Dilyara Anasovna Mukhamedyarova,
The Faizi Literary Museum-Estate,
Branch No.1 of the Tsip'insky Local Lore Museum “Friendship of Peoples”,
3 a Kh. Sabirov Str., the Village of Shuda, Baltasinsky district,
Republic of Tatarstan, 422243, Russian Federation,
eclipse04@mail.ru.
The article is devoted to the Tatar playwright, writer, poet and educator Mirkhaidar Mustafovich Faizullin (Faizi) (1891–1928). The article deals with the historical conditions, which influenced the writer’s identity development, and the inspiring sources for his creative work, such as folk music, Tatar songs, language, folklore, customs and traditions of Kazan, Vyatka and Orenburg regions. The paper systematizes the material on M. Faizi’s contributions to Tatar culture and the enlightenment of the Tatar people in the early 20th century. We focus on the following aspects of M. Faizi’s activities: journalism, translation of literature for children from Russian into Tatar, library activities, amateur theatre centres’ arrangement, literary work, such as prose, poetry and folklore. The article pays special attention to the playwright’s contribution into modernization of theatre arts: with his play “Galiiabanu” Faizi created a new genre in Tatar theatre, i.e. musical drama. A few lines are devoted to the history of the drama’s development and its first staging, which marks its 100-year anniversary this year. We also reveal the role of the writer's diaries, which have important biographical and ethnographic significance and evaluate the musical heritage of the great son of the Tatar people. The focus of the article is the preservation of M. Faizy’s creative heritage and commemoration work.
Key words: Mirkhaidar Faizi, Tatar literature, Tatar folklore, Tatar theatre, musical drama, cultural awareness-raising, literary society, librarianship.