HISTORY OF THE INSTITUTE
Founded in 1934
The M.O. Auezov Institute of Literature and Art was established in 1934 and originates from the Kazakh National Cultural Research Institute, which was involved in the study of history, archaeology, language, literature, folklore, visual arts, music, theater, and choreography. In 1936, the Kazakh Language and Literature and Folk Creativity Sector was established at the Kazakh branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Starting from 1941, this sector was integrated into the Institute of History, Language, and Literature, and in 1945, it was reorganized into the Institute of Language and Literature. In May 1961, this institute was separated as the Institute of Literature and Art of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. In August of the same year, the institute was named after M.O. Auezov. In November 1963, the M.O. Auezov Literary Memorial Museum and a scientific department focused on studying the writer’s legacy were established within the institute.
Main Scientific Institution
Since its establishment, the M.O. Auezov Institute of Literature and Art has become the leading scientific institution for the study of Kazakh literature, folklore, and art. The institute’s scholars have made significant contributions to the study of the history and theory of national literature and art, as well as the creative legacy of prominent literary and art figures.
Prominent scholars such as M.O. Auezov, Z.A. Akhmetov, L.M. Auezova, M.Bazarbaev, I.Kh. Gabdyrov, M. Gabdullin, A.Zh. Derbisaev, Y.T. Duysenbaev, M.T. Duysynov, B.G. Erzakovich, M. Zharmukhameduly, A.Kh. Zhubanov, K.Zhummaliev, B. Kenzhebaev, M.Kh. Karataev, B. Kundaqbaev, A.Kh. Narymbetov, E.V. Lizunova, Sh.Kh. Satрaуeva, M.S. Silchenko, N.S. Smirnova, A.Tazhibayev, E.S. Ysmailov, Zh. Ysmagulov, A. Sharipov, and other distinguished scholars, writers, and cultural figures have worked at the institute.
Place of the Institute in Literary Studies
The institute has prepared the fundamental 3-volume work “History of Kazakh Literature” (in 6 books in Kazakh, 3 volumes in Russian) and contributed chapters on Kazakh folklore and literature to major works such as “History of Multinational Soviet Literature” (Moscow, 9 volumes), “History of World Literature” (Moscow, 9 volumes), and other fundamental works.
The institute has also published the collected works of A. Baytursynov, M. Dulatov, Zh. Aymauytov, M. Zhumabaev, S. Seyfullin, I. Zhansugirov, B. Maiyln, S. Mukhanov, G. Musirepov, G. Mustafin, as well as two-volume academic editions of the works of Abai, Zhambyl, M.-Zh. Kopeev, S. Toraygirov. The 12-volume collected works of M.O. Auezov (1967-1969), 20 volumes (1979-1985) have been published, and the “Abai,” “Mukhtar Auezov” encyclopedias are being prepared for publication.
Place in Musicology
Classic examples of national folklore and music: 3 volumes of Kazakh epic, 3 volumes of Kazakh fairy tales, 3 volumes of the aytys, and musical folklore were published in several books. Additionally, 17 volumes of folklore texts were released in the series “Kazakh Folk Literature.”
Collective monographs such as “History of Kazakh Folkloristics,” “Typology of Kazakh Folklore,” “Problems of Kazakh Historical Songs,” “Early Kazakh Literature,” “Kazakh Poets of the 19th Century,” “Kazakh Literature of the Early 20th Century,” “Interethnic Connections in Kazakh Literature” (in Kazakh and Russian), “Literature of the Peoples of Kazakhstan,” as well as “Kazakh Musical Folklore” (in Russian), “Music of Soviet Kazakhstan” (in Russian), “History of Kazakh Theatre” (2 volumes), “Essays on the History of Fine Arts in Kazakhstan,” “Masters of Fine Arts” (in Russian), and other scientific works and collections such as “Kazakh Literature in Foreign Criticism” (in Russian) have been published.
M.O. Auezov Scientific-Cultural Center (SCC)
The main scientific directions of the M.O. Auezov Scientific-Cultural Center are the research, publication, and promotion of M.O. Auezov’s creative heritage. The center has prepared and published works such as “Chronicle of the Life and Works of M.O. Auezov,” “Bibliographic Index of M.O. Auezov’s Works,” “The Unknown Auezov,” “The Encyclopedia of Mukhtar Auezov,” and others. The major achievement of the center’s staff is the completion of the 50-volume academic collection of the great writer’s works, with the final volume published in 2011.
Early Kazakh Literature
The institute’s scholars have been actively researching early Kazakh literature. The literary monuments of the 13th-14th centuries of Turkic-speaking peoples, such as “Oghuz-nama” and “Muhabbat-nama,” were translated into Kazakh for the first time and published in 1986, together with the original texts. In 1993, the translation and scientific commentary of the ancient Turkic language text “Divani Hikmet” by the great poet and philosopher of the 12th century, A. Yassawi, was first undertaken.
Materials published in the Kazakh press of the 19th and early 20th centuries, related to the history and culture of Kazakhstan, were widely presented in such publications as “Dala Ualaaty Newspaper,” “Articles and Correspondence from the Pages of Ayqap,” “Kazakh. Alash. Saryarka,” “Materials from Pre-Revolutionary Periodical Press,” “Kazakh People’s Heritage,” “Turkestan Ualaaty Newspaper,” “Ayqap,” “Kazakh” collections.
