story "Farewell, Gulsary!" (1966) brought the State Prize to the author. Until 1966, the writer wrote in two languages ​​(mainly in Kyrgyz), and starting with the story “Farewell, Gulsary!” switched mainly to Russian. The novel The White Steamboat (1970) was published in Russian and long years becomes one of the most recognized works of Chingiz Aitmatov all over the world, later it was also filmed by German and Russian filmmakers. In 1978, the writer was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. In 1980, the novel “And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century” was published, for which Aitmatov received the second State Prize. The last work published in the USSR is his novel The Block (1986). During his visit to Germany, Chingiz Aitmatov meets Friedrich Hitzer, later a German translator and manager, with whom he worked until January 2007, when the translator died suddenly of a heart attack.

All post-Soviet works by Chingiz Aitmatov are published in German by the Swiss publishing house Unionsverlag in the translation of Friedrich Hitzer, who was posthumously awarded the Chingiz Aitmatov International Prize in London in 2011 for his long-term work with the writer, for love for his work and devotion to him. In 2012, it became known that a manuscript of a previously unpublished novel by the writer had been found. An unpublished copy was found in Aitmatov's office. The text entitled "Earth and Flute" tells about a man who in the 1940s participated in one of the largest construction projects in Kyrgyzstan - the construction of the Big Chui Canal - and found a large statue of the Chui Buddha. This news was reported by his daughter - Shirin. According to her, "this is a classic Aitmatov's narrative, written in the style of socialist realism." In addition to the story about the construction of the BChK, which in terms of scale can be called the Kyrgyz BAM, it is written very openly and sensually about love, the novel is “very emotional, it describes the feelings and experiences of the hero.” Aitmatova did not specify in what years the novel was written. She only added that over time the pages of the manuscript turned yellow, “but it was reprinted and translated into electronic format and they plan to publish it in Russian within a year, and then translate it into English language". IN post-soviet time"The White Cloud of Genghis Khan" (1992), "Cassandra's Brand" (1994), "Tales" (1997) were published abroad. "Childhood in Kyrgyzstan" (1998) and "When the mountains fall" ("Eternal bride") in 2006, German translation which was released in 2007 under the name "Snow Leopard". It was last work Aitmatov. In the year of his 70th birthday in 1998, the writer was once again awarded the title of Hero of Kyrgyzstan and recognized as a People's Writer in his homeland.

Since 1990 he headed the Embassy of the USSR (since 1992 - the Embassy Russian Federation) in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, from 1994 to 2006 - Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to the Benelux countries - in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

In 2006, together with a like-minded person Farkhod Ustadzhalilov (Aitmatov's assistant for humanitarian work in the Russian Federation), he founded the Chingiz Aitmatov International Charitable Foundation "Dialogue Without Borders", of which he was president until the end of his life. Within the framework of the fund, the project "World without Borders" was developed, as well as a program for the development and support of the Russian language in the countries of the former USSR.

Deputy of the Council of Nationalities of the USSR Armed Forces of the 7th - 11th convocations (1966-89) from the Kirghiz SSR. He was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the 9th convocation from the Frunzensky-Pervomaisky electoral district No. 330 of the Kirghiz SSR, a member of the Commission on Foreign Affairs of the Council of Nationalities. People's Deputy of the USSR (1989-91), member of the Presidential Council of the USSR, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan, member of the secretariat of the USSR Writers' Union and the USSR Investigative Committee, chairman of the board of the IC of the Kirghiz SSR, one of the leaders of the Soviet Committee of Solidarity with the Countries of Asia and Africa, Chief Editor magazine " Foreign literature”, the initiator of the international intellectual movement “Issyk-Kul Forum”. As a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was chosen to deliver the nomination speech during the election of M. Gorbachev President USSR in March 1990.

In 2008, he was elected a member of the Board of Directors of BTA Bank JSC (Kazakhstan).

Only on last year In the life of the writer, the question arose of awarding him the Nobel Prize, and the Turkish government created the applicant committee, since Aitmatov is "the largest Turkic-speaking writer of our time, in their opinion."

Almost all the work of Chingiz Torekulovich, who has already become a classic in literature, is permeated with mythological, epic motifs, legends and parables are woven into his works. His legends about the mother deer from the story "The White Steamboat" and the bird Donenbay from the novel "And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century" are well known. Included in the same novel story line associated with establishing contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, the planet Forest Breast. The action of the famous story "Piebald Dog Running by the Edge of the Sea" takes place during Great Fish- women, progenitors human race. Peru Aitmatov owns a completely fantastic novel - "Cassandra's Brand" - about the problem of creating an artificial person.

He admitted that he drew inspiration from national legends, thanks to which the works turned out to be more realistic. "My direction is realistic prose epic storytelling. I don't see myself as an author fantastic works, bestsellers, detectives. I have my own way, ”Aitmatov described his work in this way.

