Ğabdulla Tuqay (

tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

. ''عبد الله توقای,'' – ) was a

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

poet,

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or govern ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, and towering figure of Tatar literature. Tuqay is often referred to as the founder of the modern Tatar literature and the modern Tatar literary language, which replaced Old Tatar language in literature.

Early life

Ğabdulla Tuqay was born in the family of the hereditary village mullah of Quşlawıç,

Kazan Governorate The Kazan Governorate (russian: Каза́нская губе́рния; tt-Cyrl, Казан губернасы; cv, Хусан кӗперниӗ; mhr, Озаҥ губерний), or the Government of Kazan, was a governorate (a '' guberniya'') ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

(current

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

, Russia) near the modern town of Arsk. His father, Möxämmätğärif Möxämmätğälim ulı Tuqayıv, had been a village ''mandative mullah'' since 1864. In 1885 his wife died, leaving him a son and a daughter, and Möxämmätğärif married second wife, Mämdüdä, daughter of

Öçile Uchili (russian: Учили́; tt-Cyrl, Өчиле, ) is a village ('' selo'') in Arsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the bank of the Berezinka River, south of Arsk, the administrative center of the district. Populat ...

village mullah Zinnätulla Zäynepbäşir ulı. On 29 August O.S. Möxämmätğärif died when Ğabdulla was five months old. Soon Ğabdulla's grandfather also died and Mämdüdä was forced to return to her father and then to marry the mullah of the village of Sasna. Little Ğabdulla lived for some time with an old woman in his native village, before his new stepfather agreed to take Tuqay into his family. Tuqay's relatively happy childhood did not last long: on O.S. 18 January 1890 Ğabdulla's mother Mämdüdä also died, and Tuqay was removed to his poor grandfather Zinnätulla. Lacking enough food even for his own children, his grandfather sent Ğabdulla to Kazan with a coachman. There the coachman took Tuqay to a market-place, Peçän Bazaar, hoping to find someone willing to adopt the child. A tanner named Möxämmätwäli and his wife Ğäzizä from the Yaña-Bistä area of

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...

decided to take care of him. While living in

, Tuqay was taken ill with

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

. In 1892, when both of Ğabdulla's adoptive parents became sick they had to send him back to his grandfather. This time, Ğabdulla's grandfather sent the child for further adoption to the village of Qırlay, where Ğabdulla stayed with the family of a peasant Säğdi. During his stay with this family, Ğabdulla was sent to the local

madrassah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

(religious school), for the first time in his life, where, in his own words, his enlightenment began. In the fall of 1895, the Ğosmanovs, Tatar merchants living in

Uralsk Uralsk (russian: Уральск) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: *Uralsk, Republic of Bashkortostan, a '' selo'' in Uralsky Selsoviet of Uchalinsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan * Uralsk, Orenburg Oblast, a ''selo'' ...

, decided to adopt their distant relatives, because their own children had died. Ğäliäsğar Ğosmanov and his wife Ğäzizä, Ğabdulla's aunt, asked a peasant from Quşlawıç to bring them Ğabdulla. The peasant took ten-year-old Tuqay away from Säğdi, threatening him with Russian papers and the village constable. Living in Uralsk, Ğabdulla attended to ''Motíğía'' madrassah. Simultaneously, in 1896, he started to attend a Russian school. There, for the first time in his life, he became acquainted with the world of Russian literature and started to write poetry. In 1899 the anniversary of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

was widely celebrated in Uralsk, an event which inspired Tuqay's interest in Russian poetry, especially works by Pushkin. Ğosmanov tried to interest Ğabdulla in his work, but Tuqay stayed indifferent to the merchant's lot, preferring to develop his education. On 30 July 1900 Ğäliäsğar Ğosmanov died of "stomach diseases", so Tuqay moved into the madrassah itself, living first in common room, and two years later in a ''khujra'', an individual cell. In the madrassah Tuqay proved himself a diligent student, completing in ten years a program intended for fifteen. However, he continued to live in poverty. By 1902, Ğabdulla, age 16, had changed his nature. He lost interest in studying the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

