Final Respects

We, the Kazakhs…
Western readers know little about this people or their vast country, the world’s ninth largest, although the Kazakhs have seen much of human history. From their roots as traders and nomadic herders during the Silk Road period, to their modern experience with atomic bomb testing and space-age triumph, the history of Kazakh culture remains relatively unexplored in the Western world.

Even less known is author Abdi-Jamil Nurpeisov, venerated sage of Kazakh and Russian literature,...