According to the writer himself, in his entire life he did not learn three things: to drive a car, work on a computer and speak English. foreign language(there was always an interpreter next to him). The writer considered Russian and Kyrgyz languages ​​to be native, saying that he freely thinks in each of them, based on necessity.

According to the memoirs of his son, Sanjar, Chingiz Aitmatov wrote all his works by hand, practically without drafts.

Was ill with diabetes. He died on June 10, 2008 in a hospital in the German city of Nuremberg, where he was undergoing treatment. He was buried on June 14 in the Ata-Beyit historical and memorial complex in the suburbs of Bishkek.

Family

  • Grandfather (paternal) - Aitmat Kimbildiev, was a talented craftsman and tailor.
  • Grandfather (by mother) - Khamza Abduvaliev, a native of the suburbs of Kazan, was a very rich man and merchant.
  • Father Aitmatov Torekul (1903-1938) - statesman Kirghiz SSR. In 1926 he graduated from the Communist University of the Workers of the East in Moscow.
  • Abduvaliev's mother Nagima Khamzievna (12/07/1904 - 08/10/1971) - public figure. They married on September 3, 1926. In 1935-37 he lived with her husband in Moscow.
  • The younger brother is Ilgiz Aitmatov (born February 8, 1931). Doctor technical sciences, academician, was a miner and went around all the mountains and rivers of Kyrgyzstan, left a mark with his research. Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, member of a number of International Scientific and Technical Academies. Laureate of the State Prizes of the USSR and the Kirghiz SSR in the field of science and technology. He published more than 280 scientific papers, including 8 monographs, made 25 inventions and one major scientific discovery. Former President of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic and Director of the Institute of Physics and Mechanics rocks National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, since 2005 advisor to the directorate of the same institute. The International Biographical Center (Cambridge, England) listed the name of Academician I. T. Aitmatov prominent people XX century.
  • The younger sister is Lucia Aitmatova (1934-1995). She graduated from school with honors. Graduate of the Energy Department of the Frunze Polytechnic Institute. The first among Kyrgyz women is an energy engineer, a public figure. Lucia had a twin brother, Reva, named after the Revolution, who died at six months of age.
    • Husband - Kenzhebai Akmatov (1932-1995), doctor of biological sciences, author terminological dictionary plants.
    • Three sons and grandchildren.
  • The younger sister - Aitmatova Roza (Rosetta) (born 03/08/1937) - Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Kyrgyz Women's Pedagogical Institute, graduated from graduate school, associate professor, honored worker of education of the Kyrgyz Republic. Worked researcher Academy of Sciences of the Kirghiz SSR, lecturer in physics at the Pedagogical University. I. Arabaeva. Author of more than two hundred scientific and methodological articles on pedagogy, as well as articles and books on gender issues. Translated into Kyrgyz and published the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The author of the books “White Pages of History” and “A Man is Alive as Long as He is Remembered…” in collaboration with her nephew Asan Akhmatov, in 2016 she was awarded the Chingiz Aitmatov International Prize for the book “White Pages of History” (2009), which tells about the life and work of their father, Torekul Aitmatov, who was repressed by the Stalinist regime in the 1930s, as well as about the childhood of their older brother. Leader of the women's movement, translated into Kyrgyz and published the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1997). Since 1996, she has been the head of the Women's Assistance Center organization.
    • Husband - Esenbek Alymkulov (d. 11/16/2005), candidate medical sciences, Associate Professor, Honored Doctor of the Kyrgyz Republic, a well-known pediatric surgeon in Kyrgyzstan.
    • The son - Alymkulov Urmat - is a doctor. He lives and works with his family in the USA. In the city of Philadelphia.
    • Daughter is a doctor
      • Grandson - Ilyas
  • First wife - Shamshibaeva Kerez (born 1930-?), Honored Doctor of the Kirghiz SSR
    • son - Sanjar (born 1954) - journalist and writer. Representative of the Customs Service of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan (2002). Special Representative of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in Moscow (2004). Now he lives in Moscow. He has his own business.
    • son - Askar (born 1959) - graduated from the Institute of Asia and Africa at Moscow State University in 1981. Specialization - historian and orientalist. Speaks English, Turkish, French. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan.He heads the public fund "Issyk-Kul Forum named after. Chingiz Aitmatov.” Lives in Bishkek.
  • The second wife - Maria Urmatovna, graduated from the screenwriting department of VGIK
  • from the first marriage of Maria Urmatovna, daughter - Cholpon, now lives in London, she has a son.
  • son - Eldar, studied at a school with an English bias, graduated from the Belgian Royal Academy fine arts, artist and designer, since 2004 President of the Chingiz Aitmatov International Foundation
  • grandson - Suleiman, the smallest grandson of Ch. Aitmatov.
  • daughter - Shirin (born July 28, 1977) - was born in Moscow, studied at the magistracy in the USA. She is fluent in Russian, English, French, Japanese. In 1987-2007 she lived in the USA. The developer of the Debut project of the Chingiz Aitmatov International Foundation. Former member of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan. From February 2012 to the present - a member of the Committee on Law, Order and the Fight against Crime She left politics, has her own small business.
  • granddaughter - Kira-Keremet (born around 2008)
  • granddaughter (born 2013)

