In search of inspiration, the editors of ProDetki decided to immerse themselves in the history of the life and work of the great Tatar poet and public figure Gabdulla Tukay.

Gabdulla Tukay was the most famous figure in Tatarstan. This amazing person had many talents, which is why he successfully combined such areas as writing prose and poetry. In addition, Gabdulla Tukay was absolutely deservedly called a critic and a professional translator.

Gabdulla Tukay / Photo taken from open sources

Biography of Gabdulla Tukay

The life of the writer Gabdulla Tukay from childhood was not easy, because even as a baby, at the age of just over four months, he was left without a father. Soon, as soon as the boy was 4 years old, he became an orphan, having also lost his mother. Gabdulla's stepfather did not dare to take responsibility for raising someone else's offspring and transferred the boy to the family of his grandfather Zinnatulla. Joint life was not easy for either the future writer himself or his relatives, as Gabdulla Tukay himself recalls. B The biography briefly describes not only the hardships and hardships of the boy himself, but the people in those days as a whole, no one wanted to have an extra mouth at home, that is why grandfather Zinnatulla sent his grandson, along with a coachman, to the city of Kazan, where the baby found his foster family. But Gabdulla's childish calm did not last long, and within two years the adoptive mother and father fell ill and soon they had to return the child back.

It is also not surprising that no one expected the future great writer in his native village. Therefore, the upset grandfather did not give up and was looking for where to attach an uninvited relative. To the delight of everyone, Gabdulla Tukay was adopted by the family of a poor peasant Sagdi, who lived in the village of Kyrlay. These years were not easy, as Gabdulla Tukay himself recalls. The village forced them to work hard physically and spared neither the old nor the young.

By the end of the nineties of the 19th century, Gabdulla Tukay moved to the city of Uralsk. There, the aspiring poet settled in the house of the merchant Usmanov. It was there that he began attending classes at a Muslim comprehensive school, which was under the auspices of the Tukhvatullin family. Just in those years, he began to study Russian and demonstrate his first academic success. It was at that moment that those around him began to notice in the boy the makings of a future genius of the word.

At the age of nineteen, Gabdulla Tukay carried out his first translations, which are the works of the famous fable writer Krylov, and a year later he is fond of poetry and translates famous Russian works into Tatar, which demonstrates his far-reaching talent. While studying Gabdulla Tukay discovers the works of Pushkin and Lermontov, which inspired him to write his own poems. Thus begins his journey as a poet. Although, as Gabdulla Tukay himself recalls, his childhood was not the easiest and most cloudless, but it was these years that showed him everything that he later invested in his works.

Literary Museum of G. Tukay in Kazan / Photo taken from open sources

The first steps of Gabdulla Tukay as a poet

The revolutionary actions of 1905 served as a huge impetus for the creativity of the poet and writer, since it was them that he described in his first works, published in the print media of that time. His most popular and memorable poems could be read in newspapers and magazines, and this was already a worthy recognition of success for a very young author. There he speaks not only with poetry, but also with prose, describing revolutionary actions in articles. Gabdulla Tukay briefly describes the actions of the revolutionaries, giving more of his attention to creativity. But at the same time, the poet is an active figure and takes a direct part in all demonstration actions.

At the end of the Tukhvatullin madrasah, Gabdulla devoted himself entirely to creativity and already in 1907 his landmark work “We Will Not Leave!”, which is dedicated to the June 3rd coup and calls to the end to stand and fight for their homeland, was published. Gabdulla Tukay was devoted to his land with all his heart and soul, which is why he advocated putting aside democracy in his poems. A little later, verses appear that also personify the writer's zeal to fight for the good of the Motherland, which Gabdulla Tukay himself did. The presentation of his exciting works shows that his work is needed and interesting to the people, so the poet soon moves to Kazan.

Poems by G. Tukay / Photo taken from open sources

Development of the creative talent of Gabdulla Tukay

1907 in the life of the poet was marked by his move to Kazan , where his creative activity is gaining momentum. He meets the city's literary elite, keeps in touch with young aspiring poets and writers, and continues to publish in well-known newspapers and magazines. The main direction of the works of Gabdulla Tukay at that time was humor and satire, these are the works he writes for the magazines "Lightning" and "Zarnitsa".

In Kazan, the life of Gabdulla Tukay is gaining momentum and here he is already publishing a whole series of works, becoming an experienced and well-known poet and writer. He puts his whole soul into his works, demonstrating all his pains and experiences, for example, the work “Blessed memory of Khusain” was dedicated to the memory of his friend, for whom he was worried. Gabdulla had warm feelings for all his like-minded people who were in constant struggle for the cause of the people.

The works of 1911-1912 were written by the poet under the impression of visiting the lands of his childhood. Patriotism, optimism, and faith in the bright future of their people can be traced there.

Gabdulla Tukay in Kazan (editor of the newspaper "Al-Islah", from left to right - editor Vafa Bakhtiyarov, theater critic Kabir Baker, spiritual mentor Fatih Amirkhan, employee Ibrahim Amirkhan and Gabdulla Tukay) / Photo taken from the site tukaj.ucoz.ru

The childhood that Tukay lived in the village gave him the opportunity to sensibly assess all the realities of rural life, therefore, in his poems “Oppression”, “Return to Kazan”, he not only admires and praises the beauties of nature and village life, but describes in his characteristic manner all the difficulties of life through which the peasant is forced to go, getting a piece of bread for himself and his family. All the works of Gabdulla Tukay are written only based on his personal experience and attitude to what is happening around, therefore his poems are unusual, imbued with his individuality. All poems show the reader the main events of those years through the prism of the worldview of Gabdulla Tukay.

A lot of kind words have been said about Gabdulla Tukay, because he deserved it thanks to his unique works, imbued with the spirit of a fighter for freedom and democracy and at the same time a manifestation of a subtle and vulnerable soul. The works of Gabdulla open him to the reader as a multifaceted and interesting personality.

Monument to G. Tukay in Kyrlay / Photo taken from open sources

Gabdulla Tukay described his entire life in his poems, which is why they turned out so bright and vital. So, for example, in the works "Little Journey" and "Dacha" one can follow the trip of Gabdulla to the city of Astrakhan. Pconsolation passed along the Volga region, which was reflected in these poems. And although Tukay does not find it easy to travel by steamboat, due to his illness, it was in Astrakhan that he decided on an even more difficult and distant trip: from Astrakhan to Ufa, and then to St. Petersburg. The impetus for this was the poet's acquaintance with Nariman Narimanov, a writer from Azerbaijan who was exiled for participating in revolutionary actions. It is impossible not to notice the craving of Gabdulla Tukay for new discoveries, travel and acquaintances. Already in Ufa, Tukay met the world writer Mazhit Gafuri, and in St. Petersburg Gabdulla met a new acquaintance, Mullanur Vakhitov. And, of course, all these meetings again inspire the poet to unprecedented works.

Gabdulla Tukay stayed in St. Petersburg for a little less than two weeks, then set off again, this time his destination was the city of Troitsk. But this was not the end of his tour. Then Gabdulla went to the Kazakh steppe in the hope that koumiss would cure him of his illness. After visiting the steppes Gabdulla Tukay returns again to the Tatar land. Kazan does not spare the poet's health, he has to work there in bad conditions, but Gabdulla does not give up and does not depart from his work, despite his deteriorating health.

Gabdulla Tukay in the Kazan hospital in 1913 / Photo taken from open sources

His last works personified the whole militant mood of the author, because it was closer to the end of his life that the poet increasingly felt the hardships of a hostile people, which he demonstrated in his poems.

In early April 1913, at the age of 26, Gabdulla Tukay passed away. The main causes of his death are considered consumption and hunger. Without a doubt, with the departure of Gabdulla Tukay, the Tatar people lost their main ideological poet and writer, recognized not only at home, but also far beyond its borders. Gabdulla Tukay was the greatest national figure of Tatarstan. But, having left, he left a rich legacy to his descendants.

The legacy and wealth of the descendants of Gabdulla Tukay

In our time, the Tatar people can truly be proud of the huge layer of history that the great literary figure left for them. The official website of Gabdulla Tukay, created in honor of the poet and his works, is the best confirmation of this.

He so masterfully and competently described in his works all the actions of his time that now the heirs of this cultural wealth can study their history of the early 20th century from his poems and articles.

In most of his works, Tukay enthusiastically described the revolution and all the actions that took place around it. He was an ardent fighter for freedom for the people, so the events of those years are described so vividly and vividly.

G. Tukay is a fighter for the Motherland and his people / Photo taken from open sources

After the end of the revolution, the Tatar people are divided into parts, but Gabdulla Tukay believes in the unity of his nation and calls for peace in his works, for example, in the poem "National Feelings" Gabdulla Tukay promotes education, because he, like no one else, knows what a hard peasant life in the countryside is.

Gabdulla Tukay is also famous for the fact that he advanced the Tatar language so far, glorifying it all over the world, singing in his works. Without a doubt, the poet rooted for his Motherland with his soul and heart, this explains his militancy and struggle for democracy, because in in his poems, he wanted to convey the true values ​​​​of the Tatar people .

Among a large number of works, you can find more than a hundred of his poems, reviews of articles and even feuilletons. Even the great Tatar poet Gabdulla Tukay managed to leave an essay about his childhood. Fairy tales — this is another reason for the writer's pride, because it was thanks to the works for children that he tried to convey his thoughts and values ​​to the smallest. Tukay delighted children with his poems and translated fairy tales and songs. Gabdulla Tukay was rightfully recognized as the founder of children's Tatar literature.

Shurale by G. Tukay / Photo taken from open sources

Nowadays, if you ask any Tatar child about who is the main literary figure for them, every student will answer without a doubt that it is. The websites of Tatarstan now provide an opportunity to study in detail the life and work of the iconic poet, and this can safely be called a reason for pride.

Memory of Gabdulla Tukay

It's no secret that Gabdulla Tukay is a cult figure in the development of Tatar culture. That is why the heirs so remember and honor the founder of the Tatar language.

Kazan is marked by a literary museum in honor of the poet, but the historical and memorial complex in memory of Gabdulla Tukay is located in his native village of Novy Kyrlay.

Also in Kazan, the square was named after the poet and writer, there are streets and even metro stations named after Gabdulla Tukay.

Commemorative memorials of the poet can be found in Moscow, St. Petersburg and, of course, Uralsk.

And the most memorable pride can be called the Arts Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan in memory of Gabdulla Tukay.

Every year Tatarstan hosts a lot of events, festivals and competitions, both literary and artistic, associated with the name of the greatest poet Gabdulla Tukay. Children present drawings and poems to the general court. Therefore, we can safely say that even after the death of Tukay, he does not stop developing children and introducing them to beauty.

Children's drawing "Su Anasy" by G. Tukay / Photo taken from open sources

Gabdulla Tukay- the founder of a new national poetry, who raised the banner of citizenship, nationality and realism high. Continuing and developing the centuries-old ideological and aesthetic traditions of both Eastern and Russian-European literatures, relying on their own national origins and living springs of oral folk art, he created a poetic school, under the beneficial influence of which a whole generation of not only Tatars, but also others grew up. Turkic-speaking poets and writers, which is a long recognized truth. "Tukay's poetry," wrote the well-known orientalist I.S. Braginsky, "becomes the banner of the first, revolutionary-democratic direction, and not only on the scale of Tatar culture, but to a greater extent for the cultures of the peoples of Central Asia."

Gabdulla Tukay(Tukaev Gabdulla Mukhammedgarifovich) was born on April 14/26, 1886 in the village of Kushlauch of the Kazan province (now Atninsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan) in the family of a simple parish mullah. As a five-month-old baby, he lost his father, and at the age of four he became an orphan. The further fate of the boy depended on the mercy and kindness of the people who adopted him, although not for long, and showed him parental feelings. So, in 1892-1895. his life is spent in the family of the peasant Sagdi in the village of Kyrlay, not far from Kushlauch. Here Gabdulla began to join the working peasant life, experienced its joys and sorrows, began to study and, as he himself later admitted in his memoirs, Kyrlay opened his eyes to life. Indeed, the impressions of the Kyrlay period left an indelible trace of love for the native land and its simple, sincere people in the memory and work of the poet. In the future, Gabdulla's childhood continued in the city of Uralsk. Being taken there to the family of the merchant Usmanov, where his aunt on his father's side was the mistress, he studied at the madrasah of the progressive Tukhvatullins, in addition, he attended a Russian class and showed great talent.

As you know, on the eve of the first Russian revolution in Tatar educational institutions, there was a strong ferment among young students - shakirds. They demanded reform of curricula, their release from scholasticism. The ideas of enlightenment and the liberation of the individual from centuries-old fanaticism penetrated into the old madrasas, a struggle was unfolding for secular education, ensuring the triumph of human reason over the ignorance and backwardness of the nation in the era of progress. Involved in this process, Tuqay began his first literary experiments, which were partially captured in the handwritten journal "Al-Gasral-jadid" ("New Age") for 1904. He translates Krylov's fables into Tatar and offers them for publication. He is fond of the poetry of Pushkin and Lermontov. It is also no coincidence that his first remarkable poetic creation in a purely Tatar language was a translation of A. Koltsov's poem "What are you sleeping, little man?", Published in 1905 under the title "The Dream of a Man".

The revolution that began in the country stirred up life in such a small town as Uralsk. The first Tatar newspapers and magazines "Fiker", "Al-Gasral-jadid", "Uklar" and others appeared here. Tukay collaborates in them and writes numerous poems and articles on the topics raised by the revolution. He participates in the demonstrations that have passed through the city in a wave. ""Long live freedom! Enough to turn people's blood into gold!" - such exclamations shook the whole city..." - writes Tukay in the article "Freedom Festival in Uralsk" (1906). All his work is permeated with the militant pathos of democratic slogans and ideals. In one of his first poems, "A Word to Friends" (1905), it was said:

Spider-official drank our blood for many years,
Those years will not return again, their trace has caught a cold.
Of the radiant days, the light is clear, the light is beautiful.
Freedom of the sun warms us with a ray now ..
(Translated by S. Olender)

First of all, it was the ideals of democratic, civil freedom that marked the new beginning that led to the intensive development of Tatar literature along the path of nationality. Her hatred for the autocratic-bureaucratic system, for all reactionary forces, became distinct in her. With all the brightness and adherence to principles, this manifested itself in Tukaev's work.

This was the fighting voice of a young poet who took the path of a decisive struggle against those who kept the people in spiritual and mental stupor and ignorance. He quickly mastered the art of the social pamphlet. Under his pen, the thematic and traditional boundaries between poetry and journalism seem to be erased. Socio-political concepts and social problems of the time invade national poetry in a wide stream. In a word, already the initial stage of Tukaev's work was an example of the passionate civic penetration of Tatar literature into the everyday life of the era from a democratic position.

