Abai brought several cultures together. Abai Day in Vilnius became a broad cultural discussion about Kazakh literature, Turkic heritage, translation, and why the poet’s ideas about reason, the heart, and human responsibility remain relevant nearly two centuries later, DKNews.kz reports.
The cultural and literary event was held at the Adam Mickiewicz Public Library in Vilnius. It was organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan with the support of the Embassies of Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
Why Abai Was Presented as More Than a Kazakh Classic
Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Lithuania, Timur Urazayev, presented the philosophical and literary legacy of Abai Kunanbaiuly beyond the traditional schoolbook framework.
The discussion touched on Sufi motifs, the intellectual traditions of the East, and Abai’s ideas about moral self-improvement.
Particular attention was given to the harmony of will, reason, and the heart.
At a time when the information environment is becoming faster and social tensions more complex, these ideas can be seen not merely as historical philosophy, but as a contemporary response to questions of personal responsibility.
Abai Opened World Literature to Kazakh Readers
Translation is another important part of Abai’s legacy.
Through literary translation, he introduced Kazakh society to world classics and helped broaden the intellectual horizons of national literature.
This process went far beyond simply transferring texts from one language into another.
It helped foster openness to other cultures and strengthened the idea of Kazakhstan as part of a wider international intellectual space.
From the Orkhon Inscriptions to Contemporary Literature
Abai Day in Vilnius was not limited to Kazakh culture.
Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Lithuania, Tamerlan Garayev, spoke about the role of Azerbaijani poetry in the Turkic cultural heritage and its contribution to world literature.
Dr. Akan Gürbüz, a lecturer at Vilnius University, presented the main stages in the development of Turkish literature — from the Orkhon inscriptions to contemporary authors.
In this way, the program connected several literary traditions within a shared historical context.
It allowed the audience to see the Turkic world not as a single homogeneous culture, but as a space of different languages, literary schools, and traditions that have influenced one another over centuries.
How Kazakh Literature Sounds in Lithuanian
A separate part of the program focused on translating contemporary Kazakh literature.
Antanas Smetona, Associate Professor at Vilnius University, shared his experience translating the novel Mamluk by a Kazakhstani writer into Lithuanian and spoke about the challenges of conveying the work in another language.
Translation is one of the most complex forms of cultural mediation.
It is not enough to replace one word with another. A translator must preserve rhythm, historical context, tone, and cultural meanings that may not have direct equivalents in another language.
It is through this kind of work that Kazakh literature can become part of another country’s cultural space.
Vilnius Already Has an “Abai Collection”
The venue was chosen for a reason.
Since 2020, the Adam Mickiewicz Library has hosted the Abai Kunanbaiuly Reading Room — the “Abai Collection.”
It gives Lithuanian readers an opportunity to discover the works of the Kazakh thinker and literature from Kazakhstan.
This format goes far beyond a one-time exhibition or commemorative event.
The books remain in the library after the official program ends, meaning that cultural dialogue continues every day through readers discovering new authors for themselves.
How This Works as Cultural Diplomacy
The event brought together representatives of Lithuania’s public and civic institutions, the diplomatic corps, academia, the media, and the Kazakh diaspora.
An audience like this turns a literary gathering into a practical form of cultural diplomacy.
Instead of hearing an abstract presentation about Kazakhstan, people receive a concrete point of entry — a poem, a philosophical idea, a translation, or a book.
Through the author, they can then begin to understand the country behind the literature.
Abai as Part of an International Conversation
The meaning of events like this goes beyond preserving the memory of a classic.
The more important question is whether an author who lived in the 19th century can still speak to a person in the 21st century, in another language and within another cultural environment.
In Abai’s case, the answer is becoming increasingly clear.
His ideas about knowledge, freedom, responsibility, and inner harmony cross national borders, while translation turns them into part of an international conversation.
That is why Abai Day in Vilnius became more than a literary evening — it became a platform where Kazakhstan engaged with Lithuania and the wider Turkic world through culture.
