Ali Ashadovich Shogentsukov

Ali Ashadovich Shogentsukov was a Soviet Kabardian poet, writer, and a founding figure of Kabardian literature. Honored Art Worker of the Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR (1939). He was born in the village of Kuchmazukino (now the town of Baksan). After finishing the village school in 1914, he entered the Baksan theological seminary, but was expelled for participating in a protest against the dismissal of a Kabardian language teacher.

In 1915 Shogentsukov attended teacher training courses. In 1916, thanks to his academic success, he was sent to the Bakhchisarai Pedagogical School named after I. M. Gasprinsky. In December 1917, due to revolutionary events, the school was closed, and Shogentsukov continued his studies in the Ottoman Empire at a pedagogical school in Constantinople. It was there that he wrote the poem "Nane" ("Grandmother"), which became his first poetic work. After returning to his homeland in 1919, Shogentsukov devoted himself to pedagogical work. He worked as a Kabardian language teacher, a school principal, and an inspector. He also actively contributed to newspapers, publishing articles about the Kabardian language and the education of young people.

From 1934 Shogentsukov worked in the Union of Writers of the republic and helped young authors. At the same time he worked as a research associate at the Institute of National Culture, took part in folklore expeditions, and also served as a literary consultant to the Kabardian Choir. When the Great Patriotic War began, Ali Shogentsukov wrote poems calling on his fellow citizens to defend the Motherland. In the autumn of 1941, having gone to the front, Shogentsukov was captured. He died in a Nazi concentration camp near Bobruisk.