Hizgil Avshalumov
Hizgil Davidovich Avshalumov | |
---|---|
Born | Russian Federation | January 16, 1913
Occupation | novelist, poet, playwright |
Notable awards |
Hizgil Davidovich Avshalumov (
Biography
Hizgil Avshalumov was born in the village of Nyugdi (a suburb of the city of Derbent, Dagestan) to a peasant family sometime between the years 1913-1916 depending on the source. His father cultivated grain as a farmer, and was a veteran of World War I. He died at an early age, leaving Avshalumov and his 5 siblings orphans.[1] He worked as a correspondent for the Mountain Region Jewish newspaper The Toiler. Later he studied at a Soviet-Party school.
From 1938 to 1941 Avshalumov was a research associate at the Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Dagestan branch of the USSR. During this period, he collected a significant number of Mountain Jews’ folklore of different genres and included them in his first book folklore book on Mountain Jews, published in 1940. It included a detailed introduction to it as well. Also in 1940 he published Russian - Juhuri terminological dictionary.
In 1939 he published in the first
In 1953, he graduated from the history department of the Dagestan Pedagogical Institute in
In most of his short stories and novels (about Shimi Derbendi), Avshalumov acts as a satirist and humorist. Shimi Derbendi is a common figure of Dagestan’s people and it embodies the image of a typical representative of the Mountain Jews. For many years, novels about the ingenious Shimi Derbendi were printed on the pages of national newspapers, causing a constant interest in readers. Some of them have been published in the journal Soviet Literature and published abroad into English, German, French and Spanish. In 1969, the journal (Russian:Наш современник) - Nash Sovremennik published Avshalumov’s extensive series of short stories.[3] In the stories "Retribution," "Family Arch," and "Legend of Love," the writer reflected the customs, traditions and way of life of the people during the dramatic events of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods.
Hizgil Avshalumov has released several collections of poetry, including ones for children. The book (Juhuri:"Гюльбоор") "Gyulboor" includes poetry about the fate of Gyulboor Davydova, a woman of Mountain Jew descent and a hero of the Socialist Labour Order.
A major work of Avshalumov was the historical novel (
Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia (EJE) commented on these works:[2]
"…However, these works editorialized: characters clearly showed in black and white and separated on a "class" basis. He intentionally removed the rituals of the Jewish religion from the lives of people, gave great emphasis to superstition, etc."
Alongside those who admired his talent, Avshalumov had strong criticism as well. Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia (EJE) commented:[2]
"Avshalumov was one of the founders of the concept of "Tat people", supposedly separate from being Jews…"
He has written four plays, including the first Judeo-Tat musical comedy (
In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hizgil Avshalumov joined the pro-communist opposition in Russia.[2]
Hizgil Avshalumov died September 17, 2001, buried at the Jewish cemetery in Makhachkala.[4]
A street in the city of Derbent and a school in his native village Nyugdi have been named in honor of Hizgil Avshalumov. Also, Makhachkala contains a memorial plaque in honor of Avshalumov on the street he lived on, 3 Magomed Hajiyev.[5]
Family
Avshalumov was married to Ersho Asailovna, a traditional Mountain Jew woman.[1]
One of Avshalumov’s daughters is Lyudmila Hizgilovna Avshalumov (born in 1941, Makhachkala). She has a PhD in philosophical sciences, and is a professor and deputy chair of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture of the Republic of Dagestan. She has a son, Marat.[1]
Bibliography
The author of collections of short stories and essays:
- Friendship (1956)
- Under the plane trees (1956)
- Meeting in the spring (1960, 1989)
- As I was raised (1961)
- The Bride with a surprise (1966)
- The daughter of a shepherd (1963)
- Edge of Darkness (1965, 1978)
Historical novels Sister-in-law and Son of Mummers (1974), about the life of the Mountain Jews after the October Revolution.
- The Bride with a surprise (1966, 2007)
- The interpreter of the Imam (1967, 2008)
- My wife's brother (1971)
- Legend of Love (1972)
- The Family Arch (1976, 1984, 2000)
- poetry collection Gyulboor (1980)
- Dodgy Shimi Derbendi (1982)
- Russian Son (1987)
- The adventures of ingenious Shimi Derbendi (1998)
- historical essay The history the Hanukaev’s (1999)
Awards
- Order of the Patriotic War 1st class
- Order of Friendship of Peoples
- Order of the Badge of Honour
- Stalsky Award
- Honored Cultural Worker of the Dagestan ASSR (1968)
- Honored Cultural Worker of the RSFSR(1976)
References
- ^ a b c "Good name is very valuable thing. From interview of his daughter Lyudmila Hizgilovna Avshalumov". obzor-smi.ru. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Avshalumov, Hizgil". eleven.co.il.
- ^ Journal Our Contemporary, 1969
- ^ Writer’s family
- ^ Rasul Gamzatov National Library of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia