The biography of Mazhit Gafuri is interesting and fascinating. This is a Tatar and Bashkir writer who is considered a classic of literature of these two peoples.
Writer Biography
The biography of Mazhit Gafuri originates in 1880. He was born in the village of Zilim-Karanovo near Ufa. What year Mazhit Gafuri was born, you now know from this article.
His father was a teacher. The hero of our article had four more brothers and sisters. Interestingly, no reliable information was preserved about what nationality Gafuri was. Some researchers point to its Tatar origin. Others claim that he is a born Bashkir.
Poet education
You can thoroughly learn the biography of Mazhit Gafuri from this article. The future poet received his primary education, thanks to his father. He taught him to read and write.
For two or three years, young Mazhit assiduously mastered the program of the rural school, in Bashkiria it was called metebe. When he was 11 years old, he already began to help his father teach the youngest children. Father appreciated the outstanding abilities of the hero of our article. Therefore, he decided in 1893 to arrange it in a madrassah, which was located in a neighboring village called Utyashevo. In fact, this educational institution in Utyashevo was a kind of religious-scholastic school.
At the end of 1893, a tragic event occurred in the life of Majit - his father passed away. And a few months later, her mother died. So he literally at one moment remained an orphan. Even after such serious upheavals, Mazhit did not drop out of school. He firmly decided for himself to fulfill his father's dream and grow into an educated person.
In 1896, Gafuri leaves the village for Ufa. There he enters a madrasah called "Gusmania." This is a Muslim educational institution that has existed since 1887. Children were taught in it for 12 years. This is a very prestigious educational institution, among its graduates Sharif Zagidullin, MD, Bashkir historian Rif Raimov, artist Abdulla-Amin Zubairov.
True, training in this institution required money, but Gafuri did not have it. Therefore, the madrassas soon had to be abandoned. Then the hero of our article returned to his native village.
From 1898 to 1904 he studied at a less prestigious madrasah called "Rasulia", which was located in the town of Troitsk.
To support himself, the hero of our article had to find out early what hard physical labor is. He worked in the mines with large local gold miners Rameev. There, the future poet got acquainted with the life of prospectors, this episode played a big role in the biography of Mazhit Gafuri. He recognized the value of labor and honestly earned money.
At about the same time, he worked part time as a tutor, began collecting local samples of folk art, and showed a genuine interest in classical Russian literature.
Already from 1904 to 1906 he studied at the Muhammadtiya Madrasah in Kazan, and completed his education at the Galiya Ufa Madrasah.
Poetry
Mazhit Gafuri wrote his first poems in 1902. This work was called "Shakirdam Ishan." Two years later, in Orenburg, his book was published, entitled "Siberian Railway, or the Situation of the Nation."
The first Russian revolution of 1905 made a great impression on him. Its consequences greatly affect his worldview. In the work of Mazhit Gafuri there are many poems popular among his contemporaries. These are "Two birds", "Our days", "Rich man". They reflected a clash of social classes. The changes that took place in his worldview are also noticeable in the texts “Answer of 1907” and “Testament of 1906 to 1907”.
Gafuri studied Bashkir folklore. For example, in 1910 he published a folk epic called "Zayatulyak and Khuuhylu."
In 1912, Gafuri met with another famous writer, Gabdulla Tukay, in Ufa.
After the October revolution
In 1917, the hero of our article began active work to organize his own media in Bashkiria. With the participation of Gafuri, the newspapers Borya, Poor of the East, Our Way, Ural, and New Village appeared.
During the Civil War, the main themes in his work were revolutionary dedication and heroism. Very popular was his drama "Red Star", which described in detail the direct participation of workers and peasants in the revolutionary struggle. The work was highly appreciated not only by readers, but also by officials. Gafuri received the first prize of Bashnarkompros.
Success in writing a libretto
Mazhit Gafuri proved himself in various fields of literature. A brief biography of the writer is given in this article. From it we can learn that in 1928-1929 he participated in the creation of the opera The Worker. Gafuri performed in an unusual quality, writing a libretto for this work. This opera, written in the framework of the method of socialist realism, had a noticeable impact on the development of all national musical drama in young Soviet art.
Since 1928, Gafuri has been actively working in the Yana Avyl newspaper. Until 1924, this publication was called Bashkortostan. In it, he highlights the problems of the Bashkirs, writes not only journalistic materials, but also prose, poetry, plays, works as a proofreader on the entire issue.
Fables
The fables of Mazhit Gafuri are also well known. They reflect the wisdom of the Bashkir people, especially the character and worldview of these people.
The most famous fables of the hero of our article are “The Rooster and the Nightingale”, “Diamond”, “Donkey”, “Who Eaten the Sheep”, “Cat and Mice”, “Evil”, “Two Geese”.
In these works he talks about the moral problems that almost every person faces in his life. He speaks about them in a simple and accessible language, making the protagonists of his works of animals.
For example, in the fable "Cats and Mice" the mouse learns that the cat will become the queen. The mice organize a meeting. They reflect on how to prevent this, how to resist the autocracy. As we see, in this fable the author raises political issues that are relevant for Russians living at the beginning of the 20th century.
Poets death
Mazhit Gafuri died in 1934. He was 54 years old at that moment. The poet was buried in Ufa, in the Central Park of Culture and Rest, which bears the name of Matrosov.
Today, many memorials and memorials dedicated to the hero of our article have been preserved. For example, in Ufa itself there is a memorial house-museum of the poet. It is located at 28 Gogol Street. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of creative activity, the building was handed over to the poet by the Soviet government. Gafuri spent the last 11 years of his life in it, it was in these walls that ideas were born and many of his works were written.
In front of the theater in Ufa there is a monument to Gafuri, which today has become one of the symbols of the city. Architect Lev Khikhluha and People's Artist of the USSR Lev Kerbel worked on the creation.
Today, many aspiring poets and writers receive help and support at the Mazhit Gafuri Culture Foundation.