Asan Abdiev was born in 1907 in the village of Kara-Saz, which is now part of the Ormon Khan rural district. His father, Abdy Supa uulu, came from the Kuschu clan and, according to various sources, was born around 1860. Abdy was well-off, and his father, Supa, was a well-known figure during the time of Niyazbek uulu, Ormon Khan. According to local elders, when his sheep grazed on the slopes, "the mountain was not visible." Abdy raised seven sons, among whom the third was Asan.
When Asan turned nine, he witnessed the events known as "Ürkün" in 1916. During this difficult time, his family fled to China to escape repression. The journey was extremely hard, and many people traveling on foot died from hunger and deprivation. After a year away from their homeland, the family returned, but only three of the seven brothers made it back home: Asan, Samat, and Sadyk. The others perished or went missing. In 1917-1918, Asan lost his father, becoming an orphan at a young age.
With the establishment of Soviet power, his older brother Sadyk went to study in Tashkent. In 1922, when Asan was 15 years old, he enrolled in the preparatory class of the Institute of Public Education at the Central Asian Communist University (SACU) in Tashkent, thanks to his brother's support.
Researcher Bakyt Asanov notes that there, Asan received significant help from the Russian educator Pyotr Kuzmich Yudakhin, who became like a father to him. Pyotr Kuzmich was the older brother of Konstantin Kuzmich Yudakhin, who later compiled Kyrgyz-Russian and Russian-Kyrgyz dictionaries.
In 1924, at the second plenum of the Turkestan Central Executive Committee, a decision was made to prepare teachers for the small ethnic groups, including the Karakyrgyz and Tajiks. That same year, the Institute of Public Education was founded in Kyrgyzstan, with Yudakhin as its director.
In the autumn of 1924, after the establishment of the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Region, Yudakhin came to Pishpek, where he bought an unfinished house and expedited its construction to create a dormitory and cafeteria. On September 25, 1925, the Kyrgyz Institute of Public Education was ceremonially opened.
Asan Abdiev studied at the Central Asian Communist University until 1925 and then became one of the first 140 students of the new institute in Pishpek. He studied for four years and worked hard, becoming one of the best students. Among his classmates were notable figures such as Mukai Elebaev, Kasymaly Zhantošev, and Tashym Baijiev. Later, this institute transformed into the Central Kyrgyz Pedagogical Technical School.
After completing his studies, Asan began his career as an inspector in the district department of public education in Balykchy and joined the Communist Party. Over the years, he also headed the education departments of the Alamudun and Karakol districts, working within the country's education system.
With his wife Nurchan, he raised a daughter, Roza, born in 1932. Contemporaries noted that Nurchan had long hair braided into two plaits that reached her feet.
In 1937, during the Stalinist repressions, Asan and his brother Sadyk were arrested on suspicion of being connected to the "Turan" party. Asan ended up in the same prison as Törökul Aitmatov and was later sent to Siberia, where he worked in logging under harsh conditions. Sadyk was exiled to Magadan.
Nurchan, left with their daughter, did not cease her attempts to free her husband. According to eyewitnesses, she even went to Moscow, where she sought a personal audience. Ultimately, her persistence led to a review of the case, and Asan was acquitted and able to return home. Unfortunately, Sadyk reportedly died in the camp in 1947.
At the end of 1938, Asan resumed his professional activities, becoming the head of the district department of public education in the Jumgal district. After his arrest, he was expelled from the party, and despite his rehabilitation, he did not return to the CPSU, stating that he could not serve a party that had sent him to Siberia without investigation.
During the Great Patriotic War, Asan worked as the director of a school in the collective farm "Iliktir," organizing assistance for the elderly and involving students in writing letters to the front, as well as participating in the eradication of illiteracy among adults.
After Nurchan's death, Asan was left alone with his daughter. Later, he married Aina Gul Subankul kyzy, with whom he had children, but she passed away early. In his third marriage, a daughter, Saltanat, was born.
In different years, Asan Abdiev served as the director of schools, headed education departments in Naryn and Jumgal, and taught history and geography. In his later years, he dreamed of meeting Chyngyz Aitmatov to tell him about his father, Törökul Aitmatov, but this meeting never took place.
Asan Abdiev passed away on February 20, 1984, and was buried in the village of Jangy-Jol in the Kochkor district. His descendants became educators, doctors, and engineers. Local residents note that Asan raised an entire generation of students, many of whom fondly remember their teacher.
