The history of the people, their traditions are very important for every person. And in our time, the issue of preservation of cultural heritage is very acute. Knowing one’s roots fosters pride, patriotism and a sense of responsibility in a person. Truly invaluable are the works of writers and poets who boldly, honestly and reliably show in their work the glorious past of the people.
So the works of Ilyas Yesenberlin is not just a narrative about the past of Kazakhstan. Not. This is a titanic work, many years of research, facts gathered bit by bit, folklore and traditions transmitted from generation to generation. This is a history textbook that reveals the spiritual wealth and strength of the Kazakh people.
Come from childhood
Yesenberlin Ilyas was born on January 10, 1915 in the city of Atbasar (Akmola region) in the family of a joiner. From an early age, the boy eagerly absorbed the culture of his people. He was greatly influenced by the famous akyn Kakbai in Kazakhstan, who knew a great many stories and ancient legends, songs and poems. For many hours he played the dombra with his beautiful singing and “caressed” the ears of the Aulchan.
Both parents were killed by the smallpox epidemic when Ilyas was 5 years old. Four children were left in the care of their stepfather. They lived from hand to mouth, and, sitting after a meager breakfast in the shade, the children listened to the endless stories of Ilyas, who was a wonderful storyteller.
Unforgettable gift
In his memoirs, Ilyas often shared one bright event of his childhood. Once, at a fair, he won a wrestling competition, and he was awarded a cash prize. The older sister arranged a feast on this occasion - they spent all the money they earned. They drank tea with sugar and baursaks, sang, played and joked. A lot has happened in the life of the great writer, but this day was for him the most precious and brightest. As Ilyas Yesenberlin said, this is the most unforgettable gift that his beloved sister made for him.
Independent life
Soon the stepfather got married, the sister got married, the relatives took her brother to her, and Ilyas was taken to the orphanage right there, in Atbasar. Children rarely saw each other and missed each other. When Ilyas was allowed to go home with an overnight stay, they sat close to each other, almost all night. So two years passed. After graduating from elementary school, the guy left for Kyzyl-Orda to continue his studies at the boarding school.
Ilyas Yesenberlin got a job in the district executive committee and got into the preparatory courses of the Alma-Ata Mining and Metallurgical Institute on a routine basis. The guy became a student of the mining department. He was noticed very quickly at the institute, as he possessed amazing mathematical abilities, freely analyzed and systematized various events and phenomena. His knowledge of Kazakh folklore and well-read did not go unnoticed either. He read a lot of world classics, painted well.
A cheerful and optimistic young man quickly gained the respect and love of fellow students. In 1937, a student of Yesenberlin was elected a delegate to the 1st Congress of Soviets of Kazakhstan. He graduated from the institute in 1940 and went to Dzhezkazgan in the direction. In the fall he was drafted into the army. The war found Ilyas in Riga, he was sent to study at the military-political school. In the early days of the Second World War, the young man was mobilized to the front, where he became a political instructor.
Hard way
At the end of 1943, Ilyas was seriously injured and spent almost a year in the Kostroma hospital. He returned to Alma-Ata and got into the drama theater as the head of the literary department. Soon he joined the Central Committee of the Design Bureau of Kazakhstan as an instructor. In 1949 he worked as director of the Philharmonic. By an absurd accident and slander of ill-wishers, Ilyas was accused of embezzlement and sentenced to 10 years. Soon the case was sent to the Supreme Court, and it was all over - he was rehabilitated and reinstated in the party.
In 1950, they again brought the case, gave it 10 years and sent it to certain doom - the construction of the Karakum Canal, where slave labor and disease, heat and hunger mowed people like grass. After the death of Stalin, he is rehabilitated, Ilyas Yesenberlin leaves with his wife in the Semipalatinsk region. And he understands that he cannot live without literary creation. I agreed to work at least somewhere, if only to be able to write and create.
Dear creativity
Ilyas began his career as a poet. The poems Aisha and Sultan were published in 1934. After 4 years, a collection of poems “Tales of Daulet” and the poem “The Tragedy of Birzhan-Sarah” and “Poem about the Bolshevik” appeared. Esenberlin wrote over 40 songs. In 1977, a collection of poems "Stars" was released.
In 1967, the novel "Dangerous Crossing" was published, which tells about the difficult fate of the intelligentsia of Kazakhstan, about injustice and persecution. The novel was greeted in silence. But after the publication of the work “Struggle”, Esenberlin started talking about the work. The author received the Abay Award. And all of a sudden, he was appointed director of the Zhazushi publishing house.
Esenberlin wrote 15 novels. His work can be divided into categories: the historical nomad trilogy, the Golden Horde trilogy, and all other books.
Great Steppe Singer
Kazakh writer Esenberlin Ilyas is a giant of literature and culture of his people, who brilliantly showed the history of his native land for many centuries. Talking about the past has become its main goal. Kazakh territories were often attacked from outside. The people experienced oppression and suffering. He survived bloody battles. There are a lot of cases when people were on the verge of extermination in the history of Kazakhstan. But the people survived, preserving the lands of their fathers, state and ethnic value.
The main idea that Ilyas Yesenberlin (Nomads, Golden Horde) invested in historical trilogies is to reliably talk about the heroic past of his compatriots, about the formation of the state and to refute all arguments that the nomadic people are deprived of history. Esenberlin revived the majestic characters in his works. His books are a vivid, lively history of the Kazakh people.