Qazaq Radiosy marks its 100th anniversary
Qazaq Radiosy broadcasting network in Kazakhstan marks its 100th anniversary this year. The first air took place on October 1, 1921 in Orenburg, the country’s capital at that time, at the initiative of the public and political figure of the “Alash” movement Akhmet Baitursynov. To mark the holiday, a memorial plaque was erected on the building in Almaty, which was named “Qazaq Radiosy”, and a musical bus stop was installed next to it. Over the years, such outstanding personalities as Amre Kashaubayev, Akhmet Zhubanov, Shaken Aimanov, Anuarbek Baizhanbayev, Shamshi Kaldayakov, Mukagali Makatayev and Yermek Serkebayev worked on the radio. Throughout the century, Kazakhs enjoyed their voices broadcasting top news and favorite songs in the morning. Records of their broadcasts and musical performances are kept to this day by the “Golden Fund” of the radio.
“Qazaq Radiosy is the voice of the nation. This is our past, present and future. Qazaq Radiosy is the heart of the people, this is their language. Even if we were just on the radio, the listeners could see our hearts, because we loved our listeners. And our voices spoke about it,” said a veteran of Qazaq Radiosy Kymbat Abildakyzy.
The rich heritage of the radio station has been collected for 100 years of work. Millions of listeners loved hundreds of thousands of literary and musical programs. The “Golden Fund” is a treasury of unique recordings. The entire archive is sorted and digitized.
“Today Qazaq Radiosy guides a unique interethnic model of harmony and unity. People in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Kazan, Azerbaijan, Urumqi listen to our interethnic programs in Russian and Kazakh languages. We get feedback. Therefore, I think that our radio is legendary at all times,” noted Tatyana Zhandildina, radio host of the German program “Bridges.”
In honor of the anniversary, the National library in Almaty organized an exhibition dedicated to the history of radio.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova
Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova
