Bust Monument to Akhmet Baitursynov

History

Akhmet Baitursynov was an educator, scholar, linguist, literary critic, poet, and public figure who had a profound influence on the intellectual and social life of the Kazakh people in the early 20th century. He was born on 5 September 1872 in the Sartybek settlement of the Tosyn Volost, Turgai Uyezd. In 1886, he entered the two-grade Russian-Kazakh school in Turgai and graduated in 1891. That same year, he enrolled at the Orenburg Teachers’ School, graduating in 1895 with the qualification of a primary school teacher.

The early years of Akhmet Baitursynov’s teaching career were closely connected with the Aktobe region. After completing his studies, the young teacher worked at a school in the Batpakty Volost of Aktobe Uyezd, where he taught local children.

The establishment of the school in Batpakty was supported by volost administrator Akhmetkerei Kosuakov. According to published sources, it was Kosuakov who invited the young graduate of the Orenburg Teachers’ School to work there. Baitursynov taught at the Batpakty school for about two years, beginning one of the earliest stages of his educational career in this region.

He later continued teaching in schools in the Kostanay and Karkaraly uyezds. At the same time, Baitursynov became increasingly involved in public life and focused on education, the development of a national writing system, and the Kazakh-language press. In 1912, he introduced a reformed alphabet adapted to the phonetic characteristics of the Kazakh language. From 1913 onward, he was actively involved in publishing the newspaper Qazaq, which became one of the principal intellectual, cultural, and political platforms of the Kazakh intelligentsia. He later became one of the prominent figures of the Alash movement.

The memory of Akhmet Baitursynov’s teaching activity in the Aktobe region has remained part of local historical tradition. In 1988, the school in the village of Karagash was named after him. Today, the school offers an “Akhmettanu” course and houses a small museum entitled “Ұлт ұстазы — Ахмет” (“Akhmet — Teacher of the Nation”), dedicated to his life and legacy.

In 2015, a bust monument to Akhmet Baitursynov was erected in the courtyard of the secondary school named after him in Karagash. The monument was subsequently included in the list of historical and cultural monuments of local significance as a work of monumental art.

Description

The bust monument to Akhmet Baitursynov is located in the courtyard of the secondary school named after A. Baitursynov in the village of Karagash, Alga District, Aktobe Region.

The composition consists of a bust of Akhmet Baitursynov mounted on a tall pedestal. The pedestal is made of concrete and faced with granite slabs. It measures 1.3 × 1.3 metres and is 2.6 metres high.

The bust is made of fibreglass. The total height of the monument is 3.5 metres.

A black granite plaque on the front of the pedestal bears Akhmet Baitursynov’s name, the years of his life, and information stating that after graduating from teachers’ school he taught children in the Batpakty Volost of Aktobe Uyezd.

The monument was created by sculptor Yerlan Pirimzhanov.

Did You Know?

• One of the earliest stages of Akhmet Baitursynov’s professional teaching career was connected with Aktobe Uyezd. After graduating from the Orenburg Teachers’ School in 1895, he taught at a rural school in the Batpakty Volost.

• Akhmetkerei Kosuakov played an important role in establishing the school in Batpakty. He organised schooling for local children and invited the young Akhmet Baitursynov to work there as a teacher.

• In 1988, the school in Karagash was named after Akhmet Baitursynov. Today, it houses a small museum dedicated to his life and legacy.

• In 1989, Akhmet Baitursynov’s daughter, Sholpan Baitursynova, wrote to the leadership of the Aktobe Region and proposed collecting the memories of her father’s former students and people who had known him personally. She emphasised the importance of preserving eyewitness accounts for future generations.

Interesting Facts

The building of the school where Akhmet Baitursynov once taught has not survived to the present day. Nevertheless, the history of the Batpakty school continues to live on in local memory and regional historical publications.

An article entitled “Қарағашта қалған іздер” (“Traces Left in Karagash”), published in 2022, noted that local elders could no longer identify the exact location of the former school. However, several local place names associated with Akhmetkerei Kosuakov have survived, including “Akhmetkerei Balkasy,” “Akhmetkereidin Egindi Saiy,” and “Akhmetkereidin Shegendi Qudygy.”

In a 2024 report by NUR.KZ, local residents identified the area where, according to their accounts, the former school had once stood. Although the building itself has not survived, the site continues to be regarded as part of the village’s historical memory. The report also mentioned plans to install a commemorative marker there.

These accounts demonstrate how the historical memory of Akhmet Baitursynov’s time in Karagash is gradually being restored. The work of a young village teacher more than a century ago is once again becoming an important part of local history through the school, museum, and monument.

Why Is This Monument Important?

The bust monument to Akhmet Baitursynov in Karagash is more than a monument dedicated to a prominent historical figure. The location of the monument itself carries particular historical significance.

Akhmet Baitursynov entered history as one of the founders of Kazakh linguistics, an educator, and one of the leading figures of the Alash movement. Yet his major public career began with the everyday work of a village teacher. The Batpakty school in Aktobe Uyezd represented one of the earliest stages of that journey.

The placement of the monument in a school courtyard therefore has symbolic meaning. It creates a link between the young teacher who educated children in this region more than a century ago and the pupils who study there today, emphasising the continuity of educational traditions.

The monument also connects the local history of Karagash with the broader national history of Kazakhstan. Educational work that began in a small rural school later developed into far-reaching activity in the fields of Kazakh writing, scholarship, journalism, and public thought.

Thus, the monument not only commemorates Akhmet Baitursynov but also highlights the important place of the Aktobe region in his life and professional journey.

Sources

1. Kuandykkyzy B. “Ұлт ұстазы және Батпақты мектебі” // Egemen Qazaqstan. 11 August 2022, No. 152.

2. Kuandykkyzy B. “Қарағашта қалған іздер” // Egemen Qazaqstan. 2022.

3. “Ахмет Байтұрсыновтың өмірі мен қоғамдық-саяси қызметі” // Kazakhstan History Portal e-history.kz.

4. “Ахмета Байтурсынова вспомнят ко дню его 145-летия” // Diapazon. 10 May 2018.

5. Yerubayeva A. “Ахмет Байтұрсынұлы еңбек жолын бастаған Ақтөбе облысындағы алақандай ауыл туралы не білеміз” // KAZ.NUR.KZ. 27 August 2024.