Ch. Valikhanov — a son of the elder sultan of Kushmuranskiy (later — Kokchetavskiy) district of the Kazakh steppe, Siberian institution of Shyngyz Valikhanov, a grandson of the khan of the Middle zhuz Vali (1781-1821) was born in 1835. Childish and youth years of Ch. Ch. Valikhanov passed along in the country estate Syrymbet which was built by the efforts of Chokan’s grandmother — Aiganym. Here, in Syrymbet Chokan studies in the traditional steppe school, and since 1847 to 1853 yy. — in the Siberian cadet corps in Omsk city which he left at the age of 18 as the cornet “on the army cavalry”.
In 1855 Ch. Valikhanov took part in the inspection trip of the Governor-General of Western Siberia G. Kh. Gasford as the aide de camp on Central Kazakhstan, Semirechye and Tarbagatay. In 1856 he participated in the huge military- scientific expedition under the supervision of the Colonel M. M. Khomentovskiy to the Issyk-Kul basin, also to Kuldzhu on the border with China, and in 1858-1859 — in a famous trip to Kashgar which gave him a fame of the courageous traveller and talented researcher. On the materials collected during all these travellings he wrote a bunch of great scientific works in history, ethnography and geography of Kazakhstan and adjacent regions of Central Asia. The merits of the scientist-traveller in the discovery for Europeans that poorly studied region of China were noted by his promotion to the rank of first lieutenant, grant of the order and financial award.
Since the end of 1859 to 1861 Sh. Valikhanov lived and worked in Petersburg where he was elected in 1857 as the functioning member of the Emperor Russian geographic society, then he was reckoned in the Asian department of the MFA. In the middle of 1861 he returned to the Steppe and for the last four years he mostly lived on the territory of Almaty region, Vernyi city and adjacent to it Kazakh camping grounds.
In the summer of 1864 he settled in the aul of the elder sultan of Alatavsk district Tezek Nuralyuly’s brother-in-law, whose quarters were located in the Koshen-Togan land near the base of Altyn-Emel range. Here, in the aul he perished in April 1865 and at the same place he was buried by his relatives and friends. At the exhibition “Chokan and his time” the materials from the collection of the CSM RK on life, art and scientific research of Ch. Ch. Valikhanov are presented.
Particularly valuable and interesting information for historians, ethnographers, geographers contain the genealogical table of Valikhanovs, manuscripts, letters, drawings, maps made by Chokan himself, also the images of the memorial headstones of his parents and mausoleum over his burial transferred by his relatives, friends to the collection of the museum contains. At the exhibition also photo-materials about the places of life and activity of Chokan (Syrymbet, Omsk, St. Petersburg, Kuldzha) are exhibited.
The exhibition was being conducted together with the State Memorial Museum of Ch. Valikhanov “Altynemel”, Central State Archive RK and the State Archive of the film and photo documents and audio recording.
