Azat Mashurov
Azat Mashurovich Mashurov (Russian: Азат Машурович Машуров, March 27, 1940 – April 15, 2000) was a prominent public figure in Kazakhstan's Uyghur community. He served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Alakol District in Taldykorgan Province from 1980-1989. He helped drastically improve Alakol's economy, bringing Usharal, its administrative center, to a city status. He had to resign due to the changing political regime in Kazakhstan. He ended his public service career in his home village, Pidgim, in Almaty Province, where he stayed in power until 1995 as Director of the Collective Farm. Mashurov fell victim of Perestroika that first destroyed rural agriculture. He died of a heart attack at age 60 in his home in Zharkent. In 2005, his wife, Durnyam Mashurova, published the novel "A Life Lived Not in Vain"(Russian: Не Зря Прожитая Жизнь), comprising controversial memoirs revealing true facts of his hard life.