Panir Ibragimova (28 December 1926 – 28 December 2021), better known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Fatima Kuinova (, ), was a Bukharian Jewish Shashmakom singer. She was named "Merited Artist of the Soviet Union".

Biography

Kuinova was born in

Samarqand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek and Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarkand is the capital of the Samarkand Region and a district-level ...

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

on 28 December 1926. She moved to Stalinabad,

Tajik SSR The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, also commonly known as Soviet Tajikistan, the Tajik SSR, TaSSR, or simply Tajikistan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1929 to 1991 in Central Asia. The Tajik Re ...

with her seven brothers and two sisters when she was thirteen years old, after their father was jailed and murdered by the Soviet government for his mercantile prosperity. Her family's last name was originally Cohen, but she changed it to Kuinova to escape the persecution Jews faced under Stalin. During her childhood, she knew the famous Mullojonov family and was a friend to Shoista Mullojonova. Her father was the cantor of a synagogue in her hometown and taught his daughter the music of her Bukharian Jewish heritage.

Life and career

Kuinova began singing in different festivals at a young age. She also sang for

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, who was likely unaware of her Jewish faith and ethnicity. Kuinova became famous after performing for the soldiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1948, she was named "Honored Artist of the Soviet Union". After that, she began to study Shashmakom music and sang it throughout the Soviet Union and Central Asia. Kuinova became the lead singer of the Tajik State Philharmonic, with long-time friend Shoista Mullojonova. The two were widely recognized in the republic and were some of the Soviet Union's leading traditional performers. Both Kuinova and Mullojonova were soloists in the Tajik Ensemble "Rubobistok" that performed on television and radio throughout the Tajik SSR, Central Asia and the USSR and traveled to sing in areas like

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. She also went on tours to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, where she sang for the Shah. She immigrated to

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, U.S. in 1980, and settled in Rego Park, where she founded and was the lead vocalist for the Shashmaqam Music of the Bukharan Jews Ensemble. In 1992, Kuinova was a recipient of the

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

award, given by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. In Queens, Kuinova worked with the Bukharian Jewish musical community and performed in numerous cultural and folk events in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Kuinova died in Queens on 28 December 2021, her 95th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuinova, Fatima 1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century Tajikistani women singers People from Samarkand Soviet Jews Bukharan Jews Jewish women singers Tajikistani Jews Soviet emigrants to the United States Tajikistani emigrants to the United States People from Rego Park, Queens National Heritage Fellowship winners