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Sadri Maksudi Arsal
Sadri Maksudi Bey.jpg
Sadri Maksudi Arsal in 1930s
Born
Sadreddīn Nizāmeddin al-Maqsūdī

1878 (1878)
Taşsu, Kazan Governorate, Russian Empire
Died 20 February 1957(1957-02-20) (aged 76)
Alma mater Sorbonne University
Known for President of Idel-Ural State
Spouse(s) Kamile Arsal

Sadri Maksudi Arsal (1878 – 1957) was an important leader for the Tatars in Russia. He helped his people gain a stronger sense of identity in the early 1900s. He was a writer, lawyer, and professor. He also worked as a politician and even represented his country at the League of Nations. This was an early international group that worked for world peace. Sadri Maksudi Arsal was also the president of a short-lived country called the Idel-Ural State.

Understanding His Name

Sadri Maksudi Arsal had a long birth name: Sadreddīn Nizāmeddin al-Maqsūdī. When he worked in the State Duma, which was like a parliament in Russia, he used a Russian version of his name. It was Sadrutdin Nisamutdinovich Maksudov. Later, when he moved to Turkey, he added "Arsal" to his name. From 1935 onwards, he was known as Sadri Maksudi Arsal.

Sadri Maksudi Arsal's Life Journey

Sadretdin Maksudov
Sadri Maksudi Arsal in 1907

Sadri Maksudi Arsal was born in 1878. His village, Taşsu, was near Kazan in the Russian Empire. After finishing school in Kazan, he traveled to Istanbul in 1900. He stayed there for a short time.

Education and Early Politics

Two years later, Arsal went to study at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. He earned a degree in law there. When he returned to Russia, he joined a political group called the Islamic Constitutional Party. Arsal became a representative for the Kazan area. He served in the Russian parliament, called the Duma, in 1907 and 1908.

Later, he was chosen to be the president of the Idel-Ural State. This was a new state that did not last very long. Before that, he led a big meeting in Ufa in 1917. This meeting was about the future of the Idel-Ural area.

Life After the Russian Revolution

In 1918, a big change happened in Russia. The Bolsheviks came to power, and his political party broke apart. Sadri Maksudi Arsal had to leave Russia. He traveled through Saint Petersburg to Finland. He stayed with a Tatar family in Tampere.

The next year, he continued his journey to Paris. He spoke at a big meeting called the Peace Conference. He tried to get political rights for the people living in the Idel Ural region. However, his efforts did not lead to the results he hoped for.

Moving to Turkey

In 1922, Sadri Maksudi Arsal briefly returned to Finland. His family had also escaped there from the Soviet Union. Together, they moved to Germany and settled in Berlin. While living there, Arsal focused on studying history. He stayed away from politics during this time.

After a while, he moved back to Paris. He gave lectures on Turkish history at Sorbonne University. In 1925, Arsal moved to Turkey. There, he became a lecturer and later a professor. He taught legal history and philosophy at universities in Ankara and Istanbul. He even received an honorary award for his work.

Sadri Maksudi Arsal wrote many books and articles. One of his famous works is Türk dili için. This book discusses how the Turkish language developed. He suggested ways to improve it, like removing words from other languages. Arsal was elected to the Turkish Parliament three times. He passed away in Istanbul in 1957.

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