As Kazakhstan recently celebrated Republic Day, we look back at a holiday tradition: the presentation of state awards to distinguished citizens. Among these honors, the title of «Halyk Kaharmany» («People’s Hero») holds a special place as one of the country’s highest distinctions. Kursiv.media’s editorial team has analyzed publicly available data to compile a comprehensive database of everyone who has received the title.
To date, 39 people have been named People’s Hero, including one foreign national. The first recipient was Sagadat Nurmagambetov, independent Kazakhstan’s first defense minister, who received the title in 1994. This year, 52 years after his death, the title was posthumously awarded to Kenzhebai Madenov (1925-1974), an officer who demonstrated exceptional courage during World War II (Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945).
The interactive infographic below allows users to sort and filter the data by recipient, year of award and professional category.
01
1924–2013
Army general
Sagadat Nurmagambetov
Date the title was conferred
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Army general, Hero of the Soviet Union and the first defense minister of independent Kazakhstan. He was the first recipient of the People’s Hero title.
02
1932–2007
Scientist and administrator
Akhat Kulenov
Date the title was conferred
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Public figure, metallurgist and educator. Headed the Ust-Kamenogorsk Lead and Zinc Plant.
03
1936–2003
Scientist and administrator
Aleksandr Khristenko
Date the title was conferred
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Agricultural production manager and director of the Karaganda Research State Farm Institute of Agriculture.
04
1946
Cosmonaut
Toktar Aubakirov
Date the title was conferred
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Kazakhstan’s first cosmonaut (1991) and a test pilot.
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05
1951–2025
Cosmonaut
Talgat Musabayev
Date the title was conferred
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Cosmonaut who flew into space three times and took part in international space programs.
06
1961
Cosmonaut
Yuri Malenchenko
Date the title was conferred
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Russian cosmonaut. In 1994, he took part with Talgat Musabayev in an expedition to the Mir space station.
07
1918–2006
War veteran
Kassym Kaisenov
Date the title was conferred
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World War II (Great Patriotic War) veteran, renowned partisan and writer.
08
1922–2015
War veteran
Aleksei Kulakov
Date the title was conferred
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World War II (Great Patriotic War) veteran decorated for military valor with the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Red Star.
09
1918–1998
War veteran
Murdin Taipov
Date the title was conferred
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World War II (Great Patriotic War) veteran who fought in the liberation of Europe and in the Soviet–Japanese War.
10
1933–2015
Scientist and administrator
Mukhtar Aliyev
Date the title was conferred
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Surgeon, academician and director of the Research Institute of Clinical and Experimental Surgery.
11
1937–2013
Scientist and administrator
Akim Atmachidi
Date the title was conferred
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Construction industry executive. Headed the Semipalatinsk Precast Reinforced Concrete Production Association.
12
1912–2003
Scientist and administrator
Shafik Chokin
Date the title was conferred
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Scientist and academic who made a major contribution to the development of energy research in Kazakhstan.
13
1922–2011
Artist
Roza Baglanova
Date the title was conferred
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Singer and People’s Artist of the USSR.
Image: portrait on a postage stamp.
14
1966–1988
Participant in the December 1986 protests
Kairat Ryskulbekov
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Participant in the December 1986 protests. He became a symbol of civic courage in Kazakhstan’s path to independence.
15
1920–1941
War veteran
Bakhtyuras Beisekbayev
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Radio operator and gunner aboard a bomber. He was killed in an aerial battle in the early days of World War II (Great Patriotic War).
16
1925–1998
Artist
Nurgisa Tlendiyev
Date the title was conferred
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Composer, conductor and dombra player. He founded the Otyrar Sazy orchestra and left a rich musical legacy.
Image: portrait on a postage stamp.
17
1924–1988
War veteran
Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Kazakh officer who raised the Victory Banner over the Reichstag in Berlin.
18
1932–2009
Artist
Azerbaijan Mambetov
Date the title was conferred
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Theater and film director and People’s Artist of the USSR. He made a major contribution to the development of professional Kazakh theater.
19
1922–2008
War veteran
Khiuaz Dospanova
Date the title was conferred
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Military pilot and navigator. She flew combat missions with a night-bomber aviation regiment.
20
1919–2005
War veteran
Maulen Kalmyrza
Date the title was conferred
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World War II (Great Patriotic War) and labor veteran, and an educator.
May 6, 2005, is the date the award was presented. The exact date and decree number for the conferral could not be verified in publicly available sources.
21
1924–2007
War veteran
Aleksandr Kaporin
Date the title was conferred
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World War II (Great Patriotic War) veteran and artilleryman, and a recipient of all three classes of the Order of Glory.
May 6, 2005, is the date the award was presented. The exact date and decree number for the conferral could not be verified in publicly available sources.
22
1945
Army general
Mukhtar Altynbayev
Date the title was conferred
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Army general and Kazakhstan’s defense minister.
23
1984
Rescue and law enforcement
Azamat Zhumadilov
Date the title was conferred
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Officer in the airmobile forces. In 2007, he rescued two children and their mother from a burning house in Ushtobe.
24
1952
Army general
Bakhytzhan Yertayev
Date the title was conferred
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Lieutenant general and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He held senior positions in Kazakhstan’s armed forces.
25
1971–2011
Rescue and law enforcement
Gaziz Baitasov
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Police captain. He died in 2011 after stopping a suicide bomber at the cost of his own life.
26
1972
Cosmonaut
Aidyn Aimbetov
Date the title was conferred
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Cosmonaut. In 2015, he flew to the International Space Station.
27
1961
Rescue and law enforcement
Dmitri Rodin
Date the title was conferred
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Civil aviation pilot. In 2016, he safely landed a Fokker 100 with its nose landing gear not deployed.
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28
1977
Rescue and law enforcement
Kairat Umbetov
Date the title was conferred
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National Guard officer. During an exercise in 2016, he shielded a soldier from a grenade with his own body.
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29
1940
President
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Date the title was conferred
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Kazakhstan’s first president.
30
1976–2021
Rescue and law enforcement
Meirzhan Aimanov
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Civil protection colonel. He died during rescue operations following a fire and explosions at a military depot in the Zhambyl region.
31
1916–1944
War veteran
Tuleugali Abdybekov
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Sniper with the 8th Guards Rifle Division during World War II (Great Patriotic War), credited with killing 397 enemy soldiers.
32
(1912–?)
War veteran
Aleksandr Nesmiyanov
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Major and rifle battalion commander. Distinguished himself in battles in Crimea and East Prussia.
No reliable information about his date of death could be found.
33
1911–1943
War veteran
Ibragim Suleimenov
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
Read more
Renowned World War II (Great Patriotic War) sniper and senior sergeant.
34
1949
Rescue and law enforcement
Kairbek Suleimenov
Date the title was conferred
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Veteran of the internal affairs agencies, colonel general and Kazakhstan’s interior minister (1995–2000 and 2002–2003).
35
1921–2025
War veteran
Abdygali Kaimoldin
Date the title was conferred
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Artilleryman and World War II (Great Patriotic War) veteran.
36
1923–2026
War veteran
Ivan Gapich
Date the title was conferred
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World War II (Great Patriotic War) veteran who took part in the 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow. After the war, he served in the prosecutor’s office.
37
1939
Army general
Sat Tokpakbayev
Date the title was conferred
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Colonel general and public official. He headed the National Security Committee and the Ministry of Defense.
38
1910–1982
War veteran
Bauyrzhan Momyshuly
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
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Renowned military commander, colonel, writer and Hero of the Soviet Union.
Image: portrait on a postage stamp.
39
1925–1974
War veteran
Kenzhebai Madenov
Date the title was conferred
Awarded posthumously
Read more
World War II (Great Patriotic War) veteran who raised the Victory Banner over Berlin City Hall.
According to a publication by National Security Committee veterans, he was born in 1925; other compilations give 1927.
Kazakhstan’s highest honor
Under the Law on State Awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan, adopted April 1, 1993, the title of People’s Hero was initially the country’s sole highest distinction. In 1995, the legislation was revised to include additional top-level honors: the Altyn Qyran (Golden Eagle) Order and the title of Qazaqstannyń Eńbek Eri (Hero of Labor of Kazakhstan).
The title of Halyk Kakharmany is awarded for outstanding service to Kazakhstan and heroic deeds performed in the name of the country’s freedom and independence. Recipients receive two insignia: the Gold Star and the Otan (Fatherland) Order.
Two women and a participant in the December events
Among the recipients are two prominent women: singer and People’s Artist Roza Baglanova, who received the title in 1996, and military pilot and navigator Khiuaz Dospanova, honored in 2004.
Another recipient is Kairat Ryskulbekov, a participant in the December 1986 protests in Almaty. He died in 1988 and was posthumously awarded the title in 1996.
Military personnel, cosmonauts and public figures
Given the criteria for the award, military personnel, war veterans and Heroes of the Soviet Union account for the largest group of recipients, with 23 people.
Four cosmonauts also hold the title: Toktar Aubakirov, Talgat Musabayev, Yuri Malenchenko, a Russian citizen, and Aidyn Aimbetov.
Another group comprises eight prominent figures from science, the arts and industrial management. Five others were honored for saving lives and demonstrating courage in dangerous situations. They include police Capt. Gaziz Baitasov and civil protection Col. Meirzhan Aimanov, both of whom received the title posthumously.
The only person to receive the title on the basis of a special legal provision rather than for a military feat is Nursultan Nazarbayev, who holds it by virtue of his status as the country’s first head of state.