The Institute’s scholars have made significant contributions to the rehabilitation of the figures of the Alash movement who suffered from Stalinist repression and the compilation, publication, and research of their heritage.
As a result of their work, academic publications of the creative legacy of prominent figures in literature and arts, such as Sh. Kudayberdiev, M.-Zh. Kopeev, A. Baitursynov, M. Dulatov, G. Karashev, M. Zhumabaev, S. Toraygirov, Zh. Aimautov, S. Saduakasov, and others, who were unjustly persecuted during the Soviet era, have been published.
Between 2004 and 2011, the Institute actively participated in the realization of the national strategic project “Cultural Heritage” of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Within this important state program, 10 volumes of the “History of Kazakh Literature,” 8 volumes of the “Anthology of Kazakh Music,” 3 volumes of “World Literature Studies” and “World Folkloristics” were published. The first 100-volume series “Words of Ancestors,” 75 volumes, and the 20-volume series “Literary Monuments,” with 11 volumes published, were also realized.
The Manuscripts and Electronic Systematization Department is conducting significant work in preparing and publishing Kazakh folklore and literature examples of great scientific and historical-cultural importance. With the involvement of the department’s staff, 8 volumes of the “Scientific Description of Kazakh Manuscripts” have been published.
The Institute is conducting planned research under the fundamental research program of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. During the scientific research, the true and full history of Kazakh folklore is being reconstructed, the stages of the formation of Kazakh literature in ancient and medieval times are studied, the creative continuity of outstanding poets and writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries is examined, and the genres of Kazakh literature from the 60s to the 90s of the 20th century are being studied in the context of the world literary process. M. Auezov’s rich legacy is being analyzed comprehensively and interpreted from new perspectives. Scientific analysis is being conducted on the key periods of development in the fine arts and cultural history of Kazakhstan, with a focus on various problems of national music from ancient times to the 21st century, while the main stages and principles of Kazakh theater’s development are being reassessed, and the peculiarities of international literary relations in the context of modern globalization are being examined.
The research on the 3-volume “History of Kazakh Art” from ancient times to the present day was initiated for the first time, and this valuable publication was released in both Kazakh and Russian languages.
Studies on the current state of world and Kazakh literature were written, and collective works such as “Literature of the Peoples of Kazakhstan” (2004), “Essays on World Literature at the Turn of the 20th-21st Centuries” (2006), and “International Connections of Kazakh Literature during Independence” (2008) were published. Since 2006, a new phase of research directions has begun in the Institute. The Institute’s staff paid special attention to studying the current processes of Kazakh literature and arts of Independent Kazakhstan. The artistic laws of recognizing the idea of Independence in domestic literature were considered in connection with the general Turkic literary process.
The issues of national ideas and the idea of national independence in the totalitarian system’s literature were investigated and highlighted. Works written under the influence of communist ideology were reconsidered, and the principles and methods of reflecting the idea of independence in M. Auezov’s works were demonstrated. The global literary process of the contemporary period was studied, and as a result, a collective monograph titled “World Literature in the New Era” was prepared. Modern trends in the development of literature in different countries were summarized in it, and the societal issues of today’s global era were discussed.
The work covers the literatures of distant (Romanian, German, French, Spanish, English, Bulgarian, Korean, Slovak, American, Arabic) and close (Russian, Ukrainian, Moldovan, Kyrgyz, Azerbaijani) countries.
Experts from the Institute, universities of our country, and literary scholars and critics from Azerbaijan, Moldova, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Germany participated in writing the chapters of the work.
The Institute has trained specialists in folklore, Kazakh literature, literature of the peoples of Kazakhstan, and new foreign literature, music, theater, and visual arts, not only for Kazakhstan but also for Turkic peoples in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Volga region, Siberia, and Sakha-Yakutia.
The Institute has been carrying out scientific collaboration with foreign countries based on intergovernmental agreements, conducting joint research, folklore expeditions, participating in international conferences, and exchanging scientific staff. Two volumes, “L’Yot Song under the Dombyra” (2009) and “The Sky Above My Head” (2010), were published in collaboration with the Moscow publishing house “Khudozhestvennaya Literatura”.
The volumes included folklore heritage and the precious gems of Kazakh literature, written monuments, including masterpieces of medieval and ancient literature.
In collaboration with “Khudozhestvennaya Literatura”, a two-volume edition of the literary monuments of the CIS countries called “Sailing under Eternal Skies” (“Sailing under eternal skies Monuments of Folklore and Literature of the CIS Countries”) was published in 2010, which includes six texts of the Kazakh people. The published books were introduced in Sorbonne, Vienna, and Berlin and were donated to the Sorbonne Library, where courses on CIS literature are planned to be held. In cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, a project on “The Study and Digital Preservation of Korean and Central Asian Myths, Fairytales, and Epics” is being implemented. As part of this, 9 works of Kazakh folklore were published in the “Kazakhstan” book in Korean.
Since 2005, the Institute has been publishing the scientific-popular and literary-artistic journal “Keruen”. Articles by literary scholars and art historians from distant (Germany, France, Romania, Turkey, Korea) and nearby (Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc.) countries are regularly published in the journal. The journal is registered at the ISSN center in Paris.