Biography of Chingiz Aitmatov: activities, best books and interesting facts.

Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov (1928-2008) - Kyrgyz and Russian writer, diplomat, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR (1974), Hero of Socialist Labor (1978), Laureate of Lenin (1963) and three State awards USSR (1968, 1977, 1983), Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic (1997).

Childhood and adolescence.

Chingiz Aitmatov was born on December 12, 1928 in the village of Sheker, Talas region of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the family of peasant activist and party worker Torekul Aitmatov (1903-1938). His father was prominent statesman, however, fate was unkind to him; in 1937 he was repressed, and in 1938 he was shot. Nagima Khamzievna Abduvalieva (1904-1971), Chingiz’s mother was an army political worker and public figure. The family spoke both Kyrgyz and Russian, and this determined the bilingual nature of Aitmatov’s work. Chingiz grew up in Sheker. During the Great Patriotic War, at the age of fourteen, he became secretary of the council in the village.

After the war, he graduated from the Dzhambul Veterinary College, and from 1948 to 1953 he was a student at the Kyrgyz Agricultural Institute.

Literary activity.

The creative biography of Chingiz Aitmatov began on April 6, 1952 - his story in Russian “The Newsboy Juido” was published in the newspaper “Komsomolets of Kyrgyzstan”. After that, he published stories in Kyrgyz and Russian. After graduating from the institute, Chingiz Aitmatov worked as a veterinarian for three years, but continued to write and publish his stories. From 1956 to 1958 he studied in Moscow at the Higher Literary Courses.

In 1957, the story of Chingiz Aitmatov in the Kyrgyz language “Face to Face” was published in the magazine “Ala-Too”, and in 1958 in the author’s translation into Russian in the magazine “October”. In 1957, the story “Jamila” was also published for the first time, translated by Louis Aragon into French, later this story was published in Russian and brought Aitmatov world fame.

For 6 years (1959-1965) Aitmatov worked as editor-in-chief of the magazine “Literary Kyrgyzstan”, and at the same time was his own correspondent for the newspaper “Pravda” in the Kyrgyz SSR.

In the 1960s, his stories “The Camel’s Eye” (1960), “The First Teacher” (1961), “Mother’s Field” (1963) and the collection “Tales of Mountains and Steppes” (1963) were published, for which Aitmatov received the Lenin Prize . In 1965, his story “The First Teacher” was filmed by Andrei Konchalovsky at Mosfilm, and “Camel’s Eye” was filmed by Larisa Shepitko with Bolot Shamshiev in leading role. Subsequently, it was Shamshiev who became one of the best directors for film adaptations of the works of Chingiz Aitmatov.

In 1966, the story “Farewell, Gyulsary!” was written, which was awarded the State Prize. After this story, the writer began to write mainly in Russian. In 1970, his novel “The White Steamship” was published in Russian, which received recognition throughout the world, and its film adaptation was presented at international film festivals in Venice and Berlin. "Climbing Mount Fuji" collaboration Aitmatov with the Kazakh playwright Kaltai Mukhamedzhanov, written in 1973, is still staged on theater stages Kazakhstan.

In 1975, Chigiz Aitmatov received the Toktogul Prize for his story “Early Cranes”. The story “The Piebald Dog Running by the Edge of the Sea,” published in 1977, became one of his favorite works in the GDR and was filmed by Russian and German filmmakers.

For his works, Aitmatov was awarded the USSR State Prize three times (1968, 1980, 1983).

For the novel “And longer than a century lasts a day,” published in 1980, the writer receives a second state prize. His novel "The Scaffold" became the last work published in the USSR. During his visit to Germany, Aitmatov met the German translator Friedrich Hitzer, with whom he worked until January 2007 (Hitzer suddenly died of a heart attack). All post-Soviet works of Aitmatov were translated into German Friedrich Hitzer, and published by the Swiss publishing house "Unionsverlag". In 2011, Friedrich Hitzer was awarded posthumously the International Chingiz Aitmatov Prize for his long-term work with the writer, for his love for his work and devotion to him.

In 1998, the writer was once again awarded the title of Hero of Kyrgyzstan and recognized as a People's Writer in his homeland.