, and showed criticism to all that was taught in madrassah. He didn't shave his hair, he drank beer and even smoked. At the same time, he became more interested in poetry. Тукай. И. Нуруллин. (серия ЖЗЛ). Москва, "Молодая Гвардия", 1977

Literary life

Uralsk period

Beginning in his madrassah years, Tuqay was interested in folklore and popular poetry, and he asked shakirds, coming for different jobs all over

Idel-Ural Idel-Ural ( tt-Cyrl, Идел-Урал, translit=Idel-Üral, russian: Идель-Урал), literally Volga-Ural, is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means ''Volga-Urals'' in the Tatar language. ...

during summer vacations, to collect local songs, examples of ''bäyet'', i.e.

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

and fairy-tales. In the madrassah itself he became familiar with Arabic, Persian and Turkish poetry, as well as poetry in the Old Tatar language of the earlier centuries. In 1900 ''Motíğía'' graduate, a Tatar poet Mirxäydär Çulpaní visited the madrassah. Ğabdulla met him and Çulpaní became the first living poet to impress Tuqay. Çulpaní wrote in "elevated style", using ''

aruz Aruz wezni, or aruz prosody, is a kind of Turkic poetic rhythm. The earliest founder of this versification system was Khalil ibn Ahmad. There were 16 kinds of modalities of aruz at first. Later Persian scholars added 3 kinds. For example, the Turki ...

'', an Oriental poetic system, and mostly in Old Tatar language, full of Arab, Persian and Turkish words, and rather distant from the Tatar language itself. In 1902-1903 he met a Turkish poet Abdülveli, concealed himself there from

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

pursuits. Thus, Tuqay adopted Oriental poetic tradition. Young teacher, the son of headmaster, Kamil "Motíğí" Töxfätullin, organized wallpaper ''Mäğärif'' (''The Education'') and hand-written journals. The first odes of Tuqay were published there, and he was referred as "the first poet of the madrassah". In 1904 Motíğí founded his own publishing company, and Tuqay became clerk there. He combined this job with teaching younger shakirds in the madrassah. He introduced new methods, typical for the Russian school. After the October Manifesto of 1905 it became possible to publish

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

s in the Tatar language, which was strictly forbidden earlier. However, Motíğí wasn't enough solvent to open his own newspaper, so he bought the Russian language newspaper ''Uralets'' with typography, to print also a Tatar newspaper there. Tuqay became a typesetter. The newspaper was named ''Fiker'' (''The Thought''). Then Motíğí started to issue ''Älğasrälcadid'' (''The New Century'') magazine. Tuqay sent his first verses there to be published. At the same time he started writing for a newspaper and began participating in the publishing of several Tatar magazines. At day Tuqay worked in typography (he was already a proofreader), but by nights he wrote verses, so every issue of ''Fiker'', ''Nur'' and ''Älğasrälcadid'' contains his writing. More over, he wrote articles, novels and feuilletons for those periodicals, he translated

Krylov Krylov (masculine; russian: Крылов) and Krylova (feminine; russian: Крылова) is a Russian surname, derived from the word "''крыло́"'' (wing). Alternative spellings are Krilov, Kryloff, Kriloff (masculine) and Krilova (feminine). ...

