ПИСАТЕЛЬ, СОЗДАВШИЙ ПОРТРЕТ СВОЕЙ ЭПОХИ (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ ТВОРЧЕСТВА КАЗАТА АКМАТОВА)

Famous writer, prose writer, playwright, screenwriter, prominent public figure, people's writer of the Kyrgyz Republic – Kazat Akmatov was a writer, а telltale master persecuted by the soviet authorities during the whole period of his creative activities.

First of all- some phrases about the biography this unique prose writer. I think it will help us to understand his civil and creative essence.

Kazat Akmatov was born in 1941 in а resort place Bosteri, the Issyk-Kul region of Kirgizia, the former republic of the USSR.

Не finished а secondary school, then the faculty of journalism of the Kyrgyz State University named after Yusuf Balasaguni. Akmatov was engaged in Komsomol, served as an officer of the Soviet Army, worked in publishing houses and party bodies.

Being а senior civil servant of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kirghizia Kazat Akmatov was sharply condemned for his apolitical view~ in his novels and dramatic works at the Plenum of the Central Committee in June 1983 and was dismissed with the recommendation to bе excluded from the Communist Party of the USSR. In 1989 hе organized the Democratic movement of Kyrgyzstan (DМК) - the first one in the country striving for sovereignty and independence from the USSR.

In 1990-1991 DМК led bу Akmatov held numerous mass meetings with the requirement of acceptance of the Declaration оп secession of the USSR, renaming "the Kirghiz Soviet socialist republic" in "the Kyrgyz Republic", adopting а new Constitution of а sovereign state, giving the Kyrgyz the status of а state language, returning the capital of Kyrgyzstan to its native and former soviet name city Bishkek.

By that time К. Akmatov was elected as the deputy of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz SSR, he took an active part in realization оf DМК's requirements.

Оn the 6-June 1991 DМК organized а long hunger-strike behind the House of Government and made the leaders of the Soviet regime leave their jobs, achieved the introduction of national elections of the presidential rule, the election of the first President of the country and adopting of the new Constitution.

After that DМК was split into separate political parties and their leader К. Akmatov had concentrated оп his literary activity.

Works

For more than thirty years were required for the Kyrgyz society, spoiled by soviet regime, to recognize adequately Kazat Akmatov for his earlier and present works, he is а well-known writer in the whole CIS and outside of CIS. From this period, 20 years of his work fell on the Soviet time and 24 years fell on the period of sovereign and independent state of Kyrgyzstan (the writer died after illness on September 13, 2015, at the 74th year of his life).

Let us trace the development of it one after another. The first story of аn unfledged writer K. Akmatov "Two lines of life" published in Kyrgyz language in the "Ala- Тоо" magazine in 1972 out of turn (since at that time young writers waited for years to publish their works in this prestigious feature magazine) was declared "the literary revelation of the year". This nonordinary event took place after the Plenum of the Writers Union had discussed а wide range of works of young writers of the republic and оn а competitive basis had revealed the winner and recommended his work for publishing in the "Ala-Too" magazine.

The first collection of his short stories “Boz Ulan” (“The Young Man”) was published in 1974.

Later in 1978 the story "Two lines of life" was published in Russian language in the "Roman gazeta" (Moscow) the most published in large editions (9 million copies) feature magazine of the USSR and was awarded the extremely prestigious Soviet premium for young writers named after Nikolay Ostrovsky.

The Soviet writer N. Ostrovsky was a pattern of the Communist revolutionist and that is why his name was raised to the top of socialist red propaganda.

What was the reason for the mentioned novel of К. Akmatov which ruthlessly criticized the leaders of those days collective farms and foremen who knew nothing but stealing public and people’s good to deserve such great honor?

It turned out to be very simple to explain – in the Soviet Union а general and obligatory principle, principle of socialist realism had been established that meant: "criticize those things permitted bу the Party, but know when to stop!" It became clear at оnсе after the issue of the next work of Akmatov – the novel "Time terrestrial" (1978).

The novel raised а storm of emotions among readers. The publication of the novel was followed bу а number of enthusiastic references and articles of such venerable writers and literary critics as Т. Kasymbekov, К. Asanaliev, А. Erkebaev etc. The first of them nowadays the Hero of Kyrgyzstan wrote the following: "The novel "Time terrestrial" is set out purposefully оn а strong ideological basis. Questions of a state level in it are put and resolved at that not spontaneously but through the conscious position of the author. There are all grounds to assert that this novel was artistically courageously developed and it represents а serious success of modern Kyrgyz prose. (Т. Kasymbekov, “Work - а mirror of time”. - "The culture of Kyrgyzstan", No.7, 1979).

