Sora Abdurahmonovna Eshontoʻrayeva (8 September 1998) was a Soviet and Uzbek actress. She was one of the first actresses of the

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

to gain national prominence. She was described as a "pearl of the Uzbek scene".

Early life

Sora Abdurahmonovna Eshontoʻrayeva was born on to an Uzbek peasant family in Beshbuloq village. After the death of her father when she was very young, her mother gave away her and two of her siblings to be raised by foster parents. In her youth she attended the Zeb-un-Nissa boarding school for girls in Tashkent, where she began acting in plays. When she was only nine years old she had to start wearing a

paranja Paranja , paranji, or faranji (from ; , , ; ; ) 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 styles such ...

, and later was bethrothed to a neighbor, but she soon abandoned wearing the face-veil and eventually married fellow artist Abror Hidoyatov. She left Uzbekistan in 1924 as part of a group of 24 Uzbek theater students chosen to study in Moscow. The students would later form the Hamza Drama Theater. The group returned to Uzbekistan in 1927, where they were in danger of being attacked by religious fanatics for their encouragement of unveiling. Several of Eshontoʻrayeva's colleagues were murdered by religious fanatics, including Tursunoy Saidazimova who was killed when the group was on tour in

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

in 1928, followed by the murder of

Hamza The hamza ( ') () is an Arabic script character that, in the Arabic alphabet, denotes a glottal stop and, in non-Arabic languages, indicates a diphthong, vowel, or other features, depending on the language. Derived from the letter '' ʿayn'' ( ...

Shohimardon Shohimardon (also ''Shakhimardan'', , ) is a village and a subdivision (rural community) of Fergana District, Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. It is an exclave of Uzbekistan, surrounded by Kyrgyzstan, in a valley in the Pamir-Alay mountains. ...

in 1929.

Career

Having graduated theater school and relocated to Samarkand in 1927, Eshontoʻrayeva's acting career took off by the 1930s. She played lead roles in major plays, including Tursunoy in the play ''Hujum'' and Beatrice in ''The Servant of Two Masters.'' She went on to act as the lead female protagonist in many more productions at the theater, which included both new Uzbek plays by playwrights such as Hamza and Komil Yashin as well as old classics such as

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, in which she played the role of Ophelia. From 1946 to 1955 and 1981 to 1985, she served as chairman of the board of the Theater Society of the Uzbek SSR. She also appeared in several films."Эшонтўраева Сора Абдураҳмоновна" '' OʻzME; Қизилқумит—Ҳўрмуз''. 11-jild. Toshkent, 2005-yil In addition to her work as an actress, Eshontoʻrayeva was active in politics. She became a member of the Communist Party in 1939. She was also a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Uzbek SSR, a delegate to the 19th Congress of the Communist Party, and a deputy in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from the 2nd to 4th convocations (1946 to 1958). She also served as chairman of the board of the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Peace Foundation. Eshontoʻrayeva died in Tashkent on 8 September 1998 and was buried in the Chigatoy cemetery.

Family

Her husband Abror Hidoyatov was theater actor who received the title

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1945. Her son Goga Hidoyatov wasa

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, and doctor of historical sciences who received the title Honored Worker of Science of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Her granddaughters Nigora Gogovna Hidoyatova and Nodira Gogovna Hidoyatova are entrepreneurs.

Awards

* People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR (1937) *

(6 December 1951) * Stalin Prize (1949) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

(1977) * State Hamza Prize (1967) * Two

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(24 March 1945 and 15 December 1971) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

(1991) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labor The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

(31 May 1937, 16 January 1950, 6 December 1951, 1957, and 18 March 1959) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(6 November 1981) *

Order of the Badge of Honor The Order of the Badge of Honour () 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 achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

(1939) *

Medal "For Distinguished Labour" The Medal "For Distinguished Labour" () was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union bestowed to especially deserving workers to recognise and honour high performances in labour or contributions in the fields of science, culture or the manuf ...

(1944) * Sogʻlom Avlod Uchun Order (1993) *

Order of Outstanding Merit The Order of Outstanding Merit ( Uzbek: ''Buyuk xizmatlari uchun'') is an order that is currently awarded by the Republic of Uzbekistan. Design The Order of Outstanding Merit is made from 925 probe silver alloy plated with 0.25 micron thick gol ...

(23 August 2004, posthumously)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eshonturaeva, Sara 1911 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Uzbekistani actresses Soviet film actresses Soviet stage actresses Uzbekistani film actresses People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Stalin Prize Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Outstanding Merit Recipients of the State Hamza Prize