Chingiz Aitmatov's condition improves

The condition of Chingiz Aitmatov, a famous writer, has improved after he suffered from a heart attack, the press secretary of Kyrgyzstan's Health Ministry, Yelena Bayalinova, told RIA Novosti.

According to her, on Thursday afternoon the writer was taken from the intensive care unit to the rehabilitation department of the National Cardiology and Therapy Center.

She said that doctors believed he would be able to leave the clinic soon and be able to continue working.

Experts at the Bakulev cardiovascular surgery center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences arrived in Bishkek yesterday to help their Kyrgyz colleagues.

Mr. Aitmatov, a Lenin Prize laureate, is the author of well-known stories and novels including, "The First Teacher," "The White Ship," "Mother's Field," "The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years," "The Scaffold," "The Mark of Cassandra," "Farewell, Gulsary!" and others. His works were translated into 150 languages.