Eralieva Umutkan Polotovna

Author Interview Magazine Questions

Biography

Eralieva Umutkan Polotovna was born on July 12, 1968 in the village of Kok-Zhar, Nookat district, Osh region. Kyrgyzstan. Winner of more than 220 international awards. She is a global poet, writer, publicist. Author of ten books. Eralieva Umutkan is a member of the National Union of Writers of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Union of Journalists of Kyrgyzstan, the Union of Writers of North America, the Eurasian Creative Guild (London).

1.Tell us about yourself?

I am a poet, writer, publicist, translator. I have been mixing with creativity since childhood. My first works were published in the school wall newspaper. Then I published in district, regional, republican newspapers.

In spite of the fact that I am a born creative person, I had many obstacles to continue creativity. For this purpose, I overcame many difficulties and travelled difficult paths…. … I sang, I laughed, I cried. … I struggled a lot.

After marrying and giving birth to four children, I plunged headlong into creativity, after which 10 of my books were consistently published in Kyrgyz.

2.What is the name of your most popular book? (Bestseller, award-winning, certificate, etc.)

“Urkuya” (historical documentary narrative) introduced me to the Kyrgyz people or made me popular. I held the presentation of my book “Urkuya” in the State Historical Museum of the Kyrgyz Republic at the state level, together with a concert programme. I was awarded a badge of Excellence in Culture of the Kyrgyz Republic. Other certificates and awards were presented. She was published in all mass media of our country, on television, radio, in newspapers, magazines.

3.Have you won awards, certificates, stickers or honours for your book?

I am the author of ten books. I am an active member of the National Union of Writers of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Eurasian Creative Guild (London), the Union of Writers of North America. I am an international poet, writer, publicist. Currently, I work in close co-operation with great poets and writers of the world, my works have been translated into 65 languages. I am the recipient of 140 international awards. These awards inspire and encourage me to achieve even higher honours.

Currently, I am still working on five new books. Maybe time, I’m sure, will come out soon if the time is right.

4. Tell me, what is your book about? Is your character or characters special? Who is the main character in your book or what is the main theme?

Man and Humanity… Since the advent of man and all of humanity on the earthly planet, there have been many things that man and all of humanity have experienced. Yes, centuries and whole epochs have changed, the human race has travelled bloody roads, creating new paths and history. Many people at turning points gave their lives for the sake of a better future. The history of social development remained in the memory of the creators of this very society. Mankind has lived through many thousands of years, none of those eras spanning thousands of years could bring the same and coveted happiness. It is safe to say that only the Urquhui era was the pivotal moment for a new transformation, such will remain in the pages of history.

It is safe to say that the beginning of the new era is associated with the establishment of Soviet power. Was there such a historical period in the history of many nations more significant than the construction of socialism. After all, it was this period that brought new notions of equality into history, gave hope for a new and more prosperous life. But the establishment of a new social order was not given easily, it required human blood, human lives, and the blood poured out in streams. Yes, it is not easy to give a favourable life to whole social groups. But

determined individuals like Urkuya Salieva heroically went to the goal, risking their heads. Our women, who never went farther from their homes, our young men, who never held a weapon in their hands except a whip for a horse, stood up in defence of their freedom at the right moment, and Urkuya Salieva, the heroine of our book, is one of such fighters.

Urkuya Salieva is among the prominent personalities of Central Asia who fought for the equality of Muslim women. She is the first swallow of Kyrgyz girls who took part in strengthening Soviet power. She gave her life fighting against the oppressing classes and for the liberation of women in accordance with the ideology of Soviet power.

Bubukan is said to have been a sturdy, economical woman. Despite her poverty, she never grumbled and lived with hope for the future. Her husband Zhumabai, a calm, uncomplaining and very benevolent man, was a match for her. In this simple family in aiyl Taktek (Besh Burkhan) of Nookat district a daughter was born, who was named Urkuya. She was the only child, neither before her nor after her parents had any children. Since As she was alone with her parents, she had to do all the work in the house, that is, both women’s and men’s work. She could, they say, put up an earthen house with walls and gates, taking care of both painting and carpentry. This is what her peers, who knew her well from childhood, say about her. She took great care of her parents, because there was no one to rely on, she was alone. A person receives education not only from his parents, but also social environment, way of life also makes

its correction in upbringing. Urkuya took upon herself any housework and tried to do everything on the level. Not only she was engaged in household chores, but also went to the bazaar to help her father, because her father was so good-natured that he was ready to give everything for free.

In a word, Urkuya grew up to be a purposeful, strong-willed person. She also had oratorical skills. It is said that she suffered from the softness of her parents, because they were uncomplaining when wealthier people, such as bai-manapas, laughed at them. Urkuya, being a person of firm character, bore the bullying of outsiders very painfully. And from a young age she began to develop a masculine character in herself: she wore a cap on her head in winter, tucked the hem of her dress into her trousers at equestrian competitions, participated in games on an equal footing with men and with this she surprised her fellow villagers. Legends about heroes are not born out of nothing, but are taken from real life.

