Gaziz Gubaydullin on the FIrst Researchers of the HIstory of the Turkic Peoples of Russia: Remembering the First All-Union Turkology Congress
- Authors
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Dania Fatikhovna Zagidullina
G. Ibragimov Institute of language, literature and art of the Tatarstan Academy of sciences
Author
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- Keywords:
- The First All-Union Turkological Congress, Gubaidullin, history and culture of the Turkic peoples, the ancient Turkic period, textbooks on the history of the Turks, the history of Tatar literature
- Abstract
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On the second day of the First All-Union Turkology Congress, the famous historian Gaziz Gubaidullin gave a report on the state of research on the history and culture of the Turkic peoples by their representatives. The purpose of our work is to study this report in the context of textbooks, monographs, and books by scholars who have addressed the issues of medieval history and culture of the Turks and Tatars in their works. The subject is the dynamics of scientific approaches and views of researchers on the study of the history and culture of the Turks and Tatars.
The choice of the topic is due to the fact that this year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Congress. The relevance of the article is also explained by the need to: 1) introduce historiographical materials on the study of the medieval history of the culture of the Turks and Tatars into scientific circulation; 2) research the first pre-revolutionary textbooks, which have long been outside the field of view of the humanities, in the context of the assessments of G. Gubaidullin.
The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive study of historiographical materials on the study of the medieval history of the culture of the Turks and Tatars in comparison with G. Gubaidullin's report, as well as in introducing the reader to the opinion of the first Tatar historian, who noted that the interest in the ancient layers of the culture of the Turkic peoples in historical science emerged in the 19th century. Gubaidullin names Ibrahim Khalfin and Abbas Bakikhanov as pioneers in this field among the Turkic peoples, who defined the goals and objectives of studying ancient history in accordance with the challenges of the time. According to him, in the second half of the 19th century, the research paradigm of the Turkic peoples of Russia underwent a reinterpretation of their history and culture in the context of the Eastern and Western (Russian and European) scientific traditions.
Аmong the first Tatar historians who presented the history and culture of the Turks, Gubaidullin names Hasan-Gata Gabyashi, Akhmet-Zaki Validi, and Gabdelbari Battal, and analyzes their works. According to him, it was their activities that contributed to the introduction of this subject into the curriculum of mektebs and madrasas, thereby promoting the popularization of this field of science. However, he did not include the first educational manuals by Gabyashi, which were published in the late 19th century, in his research. He particularly highlights the works of Z. Validi, which focuses on the study of Turkic culture.
Our comparative analysis of the materials presented by G. Gubaidullin and the sources available to modern science from the late 19th and early 20th centuries demonstrates the speaker's deep knowledge of the history and culture of the Turkic peoples of Russia. Our research shows that the first textbooks by Kh.-G. Gabashi, published in the late 19th century, are not included among the sources analyzed by G. Gubaidullin. Among the authors of textbooks on the history and culture of the Turkic peoples and Tatars, the speaker highlights the works of Z. Validis, which focuses on the cultural aspect.
Gubaidullin examines the development of interest in Turkic history and culture in the context of the republics, describing the situation using the examples of Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kumyk, Crimean Tatar, Chuvash, Bashkir, etc. historical science.
We consider the works of Tatar humanities scholars mentioned and analyzed by G. Gubaidullin as the basis for the formation of the History of Tatar Literature, which began with the Old Turkic period.
- Author Biography
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- 2026-06-22
- Issue
- No. 1 (2026)
- Section
- Philology
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