ASTANA – Kazakhstan celebrates the 125th anniversary of Sabit Mukanov, a seminal figure in national literature on April 26. A master of multiple genres, Mukanov helped lay the foundation of 20th-century Kazakh culture and remains a revered voice in the country’s literary and intellectual history.
Mukanov began writing poetry as a teenager, drawing inspiration from the Kazakh steppe. Photo credit:map.nklibrary.kz
Born in 1900 in the Zhambyl district of the North Kazakhstan Region, Mukanov came from a herder’s family and lost his parents at a young age. Despite early hardships, he worked as a shepherd and learned to read and write from a local mullah. He was immersed in folk legends, Kazakh epics, and the works of Abai, which inspired him to begin writing poetry as a teenager.
He debuted with poems such as “Konilim” (Thoughts) and “Bostandyk” (Freedom). From 1918 to 1919, he attended teacher training courses in Omsk while serving as secretary to prominent poet Magzhan Zhumabayev. He later worked as a teacher in a village.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Mukanov began contributing to newspapers and literary journals. He led editorial departments at publications such as “Yenbekshi Kazakh” (now Egemen Kazakhstan) and “Kenes Auyly”, and in 1930 published the almanac “Zharis”.
After graduating from the Moscow Institute of Red Professorship in 1935, he taught literature at the Kazakh Pedagogical Institute. He served twice as chair of the National Writers’ Union in the 1930s and from 1943 to 1951. From 1958 to 1969, he sat on the Peace Committee Council and led the Kazakh branch of the Society for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Arab Countries from 1965 to 1969.
Building a literary legacy
Mukanov’s work is vast and thematically rich, reflecting Kazakh history, culture, and the social transformations of his time. His early poems depict life in post-revolutionary Kazakhstan through the lens of socialist realism. He explored the impact of industrialization and the changing role of Kazakh women, beginning with his short story “Asiya” and culminating in his acclaimed novel “Botagoz”, later adapted into a film by director Yefim Aron in 1958.
A pioneer of the Kazakh novel, Mukanov’s “Adaskandar” (The Lost Ones), revised and reissued in 1959 as “Moldir Makhabbat” (Clear Love), was among the first Kazakh socio-psychological novels on class struggle. His novel “Syrdarya” (1947) highlighted the contributions of wartime rear workers and celebrated interethnic unity.
Berlin Has Been Taken (extract)
“Fascism has been defeated before my eyes.
You participated in the battles, Kazakh,
I saw everything from beginning to end:
And the first battle, and our victory flag!”
His autobiographical trilogy “Menin Mektepterim” (My Schools) pays tribute to the landscapes and people of his homeland, showcasing his deep affection for Kazakh identity and tradition.
Mukanov was also a playwright. His works inspired operas and stage productions such as “Victory Days”, “Golden Grain”and “Saken Seifullin”. In his later years, he conducted extensive research into the life of Ualikhanov, producing the biographies “Shokan Ualikhanov”, “Daughter of Kashgaria”, and the unfinished trilogy “Falling Star”.
Beyond fiction, Mukanov was a scholar and literary historian. He studied genre development, aesthetics, and Kazakh music and theater, and authored studies on Abai Kunanbayev and Zhambyl Zhabayev. His ethnographic work “Folk Heritage” examined pre-revolutionary Kazakh traditions, economy, and cultural values.
Some of his works have been translated into 46 languages. Mukanov died in Almaty at the age of 73.
