Murat Sultanbekov

Murat Sultanbekov was born on January 28, 1938. A native of Semey, Murat Sultanbekov's creative path began at the onset of the strict politics of the 1960s.

This era brought a new wave to Kazakh culture, with songs by Shamshi, Beken, and poetry by Olzhas and Tumanbay. As a representative of this new wave, one of the young poets who emerged from Semey was Murat Sultanbekov.

Poet Sultanbekov is an outstanding writer in both Russian and Kazakh, fully understanding the secrets of both languages. Nourished by the muse of the great Pushkin and his native tongue, Murat is one of the few writers who express their voice and heartfelt emotions in Russian within the rich literature of our vast republic. After graduating from Semey Pedagogical Institute in 1960, he continued his studies in graduate school in Moscow, and even during the years he was suddenly called up for military service in 1962 due to the escalation of international tensions, his passion for poetry did not diminish. Over the years, he worked as a teacher at School No. 3 in Semey, head of a department at the regional Komsomol committee, a researcher at the Aбай Museum, a senior lecturer at Semey Pedagogical Institute, head of a department at Taldykorgan State Pedagogical Institute, a senior lecturer at Semey Veterinary Institute, an inspector at the regional education department, a translator at the Semey regional administration, and a senior researcher at the republican "Aбай" magazine. The publication of his first collection of poems in 1969 by "Zhazushy" publishing house was a result of this search. The Russian-speaking Kazakh poet also worked productively in the field of poetry during the 1970s and 80s. His lyrical poems, poured from a pure poetic heart, and the genuine feelings expressed in his poem "Window of a Classmate" are sure to captivate anyone. During these years, the poet also aimed for a scholarly path. His scientific and journalistic articles were published in "Voprosy literatury," "Druzhba narodov," and "Prostor" magazines.

He successfully defended his candidate dissertation on the topic "Aбай's Poems." A significant part of Sultanbekov's work focuses on the study of the legacies of Aбай, Shakarim, and Mukhtar, with the theme of Aбай, which began with the poem "Dagestan," remaining a constant in Murat's creativity. His contributions to the study of Aбай include translating ten of Aбай's poems, 45 of his prose pieces, and the memoir "About My Father" by Aбай's son Turagul. Murat Sultanbekov skillfully translated two of Shakarim's poems, "Qalkaman-Mamyr" and "Eңlik-Kebek," as well as G. Musirepov's play "Zhalbyr" into Russian.

His works are frequently published in the press. In 1971, he obtained the degree of Candidate of Philological Sciences. The poet's collections and translated books, such as "New Poems," "Irtysh Island," "Aqylbay Kunanbaev. Dagestan," "All My Life with Aбай," "Poetic Inspiration: Aбай, Shakarim, and Mukhtar," and "Shakarim. Kazakh in Mirror Reflection," have been published.

Alongside his translation work, M. Sultanbekov has also made fruitful contributions to the field of dramaturgy. He wrote a multi-act historical play titled "Attila" and presented a report on Attila at a scientific conference held in Almaty, organized by Kainar University and the Sedimes Institute of Patheon Assos University, for the 1600th anniversary of Attila, for which he was awarded a medal named after Attila.

In 2003, the regional Aбай Musical and Dramatic Theater of Semey staged his play "Starry Sky" in both Kazakh and Russian. He has been awarded numerous certificates of honor and the International "Attila" medal (2003).