Memory

  • The name of Aitmatov was given in Bishkek to the city park, the Russian Drama Theater. In the future, the creation of the Aitmatov Museum in the Kyrgyz capital.
  • In 1989, the association "International Aitmatov Club" was created and established its own award in 1991, it is awarded every two years.
  • In 1993, in the city of El-Azyk (Turkey), the park was named after Chingiz Aitmatov.
  • In 1994, the International Public Aitmatov Academy was organized in Bishkek.
  • In 2004, a monument-bust made of clay Chingiz Aitmatov, the author of the work, artist-designer Ibragim Bakirov.
  • In October 2008, a monument to Chingiz Aitmatov was unveiled in Cholpon-Ata on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul.
  • At the Lithuanian mint, with which the Kyrgyz National Bank signed an agreement, a series of six collectible silver coins was minted - "Chingiz Aitmatov", "Jamilya", "First Teacher", "Mother's Field", "Farewell, Gulsary!" and "White Ship".
  • Streets in Bishkek, Kazan, Ankara, Baku, Astana, Luxembourg are named after the writer.
  • Released in 2007 Postage Stamp Kyrgyzstan dedicated to Aitmatov.
  • 2008 in Kyrgyzstan was declared the year of Chingiz Aitmatov.
  • In 2009, the House-Museum of Chingiz Aitmatov was opened in Bishkek, located on the territory of the state residence, eight kilometers from Bishkek.
  • In 2011, a monument to the writer was erected in Bishkek on Ala-Too Square.
  • Established in London in 2011 International Prize named after Chingiz Aitmatov. The award is presented by the Aitmatov Academy, founded in London by Professor Rakhima Abduvalieva, who worked with the writer for a long time. The award will take place on the birthday of Chingiz Aitmatov.
  • In 2011, on the anniversary of the writer's birthday, the Aitmatov Foundation published the book "Childhood" ("Balalyk") in Russian and Kyrgyz languages. The book contains Aitmatov's stories about his childhood and adolescence.
  • In 2012, the Aitmatov Foundation held an exhibition dedicated to the life and work of the writer at the Historical Museum.
  • In 2012, the Aitmatov House Museum in the village of Chon-Aryk, where the writer lived.
  • In 2013 in St. Petersburg, nameless green zone named Chingiz Aitmatov Square.
  • In 2013, in Moscow, in the atrium of the Library of Foreign Literature, a monument-bust to Chingiz Aitmatov was opened folk artist RF Georgy Frangulyan
  • In 2014, Aeroflot named one of its new Boeing 737-800 liners after Chingiz Aitmatov.
  • In 2014, a monument to Chingiz Aitmatov was unveiled in Ankara.
  • In 2015, a square named after Chingiz Aitmatov appeared in Moscow, located in the Danilovsky district of Moscow at the junction of Lyusinovskaya and Bolshaya Serpukhovskaya streets.
  • In 2016, the most large portrait writer Chingiz Aitmatov, completely made of nails and threads. The portrait was made in the style of "String Art" with a height of 2.5 m and a width of 1.25 m. Its author is the author of the project "Uluu Kyrgyz ISI" ("The Great Kyrgyz Trail") Azamat Dzhanaliev @AzamatDzhanaliev.
  • In 2016, the annual award ceremony #ONE MAGAZINE AWARDS 2016 was held in Bishkek. The main award "Recognition of generations" was posthumously awarded to Chingiz Aitmatov for outstanding achievements and significant contribution to the development of social, cultural and scientific life.
  • In 2017, in Moscow, in the Southern Administrative District (SAD), a square named after Chingiz Aitmatov appeared, located at the intersection of Pavlovskaya Street and Podolskoye Highway.

Awards and prizes

State:(total 46):

USSR :

  • Hero of Socialist Labor (07/31/1978)
  • two Orders of Lenin (07/02/1971; 07/31/1978)
  • order October revolution (12.12.1988)
  • two orders of the Red Banner of Labor (05/04/1962; 10/28/1967)
  • Order of Friendship of Peoples (11/16/1984)
  • medal "For labor distinction" (11/01/1958)

Kyrgyzstan:

  • Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic (1997)
  • Order "Manas" I degree

Russia:

  • Order of Friendship (1998)

Kazakhstan:

  • Order of Otan (2000)

Uzbekistan:

  • Order "Dustlik"

Other countries:

  • Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit (200, Hungary)

Departmental:

  • medal of N. K. Krupskaya (Ministry of Culture of the USSR)

Public:

