ASTANA – The National Academic Library in Astana and Auezov Institute of Literature and Art held an international conference on the 95th anniversary of Chingiz Aitmatov, the Kyrgyz renowned writer and statesman, on Dec. 28 in the Kazakh capital.
Chingiz Aitmatov. Photo credit: 24smi.org.
Aitmatov’s legacy is the national pride for the Kyrgyz Republic and a cultural heritage for Central Asia. The author is known for his diplomatic career, journalistic and translation activities.
Apart from Kazakh academics and creative figures, the cultural event welcomed foreign diplomats of the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and Azerbaijan, scientists and philologists, the university professors, and students from Astana. Representatives of the National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian State Library, the National Library of Russia, the Margarita Rudomino All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature also participated in the conference.
In an interview with The Astana Times, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Kazakhstan Dastan Dyushekeyev underlined the need to carry out more joint initiatives, whether they are humanitarian, economic, or military.
Photo credit: The Astana Times/Aida Dosbergenova.
“The Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan have strategic, allied, partnership relations, and, of course, fraternal ties. Most of all, we are united by culture. Our common roots strengthen our spiritual interaction. Therefore, we should organize more conferences, forums, literary and creative evenings in this area,” said Dyushekeyev.
In 1990, Aitmatov himself was appointed as the head of the Soviet diplomatic mission in Luxembourg. From 1994 to 2008, he was the Kyrgyz ambassador to the Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) and France, the permanent representative to UNESCO and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
He also served as an advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev, the only President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Photo credit: The Astana Times/Aida Dosbergenova.
Aitmatov had deep respect for renowned Kazakh writer Mukhtar Auezov. In addition, he had close friendly relations with Kazakh contemporaries Kaltai Mukhamedzhanov, Mukhtar Shakhanov, Olzhas Suleimenov, Zeynolla Kabdolov, and Sherkhan Murtaza.
The library’s literature in the Kyrgyz language is constantly updated with new publications from the Kyrgyz embassy and the National Library of the Kyrgyz Republic.
