Arbi Shamsuddinovich Mamakaev

Arbi Shamsuddinovich Mamakaev was a Chechen Soviet writer and translator, regarded as one of the founders of Vainakh literature and a classic of Chechen literature. Arbi Shamsuddinovich was born on December 2, 1918 in the village of Nadterechnoye. He was orphaned at an early age and raised in an orphanage; later he studied at a workers' faculty (rabfak). In the 1930s he began working for the newspaper 'Leninsky Put' ('Lenin's Path') and on the radio, and also attended playwright courses.

 

Mamakaev's first poems were published in 1934, and his first poetry collection 'Waves of the Terek' was released in 1940. Among his best-known works is the poem 'Aslaga and Selikhat'. He was arrested twice. The first arrest occurred in 1941 on charges of counter-revolutionary activities, but he was released six months later due to lack of evidence.

 

After his release Mamakaev worked as a senior consultant for the Union of Writers of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, and his plays 'Anger' and 'Reconnaissance' were staged at the local drama theater. However, he was arrested again for statements opposing the deportation of the peoples of the North Caucasus and was exiled to Magadan, where he remained until 1956.

 

Returning from exile to Kazakhstan to his family, Mamakaev worked on the editorial staff of the newspaper 'Znamya Truda' ('Banner of Labor'). After the restoration of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR in 1957 he returned to his homeland and was reinstated as senior consultant of the Union of Writers, but he refused to be reinstated in the party. Arbi Shamsuddinovich Mamakaev died in 1958 in the home of his friend, the writer Abuzar Aydamirov.