Mukhtar Omarkhanovich Auezov was an outstanding Kazakh writer, dramatist and scientist, doctor of philological sciences, professor, academician at the Academy of Sciences of Kazakh SSR (1946).
The creative path of Mukhtar Auezov started in 1917, when he wrote the play “Yenlik-Kebek", based on a folk legend about the tragic fate of two young people.
He is the author of short stories including "Beauty in Mourning", "Orphan's fate", "Who is to blame?", "An orphan", "Fierce and Grey", the story “The incident on Karash-Karash", the novel "Hard times", the plays "Stone plumage", "In an apple orchard", monographic research on the history of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz literature and folklore. Many of these works revealed the problems of Kazakh feudal society at that time.
The crowning achievement of his career was his four-volume epic novel "The Path of Abai" which brought the writer worldwide fame. The novel has been translated into many languages and was included in the "Library of World Literature".
In 1945, the year of the 100th anniversary of Abai, M. Auezov wrote the libretto of the opera “Abai” and the script of the feature film "The Songs of Abai”. In 1949, the first book of the epic - the novel “Abai” was awarded the State Prize of the USSR, in 1959 the book "The Path of Abai" was awarded the Lenin Prize.
In addition, the film “Fierce”, which was based on a story by M. Auezov, and directed by T. Okeyev in 1973 was nominated for an Oscar award by the USSR.
Mukhtar Auezov was the first writer who contributed to the formation and development of Kazakh school of style through his creative works. Thanks to him, masterpieces of classical world literature, such as the plays “The Inspector General” by Gogol, “Othello”, “The Taming of the Shrew” by Shakespeare, “Lyubov Yarovaya” by K. Trenev were translated into the Kazakh language and made available to the public. M. Auezov's works have been repeatedly republished and translated into many languages.
The Institute of Literature and Art of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Academic Drama Theater, streets and schools in the cities of Almaty, Nur-Sultan, Semey, and other places are named after Mukhtar Auezov. There is a house-museum of Auezov in Almaty.
Monuments to the writer have been erected in all regions of the country. A 12-part documentary about the great writer (by A. Toibaeva) was broadcast on national television.
By the decision of UNESCO, the 100th anniversary of M. Auezov was celebrated all over the world in 1997. This year, as part of the 125th anniversary of the writer, over 500 events are planned, including more than 50 worldwide.