Toktogul Satylganov

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Toktogul Satylganov (1864–1933) was a Kyrgyz akyn, a poet and composer, known for his songs and improvised poetry. He was born on October 25, 1864, in Kushchusu, in the Khanate of Kokand; the village is now submerged by the Toktogul Reservoir. The Kyrgyz town of Toktogul in Jalal-Abad Region is named after him.

Toktogul was famous for his poetry and music and for his democratic views during Tsarist rule in southern Kyrgyzstan (1876–1917). On the eve of a revolt led by Muhammad Ali Madali, Toktogul criticized local Kyrgyz lords in the Ketmen-Tobe valley. Madali led about 2,000 men against Tsarist Russia in 1898, but his force was stopped near Andijan and defeated; many were punished, including Madali and several lieutenants. Toktogul was jailed in Siberia on false accusations of taking part in the revolt, and he returned home in 1905.

His fame grew in the Soviet era, when the state promoted him as a “musician of the people,” and he became widely known simply as Toktogul. His pre-revolutionary works were interpreted as reflecting class struggle, though modern views often see clan rivalries as a factor as well. He welcomed the revolution and is quoted as asking, “What woman gave birth to such a person as Lenin?” After the collapse of the Soviet Union, his songs remained popular in Kyrgyzstan, and many streets, parks, schools, and even his hometown are named in his honor.