Akhmet Baytursinuli

Who was Akhmet Baytursinuli?

Akhmet Baytursinuli was a Kazakh intellectual who worked in the fields of politic, poetry, linguistics and education.

Baytursinuli was born in what is today Kostanay Province, and was educated at the Orenburg Teachers' School. After graduating in 1895, Baitursynov held teaching positions in a number of cities in Kazakhstan, including Aktobe, Kostanay and Karkaralinsk.

The same year as his graduation, Baytursinuli published his first article, "Kirgizskie primety i poslovitsy" in a regional newspaper. While living in Ural city in 1905, he collaborated with other Kazakhs to form the Kazakh wing of the Constitutional Democrat Party. His involvement in politics probably led to his 1909 arrest and exile from the Steppe regions. After being exiled, he went to Orenburg.

During his exile, he wrote articles for Ay Qap. He also served as the chief editor of Qazaq, the Kazakh newspaper there, and published "Qyryq Mysal". His other significant publication of this time was a Kazakh translation of Ivan Krylov's fables. In 1911, Baytursinuli published his first work of a distinctly political nature — Masa.