Saken Seifullin (1894-1939) was the founder of modern Kazakh literature, poet and writer, public and statesman. 

Also, he was the founder of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan and one of the main conductors of cultural construction in Kazakhstan of the 20th century. In 1913, he published his first article in the “Aikap” magazine. In 1914, a collection of his poems “Otken Kunder” (“Past Days”) about the first changes in the steppe was published as well. He was one of the leaders of the Kazakh youth organization “Birlik”, established in Omsk in 1914.

In 1917, Seifullin began active political activity in Akmolinsk. In April of 1917, he created the socio-political and cultural society “Zhas Qazaq” (“Young Kazakh”). In July of 1917, Seifullin participated in the publication of the “Tirshilik” (“Life”) newspaper. In May of 1918, the premiere of the performance based on S. Seifullin’s play “Baqyt Zholynda” (“On the way to happiness”) took place.

In June of 1918, a White Guard coup took place in Akmolinsk, Seifullin was arrested, and in January of 1919, he was transferred by prisoner’s transport from Akmola prison to Petropavl. He spent 47 days in the “death carriage”, which was later described by the writer in his novel “The Thorny Road”. In May of 1920, he returned to Akmolinsk, recaptured by the Red Army. As one of the most authoritative figures, S. Seifullin was elected to the government and the Presidium of the Kazakh Central Executive Committee. He took an active part in the drafting of the first state decrees. With Seifullin’s erudition and perseverance, the native Kazakh lands began to be returned to Kazakhstan. On June 13, 1922, he was appointed as the Deputy People’s Commissar of Education of the Republic and editor of the national newspaper “Enbekshi Qazaq”. Other than this, he was the founder of the Writers’ Union of Kazakhstan. He was one of the first to hold the post of Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Kyrgyz SSR (1920-1925).

Despite his active social and political activities, Seifullin continued to be a poet and write poetry. In 1922, a collection of his poems “Asau Tulpar” (“The Indomitable Horse”), the drama “Qyzyl Sunqarlar” (“Red Falcons”) were released.

However, 1924 was a turning point in the life of Saken Seifullin, when the struggle for power escalated in the ranks of the Bolsheviks, and the theme of class stratification against the Alashordins began in the Kazakh steppe. The development of Kazakh literature in the 1920s and 1930s took place in the most difficult conditions.

Saken Seifullin was an example of a multifaceted poet. Even in his first collection, “Past Days”, there are both idyllic landscape lyrics and loud patriotic leitmotifs. Following the precepts of a new literature, the young poet reviewed the great Abai as his teacher. He learned both the art of versification and love poetry from him. “Unforgettable”, “Where we said goodbye”, “Beloved” and a number of other poems were written under the influence of Abai’s lyrics.

Moreover, he continued to collect the folklore works of the Kazakh people. In particular, he managed to publish such collections as “Samples of ancient Kazakh literature”, “Leili and Majnun” and others. In 1931, the excerpts from his satirical novel “Our Everyday Life” were published.

At the beginning of 1934, Saken Seifullin, along with other representatives of the Kazakh intelligentsia, began working at the Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of National Culture. Other famous scholars worked at the Institute as well: prominent Kazakh orientalist and statesman Sanzhar Asfendiyarov; one of the founders of Kazakh linguistics, Turkologist, teacher, professor Kudaibergen Zhubanov; enlightener Konyrkhozha Khodzhikov; great writer, classic of Kazakh literature Mukhtar Auezov; Turkologist Ismet Kenesbayev; one of the founders of Kazakh linguistics, researcher of Kazakh philology Sarsen Amanzholov. During this period, the first generalizing works on the issues of Kazakh linguistics and literary criticism were made, and Saken Seifullin, Akhmet Baitursynov and Kudaibergen Zhubanov were in the beginning of this work. Thanks to the direct support of S. Seifullin, “1000 songs” by A. Zatayevich were published.

A tragedy of the poet was that he was a sincere herald of the new order, the victims of which were millions of Kazakhs during the years of famine and repression. On February 25, 1938, on charges (under Articles 58), he was sentenced to capital punishment as an “enemy of the people”. On March 21, 1957, he was rehabilitated by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR for the lack of corpus delicti.

Saken Seifullin will remain in the historical memory of our people as a bright representative of the Kazakh intelligentsia of the last century. The avenues and streets have been named in honor of the writer in the cities of Omsk, Almaty and Astana, and the monument has been erected in the Kazakh capital. There is a museum named after Saken Seifullin in Astana, and the capital’s Kazakh Agrotechnical University bears his name. The scientific conferences are held annually in his honor, and the postage stamp has been issued as well. In addition, many educational institutions in the country bear the name of Saken Seifullin.

(Based on the materials of the Ualikhanov Institute of History and Ethnology)