ASTANA – In October, Kazakhstan commemorated the 130th anniversary of Saken Seifullin, an iconic poet and writer who had a profound impact on Kazakh literature and played a leading role in politics, advocating for mass education and social progress. His literary legacy focused on the turmoil of Kazakh society and the revolutionary changes he witnessed firsthand.

Saken Seifullin. Photo credit: kazgazeta.kz

Seifullin was born on October 15, 1894 in the village of Nildy, located in the present-day Karagandy region. Education was fundamental to his life and activism from an early age. In 1908, he moved to Akmola (now Astana), where he pursued studies in various fields until 1913, while teaching Russian to Kazakhs and Tatars at the local madrasa (Islamic educational institution).

Grassroots educator

Seifullin was an active pedagogue with the larger goal of spreading education among the masses, firmly believing in its transformative nature.

Feeling the need to teach people, Seifullin entered the teachers’ seminary in Omsk in 1913.

At age 20, Seifullin became co-director of Omsk’s first youth organization, Birlik (Unity), participating in cultural and educational activities among his peers. He believed that teaching served as a gateway through which young people not only immersed themselves in culture but also reshaped it, becoming independent thinkers.

Madrasah, where Seifullin began his teaching career. Photo credit: iie.kz

Returning to Akmola in 1917, Seifullin began his role as a youth leader and was elected chairman of the Akmola Kazakh Committee. That same year he founded the youth socio-political organization Zhas Kazakh (Young Kazakh). In addition to these duties, he contributed articles and helped in the publication of the Bolshevik newspaper called Tirshilik (Life). At the end of 1917, once Soviet authority was established, Seifullin was elected to the Council of Deputies and appointed People’s Commissar of Education.

In 1922, at just 28 years old, Seifullin was appointed chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, then the region’s highest governing body.

This role was fundamental for Seifullin, who wanted to restore the historical identity of the Kazakh people and promote the Kazakh language. He was a strong advocate for the recognition of Kazakh as a state language and was instrumental in replacing the misnomer “Kyrgyz” with the legitimate term “Kazakh”.

Seifullin supported Kazakh youth throughout his political career by opening schools, libraries and cultural clubs. He founded the Writers’ Union of Kazakhstan and acted as editor of the newspapers Adebiet Maidany (Literature Front) and Yenbekshi Kazakh (Kazakhstan Workers), where he contributed theoretical literary articles.

Poems and novels: Seifullin’s political life in pages

His political career allowed one sphere of life to enrich the other: poetry and writing. His deep involvement in political life later inspired one of his most famous novels: “A Thorny Road”, which chronicles the struggle of the Kazakh people during a chain of revolutionary events in 1916-1917.

In the novel, Seifullin delves into the complex interplay between the lives of leaders of the White Movement (confederation of anti-communist forces) such as Kolchak and Annenkov, and the faith, resistance, and perseverance of Bolshevik figures such as Katchenko, Bachok, and Nurkin.

His deep involvement in political life later inspired one of his most famous novels: “A Thorny Road”, which chronicles the struggle of the Kazakh people during a chain of revolutionary events in 1916-1917. Photo credit: omsklib.ru

The novel offers a comprehensive portrait of Kazakhstan’s political and social landscape on the brink of revolution and during the early years of Soviet rule, exploring the nation’s trajectory, progress, and the various forces that shape its evolution.

Seifullin’s appeal to poetry was equally striking.

His poem “Kokshetau” is perhaps one of Seifullin’s most complex works and describes the beauty of the Burabai area. The poem was published in 1929 and is based on Kazakh folk tales and legends.

In this poem, Seifullin celebrates the picturesque landscapes of Kokshetau, linking them to the history of the workers and their struggle for a better future. It highlights the contradictions within the patriarchal feudal society and condemns Abylai Khan’s raids on peaceful Kazakh villages.

Seifullin became one of the many victims of the massive Stalinist repressions against the intelligentsia in the late 1930s. Arrested in 1938 accused of being a “bourgeois nationalist,” he was executed in February of that year in Almaty. Seifullin was posthumously rehabilitated in 1957.

Seifullin Museum in Astana

Astana is home to a museum dedicated to Seifullin, located at 20 Auezov Street. Visiting this museum offers a window into Seifullin’s world of writing, poetry, and public service.

Seifullin Museum in Astana. Photo credit: astana.citypass.kz

The museum, which occupies seven rooms, exhibits rare photographs, archival documents, paintings and personal belongings of the poet. The highlight is Seifullin’s bedroom and cabinet, which were recreated piece by piece by the museum.

In one corner, visitors can see his personal belongings, such as suitcases from the 1930s and his son Ayan’s blanket; in another, the dombra (a traditional Kazakh instrument) of his brother Majit Seifullin. Also in the room is the bed he bought in Tashkent in 1926, the year he married his second wife, Gulbahram. There are also rooms dedicated to the state, pedagogical and literary activities of Seifullin.

Seifullin’s legacy at the museum owes much to Gulbahram, who meticulously preserved his belongings and documents.

The museum building itself has important historical value for the city. It was built in 1846 by the Akmola merchant Kazantsev and served as a registration office for purchased goods. In 1920, it became the editorial office where Seifullin worked. It was officially opened as a museum in 1988.