In post-Soviet times, “The White Cloud of Genghis Khan” (1992), “Cassandra’s Brand” (1994), and “Fairy Tales” (1997) were published abroad. “Childhood in Kyrgyzstan” (1998) and “When the Mountains Fall” (“ Eternal Bride"") in 2006, (in German translation in 2007 - under the name " Snow Leopard"). It was last piece Aitmatova.

The works of Chingiz Aitmatov have been translated into 174 languages, and the total circulation of his works is 80 million.

The question of awarding Aitmatov twice came up Nobel Prize, but unfortunately, he was never awarded it. In the late 80s, according to the professor, chief Aitmatov specialist of the republic, vice-president of the National Academy of Sciences Abdyldazhan Akmataliev, during Aitmatov’s trip to Austria, a representative of the Nobel Committee found the writer in Vienna, informed him that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize and congratulated him. “However, before the official announcement of the award, the Nobel Committee, for the first time in its history, was forced to hastily change its initial decision, since it was decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Mikhail Gorbachev. Two representatives of the USSR could not receive the prize in the same year,” Akmataliev said.

The second time Chingiz Torekulovich was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 2008, as the largest Turkish-language writer of our time, a nomination committee was created by the Turkish government. But consideration of Aitmatov’s candidacy was prevented by the untimely death of the writer.

In 2012, Chingiz Aitmatov’s daughter, Shirin, reported that the manuscript of the novel “The Earth and the Flute,” which had not been published anywhere, was found in his office after his death. This novel is about a man who participated in the construction of the Big Chui Canal in the 1940s and found big statue Chuisky Buddha. According to her, “this is a classic Aitmatov narrative, written in the style of socialist realism.” In the novel, in parallel with the story about the construction of the Great Chui Canal, which in scale can be called the Kyrgyz BAM, it is very sensually and emotionally written about the love and experiences of the main character. Shirin Aitmatova did not specify in what years the novel was written, and only added that the pages of the manuscript turned yellow over time. The manuscript was reprinted and converted into electronic format. It is planned to be published in Russian and English.

Social and political activities.

Chingiz Aitmatov was not only one of famous writers last century, but also prominent public and politician. Took Active participation in development international relations and strengthening peace. Since 1959 - member of the CPSU.

In the 1960s–1980s, he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a delegate to the CPSU Congress, and was a member of the editorial boards of Novy Mir and Literary newspaper».

In 1978, Chingiz Aitmatov was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

In 1966-1989, Chingiz Aitmatov was a deputy of the Council of Nationalities of the USSR Armed Forces of the 7th - 11th convocations from the Kyrgyz SSR. He was elected to the Supreme Council of the 9th convocation from the Frunzensky-Pervomaisky electoral district No. 330 of the Kirghiz SSR. From 1989 to 1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR.

Chingiz Aitmatov was also a member of the Commission on foreign affairs Council of Nationalities, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan, member of the secretariat of the SP of the USSR and the Investigative Committee of the USSR, chairman of the board of the Investigative Committee of the Kyrgyz SSR, member of the Presidential Council of the USSR, one of the leaders Soviet Committee solidarity with the countries of Asia and Africa, initiator of the international intellectual movement “Issyk-Kul Forum”, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Foreign Literature”.

As a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, he was chosen to deliver the nomination speech during the election of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev as President USSR in March 1990.

Since 1990, Aitmatov headed the USSR Embassy (since 1992 - the Embassy Russian Federation) in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, from 1994 to 2006. - Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to the Benelux countries - in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

In 2006, together with his assistant for humanitarian work in the Russian Federation, Farkhod Ustajalilov, he founded the Chingiz Aitmatov International Charitable Foundation “Dialogue without Borders” and served as its president until the end of his life. Within the framework of the foundation, Chingiz Aitmatov developed a program for the support and development of the Russian language in the countries of the former USSR.

In 2008, he was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of BTA Bank JSC (Kazakhstan).

2008 was the last year in the biography of Chingiz Aitmatov. He was ill with diabetes and died at the age of 80 on June 10, 2008 in a Nuremberg hospital. He was buried at the Ata-Beyit historical and memorial cemetery in the suburbs of Bishkek.