  • Order of the Smile (Poland)
  • Medal of Honor "For outstanding contribution to the development of culture and art for the benefit of peace and prosperity on earth" of the Tokyo Institute of Oriental Philosophy

Awards and titles:

  • Lenin Prize (1963) - for "The Tale of the Steppes and Mountains" ("Camel's Eye", "First Teacher", "Jamilya")
  • USSR State Prize (1968) - for the story "Farewell, Gulsary!" (1966)
  • USSR State Prize (1977) - for literary basis feature film "The White Steamboat"
  • State Prize of the USSR (1983) - for the novel "And the day lasts longer than a century" ("Stormy Station")
  • State Prize of the Kirghiz SSR (1976)
  • Lotus Prize
  • J. Nehru International Prize
  • Ogonyok magazine award
  • European literary prize (1993)
  • Presidential Prize for Peace and Spiritual Harmony (Kazakhstan, 1993).
  • International Prize of the Mediterranean Center for Cultural Initiatives of Italy
  • American Religious Ecumenical Foundation Appeal to Conscience Award
  • Bavarian Prize. F. Ruckert
  • A. Men Prize
  • "Rukhaniyat" award
  • Honorary Prize of Culture named after V. Hugo
  • The highest award of the Turkish government for contribution to the development of culture Turkic-speaking countries (2007)
  • People's Writer of the Kirghiz SSR (1968)

Compositions

  • "Sypaychi" (1954)
  • "Rivals" (1955)
  • "White Rain" (1955)
  • "Face to Face" (1957)
  • "Jamila" (1958)
  • "Camel Eye" (1960)
  • "My poplar in a red scarf" (1961)
  • "First Teacher" (1962)
  • "Mother Field" (1963). The writer created the image of Tolgonai, strong spirit women, showed the torment and suffering of the Kyrgyz people during the Great Patriotic War.
  • "Red Apple" (1964)
  • "On the Baidamtal River" (1964)
  • "Farewell, Gulsary!" (1966)
  • "White Steamboat" (1970)
  • "Climbing Mount Fuji" (1973, play, co-authored with K. Mukhamedzhanov)
  • "Early Cranes" (1975)
  • "Piebald dog running along the edge of the sea" (1977)
  • "Stormy Station" (1980, also known as "And the day lasts longer than a century")
  • Block (1986)
  • "Ode to the Greatness of the Spirit", co-authored with the Japanese philosopher Daisaku Ikeda. (1990)
  • "Cassandra's Brand" (1996)
  • "An Encounter with a Baha'i" (Conversation with Faizolla Namdar) (1998)
  • "When the Mountains Fall (Eternal Bride)" (2006) It was published in Moscow.
  • "The White Cloud of Genghis Khan" (1992).
  • "Earth and Flute" (unpublished) (according to other sources, "Flute and Earth", in 1973-74, separate excerpts from the novel were published in two magazines in Bulgaria - "Plamk" and " literary front", and in 1976 the novel was included in the 2-volume collection of works by Ch. Aitmatov, published in Bulgarian)
  • "A hunter's lament over the abyss or confession at the end of the century" (Kuz basyndagy anshynyn zary nemese gasyr airygyndagy syrlasu), co-authored with Mukhtar Shakhanov.
  • “Ode to the greatness of the spirit. Dialogues”, co-authored with the Japanese philosopher Daisaku Ikeda, translated for the first time into the Kyrgyz language ( kir.“Uluu ruhtun odasy: Chyngyz Aitmatov Zhana Daisaku Ikeda. Dil Meekter). The book published in Russian and Japanese, translated by the Rector of BSU, Professor Abdylda Musaev. Dedicated to the Year of Morality, Education and Culture. The presentation of the book was held in Bishkek. (2017)

Movie

Many feature films have been made based on Aitmatov's works. Aitmatov himself has repeatedly acted as a screenwriter or co-author.

