Ilyas Zhansugurov (, ; 1 May 1894 — 26 February 1938) was a Kazakh poet and writer. He made a significant contribution to the development of national poetic culture, creatively developed the traditions of Kazakh oral

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative art, decorative. The makers of folk art a ...

. The town of

Zhansugirov Zhansugirov (, romanized: ''Jansügırov'') is a village in Aksu District, Jetisu Region, Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the ...

in Almaty Province is named after him and he is commemorated in Taldykorgan and

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

. A friend of another classic writer Mukhtar Auezov, Zhansugurov was the First President of the Writers' Union of Kazakhstan from 1934 to 1936. He wrote the novel ''Comrades'' (1933), targeted against the Soviet power, but also wrote loving poems such as ''The Steppe'' (1930) and ''Kulager'' (1936). He was repressed in 1937, as his writing was seen as a fuel for Kazakh nationalism, and shot on 26 February 1938. The I. Zhansugurov Literary Museum is a center dedicated to the study of his work.

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Kazakhstani poets Soviet poets Male poets Soviet male writers 1894 births 1938 deaths Great Purge victims from Kazakhstan Deaths by firearm in Kazakhstan Executed Kazakhstani people {{Kazakhstan-writer-stub