Over the recent years, Kazakhs have seen a rapid revival of traditional aitys. Every Sunday, Kazakh television gathers millions of its viewers for aitys contests which keep people glued to the screens for hours. What makes the aitys so popular among the Kazakh-speaking audience is that folk poets (aqyns) during these contests publicly lambaste social ills, such as deep-rooted corruption, mismanagement, disrespect for national interests and missteps in foreign policy. In a society with limited press freedom and rigid codes of social behavior imposed from above, the aitys is the most available and a safe way to give vent to public feelings. Exchanging views on issues of far-reaching social relevance in the form of dialogues in satirical verses, poets express what official papers never dare to write about.

In recent aitys organized in commemoration of the victims of the December 1986 uprising of Kazakh students in Almaty, the establishment was denounced for covering the truth about the real implications of that tragic event, while the unwillingness of officials to recognize it as people’s revolt against the oppressive system was lambasted. They concluded that justice would never be restored as long as many officials of the former Communist Party, suspected of actively collaborating with the Kremlin in crushing the student rebellion twenty years ago, keep holding high posts in government offices. The moral of the 1986 uprising was, as conveyed by the poets, that Kazakh society would not tolerate a comeback of authoritarian rule.

Folk poet Saltanat Otembayeva from Qostanay, retorting to a remark about corrupted rulers made by her opponent Salauat Isakov from Atyrau, said there is hardly an honest man among those who ascended the throne and there will never be one as long as the elections of local akims (governors) are reduced to a formal procedure. “You in Atyrau are rich in oil, but what’s the use of sitting on oilfields if your people go hungry and the budget is short of funds even to repair the roads?” sneered Otembayeva. But her opponent was not at a loss for an answer. “In Qostanay nobody speaks Kazakh properly, and everyone babbles in Russian. We are an open-hearted and hospitable people, but others misuse our welcome.” Isakov was referring to migration policy and the reluctance of the government to promote the use of state language, Kazakh, at the official level.

Satirical verses of poets often target the inefficient legislative system. Last summer, the Parliament of Kazakhstan adopted a contradictory law on legalizing the assets of property owners. The ambiguous campaign became a topic of debates in poetry contests. “In a society ruled by corporate greed and corruption, legalization changes nothing, thieves will remain thieves and legalizing property in essence boils down to pardoning corrupt officials,” argued a participant in aitys. His views on legalization may be wrong, but a poet in aitys often mirrors the dominating views among the members of the society.

The renaissance of the traditional folk poetry – aitys – which is a unique form in the poetic culture of Central Asia, may serve as a manifestation of the reshaped ethnic consciousness of Kazakhs. Folk poets increasingly choose to eulogize the Khans Abylai, Toktamys and Yesim, who symbolized national unity and a will to build an independent state of Kazakhs who resisted Russian colonization. Historic figures of the past are often contrasted to modern rulers, held low in public esteem. But government officials have no other choice but to tolerate folk poets who, in Kazakh society, always enjoyed an enormous popularity for their ability to speak out words of truth in public, holding their head high before a despot.

Nevertheless, the ruling elite never ceased their attempts to tame folk poets by sponsoring aitys contests, rewarding poets with foreign-made cars, computers and other expensive gifts as prizes. Not so long ago, the pro-presidential Otan party (now renamed Nur-Otan) decided to patronize folk poets and aitys shows. Aitys have always been an essential part of folk festivities in Kazakh culture. Poets use the two-stringed Kazakh musical instrument dombra to spice their verses with music. In many regions of Kazakhstan, including the predominantly Russian-populated northern parts of the country, well-trained poets have opened schools of aitys. Some critics say aitys in market-economy Kazakhstan is loosing its original value in Kazakh culture, and resembling more and more an ordinary entertainment show without any social content. Perhaps, that is the sort of “modernized” aitys authorities would like to appreciate.