Chinghiz Aitmatov, writer and public figure.
By the decree of February 4, 1997, for his outstanding contribution to the treasury of national culture, the wide popularization of the spiritual values of the Kyrgyz people on the international stage, and active public activities, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Chinghiz Torekulovich Aitmatov was born on December 12, 1928, in the village of Sheker, Kara-Buura (Kirov) district of the Talas region of Kyrgyzstan.
His mother, Nagima Hamzievna (1904—1971), of Tatar nationality, despite the family's past, was a military political worker and later became a public figure. The fate of his father, Torekul Aitmatov (1903—1938), left a certain mark on his destiny: being a Soviet and party worker, a prominent statesman of the Kyrgyz SSR, Torekul was arrested in 1937 and executed in 1938.
After finishing eight grades, Chinghiz entered the Dzhambul Zoo-Veterinary Technical School. In 1952, he began publishing short stories in the Kyrgyz language in periodicals. In 1953, he graduated from the Kyrgyz Agricultural Institute in Frunze, and in 1958, he completed the Higher Literary Courses at the Literary Institute in Moscow. His novellas and short stories, translated into Russian, were published in the magazines "Oktyabr" and "Novy Mir." After returning to Kyrgyzstan, he became the editor of the magazine "Literary Kyrgyzstan" and worked for five years as a correspondent for the newspaper "Pravda" in Kyrgyzstan.
In 1963, Aitmatov's first collection "Tales of Mountains and Steppes" was published, for which he received the Lenin Prize. It included the novellas "My Poplar in a Red Scarf," "The First Teacher," and "Mother's Field."
Until 1965, Aitmatov wrote in Kyrgyz. The first novella he wrote in Russian was "Farewell, Gulsary!"
In 1973, he signed an open letter against Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn.
Aitmatov's first novel "And the Day Lasts More Than a Century" was published in 1980.
From 1988 to 1990, Chinghiz Aitmatov served as the chief editor of the magazine "Foreign Literature."
From 1990 to 1994, he worked as the ambassador of the USSR and then Russia in Luxembourg. Until March 2008, he was the ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to the Benelux countries – Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Speaking of Chinghiz Torekulovich as a diplomat, the staff of the Kyrgyz embassy in Belgium noted that, as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Soviet Union in Luxembourg, and later, after Kyrgyzstan gained independence, as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Benelux countries and France, as well as the permanent representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to NATO, the permanent representative to the European Community, and in other international organizations, he was characterized by simplicity, great trust, and attentive treatment of the embassy staff. Of course, the world fame of the writer only helped him in his diplomatic career – NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson always approached him with his entire entourage during meetings in the alliance's corridors. During one of these meetings, Chinghiz Torekulovich, while exchanging news, asked him to consider the possibility of providing simultaneous translation into Russian for the entire process of working meetings and discussions at expert and high levels. Aitmatov's request was fulfilled – and this was not only an achievement but also a sign of respect for a great man of the world.
Hero of Socialist Labor of the USSR (1978) and People's Writer of the Kyrgyz SSR, Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic (1997).
Awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, the Manas 1st class, "Dustlik" (Uzbekistan), the highest award of the Turkish government for contributions to the development of culture in Turkic-speaking countries, the Children's Order of the Smile of Poland, the N. Krupskaya Medal, the Honorary Medal of the Tokyo Institute of Eastern Philosophy "For Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Culture and Art for the Benefit of Peace and Prosperity on Earth."
For his literary and public activities, he was awarded: the Lenin Prize (1963, collection "Tales of Mountains and Steppes"), the State Prize of the USSR (1968, 1977, 1983, for literary activities), the State Prize of the Kyrgyz SSR (1976, for literary activities), the "Lotus" Prize, the International Jawaharlal Nehru Prize, the "Ogonyok" magazine prize, the International Prize of the Mediterranean Center for Cultural Initiatives in Italy, the American Religious Ecumenical Fund Prize "Call to Conscience," the Bavarian Prize named after F. Rükkart, the Prize named after A. Menya, the "Rukhaniyat" Prize, and the Honorary Culture Prize named after V. Hugo.
Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, academician of the Academy of Russian Literature, full member of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Literature, and the World Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Initiator of the international intellectual movement "Issyk-Kul Forum," patron of the "Eternal Memory to Soldiers" fund, president of the Assembly of Peoples of Central Asia. The Golden Medal was established, and the International Fund named after Ch. Aitmatov was created. In 1993, the International Public Aitmatov Academy was organized in Bishkek. In the city of El-Azık (Turkey), a park was named after Ch. Aitmatov.
In 2008, he was elected a member of the Board of Directors of JSC "BTA Bank" (Kazakhstan).
Chinghiz Aitmatov's works have been translated into more than 100 languages of the world, many of his works have been adapted into films, and dramatic performances and ballets have been staged based on them.
He passed away 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 historical and memorial complex "Ata-Beyit" in the suburbs of Bishkek.
Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic
