Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev
Encyclopedia
Abdurrahim bey Asad bey oglu Hagverdiyev (17 May 1870, Shusha
– 17 December 1933, Baku
) was an Azerbaijan
i playwright, stage director, politician and public figure.
, now in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan) to court reporter Asad bey Hagverdiyev and his wife Husnujahan. After losing his father, he lived with his uncle's family, and later back with his mother who had married a local official. He studied at a two-year Russian-Muslim school, then perfected his Russian at Malik-Hagnazarov's School and in 1884 enrolled in a seven-year Shusha Realschule
. In his final year her was transferred to the Realschule in Tiflis. At age 14, he got acquainted with theatre for the first time by watching the adaptation of Mirza Fatali Akhundov
's play Khirs guldurbasan. Upon graduating he was admitted to the Saint Petersburg Institute of Transportation Engineering and attended lectures in Oriental Studies at the Saint Petersburg University
as a visiting student. During the 8-year period spent in Saint Petersburg, Hagverdiyev also excelled in French
, which helped him to get to know traditions of the Western Europe
an drama.
in the Azeri language, Daghilan tifag ("The Breaking of Unity", 1896). In 1899 he returned to Shusha and got involved in theatre directing. Alongside he continued to write plays, namely Bakhtsiz javan ("The Unlucky Young Man", 1900) and Pari Jadu ("Nymph Magic", 1901). In 1907 he finished his historical tragedy Agha Mohammad Shah Qajar, which brought him great fame. Beginning in 1906 Hagverdiyev wrote for the satirical magazine Molla Nasraddin
. In 1908 he directed Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov
's opera Leyli and Majnun. In 1911–1916 he lived in Agdam
having dedicated himself mostly to writing fiction. In the next two years he lived and worked in Tiflis as a reporter for the local Russian-language newspaper.
(Russian Imperial legislative assembly) as a representative of the Elisabethpol Governorate
and went off to Saint Petersburg. After its dissolution, Hagverdiyev came back to work in the insurance industry and later in a waterway transportation company. In these years, he often travelled to Iran
and Central Asia
.
In 1918, Hagverdiyev, who lived in Tiflis at the time and worked as a court officer, was appointed representative of Georgia's Azeri community in the Parliament of the newly formed Democratic Republic of Georgia
. At the same time he taught at an Azeri-language secondary school in Tiflis. In 1919 he accepted the invitation by the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
to serve as the Azerbaijani consul in Dagestan
, and later in Armenia
.
After Azerbaijan's Sovietization
in 1920 Hagverdiyev was appointed head of the department for theatres in the People's Commissariat for Enlightening (early Soviet analogy of the Ministry of Education). In 1921–1931 he worked in the Oriental Studies department of the Azerbaijan State University. In 1923–1935 he was head of the Azerbaijan Society for Scientific Research, of which he was a co-founder. In 1924 he was elected Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
. In 1929 he received the title of an Honoured art worker of Azerbaijan. In 1930–1932 Hagverdiyev was Chair of the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan.
and the respect for human rights
and liberties. His tragedies were true depictions of contemporary problems. Due to his education, knowledge of Western and Eastern cultures and his refined manners Hagverdiyev was widely known and loved by Azerbaijanis, setting an example to the young generation of writers.
Shusha
Shusha , also known as Shushi is a town in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus. It has been under the control of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since its capture in 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War...
– 17 December 1933, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
) was an Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
i playwright, stage director, politician and public figure.
Early life
Abdurrahim bey was born in a Lachyn suburb (then part of the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, now in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan) to court reporter Asad bey Hagverdiyev and his wife Husnujahan. After losing his father, he lived with his uncle's family, and later back with his mother who had married a local official. He studied at a two-year Russian-Muslim school, then perfected his Russian at Malik-Hagnazarov's School and in 1884 enrolled in a seven-year Shusha Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
. In his final year her was transferred to the Realschule in Tiflis. At age 14, he got acquainted with theatre for the first time by watching the adaptation of Mirza Fatali Akhundov
Mirza Fatali Akhundov
Mirza Fatali Akhundov , former – Akhundzade , was a celebrated Azerbaijani author, playwright, philosopher, and founder of modern literary criticism, "who acquired fame primarily as the writer of European-inspired plays in the Azeri language"...
