Olyk Ipai ( Mari: О́лык Ипа́й, 24 March 1912 – 11 November 1937) was a Mari

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 wri ...

. He was born as Ipatiy Stepanovich Stepanov (russian: Ипáтий Степáнович Степáнов) in the village of Toimetsola in the

Mari El The Mari El Republic (russian: Респу́блика Мари́й Эл, ''Respublika Mariy El''; Meadow Mari: ; Hill Mari: ) is a republic of Russia. It is in the European Russia region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga Rive ...

. He attended a school in the village of Aryn, of which the Mari

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...

Sergei Chavain Sergei Chavain, also spelled Čavajn ( Mari: Серге́й Чава́йн, pronounced ; 6 October 1888, Maly Karamas – 11 November 1937) was a Mari poet and playwright, born Sergei Grigorievich Grigoriev (russian: Серге́й Григо� ...

was the headmaster at the time. He studied at a pedagogical college in

Yoshkar-Ola Yoshkar-Ola ( Mari and russian: Йошкар-Ола) is the capital city of the Mari El Republic, Russia. Yoshkar-Ola means “red city” in Mari and was formerly known as Tsaryovokokshaysk () before 1919, as Krasnokokshaysk () between 1919 an ...

, and later studied

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

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 millio ...

; however, he chose to pursue poetry instead. He also translated many works of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Nikolay Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

and

Eduard Bagritsky Eduard Georgyevich Bagritsky ( rus, Эдуа́рд Гео́ргиевич Багри́цкий, p=ɨdʊˈard ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐˈɡrʲitskʲɪj, a=Eduard Gyeorgiyevich Bagriczkiy.ru.vorb.oga; February 16, 1934) was an important Russia ...

from Russian to Mari. He was involved in the Mari Union of Soviet Writers and was commissioned to write a letter "from the Mari people to Comrade Stalin" with

and

Osyp Shabdar Osyp is a settlement in the administrative district of Gmina Czeremcha, within Hajnówka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia ...

in 1936. Like many of the Mari intelligentsia at the time, he was executed during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secret ...

References

1912 births 1937 deaths People from Morkinsky District People from Tsaryovokokshaysky Uyezd Mari people Great Purge victims from Russia Mari people executed by the Soviet Union {{russia-writer-stub