On October 24, 2014, Minister of Culture Altynbek Maksutov met with the Chairman of the State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Alexander Zhirkov.
During the meeting, the parties exchanged pleasantries, and Alexander Zhirkov congratulated Altynbek Maksutov on his appointment as minister and wished him great success in his new position.
Alexander Zhirkov noted that he would arrive in Bishkek in early November 2014 to plan the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the famous manaschi Sayakbay Karalaev. He mentioned that he would instruct the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Sakha to prepare several artists to perform at the festive event in Kyrgyzstan. In particular, these would be performers of ethnic music and musicians playing traditional instruments.
Altynbek Maksutov emphasized during the conversation that the organized anniversary dedicated to Sayakbay Karalaev would be grand and would take place at the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic named after T. Satylganov. The anniversary is scheduled for November 13, 2014.
Alexander Zhirkov informed the minister about the translation of the epic "Manas" into the Yakut language, noting that the translation has been successfully completed. The parties agreed to present on the day of the anniversary of manaschi Sayakbay Karalaev the Yakut epic titled "Olonkho" translated into Kyrgyz, as well as the translation of the Kyrgyz epic "Manas" into the Yakut language.
Also present at the meeting were the People's Writer of the Kyrgyz Republic Beksultan Zhakiev and the director of the House of Cinema Talaybek Kulmendeev. Beksultan Zhakiev noted the importance of holding the anniversary at a high level, involving the most exemplary ensembles and other performing artists: "Sayakbay Karalaev is in no way inferior to other famous figures of Kyrgyzstan; he stands above, at the origins of the spiritual heritage of the Kyrgyz – the epic Manas. Therefore, I believe that the theatrical and staging part should differ in originality of the plot, not repeating the plots of old productions and including new plot lines of the epic Manas."
The Chairman of the State Assembly of Sakha-Yakutia spoke about his fellow countryman Maxim Ammosov, who was appointed the 1st Secretary of the Kyrgyz Regional Committee of the VKP(b) and sat in the first House of Government of the Kyrgyz SSR, now the building of the Ministry of Culture, Information, and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic. He expressed a desire to see the office of Maxim Ammosov, and the minister promised to clarify this matter. "We honor the memory of Maxim Ammosov; I know that a bust of Ammosov has been installed in the adjacent park, and on your ministry's building, known as the House of Friendship, there is a commemorative plaque indicating that the first secretary Maxim Ammosov worked here. I will be very pleased with our cooperation," emphasized the chairman of the Sakha-Yakutia Assembly, Alexander Zhirkov.