  • 1961 - "Pass" (director - Alexei Sakharov).
  • 1963 - "Heat" (director - Larisa Shepitko).
  • 1965 - "The First Teacher" (director - Andrey Konchalovsky, Kyrgyzfilm)
  • 1967 - "Mother's Field" (director - Gennady Bazarov, Kirgizfilm).
  • 1968 - "The Pacer's Run" based on the story of Chingiz Aitmatov "Farewell, Gulsary!" (Director - Sergey Urusevsky).
  • 1968 - "Jamilya" (director - Irina Poplavskaya).
  • 1972 - "I am the Tien Shan" (director - Irina Poplavskaya).
  • 1976 - "The White Steamboat" (director - Bolotbek Shamshiev, Kirgizfilm).
  • 1978 - "Red Kerchief", Türkiye (director Atif Yilmaz).
  • 1979 - "Early Cranes" (director - Bolotbek Shamshiev, Kirgizfilm).
  • 1989 - "Ilanpa. Peace in its circles "- documentary(directors - V. Vilensky, K. Orozaliev).
  • 1989 - "Crying of the Wolf" - (director Dooronbek Sadyrbaev, production of "Kyrgyztelefilm") based on the novel "The Scaffold"
  • 1990 - “Spotted Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea” - director - Karen Gevorkyan, film studio named after. Dovzhenko).
  • 1990 - "Crying migratory bird"(Director - Bakyt Karagulov, Kyrgyzfilm).
  • 1990 - "Mankurt" (director - Khodzhakuli Narliev, produced by the USSR, Turkey, Libya / the film was shot by Turkmenfilm). The script was written by wife Maria Aitmatova.
  • 1994 - "Jamilya" (director - Monika Teuber, production in Kyrgyzstan, Germany).
  • 1995 - "Stormy Station" (director - Bakyt Karagulov, production of Catharsis / KNTK).
  • 2002 - "A mother's cry for a mankurt" - (director - Bakyt Karagulov, the company "Asia Caravan", NK "Kyrgyzfilm" named after T. Okeyev and the studio "Cinema").
  • 2004 - "My poplar in a red scarf", Türkiye.
  • 2008 - "Farewell, Gulsary!", on Kazakh language(director - A. Amirkulov, Kazakhfilm production).
  • 2009 - "Citizen globe"- a documentary film about Chingiz Aitmatov (director - O. Chekalina).
  • 2009 - "Chingiz and Bubusara" - film-lyrical drama (director - Zh. Kulmambetov)
  • 2010 - "Behind the White Cloud" - based on the story "White Cloud of Genghis Khan". Directed by S. Tarasov.
  • 2011-2012 - "Red Kerchief" (Gift of Fate) - based on the story "My poplar in a red scarf". TV series, (37 episodes) on Turkish(director - Nisan Akman.), Türkiye.
  • 2013 - "And my Word - my soul" - a documentary film about Chingiz Aitmatov (director - B. Aidaraliev). Film studio "Kyrgyzfilm".
  • 2017 - “Sayakbay. Homer of the 20th century ”- a film about Sayakbay Karalaev (director - E. Abdyjaparov). There is a scene in the film of the moment of the meeting between Sayakbay Karalaev and Chingiz Aitmatov. The writer was played by his son - Eldar Aitmatov.
  • 2017 - a series based on the story "Jamila" was filmed in Sri Lanka

Theater

  • 2017 - “And the day lasts longer than a century” - a puppet mystery in the Museum of the History of the Gulag (Moscow). Directed by Anton Kalipanov, Olga Shaydullina.
  • 2015 - "The Scaffold" - a performance based on the novel of the same name by Chingiz Aitmatov "The Scaffold" Theater and Cultural Center. VS. Meyerhold. (Moscow) (director - O. Efremov).
  • 2015 - "The Scaffold" - a performance based on the novel of the same name by Chingiz Aitmatov "The Scaffold" Podolsk Drama Theater PDK Drama. (Podolsk) (director - O. Efremov)
  • 2014 - "Kiyomat" - a play based on the novel by Chingiz Aitmatov "The block", in the Kyrgyz language, the State Youth Theater Uchur. (Director - B. Abdurazzakov).
  • 2013 - "The Scaffold" - a performance-musical of the theater of Gennady Chikhachev (director - Gennady Chikhachev).
  • 2012 - "Mother's Field" - plastic performance of the Pushkin Theater (Moscow). Directed by Sergei Zemlyansky.
  • 2008 - "The White Cloud of Genghis Khan" - a performance by students educational theater"On Mokhovaya" (St. Petersburg).
  • 2009 - "Red Apple" - Staged based on Aitmatov's story "Red Apple" (director - Nurlan Asanbekov). State National Russian Drama Theatre. Chingiz Aitmatova (Bishkek).
  • 2007 (?) - "Cassandra's Brand" - a performance based on the novel of the same name by Chingiz Aitmatov "Cassandra's Brand" at the Moscow Experimental Theater named after V. Spesivtsev.
  • 2005 - "Chingiz and Bubusara" play-performance by Janysh Kulmambetov, in the Kyrgyz State Youth Theater named after B. Kydykeeva.
  • 1982 - “My Desired Blue Shore” - a production based on the story “Spotted Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea” (director - Andrey Borisov). Sakha Academic Drama Theatre. P. A. Oyunsky.
  • 1980s - “And the day lasts longer than a century” - a performance based on novel of the same name Chingiz Aitmatov "Stormy Station" in the theater. Evgenia Vakhtangov (Moscow). Director Azerbaijan Mambetov,
  • 1980s - “And the day lasts longer than a century” - a production based on the novel of the same name by Chingiz Aitmatov “Stormy Station” (director - Vyacheslav Spesivtsev). Theater-studio on Krasnaya Presnya.
  • "Ana - Zher-ana" ("Mother's field") was first staged in Almaty in Academic theater drama them. M. Auezov.

