Memorial Museum of Nurmolda Aldabergenov
The Nurmolda Aldabergenov Memorial Museum, located in the village of Aldabergenov in the Yeskeldy District of the Almaty Region, is a major cultural and educational center dedicated to the life and work of Nurmolda Aldabergenov-twice Hero of Socialist Labor, a prominent statesman, public figure, and organizer of agricultural production.
The museum was officially opened in 1986 by decree of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR, with the direct support of Dinmukhamed Akhmetovich Kunaev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. Initially, the institution functioned as a public museum dedicated to the history of the local collective farm. Later, it was named after Nurmolda Aldabergenov.
The total area of the museum building is 3,978 square meters, with 9.2 square meters allocated to exhibition space. Today, the museum’s collection holds 4,706 items of historical and cultural significance, and this number continues to grow each year.
The exhibition is displayed across four main halls and four additional rooms. Thematic sections cover the following historical periods:
1. The socio-economic situation in Kazakhstan before the October Revolution;
2. The establishment of Soviet power and collectivization;
3. The development of the kolkhoz (collective farm) movement;
4. The life and socio-political activities of Nurmolda Aldabergenov.
Additionally, the exhibition features materials about prominent historical figures of the Zhetysu region - batyrs, biys, and zhyrshys - such as Yeskeldy biy, Balpyk biy, and Kabylys zhyrshy. Their portraits and biographies are presented in a visual and informative format. Special attention is given to Nurmolda Aldabergenov as a spiritual successor to these revered ancestors. One of the halls contains his bust and materials related to his childhood and mature years.
Another hall displays photographs and documents from the construction of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway and the early development of collective farms. Other rooms include exhibits illustrating the traditional lifestyle, crafts, and culture of the Kazakh people.
A central exhibit of the museum is the sculpture of Hero of the Soviet Union Matai Bayisuly, a native of this village who showed heroic courage during the liberation of Ukraine in World War II. Exhibits in this section also highlight the labor contributions of the home front, the development of animal husbandry, irrigation systems, the rise of kolkhoz culture, and improvements in rural living conditions.
On the second floor, portraits of five kolkhoz chairmen are displayed, along with a reconstructed office of Nurmolda Aldabergenov, featuring original documents. The large hall showcases portraits of 19 Heroes of Labor, each accompanied by individual panels outlining their achievements.
A special moment in the museum’s history was the 1986 visit of Dinmukhamed Kunaev, who left a commemorative note in the museum’s guestbook. The First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, visited the village of Aldabergenov and the museum on three occasions - 1988, 1995, and 2002 - leaving personal messages in the guestbook. His congratulatory letter commemorating the 100th anniversary of Nurmolda Aldabergenov is also one of the museum’s treasured artifacts.
The Nurmolda Aldabergenov Memorial Museum is more than a tribute to a single individual-it is a significant historical and cultural institution that offers deep insights into the development of agriculture in 20th-century Kazakhstan, the labor feats of its people, and the key milestones in the formation of statehood.