The man won’t die until those who knew him are alive.
(Ch. T. Aytmatov)
Today, on the 25th of October, the International research-to-practice conference “Artistic world of Chingiz Aytmatov in the context of interaction of cultures”, devoted to 85th anniversary of the writer, opened in the Institute of Philology and Arts of Kazan Federal University.
“The man won’t die until those who knew him are alive,” wrote Aytmatov, but memory of him is imperishable. Creative work by Chingiz Aytmatov is one of the brightest pages not only in Kyrgyz literature, but also in the world literature as a whole. His works have been translated into 176 languages and published in 128 countries with the circulation making over 100 mln copies. According to UNESCO data, he is considered one of the most widely read and published writers of the XX century. Many of his works were turned into films or adapted for straight plays and ballets.
A numerous delegation from the Republic of Kyrgyzstan arrived to take part in the conference. The Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism, Mr. Sultan Raev, the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan in Russia, Mr. Bolot Dzhunusov, Chingiz Aytmatov’s sister, Ms. Roza Aytmatova, film maker and scriptwriter, Mr. Bolot Shamshiev, were among the delegation members.
The event started with staging of a fragment of “Farewell to Gulsary”. The plot of this work was especially dear to Chingiz Aytmatov. The main character of the story, Tanabay, became a victim of political repressions, as once had happened to the family of the writer’s mother – a daughter of a Tatar merchant from Kukmorskiy region.
A lot of cordial words and memories were pronounced on that day from the stage: representatives of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan made speeches, deputy head of the Council of State of the RT, Ms. Rimma Ratnikova, welcomed the conference participants on behalf of the leadership of Tatarstan, the President of KFU, Mr. Myakzyum Salakhov, greeted the audience on behalf of the University.
The scientific part of the conference will be held for two days: philologists from several countries will discuss life and creative work of the writer.