Chokan valikhanov biography

Valikhanov was born in 1835 in the present-day Kostanai Region in a prominent family. His grandfather, Vali Khan, was a grandson of the Kazakh ruler Ablai Khan. He was sent in 1847 to study at the Omsk Cadet School, as his father had done, and served thereafter as an officer in the Russian army, including as adjutant to the governor-general. This work involved travels around Kazakhstan, which he combined with scientific and ethnographic activity. He befriended Dostoevsky during the latter’s exile in Semipalatinsk and sought out other intellectuals. He took part in expeditions to Lake Alakol, the Tian Shan and Lake Issyk Kul

The name Shoqan Shinghisuly Walikhanuli reflects modern independent Kazakhstans intent to push Kazakh naming conventions further back into history.

Information on Shoqan from the Smithsonian

Artwork of Shoqan Walikhanov