Once there was such an incident. The son of Azhy’s younger wife went to a malicious deed. He let the goat of Urkuya’s father Zhumabai’s family off its tether. The goat wandered into the apple trees of Azhy, Zhumabai’s malicious neighbour. In turn, Azhy beats off one horn of the goat with an axe and goes with a complaint to Chel kyoz, who at that time was the head of the Komsomol cell and stipulates Zhumabai that allegedly he himself cut off the horn of his goat and now wants to accuse him of it. Another man named Koldosh saw how everything happened, but he did not want to get involved in the scandal and kept silent. Azhy was a wealthy man, arrogant and believing in his impunity, he decided to make fun of Zhumabai. Urkuya’s father,being a soft-hearted man, was afraid to stand up to the insolent Azhy and decided to sign a statement admitting himself guilty.

Angry at the injustice, his brave daughter confronts the local authorities to defend her father’s honour. She hears all sorts of mocking words from Chel köz. Urkuya, realising that she alone cannot fight injustice, makes a decision of historical importance. On the same day she writes an application to the Komsomol organisation to join the Komsomol. In 2-3 days she becomes a member of Komsomol, but she does not stop there, agitates her peers to become Komsomol members too. “Enough to endure humiliation, it’s time to live in a new way!”. Under this motto passes the life of this determined and brave girl. She faithfully embraces her life’s purpose and serves the new government in the fight against bai-manapas. Urkuya immediately solves her first priority task and gets Chel kyoz expelled from the Komsomol, proving that he is a kulak’s offspring. In this way she raises her authority as a fighter against the exploiters. In 1930 Urkuya joins the All-Union Communist Party as a candidate, and in 1932 she was one of the first in Kyrgyzstan to become a member of the Communist Party.

In the meantime, a lot is happening. Her parents at first did not approve of their daughter’s initiative, but over time they realised that her decision was the right one, it was the dictates of the time. This further encouraged the girl. The positive course of the struggle against the old regime, successful public activity encouraged Urkuyu, and she goes forward to the goal more and more resolutely, and her opponents have to give up their positions. She gave herself wholeheartedly to her work that sometimes she came home past midnight, leaving her parents in anxious worry.

Koldosh the son of the labourer Saly is said to have earned his living by doing favours for others. He had known Urkaya since childhood. A close acquaintance took place when she was building his neighbours’ house. More than once he drank water from the girl’s bucket, carrying it from the brook. Moreover, the lad had even eaten treats at the house of Urkua’s parents. But he was not yet aware that they would become spouses in the future. After the incident with the goat, Koldosh took Urqui’s side against the evil Azhi and he decided to tell the truth that he had seen with his own eyes. By this the boy won the respect and love of the girl. Also the reason for their mutual love was their similar social status and new political circumstances. Having joined the Komsomol at their place of residence, Koldosh and Urkuya found themselves in the same cell, this brought them even closer together and soon they got married. Koldosh moved his wife to his residence in Merkit-Murkut (Tooles), and their children – a son and a daughter – were born. Koldosh highly appreciated in his wife, not by age great intelligence, ability to work with people, always under any circumstances to find a common language with all people. Urkuya had an individual approach to everyone, no matter how that person was. This was due to the charm of the woman herself and her high human qualities.

This was due to the charm of the woman herself and high human qualities like complacency, benevolence, self-confidence.

Until 1930-1950, the village of Merkit-Murkut was, it turns out, a reed forest. The villagers communicated with the neighbouring villagers by hanging roads. There were many wild boars in the reeds and there were cases of their attacks on people. The houses in the villages were scattered at various distances. One day Urkuya was travelling across the bridge on his white horse Tolman, but the horse broke its leg. Then Urkuya, getting off the horse, slaughtered it and distributed the meat to the locals. Thus, in spite of her youth, she acted decisively and made fresh horse meat for the villagers during those hungry years. This fact once again emphasises what a strong personality Urkuya was.