Today we will talk about one of the most famous Soviet writers. More precisely, we will be interested in the biography of Chingiz Aitmatov. The name of this outstanding author is known to all of us from school, but few people remember about him. life path. That is why we will look at the writer’s biography, and also talk about his best works.

Biography of Chingiz Aitmatov

The writer was born in Kyrgyzstan in the small village of Sheker, which now dates back to 1928, on December 12. His father's name was Torekul Aitmatov, he was from a peasant background and actively supported the Reds at the beginning of the revolution. After the formation of the councils, he became a party worker and then a prominent statesman. However, he was arrested in 1937 and then executed.

Chingiz Toreklovich's mother's name was Nagima Khamzievna, nee Abdulaeva. She was Tatar by nationality. At Soviet power she worked as an army political worker and then became a public figure. Future writer grew up with his brothers and sisters in the village of Sheker, where the family moved shortly before Chingiz’s father was arrested.

Institute and first works

Chingiz Aitmatov graduated from eight classes. The biography in Kyrgyz tells how after this the young man entered the zootechnic school in the city of Dzhambul (now called Taraz), now located on the territory of Kazakhstan. Then, in 1948, the writer went to Frunze, where in the same year he entered the Agricultural Institute, graduating in 1953. Then he worked for three years as a veterinarian at the Cattle Breeding Research Institute.

While still studying at the Agricultural Institute, Aitmatov began publishing his stories in Kyrgyz. Only in 1956 did the writer have the opportunity to enroll in Moscow literary courses, from which he graduated in 1958. In the same year, Aitmatov’s story “Face to Face”, which was translated from Kyrgyz, was published in the magazine “October”.

Fame

The biography of Chingiz Aitmatov (including) is replete with a huge amount published stories at the beginning of it creative path. But the writer’s real fame came from the story “Djamilya,” published in the pages of the magazine “ New world" It was in this work that the features of the writer’s prose first appeared: the inextricable merging of descriptions of the customs of the people and nature with intense drama in the description of the character of the lyrical hero.

After graduating from literary courses, Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov began working as a journalist. The writer’s biography continues in the city of Frunze, where he became the editor of the local magazine “Literary Kyrgyzstan”. Then, in the 60-80s, he served as a deputy, was a delegate to the CPSU Congress, and was a member of the editorial board of Literaturnaya Gazeta and Novy Mir. In addition, during this time Aitmatov was awarded USSR State Prizes three times for his works. And in 1963, for the collection of stories “Tales of Mountains and Steppes” he was awarded Lenin Prize. The book includes works telling about complex psychological situations, into which residents of an ordinary rural outback find themselves.

For a long time, the author wrote only in the Kyrgyz language, which is confirmed by the biography of Chingiz Aitmatov. For the first time in Russian, only in 1965, the story “Farewell, Gyulsary!” was created, which was originally called “The Death of a Pacer.” This work revealed another feature characteristic of all Aitmatov’s work - an epic background built on the plots and motifs of the Kyrgyz epic. Later, mythological and ethical motifs in the author’s literary works gained increasing strength.

In 1973, Aitmatov made his debut as a playwright, co-writing the play “Climbing Mount Fuji.” The work was based on the play at the Sovremennik Theater (Moscow), which was a huge success with the audience.

The end of the road

From 1988 to 1990, Aitmatov served as editor-in-chief of Foreign Literature. Then she worked as Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan for four years.

Chingiz Torekulovich died in Nuremberg in 2008, on June 10. In this small German town, the writer underwent treatment. The writer was buried on June 14 in Bishkek in a memorial historical complex called “Ata-Beit”.

"The block"

The biography of Chingiz Aitmatov is not particularly rich in novels. Actually, “The Scaffold” is the writer’s second major work, which was published in 1986. The work is divided into three parts. 1 and 2 tell about Obadiah Kallistratov, who was raised by his father-deacon. The boy is forced to follow in his father's footsteps, so he ends up in a seminary. However, here he faces new problems - the priests do not understand his ideas that God and the church are also developing.

