Nurlybek Baimuratov is one of the followers of Dzhambul Dzhabayev, Kazakh Soviet akyn, honored art worker of the Kazakh SSR, member of the Writers’ Union. He was born at a settlement near the Balapan tract of Beskaragai district of Semipalatinsk region on December 6, 1887. His father’s name was Baimurat, he was a poor man and worked as a watchman, guarding the deserted fields with wheat of local rich man Vassily Putintsev At that time, the Balapan tract belonged to the Russian rich man Vasily Putintsev, the villagers called him Kaska.
Spending his childhood among farmers, communicating with them, Nurlybek learned to speak Russian and German. Playing the dombra, the balalaika, he sang songs, ditties in these languages. He not only sings, but also begins to write poetry. It was during this period that the poet’s true talent revealed itself.
Young Nurlybek was tall for his years. His father placed him in a madrasah of the village of Bashkul. Bashkul was one of the largest village, it included about 400 houses of the Tatars.
Talented Nurlybek quickly comprehended school subjects and became among the first students. He quickly learned to write in Arabic, he read a lot, and played musical instruments in his free time.
A Veteran of War and Labor Abu Smagulov from the village Lebyazhye of Pavlodar region remembered : “Once, while studying in a madrasah, Nurlybek wrote a poem and several riddles in class, and during the break he put them in the books of students. The teacher noticed this and began to beat the students, finding out who did it. The children admitted that Nurlybek did it. The teacher did not punish him, but he invited Nurlybek’s father to the madrasah and said him: “Your son knows how to write, he studied the Koran well. He writes poetry, songs, stories. Then he has no desire to learn. I bless him and ask you to take him out of the madrasah in order that Nurlyber does not prevent from studying to the children. ”
Thus, Nurlybek’s studies ended. After the death of their father, the Baimuratovs moved to Pavlodar region, to their father’s homeland. Here Nurlybek got a job as a porter for the shipping company. Traveling along the Irtysh, he introduced with people, their traditions and he acquainted his surrounding with his work.
In the first years of Soviet power, Nurlybek studied at workers’ faculty in Orenburg. After graduation, he goes as chairman of the revolutionary committee to the Aktobe volost. Then Nurlybek studies at a party school. After school he works as an executive officer in trade of Semipalatinsk. During these years he became close to M. Auezov.
In his poems, he criticized unskillful leaders, as a result of which his property was confiscated, and Nurlybek himself was sent to prison. But the poet’s conscience was clear, and he run away from prison. Having reached Alma-Ata, he meets with the chairman of the central executive committee of the Kazakh SSR and tells what happened to him. Having received a certificate of release, he returns to his native place.
Poetess B. Ospanova from Tselinograd region remembered: “During the Great Patriotic war Nurlybek went from aul to aul and supported orphans and widows with his songs and poems. Nurlybek, during the war, donated his personal savings to the plane.” Nurlybek, with his songs was in East Kazakhstan, Semipalatinsk, Pavlodar, Karaganda, Omsk regions, he collected resources to protect the Motherland. All collected resources he transferred to the defense fund.
As a poet of Kazakhstan , he became famous in 1939. On June 21-22, 1939, he showed his poems at the 2nd Congress of Kazakh Writers, as a delegate from Semipalatinsk. At this congress he was elected a member of the Writers’ Union of the USSR. In November 1939 he was awarded the title “Honored Worker of Art and Culture of the Kazakh SSR” by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR.
First of all Nurlybek is known as a master of aitys, but, unfortunately, his early songs were not recorded. The most famous his aitys were in 1939, 1943, 1961. In 1949 and 1958 N. Baimuratov took part in the decade of arts and culture of Kazakhstan in Moscow. He competed in aitys with akyns Isa Baizakov (1922), Nartai Bekezhanov (1939), Toleu Kobdikov (1949) and others.
In 1957 collections of works ” People’s anger “, “Revenge of the People”, “Happy Epoch”, “Aitys” which included many of his poems, songs, aitys were published.
The poems “Er Tolegen” (1945), dedicated to the Hero of the Soviet Union T. Tokhtarov, and ” A bloody campaign ” (1962), dedicated to the civil war in the Beskaragai region, gained wide popularity. During the life of Nurlybek his book “Selected works” was published as a separate edition in 1957
On November 8, 1969 Nurlybek Baymuratov died at the age of 82, in the village of Novo-Nikolaevka of Beskaragai region.
Famous writers Kayum Mukhametkhanov, Rakhymbek Korabaev, Kalikhan Altynbaev dedicated essays and articles about the life and work of Nurlybek to the 90, 95, 100th anniversary of the poet’s birth.
Literature:
- Baimuratov N. Er Tolegen: [ Poem dedicated to T. Tokhtarov Hero of the Soviet Union ]. – Almaty: Kazakh State Publishing House, 1945. – 77 p.
- Baimuratov N. Poetry and poem. – Almaty: Kazakh State Publishing House of Fiction, 1957. – 140 p.
- Baimuratov N. A bloody campaign: a poem. – Almaty: Kazakh State Publishing House of Fiction,, 1962. – 124 p.
- Baimuratov N. Treasure: poetry and poems. – Almaty: Writer, 1982. – 140 p.
- Korabaev R. Nightingale of the Priirtyshya. // Ogni Priirtyshya. – 1984. – 15 September.
- Gainullina F.A. Literature of the Semipalatinsk Priirtyshye: a textbook. – Semipalatinsk, 2002.- 132 p.
- Krivitskiy. The spirit of a rebellious poet // Rudny Altai. – 2004. – November 2. – С. 4
- Nurlybek Baimuratov // Priirtyshye. – 1989. – July 6.
- Tukusov U. Let’s remember your name // Ogni Priirtyshya. – 1989. – 13 July.
- Shayakhmetov К. Wreath to the poet // Irtysh. – 1987. – 17 December.