He was born on October 28, 1934 in the city of Engels, Saratov region of the RSFSR. German. His father was Karl Fedorovich (1909-2002). Mother – Anna Davydovna (1910-1994).He graduated from the literary faculty of the Kazakh Pedagogical Institute named after Abai (1958), a teacher of Russian language and literature; postgraduate studies at the Kazakh Pedagogical Institute named after Abai (1963).
He is the author of 53 books, including “The Pine House on the edge of the village” (1973), “Seagulls over the Steppe” in German (1976), “Beyond the Six Passes” (1977), “Brother among Brothers” (1981), “Stone Ford” (1987), “Tomorrow the sun will be” (1992), “Earthly Elect (Goethe, Abai)” (1995), “Remember your name” (1999), “Kazakh word” (2001), “Wanderer’s House” (2003), “Harmony of the Spirit” (2003), “Tuyuk su” – novel (2004), “Ode to Translation” (2005), “Post Factum” (2007), “Discord” – novel (2008); “Selected Works” in 10 volumes (2009-2010); more than 1,800 publications in different languages. Russian Russian has translated 20 prose works from German into Russian, and more than 200 from Kazakh into Russian.
Editor and compiler of 19 books, co-author of 103 collective collections. Speaks Russian, Kazakh and German. Member of the CPSU (1961-1991).
Since 1953, he has been a laboratory assistant, a secondary school teacher in North Kazakhstan region. Since 1958, he has been a teacher of Russian language and literature at the Baikadam Secondary School in the Dzhambul region. Since 1963, he has been a literary employee of the magazine “Zhuldyz”. Since 1964, he has been engaged in creative literary work. Since 1989, he has been Chairman of the German National Cultural Center. Since 1995, he has been the editor–in-chief of the Phoenix almanac. Since 1998 – Chairman of the Board of the Soros-Kazakhstan Foundation.
Deputy of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan (by state registration from Pavlodar region, 1994-1995).
Chairman of the German Cultural Society in Almaty. Member of the Council of Germans of Kazakhstan; National Council for State Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO.
Honored Worker of Culture of the Kazakh SSR (1987). He was awarded the Orders of Parasat (1994), “For Services to Germany” (2010); 8 jubilee medals; Certificate of Honor of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR (1984). Laureate of the B. Mailin Prize of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan (1988), the Presidential Prize for Peace and Spiritual Harmony (1992), the Kazakh Pen Club Award (1996), the independent Tarlan Award (2002), the highest national award “Altyn Samruk” (2007), “Freedom” (2008).
My hobby is chess. Literary preferences – “Humanism, intelligence, realism, unity of peoples, historical fate of ethnic Germans.”
