Kazakh writer Mukhtar Shakhanov has passed away

Sometimes it is not just people who leave. Entire eras pass away with them.

Today we think of Mukhtar Shakhanov (born in 1942) with deep sorrow. Mukhtar-aga was someone who could never be seen simply as a poet or a public figure. He was a phenomenon. A voice of his time. And for Kazakhstan, a true source of pride.

His inner strength always amazed us. The courage to speak when it was easier for others to stay silent. A charisma you felt instantly. And above all, a deep and genuine love for his homeland, without any display or pretence.

We met in 2013 after our first festival in Bishkek. And, as sometimes happens, the connection was immediate. Without unnecessary words.

Then came years of working together. In 2015, we published his book “Confession at the End of Summer” in English. We organised his visit to London. Meetings with compatriots, writers, scholars. Cambridge, the University of London, serious audiences and very different people. And everywhere he remained himself – confident, dignified, calm, and at the same time incredibly compelling.

I especially value his role in the formation of the Eurasian Creative Guild. In those years, his support meant a great deal. His name, his authority, his belief in the idea helped us through a difficult stage and allowed us to become what we are today.

He never sought compromise where principles were at stake. He did not engage in empty conflicts, did not adapt to changing circumstances. Straightforward, independent, real.

People like him do not truly leave. They remain – in their books, in their words, in the people they inspired.

And we are certain that Mukhtar-aga’s name will live on. In memory, in culture, in our projects. And in the meanings he once set in motion.

Marat Akhmedjanov, the founder of the British publishing house Hertfordshire Press and the Eurasian Creative Guild (London)