Gabdulla Tukay

Gabdulla Tukay was a Tatar national poet, publicist, translator, literary critic and public figure. The poet's childhood was spent in the village of Kushlavych in the Kazan Governorate. Gabdulla was orphaned early and wandered among foster families until he ended up in the merchant Usmanov family in Uralsk. His foster parents sent him to study at a madrasa — a Muslim theological seminary. Tukay excelled at his studies, attended the Russian class and studied Russian literature. The poetry of Pushkin and Lermontov influenced the development of the poet's style.

 

After graduating from the madrasa, Tukay returned to Kazan and devoted himself entirely to literary work. Gabdulla quickly gained popularity among progressive youth who gathered around the newspaper "Al-Islah" ("Reform"), Fatikh Amirkhan and others. Tukay also worked with the satirical-humor magazines "Yashen" ("Lightning") and "Yalt-Yolt" ("Zarnitsa"). Tukay's poems are dedicated to his contemporaries. He defended the people and sought to expose social contrasts: "Autumn Winds", "Oppression", "What Does the Rural People Lack?", "The People's Hopes...", "To the Bright Memory of Khusain", "Tatar Youth", "Return to Kazan". Gabdulla Tukay died of starvation and tuberculosis on April 2, 1913, just short of his 27th birthday.