Amirkhan Kamizovich Shomakhov facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amirkhan Kamizovich Shomakhov
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| Born | 10 October [O.S. 27 September] 1910 Kabardian: Къаншыуей, Tersky District Russian Empire
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| Died | 13 July 1988 (aged 77) |
| Resting place | Nalchik, Volny Aul Cemetery |
| Occupation | Writer, lyricist, playwright |
| Years active | 1930–1985 |
| Known for | Lyrics for Children |
| Spouse(s) | Lyolya Kupova (m. 1913–1999) |
| Children | Tamara Shomakhova, Sultan Shomakhov |
| Parent(s) | Kamiza Shomakhov, Gushaney Maksidova |
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Amirkhan Kamizovich Shomakhov (born October 10, 1910 – died July 13, 1988) was an important writer from the Soviet Union. He was a Kabardian poet, storyteller, and playwright. Amirkhan Shomakhov is best known as one of the people who helped start children's literature in the Kabardian language. He was even called the People's Poet of the Kabarda-Balkar ASSR in 1977. He joined the Union of Soviet Writers in 1949 and the CPSU in 1938.
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About His Life
Amirkhan Shomakhov was born in a village called Kanshuei. This village was in the Terskaya region of the Russian Empire. Today, this area is known as Nizhnii Kurp in the Tersky District of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia.
His School Days
When he was a young boy, Shomakhov went to a religious school called a madrasa in his village. After the October Revolution, he finished primary school. Then he went to a secondary school in Nalchik called The Lenin's Campus.
In 1933, he graduated from the Northern Caucasus Pedagogical Institute. This institute was in Ordzhonikidze, which is now Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia-Alania. Later, in 1955, he also completed studies at the Higher Party School of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
His Work Life
Amirkhan Shomakhov had many different jobs during his life. He worked as a teacher, an editor, and held important positions in government and public groups.
- From 1933 to 1936, he worked at the Nalchik Pedagogical College. He was a teacher, deputy principal, and then the principal.
- He served in the military from 1935 to 1936.
- He was the editor-in-chief of a republican newspaper from 1938 to 1940.
- He led the CPSU committee in the Baksansky District in 1941.
- From 1941 to 1943, he was the commissar for the People's Commissariat of Education.
- He returned to be editor-in-chief of the republican newspaper from 1943 to 1945.
- He again led the CPSU committee in the Baksansky District from 1945 to 1946.
- From 1947 to 1949, he was the director of the Kabardian Publishing House.
- He served as the Minister of Education from 1949 to 1952.
- From 1952 to 1955, he was the executive secretary for the All-Union Znanie Society.
- He was the vice editor-in-chief of a republican newspaper from 1955 to 1957.
- From 1957 to 1960, he was the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine «Oshkhamahue».
- He served as the executive secretary for the Republican Union of Writers from 1965 to 1970.
His Books and Poems
First Writings
Amirkhan Shomakhov's first poems were published in 1933. They appeared in a collection of writings called «First Step».
Stories for Adults
Shomakhov wrote several novels. His novel Kolkhoz Under Fire (1958) tells about events during the war years. Dawn Over the Terek (1968) is about the Civil War and the early years of Soviet rule in the Kabardian Republic. This book was translated into Russian in 1972. He also wrote Horsemen on the Peaks (1970). This novel was about how the working class grew in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Poems for Kids
Amirkhan Shomakhov truly loved writing for children. A publishing house in Moscow, «Detskaya Literatura», praised his poem «Scouts» in 1969. In 1970, he was even nominated for a special award named after N. Krupskaya. His books have been translated into many languages across the Soviet Union. Here is a small part from one of his poems, translated into English:
POOR LITTLE MUKHADIN Kabardian: МУХЬЭДИН КЪЫЩЫЩIАР Always something bad befalls me,
I'm always on the outs with luck,
Every day the teacher calls me
To the board, and there I'm stuck.
Yesterday I couldn't tell her
Where our country gets its tea,
I lost my pen, I lost my speller —
What a life for such as me!
His Family
- Father: Kamiza Shomakhov (Kabardian: Щомахуэ Къамызэ)
- Mother: Maksidova Guashane (Kabardian: Махъсыд Гуащэнэ Тепсорыкъуэ и пхъур)
- Wife: Lyolya Kupova (Kabardian: Куп Лёлэ Мац и пхъур). She was born on May 14, 1913, and passed away on January 26, 1999.
- Amirkhan and Lyolya had two children: a daughter named Tamara and a son named Sultan.
Awards and Honors
Special Titles
- He was recognized as an Honored Man of Art of Kabardino-Balkaria in 1949.
- In 1977, he received the title of People's Poet of Kabardino-Balkaria.
Medals and Decorations
Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" (1944)
Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945)
Order of the Badge of Honour (1957)- Order of the Badge of Honour (1970)
Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1970)
Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1976)
How He Is Remembered
To honor Amirkhan Shomakhov, the City Council of Nalchik decided to put up a special plaque. This plaque is on the outside of the house where the poet used to live. This was done to mark 100 years since his birth.