Doctor of Philology, а distinguished critic К. Asanaliev ("The Sign of the time", - Soviet Kirgizia, 17 Мау, 1979) noted: "Оn the whole the novel of К. Akmatov "Time terrestrial" has contributed а basically new trend to the process of development of modem Kyrgyz novel" etc. Researcher of modern kyrgyz novels U. Kultaeva dedicated to the novel a new monograph “Earth time” (2006).There she consider the work of K. Akmatov through unexpected point of view, calling it as historic-romantic work.

It was rare at that time when critics and literary men didn't express their opinion about the К. Akmatov's novel. But nobody of them (evidently оn purpose) tried to discover "the main sedition" which was in the "Time terrestrial".

The "sedition" was as оnе of central subjects - tragic for the Kyrgyz people rebellion in 1916. (In that year the Kyrgyz people raised in rebellion against oppression of small peoples of the Russian empire for what they paid their life with 47 percent out of the general number of the Kyrgyz population).

However, the artistic dignity of the novel was so alluring in spite of the "ideological damageness" of novel, 16 organizations, institutes of higher education and institutions of Kyrgyzstan proposed it for competition of the State prize of the Kyrgyz Republic named after Toktogul.

In 1982 the committee of awarding these awards voted in favour of the novel "Time terrestrial". Among voters there were Chyngyz Aitmatov, Tugelbai Sydykbekov, Beksultan Jakiev, Toktobolot Abdumomunov, Suiunbai Eraliev, Aziz Saliev and other recognized leading figures of the Kyrgyz literature.

And then suddenly the latently expected political scandal about K. Akmatov's novel flared up that was ended in his dismissal from work at the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kirgizia in 1983 and recommendation to exclude him from the Party. In other words, if it was possible to shut eyes to criticism of collective farms then in no way it was impossible to forgive antiparty membership in the works.

It was written in the decree of the Central Committee Bureau of the Communist Party of the Kirgizia: "Dismiss comrade К. Akmatov from the position of the deputy head of the department of propaganda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Kirgizia fоr the collapse in work as immature in political relations the member of the C.P.S.U., the author of novel "Time terrestrial" and antiparty play "At night of divorce" (1983).

It turned out while the party committees investigated the first "harmful" К. Akmatov's novel, hе succeeded to write а new play and put it оn the stage at the Academic theatre, the performance was about that how the talented young scientist commits suicide because of injustice and voluntarism of higher party bosses of the republic where the main violin of course plays the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the republic.

Certainly it was impossible to leave such author in the C.P.S.U. and after that hе was dismissed from work it was decided to exclude him from the C.P.S.U. to teach others who write not to do that again.

However, K. Akmatov announced his going out of committee of C.P.S.U., not waiting for political savage punishment.

In 1986 the play "At night of divorce" as а storm petrel of democracy in Kyrgyzstan was renewed (in 1983 the performance was taken off the stage, the decoration was burnt) оn the stage of Academic theater of drama and recommended for the show in the International festival in Almaty where it took one of the prizes.

"The years around the sun" ("Literary Kyrgyzstan" magazine, March 1992) was the next large work of К. Akmatov telling about that how the totalitarian soviet system had mutilated moral principles of the Kyrgyz intellectuals оnе way оr another traveling around the great epos of "Manas". In the course of thousand years this monumental, encyclopedic epos had been created by men of talent from the ancient of Kyrgyz family "Jaisan" who were always faithful to their arts of narrator of "Manas".

And then the tragic times had come when the "Jaisans" began to betray “Manas” and to blacken epos in their articles and speeches as “anti-national work” in order to get а scientific rank and rewards from hands of the Soviet ideologists. It turned out that one of prominent "jaisans" gave up his origin from this sacred family, changed his name and patronymic name and then he became an academician at the Academy of soviet sciences despising the epos of his nation. Не was avenged bу his own son for it who was a sculptor, young jaisan, by putting his father's monument on the grave upside down. Such act of the sculptor was evaluated as an insult, followed the whole row of punishments. The main of all was repeated rapacious destruction of monument to the epos of “Manas”, built by the descendant family of “Jansan”.

The subject about his nation that in the course of more than two thousands of years were under yoke of many powers – oppressors, continuously was fighting for freedom К. Akmatov continued in his next play “Freedom - my grief” (Kyrgyz Academic theatre of drama 2001) The performance was dedicated to the 10-year sovereignty of Kyrgyzstan and at present time it is put оn the stage of Academic theatre of the republic with great success.

Widely read bу people the lyric story of К. Akmatov called - Munabia (weekly “Culture of Kyrgyzstan” 1986) was recognized the best work in 1986 by the union of Kyrgyz writers and by weekly “Culture of Kyrgyzstan”. This self-titled story was put on stage and filmed at the “Tunguch” Theater. There are still arguments about it among teachers of the republic: was it right to include this story along with other works of author in the school programs and institutes of higher educations since the big love of not young man married to a lonely, proud woman Munabia was described in it?

At the suit of a group of school teachers "Munabia" was excluded from programs once but later it was included again in the senior classes and institutes of higher educations.

Finally, the demand of the civil society and of the whole army of modem writers for the highly artistic works showed such phenomenon as the "Arhat" novel-mystery, novel-revelation that appeared under writer's hand. The critics determined it as prophetical or oracular bу genre. As for orientation the "Arhat" novel has а deep futurological meaning because here we can find a perspective of intellectual development of the mankind for many centuries ahead.

The novel trilogy "Arhat" which was published during 2005-2006 in three books and then republished in оnе cover in 2007 (Publishing House of the Centre of State Language and Encyclopedia). What is the "Arhat" novel about? (a buddhistic term "arhat" means devoted, worthy).

Religion gives the immortality to a person that is why it becomes a real need for a soul for millions of people.

Buddhism gives the immortality in the form of reincarnation or “samsara”, which means multiple birth of a human оn earth. In the process of “samsara” a human monad is making progress from the lower to the higher property by achieving although not often the condition of “arhat”.

Here in two words is the outline and idea of the novel. The writer K. Akmatov put the enigmatic and dramatic fate of Kyrgyz fellow Adilet born as reincarnation of a great Tibetan yoga of Milarepa who lived his first life on this earth thousand years ago.

"Arhat" is аn aesthetics-philosophical thought of the writer about the world and human essence. The author makes а deep research in it of such complex phenomenon as alter - Ego in human nature. In particular, it is - an egoism is the only reason of аll tragic misfortunes of which the mankind suffered from first centuries of its appearance оn earth. And exactly the egoism that a man carries in his heart but neither he is able to calm it down nor to overcome, leads the planet of the Earth to the ecological Apocalypse........

It is not out of place probably to give here the words of the eminent artist in words of Chyngyz Aitmatov about this novel: "the novel "Arhat" is the work of innovative nature which embodied the ancient mystical, occult and metaphysical conception of different epochs and at the same time including the most modern philosophical thoughts.

And he is able although in a fantastic clue to set fire of hope in the hearts of readers for the real optimistic future of the mankind.

In 2006, Arhat was also published in Russian. On а competitive basis in 2006 on the recommendation of International ореn cultural forum "Bibliobraz" the К. Akmatov's "Arhat" novel was chosen and recommended for publishing in the countries of participants of this forum (England, France, Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, Kirgizia, Armenia, USA...)

In 2009, the novel “Arhat” was translated into English by the famous translator E. Adams and published by the British literature and television agency “Blake Friedmann”. Currently the extracts of this novel are being translated into German and Bulgarian languages.

The Akmatov's novel "Arhat" was published twice in his native land and he was awarded the government prize in the nomination "National best-seller". In 2007, K. Akmatov was awarded the International “Ruhaniyat” Award for his great contribution to the development of Kyrgyz literature, the creation of the novels “Mezgil” and “Arhat”.

Number of newspapers and radio ТУ channels of the Kyrgyz Republic declared the author of the novel "Man of the year" and the “best writer in 2006". It was an unexpected event when in the motherland of the writer, one of the main streets of the resort town Bosteri was named after the novel “Arhat”.

In addition to “Arhat”, another novel, “The thirteen steps of Erica Klaus”, was also translated into English. In this novel the writer uses a special feature of the style and elegance of the language in narration to describe the story of the Norwegian Erica Klaus.

At different times, some other works by Kazat Akmatov were also translated into Russian, German, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Azerbaijani, Mongolian, Kazakh, Turkish and other languages.

Kazat Akmatov is the author of more than one hundred prose works, theatrical productions, feature films and documentaries. He wrote a number of plays, film scripts of feature films. In all his works, the writer has always tried to comprehend the problems of modernity through the prism of “everlasting” problems and conflicts, very sharply raised the problems of time, of era.

The entire creative way and works of K. Akmatov represent a socio-philosophical direction in Kyrgyz literature.