About the author
Chingiz Aitmatov
Chingiz Aitmatov was a bilingual writer (Kyrgyz &
Russian) from Kyrgyzstan. He was an intellectual as well
as an adviser to Mikhail Gorbachev. After the collapse of
the Soviet Union he helped to strengthen the
newly-independent Kyrgyzstan in his role as Kyrgyz
Ambassador to Brussels.
Aitmatov was born on December 12th, 1928 in Talas,
Kyrgyzstan. He lost his father at the age of ten, a victim of
Stalin’s purges. His father was executed as an “enemy of
the people” in 1938. As the eldest son of the family,
Aitmatov took over the responsibility of helping his
mother to bring up his younger brother and two sisters.
During World War II, Aitmatov was a hard-working
teenager helping his family to get by in the small village of
Sheker.
He graduated as a veterinary surgeon, studying first in
Dshambul and later at the Agricultural High School in
Frunze (now Bishkek – the capital of Kyrgyzstan).
Aitmatov published his first short story in 1952.
After working as a vet for four years he decided to
become a writer. He applied for special training and from
1956-58 he studied at the High School for Literature in
Moscow. He published his first story Face to face in the
Kyrgyz language in 1957. His second story 'Jamilia' was
translated into French by Louis Aragon in the same year
and brought him worldwide fame. He went on to become
a celebrated author, thanks to his hard work and great
talent.
His works have been translated into more than one
hundred and fifty languages worldwide.