WordBulletin

World Bulletin/News Desk

Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov, whose books were translated into 150 languages will be remembered with an international conference to be held in London, England, on June 8th, 2012.

Aitmatov Academy, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Kazakh Multifunctional Institute "Parasat", M.Utemisov's University of West Kazakhstan will host the event that will be remembering and celebrating the life and works of this literary giant.

Chingiz Aitmatov was a bilingual writer (Kyrgyz & Russian) from Kyrgyzstan. He was an intellectual as well as an advisor to Mikhail Gorbachev. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he helped to stengthen the newly independent Kyrgyzstan in his role as Kyrgyz Ambassador to Brussels.

Aitmatov was born on December 12th, 1928 in Talas, Kyrgyzstan. He lost his father at the age of 10, a victim of Stalin's purges. His father was executed as an "enemy of the people" in 1938.

He graduated as a veterinary surgeon, studying first in Dshambul and later at the Agricultural High School in Frunze (now Bishkek – the capital of Kyrgyzstan). Aitmatov published his first short story in 1952.

He studied at the High School for Literature in Moscow from 1956-58. He published his first story "Face to face" in the Kyrgyz language in 1957. His second story "Jamilia" was translated into French by Louis Aragon in the same year and brought him worldwide fame. He went on to become a celebrated author, thanks to his hard work and great talent.

His works have been translated into more than 150 languages worldwide. He died in a clinic in Germany on June 10, 2008.