The third part is dedicated to a completely different hero - Boston, which is going through the transition of socialist property into private hands. Here the author talks about the widespread injustice that reigned during that period, the severity of life and difficult relationships between people.

“And the day lasts longer than a century...”

This is the first novel written by the author, which is confirmed by the biography of Chingiz Aitmatov. The work was published in 1980 and has a second title - “Stormy Stop”. The main character of the novel is Edigei, a simple Cossack who works at a stop, lost in the steppes. The fate of this man and his entourage reflected the life of an entire country: pre-war repressions, Patriotic War, hard post-war work, construction of a nuclear test site. The events of the novel consist of two plans: events taking place on earth and in space. Extraterrestrial civilizations have not remained aloof from what is happening to people.

"Piebald Dog Running by the Edge of the Sea"

This is the story of a boy, Kiriska, who goes to sea for the first time with his father, a clan elder, and his great uncle. In essence, the boy undergoes an initiation rite, after which he will receive the right to be called a man. The start of the hunt was successful, but after they caught the first seal, a storm began. When everything calmed down, a thick, impenetrable fog descended on the sea. The work is replete with myths and legends of the peoples living on the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Let's list fun facts related to the famous writer:

• In 1990, Aitmatov, then still a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, was elected to announce the nomination speech during the election of M. Gorbachev.
• Louis Aragon spoke very flatteringly about the Kyrgyz writer.
• The question of awarding Aitmatov the Nobel Prize was raised by the Turkish government only in 2008, a few months before the death of the writer. The basis for the nomination was that Aitmatov is considered the largest Turkic-language writer.
• The writer’s funeral was personally organized by the person holding the post.

Very interesting person and a prominent statesman was Chingiz Aitmatov. The biography briefly outlined above allowed us to verify this.

Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov (Kyrgyzstan: Chyngyz Torokulovich Aitmatov; 1928 - 2008) - Russian and Kyrgyz writer, diplomat, Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic (1997), People's Writer of the Kyrgyz SSR (1974), Hero of Socialist Labor (1978). Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1963) and three USSR State Prizes (1968, 1977, 1983).

Born in 1928 in the village of Sheker, now Talas region of Kyrgyzstan. His father Torekul Aitmatov was a prominent statesman of the Kirghiz SSR, but was arrested in 1937 and executed in 1938. Mother, Nagima Khamzievna Abdulvalieva, Tatar by nationality, was an actress in the local theater.

After graduating from eight classes, he entered the Dzhambul Zootechnic School, which he graduated with honors. In 1948, Aitmatov entered the Agricultural Institute in Frunze, from which he graduated in 1953. In 1952, he began publishing stories in the Kyrgyz language in periodicals. After graduation, within three years worked at the Cattle Breeding Research Institute, while continuing to write and publish stories. In 1956 he entered the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow (graduated in 1958). In the year of completion of the course, his story “Face to Face” (translated from Kyrgyz) was published in the magazine “October”. In the same year, his stories were published in the magazine “New World”, and the story “Djamilya” was published, which brought Aitmatov world fame.

In 1990-1994 he worked as ambassador of the USSR and Russia to the Benelux countries. Until March 2008, he was the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Retired since January 6, 1994.

In 2006, he participated in the release of the book “Autograph of the Century.”

Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan, member of the secretariat of the Writers' Union and the Union of Cinematographers, one of the leaders of the Soviet Committee of Solidarity with the Countries of Asia and Africa, Chief Editor magazine “Foreign Literature”, initiator of the international intellectual movement “Issyk-Kul Forum”.

He died on June 10, 2008 in a hospital in the German city of Nuremberg in the clinic where he was undergoing treatment. He was buried on June 14 in the historical and memorial complex “Ata-Beyit” in the suburbs of Bishkek.

Name: Chingiz Aitmatov

Age: 79 years old

Activity: prose writer, screenwriter, people's writer of the Kirghiz SSR, people's writer of Kazakhstan

Family status: was married

Chingiz Aitmatov: biography

Chingiz Aitmatov became a cited classic of world literature during his lifetime. He wrote in Russian and Kyrgyz, his works have been translated into more than 150 languages. The writer's realistic prose is permeated with the ideas of humanism and great love to all living things: to people, wild and domestic animals, plants and to the entire planet Earth.

