Bekir Vaap oğlu Çoban-zade (pronounced , – 13 October 1937) was a prominent Crimean Tatar poet and professor of

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

who was one of the victims of the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. In the midst of a successful academic career, at the age of 44, Çoban-zade was arrested by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authorities for alleged subversive activities against the state and was sentenced to death. His writings have outlived him; his poetry, in particular, continues to enjoy popularity among Crimean Tatars. Çoban-zade was the first professor in the Soviet East in his specialty, who read the first lectures in the native languages of the peoples of these countries, was the first to develop university courses in his specialty. During the entire period of his scientific activity, he wrote approximately one hundred and fifty scientific works, of which at least one hundred were the first attempts to scientifically substantiate the problems of the

Azerbaijani language Azerbaijani ( ; , , ) or Azeri ( ), also referred to as Azerbaijani Turkic or Azerbaijani Turkish (, , ), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language from the Oghuz languages, Oghuz sub-branch. It is spoken primarily by the Azerbaijanis, Azerbaij ...

and literature in the Azerbaijani language. Most of these works have not lost their scientific significance to this day. He trained hundreds of linguists and literary scholars, and among his students there were dozens of highly qualified scientific workers —

associate professors Associate may refer to: Academics * Associate degree, a two-year educational degree in the United States, and some areas of Canada * Associate professor, an academic rank at a college or university * Technical associate or Senmonshi, a Japanes ...

and assistants, who have proven themselves with their scientific works outside the country.

Biography

Çoban-zade was born in a family of humble origins in the village near Qarasubazar,

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. His father was a shepherd ("çoban" in Crimean Tatar), and his last name means 'son of shepherd'. As a young boy, he helped his father herd the sheep, and these early experiences in the countryside left a lasting impression on the sensitive boy. Many of his poems are replete with descriptions of Crimean pastoral scenes. He received his early education in

and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In 1916, he went to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

to enroll at the

Pázmány Péter Catholic University Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE) ( (''PPKE'')) is a private university in and near Budapest, Hungary, belonging to the Catholic Church in Hungary, Catholic Church and recognized by the state. While PPKE takes its name after an insti ...

and received his Ph.D. in 1919. After he returned to Crimea, he taught

Crimean Tatar language Crimean Tatar (), also called Crimean (), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan, Turkey and Bulgaria, as well as small communities in the United States and Canada. It should not ...

and literature at the

Crimean Tatar Pedagogical Institute The Crimean Tatar Pedagogical Institute (), also known as Totayköy Pedagogical Institute (), was a Crimean Tatar university which existed from 1922 to 1931. Originally located in Totayköy (now ), the institute moved to Simferopol, after two ye ...

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

(Aqmescit) and later accepted the chair of Turkology at the Crimean University (now known as Taurida National University) in 1922. Early in 1925, he moved to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

to become professor of

Turkology Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and the Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative c ...

at the

Baku State University Baku State University (BSU) (BDU; ) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established on 1 September 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and philology, physics ...

. He had a remarkable facility with languages. In January 1937, Çoban-zade was placed on leave without pay by an order of the

Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

and subsequently arrested. During a 20-minute trial, he was found guilty and condemned to death. He was executed on October 13, 1937. Twenty years after his death, in response to an appeal from Çobanzade's wife, a military court of the USSR reversed the decision against him. The court declared that the charges against Çoban-zade were baseless.

References

External links

Fond Bekir Çoban-zadeInternational Committee for Crimea
A Crimean Tatar Poet and Turkic Scholar {{DEFAULTSORT:Coban-zade, Bekir 1893 births 1937 deaths People from Bilohirsk Raion People from Taurida Governorate Crimean Tatar writers Linguists from Ukraine Great Purge victims from Ukraine Academic staff of Baku State University Crimean Tatar people executed by the Soviet Union Executed writers Soviet rehabilitations 20th-century linguists Muslims from the Russian Empire

Biography

See also

Further reading

References

External links