fables for the magazine. It is also known that Tuqay spread social-democratic leaflets and translated social-democratic brochure to the Tatar language. Despite social-democrats' negative attitude towards the Manifesto, in his verses Tuqay admired with Manifesto, believing in the progressive changes of the Tatar lifestyle. During that period he shared his views with liberals, as the long-standing tradition of the Tatar enlightenment didn't distinguish national-liberation movement from the class struggle and negated the class struggle within Tatar nation. The most prominent writings of that period are ''Millätä'' (''To the Nation'') poem and ''Bezneñ millät, ülgänme, ällä yoqlağan ğınamı?'' (''Has our nation dead, or just sleeps?'') article. Since the satirical magazine ''Uqlar'' (''The Arrows'') appeared in Uralsk, Tuqay renowned himself as satirist. The main target of his jeers was Muslim clergy, who stayed opposed to progress and Europeanization. As for the language of the most of his verses, it still stayed the Old Tatar language and continued the Oriental traditions, such as in ''Puşkinä'' (''To Pushkin''). However, in some of them, directed to the Tatar peasantry a pure Tatar was used, what was newly for the Tatar poetry. In January 1906 police conducted a search of the typography, as rebellious articles were published in the newspaper. The First State Duma was dismissed, the revolution came to naught. The ultra-right Russian nationalists from the Black Hundred proposed that Tatars emigrate to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. That period his most prominent verses devoted to the social themes and patriotism were composed: ''Gosudarstvennaya Dumağa'' (''To the State Duma''), ''Sorıqortlarğa'' (''To the Parasites'') and ''Kitmibez!'' (''We don't leave!''). Tuqay was disappointed in liberalism and sympathized with socialists, especially Esers. In ''Kitmibez!'' he answered to the Black Hundred that the Tatars are a brother people of the Russians and immigration to Turkey is impossible. On 6 January 1907 Tuqay left madrassah, as his fee permitted him to live independently, and settled in a hotel room. He became an actual editor of ''Uqlar'', being the lead poet and publicist of all Motíğí's periodicals. That time liberal ''Fiker'' and Tuqay himself was in confrontation with Qadimist, i.e. ultraconservative ''Bayan al-Xaq'', which even called for

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...

of liberal press activists. However, that year he was surprisingly discharged, as the result of the conflict with Kamil Motíğí and instigation of the typography workers for a strike to raise a salary. On 22 February 1907 Motíğí was deprived of publishing rights and his publishers was sold to merchant, who attracted Tuqay to the work again, but sonly dismissed the periodicals. That time Tuqay departed from the social-democrats and politics generally, preferring to devote himself to poetry. Since mid-1906 to autumn 1907 more than 50 verses were written, as well as 40 articles and feuilletons. That time he turned to a pure Tatar, using a spoken language. Impressed by Pushkin's fairy-tale poem '' Ruslan and Lyudmila'', Tuqay wrote his first poem, ''

Şüräle Shurale ( Tatar and Bashkir: Шүрәле, �yræˈlɘ russian: Шурале) is a forest spirit in Tatar and Bashkir mythology. According to legends, Şüräle lives in forests. He has long fingers, a horn on its forehead, and a woolly body. ...

''. It is known, that Motíğí tried to establish another newspaper, ''Yaña Tormış'' (''The New Life'') in Uralsk, with Tuqay as one of constitutors, but that time Ğabdulla was already so popular in the Tatar society, that chief editors from Kazan, the Tatar cultural capital, offered him job. Moreover, Tuqay should be examined by a draft board in his native

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

, and he left Uralsk anyway. The admiration with the future trends of his life in Kazan is expressed in ''Par at'' (''The Pair of Horses''), which consequently became the most associated with Kazan Tatar verse.

Kazan period

Just after the arrival to Kazan, Tuqay stayed at ''Bolğar'' hotel and met Tatar literature intelligentsia, such as playwright and ''Yoldız'' newspaper secretary

Ğäliäsğar Kamal Ğäliäsğar Ğäliäkbär ulı Kamaletdinov ( tt-Cyrl, Галиәсгар Галиәкбәр улы Камалетдинов) aka Ğäliäsğar Kamal ( tt-Cyrl, Галиәсгар Камал , russian: Галиаскар Камал, ''Galiaskar ...

and prominent Tatar poet and ''Tañ yoldızı'' newspaper chief editor Säğit Rämiev. Several days after he left Kazan to be examined by a draft board, assembly point being in Ätnä village. There he was discarded due his poor health and walleye and freed up of serving in the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian A ...