People's Writer Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Laureate of the Lenin Prize and three State Prizes of the USSR, European Literary and International Prize name In 2007 received highest award Government of Turkey for its contribution to the development of culture of Turkic-speaking countries. In the spring of 2008, Turkey began the process of nominating the writer for the Nobel Prize, but did not have time.

Childhood and youth

Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov was born on December 12, 1928 in the family of communists Torekul Aitmatov and Nagima Khamzievna Aitmatova (nee Abduvalieva) in the village of Sheker, Kara-Buura (Kirov) district, Talas canton of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. After the birth of Chingiz, the family moved to the city because the father went for a promotion: since 1929, Torekul Aitmatov’s career has been rapidly rising.

In 1933, he was already the second secretary of the Kyrgyz regional committee of the CPSU (b). In 1935, the young leader became a student at the Institute of Red Professorship in Moscow, and the family also moved to the capital of the USSR. During this time, Nagima gave birth to her husband’s son Ilgiz, twins Reva and Lucia (the boy died in infancy) and daughter Rosa. In 1937, at the insistence of her husband, Nagima Khamzievna moved the children to relatives in Sheker.

The father of the future writer was arrested in September 1937 on suspicion of anti-Soviet nationalist activities and was transported to Frunze (the capital of Soviet Kyrgyzstan). On November 5, 1938, he was shot. The wife of the “enemy of the people” was deprived of her rights, but all the children of the repressed political worker received higher education and each wrote their own page in history.

During the Second World War, all adult men were mobilized, and fourteen-year-old Chingiz turned out to be one of the most literate people in the village and took the post of secretary of the village council. After the war, the young man was able to continue his studies: after a rural eight-year school, he graduated with honors from the Dzhambul Zootechnic School and in 1948 entered the Kyrgyz Agricultural Institute in Frunze.

Literature

The writer’s creative biography began on April 6, 1952 with the story “The Newsboy Juido” published in the newspaper “Komsomolets of Kyrgyzstan”. First artistic text Aitmatov wrote in Russian, one of his two native languages. After graduating from the institute in 1953, Chingiz Aitmatov, a senior livestock specialist at the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Animal Husbandry, continued to write stories in Russian and Kyrgyz, publishing texts in local publications.

In 1956, he decided to improve his skills as a writer and went to Moscow, where he entered the Higher Literary Courses. In parallel with his studies, he wrote a lot. Already in June 1957, the Ala-Too magazine published the first story young writer"Face to face". In the same year, “Djamilya” was published - it is interesting that the story that made the writer famous was first published in translation into French.

The writer completed literary courses in 1958. By the time he received his diploma, two novellas and short stories had been published in Russian. Aitmatov's first novel will be published only in 1980. In the novel “And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century”, realistic events in the life of Buranny Edigei are intertwined with the fantastic line of contact between humanity and alien civilization. One gets the impression that it is easier for people to reach an understanding with aliens than to reach an agreement among themselves.

Secondary to the genre science fiction the writer returned in the mid-nineties, writing "Cassandra's Brand" - a story about the creation of artificial people. The remaining works are written in the genre of realism. In the Soviet Union, realism was socialist, but for socialist realism Aitmatov is too pessimistic. His heroes live and suffer for real, without turning into cheerful builders of communism.

Dies main character"White Steamer" - a boy who believes in fairy tales when his Deer is killed. At all folk tales and legends are an important part of Aitmatov’s plots. Mythological images sometimes they turn out to be brighter than the main characters. From the legend about harsh invaders who turned captives into slaves, deprived of independence and memory, the word and concept “mankurt” - a person who has forgotten his roots - migrated into the Russian language.

Aitmatov’s second novel, “The Scaffold,” was published in 1986. During this period, Perestroika began in the USSR, and it became possible to write about the country's problems. But even against the backdrop of permitted publicity, “The Scaffold” produces a striking effect - the novel raises several pressing issues at once, talks about drug addiction and corruption, about faith and church ministers.

