October marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Kazakh poet, writer and statesman Saken (Saduakas) Seifullin. His life was full of events, struggles and achievements, and his work left an indelible mark on the history of Kazakh culture and literature.
Saken (Sadvakas) Seifullin (October 15, 1894— February 28, 1939) was the founder of modern Kazakh literature, poet and writer, statesman, prominent member of the Bolshevik Communist Party (VKP b). Founder of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan. One of the first is the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars (Head of Government) Kyrgyz (Kazakh) ASSR of the RSFSR.
He was born on October 15, 1894 in a nomadic village in Akmola county (now Karaganda region).
Since 1905, he studied at the Russian-Kazakh school at the Spassky Copper Smelter. Then he studied at the Akmola primary parish school and at the Akmola three-grade city school. In addition, in 1912, Saken taught Russian to students of a Muslim madrasah. On August 21, 1913, Seifullin entered the Omsk Teachers’ Seminary, where he studied with Magzhan Zhumabaev.
Saken Seifullin published his first article in the November issue (No. 21) of the Aikap magazine. Since that time, the Omsk Okhrana has been interested in him. In 1914, Seifullin became one of the leaders of the first cultural and educational society of Kazakh youth “Birlik” (“Unity”) in Omsk.
In 1914, a collection of his poems “Otken Kunder” (“Bygone Days”) was published.
In 1916, Saken worked in the property correspondence commission of 12 municipalities of Akmola county. At the same time, he wrote a poem “Excitement” dedicated to the unrest of the Kazakh people in 1916.
Since September 1, 1916, Seifullin has been a teacher at the Bugulin School, in the foundation of which he was directly involved.
On March 9, 1917, he moved to the city of Akmolinsk, where he wrote a poem greeting the February Revolution “We hurriedly gathered for a campaign.”
In April 1917, Saken Seifullin created the socio-political and cultural society “Zhas Kazak” (“Young Kazakh”). In July 1917, Saken participated in the publication of the newspaper “Tirshilik” (“Life”).
Since September, Seifullin has been teaching three-month pedagogical courses at the new Russian-Kazakh school in Akmolinsk.
Immediately after the Great October Socialist Revolution, S. Seifullin wrote the poem “Anu-ka, dzhigits!”, which is considered the first work of Kazakh Soviet literature. On December 27, 1917, Soviet power was established in Akmolinsk. Seifullin was elected a member of the Presidium of the Akmola Council of Deputies and appointed People’s Commissar of Education. In February, he was accepted into the RCP (b). On May 1, 1918, the premiere of the play based on S. Seifullin’s play “Bakyt Zholyna” (“On the way to happiness”) took place.