. He returned to Kazan and renowned his literature and publishing activity. He was adopted to the editorial staff of democratically oriented ''Äl-İslax'' gazette, led by

Fatix Ämirxan Ämirxanov Möxämmätfatix Zarif ulı Fatix Ämirxan (; 1886–1926) was a Tatar classic writer, editor and publicist. Ämirxan was born in 1886 in Kazan, Russian Empire. His father was a mullah of Old Stone Mosque Möxämmätzarif Ämirxano ...

and Wafa Bäxtiärev. However, the newspaper had a little budget. Tuqay had got fixed up as a forwarding agent in ''Kitap'' publishers, to provide guaranteed wage. Moreover, he refused offer from ''Äxbar'', an organ of Ittifaq al-Muslimin, a political party, close to Kadets, as well as other offers from rich, but right-wing newspapers. He also continued self-education: read Russian classics, critiques, and studied German language. He was interested in studying the life of common people by visiting bazaars and pubs. Tuqay's room in ''Bolğar'' hotel was frequently visited by admirers from " gilded youth". As he wrote, their boozing-up impeded him and his creation. Nevertheless, in the end of 1907-1908 he wrote nearby sixty verses and twenty articles in ''Äl-İslax'' and satirical journal ''Yäşen'' (''The Illumination''), and also published two books of verses. The most prominent satire of that period was ''Peçän Bazarı yaxud Yaña Kisekbaş'' (''The Hay Bazaar or New Kişekbaş''), deriding problems of the Tatar society of the period, clergy and merchant class. As for Tuqay's personal life, there is known little about it. As usual he avoided women in his circle. It is known that he was enamored of Zäytünä Mäwlüdova, his 15-year-old admirer. Several verses were devoted to Zäytünä and their feelings, such as ''A Strange Love''. However, later Tuqay did not develop their relations, and the possible reason was inferiority complex, attributed to his health and financial position. In May 1908 an article, comparing Tuqay's, Rämiev's and Majit Ghafuri's poetries was published in Russian-language ''Volzhsko-Kamsky Vestnik''. In August 1908 Kamal founded satirical journal ''Yäşen'' under Tuqay's pressure. The most of published works were written by Tuqay, of course. In August 1908 Kamal and Tuqay visit the Makaryev Fair, placed in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. There Tuqay temporarily joined the first Tatar theatre troupe, '' Säyyar'', singing national songs and declaiming his verses from scene. On 14 October Ğabdulla Tuqay presented his new satirical poem ''The Hay Bazaar or New Kisekbaş'', based on classical Old Tatar poem ''Kisekbaş''. In own poem he derided nationalism among Tatars, as well as Wäisi sect's fanatics, associating sect's leader, Ğaynan Wäisev with Diü, an evil spirit from ''Kisekbaş''.

1909-1910 crisis

In 1909-1910 all freedoms, gained by 1905 revolution came to naught under

Stolypin Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin ( rus, Пётр Арка́дьевич Столы́пин, p=pʲɵtr ɐrˈkadʲjɪvʲɪtɕ stɐˈlɨpʲɪn; – ) was a Russian politician and statesman. He served as the third prime minister and the interior minist ...

's policy. As a result, leftist sympathized Ğabdulla Tuqay was nearly disappointed in his activity and was in depression. Another reason was in his friends, moved to rightist newspapers, like Kamal and Rämiev. The most of his verses were depressive, however, Tuqay stayed productive, he published nearby hundred verses, two fairy tale poems, autobiography, and an article about Tatar folklore (''Xalıq ädäbiäte'', i.e. ''Folk Literature''), wrote thirty feuilletons and printed twenty books, not only with own poems, but also compiled of folk songs. In those years Tuqay became staunch leftist, despite of his staying with one bourgeois family for some time: ''Äl-İslax'' became a leftist political newspaper only, Tuqay criticized all his former friends, turned to the right or liberal newspapers: Zarif Bäşiri from Oremburgean ''Çükeç'' and Säğit Rämiev from ''Bäyänelxaq''. He called them bourgeoisie's stooges, in response their stigmatized Tuqay Russophile. The same time

Okhrana The Department for Protecting the Public Security and Order (russian: Отделение по охранению общественной безопасности и порядка), usually called Guard Department ( rus, Охранное отд ...

reported his poems as

Russophobic Anti-Russian sentiment, commonly referred to as Russophobia, is dislike or fear of Russia, the Russians, Russian culture. or Russian policy. The Collins English Dictionary defines it as intense and often irrational hatred of Russia. It is the ...

. Also Tuqay became closer to the first Tatar Marxist,

Xösäyen Yamaşev Yamaşev Xösäyen Minhacetdin ulı (pronounced in Tatar; Cyrillic: Ямашев Хөсәен Минһаҗетдин улы; russian: Яма́шев Хусаи́н Мингазетди́нович; transl. Yamashev Khusain Mingazetdinovich, 1882� ...

. In June 1909 ''Yäşen'', was closed due to financial problems as well as censorship requirement, as well as ''Äl-İslax''. Being at the top of his crisis, he thinks about suicide, but since March 1910 a new satirical magazine, ''Yal-Yolt'' (''The Lightning'') was published in Kazan under Äxmät Urmançiev. Being interested in

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

ideas and legacy, Tuqay felt keenly the death of the Russian genius. Pointing out a high role of children's education, he prepared two books for children, and two schoolbooks of Tatar literature. In total, he composed more than fifty verses and seven poems for children.

Ufa - Saint-Petersburg - Troitsk

In 1911 Qadimist forces allied with Okhrana fulminated ''İj-Bubí'', the most progressive Tatar madrassah. This fact filled with indignation all Tatar intelligentsia. But it was only a beginning of campaign drive against Tatar democracy, which became Tuqay's tragedy again. However, as it known from Tuqay's letters to his friend Säğit Sönçäläy, he decided to write the Tatar

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is a novel in verse written by A ...

, but he had to recover his health. He planned a trip to the southern regions to receive

kumiss ''Kumis'' (also spelled ''kumiss'' or ''koumiss'' or ''kumys'', see other transliterations and cognate words below under terminology and etymology – otk, airag kk, қымыз, ''qymyz'') mn, айраг, ''ääryg'') is a fermented dair ...

therapy there. In April he left Kazan and had a voyage by the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of ...

. There he met Rämiev and became reconciled with him. Three weeks later he moved to Kalmyk Bazary village and stayed with schoolteacher Şahit Ğäyfi there. As Ğäyfi was interested in photography, they shot a series of cards, devoted to Tuqay's poems and the Tatar theatre. Returning to Kazan, he published, ''Miäwbikä'' (''Pussycat''), his prominent poem for children. There he applied new poetic methods, and was criticized therefore. He also was interested to publish his prohibited verses in the newspaper of the Russian Muslims, published in Paris, but later he refused of this idea, as the newspaper propagated pan-Islamist ideas. In autumn 1911 a famine stroke

. ''The Autumn Wind'' was devoted to the famine and hard lot of peasantry. Tuqay felt ill with malaria and unfortunately moved to cold hotel number. So, he abandoned all and moved to

, to his relatives. There he passed winter, writing o recomposing his verses, sometimes sending new feuilletons to the editors. Possible, another reason of his departure was a trial of his book, published as early as in 1907. He returned in February 1912. In March 1912 his friend, Yamaşev dead of

infarction Infarction is tissue death (necrosis) due to inadequate blood supply to the affected area. It may be caused by artery blockages, rupture, mechanical compression, or vasoconstriction. The resulting lesion is referred to as an infarct (from the ...

and Tuqay devoted a feeling poem (''Xörmätle Xösäyen yädkâre'', i.e. ''Of Blessed Memory of Xösäyen'') to the first Tatar Marxist. In April Ğabdulla Tuqay went on a tour again. First he arrived to Ufa, where he met Majit Ghafuri. Then he left Ufa and moved to Saint-Petersburg. He stayed with Musa Bigiev. In Saint Petersburg he met with local Tatar diaspora's youth, many of whom were students and leftist activists. The impression of them is expressed in ''The Tatar Youth'' (''Tatar yäşläre'') verse, full of optimism. However, he didn't know that he has the last stage of tuberculosis: a doctor, examined him in Saint Petersburg, preferred to keep diagnosis back. He was advised to take a course in Switzerland, but he refused and after farewell party moved to Ufa again, and then to Troitsk. There he lived till July 1912 among the

Kazakh Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kazakhstan *Kazakhs, an ethnic group *Kazakh language *The Kazakh Khanate * Kazakh cuisine * Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan *Qazax, Azerbaijan *Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...

nomads in the steppe, receiving

therapy.

