Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan 1938-1994 Almaty, Kazakhstan

Salikhitdin Aitbayev was one of the key figures of the Kazakh generation of the Sixties—artists whose youth coincided with the Khrushchev Thaw. Breaking away from the strict confines of socialist realism, they created a modern national visual language, rooted in local culture and history. Aitbaev played a decisive role in the development of this movement, combining formal innovation with deep cultural content.