Tologon Kasymbekov — Kyrgyz Soviet writer.
He was born in the village of Ak-Jol, Aksy District, Jalal-Abad Region, Kyrgyz ASSR on January 15, 1931.
In 1949, he graduated from the Kara-Dzhigach Secondary School, and in 1957, he graduated from the Philological Faculty of Kyrgyz State University. He began his career as a primary school teacher in his native village. From 1951, he worked as the responsible secretary of the Kichi-Akjdol Village Council. Since 1957, he has been working as an editor in the editorial office of children's and youth literature at Kyrgyzuchpedgiz, and from 1960, he served as the head of the department, responsible secretary, and from 1966, as the chief editor of the magazine "AlaToo." Later, from 1973, he became an editor at the State Publishing House of the Kyrgyz SSR, and from 1974 to 1981, he was a literary consultant on prose at the board of the Union of Writers of Kyrgyzstan. In 1987, he was elected head of the republican branch of the All-Union Copyright Agency.
In 1959, T. Kasymbekov was accepted as a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR.
He has been a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union since 1965.
In 1952, he made his debut with the novella "Little Herdsman" in the magazine "Soviet Kyrgyzstan." His novella "I Want to Be a Human" was published in 1965 in Russian. The most significant work of the writer is considered to be the historical novel "The Broken Sword" (1971), which was translated into English in 1980. Among other works are the novels: "Kelkek," "Chapkyn," "Baskyn" ("Invasion"), "Kyrgyn" ("Extermination"), which tell about the history of Kyrgyzstan from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries.
From 1990 to 1994, he was elected as a people's deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic, serving as the head of the international commission on language, culture, and education, as well as the chairman of the Union of Writers of Kyrgyzstan.
Awards and Titles
He was awarded the Order of "Manas" I degree and the "Dank" medal.
He was awarded the medal "For Valorous Labor. In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of V. I. Lenin," and the Honorary Certificate of the Supreme Council of the Kyrgyz SSR.
In 1986, he was awarded the honorary title of "People's Writer of the Kyrgyz SSR."
For his contributions to literature, Tologon Kasymbekov was awarded a commemorative medal in 1970.
In 2007, he was awarded the high title of "Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic."
Bibliography
Kichinekey zhylkychy / Little Herdsman 1952
Koke 1958
Adam bolgum kelet / I Want to Be a Human 1965
Alymkan: Historical Lyric Poem 1966
Synhgan kilych / The Broken Sword 1973
Syn tabynshy 1979 Zhetilgen kurak / Maturity 1981
Kelkek / Revival (in Russian edition under the title
Behind the Cloud, the Mountain Shines 1986)
Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic
