There in the reading hall of the Department «Kazakstan kitaptary” is organized the book exhibition named “Tauelsyzdyk zharshysy” dedicated to the 125-th birthday of the public and political figure, publicist, participant of the Alash movement Mustafa Chokai.

 Mustafa Chokai was born on December 25, 1889 in the village Auliye-tarangyl at the river Syrdarya near the city of Petrovka (today Kyzylorda city). In 1910 he finished with honours the Tashkent gymnasium. In 1910-1917 he studied at the faculty of law of the Saint-Petersburg university. During the years of studying he was engaged with public-political activity, participated in the movement of the students-moslems on Turkey’s side in the Balkan wars.
  In 1916 by the recommendadtion of A.Bukeikhanov M.Chokai was appointed secretary of the Moslem fraction of the IV-th State duma of Russia. Working in the commission of the Duma, he was investigating the reasons of the national-liberation insurrection in Turkestan and the return of the Kazakhs mobilized to the front. After one year after the return to Turkestan M.Chokai became one of the leaders of the liberal-democratic liberation movement, head of the party “Shura-i-Islami” (“Council of the Islam supporters”) and editor of the newspaper “Byrlik tuy” (“The banner of unity”).
   On November 22, 1917 there in Kokand the 4-th Plenipotentiary regional Moslem congress under the chairmanship of M.Chokai took the decision about the creation of the Turkestani autonomy, which received the name of Kokand republic. There in the government of the Kokand republic he was executing the duties of the minister of foreign affairs, after that the prime-minister. In December that year there in Orenburg city took place the 2-nd All-Kazakh congress, which approved the decision on the creation of the Alash autonomy and approved the composition of the government, ito which there entered M.Chokai.
   In January, 1918 the teams of the Red Guards seized Kokand and defeated the Kokand autonomy. In the spring, 1918 M.Chokai secretly left Tashkent and joined the opposition, which was against the Soviet power during the years of the Civil war. In 1921 he emigrated to Istambul, then to Paris. Here he worked in the newspapers “The days” and “The latest news”. In 1927 together with Zaki Validi Togan he created the magazine «Yieni Turkestan” and in 1929 “Yashi Turkestan” (“Zhas Turkestan”) which was published in Berlin through the financing of the Polish government. There on the pages of the magazine were published the articles of M.Chokai about the policy of the Soviet government in Turkestan and the international relations before the Second world war, and also the ancient history and culture of the peoples of Turkestan.
   Mustafa Chokai was the ideologist of the fight for the freedom and independence of the Single Turkestan, he was the excellent expert on Russian culture, he splendidly spoke the English, French, German, Turkish and Arabic languages. Beginning from the Civil war in Russia and up to the Second world war (1921-1941) he was forced to be in exile in France. In 1940 after the capture of Paris by the German troops he was arrested and put into prison for several months in the concentration camp. In December, 1941 in Berlin under the circumstances which are not yet clear, M.Chokai perished.  He was buried at the Moslem cemetery in Berlin.
   The Kazakhstani directors shot the following films about M.Chokai: the documentary films “Zar or excommunicated from the Motherland” (2003), “By the roads of M.Chokai” (2011), the feature film “Mustafa Chokai” (2008). In 2001 there were translated and published the memoirs of his spouse – Maria Chokai named “I write to you from Nozhan” (Recollections, letters, documents, 1958). The well-known Kazakh writer Akim Tarazi wrote the novel “Mustafa Chokai” (2013). In Nozhan-sur-Marne in the square of Lafonten in the suburb of Paris near the building in which M.Chokai lived for 18 years, there was erected the monument-stele (2001). Timed for the 120-th birthday of the politician there in Paris was erected a monument to him (2010). After him there were named the streets in the cities and villages of the republic.

   There at the book exhibition are presented the literature and materials about the life and activity of Mustafa Chokai, his works and the recollections about him of Maria Chokai.

   We invite everybody to visit the book exhibition!