In the spring of 1932 in the collective farm “Kyzyl-Asker”, which Urkuya organised, there was hunger. The reason for that was a dry year, there was not enough irrigation water. At night, Urkuya and Koldosh watered the grain fields and Urkuya personally monitored the situation, she accepted poor people into the collective farm and warned each of them not to give in to the temptations of the kulaks. Once Urkuya was returning home after sowing grain and on the way she saw a ploughman lying unconscious from hunger. Not thinking long, Urkuya brought the last of her rice from home and gave it to the ploughman to take home. People, who had heard about this woman’s virtue, came to her with a request to accept them into the collective farm, contributing to the collective farm property in the form of livestock and grain.But, unfortunately, at this moment opponents of collectivisation were also multiplying. In a period of mass confrontation it is difficult to fight all the enemies, and the young woman fought almost alone. Usenov, Baktybaev, Ibraimov oppose Urkuya, and Abdylda Toshyobaev collects material that allegedly Urkuya misappropriated twelve poods of corn, two cows and one horse, and a goat. They send Madaly to Tokmok and eventually succeed in having her party ticket taken away. The family is kicked out of the house and Urkuya and her two children Ainisa and Kenesh, wrapped in a quilted blanket (zhurkan), sleep on the clay floor near a hearth with hot coals in a dilapidated hut. But the enemy kulaks, like rabid wolves, managed to free themselves from the places where they were imprisoned according to the materials of Urkuya, but they still did not have enough strength to tear the party ticket out of their hands to the end. And the chairman of the collective farm, our heroine Urkuya, on the recommendation of her relatives, a certain Mamasha, appealed to the regional troika of the NKVD (the regional troika consisted of the head of the regional department of the NKVD, the secretary of the regional committee and the regional prosecutor) and asked to reconsider her case on false accusations, as the whole material was based on slander. The regional troika of the NKVD, having arrived at the place of the incident, having rechecked the accusatory material, proving that it was based on rumours, conducted with malicious intent and hostility, acquitted Urkaya and left her in the ranks of the Party. After the acquittal, the kulaks, Urkuya’s former enemies, began to sycophantise Urkuya again, trying to establish ties with her family, a fact that is still talked about to this day.There were three attempts on Urkuya’s life by the Baimanaps. She, of course, guessed about the evil intentions of her enemies, but nevertheless understood that this was the reality of life at that time, which took place in the conditions of class struggle. She heard about the fact that her life was in great danger several times from Kulayim, Kozu’s wife. But having learnt that the kulaks are preparing an attempt on her family, she decides, taking her children and mother, to move to Karavan, to a safer place. To do this, Urkuya asks her close relative Akhmat to find suitable accommodation for the family. Akhmat is informed that the kulaks are making preparations to destroy her family. They quickly find a new place to live, but in the meantime Urkuya was due to give birth to her third child, and so she postpones her move to a later date: “We will celebrate the forty days of the newborn, and then we will move.On the cold winter night of 14 February 1934, five days after the birth of the child, the Basmachi armed with daggers and clubs burst into the house and brutally killed Urkaya and Koldosh. In the morning, people discover the dead bodies of the couple and a baby frozen from the winter cold in a cradle nearby. The eldest daughter, having seen her parents slaughtered, loses the power of speech from horror and coming out of stupor, in a few days dies too. From the whole family who died at the hands of bandits that ill-fated night, only one man Kenesh – the son of Urkuya and Koldash – remains.Akhmat Rayymkul uulu was, as they say, a flame-haired, fiery young man of twenty-four. This is just the age when a man is in the prime of life. Although he was a teacher by profession, he had long been the secretary of the village council. When he learnt of the gruesome death of Urkuja and Koldosh in a brutal attack, he immediately ran to the office and informed the district. A certain Khakimov, a representative of the district authorities, arrived from the district centre with three inspectors. But this man turned out to be irresponsible, not being able to resist the Basmachi’s treats, he ate a lot of food.

From the district centre comes a certain Khakimov – a representative of the district authorities with three inspectors. But this man turned out to be irresponsible, unable to resist the treats of the Basmachi, drunk on free vodka, showing lack of seriousness, ignored the tragic case, by this act he lost his authority before the public.

Kyrgyz people learned about the tragic death of Urkuya and Koldosh on 14 February 1934 from the obituary printed in No. 40 of the newspaper “Kyzyl Kyrgyzstan”. People who knew and respected Urkuya closely flocked to the site to pay their last respects to her. Urkuya was not a fully literate person, by social status belonged to the stratum of the poor, but being a true Bolshevik, her contribution to the fight against kulachestvo will remain on the pages of the history of our fertile land, our dearly beloved homeland, called Kyrgyzstan.

5. What genre is your book in? Why did you choose this genre for this particular book? My book is written in the historical, ethnographic, fiction genre. This book had to be written sooner or later anyway. Because the current young generation no longer knows the life path of great personalities. That is why young people should be encouraged to read books about great personalities. It is necessary to educate young people to love their homeland, to serve the Motherland.

6. What prompted you to write this book?

“Urkuya” (historical documentary narrative) the main character of the book Urkuya-my fellow countrywoman. We are from a neighbouring village. Therefore, since my school years I have been collecting oral folk historical materials about the girl-heroine.

My book “Urkuya” contains interesting historical, ethnographic, literary materials. To create this work, I turned to sources of different nature, sorted and reworked some of them, revealed the true personality, civic face of Urkuya, revealed her qualities and, finally, reflected the character of the old era, when life was spent on charity, the state of life of the then Kyrgyz village.

7. Was there anything useful or difficult for you in writing this book?

This is a useful aspect in writing the book. I met many great personalities in all their glory. I came face to face with them and witnessed interesting events. I went to archives, libraries, searched and collected historically valuable information. I talked to the relatives of the heroine Urkuya. The house-museum in the village.

This is a useful aspect in writing the book. I met many great personalities in all their glory. I met them face to face and witnessed interesting events. I went to archives, libraries, searched and collected historically valuable information. I talked to the relatives of Hero Urkuya. House-museum in the village.

The death of people who knew Urkuya caused me difficulties in writing this book.

8. Share a link to a book, website, page, blog, and/or any other place where you can find your book.