Kamil Yashin (birth name Nugmanov) (1909-1997) was a Soviet-Uzbekistani
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
, and celebrity. He was awarded the titles People's Writer of the
Uzbek SSR
Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз ...
in 1959,
Hero of Socialist Labor
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
in 1974, and the USSR State Prize in 1951.
Early life
Yashin was born in Andijan, Russian Turkestan. After graduating high school he studied at the Leningrad Forestry Institute but was forced to return to the
Uzbek SSR
Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз ...
after studying for three years due to illness. For several years he taught literature and physics at a secondary school in Andijan. From 1930 to 1936 Yashin was in charge of the literary department of the Uzbek State Musical Theater. During that time he wrote the plays including "Comrades" in 1930, "Burn" in 1931, "Honor and Love" in 1935, and co-authored the musical drama "Gulsara" in 1935 with Muzaffar Muhamedov.
Career and writings
Yashin, who had met the famous poet
Hamza Niyazi several times, was tremendously affected by his writings and
violent death
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
; Hamza was the subject of several of Yashin's works.
In the years leading up to World War II Yashin wrote librettos for the first national operas in the Uzbek SSR, "Boʻron" and "Ulugʻ kanal". After the brutal honor killing
Nurkhon Yuldashkhojayeva
Nurkhon Yuldashkhojayeva ( uz, Nurxon Yoʻldoshxoʻjayeva, often anglicized as ''Nurkhon Yuldasheva'') was one of the first Uzbek women to dance onstage without a paranja Paranja, veil. She was born in 1913 in Margilan, a city in Fergana Province ...
, of one of the first Uzbek women to perform on the stage without the veil, Yashin wrote the musical "Nurkhon" detailing her life and death as that of a brave
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
of the women's liberation. Nurkhon's murder was not the only honor-killing of a celebrity of the stage in the Hujum era, with the earlier murder of
Tursunoi Saidazmova, the famed "Uzbek nightingale" known for her singing. Yashin had been friends with screenwriter
Hamza Niyazi who was stoned to death in
Shohimardon
Shohimardon (also ''Shakhimardan'', uz, Shohimardon / Шоҳимардон, russian: Шахимардан, Shakhimardan) is a village and a subdivision (rural community) of Fergana District, Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. It is an exclave ...
by Islamists after he had written works critical of Islam and supportive of women's rights. Yashin later wrote the musical "Hamza" dedicated to his life and efforts against superstition that eventually led to his brutal murder. Other musicals Yashin wrote included "Nomus va Muhabbat", "Oʻlim bosqinchilarga" (1942), "Davron ota" (1942, co-author), "Farod va Shirin" (1944) and "Oftobxon" (1944), some of which were created for Soviet troops in the Second World War, usually referred to in the Soviet Union as the
Great Patriotic War
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...
. After the war he wrote the scripts for the plays "General
Rakhimov" (1949), "Ravshan va Zulxumor" (1956), "Secret under the
Paranja
Paranja or paranji (from فرنجية паранджа) is a traditional Central Asian robe for women and girls that covers the head and body. It is also known as "burqa" in Arabic. It is similar in basic style and function to other regional sty ...
", and "Dawn of the Revolution" (1972).
He later directed a documentary film on the life of
Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi
Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi ( uz, Hamza Hakimzoda Niyoziy / Ҳамза Ҳакимзода Ниёзий) (, Kokand – March 18, 1929, Shohimardon) was an Uzbek author, composer, playwright, poet, scholar, and political activist. Niyazi, along with ...
, of whom he also published a novel about, served as editor-in-chief of the magazine ''Uzbek Tili va Adabyti'' (Uzbek language and literature) and was a member of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
.
There are streets bearing his name in Tashkent and
Andijan
Andijan (sometimes spelled Andijon or Andizhan in English) ( uz, Andijon / Андижон / ئەندىجان; fa, اندیجان, ''Andijân/Andīǰān''; russian: Андижан, ''Andižan'') is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, ...
.
Awards and honors
*
Hero of Socialist Labor
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
(27 September 1974)
* Three
Orders of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
(18 March 1959; 16 January 1970; 27 September 1974)
*
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...
(29 December 1979)
* Three
Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (16 January 1950; 6 December 1951; 1 March 1965)
*
Order of Friendship of Peoples
The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...
(16 November 1984)
*
Order of the Badge of Honor
The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...
(31 May 1937; 24 March 1945; 11 January 1957)
* People's Writer of the Uzbek SSR (1969)
* Honored Artist of the Uzbek SSR (1939)
* The
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
in the third class (1951)
* State Hamza Prize (1958)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yashin, Kamil
1909 births
1997 deaths
Uzbekistani writers
People from Andijan
Soviet dramatists and playwrights
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Recipients of the USSR State Prize