Abdizhamil Nurpeisov

Born Oct. 22, 1924, on Kugaral, now Kokaral, Island in Aral’sk Raion, Kzyl-Orda Oblast. Soviet Kazakh writer. Member of the CPSU since 1944. Fought in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45.

Nurpeisov was first published in 1949. His novel about life at the front, Courland, was published in 1950 (second edition entitled The Long-Awaited Day, 1958). In 1956 he graduated from the M. Gorky Institute of Literature. In 1958, Nurpeisov began work on the historical-revolutionary trilogy Blood and Sweat—about events in Kazakhstan during World War I (1914–18) and the Civil War (1918–20). The first book, Twilight, appeared in 1961 (Russian translation, 1966); the second book, Tribulations, in 1964 (Russian translation, 1968); and the third book, Ruin, in 1970 (Russian translation, 1972). Their social relevance, subtle psychological insights, and the vivid originality of the characterizations have made the trilogy notable not only in Kazakh literature but in all Soviet literature. Nurpeisov has also written a collection of articles entitled Meditations (1972). He has been awarded three orders.