The Evolving Integration of Environmental, Traditional, and Moral Themes in Three Works by Chingiz Aitmatov

Abstract

This article looks at ecological themes in three novels by the Soviet Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov. The three works are The White Steamship (1970), The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years (1980), and The Executioner’s Block or Plakha (1987). Within and between the three works there is a complex and changing interplay between environmental, moral, and cultural concerns relating primarily to Central Asian society but also indirectly to the Soviet Union. Aitmatov’s ability to critique the Soviet system and its literary theory evolved over time, from the stagnation of Brezhnev’s stabilisation to the optimism of Gorbachev’s perestroika. Within the political constraints of the day and as a minority author within a Russian-dominated literary edifice, Aitmatov argued for greater concern for the environment as well as the need to respect the worldviews of indigenous peoples. The social imaginaries he constructed initially emphasised the role of Central Asian cultures as guardians of sacred lands and ecosystems, but these later gave way to a moral and cultural ecological imperative applicable to all people in the Soviet Union. In The White Steamship, Aitmatov draws on traditional Kyrgyz myths to stress the importance of the forest and the animals within it, reminding his readers of the danger of losing their roots in the face of Soviet communism. His focus in The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years is the seizing of traditional sacred Kazakh lands and marginalisation of Kazakh cultural values by the Soviets. Finally, in Plakha, sensitive and intelligent wolves are juxtaposed with destructive human beings, who hunt vast numbers of animals to fulfil Soviet production quotas. The inclusion of a Russian hero confirms the broadened scope of Aitmatov’s notion of ecologically and morally responsible traditions. For Aitmatov, respect for the environment, the rights of minorities, and pride in non-Russian cultures and traditions formed an integrated whole which critiqued communist materialism and its modernist emphasis on human agency and power. From The White Steamship to Plakha Aitmatov’s interest shifts from a narrow ethnic scope to a broader interrogation of Soviet civilisation. While Aitmatov’s works were focused on the Soviet state’s attitude to the natural world and its non-Russian peoples, his combination of ethnic moralities and ecological concern remains relevant for today.