The Most Famous
WRITERS from Kazakhstan
This page contains a list of the greatest Kazakhstani Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 5,755 Writers, 8 of which were born in Kazakhstan. This makes Kazakhstan the birth place of the 68th most number of Writers behind Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.
Top 8
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Kazakhstani Writers of all time. This list of famous Kazakhstani Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Ahmad Yasawi (1103 - 1166)
With an HPI of 68.72, Ahmad Yasawi is the most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages on wikipedia.
Ahmad Yasawi (Kazakh: Қожа Ахмет Ясауи, romanized: Qoja Ahmet Iasaui, قوجا احمەت ياساۋٸ; Persian: خواجه اَحمدِ یَسوی, romanized: Khwāje Ahmad-e Yasavī; 1093–1166) was a Turkic poet and Sufi, an early mystic who exerted a powerful influence on the development of Sufi orders throughout the Turkic-speaking world. Yasawi is the earliest known Turkic poet who composed poetry in Middle Turkic. He was a pioneer of popular mysticism, founded the first Turkic Sufi order, the Yasawiyya or Yeseviye, which very quickly spread over Turkic-speaking areas. He was a Hanafi scholar like his murshid (spiritual guide), Yusuf Hamadani.
2. Abai Qunanbaiuly (1845 - 1904)
With an HPI of 65.60, Abai Qunanbaiuly is the 2nd most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 48 different languages.
Ibrahim (Abai) Qunanbaiūly (Kazakh: Ибраһим (Абай) Құнанбайұлы, Kazakh pronunciation: [ɑbɑj qo̙nɑnbɑjo̙ɫɯ] ; Russian: Абай Кунанбаев; 10 August [O.S. 29 July] 1845 – 6 July [O.S. 23 June] 1904) was a Kazakh poet, composer and Hanafi Maturidi theologian philosopher. He was also a cultural reformer toward European and Russian cultures on the basis of enlightened Islam. Among Kazakhs he is known simply as Abai.
3. Ybyrai Altynsarin (1841 - 1889)
With an HPI of 56.06, Ybyrai Altynsarin is the 3rd most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Ybyrai (Ibrahim) Altynsarin (Kazakh: Ыбырай Алтынсарин, Ybyrai Altynsarin; Russian: Ибрай Алтынсарин; 1 November [O.S. 20 October] 1841 – 29 July [O.S. 17 July] 1889) was a major figure in pre-Soviet Kazakh history. He was the most prominent Kazakh educator of the late 19th century, during the period of Russian colonization of and cultural influence in Kazakhstan. Ibrahim Altynsarin was born in the Araqaraghai region of Turgay Oblast (now Kostanay Province) of modern-day Kazakhstan and in his early career he was an inspector of Torghai schools. Like all ethnic Kazakhs, Ibrahim was raised in an Islamic family that valued tradition and religion over many other aspects of life. Due to the influx of Russian influence in the area, though, he developed more progressive views for Kazakh society to westernize and accelerate. This allowed him to come up with multiple ways to modernize Kazakh society. Ibrahim Altynsarin is best known for introducing the transition from the Perso-Arabic alphabet to the Cyrillic alphabet for the Kazakh language, and was a proponent of teaching in the Western style. Being a Muslim, though, he opposed the teaching of Orthodox Christian doctrines to non-Russian Kazakhs, but at the same time urged resistance to Tatar language and culture, in favor of Russian and Western influences. As an educator, he opened numerous Kazakh-Russian boarding schools, technical schools and schools for girls. Altynsarin is also credited with authoring the first Kazakh grammar book, the first Kazakh-Russian newspaper, and with translation of a large number of textbooks and reference works. He was honored by the Imperial Russian government with numerous awards, including the title statski sovetnik (State Counsellor). A number of Kazakh institutions, including the Kazakh Academy of Education, Arkalyk State Pedagogical Institute and some streets, schools, and academic awards, are named after Altynsarin. There is an Altynsarin museum in Kostanay. Ybyrai grew up with his grandfather because of the early death of his father. He perfectly finished the school in Orynbor. In his last years, he decides to move 3 kilometers away from Kostanay and builds a house there, near the river Tobyl. He works here until his death. He was buried near the river, near his father's coffin.
4. Mukaghali Makatayev (1931 - 1976)
With an HPI of 55.72, Mukaghali Makatayev is the 4th most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Mukaghali Makatayev (Kazakh: , Mūqağali Maqataev; February 9, 1931 – March 27, 1976) was a Kazakh poet, writer and translator. Muqagali Maqataev is put on a par with such pillars of Kazakh literature as Abai and Mukhtar Auezov. Fame and recognition came to him after his death. Maqataev lived a short but bright life, leaving to his descendants an extraordinary poetry full of national color.
5. Saken Seifullin (1894 - 1938)
With an HPI of 51.95, Saken Seifullin is the 5th most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Saken Seifullin (Kazakh: Сәкен (Сәдуақас) Сейфуллин, Säken (Säduaqas) Seifullin; 15 October 1894 – 25 April 1938) was a pioneer of modern Kazakh literature, poet and writer, and national activist. He was the founder and first head of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan, he was the author of controversial literature calling for greater independence of Kazakhs from Soviet and Russian power. He met repression and was executed in 1938. The Soviet government posthumously rehabilitated him during de-Stalinization.
6. Alexander Volkov (1891 - 1977)
With an HPI of 49.01, Alexander Volkov is the 6th most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Alexander Melentyevich Volkov (Russian: Александр Мелентьевич Волков [ɐlʲɪkˈsandr mʲɪˈlʲenʲtʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈvolkəf]; 14 June 1891 – 3 July 1977) was a Soviet novelist, playwright, university lecturer. He was an author of novels, short stories, plays and poems for children, mostly remembered for the Magic Land series of books, based on L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
7. Sergei Lukyanenko (1968 - )
With an HPI of 46.98, Sergei Lukyanenko is the 7th most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.
Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko (Russian: Серге́й Васи́льевич Лукья́ненко, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ lʊˈkʲjænʲɪnkə]; born 11 April 1968) is a Russian science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, interwoven with the moral dilemma of keeping one's humanity while being strong. Some of his works have been adapted into film productions, for which he wrote the screenplays.
8. Alexander Kazantsev (1906 - 2002)
With an HPI of 46.12, Alexander Kazantsev is the 8th most famous Kazakhstani Writer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Alexander Petrovich Kazantsev (Russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Каза́нцев; 2 September 1906 – 13 September 2002) was a popular Soviet and Russian science fiction writer, ufologist and chess composer.
Pantheon has 8 people classified as writers born between 1103 and 1968. Of these 8, 1 (12.50%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living writers include Sergei Lukyanenko. The most famous deceased writers include Ahmad Yasawi, Abai Qunanbaiuly, and Ybyrai Altynsarin. As of April 2022, 2 new writers have been added to Pantheon including Saken Seifullin and Alexander Volkov.
Living Writers
Go to all RankingsDeceased Writers
Go to all Rankings
Ahmad Yasawi
1103 - 1166
HPI: 68.72
Abai Qunanbaiuly
1845 - 1904
HPI: 65.60
Ybyrai Altynsarin
1841 - 1889
HPI: 56.06
Mukaghali Makatayev
1931 - 1976
HPI: 55.72
Saken Seifullin
1894 - 1938
HPI: 51.95
Alexander Volkov
1891 - 1977
HPI: 49.01
Alexander Kazantsev
1906 - 2002
HPI: 46.12
Newly Added Writers (2022)
Go to all RankingsWhich Writers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Writers since 1700.