Personal life

The writer admired female beauty and deeply understood female character. Proof of this is the authentically and vividly depicted images of women in the books of Chingiz Aitmatov: the strong Jamilya from the story of the same name, the young romantic Asel (“My Poplar in a Red Scarf”), the wise Tolgonai, who lost her sons in the war, but retained the inner beauty of her soul (“Mother’s Field”) ").

In almost every work there is that woman whose appearance on the pages of the book makes the soul of the main character or reader brighten. And in the life of a writer female beauty played important role. Chingiz met his first wife, Kerez Shamshibaeva, while studying at the Agricultural Institute. The girl studied at medical institute and was also interested in literature.

After school, excellent student Kerez even received a referral to Moscow literary institute, but financial circumstances did not allow me to leave. Kerez Shamshibaeva became an excellent doctor and leader; she worked at the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan. She gave birth to two sons. Sanjar Chingizovich was born in 1954, he is a journalist, writer, and businessman. Askar Chingizovich was born in 1959, became an oriental historian and public figure.

At the end of the fifties, Chingiz Aitmatov met main love of his life - ballerina Byubyusara Beishenalieva. The novel began in Leningrad and lasted fourteen years. The lovers could not get married: the high position of both required adherence to decency. A communist could not just divorce his wife for the sake of marrying People's Artist USSR, which was looked after by the first people of the state.

The writer’s experiences found a way out in his works. Tanabai is tormented by the need to make a choice between his wife and his mistress in the story “Farewell, Gyulsary.” Buranny Edigei falls in love with his friend’s widow in the novel “And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century.” In both works, women turn out to be more morally resilient than lyrical hero, ready to run headlong for new love.

The secret relationship lasted fourteen years, about which there was a lot of gossip in the republic. Byubyusara Beishenalieva died on May 10, 1973 after a year and a half of struggle with breast cancer. Twenty years later, in collaboration with Mukhtar Shakhanov, Aitmatov wrote the book “Confession at the End of the Century” (second title “The Hunter’s Lament over the Abyss”), in which he frankly told the story of this love.

The second wife of Chingiz Torekulovich was Maria Urmatovna. By the time she met the famous writer, Maria had graduated from the screenwriting department of VGIK, had been married and given birth to a daughter, Cholpon. The second marriage produced a son, Eldar, and a daughter, Shirin. Eldar Chingizovich graduated from the academy fine arts in Belgium, he is a designer and artist, runs the Aitmatov house-museum in Bishkek.

Death

Chingiz Aitmatov in last years suffered from diabetes mellitus throughout his life, which did not prevent him from living active life. In 2008, the writer, in his eightieth year of life, went to Kazan to film the documentary “And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century,” which was filmed for the upcoming anniversary. On film set the writer caught a cold, the cold turned into acute pneumonia, and his kidneys began to fail.

On May 16, Aitmatov was flown to Germany, but doctors were unable to save the patient. On June 10, Chingiz Torekulovich died at a Nuremberg clinic, and on June 14, a solemn farewell and funeral of the classic of world literature took place. So many mourners gathered that several people fell from the stairs leading to the theater where the coffin with the body stood. The help of the police and doctors was needed in order to avoid casualties.

Chingiz Aitmatov was buried at the Ata-Beyit (“Rest of the Fathers”) cemetery in the suburbs of Bishkek. The writer himself chose this place back in the nineties, when, after a long search, he was able to find the burial place of the executed Torekul Aitmatov. In a common pit on Chon-Tash, 138 bodies were found, which in 1991 were reburied with honors on Ata-Beyit. Chingiz, a humanist who thought a lot about the past and future, also wished to rest next to his father’s grave.

Bibliography

• 1952 – “Judo Newsboy”
• 1957 – “Face to Face”
• 1957 – “Jamila”
• 1961 – “My poplar in a red scarf”
• 1962 – “The First Teacher”
• 1963 – “Mother Field”
• 1966 – “Farewell, Gyulsary!”
• 1970 – “White Steamer”
• 1977 – " Piebald dog"running by the edge of the sea"
• 1980 – “Burnaya Stop” (“And the day lasts longer than a century”)
• 1986 – “The Scaffold”
• 1995 – “The Hunter’s Lament over the Abyss or Confession at the End of the Century”, co-authored with Mukhtar Shakhanov
• 1996 – “Cassandra’s Brand”
• 1998 – “Meeting with a Baha’i”
• 2006 – “When the Mountains Fall (Eternal Bride)”