Aitmatov Chingiz Torekulovich (born 1928), Kyrgyz writer

Born on December 12, 1928 in the village of Sheker, Talas Region, Kirghiz SSR, in the family of a teacher and a party worker. The father was repressed in 1937. The grandmother, who lived in a mountain village, had a great influence on the boy. Here Genghis spent all the summer months. He listened folk songs and fairy tales, participated in nomadic festivals.

In 1948 Aitmatov graduated from a veterinary technical school, and in 1953 from an agricultural institute. Worked as a livestock specialist for three years. At the same time, his first literary experiments appeared in local newspapers and magazines. In 1956 he entered the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow. Returning to his homeland, he edited the Literary Kyrgyzstan magazine, worked as a correspondent for the Pravda newspaper in Kyrgyzstan. In 1958, Novy Mir published the story Jamila about the "illegal" love of a married Kyrgyz woman, written from the perspective of a teenager. The very next year it was transferred to French famous writer Louis Aragon. International fame came to Aitmatov.

In 1963, for the book "The Tale of the Mountains and Steppes" (except for "Jamili" it included "The First Teacher", "Camel's Eye" and "My Poplar in a Red Scarf") Aitmatov received the Lenin Prize. Main feature these works - a combination of moral, philosophical problems with the poetics of the traditional East. Folklore and mythological motifs play a decisive role in the story "Farewell, Gulsary!" (1965-1966).

They are especially strong in the story-parable "The White Steamboat" (1970): tragic story a seven-year-old boy unfolds in parallel with the story of the Horned Mother Deer, the guardian of the clan, the deified embodiment of kindness. In the story “Piebald Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea” (1977), the writer transferred the action to the mythical ancient times on the shores Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Imbued with faith in higher power, fishermen in a storm sacrifice themselves to save a child.

Aitmatov's main theme - the fate of an individual as a representative of the entire human race - acquired a new dimension in the novels "And the day lasts longer than a century" ("Stormy Station", 1980) and "Scaffold" (1986). In the first - description real life Central Asia is connected not only with myths, but also with fantasy (we are talking about interplanetary contacts).

In "The Scaffold", affecting the most acute problems of the late XX century. (death natural environment, drug addiction), the author refers to the search for God. The inserted biblical scene (Jesus' conversation with Pilate) caused an avalanche of controversy - the writer was accused of imitating M.A. Bulgakov and of "exploiting a lofty theme."

However, most readers and critics appreciated the pathos of the work. In 1994, the warning novel "Cassandra's Brand" was published. His hero is a Russian cosmonaut-explorer. The "probe-rays" discovered by him made it possible to reveal the unwillingness of human embryos to see the light, so as not to participate in the further "mystery of World Evil".

In the 70-80s. Aitmatov actively participated in the social and political life of the country: he was the secretary of the Union of Writers of the USSR and the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; after perestroika, he was a member of the Presidential Council, headed the journal Foreign Literature. Since 1990, he has been in diplomatic work.

He died on June 10, 2008 in a hospital in the German city of Nuremberg in a clinic where he was being treated. He was buried on June 14 in the Ata-Beyit historical and memorial complex in the suburbs of Bishkek.

Writer, publicist and public figure Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov was born on December 12, 1928 in the village of Sheker of the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (now the Talas region of Kyrgyzstan). His father Torekul Aitmatov served as second secretary of the Central Committee Communist Party Kirghiz SSR, People's Commissar agriculture, was subsequently arrested in Moscow, transferred to Bishkek and shot in 1938. The mother of Nagim Abduvaliev, the daughter of a Tatar merchant of the 1st guild, was an activist in the women's movement in Kyrgyzstan, in 1937 she was declared the wife of an "enemy of the people."

After graduating from eight grades of school, during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) Chingiz Aitmatov worked as a secretary of the village council, a tractor brigade accountant.

In 1948 he graduated with honors from the Dzhambul zootechnical school, in 1953 from the Agricultural Institute in the city of Frunze (now Bishkek).

In 1953-1956 he worked as a senior livestock specialist at the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Animal Husbandry.

In 1958, Aitmatov graduated from the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow.

In his works, Aitmatov acted as a master psychological portrait, his heroes were spiritually strong, humane, active people. The writer's prose was distinguished by the sincerity of intonation and poetry, combined with the psychological authenticity of the images of ordinary people. In the stories The White Steamboat (1970), The Piebald Dog Running by the Edge of the Sea (1977), in the novel The Day Lasts Longer than a Century philosophical, ethical and social problems modernity.

In 1988-1990, Aitmatov served as editor-in-chief of the Foreign Literature magazine.

From 1990 to 1991 - Ambassador of the USSR to the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg), in 1991-1994 - Russian Ambassador to the Benelux countries.
From 1994 to March 2008, he was Kyrgyzstan's ambassador to France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

In the post-Soviet period, "White Cloud of Genghis Khan" (1992), "Cassandra's Brand" (1994), "Tales" (1997), "Childhood in Kyrgyzstan" (1998) were published abroad.
In 2006 it was published last novel"When the mountains fall" ("Eternal Bride"), a German translation of which was released in 2007 under the title "Snow Leopard".

