Monument to the Great Kazakh Poet Abai Kunanbayev Inaugurated in Berlin

BERLIN, 22 October 2021 – A monument to the great Kazakh poet, composer, educator, thinker, public figure, founder of a new wave of Kazakh literature and its first classicist Abai Kunanbayev was officially unveiled today at a ceremony held on the territory of the Embassy of Kazakhstan to Germany. This project was implemented in cooperation with the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Switzerland.

The ceremony was attended by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Culture and Sports Aktoty Raimkulova, the District Mayor of Berlin’s Pankow borough Sören Benn, parliamentarians, senior officials from Germany’s government agencies, representatives of the business community and the media, as well as residents of the district and friends of our country.

In his welcoming remarks, Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Germany Dauren Karipov paid tribute to everyone involved in erecting the monument, in particular Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Switzerland Alibek Bakayev, the project’s sponsor Kairat Tleubayev, the author of the monument Bolat Mekebaev, as well as a longtime friend of Kazakhstan Leonard Kossuth, who translated Abai's work into German and for many years provided comprehensive support to the "Kazakh Library" project.

For her part, Minister Raimkulova spoke about Abai's work and the importance of expanding and deepening cultural and humanitarian relations between countries as a basis for continued interethnic friendship.

The event was capped off with a musical performance by students from the Kazakh National University of Arts, who had traveled from Kazakhstan to delight the German public with their renditions of the works of Abai and other Kazakh folk songs.

As part of the celebration, guests had the opportunity to visit a photo exhibition dedicated to the culture, traditions, nature and sights of Kazakhstan and enjoy national delicacies.