Observing excursion tour Almaty.

“… Comrades! You all know very well, it is clear that at this hour, before the eyes of all those present, an event of cultural and historical significance is taking place on this new square in Alma-Ata. We are celebrating the opening of a monument to the great Abai in our country.”

From speech of Mukhtar Auezov at opening of monument to Abai. 1960.

Visiting monuments in Almaty.

Monument to Abai is located at an altitude of 870 meters above sea level, is located in easternmost part of Abai Street, where it actually begins, going west, in western part of Abai Square, 144 meters west of Palace of the Republic, in Medeu district of Almaty. 
The monument to Abai was erected in 1960. Authors: sculptor Khakimzhan Ismakhanovich Nauryzbayev, architect I.I. Belotserkovsky. The total height of the monument is 13.7 meters. The sculpture is cast from bronze. The shape of the pedestal is trapezoidal, made of red granite.
The figure of Abai is in motion. In his left bent hand he holds a book, and with his right hand he holds the hem of the chapan thrown over his shoulders. The head of the thinker is made three-dimensional. The face is given an expression of thoughtfulness, the gaze is directed to the future.
The philosophical mood of the poet, the extraordinary nature of his personality emphasizes the monumentality of the figure, the integrity of the plastic solution of the monument. Famous Kazakh poets dedicated poems and songs to the monument to Abai. (Myrzaliyev K. "Monument to Abai, 1965". Abai (Ibrahim) Kunanbayev (1843 - 1904) - a great Kazakh poet, educator and thinker, classic, founder of the new Kazakh national written literature.
He was born in the Chingiz Mountains of the Semipalatinsk region in the nomadic camps of the Tobykty clan, in an area rich in beautiful legends and tales.
In the early 1950s, a competition was announced for a monument to Abai in Alma-Ata. Nauryzbayev said: "They planned to open the monument by 1954, when the fiftieth anniversary of Abai's death was celebrated. At the same time, a competition was announced for the best image of Abai.
I took part in it and my works were liked. One of them was staged in the opera house. Now it has disappeared somewhere. I can't even say where it is." However, it was decided to erect the monument only in 1960 - for the 115th anniversary of Abai's birth.
There were many candidates, but Nauryzbayev was entrusted with creating the monument. Since the monument to Abai was to become the first monument in the city, the question arose of where to find workshops in which it would be possible to make a monument with a total height of 13.7 meters.
“I looked at the mechanical workshops at the Agricultural Institute. There they gave me something like a vestibule. The vestibule was narrow, but with a high ceiling. The workers in the workshops called this space a “barrel”. When the monument was ready, they told me that they were proud of the fact that Abai was created in their “barrel”.
Before starting work, the sculptor traveled to Abai's homeland, talked with local aksakals, and upon returning to Alma-Ata, he contacted the Academy of Sciences with a request to recommend a consultant to him. He was recommended a relative of Abai, the writer Mukhtar Auezov, who agreed to consult Nauryzbaev.
Every morning on his way to work, the sculptor stopped by Auezov's house, where the Auezov House Museum is now located. The writer came to the mechanical workshops almost every day along with other writers, artists, and guests from other republics.
Due to the cramped space, it was impossible to see all of Abai, Auezov nodded approvingly and said that everything was fine. When work on the monument was finished, it was transported to the courtyard of the workshops. Specialists from the Leningrad Monument-Sculpture plant, where the monument was to be cast in bronze, arrived and were preparing to pick it up.
The sculptor called Auezov, and he came, as usual, with his guests. This time, the writer sharply criticized the entire work, having seen it in its entirety. Nauryzbaev was very upset, about ten days later he finished the work and invited Auezov again. "This is Abai," said the writer. 
Geographical coordinates of Abai monument: N43°14'35 E76°57'27

Authority:
Brief Encyclopedia of the Kazakh SSR, Volume 4, Culture, Alma-Ata, 1990. Vikipedia.

Photos by:
Alexander Petrov.