Aitmatov did a lot of social work. In 1964-1986 he was the first secretary of the Union of Cinematographers of Kyrgyzstan, in 1976-1990 he was the secretary of the board of the Union of Writers of the USSR, in 1986 he was the first secretary of the board of the Union of Writers of Kyrgyzstan.

He was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1966-1989), people's deputy USSR (1989-1991).

Aitmatov's books have been translated into more than 176 languages ​​and published in 128 countries.

More than 20 films were made based on the writer 's works . The first film based on Chingiz Aitmatov was the film "Pass", filmed in 1961 by director Alexei Sakharov. In 1965, the story "The First Teacher" was filmed by director Andrei Konchalovsky at Mosfilm, the story "Camel's Eye" became the basis of Larisa Shepitko's debut film "Heat" (1962) with Bolotbek Shamshiev in leading role, who later became one of the best directors for staging films based on the works of Chingiz Aitmatov: "Echo of Love" (1974), "White Steamboat" (1975), "Early Cranes" (1979), "Climbing Mount Fuji" (1988).

In May 2008, in Kazan, while filming a film based on the writer's novel "And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century," 79-year-old Aitmatov was hospitalized with severe pneumonia. His condition was complicated by acute renal failure. For further treatment, the writer was transported to Germany.

On June 10, 2008, Chingiz Aitmatov died in a Nuremberg clinic. A writer at the memorial cemetery "Ata-Beyit" in the suburbs of Bishkek, next to the grave of his father.

Creativity and social activity Chingiz Aitmatov were awarded numerous awards. In 1978 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1963), State Prizes of the USSR (1968, 1977, 1983). Among his state awards are two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of Friendship of Peoples and the Order of Friendship. He was also awarded the badge "Ak-Shumkar" of the Hero of Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz order "Manas" I degree, awards from a number of foreign states.

Among Aitmatov's cinematographic awards are the Grand Prize of the All-Union Film Festival (1976), the honorary prize of the Berlin Film Festival Berlinale Camera Award (1996).

The name of the writer to the central square of the capital of Kyrgyzstan - Oak Park, where " Eternal flame"and a monument to the fighters of the revolution of 1917, as well as the State National Russian Drama Theater.

In August 2011 on central square Bishkek was installed by Chingiz Aitmatov with a height of 6.5 meters.

A monument to Aitmatov was also installed in the city of Cholpon-Ata, Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan.

On November 14, 2013, a memorial to the writer was opened in Bishkek in the Ata-Beyit complex.

In 2011 in London, the International Chingiz Aitmatov Award (ICAA), which is awarded for the popularization and study of the heritage of the writer and the cultures of the peoples of Central Asia. Candidates were selected by members international jury, consisting of seven scientists from Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan. The award is presented by the London-based Aitmatov Academy, created by Professor Rakhima Abduvalieva, who worked with the writer and promoted his work in Germany in German.

Chingiz Aitmatov was married twice. His second wife was a graduate of VGIK Maria Aitmatova. The writer has four children - sons Sanjar, Askar and Eldar, daughter Shirin. Askar served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan in 2002-2005. Shirin is a member of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan. Eldar is the president of the Chingiz Aitmatov International Foundation.

Soviet literature

Chingiz Aitmatov

Biography

AITMATOV, CHINGIZ TOREKULOVICH (b. 1928), Kyrgyz prose writer.

Born December 12, 1928 in the village of Sheker in Kyrgyzstan in the family of a party worker. In 1937, his father was repressed, the future writer was brought up by his grandmother, his first impressions of life are connected with the national Kyrgyz way of life. The family spoke both Kyrgyz and Russian, and this determined the bilingual nature of Aitmatov's work.

In 1948, Aitmatov graduated from a veterinary technical school and entered the Agricultural Institute, from which he graduated in 1953. In 1952, he began publishing stories in the Kyrgyz language in periodicals. After graduating from the institute, he worked for three years at the Research Institute of Cattle Breeding, while continuing to write and publish stories. In 1956 he entered the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow (graduating in 1958). In the year of graduation, his story Face to Face (translated from Kyrgyz) was published in the October magazine. In the same year, his stories were published in the Novy Mir magazine, and the story Jamila was also published, which brought Aitmatov world fame.

In the story "Jamilya", the hero-narrator of which was a 15-year-old teenager, a main feature Aitmatov's prose: a combination of intense drama in describing characters and situations with a lyrical structure in describing the nature and customs of the people.

After graduating from the Higher Literary Courses, Aitmatov worked as a journalist in the city of Frunze, as an editor of the Literary Kyrgyzstan magazine. In the 1960s-1980s, he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a delegate to the Congress of the CPSU, and was a member of the editorial boards of Novy Mir and Literaturnaya Gazeta. For his works, Aitmatov was awarded the State Prize of the USSR three times (1968, 1980, 1983).

