Bekir Çoban-zade
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Bekir Çoban-zade (Sıdqiy) (pronounced [tʃobanzade]) (May 15, 1893–October 13, 1937) was a Crimean Tatar poet and professor of Turkic languages who was one of the victims of the Great Purge.
In the midst of a successful academic career, at the age of 44, Çobanzade was arrested by Soviet authorities for alleged subversive activities against the state and was sentenced to death. His writings have outlived him; his poetry, in particular, continues to enjoy popularity among Crimean Tatars.
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[edit] Biography
Çobanzade was born in a family of humble origins in the village near Qarasubazar (Bilohirsk) in Crimea. His father was a shepherd ("çoban" in Crimean Tatar), and his last name means 'son of shepherd'. As a young boy, he helped his father herd the sheep, and these early experiences in the countryside left a lasting impression on the sensitive boy. Many of his poems are replete with descriptions of Crimean pastoral scenes. He received his early education in Crimea and Istanbul. In 1916, he went to Budapest to enroll at the University of Peter Pazmany and received his Ph.D. in 1919. After he returned to Crimea, he taught Crimean Tatar language and literature at the Pedagogy Institute in Simferopol (Aqmescit) and later accepted the chair of Turkology at the Crimean University (now known as Taurida National University) in 1922. Early in 1925, he moved to Azerbaijan to become professor of Turkology at the University of Baku. He had a remarkable facility with languages. In addition to Turkic languages, he knew Arabic, Persian, Hungarian, Armenian, Georgian, Russian, French, German and English.
In January 1937, Çobanzade was placed on leave without pay by an order of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and subsequently arrested. During a 20-minute trial, he was found guilty and condemned to death. He was executed on October 13, 1937. Twenty years after his death, in response to an appeal from Çobanzade's wife, a military court of the USSR reversed the decision against him. The court declared that the charges against Çobanzade were baseless.
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[edit] Further reading
For more information about Çobanzade and samples of his poetry, see the Web site of the International Committee for Crimea.
