Chinghiz Aitmatov
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He began studying at the Animal Husbandry Division of the Kirghiz Agricultural Institute in 1946, then switched to literary studies at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow from 1956 to 1958.[1] His work drew on folklore, recreating oral tales in the context of contemporary life, and he was fluent in both Kyrgyz and Russian.[2][3] Most of his early works he wrote in Kyrgyz, but from 1966 he was writing in Russian.[3] In 1963 he was honored with the Lenin Prize for the compilation "Tales of the Mountains and Steppes".[4]
Within Sheker, Aitmatov's mother and father worked as civil servants; his father faced arrest in 1937 and was executed the following year.[2] Membership in the Soviet Communist Party was taken up by Aitmatov in 1959; subsequently, he served on the Supreme Soviet's Committee for Culture and National Languages.[1] Support for Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost policies came from Aitmatov, who also spent eight years employed by Pravda.[1]
What the cited sources add
An obituary in The Independent noted that Aitmatov illustrated to Western observers that Soviet letters included more than dissidents and conformist hacks.[5] He developed a modus vivendi with the Soviet establishment while urging liberal reform and counting the cost of the Stalin years.[5] The Independent described his greatest works as the short novels Farewell, Gulsary! and noted his talent for blending harsh reality and fantasy.[5] The obituary also recorded that he was the recipient of numerous prizes and always played an active part in public life.[5]
Aitmatov's obituary in The New York Times characterized him as a Communist writer who gave a voice to the people of Kyrgyz and later became a diplomat and adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Chinghiz Aitmatov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Voice from the Republics: An Interview", Third World Quarterly, 1990, p. 194–200 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chinghiz Aitmatov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kyrgyz writer, perestroika ally Aitmatov dies," Reuters UK, 10 June 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chinghiz Aitmatov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ирина Мельникова: Работу над сборником Айтматова считаю подарком судьбы ("Irina Melnikova: I view the opportunity to work on Aitmatov's Collected Works as a gif (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Chinghiz Aitmatov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Повести гор и степей, 1963 – OCLC Catalog,; Tales of the Mountains and Steppes, 1969 – OCLC Catalog, (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Chingiz Aitmatov: Leading novelist of Central Asia", The Independent, 18 June 2008. facts only, no text reused. independent.co.uk
- Wikipedia, "Chinghiz Aitmatov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chingiz Aitmatov, Who Wrote of Life in U.S.S.R., Is Dead at 79 by Bruce Weber in The New York Times, 15 June 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Chinghiz Aitmatov (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Chinghiz Aitmatov (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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