In 1963, Aitmatov's collection Tale of Mountains and Steppes was published, for which he received the Lenin Prize. The novels “My Poplar in a Red Scarf”, “The First Teacher”, “Mother's Field” included in the book told about the complex psychological and everyday collisions that occur in the lives of ordinary village people in their collision with a new life.

Until 1965, Aitmatov wrote in the Kyrgyz language. The first story he wrote in Russian is “Farewell, Gulsary!” (originally titled "Death of a Pacer", 1965). The fate of the protagonist, the Kyrgyz peasant Tananbai, is as typical as the fate of best heroes « village prose". Tananbai took part in collectivization, not sparing his own brother, then he himself became a victim of party careerists. Important role in the story, the image of the pacer Gulsary, who accompanied Tananbai for many years, played. Critics noted that the image of Gyulsara is a metaphor for the essence human life in which the suppression of the individual is inevitable, the rejection of the naturalness of being. G. Gachev called Gulsary the “two-headed image-centaur” of an animal and a man, which is most characteristic of Aitmatov.

In the story "Farewell, Gulsary!" created a powerful epic background, which has become another an important sign creativity of Aitmatov, motives and plots were used Kyrgyz epic Karagul and Kodzhodzhan. In the story The White Steamboat (1970), Aitmatov created a kind of "author's epic", stylized as a folk epic. It was a tale about the Horned Mother Deer, which he told the main character white steamer, boy, his grandfather. Against the backdrop of the majestic and beautiful in its kindness of the story, the tragedy of the fate of the child, who himself ended his life, being unable to come to terms with the lies and cruelty of the "adult" world, was especially piercingly felt.

Mythological, epic motifs became the basis of the story "Piebald Dog Running at the Edge of the Sea" (1977). Its action takes place on the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk during the time of the Great Fish Woman, the progenitor of the human race.

In 1973, Aitmatov co-authored the play "Climbing Mount Fuji" with K. Mukhamedzhanov. The performance based on it at the Moscow Sovremennik Theater had big success. In the center of the play is the problem of human guilt associated with silence, not raising one's voice against injustice.

In 1980, Aitmatov wrote his first novel, And the Day Lasts Longer Than a Century (subsequently entitled "Stormy Stop"). The protagonist of the novel is a simple Kazakh Yedigey, who worked at a station lost in the steppe. The fate of Edigei and the people around him, like a drop of water, reflected the fate of the country - with pre-war repressions, Patriotic War, hard post-war work, the construction of a nuclear test site near his home. The action of the novel develops on two planes: earthly events intersect with cosmic ones; extraterrestrial civilizations, space forces did not remain indifferent to the evil and good deeds of people. As in Aitmatov's stories, in the novel "And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century" an important place is occupied by the image of a camel - as a symbol of the natural beginning, as well as the legend of Naiman Ana's mother and her son, who, by will evil people becomes a mankurt, that is, a senseless and cruel creature that does not remember its roots. The novel “And the day lasts longer than a century” had a huge public outcry. The word "mankurt" has become a household word, a kind of symbol of those irresistible changes that have occurred in modern man, breaking its connection with the eternal foundations of being. Aitmatov's second novel "The Scaffold" (1986) largely repeated the motifs that arose in the novel "And the day lasts longer than a century." Images of Christ and Pontius Pilate appeared in the novel. Critics noted the eclecticism of the author's philosophy, which outweighed the artistic merits of the text in the Scaffold. Subsequently, Aitomatov developed in his work the fantastic, space theme, which became the basis of the novel Cassandra's Brand (1996). In 1988-1990 Aitmatov was the editor-in-chief of the Foreign Literature magazine. In 1990-1994 he worked as the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to the Benelux countries. Aitmatov's works have been translated into many languages ​​of the world.

The writer died on June 10, 2008 in a hospital in the German city of Nuremberg in a clinic where he was being treated. He was buried on June 14 in the Ata-Beyit historical and memorial complex in the suburbs of Bishkek.

On December 12, 1928, the future writer Aitmatov was born in the family of a party worker. But his father was repressed when Chingiz was 9 years old, so the boy was given to be raised by his grandmother, who instilled love for her native land and culture. Since the writer spoke Kyrgyz and Russian equally well since childhood, this also affected his future work.

First, a veterinary technical school, then an agricultural institute, Aitmatov graduated with honors. A year before graduation, in 1952, he began to publish his stories in periodicals. Despite the fact that the writer found a job at the Research Institute of Cattle Breeding, this did not prevent him from developing creatively and devoting time to literature. And now, in 1956, Genghis moved to Moscow to get into the Higher Literary Courses. In the year of graduation, he published several stories at once, and also wrote his most famous story, Jamila, which aroused interest in the writer.