Kulsary batyr, a mazaar

It is located 7 km away from Bulak village (Yesil district, North Kazakhstan region).

Kulsary Batyr (1715-1776) - one of the supporters of Abylai Khan, statesman and public figure. He was born, lived and buried in the north of Kazakhstan. Born in the generation of Kudaiberdy of the Kazakh family of Atygai, he was once an undisputed authority among his compatriots. The biography of Kulsary is closely connected with the name of Abylai khan, throughout his life Batyr was his assistant, advisor, and also personally fulfilled the tasks and assignments of the khan concerning relations with the Russian Empire.

The name of Batyr Kulsary was first mentioned in the documents dated 1739, among the participants of the ceremony of declaring Abilmambet khan. In early August 1742 Kulsary together with a group of Sultans, Batyrs and Bies of the Middle Zhuz in Orenburg swore allegiance to the Russian Tsar. In the following years Kulsary together with Kuleke Batyr (1710-1771) carried out a diplomatic mission in Russian cities, where they went to solve interstate issues. Khan Abylai entrusted his assistants with conducting negotiations with the border authorities. The situation in the east of the country was much more serious. The threat from the Chinese after their complete destruction of Dzungars became especially real in 1756. Many sultans and petty officers of Kazakh clans migrated with their uluses to the north, and the armed militia headed by Abylai, Kozhabergen, Kulsary, Kuleke and other batyrs defended themselves. Among the main organizers of the militia gathering was the tireless Kulsary. It was thanks to him and Kuleke Batyr that they managed to achieve that in the shortest possible time a detachment of 6,000 soldiers was trained.

Being a subtle, intelligent diplomat, Kulsary more than 30 years actively participated in strengthening the Kazakh khanate, its foreign and domestic policy. He also called for unity and calmness between Kazakh clans, his authority and sharp word allowed for internal strife. The permanent place of residence of Kulsary Batyr was Northern Kazakhstan. This is stated in the document: "Abylai Sultan has his nomadic life at the Kokshe Mountain from the Petropavlovsk fortress in 250 versts, and Kulsary Batyr - against the Petropavlovsk fortress in ten versts on the river Ishim". Thus, the Kulsary had its own nomadic area in the vicinity of modern Petropavlovsk. The Kulsary nomads occupied a significant territory.

Folk tales and legends have survived to the present day, the analysis of which reveals the image of Kulsary as a talented organizer and brave warrior. So, under his management 10 thousandth army was collected for protection of borders of Kazakhstan. He was skilful in military actions, paid special attention to intelligence, preliminary receiving necessary data on quantity of forces and localization of the opponent. He acted boldly and decisively in battle. Multi-faceted talents of the Batyr are revealed in his deeds as an aulie. It is known that Kulsary "enjoyed special respect among all Kyrgyz and Abylai, the Kyrgyz considered him to be a saint - aulie". He could intuitively predict impending threats, prevent them by decisive and proactive actions, and treat the sick. In recent years, people from the region and from all over Kazakhstan have come to the grave of Kulsary's aulie, hoping to alleviate their diseases and illnesses.

The descendant of a sixth-generation Batyr, Kaliaskar Rakhimov, installed a memorial stone over the burial site in 1958. Construction of the mazaar began on 29 April 2011. It is made of white stone brought from Aktau.

Mazaar of Kulsary Batyr is a place of pilgrimage and tourism.