Abay Ibrahim Qunanbayuli (Kazak: Абай (Ибраһим) Құнанбайұлы Russian: Абай Ибрагим Кунанбаев. Because of Russian influence many people know him as Abai Kunanbaev or Abai Kunanbaiev) (August 10, 1845 - July 5, 1904) was a Kazakh poet, composer, and philosopher, as well as an important cog in the development of Kazakh as a legitimate written language.