The Kyrgyz author and former diplomat Chingiz Aitmatov, whose mythical stories were widely acclaimed in the former Soviet Union and former East Germany, has died at a clinic in Nuremberg in southern Germany.
He was 79. He had suffered lung and kidney failure after falling ill three weeks ago while on a film set. Aitmatov's works, including the 1958 love storey "Jamilya", were translated into 150 languages and found new audiences in the West after the 1991 Soviet collapse. He was a strong advocate of preserving the languages and culture of non-Russians in regions of the former Soviet Union. Until recently, Aitmatov had been Kyrgyz ambassador in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. He's to be buried in Kyrgyzstan.
(Deutsche Kyrgyz author Aitmatov dies ...
Euro 2008: Holland beat Italy 3:0 ...
Euro 2008: "Group of Death" kicks off ...
Mubarak supports Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union ... Welle)
more info >>
<< Back