At the beginning of 1907, Tukay left the Mutygiya Madrasah (Tukhvatullins). His "free life" began. The poem "What the shakirds say..." (January 1907) was like a declaration calling on the intellectual young generation to "go to the people":

Let's forget the old.
In happiness and trouble
We will be the people
Help at work.
Let's share with him
Joy and sorrow
Let's be with the people
Anytime and anywhere.

(Translated by S. Lipkin)

Many difficulties were in the path of the poet. The revolution was on the wane. In early 1907, the authorities banned the publication of those Tatar periodicals in which Tukay worked and collaborated. The coup of June 3, 1907, marked a decisive offensive by reaction against democracy. A militant response to this was Tukaev's poem "We will not leave!", in the bright lines of which the voice of a fighter sounded, calling to the end to stand for the honor of the Motherland and democracy. Tukay's poems such as "Shurale", "Pair of horses", "Native land", written simultaneously with "We will not leave!", were devoted to the theme of the Motherland. The patriotic and civic feelings that nourished the journalistic pathos of "We won't leave!" are revealed in them in a lyrical and psychological plan.

Reflections on the Motherland, on the attitude of the poet to life and the people, were reflected with particular force in Tukaev's poetry already at the beginning of the reaction. The poem "To a friend who asks for advice ..." (1907) is imbued with a sense of the complexity of reality and the difficulties of the life of a simple person.

It's hard to live if you don't pray,
You do not bow to her, you are not completely devoted to her.
Bless you if you are a servant of the reaction, "Direct" - you are talking about a clear curvature.

(Translated by L. Lipskerov)

In the autumn of 1907, Tukay arrived in Kazan to devote his activities to new creative tasks. Here he quickly enters literary circles and becomes close to the youth grouped around the newspaper Al-Islah (Reform). However, he never left the thought of the need to continue the traditions of the national satirical press, without which he could not imagine the development of his work and Tatar literature in general. This was partially realized in the publication of satirical and humorous magazines: "Yashen" ("Lightning"), "Yalt-Yult" ("Zarnitsa"). It can be said that Tukay devoted all his creative possibilities to these magazines. Through them, he fought furiously with all possible manifestations of reaction. Its main motto was:

With whom only life has not been in an evil reprisal?
When you fight, don't give in to her.

("Life", 1908. Translation by L. Lipskerov)

It was under this motto that in the conditions of reaction the poet continued his struggle and created beautiful works.

Already the early period of G. Tukay's work was marked by a passionate preaching of disinterested service to the people, although at the same time, the rhetoric of love for the nation still prevailed in him. The poet quickly survived such enlightening romance, penetrating deeper and deeper into the real world of the people. Later, in the conditions of a cruel reaction, he noted with pain how the evil rampant in the country undermined "the soul of the people, the strength of the people." Therefore, he proclaimed: "If you want to excite the people's soul, let your melody be full of bitter sadness" ("Untitled", 1908). In the work of Tukay, a whole cycle of remarkable poetic and essay-journalistic works arises, in which the attitude towards the people is exhaustively clearly expressed. His poems such as "Autumn Winds", "Oppression", "Cottage" (1911), "What is the rural people lacking?" (1912), "The Hopes of the People..." (1913) and others are classic examples of social lyrics, in which the tragedy of the masses is revealed with amazing force of realism.

The poet was very far from the blind idealization of the people. Loving, he would like to forgive him the darkness, ignorance, spiritual depression, resignation to fate, and yet he could not get past these age-old illnesses ("Oppression", "Religion and the people", "Even the" Star "is afraid", "The story from the stove" and etc.). Tukaev's ability to distinguish and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the people's consciousness was reflected in the revolutionary-democratic attitude towards the people.

The poet was deeply imbued with the conviction that the era of heroes had come, sacrificing themselves for the triumph of freedom and happiness of the working man. At the height of the first revolution, he wrote: "Our nation needs horsemen who, like the sons of other nations, would defend the interests of a defenseless, destitute, poor and working people ..." ("National Feelings", 1906). And in the future, the poet often expressed his inexhaustible love for the fighters for the people's happiness. His close friendship with Khusain Yamashev (1882-1912) and a poem dedicated to his memory ("Blessed Memory of Khusain", 1912) clearly testified that the poet had sincere sympathy for his contemporaries - fighters for the people's cause and revered their incorruptible human conscience and spiritual nobility. “It is very desirable,” he said to one of his contemporaries, honoring the memory of Kh. Yamashev, “that each of us should also determine his direction and really serve the people and the Motherland.” Undoubtedly, the image of a folk warrior created by Tukay is one of the milestones in the search for Tatar poetry of the early 20th century, in its desire to embody the image of an ideal hero. Such a hero in Tukaev's view is the bearer of a high humanistic ideal of serving the people. This is his main moral burden. Naturally, such an image could not exist without elements of idealization and romanticization. It is fair to say that "the image of Yamashev, created in a high romantic style, is close to the images of Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov and Shevchenko in Nekrasov's poetry"2.

In the guise of an ideal hero, Tukay wanted to see a spiritual, moral model for himself and for his contemporaries. He was possessed by a joyful hope that the Tatar youth would again enter the arena of struggle left by Yamashev. In the same 1912, in the poem "Tatar Youth", already being seriously ill, the poet warmly welcomed the young generation, faithful to the liberation ideal:

Let the clouds be gloomy above us, - thunder will strike, the rains will fall,

And the dreams of youth will fall to our ground.

On the peaks, on the valleys, streams of water will rustle.

The battles for freedom will break out, shaking the sky.

Let our people firmly believe with all their tormented souls:

The daggers will soon shine, the day of the saint's struggle is near.

(Translated by S. Severtsev)

All this confirms that the indestructible faith in the progress of history, in the people and their honest sons, served as the ideological energy that fertilized the thoughts and feelings of the poet, warmed his soul and illuminated his short life, which passed in high creative tension. At the same time, this faith is impossible to understand, as the poet himself put it, "without the all-powerful, sobering and defeating any black force of hatred of the people" ("Get Rid of Injustice", 1912).

Undoubtedly, Tukay's hatred for the oppressive world, his protest against social and moral evil, was a reflection of precisely the people's hatred. On this basis, Tukaev's satire was formed in its various forms and genres. Satire, which became full-fledged in the Tatar literature of the early 20th century, expressed the maturity of national aesthetic thinking and testified to the emergence of national literature on a realistic path of development. She vigilantly recognized and exposed to public condemnation any dark forces that stood in the way of freedom, happiness and progress of the people. The poet himself highly appreciated the value of satirical literature. “Satire is so strong that it can put a severed head back on the neck,” he said (“Three Heads”, 1911) and looked at the satire “with the hope of confounding evil with evil” (“So-and-so”, 1906). All of Tukay's poetry and journalism is thoroughly permeated with satire, irony, sarcasm and humor. His largest experience in satirical verse was the parody poem "Hay Bazaar, or New Ki-sekbash" (end of 1908). In a review of it, F. Amirkhan noted: "This is truly the most perfect work in Tatar poetic satire, well suited to its purpose ...".

Tukay boldly used the means of literary parody in the fight against social, ideological and moral vice. And in this case, if the author of the ancient "Kisekbash" wanted to show the struggle for faith in high, tragic tones and conflicts, then under the pen of Tukay this struggle appeared as a comedy of reactionary forces dying out of life. The heroes of the "New Kisekbash" are generalized, exaggerated satirical types, whose actions vividly characterize all the fanatical absurdity of the milieu that flourished during the years of reaction. The scope of Tukaev's satire was very wide: it scourged both inveterate reactionaries and hypocritical liberals and nationalists.

The critical intensity of Tatar literature reached such tension that it was in Tukaev's satire that it found its clearest expression: "We needed bitter laughter, piercing hearts, laughter to tears, destroying laughter, hurricane laughter, turning rotten Tatar life upside down. It is known that in such In this case, humor in the form of sinless, toothless, playfully playful laughter will not have much effect. In the struggle against such a phenomenon, satire was needed, regardless of anything, murderous sarcasm, a caustic pamphlet. A merciless irony was needed. the world of old, feudal survivals".

It is impossible to judge the nationality of Tukaev's creativity without such a quality as a highly conscious sense of patriotism. For the poet, the concept of the Motherland was the embodiment of the history of the people - its past, present and future, the embodiment of the people's fate as a whole. In Tukaev's mind, the people and the history of their native land were inseparable. His love for the Motherland, like his love for the people and freedom, turned into a deep poetic inspiration. It is inseparable from those purely vital attributes and realities in which the historical existence of the people appears: their work, native fields, forests, hot summers, harsh winters, language, songs, fairy tales and many phenomena that form specific features of the image of the people and the Motherland. It can be said that for the first time in Tukaev's poetry, such poems as "To the Native Land", "A Pair of Horses", "We Will Not Leave!", with exceptional artistic power and fullness, revealed the intimate and social meaning of love for the Motherland. Therefore, "Shurale" - in Tukaev's poetic incarnation, is not so much a simple fairy tale as a lyrical poem, glorifying the beauty of the native land, full of the aroma of its forests and fields, "green noise", praising the courage of working horsemen. All these works were written at the end of 1907, in the days when Russian reaction was attacking democracy. It was a time when a certain part of the intelligentsia began to move away from the ideals of democracy, succumbing to anti-patriotic sentiments. Tukay could not put up with those who tried to belittle the ideal of serving the people and the Motherland. An excellent example of this is the poem "Let's not leave!", where the rebuke to the Black Hundred chauvinists, who threatened the Tatars with expulsion from Russia, rose to a high ideological, political sound, and where national-patriotic feelings organically merged with the ideal of the struggle for a free Russia for all peoples:

Here we were born, here we grew up, here we will meet the hour of death.
We are moving towards a common goal, we want a free Russia.

(Translated by S. Lipkin)

Until the end of his days, the poet remained firmly convinced that only together with other peoples of Russia the Tatar people would find their happiness. He said with confidence: "When any common cause appears, when the winds of progress begin to blow, the nations, as if overcoming the seclusion that fetters them, gather together ..." ("On the Occasion of the Anniversary", 1913). It was the idea of ​​the historical unity of peoples that served as the cornerstone of nationality, patriotism and internationalism of the Tatar poet.

The awakening of a poetic personality, the formation of a lyrical hero in Tatar poetry at the beginning of the 20th century were marked by significant difficulties and contradictions. They reflected the dramatic and tragic world of the individual, who went through the whirlpools of social reality, its historical crises and cataclysms. Against this general background, Tukaev's lyrics stood out in particular, which revealed the spiritual history of a young man striving to rebuild his inner world and discover in reality the beauty, the greatness of ideals. At the same time, it was a story of struggle for creative honesty and purity of human conscience, a story of struggle against social evil and spiritual darkness. Thus the ideal of the struggle for the looseness of the human spirit was affirmed. Therefore, it is natural that Tukaev's lyrical hero was also marked by a romantic take-off. The Tatar poet had the deepest sympathy for such great representatives of Russian and European romanticism as Pushkin and Lermontov, Byron and Heine. He was able to understand the connection of progressive romanticism with man and the epoch, its humanistic nature, full, as he said of Byronism, "high, great and beautiful feelings" (II, 87).

Tukay also sang the proud image of a humanist poet, who opposed the world of chistogan, deceit and injustice. Yavna was here a roll call with Pushkin and Lermontov. Addressing a contemporary poet, he advised him:

You live your life, alien to any fuss,
Barren noise is alien to the poet, you hide from him.

Don't bend! You are huge in this world of smallness.
If necessary, let the world bend in a bow, not you.

("For memory", 1908. Translation by V. Tushnova)

It is important that it was Tukay who was the first in the Tatar lyrics to say so strongly and sincerely about the awakening in himself and in his contemporary of civic consciousness and a sense of duty to society, people and history. He quickly and highly rose above the ossified norms of didactic poetry and discovered the secrets of depicting human thoughts and feelings on the basis of a historical relationship to reality. This attitude gave the poet a breadth of attitude, a variety of aesthetic and social interests. In one of his letters to the romantic poet S. Ramiev, Tukay described himself as follows: "I'm not only a pure poet, like you. I'm both a diplomat and a public figure. My eyes see a lot, my ears hear a lot"1. And the poet's contemporaries emphasized precisely this responsiveness of his talent: "... Tukay's temperament," wrote, for example, one of them, "was overly sensitive and quickly reacted to changes in the surrounding life"2. It was the interest in the variability and diversity of life phenomena, events, human experiences, the ability to quickly absorb them into one's world and turn them into poetry that lay in the realistic depth of Tukaev's worldview, which testified to his ideological and psychological activity in the perception of reality. The poet denied any passivity, the preaching of impotence and non-resistance to evil, the position of petty-bourgeois indifference to a suffering person. He, one of the first in Tatar literature, expressed in a profoundly dramatic way the idea of ​​the artist's personal responsibility to the people:

No freedom on my way
There is no happiness, my legs are tired of walking.
Fulfilling your duty to the people,
This goodness is the holy goal of life.

(Translated by S. Lipkin)

So the motto of an honest man was affirmed. Raising high the banner of the struggle for strengthening the social and moral role of national art in the education of the contemporary, with all his work, Tukay seemed to share Tolstoy's conviction: "Aesthetics is an expression of ethics." He was painfully aware that in modern society "poets are forced to sing of various kinds of harmful people" ("Conditions"), aesthetic and ethical standards are tainted with self-interest and reduced to vulgarity. Love and poetry serve here as an object of purchase and sale ("Comments on Love", "Kazan and Order", "Special Article", etc.).

Of course, the severity of the reaction could not but cause bitter feelings in the poet. The pain of deep wounds is full of the poems "Despair", "Regret", "Broken Hope", "Unknown Soul", etc. However, rejecting sentimental inactive compassion, he spoke of the torment of love for a person, born in anger. A sharp clash of feelings of love and hate is very characteristic of his lyrical hero. Tukaev's pessimism, in the words of M. Gorky, is "deep sadness about human fate", one of the manifestations of that "social pessimism, the source of which goes back to humanism." It is curious that the poet himself tried to comprehend the social and historical reasons for his pessimism: "... the winds that are now playing in Russia and the atmosphere of Russia have brought all our colleagues to such a spiritual state," he wrote in 1912.

Constantly standing up for the people and defending humanistic foundations, Tukay entered into a deep conflict with capitalist society and tirelessly sought an answer to the question: how to establish justice and equality in society? However, his answer still contained a lot of contradictory things in the understanding of social class relations and ways to deliver the people from a difficult situation. In his work, the illusions of the moral improvement of people, opposed to the domination of gold, capital, made themselves felt, and they echoed Tolstoy's views ("Count Leo Tolstoy writes ...", "Against Gold", "Beggar", "Instruction", "Words Tolstoy, etc.).

Nationality could not become an organic quality of Tatar literature without the formation of a literary language on a national basis. For Tukay and his contemporaries, this issue was much more acute than for previous generations. The time has come to decide how and in what form Tatar literature needs to be freed from outdated oriental linguistic and visual means. Tukay argued: "I consider Kazan our capital, and the Tatars of Zakazan - the indigenous Tatar people who have not lost their national identity to this day and will not lose it in the future. I want our national literature to be in their spirit and in their language" (II, 244. Letter to S. Suncheley dated November 9, 1910). And the poet sang of the greatness and beauty of his native language:

Native language, native language, with you I boldly walked into the distance,
You exalted my joy, you enlightened my sorrow.

("Native language", 1910. Translation by S. Lipkin)

Overcoming obsolete linguistic, stylistic and poetic traditions, Tukay turned the richness and beauty of his native language into a decisive factor in national poetry, deeply reflecting the complex inner world of the lyrical hero and the reality surrounding him. He became the creator of the national classical style in poetry.

In the formation of the national foundations of Tukaev's poetry, the traditions of folk poetry were of great importance. The poet, through the world of folk art, learned to comprehend the historical and social experience of the people, their psychology and aesthetic worldview. "We must remember," he said, "that folk songs are a never fading, pure and transparent mirror of the people's soul" (II, 9. Folk Literature, 1910). From such judgments it followed that the aesthetics of folk poetry serves as a true reflection of the spiritual wealth of the people and it is in it that the source of realistic art is located. Based primarily on his own experience, the poet argued that Tatar poetry would be understood and assimilated by the people only if it was created "in the folk spirit, folk in form and rhythm."

Undoubtedly, Tukay created a national classical style of poetry on a folk basis. This was of lasting importance for the further development of not only poetry, but also the entire Tatar literature. Not only in vocabulary, but also in expressive means, Tukay pushed apart, "destroyed" the boundaries and barriers that lay between poetic language and colloquial speech. This should be understood primarily in the sense of introducing “bold expressions” into Tatar poetry, removing the traditional thematic restrictions erected between poetry and journalism, in the sense of shifting, merging poetic and prose lexical layers, close convergence of figurative and stylistic means that have long existed and lively speech.

Tukay's poetic style developed along with the formation of a new Tatar literary language. The more the poet relied on the folk language and folk art, the brighter and slimmer his poetic style became in various artistic and expressive facets. Tatar poetry of the beginning of the 20th century finally established itself on its own national soil. Tukay's creativity played a decisive role in this process. In his mature poetry, folk-folklore, Eastern classical and Russian-European poetic principles merged together, forming a new national poetic fusion. The innovation of Tukay and his contemporaries opened a wide road for the development of individual styles in Tatar poetry.

The lyrical psychologism of Eastern classics has been for many generations of poets an unfading example of the embodiment of "ebb and flow" in the spiritual world of man. In this case, we mean the moment of "hal" (ecstasy). In the Tatar poetry of the beginning of the 20th century, this classical poetic device was revived by Tukay, S. Ramiev and some of their contemporaries. In their lyrics, the contradictory experiences of a person breaking through the darkness of timelessness to a bright ideal, to the star of hope and happiness, were extremely sharply affected. Thus, from the moment of "hal" the former Sufi cover was thrown off, and it began to serve as an expression of purely earthly secular ideas and moods of a poetic personality. In the depiction of the variability of living human feelings and emotional states in the Tatar lyrics of the early 20th century, new, more modern aesthetic techniques and psychological means appeared. In this regard, for example, a lyrical verse with an emotional plot is very interesting. This kind of "verse is, apparently, a sign of a new stage in the historical development of our poetry"1. The first poet who gave examples of such a verse was also Tukay.

Like none of his contemporaries - Tatar poets, he considered himself a student of Russian classical poets, in particular Pushkin and Lermontov. “Pushkin and Lermontov serve as models for me,” he declared already at the beginning of his creative path (“Reflections of a Tatar Poet”, 1907) and with high inspiration sang the bright image of Pushkin:

As the sun illuminates the world, its seas and land, -

So all, to the bottom, with your verse you lit up my soul.

("To Pushkin", 1906. Translated by S. Lipkin)

The topic "Tukai and Russian Literature" is one of the components of the problem of West-Eastern synthesis. Interestingly, Russian and Western poetic traditions entered the work of the Tatar poet not separately, but in a certain unity through the Russian language and fused even more firmly in his ideological and aesthetic perception, crossing with the Eastern national component. Let us point out at least the fact that in Tukaev's poetry there is an interpenetration of genres - qasida, gazelles, elegies and thoughts. On the basis of traditional forms, a new genre variety arose. Taking an example from Russian poetry, Tukay introduced the so-called hyphenation and periods into Tatar verse and thus expanded its traditional norms. This made it possible to develop a verse and even a stanza according to the structure of living speech, according to the logic of poetic thought. The logical scope and rhythmic beat, the breath of the verse expanded. This discovery of Tukay was picked up and developed by other Tatar poets.

Tukaev's poetry is based not on colloquial, but on melodious intonation. Therefore, she quickly selects a musical key for herself. However, one should not conclude from this that he rejected the efforts of some poets, his contemporaries (for example, S. Ramiev), to enrich the Tatar versification with colloquial intonation. Tukay argued that "the trouble is not great, that the sizes, rhythms, harmony are different. Only the meaning and the ability to explain this meaning in perfect form are important .., except perhaps Turgenev's work "Fathers and Sons" written without any meters - prose? it has no poetic framework. And by the way - poetry "(II, 246. Letter to S. Suncheley dated January 1, 1911). No matter how devoted Tukay was to melodious verse, he did not deny free poetic forms, if they were called to life by real poetic content.

The poet experienced the tragedy of timelessness hard:

What a breath! I have nothing to breathe.
What should I do next, I have to decide.
If you have enough strength, leave the darkness of the prison,
And if you don’t have enough strength, give up, die, perish!

("Regret", 1910. Translation by V. Tushnova)

Straining all his spiritual strength in the fight against the onslaught of reaction, he considered it his civic duty to maintain lively ties with those few representatives of the national intelligentsia who remained loyal to democracy.

During the years of reaction, Tukay's health was irreparably undermined. He was in a dire financial situation. The commercial attitude of book publishers to his works and the disinterest of the poet himself in personal well-being undoubtedly played a significant role in this. He was forced to drag out a miserable existence in cold hotel rooms.

On the other hand, the tsarist authorities did not let him out of their vigilant supervision. They understood that Tukay is one of those whose activities are imbued with the pathos of yesterday's social storm that threatens to break out again. In 1911, the Provisional Committee on Press Affairs reported to the Prosecutor of the Kazan Court of Justice that in the works of the Tatar poet "the committee sees an incitement to overthrow the existing social system in the state"1.

To the intrigues of the reaction, Tukay responded with verses full of anger:

There are a lot of snakes around, they will angrily burrow for happiness,
Wriggling, cursing, the days are counting down for me.
It is not enough that the house is oppressed, where the poet drags his life,
It worries them that a clear light is blowing over me.

("Enemies", 1912. Translated by P. Radimov)

The reaction was unable to eradicate that faith in historical progress and the people, which inspired the progressive national literature. The period of a new revolutionary upsurge once again confirmed firsthand the vitality of historical optimism in it. During this period, and in the minds of Tukay, the question of the activity of the masses and the intelligentsia arises in a new way, the experience of the past revolution is rethought ("Consciousness", etc.). The poems "In the Blessed Memory of Khusain" and "Tatar Youth" (1912) are imbued with a sense of historical optimism. The poet listens thoughtfully to what is happening in the life of his native people, as well as in Russia and abroad. Most of his poems and travel essays, published in 1911-1912, were written under the impressions of his visit to the villages of Zakazany, his small Motherland. They capture the reality, assessed from the standpoint of the people's protector. Rejecting the notorious "village idyll", Tukay soberly looked at the rural reality, trying to embrace the social contrasts of its everyday life ("What is the rural people lacking?", "Oppression", "Return to Kazan", etc.). His eyes drew pictures of lawlessness, impoverishment, darkness and spiritual fanaticism in the villages.

At the time of the new revolutionary upsurge, significant changes take place in the life of the poet. Despite the sharp deterioration in health, in 1911-1912. he makes journeys that are of great importance to him. In early May 1911, he arrived in Astrakhan by steamboat, on the way getting acquainted with the life of the Volga region ("Dacha", essay "Little Journey"). Here Tukay was the guest of his friend, the poet S.Ramiyev, met with the Azerbaijani public figure and writer Nariman Narimanov, who was exiled here for revolutionary activities in his native land.

In the spring of 1912, Tukay decided on a more significant journey along the Kazan-Ufa-Petersburg route. In Ufa, he meets with M. Gafuri. This meeting left a deep mark in the life of both folk writers, strengthened their sympathy for each other. They were once again convinced of their ideological and creative community. About the impressions of this meeting, M. Gafuri wrote: “Tukay’s simple sincere words, his dissatisfaction with this life and his environment made a very strong impression on me. Tears involuntarily appeared in both of our eyes then.”

Petersburg meets Tukay coldly. Here he does not find people like Gafuri. Of course, the progressive national intelligentsia of St. Petersburg did not remain indifferent to the visit of their beloved poet. Knowing about him belatedly, she sought to show her attention. Among the democratic youth was, presumably, Mullanur Vakhitov, then a student, later a prominent revolutionary.

The poem "Tatar Youth" (1912) was undoubtedly written under the impression of meeting with such representatives of the national democratic youth. It was in these circles that the poet saw how dear the memory and image of Yamashev were to them, and how faithful they were to his precepts.

Having lived in St. Petersburg for 13 days, on May 6 (19), Tukay left the capital and went to Troitsk, and then to the Kazakh steppe to drink koumiss, hoping to improve his health. I returned to Kazan in early August. He worked in the suffocating atmosphere of the printing house and, despite feeling unwell, continued to write.

The last years of Tukay's life and work testify to the fact that the writer, getting closer to people's reality, sharply felt discord with a society hostile to the people and mercilessly condemned everything that could cast a shadow on his civic conscience ("My first case after waking up", "On the occasion of the anniversary", etc.). The poet was forced to wage a constant, uncompromising struggle not only with cruel reality, but also with his own delusions and illusions, which were born in a painful search for truth and justice. In one of his last poems, he clearly, with all determination, expressed his creative credo:

There were many obstacles in my way
there are more enemies than dogs,
For I didn't want to defend the oppressors
and dominating.
("Fragment", 1913. Corrected translation)

On April 2 (15), 1913 at 20:15 Gabdulla Tukay died. He passed away in the prime of his talent. "Tatars in the face of Tukaev have lost the greatest national poet," wrote the Kazan Russian press.

Tukay is one of those word artists who opened up new horizons and new perspectives for national literature. His multifaceted creative heritage contains enduring artistic and aesthetic values. He was recognized as a great national poet not only for his advanced ideological motives, but also for his historical contribution to the artistic development of all Turkic-language literature. "The significance of Tukay is that he made a reassessment of the history and culture of his people. This is a great achievement of the artist, a great asset of the individual, and he succeeded due to the fact that he was at one with Russian culture, with Russian reality. The significance of Tukay is enormous for the former Turkestan, for the whole of Central Asia. All Turkic-speaking peoples experienced a truly indelible, to this day sacredly preserved, impact, impression from the work of Gabdulla Tukay."

Tukaev's traditions have become one of the decisive ideological and aesthetic factors and life-giving sources for the further development of Tatar literature under the banner of realism and nationality.

Biography

Gabdulla Tukay (Tukaev Gabdulla Mukhammedgarifovich) was born on April 14/26, 1886 in the village of Kushlauch, Kazan province (now Atninsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan) in the family of a simple parish mullah. As a five-month-old baby, he lost his father, and at the age of four he became an orphan. The further fate of the boy depended on the mercy and kindness of the people who adopted him, although not for long, and showed him parental feelings. So, in 1892-1895. his life is spent in the family of the peasant Sagdi in the village of Kyrlay, not far from Kushlauch. Here Gabdulla began to join the working peasant life, experienced its joys and sorrows, began to study and, as he himself later admitted in his memoirs, Kyrlay opened his eyes to life. Indeed, the impressions of the Kyrlay period left an indelible trace of love for the native land and its simple, sincere people in the memory and work of the poet. In the future, Gabdulla's childhood continued in the city of Uralsk. Being taken there to the family of the merchant Usmanov, where his aunt on his father's side was the mistress, he studied at the madrasah of the progressive Tukhvatullins, in addition, he attended a Russian class and showed great talent. The revolution that began in the country stirred up life in such a small town as Uralsk. The first Tatar newspapers and magazines "Fiker", "Al-Gasral-jadid", "Uklar" and others appeared here. G. Tukay collaborates in them and writes numerous poems and articles on the topics raised by the revolution. At the beginning of 1907, Tukay left the Mutygiya Madrasah (Tukhvatullins). His "free life" began. Many difficulties were in the path of the poet. The revolution was on the wane. In early 1907, the authorities banned the publication of those Tatar periodicals in which Tukay worked and collaborated. In the autumn of 1907, Tukay arrived in Kazan to devote his activities to new creative tasks. Here he quickly enters literary circles and becomes close to the youth grouped around the newspaper Al-Islah (Reform). However, he never left the thought of the need to continue the traditions of the national satirical press, without which he could not imagine the development of his work and Tatar literature in general. This was partially realized in the publication of satirical and humorous magazines: "Yashen" ("Lightning"), "Yalt-Yult" ("Zarnitsa"). It can be said that Tukay devoted all his creative possibilities to these magazines. Through them, he fought furiously with all possible manifestations of reaction. Already the early period of G. Tukay's work was marked by a passionate preaching of disinterested service to the people, although at the same time, the rhetoric of love for the nation still prevailed in him. The poet quickly survived such enlightening romance, penetrating deeper and deeper into the real world of the people. Later, in the conditions of a cruel reaction, he noted with pain how the evil rampant in the country undermined "the soul of the people, the strength of the people." Therefore, he proclaimed: “If you want to excite the people’s soul, let your melody be full of bitter sadness” (“Untitled”, 1908). In the work of Tukay, a whole cycle of remarkable poetic and essay-journalistic works arises, in which the attitude towards the people is exhaustively clearly expressed. His poems such as "Autumn Winds", "Oppression", "Cottage" (1911), "What is the rural people lacking?" (1912), "Hopes of the people ..." (1913) and others are classic examples of social lyrics, in which the tragedy of the masses is revealed with amazing power of realism. Tukaev's poetry is based not on colloquial, but on melodious intonation. Therefore, she quickly selects a musical key for herself. However, one should not conclude from this that he rejected the efforts of some poets, his contemporaries (for example, S. Ramiev), to enrich Tatar versification with colloquial intonation. Tukay argued that “the trouble is not great, that the sizes, rhythms, harmony are different. Only the meaning and the ability to explain this meaning in perfect form are important, except perhaps for Turgenev’s work “Fathers and Sons”, written without any size. There are no poetic frames in it. And by the way, poetry. During the years of reaction, Tukay's health was irreparably undermined. He was in a dire financial situation. The commercial attitude of book publishers to his works and the disinterest of the poet himself in personal well-being undoubtedly played a significant role in this. He was forced to drag out a miserable existence in cold hotel rooms.

At the time of the new revolutionary upsurge, significant changes take place in the life of the poet. Despite the sharp deterioration in health, in 1911-1912. he makes journeys that are of great importance to him. In early May 1911, he arrived in Astrakhan by steamboat, on the way getting acquainted with the life of the Volga region (“Dacha”, essay “Little Journey”). Here Tukay was the guest of his friend, the poet S. Ramiev, met with the Azerbaijani public figure and writer Nariman Narimanov, who was exiled here for revolutionary activities in his native land.

In the spring of 1912, Tukay decided on a more significant journey along the Kazan-Ufa-Petersburg route. In Ufa, he meets with M. Gafuri. This meeting left a deep mark in the life of both folk writers, strengthened their sympathy for each other. Petersburg meets Tukay coldly. Here he does not find people like Gafuri. Of course, the progressive national intelligentsia of St. Petersburg did not remain indifferent to the visit of their beloved poet. Knowing about him belatedly, she sought to show her attention. Having lived in St. Petersburg for 13 days, on May 6 (19), Tukay left the capital and went to Troitsk, and then to the Kazakh steppe to drink koumiss, hoping to improve his health. I returned to Kazan in early August. He worked in the suffocating atmosphere of the printing house and, despite feeling unwell, continued to write. The last years of Tukay's life and work testify that the writer, as he comprehended people's reality ever closer, sharply felt discord with a society hostile to the people and mercilessly condemned everything that could cast a shadow on his civic conscience (“My first business after waking up”, "On the occasion of the anniversary", etc.). The poet was forced to wage a constant, uncompromising struggle not only with cruel reality, but also with his own delusions and illusions, which were born in a painful search for truth and justice.

On April 2 (15), 1913 at 20:15 Gabdulla Tukay died. He passed away in the prime of his talent.

Gabdulla Tukay (Tukaev Gabdulla Mukhammedgarifovich) was born in the Kazan province, in the village of Kushlauch on April 14/26, 1886. He lost his father at the age of 5 months, and at the age of 4 he became an orphan. His further fate depended on the people who adopted him.

In 1892-1895. he lived in the village of Kyrlay in the family of an ordinary peasant Sagdi, who was able to open his eyes to life. Later, Gabdulla began to live in the family of the merchant Usmanov, in the city of Uralsk. He began to study at the madrasah of the progressive Tukhvatullins.

Tukay published his works in the first Tatar magazines and newspapers, but in 1907 they were all closed. In the autumn of this year, he moved to live in Kazan. Here he was able to get close to the young people who were grouped around the Al-Islah newspaper. The poet very quickly experiences enlightenment romance, and penetrates deeper and deeper into the real life of local people.

Tukay wrote many wonderful essays and journalistic works and poetic masterpieces, in which the attitude towards people is very clearly expressed.

Such poems as "Oppression", "Autumn Winds", "Cottage" (1911), "What is the rural people lacking?" (1912), "The hopes of the people ..." (1913) and others are classic examples of social lyrics.

Tukay always had a poor financial situation, because he himself was not interested in personal well-being. In 1911-1912. he makes journeys of great importance to him, despite the fact that his health has deteriorated greatly. In May 1911, Tukai arrived in Astrakhan by steamer, getting acquainted with the life of the Volga region along the way. Here he stayed with the poet S. Ramiev.

Gabdulla Mukhamedgarifovich Tukaev (1886-1913) - an outstanding Tatar folk poet, literary critic, publicist and translator.
Gabdulla Tukay was born on April 26, 1886 in the village of Kushlauch. Father - Mukhamedgarif Mukhamedgalimov, a native of the village of Kushlavych, Kazan district, Kazan province. Grandfather Mukhamedgalim was a mullah. Mother - Memdude, whose father Zinnatulla, the son of Zaynelbashir, as well as Garif-mulla, studied at the Kyshkar madrasah. Zinnatulla served as muezzin Kushlauche, and later, at the request of the inhabitants of the village of Uchile, he went to them as a mullah.
When Gabdulla was four and a half months old, he lost his father, and at the age of three he became an orphan. After a short stay in the family of his grandfather Zinnatulla, he ended up in Kazan, in the family of a childless resident of the Novo-Tatar settlement named Muhammetvali, where he spent about 2 years. His adoptive parents fell ill and had to return Gabdulla to Uchila. In 1892-1895 he spent his life in the family of a peasant Sagdi in the village of Kyrlay, not far from Kushlauch. Here Gabdulla began to join the working peasant life, experienced its joys and bitterness, began to study and, as he later wrote in his memoirs, Kyrlay opened his eyes to life.
In the future, Gabdulla's childhood continued in the city of Uralsk. Being taken there to the family of the merchant Galiaskar Usmanov, where his paternal aunt was the mistress, he studied at the madrasah of the progressively minded Tukhvatullin family of patrons, at the same time attending a Russian class and showing high talent in studies. Tukay's first literary experiments were partially captured in the handwritten journal Al-Gasr al-Jadid (New Age) for 1904. In the same period, he translated Krylov's fables into Tatar and offered them for publication. He became interested in the poetry of Pushkin and Lermontov. His first remarkable poetic creation in a purely Tatar language was a translation of A. Koltsov's poem "What are you sleeping, little man?", Published in 1905 under the title "A Man's Dream".
After the beginning of the revolution of 1905, the first Tatar newspapers and magazines appeared in Uralsk: Fiker (Thought), Al-Gasr al-Jadid (New Age), Uklar (Arrows). Tukay collaborated in them and wrote numerous poems and articles on the topics raised by the revolution. He participated in the demonstrations that passed through the city in a wave.
At the beginning of 1907, Tukay left the Mutygiya Madrasah (Tukhvatullins). His "free life" began. The coup of June 3, 1907, marked a decisive offensive by reaction against democracy. The fighting response to this was Tukaev's poem "We will not leave!", In the bright lines of which the voice of a fighter sounded, calling to the end to stand for the honor of the Motherland and democracy. Tukay's poems such as "Shurale", "Pair of horses", "Native land", written simultaneously with "We will not leave!", were devoted to the theme of the Motherland. In the autumn of 1907, Tukay arrived (in fact, returned) to Kazan to devote his activities to creativity. Here he quickly enters literary circles and becomes close to the youth grouped around the newspaper Al-Islah (Reform) - Fatih Amirkhan and others. During this period, Tukay devotes all his creative abilities to the satirical and humorous magazines Yashen (Lightning ”), “Yalt-Yult” (“Zarnitsa”).
By 1908, a whole cycle of remarkable poetic and essay-journalistic works arose in the work of Tukay. The poems "In the Blessed Memory of Khusain" and "Tatar Youth" (1912) are imbued with a sense of historical optimism. Most of his poems and travel essays, published in 1911-1912, were written under the impressions of his visit to the villages of Zakazany - his small Motherland. They capture the reality, assessed from the standpoint of the people's protector.
Despite the sharp deterioration in health, in 1911-1912. he made journeys that were of great importance to him. In early May 1911, Tukay arrived in Astrakhan by steamboat, on the way getting acquainted with the life of the Volga region (“Dacha”, essay “Little Journey”). Here Tukay stayed with his friend, the poet Sagit Ramiev. In Astrakhan, he met with the Azerbaijani public figure and writer Nariman Narimanov, who was exiled there for revolutionary activities in his native land. In the spring of 1912, Tukay decided on a more significant journey along the route Kazan - Ufa - Petersburg. In Ufa, he met with M. Gafuri, in St. Petersburg - with Mullanur Vakhitov, later a prominent revolutionary.
Having lived in St. Petersburg for 13 days, on May 6 (19), Tukay left the capital and went to Troitsk, and then to the Kazakh steppe to drink koumiss, hoping to improve his health. I returned to Kazan in early August. In the capital, Tukay worked in the suffocating atmosphere of a printing house and, despite feeling unwell, continued to write.
On April 2 (15), 1913, Gabdulla Tukay died. He passed away at the height of his talent. “The Tatars, in the person of Tukaev, have lost their greatest national poet,” Kazan Russian-language newspapers wrote. Tukaev's traditions have become one of the decisive ideological and aesthetic factors and life-giving sources for the further development of Tatar literature under the banner of realism and nationality.
Gabdulla Tukay was buried at the Tatar cemetery of the Novo-Tatar settlement (Kazan).

Today we will discuss the biography of the famous Tatar poet, publicist, public figure, translator and literary critic Gabdulla Tukay.

Childhood

The biography of Gabudlla Tukay dates back to April 26, 1886, when the boy was born in the village of Kushlavych. The father and mother of the child were from the village. It is known that Tukay's grandfather on his mother's side was a Bashkir by origin, and also studied at the Sultanaev Madrasah.

When the baby was 5 months old, he was left without a father: the upbringing of the boy completely fell on the shoulders of the mother. For some time she tried to cope with the grief that befell her, but then she despaired and gave him up to be raised by an old woman she knew. A little time passed, and the mother changed her mind, taking her son. However, when Gabdulla was 4 years old, he also lost his mother, leaving no one to need a child. For some time he was sheltered by his grandfather. Soon the baby ended up with foster parents in Kazan, where he lived for about 2 years. Due to a serious illness, they were forced to return the boy to his native village. Gabdulla spends the next three years in a peasant family of Sagdi, not far from his home.

Uralsk

Gabdulla Tukay's house was abandoned by him at the age of 4, although not of his own free will. Unfortunately, after the loss of his parents, the boy's childhood passed in a rather cold and alienated atmosphere, since he rarely stayed in any family for a long time, for various reasons. The biography of Gabdulla Tukay began to change slightly in a positive direction after he moved to Uralsk, where he lived in the foster family of the merchant Galiaskar Usmanov. This family was related to the boy on his father's side. As soon as the boy got to the Usmanovs, he was immediately sent to study at the madrasah, where he showed excellent academic performance. The madrasah belonged to the Tukhvatullin family - people of progressive views, who immediately appreciated the talented youth. In addition to these classes, Gabdulla went to the Russian class.

First creative steps

The poet Gabdulla Tukay took his first steps in literature very timidly and cautiously. Fragments of his early work can be found in the handwritten journal Novy Vek, which was published in 1904. During this period, Tukay was especially fond of translations. He even offers Krylov's fables (in a translated version) to various publishing houses. Also during this period of time, he became acquainted with the work of such writers as Lermontov and Pushkin. The first independent literary work appeared in 1905 after a wonderful translation of A. Koltsov's poem "What are you sleeping, little man?".

After the revolution

After the end of the revolutionary actions in Uralsk, Tatar newspapers begin to appear. Tukay immediately finds something to do: he offers his work to these newspapers and magazines, and they gladly accept a talented, educated young man into their ranks. The guy wrote not only poetry, he also published his own articles on revolutionary topics. The social and political life of society worried the young man no less than literature. He takes an active part in demonstrations and protests. A truly free life for a guy begins only after he leaves the madrasah in 1907. The June 3 coup in the state evoked only one reaction in Tukay: a zealous defense of the honor of his homeland. During this period, he wrote several demonstrative poems in which the theme of the Motherland was very clearly revealed (“We will not leave!”, “Native land”, “A pair of horses”).

Kazan

Gabdulla Mukhamedgarifovich Tukay continues his way to Kazan. In 1907, he returned here in order to devote himself entirely to creative pursuits. From the moment of arrival, the countdown of a new stage of his life begins - 5 years and 8 months, which he will devote to serving his fatherland. In the literary circles of Kazan, the young poet quickly finds his place, he gets along well with young people and is popular with them. He begins to work in the newspaper "Reforma". Poems and articles of this period are full of satirical and humorous themes, which are most fully revealed in such works as "Lightning" and "Zarnitsa".

Creation

Literally by 1908, Tukay was already forming a cycle of works and articles. Many of his poems (“Autumn Winds”, “Dacha”, “Operation”) and close communication with Kh. Yamashev testify that Tukay deeply sympathized with his people and worried about them with all his heart. At the same time, the poet did not escalate the situation; on the contrary, he supported the fighters for justice, sang and was proud of them.

The works of 1911-1912 were created under the impression of traveling through the villages of Zakazanie - such a native place for the poet. Despite all the optimism that Gabdulla demonstrated in many of his poems, in the works of this period he moved away from colorful illusion and described the real situation of the rural population. He wrote what he saw, and did it from the position of a defender of the people.

Astrakhan

The biography of Gabdulla Tukay continues in Astrakhan, where he arrives in 1911. At this time, his health fails, but the desire to travel takes over. In order to look around and absorb the rural spirit, Gabdulla stays with his old friend. Here he meets with Nariman Narimanov, a writer and public figure from Azerbaijan, who was exiled to Astrakhan for active political activity in his homeland. This meeting has a great influence on Tukay's work.

Gabdulla Tukay, whose poems have already been read by thousands of people, decides on an active creative search and sets off to look for a muse along the path Kazan - Ufa - Petersburg. An important meeting with the national writer M. Gafuri is taking place in Ufa. Two interlocutors quickly find a common language, so their mutual sympathy grows stronger. In St. Petersburg, Tukay meets M. Vakhitov, who in the future becomes an influential figure in the revolution. All these meetings left their imprint on the worldview and work of the poet. He stays in St. Petersburg for only 13 days, after which the biography of Gabdulla Tukay is transferred to Troitsk. But even there, our hero does not linger for a long time, hurrying to the Kazakh steppe to improve his health. At the end of the summer, the poet decides to return to Kazan and continue his work, despite his poor health and frequent pains.

The works of Gabdulla Tukay in the last years of his life were very sharp and intense. He felt the growing internal conflict between society and the people. In April 1913 the Tatar poet died. The newspapers wrote that the people had lost the greatest national poet. The literary traditions of Gabdulla Tukay were a powerful basis for the further development of all Tatar literature. Gabdulla Tukay, whose poems are recognized as the property of literature, is buried at the Tatar cemetery in Kazan. His works are still considered classics of Tatar poetry.

The biography of Gabdulla Tukay is an excellent example of the life of a person who was not distracted by life's trifles, but believed in his idea. Such people rarely change anything, but they provide the most important springboard for people of action - those who can dramatically change the course of history.