The Kazakh Van Gogh

There is a retired painter of the Kazakh ethnic origin in a Russian city of Tolyatti. Born in 1946, Yelubai Yedilov suffered a stroke in 2012. Since then, his health has deteriorated dramatically. Nevertheless, I have personally experienced a strong handshake of Mr. Yedilov. He holds famous Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh in deep respect, emulating the Dutchman’s brightly vigorous pictures in his artistic quest. Of course, he has been influenced by other artists as well. However, this particular painter has been the principal source of inspiration for the Kazakh.

The entrance to the Yedilov family’s country house (dacha) has been graced by a wooden bust of Mr. van Gogh, carved out by the Kazakh himself. This piece of art unequivocally reveals a wide scope of Mr. Yedilov’s creative endeavours, if you proceed further to discover his marvelous paintings dedicated to various subjects. Basically, he is a self-taught artisan. Later in his life, the Kazakh of Tolyatti received a formal training. Vocational education has not really improved his natural talents, but it boosted his productivity.

Mr. Yedilov spared no time and money in order to get additional information about Mr. van Gogh’s biography and creative achievements. In the Kazakh painter’s home library, I browsed through books about the Dutch artist in English, German, Polish, and Russian languages. But, in order to support his family, Mr. Yedilov engaged in various activities. Once upon a time, he was a school principal in a Kazakh village. In the 1990s-2000s, the self-taught artist became a businessman dealing with kitchen equipment. Incidentally, the Yedilov family was on friendly terms with Viktor Polyakov (1915-2004) — the first top manager of VAZ, the main carmaker of Russia.

Yelubai is a native of south-east Kazakhstan. His family relocated to Russia in the mid-1980s. That is why, Kazakh themes have been felt so strongly in his works. For instance, Mr. Yedilov’s painting The Big Family, 2006, shows his Russian-Mordvin wife Yekaterina Yedilova (née Toropkina) and their children of the mixed ethnic origin as the ones with distinctly Kazakh facial features. Only their Russian daughter-in-law and German son-in-law dutifully depicted as white ones. So, the Kazakh artist strived to quiantly maintain close ties with his homeland even in the foreign country. By the way, his wife Yekaterina, who was a kindergarten teacher, has been not only the loving spouse, but also a skillful nurse, who has helped her husband to cope with mental breakdowns.

There is also a mysterious link between the Dutch artist and his Kazakh follower. It is a well-known fact that Mr. van Gogh, as well as such great artists like Raffaello Santi and Caravaggio, died prematurely at the age of 37. Luckily, Mr. Yedilov evaded such a dismal fate to eventually create lovely paintings like this markedly optimistic picture Mowers in the countryside. But, his beloved son Ruslan (1967-2004) was not so lucky. So, Mr. Yedilov Junior passed away unexpectedly at the of 37. The Kazakh painter is an atheist. However, even his rational mindset has been shattered by the tragic loss of his only son.

Ruslan Yedilov was a businessman, who primarily dealt with automobile spare parts. He was brutally murdered in Tolyatti by Russian gangsters due to an unsettled financial dispute. It must be mentioned that the Samara Region, where the murder took place, has been one of the most criminal areas in the world. For instance, the catastrophic fire at the Samara City Police Headquarters killed 57 officers on February 10, 1999. There have been rumours that Tolyatti mobsters set this fire in order to destroy compromising evidence against them, which had been stored in the building. It would give you an idea about ruthlessness of the local criminals. Having lost their beloved son, the Yedilov family received a crushing blow. Nevertheless, their two daughters have been happily married to German nationals. Nowadays, the two daughters diligently support the elderly parents, who have visited Germany several times to play around with their grandchildren. Unfortunately, even such a peaceful elderly couple, as Mr. and Mrs. Yedilov, have to submit their fingerprints like criminals in order to get a German visa.

Anyway, despite such tremendous hardships, Mr. Yedilov carried on his noble artistic mission. He completed a group portrait The Faces of Kazakhs in Russia in 2010. This painting depicts mainly the Kazakh personalities of the Samara Region. Thus. the Kazakh artist once again proved his loyalty to his Kazakh motherland by creating a memorable piece of art, dedicated to the Kazakh community of Russia. Even now in spite of his ruined health and declining years, Mr. Yedilov manages to make valuable conclusions from time to time. On July 17, 2025 he told me: “You know, as a matter of fact, the Kazakhs have been innate artists. Look at their geographic names! How creatively they name their rivers, mountains, places! Alatau — the Motley Mountains, Koksu River — the Blue Water River, Qarabulaq — the Black Spring… The Kazakhs definitely have had generally an acute sense of colours“.

This is an amateur Russian-language documentary about Mr. Yedilov and his art, which was produced in 2006. It would give you a general idea about the Kazakh painter. Of course, many things things have been left off the record. For example, the young Mr. Yedilov was so eager to become a member of Komsomol — the Soviet Youth Organization — that he managed to falsify his birthdate with the help of a Kazakh village’s friendly officials. Thus, the Kazakh artist, who had been biologically born in 1946, was officially recognized as the one with the formal birthdate in 1944.

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