Death

His last year he began full of optimism: the revolutionary tendencies rose, and social theme appeared in his poetry again. In ''Añ'' (''The Consciousness'') and ''Dahigä'' (''To the Genius'') he wrote that his struggle, as well as the 1905 revolution, was not vain. Many verses were devoted to the peasantry's problems, resembling

Nekrasov Nekrasov, also ''Nekrassov'' (russian: Некра́сов), or Nekrasova (feminine; Некра́сова), is a Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aleksandr Nekrasov (1883–1957), Russian mathematician and academician * Ale ...

's poetry. More and more verses were banned; some of them were only published after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. However, Tuqay was criticized by Ğälimcan İbrahimov, that now his poetry worsened. In summer 1912 he published his last book, ''The Mental Food'', a collection of 43 verses and one poem. But then his health deteriorated. In spite of this, he found energy to write for the new literature magazine ''Añ'' and the democratic newspaper ''Qoyaş'' (''The Sun''), edited by

. As Ämirxan was paralyzed, they stayed in neighboring rooms of the Amur Hotel, where the editorial board was situated. In the first days of 1913 he wrote ''The Frost'', a witty poem depicting how Kazaners of different social classes behave during frost. The next notable poem was devoted to the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The poem was rather panegyrical, as was the vulgar-sociological critique of the early 1920s, based on this poem, proclaimed Tuqay to be a pan-Islamist and Tsarist. However, the end of the verse is written not about Tsar's dynasty, but about internationalism within Russian and eternal friendship of Tatars and Russians. On 26 February 1913, Ğabdulla Tuqay was hospitalized due to a severe case of tuberculosis. Even in the Klyachkinskaya hospital he never stopped writing poems for Tatar newspapers and magazines. Those poems were both social and philosophical. In March he wrote his literary testament, ''The First Deed after the Awakening''. In hospital Tuqay became interested in Tolstoy's legacy again, devoting to him two verses. He read more about

Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state ...

's history as well as all Kazan periods. On 15 April of the same year, Ğabdulla Tuqay died at the age of 27 and was buried in Tatar cemetery.

Legacy

Despite of denial of Tuqay's genius during the early Soviet years, he soon became renowned as the greatest Tatar poet. His name transcended across the arts, with the

Tatar State Symphony Orchestra The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

dedicated to Tuqay's name. During the Soviet rule his most cited were his social poems, whereas now the most popular are poems about

nature, Tatar national culture, music, history and, of course, the Tatar language. 26 April, his birthday, is celebrated as ''The Day of Tatar Language'', and his poem ''İ, Tuğan tel'' (''Oh My Mother Tongue!'') is the unofficial hymn of the Tatar language.

Excerpt, "Oh My Mother Tongue!"Tuqay, Ğabdulla, and Sabırcan Badretdin, trans. http://kitapxane.noka.ru/authors/tuqay/oh_my_mothir_tongui

: :Oh, beloved native language :Oh, enchanting mother tongue! :You enabled my search for knowledge :Of the world, since I was young :As a child, when I was sleepless :Mother sung me lullabies :And my grandma told me stories :Through the night, to shut my eyes :Oh, my tongue! You have been always :My support in grief and joy :Understood and cherished fondly :Since I was a little boy :In my tongue, I learned with patience :To express my faith and say: :"Oh, Creator! Bless my parents :Take, Allah, my sins away!" One of the most famous works after

Almaz Monasypov Almaz Monasypov ( tt-Latn, Almaz Zakir ulı Monasıypov, , 1925–2008) was a composer of Tatar origin. He was an art worker of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1987), People's Artist of the Tatarstan Republic (2000), and laur ...

, "In the rhythms of Tuqay" (1975) (, ) is written on Tuqay's poems.

References

External links

Official siteĞabdulla Tuqay's poetryĞabdulla Tuqay's poetry (in Tatar)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuqay, Gabdulla 1886 births 1913 deaths Tatar poets Tatar people of Russia 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Russia 20th-century poets