- Bekir Çoban-zade
Bekir Çoban-zade (Sıdqiy) (pronounced|tʃobanzade) (
May 15 1893 –October 13 1937 ) was a Crimean Tatar poet and professor ofTurkic languages who was one of the victims of theGreat Purge .In the midst of a successful academic career, at the age of 44, Çobanzade was arrested by
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.Biography
Çobanzade was born in a family of humble origins in the village near Qarasubazar (
Bilohirsk ) inCrimea . 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 inCrimea andIstanbul . In 1916, he went toBudapest to enroll at theUniversity of Peter Pazmany and received his Ph.D. in 1919. After he returned to Crimea, he taughtCrimean Tatar language and literature at the Pedagogy Institute inSimferopol (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 toAzerbaijan to become professor ofTurkology at theUniversity of Baku . He had a remarkable facility with languages. In addition to Turkic languages, he knew Arabic, Persian, Hungarian, Armenian, Georgian, Russian, French, German and English. In January 1937, Çobanzade was placed on leave without pay by an order of theSoviet Academy of Sciences and subsequently arrested. During a 20-minute trial, he was found guilty and condemned to death. He was executed onOctober 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 Çobanzade were baseless.ee also
*
Crimean Tatars
*Crimean Tatar language
*List of Crimean Tatars Further reading
For more information about Çobanzade and samples of his poetry, see [http://www.iccrimea.org/literature/cobanzade.html the Web site of the International Committee for Crimea.]
External links
* [http://www.iccrimea.org International Committee for Crimea]
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