Saidil Talzhanov (born Saidilg’arab Omaruly Talzhanov; 6 December 1906 – 10 December 1972) was a Kazakh historian, translator, literature critic and a philology scientist contributing mostly to Kazakh - Russian and Russian - Kazakh translations of notable Russian and Kazakh authors.[1]
Early Life and Education
Saidil was born in 1906 in the city of Karameker (currently Akmeshit village) in the region of Nurip (currently part of Karaganda).[1][2] Saidil was predominantly raised by his older brother Ashim Talzhanov after the death of his father from a White Army soldier[3] and moved to Petropavl to study in a Russian school after his father's demise in 1921.[1]
In 1928, Saidil moved to Tashkent to study in the Central Asia University majoring in oriental studies. After finishing his education there, he returned to Almaty in 1931. Starting from 1927, Saidil begins to write short stories and compose literature newspaper pieces. In the middle of 1940s, he becomes a responsible secretary in the Kazakh agricultural institute's literature department. In 1934, he graduates from the Kazakh Pedagogue Institute.[1]
Personal compositions
Among his notable works, "The Blacksmith's House" (1957), "Steppe's Falcon" (1959), "The Legend of Man" (1965), and "The Past Days Speaking" (1979) are frequently recognized as significant contributions to his artistic legacy. His poems "Bon Voyage", "Shyndiq' shubar", "Tusinbeimin" were published in "The New Literature" magazines.[1]
Translations
Saidil Talzhanov is notable for his contributions in translating notable Kazakh writers such as Seifullin, Auezov, and Mailin to Russian as well as translating notable Russian writers such as Pushkin, Gorky, Turgenev, Dobrolybov, Krilov, and Dostoevsky to Kazakh.[1]
Talzhanov's translation of Seifullin's "The Thorny Path" helped his to earn his candidate degree in his 1962 work named "About literature translations".[1]
Prosecution and Arrest
After translating Seifullin's "Red Horse" poem, he is arrested in 1937 as "Enemy of the people" for the apparent "Connection to Seifullin"[3] and spends 10 years imprisoned. Coming out after his confinement, he is arrested again and spends one more year in prison.[1]
If counted totally, Saidil Talzhanov spent 19 years of his life in prison for his politically controversial translations.[3]
Life after liberation
In 1954, Talzhanov is released from prison yet officially acquitted only 2 years after the end of his prison term.[3] From 1956 to 1958, Saidil works in the Kazakh governmental publishing house[1]. Later, from 1958 until his death, Saidil continued to work in his profession as the head scientist in the Linguistics Institute.[3]
In April 1972, he defended his thesis concerning the main problems around literature translations titled "Translations and the problems of Kazakh literature"[1] that he worked on for 9 years. Saidil continued to write literature works until his death 8 months later which is signified by his drafts dated 10th of December - the day of his demise.[3]
Recognition
According to the collective decision of Almaty Malsihat's decision №83 dating 06.03.2008 and Almaty akimshilik's resolution №2/139 dating 14.03.2008, a 1200m long street in the Auezov region's "Kalkaman - 2" district was named after Saidil Talzhanov.[4]