Today, Kazakhstan celebrates Abai Day. This year marks the 181st anniversary of the birth of the great poet, thinker, educator, and composer Abai Kunanbayuly.
Abai's creative and philosophical legacy occupies a special place in national culture. His works and ideas live on in literature, music, theater, museums, and education, remaining an important part of the country's spiritual and cultural heritage.
Today, 33 settlements bear Abai's name, 1,231 streets, avenues, and other landmarks, as well as 125 institutions in various regions of Kazakhstan, bear his name.
Cultural and educational institutions bearing Abai's name include the Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theater named after Abai in Almaty, the Regional Kazakh Music and Drama Theater named after Abai, the Regional Universal Library named after Abai in Semey, and the Kazakh National Pedagogical University named after Abai. In Almaty, the Abai Ulttyk Mektebi (Abai University of Culture) is active, integrating the "Tolyk Adam" philosophy into its educational and upbringing processes.
The memory of the great thinker is also represented in monumental art. There are 55 sites dedicated to Abai in Kazakhstan—27 monuments and 28 busts. They are located in almost every region of the country. The Abai monument in Almaty, erected in 1961, is designated a historical and cultural monument of national significance, while more than ten other sites have local significance.
Abai's legacy is also widely represented beyond Kazakhstan. Monuments, busts, and other memorials dedicated to the thinker have been erected in more than 20 countries, including Russia, Germany, France, Italy, China, South Korea, India, Brazil, and the Central Asian states. In Rio de Janeiro, a bust of Abai became the first such memorial to the thinker in the Americas. Abai's name is also immortalized in the urban environments of foreign countries. At least nine cities have streets named after him, including avenues and squares in Kırıkkale and Istanbul, and parks in Yerevan and several cities in Turkey.
Cultural and educational spaces dedicated to Abai's legacy are also being created abroad. An Abai Museum and a street named after him opened in Osh in 2025. Kazan now has the Abai Scientific and Educational Center for the Kazakh Language and Culture, Bishkek has the Abai Kyrgyz-Kazakh Cultural Center, and Konya, Turkey, has the Abai House.
Today, events dedicated to Abai Day continue throughout Kazakhstan. Concerts, literary and musical evenings, exhibitions, museum and educational programs, poetry readings, and other cultural projects are taking place. Flower-laying ceremonies are being held at monuments to the great thinker in Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, and regional capitals.