's play Khirs guldurbasan. Upon graduating he was admitted to the Saint Petersburg Institute of Transportation Engineering and attended lectures in Oriental Studies at the Saint Petersburg University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
as a visiting student. During the 8-year period spent in Saint Petersburg, Hagverdiyev also excelled in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, which helped him to get to know traditions of the Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an drama.
Literary contributions and stage directing
In 1892, Hagverdiyev wrote his first dramatical piece, a comedy entitled Yeyarsan gaz atini, gorarsan lazzatini. The book was almost immediately published thanks to benevolent Muslim societies of the Russian capital. While in Saint Petersburg, Hagverdiyev wrote the first epic tragedyTragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
in the Azeri language, Daghilan tifag ("The Breaking of Unity", 1896). In 1899 he returned to Shusha and got involved in theatre directing. Alongside he continued to write plays, namely Bakhtsiz javan ("The Unlucky Young Man", 1900) and Pari Jadu ("Nymph Magic", 1901). In 1907 he finished his historical tragedy Agha Mohammad Shah Qajar, which brought him great fame. Beginning in 1906 Hagverdiyev wrote for the satirical magazine Molla Nasraddin
Molla Nasraddin (magazine)
Molla Nasraddin was an eight-page Azerbaijani satirical periodical published in Tiflis , Tabriz and Baku in the Azeri and occasionally Russian languages...
. In 1908 he directed Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Uzeyir bey Abdul Hussein oglu Hajibeyov was an Azerbaijani and Soviet composer, conductor, publicist, playwright, teacher, translator, and social figure from Azerbaijan. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music and opera...
's opera Leyli and Majnun. In 1911–1916 he lived in Agdam
Agdam
Agdam or Ağdam or Aghdam may refer to:*Agdam city, Azerbaijan*Agdam Rayon, Azerbaijan*Ağdam, Khojavend, Azerbaijan*Ağdam, Tovuz, Azerbaijan...
having dedicated himself mostly to writing fiction. In the next two years he lived and worked in Tiflis as a reporter for the local Russian-language newspaper.
Political career
In 1905 Hagverdiyev was appointed to Shusha's municipalital government. In 1906 he was elected to the State Duma of the Russian EmpireState Duma of the Russian Empire
The State Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire, which met in the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg. It was convened four times between 1906 and the collapse of the Empire in 1917.-History:...
(Russian Imperial legislative assembly) as a representative of the Elisabethpol Governorate
Elisabethpol Governorate
Elisabethpol Governorate or Elizavetpol Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Elisabethpol . Its area was 44,136 sq. kilometres, and it had 878,415 inhabitants by 1897....
and went off to Saint Petersburg. After its dissolution, Hagverdiyev came back to work in the insurance industry and later in a waterway transportation company. In these years, he often travelled to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
In 1918, Hagverdiyev, who lived in Tiflis at the time and worked as a court officer, was appointed representative of Georgia's Azeri community in the Parliament of the newly formed Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. At the same time he taught at an Azeri-language secondary school in Tiflis. In 1919 he accepted the invitation by the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
to serve as the Azerbaijani consul in Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
, and later in Armenia
Democratic Republic of Armenia
The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
.
After Azerbaijan's Sovietization
Sovietization
Sovietization is term that may be used with two distinct meanings:*the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets .*the adoption of a way of life and mentality modelled after the Soviet Union....
in 1920 Hagverdiyev was appointed head of the department for theatres in the People's Commissariat for Enlightening (early Soviet analogy of the Ministry of Education). In 1921–1931 he worked in the Oriental Studies department of the Azerbaijan State University. In 1923–1935 he was head of the Azerbaijan Society for Scientific Research, of which he was a co-founder. In 1924 he was elected Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
. In 1929 he received the title of an Honoured art worker of Azerbaijan. In 1930–1932 Hagverdiyev was Chair of the Writers' Union of Azerbaijan.
Legacy
Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev's 40-year-old productive career in literature was a successful continuation to the dramaturgic traditions initiated by Mirza Fatali Akhundov in the early-to-mid 19th century. In his works and articles he communicated themes like the necessity of mass educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and the respect for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and liberties. His tragedies were true depictions of contemporary problems. Due to his education, knowledge of Western and Eastern cultures and his refined manners Hagverdiyev was widely known and loved by Azerbaijanis, setting an example to the young generation of writers.