Timeless Companions: What Kazakhstan’s Diplomats Read

For diplomats, books have never been just a form of leisure. In a profession where the ability to sense context and understand motives is essential, where nuances and subtle shades of meaning matter, and where seeing the world in depth is critically important, books become trusted companions and quiet guides.

As a form of an inner journey, reading develops our ability to live through other eras and destinies, teaches us to look at reality through another person’s eyes, and, most importantly for diplomacy, helps us understand other nations and cultures. In our vast world, filled with an endless ocean of knowledge and countless colors of life, books serve as conductors to deep reflection and become keys to our own inner reference points. These timeless interlocutors cultivate tolerance and attention to detail - qualities that are often impossible to grasp in everyday routine. A good book teaches us to understand the world, but above all, it helps us understand ourselves.

The era of digitalization has accelerated the exchange of information and shortened the distance between the most remote points on the globe. In this immense flow of data and facts, it becomes especially important to hear one’s own inner voice. Reading therefore turns into more than a source of knowledge - it becomes an inner compass and a tool for personal growth and the development of critical thinking. It shapes the ability to ask questions and search for answers to the most complex issues, to doubt, and to understand the causes behind events.

At the very heart of the continent, Kazakhstan’s diplomacy was formed in a space where the ability to reach agreement was an integral part of the political tradition of past rulers. Today, while preserving the best traditions of earlier diplomacy, Kazakhstan continues to strengthen its institution of the art of negotiation. Steppe traditions shaped a distinctive mindset - a стремление toward balance rather than domination, responsibility for one’s promises, and respect for the spoken word. The historical experience of mediation between East and West, the ability to hear different sides, and to maintain inner stability have become defining features of Kazakhstani diplomacy. This is a school of restrained strength, where influence is built on trust, consistency, and a clear position - qualities that still define its recognizable character today.

The books diplomats read are always more than a list of required literature. They reflect an inner world, depth of thought, and a desire to understand the complexity of the surrounding world. The more meanings we allow into ourselves, the broader we become, and the more interesting, multifaceted, and humane the world around us appears.

With the participation of Kazakhstani diplomats, we have compiled a unique list of 100 books. It reflects the intellectual portrait and inner world of Kazakhstan’s diplomacy, where Kazakh classical literature forms a strong core. The inner compass of Kazakhstan’s diplomats points toward humanism and peaceful coexistence and embraces more than 3,000 years of human thought.

100 Books – The Choice of Kazakhstan’s Diplomats

1. The Path of Abai, Mukhtar Auezov
2. Nomads, Ilyas Yesenberlin
3. Words of Edification, Abai
4. Volokolamsk Highway, Alexander Bek
5. Blood and Sweat, Abdizhamil Nurpeisov
6. 1984, George Orwell
7. The Scaffold, Chingiz Aitmatov
8. The Delusion of Civilization, Mukhtar Shakhanov
9. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
10. Love Is an Interesting Thing Over Many Years, Azilkhan Nurshaiykov
11. The Cruel Age, Isai Kalashnikov
12. And Quiet Flows the Don, Mikhail Sholokhov
13. Poems, Mukagali Makataev
14. Overcoming, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
15. The Trilogy of Desire, Theodore Dreiser
16. Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche
17. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
18. Tales of Our Alley, Naguib Mahfouz
19. The Psychology of War, Bauyrzhan Momyshuly
20. Three Comrades, Erich Maria Remarque
21. The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
22. AZiYa, Olzhas Suleimenov
23. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
24. Ethics, Aristotle
25. The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli
26. Enlik–Kebek, Shakarim Kudaiberdiuly
27. The Red Arrow, Sherkhan Murtaza
28. The Tartar Steppe, Dino Buzzati
29. Light and Shadow, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
30. Shuga’s Sign, Beimbet Mailin
31. Urker, Abish Kekilbayev
32. Dialogue with the Times, Abish Kekilbayev
33. Orientalism, Edward Said
34. The Flying Nest, Bauyrzhan Momyshuly
35. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
36. The War of the End of the World, Mario Vargas Llosa
37. A Brief History of the Kazakhs, Sultan Akimbayev
38. The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
39. The Awakened Land, Gabit Musrepov
40. A Shot Fired at Night, Kemel Tokayev
41. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Haruki Murakami
42. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
43. The Autumn of the Patriarch, Gabriel García Márquez
44. Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
45. The New Map of the World, Daniel Yergin
46. The Red Apple, Chingiz Aitmatov
47. The Man Who Laughs, Victor Hugo
48. Alash Democracy, Ruslan Akmagambet
49. My Name Is Red, Orhan Pamuk
50. Under the Banner of Independence, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
51. About My Time, Dinmukhamed Kunaev
52. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
53. The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years, Chingiz Aitmatov
54. Heart of a Dog, Mikhail Bulgakov
55. Steppe Ballads, Abish Kekilbayev
56. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Victor Hugo
57. Times of Turmoil, Mukhtar Auezov
58. The Capital in Flames, Kago Atahiko
59. Hidden Perspective, Robert Capa
60. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
61. Captain Michalis, Nikos Kazantzakis
62. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
63. Markings, Dag Hammarskjöld
64. Pure Love, Sabit Mukanov
65. The Fatal Name, Oralhan Bokei
66. Plays, Gabit Musrepov
67. Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
68. Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
69. Truth and Legend, Azilkhan Nurshaiykov
70. Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
71. The Samurai Without a Sword, Kitami Masao
72. Animal Farm, George Orwell
73. Hadji Murat, Leo Tolstoy
74. The Renegade, Jack London
75. Sholpan’s Sin, Magzhan Zhumabayev
76. The Grand Chessboard, Zbigniew Brzezinski
77. Wolf Totem, Jiang Rong
78. The End of the Legend, Abish Kekilbayev
79. Saki, Bolat Zhandarbekov
80. Children of One Father, Mukhtar Magauin
81. Dialogues, Plato
82. The Arc de Triomphe, Erich Maria Remarque
83. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
84. The Moment of Truth, Vladimir Bogomolov
85. Stoner, John Williams
86. Botagoz, Sabit Mukanov
87. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
88. Destined for War, Graham Allison
89. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
90. The Good Soldier Švejk, Jaroslav Hašek
91. On War, Carl von Clausewitz
92. The Steppe Nomads Who Conquered the World, René Grousset
93. The Mamluk, Yermek Tursynov
94. Tragedies, William Shakespeare
95. The Clash of Civilizations, Samuel Huntington
96. Bears in Caviar, Charles Thayer
97. The Black Monk, Anton Chekhov
98. From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, Lee Kuan Yew
99. A History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell
100. Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant

Diplomacy begins long before the negotiating table - it is formed within a person. How one perceives the world, what meanings one is able to read, and how one maintains a firm position without destroying dialogue reveal the true strength of diplomacy. In this sense, books become timeless companions: they teach us to hear different voices while clearly distinguishing our own. Reading shapes that rare ability - to remain open to the world while standing firmly by one’s convictions. This is the foundation of genuine influence.