Generals’ souls do not get old

My dear teacher, respect your name! Such famous names entered into the history of the law faculty of Kazakh State University named after S.M.Kirov 70-s. There are people who were known not only to the law community of the Soviet Union, among them are Matvey Abramovich Vaksberg who taught those who subsequently became teachers of future lawyers, Asabali Mamutovich Mamutov, author of the book on criminal law in the Kazakh language, remained for many decades the only one, Leonid Vasilyevich Djukov, Sultan Sartaevich Sartayev, Aydarat Nurekelevich Taukelev - legal theorists, Yurii Grigoryevich Bassin, Anatoliy Grigorievich Didenko - civilians, Vasiliy Nikolaevich Markelov, Georgii Fedorovich Polenov - founders of the Kazakhstan school of criminal law, Constantin Flegontovich Kotov- real ace of constitutional law, professor Abzhanov Coben Abzhanovich, Eren Abduali Erenovich, Shaybekov Kemalhan Asambekovich, Rosenzweig Vladimir Evseevich, Popov Vladimir Ivanovich, Baysalov Sagyndyk Baysalovich - the color of domestic jurisprudence, the elite, the attainment of which were taken up by many of their students and worthily pursued.

This fully goes with class of 1976, because they had the good fortune to listen to the lectures of such masters of jurisprudence as Zimanov Salyk Zimanovich, Baimakhanov Murat Tadzhimuratovich, Suleimenov Maidan Kuntuarovich ... A cohort of deans and their deputies - Abzhanov K.A., Urgenshbaev K. S., Baymurzin G.I., Sawicki S.N., Agushevich A.M.! Like fathers they have put in the law students of those years not only knowledge, but using their personal example formed their moral and professional qualities. As the saying runs, it’s a reason to envy for current students!        

The class of 1976 is going to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the last bell of the student. One of the participants of this event will be Toktarbay Kapanovich Erzhanov who through his entire biography confirmed that the lessons learned in the university walls, formed in a decent, full of great things life.

Recently in life of Astana citizen Toktarbay Kapanovich an event that he considered as the most significant has happened. In a small native land of family, in the village Bestyube, there appeared a street of their father. More precisely, the street is something that was in the past, was called the October, and now bears the name of Kapan Yerzhanov. So was decision of Bestyubinsk elders on the village meeting. Having applied all the requests, waited for the positive decision of the region administration- and now on the streets you can see new and white-blue directories with that precious name ...

Nowadays so a few veterans of the Great Patriotic War remained alive. Kapan-aga, holder of the Order of the Red Star and the Great Patriotic War of 2 degree died in the 90th, before reaching 80 in two years. He was one of the participants of the break at Leningrad, received severe shrapnel wound and survived thanks to his landsman, fellow soldier Fedor Melnik, who pulled him out of the fight. During all their lives they were not just friends, but like a family, and recalled the war exclusively with each other.

Private Erzhanov did not live some years to see the day when his son Toktarbay became a Major General and in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – State Counselor of Justice of 3 degree.

Toktarbay Kapanovich also has his fellow soldiers, but civilians, namely groupmates of the law faculty at KSU named after S.M.Kirov (now Kazakh National University named Alfarabi), class of 1976, who is proud of their sole general. It was a long life way which composed his perfect biography before Toktarbay Erzhanov became the general. It can be asserted without any error and exaggeration, so it became a custom in their large family where honor and the truth is most revered.

Therefore Toktarbay chose prosecutorial profession, the main quality which should entirely stay on the principles adopted in their parents' house. Again, we cannot not to mention his father. After the war, barely recovered after being wounded, he became head of the mill. And on this "bread" post he has never caused not so much anger, the slightest suspicion of self-interest on the part of the half-starved villagers. Such lessons worth a lot ... Local poet Rsty Shotkaeva even wrote a whole poem of Kapan. In different ways you can dispose of this baggage of family dignity, at least in terms of a successful distribution after graduation. But Toktarbay decided to enter this profession from its hottest point, namely from the investigator’s side. Family supported this position, taking into account the explanation of Toktarbay that comprehension of the complex nuances of operational work in the future will be great. This was the start of his five-year service in Marinovsky district of Akmola region.

