The bronze sculpture of Ch. Valikhanov

The bronze sculpture of Ch. Valikhanov is made according to the model of the sculptor H.I. Naurzbaev and mounted on a pedestal (architect Sh.E. Valikhanov). On the back of the pedestal, the Kazakh national ornament and drawings by Ch. Valikhanov were used in the design. The sides are lined with ornamented tiles. The architectural solution of the square on which the monument is located is solemnly elevated. The approach to the monument is laid out by the Archeletian flagstone. The height of the monument is 8 m. The authors were awarded the State Prize of the Kazakh SSR in 1970. Chokan Valikhanov was a scientist, historian, ethnographer, folklorist, traveler and enlightener, served on the Military Scientific Committee of the General Staff of the Ministry of War, Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, Kazakh by nationality.

Valikhanov’s studies

Valikhanov’s studies were published in the works of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, in London (1865) Elise Reclus. The first edition of the works of Ch. Valikhanov was carried out in 1904 as a separate book, the twenty-ninth volume of the Russian Geographical Society on the branch of ethnography. In 1961-1972 and again in 1984-1985. The Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan carried out five-volume editions of the collected works of Chokan Valikhanov. Currently, «Manas» is a world-famous epic that was first recorded in the scientific world by Chokan Valikhanov, calling it a creation of folk wisdom, an encyclopedic collection of folk tales, myths and legends, geographical, religious concepts, customs and traditions; praised as the «Iliad» steppe. After Chokan, Kazakh scientists made a huge contribution to his research. The first monographic work about «Manas» was written by a great writer Mukhtar Auezov. A remarkable contribution to manasology is the study of Alkey Margulan «Chokan and Manas», which was released in 1971.

The scientific merits of Valikhanov, as a researcher of Central Asia and East Turkestan, were recognized by world science. Not a single serious scientist studying the history, geography and ethnography of the peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan is without reference to Valikhanov’s works. This indicates the enduring importance of the works of Valikhanov.

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