Gaziz Sapaev

(1926-2012)

Gaziz Sapaev was born on October 10, 1926, in the "Akmektep" division of the "Karasu" state farm in the Tarbagatai district of the Semey region. He graduated from the Teachers' Institute in Semey in 1947 and from the Pedagogical Institute in 1952. He worked as a teacher for twelve years in the Zaysan district of East Kazakhstan, the Ayagoz district of Semey region, and in the city of Semey, teaching the Kazakh language and literature in schools. From 1959 to 1981, until his retirement, he served as the head of the culture and higher education department of the regional newspaper "Semey Tany." While working in the editorial office, he wrote articles about artists, poets, writers, and scholars in the fields of culture and literature, and he is also the author of several critical articles. Since 1981, he has been engaged in creative work. He was a member of the Union of Writers and Journalists of the USSR.

The writer's creative activity began in the 1950s. His first novella "The Year’s Harvest" was published in 1963. The book discusses a young teacher, Yerzhan, who has just graduated from university and is beginning his work, focusing on his approach to integrating study and work in his teaching career. Thus, the author, who is also a pedagogue, was able to accurately predict the development path of Soviet schools, namely the school reform that is currently being implemented.

The writer's distinctive second milestone is the novella "My Pigeon" (1969). Here, he addresses the pressing issue of youth education. It tells the story of a girl from the village of Tentesh, who almost falls into a life of loose morals, but meets a girl named Kogeršin, leading to a dramatic change in her life as she becomes involved in work.

Gaziz Sapaev's book "Guldana," which includes two novellas and stories, was published in 1977. The novella "Toiyim-Toi" from this collection was published. The plays "Toiyim-Toi" and "It's Hard to Be a Girl" by G. Sapaev, accepted into the repertoire of the Ministry of Culture of the Kazakh SSR, were continuously staged at the A. Pushkin Semey Regional Music and Drama Theater from 1977 to 1984 and were well received by the audience.

The extensive novella "Far from My Homeland" was published in 1982. The content of "Far from My Homeland" was expanded and published as a novel titled "Sagyńysh" by the "Foliant" publishing house in 2002. In this novel, Gaziz Sapaev narrates his life in Xinjiang between 1933 and 1943. "Sagyńysh" encompasses the major social upheavals experienced by the people living in the Soviet Union.

In 1989, Sapaev's book "On the Road" was published by the "Writer" publishing house.

In 2011, under the leadership of the regional governor B. Saparbaev, the book "Bel-Belester" was published by the Altai-Ertis Library. It includes his poems, stories, and memoirs. Gaziz Sapaev is the author of articles and essays about the writer, educator, and scholar Kaiym Mukhamedkhanov, professor and the first rector of the Zooveterinary Institute Baidulla Sadikov, mathematician K. Nursultanov, and other prominent figures of the city and region. Local poets Mergali Ibraev and Sadu Mashakov translated his poems into Russian. He was awarded certificates of honor and medals by the Supreme Council of Kazakhstan. The writer passed away in Semey at the age of 86.