Abstract: During the Soviet period when its literary canon was highly ideologicalized, the Russian writer Platonov and the Kyrgyz writer Aitmatov played up, respectively, their literary imaginations about the geographical space of Central Asia around the theme of soul and memory in Soul and The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years. The former holds a respectful attitude toward the fictional Zhang people in Central Asia and concludes with the assimilation of Chagataev, who is both a returnee and savior, by the Zhang people; the latter unfolds its narrative around the alienation between the traditional fathers and their modern offsprings, which symbolizes the disruption in passing on the national memory. The cultural memories and traditions of the minorities in Central Asia have been shattered, and what follows imminently is a worsening identity crisis.

Key words: Platonov, Aitmatov, the writing about Central Asia, cultural memory, identity