The First Teacher

Synopsis

We dedicate this story to the 90th birthday of Chinghiz Aitmatov, the author. The story "The First Story" was first published in 1962 and describes the lives of Kirghiz villagers after the Russian Revolution. The story describes a generation of workers brought up to be the labour force for the Russian Imperial Railway, educated in Russian schools for indigenous peoples, all with the aim of trying to change society. The writer's father, who belonged to the same generation was an active promoter of those changes in the new Soviet Kirghistan.