Type of monument: Monumental art structures
Date of monument: 2015
Location: Aktobe Region, Alga District, Karagash village, Aliya Moldagulova Street
Description of the monument:
The bust is located in the courtyard of the A. Baitursynov Secondary School. The pedestal of the monument is made of concrete and covered with granite slabs. The length and width of the pedestal are 1.3 meters, and its height is 2.6 meters. The bust is made of glass-plastic. The total height of the monument is 3.5 meters. A black granite plaque installed on the pedestal bears the inscription:
“Akhmet Baitursynov 05.09.1872 – 08.10.1937. After graduating from a teachers’ training school in 1891–1895, Akhmet Baitursynov taught children in Batpakty volost of Aktobe uyezd (present-day Sambay village, Alga district, Aktobe region).”
Author of the monument: Erlan Pirimzhanov
Historical information:
Akhmet Baitursynov was born on September 5, 1872, in Sartybek settlement, 5th village of Tosyn volost, Turgai uyezd, Kostanay region. In 1886, he entered the two-grade Russian-Kazakh school in Turgai, which he graduated from in 1891. In the same year, he was admitted to the Orenburg Teachers’ School, which he graduated from in 1895, receiving the qualification of “primary school teacher” by decision of the Pedagogical Council. From 1896 to 1901, he worked as a teacher in rural and volost schools and two-grade schools in Aktobe, Kostanay, and Karkaraly uyezds. In 1912, he reformed the Kazakh alphabet (Arabic-based script) and introduced it into use. While in Ufa, he participated in the initiative of educated Kazakh youth to raise funds and publish the newspaper “Qazaq”.
The bust of Akhmet Baitursynov is an important example of memorial art, visually representing the history of Kazakh pedagogy, linguistics, and public service. Its location in a school courtyard is a symbolic choice that combines education and patriotic upbringing, allowing students to connect with historical figures and national cultural heritage. The architectural solution of the monument is simple, but through its content it conveys the public role and contribution of the historical figure in the field of education.
Sources:
- Wikipedia (Kazakh) – full biography and activity of Akhmet Baitursynov:
https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ахмет_Байтұрсынов - Aktobe newspaper – “150th anniversary of Akhmet Baitursynov”:
https://aqtobegazeti.kz/?p=12223
https://aqtobegazeti.kz/?p=117771 - Egemen Kazakhstan – Akhmet Baitursynov and his contribution to education:
https://egemen.kz/article/309167-ulttynh-uly-ustazy