Dzhambul Dzhabaev

Born Feb. 16 (28), 1846, in Semirech’e; died June 22, 1945, in Alma-Ata. Kazakh folk akyn (improvisatory poet and singer).

The son of a poor nomad, Dzhabaev studied the art of improvisation with the akyn Suiumbai. He performed songs, mainly satirical, frequently defeating at the aitys (traditional form of sung folk poetry) competitions well-known akyns of the late 19th and early 20th century. From his improvisations of the prerevolutionary period were transcribed the epics Suranshi-batyr and Utegen-batyr and the tales “The Khan and the Akyn” and “Story of a Lazy Fellow.” After the Great October Socialist Revolution, his songs became part of the new everyday life of the Kazakh village. His works have been translated into Russian (P. Kuznetsov, K. Altaiskii, and M. Tarlovskii), as well as into the languages of other peoples of the USSR, and have earned recognition throughout the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, Dzhabaev’s patriotic works echoed throughout the country, especially “Leningraders, My Children!”

Combining oral and literary forms, Dzhabaev achieved a new poetic manner distinguished by its psychological fullness, by its concrete depiction of social life and nature, and by the sincerity and epic simplicity of its narrative. Dzhabaev was elected a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR in 1938 and received the State Prize of the USSR in 1941. He was awarded the Order of Lenin and two other orders.