Musa Bautdinovich Geshaev ( ce, Муса Баутдинович Гешаев; August 20, 1940 in

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

– March 7, 2014 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

) was a Chechen poet,

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, songwriter, and historian who wrote extensively on the culture of the Chechen and

Ingush people The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federal republic of Russian Federation. The Ingush are predomi ...

Biography

Musa Geshaev was born in

to Chechen parents on August 20, 1940. Before his fourth birthday Geshaev was deported along with his family to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

as a result of the forced deportations of the Chechen and Ingush to Central Asia on February 23, 1944. He spent his childhood in the village of Meadow in the

Zhambyl Province Jambyl or Zhambyl Region ( kk, Жамбыл облысы, translit=Jambyl oblysy; russian: Жамбылская область, Zhambylskaya oblast), formerly known as Dzhambul Region (russian: Джамбульская область, Dzhambulska ...

of Kazakhstan, and as a student he started writing poems and stories. As early as in third grade, Geshaev had declared his intention on becoming a writer. After graduating from high school Geshaev attended the

Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinema The Russian State Institute of Performing Arts (russian: Российский государственный институт сценических искусств), formerly known as St Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy, formerly Leningrad State ...

(now the

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

State Academy of Performing Arts) from 1960 to 1965. Geshaev returned to

to serve as Senior Inspector at the Chechen-Ingush

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

, and from 1967 to 1968 he served as the House Director of the Folklore Culture Movement, under which he created art performances that participated in regional competitions throughout the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

br>
From 1967 to 1978 Geshaev led the famous Chechen-Ingush dance company "Vaynah", and under his leadership the dance group became recognized as one of the best in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. In 1979 he was appointed deputy director of the regional philharmonic society, and from 1986 to 1993 he served as director of the "Estrada" public association. Since the late 1980s Geshaev has been a prolific writer of poetry, and many of his poems have been made into songs which are played in concerts halls and on television and radio. Chechen

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

Imam Alimsultanov sang several of Geshaev's poems. Copies of his book, ''Famous Chechens'', were reportedly detained at Russian customs offices, although Geshaev said in an interview that the subject matter was on Chechen heroes throughout

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Soviet history The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

, not on Chechen rebels.

Awards

September 9, 2005 was awarded the Order of Merit. In 2006, he was awarded the Franz Kafka Gold Medal. In 2007 he was awarded a gold medal at a poetry competition in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Bibliography

*''Release of Happiness'' (1989) *''Wings'' (1999) *''Famous Chechens'' (1999) *''Kresalo'' (2001) *''Famous Ingush'' (2003) *''Chechen Trace in the Russian Snow'' (2003) *''Ballad of Jihad'' (2003) *''Anthology of Chechen Poetry'' (2003) *''Caucasian Cuisine'' (2007)

References

External links

Chechnya Free.ru Biographical Information on Musa Geshaev

Amina Photo Gallery Biographical Information

* ttp://orga.narod.ru/geshaev/geshaev.htm Narod.Ru Selected Works of Musa Geshaev* ttp://www.ingushetia.ru/m-news/archives/003214.shtml Statement by Musa Geshaev on the election of Ingush President Murat Zyazikov
Chechnya Free.ru Audio of Musa Geshaev

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070516205347/http://www.ob-gaz.ru/023/023_nash_dost.htm Obedinnaya Gazeta Interview with Musa Geshaev {{DEFAULTSORT:Geshaev, Musa 1940 births 2014 deaths Chechen historians Chechen poets Chechen writers Historians of Chechnya People from Grozny Russian people of Chechen descent Chechen people 20th-century poets