On December 12, 1928, a boy, Chingiz, was born in the Kyrgyz village of Sheker. His father, Torekul Aitmatov, one of the first communists among the Kyrgyz, began his activities as a party activist, then became a statesman of his republic. Chingiz's mother, Nagima Abdulvalieva, a Tatar by nationality, was in her youth a Komsomol member, a political worker in the army, and then performed on the stage of a local theater. A big fan of literature, she taught children to read and talked about Russian culture. But from infancy, Chingiz absorbed and national image life of the Kyrgyz people. In addition, the Talas Valley, where Sheker village was located, was one of the ancient cultural centers of Kyrgyzstan - a place covered with the glory of its ancestors, in which many fairy tales, legends and traditions were told. The boy’s family spoke two languages, and subsequently this was one of the reasons for the bilingual work of the writer Aitmatov.

Chingiz was not even nine years old when his father was arrested. In 1938, Torekul Aitmatov was shot, and his wife and children lived for some time in the city of Karakol, with her father Khamza Abdulvaliev, a former Tatar merchant. Chingiz returned to his native village shortly before the start of the war, and in 1943, when there were no adult men left in the village, he had to work as the secretary of the village council, at the age of fourteen solving the problems of all residents of the village. Later, Chingiz Torekulovich said that he himself could not believe it. The boy’s bright and poetic childhood was left behind too early, but the horrors of the war years and leadership work that was too much for a teenager, depriving Chingiz of his youth, shaped both his creative and civilian personality.

Despite all the difficulties, Chingiz graduated from eight classes and became a student at the Dzhambul Zoological College. He studied well, and after graduation, in 1948, the young man was admitted to the Frunze Agricultural Institute without exams. On final courses Institute, he began to write essays and notes that were published in the Kyrgyz press, and became very interested in philology and translations, writing several articles. His story was also published in Russian in 1952, called “The Newsboy Juido.”

In 1951, Chingiz married Kerez Shamshybaeva. Family life two students were happy and not even too hungry - Chingiz was a Stalinist scholarship recipient, and Kerez received an increased scholarship. In this marriage two sons were born - Sanjar and Askar.

In 1953, Chingiz graduated from the institute and worked for three years in his specialty at a livestock experimental farm. But he wanted to write, he continued to engage in journalism, tried himself as a translator, and in 1956 he went to Moscow to attend the Higher Literary Courses. The first serious publication of Chingiz Aitmatov is a short story “Face to Face”, translated from Kyrgyz by A. Drozdov and published in the magazine “October” in 1958, when Chingiz graduated from the course. The story of the war turned out to be very vivid, and creative career Chingiza Aitmatova quickly went uphill.

In the same year, he published several short stories and the novel “Djamilya” in Novy Mir, which brought its author first all-Union and then world fame. Louis Aragon called this work the most touching love story written by contemporaries.

Chingiz Torekulovich no longer worked in his first specialty. He became a journalist in the city of Frunze, was the editor of Literary Kyrgyzstan and Pravda’s own correspondent in Kyrgyzstan. In 1959, Aitmatov joined the CPSU.

All yours free time he now gave to creativity. In 1963, Aitmatov’s book entitled “Tales of Mountains and Steppes” was published. This collection includes the stories “The First Teacher”, “The Camel’s Eye”, “Mother’s Field”, “Poplar in a Red Scarf”, telling about the formation of Kyrgyzstan, about complex changes in the souls and destinies of ordinary village people. This book made Chingiz Torekulovich a Lenin Prize laureate.

Aitmatov wrote his first story in Russian in 1965 - “Farewell, Gyulsary!” The image of the pacer, after whom the story is named, is a magnificent metaphor human life with its inevitable rejection of natural existence and suppression of personality, and one of the critics dubbed Gyulsary a “centaur image.” One more characteristic feature Akhmatov’s works contained an epic background in this story, using plots and motifs of the Kyrgyz epic.