Toktarbay remembered his first independent business that he managed to investigate during all his life. And it was from the category of hopeless, as they call them in the professional slang, "cold case". Grandfather was missing… He was unsuccessfully searched for a while, then there was a rumor went on the village that someone saw him at the station. In general, we decided that the old man, who is known for his quarrelsome character, moved to other regions, and the case was closed. But for some reason the young investigator Erzhanov decided to renew it. Although senior colleagues were trying to stop him, arguing that in case of failure, the case will go back to the category of unsolved, lead to hence deterioration of statistics and various complaints from superiors. Step by step –thread gave a stretch, led to the young man recently returned from imprisonment, which in that ill-fated evening drinking with his grandfather, soldier, something caught his disrespectful, word for word, a fight ...

The killer has hidden the corpse in the basement of grandfather's house, believing that he concealed the traces of his villainy, putting out a rumor of the departure of the old man. This investigation carried out according to the rules of the investigative process was a real baptism of fire for Toktarbay and then no one time he was held as an example to the younger colleagues of Yerzhanov.       

Well, and then life went on as usual: a year in the regional unit of the investigative department of the prosecutor's office, then a decade being a prosecutor of Shortandy district, that can only emphasize the fact that he didn’t want to work in in the capital's offices, calmly and thoroughly worked in the province, building there a strong and competent law-enforcement system. Just compare how briskly the youth receives the ranks and stars without fear and doubt jumping in high positions. At the age after forty he became the first deputy prosecutor of the Akmola region, in '96, when he was forty-three – held the position of prosecutor of Akmola, and subsequently became the first prosecutor of the new Kazakh capital Astana, remaining in that post until 2001. People say that times cannot be compared, but human actions can be. And even need. Despite the changes in the political conjuncture and lines, personal willpower, courage and responsibility of a single person will always have a high price.

Toktarbay Kapenovich conclusively confirmed this truth when he took over the negotiations with the crazed bandits seized in the remand prison of the two hostages. He spent with them the whole night face to face, so long which probably has not been in his life ... It was only later, in the morning, after carefully prepared special forces storming the street lightning snatch iron lattice of the insulator and the windows come down on the bandits. And prosecutor Erzhanov go home through the quiet morning streets, and the family did not immediately know how he spent the night, they were in fact for many years accustomed to his sudden absences. Such is the prosecutor's office ...

Once the bullets were whistling over his father, and even though his son has got to be born and to live in peace, but he had to carry out the high mission of the defense of the people. In support of this Toktarbay Erzhanov gave his general's epaulettes from the President's hands. Maybe the scientists have not yet reached the discovery that profession transmitted genetically, because the example of their families is a real example of that. His son Dauren chose the path of the prosecutor. Moreover he served for many years in the same Shortandy region to show themselves and others the fortress and a high level of family traditions. Today, Dauren Toktarbaevich is holding position of head of the department in General Prosecutor's Office.

Daughter Asem became a notary that, too, is quite in line with their family line to uphold the law at all stages of its implementation. Last years of employment Toktarbay Kapanovich spent being Deputy Director of the Institute of the General Office of Public Prosecutor of Kazakhstan. Now he is retired. Together with his wife Tursunai they are bringing up their grandchildren. And yet, it would seem right and in accordance with the relentless running time, but ... In fact, probably, this is a feature of people that have other biological clocks that do not coincide with the mother of the Labor Code. In other words, they can not "knock out of the saddle", going on pension. It is not a life-long stay at some high positions, but is the use of their enormous intellectual and professional potential. He must not remain unclaimed, or break the link between generations so precious experience will go in vain.

That is the worry of the soul of Toktarbay Yerzhanov today. The fact that there is no, for example, mentoring tradition anymore, when the young prosecutors learned from aces of profession scientific organization of labor, the disclosure features of intentional crimes, etc. No computer, no virtual database would replace intuition, jewelry possession of techniques of psychological analysis, even the artistry inherent of the true professionals in this field. Such interaction will remove a sense of age, others will be put "on the wing", will be provided with an opportunity for high-rise. We ought to reflect on such matters to those who do endless reforms in education, qualification growth programs. Perhaps we should look around for the output, rather than the seven seas...

In spite of sad thoughts, Toktarbay Kapanovich today stands on the ground firmly - service to the country, which cannot be called the former, street with name of his father, a successful growth of the son in his profession, a happy family life - someone would be enough, and a tenth of this wealth to consider yourself lucky

Serikkali Tynybekov, Doctor of Law, Professor,

al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Arkhat Abikenov, associate professor Faculty of Law,

al-Farabi Kazakh National University

Svetlana Sinitskaya,  journalist