ASTANA – In October, Kazakhstan marked the 130th birthday of Saken Seifullin, an iconic poet and writer who had a profound impact on Kazakh literature and played a prominent role in politics, championing mass education and progress social. His literary legacy focused on the upheavals 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 Karagandy region. Education was central 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, all while teaching Russian to Kazakhs and Tatars in the local madrasa (Islamic educational institution).

Educator at the base

Seifullin was an active educator with a larger-than-life purpose of spreading education to the masses, believing strongly in its transformative nature.

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

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

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

Upon returning to Akmola in 1917, Seifullin began his role as a youth leader and was elected chairman of the Akmola Kazakh Committee. In the same year, he founded the socio-political youth organization Zhas Kazakh (Young Kazakh). Along with these roles, he contributed articles and helped publish the Bolshevik newspaper called Tirshilik (Life). By the end of 1917, with the establishment of Soviet authority, Seifullin was elected to the Council of Deputies and appointed People’s Commissar for 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 highest governing body in the region.

This role was essential for Seifullin, who wanted to restore the historical identity of the Kazakh people and promote the Kazakh language. He was a vocal supporter of recognizing Kazakh as a state language and was instrumental in replacing the misnomer “Kyrgyz” with the proper 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 worked as an editor in the newspapers Adebiet Maidany (Literary Front) and Yenbekshi Kazakh (Kazakh Worker), where he contributed theoretical literary articles.

Poems and novels: Seifullin’s political life on the 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 Path”, 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 White Movement leaders (the 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 Path”, which chronicles the struggle of the Kazakh people during a chain of revolutionary events in 1916-1917. Photo credit: omsklib.ru

The novel provides a comprehensive overview of the political and social landscape of Kazakhstan on the brink of revolution and in the early years of Soviet rule, exploring the nation’s trajectory, progress, and the various forces shaping its evolution.

Seifullin’s call to poetry was just as impactful.

His poem “Kokshetau” is perhaps one of Seifullin’s most intricate works, describing 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 working people and their struggle for a better future. He points out the contradictions within the patriarchal feudal society and condemns Abylai Khan’s raids on the peaceful villages of Kazakhstan.

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

Museum of Seifullin in Astana

Astana hosts a dedicated museum on Seifullin, located on Auezov street no. 20. Visiting this museum provides a window into Seifullin’s world of writing, poetry and public service.

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

Spanning seven rooms, the museum exhibits rare photographs, archival documents, paintings and personal items of the poet. A highlight is Seifullin’s bedroom and closet, which have been recreated piece by piece by the museum.

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

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

The museum building itself has significant historical value to the city. It was built in 1846 by the merchant Akmola Kazantsev, serving as an office for keeping records of purchased goods. In 1920, it became the newsroom where Seifullin worked. It was officially opened as a museum in 1988.