Chinghiz Aitmatov

Lore & Background

Chinghiz Aitmatov was a Kyrgyz author who wrote primarily in Russian, though also in his native Kyrgyz, and is regarded as a central figure in Kyrgyz literature. He was born to a Kyrgyz father and Tatar mother, both civil servants in the village of Sheker. His father was arrested in Moscow in 1937 on charges of "bourgeois nationalism" and executed the following year. Aitmatov came of age during Kyrgyzstan’s transformation from a remote part of the Russian Empire into a Soviet republic. He attended a Soviet school in Sheker and began working at age fourteen, serving as an assistant to the Village Soviet Secretary, and later as a tax collector, loader, and engineer’s assistant. After studying animal husbandry at the Kirghiz Agricultural Institute, he shifted to literary studies at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow. He joined the Communist Party in 1959 and later served on the Supreme Soviet, endorsing Gorbachev’s glasnost policies. His literary career began in earnest with the 1958 novella *Jamila*, which tells of a village girl who falls in love with a disabled soldier during wartime. His work frequently incorporates folklore, myths, and legends, blending them with contemporary life. Notable novels include *The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years* (1980) and *The Place of the Skull* (1987). His writing often explores Kyrgyzstan’s Soviet transformation and the deep connection between humans and animals, as seen in *Farewell, Gyulsary!*, which centers on a man and his stallion. He won the Lenin Prize in 1963 for the collection *Tales of the Mountains and Steppes*. Aitmatov died of pneumonia in Nuremberg, Germany, on 10 June 2008, following kidney failure, and was buried in the Ata-Beyit cemetery in Koy-Tash, a site he helped establish.

Reader's Guide

Chinghiz Aitmatov’s literary career began in the post-war generation. His first two publications appeared in 1952, but his breakthrough came in 1958 with the novel *Jamila*, which tells the story of a village girl who falls in love with a disabled soldier during wartime. Aitmatov’s writing is deeply rooted in Kyrgyz folklore; he recreates and synthesizes oral tales within contemporary life, and nearly every story incorporates a myth, legend, or folktale. For example, *The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years* features a poetic legend about a captive turned into a “mankurt,” serving as a tragic allegory. His work also addresses Kyrgyzstan’s transformation from a remote part of the Russian Empire into a Soviet republic, exploring the lives of its people during this upheaval. *Farewell, Gyulsary!* uses the bond between a man and his stallion as a tragic allegory for political oppression and the grief experienced under Soviet rule. Aitmatov’s narratives frequently emphasize the intimate connection between humans and animals; a camel’s rut drives a key plot turn in *The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years*, and *The Place of the Skull* interweaves human lives with the story of a wolf pack. He was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1963 for the collection *Tales of the Mountains and Steppes*, which includes four novels. His works were translated into many languages, and even critics acknowledged their high quality.

Did You Know?

• He worked as a tax collector, loader, and engineer's assistant before becoming a writer.
• His novel The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years includes a poetic legend about a 'mankurt' as a tragic allegory.
• He was a diplomat accredited by three countries: the Soviet Union, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan.