Makhachkala/Agency Caucasus – The 85th anniversary of the birthday of Rasul Hamzatov, Dagestan’s famous poet, was celebrated with the launch on September 9 of the State Museum of Literature in Dagestan’s capital Makhackhala as a memorial to him.
The workroom where Hamzatov had conducted his literary studies for 42 years solid since November 1, 1961, was chosen to be the place to serve as the museum. After he became the President of Dagestan’s Society of Authors, Hamzatov emptied out the contents of his workroom. The museum houses a display of his personal things as well as some bibliographic information about his life.
Lots of men of letters arrived in Makhackhala from various regions of the Russian Federation as well as from several Middle Eastern countries to attend the anniversary launch of the museum. Among the guests were former Culture Minister of Russia Yevgeni Sidorov, who is currently Russia’s ambassador to UNESCO; Grigori Orjonikidze, Chair of the Department of International Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation and officials from the National Commissions for UNESCO in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Moldavia.
Several other commemorations afterwards took place on the anniversary of the poets birthday: a wreath was laid at the poet’s tomb; several topics were discussed in conferences; and the guests visited his house in Makhackhala as well as his place of birth–the village of Tsada in Hunzakh province.
Rasul Hamzatovich Hamzatov was born in Tsada, an Avar village, on September 8, 1923. He died at 70 in Moscow on November 3, 2003. His father was Hamzat Tsadas, a Dagestani folk poet. Hamzatov attended the Avar teacher training school after he finished his middle school education in Tsada; he worked as a teacher of middle school and later acted in the Avar theater. He graduated from the Gorki Institute for Literature in Moscow in 1970. He gained membership to USSR’s Society of Authors in 1943. He was elected President of the Society of Authors of Dagestan in 1950 and retained his position until his death.
Hamzatov’s first book was published in the Avar language 1943. He afterwards published tens of books, both in verse and prose, in Russian and Avar languages. Such famous composers as Raymond Paus, Yuri Antonovi and Aleksandr Pahmutov set his poems to music. Hamzatov also translated into the Avar language the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Yesenin and Mayakovski. He was awarded the USSR State Prize in 1952 and later the Lenin Prize in 1962. He was honoured as the Folk Poet of Dagestan in 1959 and as the Social Hero in 1974.
KU/ÖZ/HT