In 1970, the story “The White Steamer” was published - the story of a child who did not come to terms with the cruel and deceitful world of adults, a kind of stylization of folk epic. Mythological motives formed the basis of a story published in 1977, philosophical tale“The Piebald Dog Running by the Edge of the Sea,” which touched upon the most important issues of our time.

Chingiz Torekulovich also studied drama. The play “Climbing Mount Fuji,” written in 1973 in collaboration with Kaltai Mukhamedzhanov, was staged at the capital’s Sovremennik Theater and performed with great success.

In 1975, "Early Cranes" appeared, almost autobiographical story about teenagers from the war years who became adults after passing through adolescence. Like other works of Aitmatov, it gained readers big success. In the late seventies, Chingiz Aitmatov was already called the “unofficial literary leader of the USSR.” Dramatizations of his stories and tales were staged on theater stages, and Grand Theatre included in the repertoire the ballet “Assel”, which was created based on the story by Chingiz Torekulovich “My Poplar in a Red Scarf”.

Aitmatov wrote his first novel in 1980. His original title- “And the day lasts longer than a century.” Subsequently, the novel was renamed “Stormy Stop”. The narrative unfolds on Earth and in space - even extraterrestrial civilizations did not remain indifferent to the actions of earthlings. An important place in the novel was occupied by the legend of a mother and son who, against their will, became a cruel and senseless creature. The public resonance after the release of the novel “And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century” turned out to be enormous, and the word “mankurt” turned into a common symbol of change modern man, breaking his connection with eternal values ​​and foundations.

In 1986, the next novel, “The Scaffold,” was published, in which the images of Jesus Christ and Pilate appeared. In many ways, “The Scaffold” repeated the motifs of the first novel, uncompromisingly presenting the reader with the most difficult questions modernity: about lack of spirituality, about drug addiction, about the ecology of the soul.

Around the same time, the writer's first marriage broke up. Maria Urmatovna, his second wife, studied at VGIK, together with Aitmatov’s close friend, director Zamir Eraliev. IN new family two children were born - daughter Shirin and son Eldar.

In the late eighties, Chingiz Torekulovich became the editor-in-chief of Foreign Literature, a magazine that was then extremely popular in the country. He was also a member of the International Council of the publication, which included Maurice Druon, Umberto Ekon, Kenzaburo Oe, Milorad Pavic.

Chingiz Aitmatov worked a lot and fruitfully social activities. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and a member of the Presidential Council, and was a member of the secretariats of the Union of Cinematographers and the Union of Writers. It is Aitmatov who is considered the initiator of the “Issyk-Kul Forum”, an intellectual international movement. Chingiz Torekulovich managed to make a political career - since 1990 he has been an ambassador Soviet Union and Russia in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - the Benelux countries. In January 1994 he retired.

In 1990, Aitmatov’s story “The White Cloud of Genghis Khan” was published, and in 1996 a new, completely fantastic novel “Cassandra’s Brand” about the creation of artificial person. And these books, like all of the writer’s work, are inspired by the feeling that Aitmatov considers the main thing for a person - love, which makes each of us more humane.

The last novel written by Chingiz Torekulovich in 2006 - “When the Mountains Fall” (“Eternal Bride”). This book again talks about victims of circumstances and hostages own destiny.

Aitmatov's books have been translated into many languages, and the writer himself is the winner of many awards and prizes, Soviet, Russian and international. At the end of spring 2008, they planned to nominate Aitmatov for the Nobel Prize. But Chingiz Torekulovich, unfortunately, did not live to see this.

In May he arrived in Kazan, where he filmed documentary for his anniversary. On May 16, he was urgently hospitalized, diagnosed with kidney failure, and three days later he was sent for treatment to Germany, to a clinic in Nuremberg. But the doctors were unable to save the writer.

On June 10, 2008, Chingiz Torekulovich Aitmatov died. He was buried on June 14 in the suburbs of Bishkek, in Ata-Beyit, a historical and memorial complex.

Today they talk about his work in different ways, but even the harshest critics of Aitmatov’s books do not deny the greatness inherent in his works. The organic combination of modernity and cultural archaism, the relevance of the problems posed by this writer, made him a true classic of Russian literature during his lifetime.