Academician Kanysh Satpayev: Strokes to the Portrait

The article covers the production, scientific, state and social activities of Kanysh Satpayev (1899-1964), an outstanding son of the Kazakh people, based on the materials of his personal archive. The life of the geologist, doctor of geology and mineralogy, academician was associated with the industrialization of the country, the creation of non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy in Kazakhstan, the development of science and the opening of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic, in which he participated directly. The article describes his professional and scientific activities. He studied at the Geological Department of the Mining Faculty of Tomsk Technological Institute and graduated with the degree of a mining engineer-geologist, becoming the first Kazakh geologist. Satpa-yev's work activity coincided with the course of industrialization of the country and the first five-year plans for the development of the national economy of the USSR. In 1931, as a result of the prospecting work of the geologist Satpayev, large reserves of copper ore were found in the depths of Zhezkazgan, thanks to which Central Kazakhstan was the first among the copper deposits of the USSR. Satpayev as a geologist was interested not only in Zhezkazgan, but also in other regions of Kazakhstan. He proposed the ideas of founding a steel industry in Central Kazakhstan and an oil industry in the Mangystau Peninsula, of establishing the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. The author of the article analyzes Satpayev's activity in the position of the director of the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Kazakh Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences based on the documents from archives and the reviewed literature. He also demonstrates Satpayev's professional and scientific contribution related to the needs of defense industry during World War II, to exploration of mineral resources, to the creation of a new base of ferrous metallurgy, to the development of science of the Republic and the preparation of the establishment of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. The author concludes that Satpayev was an honored industry worker who made a great contribution to the development of the national economy and a famous scientist geologist, founder of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. It is noted that the name of the outstanding scientist, statesman and public figure was once undeservedly forgotten, but times changed, a new generation came that rightly appreciated his merits. In 1999 UNESCO included Satpayev's 100th anniversary into the list of anniversary events. Monuments to Satpayev were erected, his name was given to the Irtysh-Karaganda channel and the Kazakh National Technical University, Satpayev annual state awards for the best works in the field of natural sciences were established, works of the scientist, as well as albums, articles, books of memoirs devoted to Academician Satpayev, were published.

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