Search Results - İshaki, Ayaz

Ayaz İshaki

Muhammed Ayaz İshaki (Tatar: Möxəmmətğayaz Ğiləcetdin ulı İsxaqi (; — 22 July 1954) was a leading figure of the Tatar national movement, author, journalist, publisher and politician.

The importance of İshaki to Tatar literature has been compared to what Pushkin and Tolstoy are to Russians. The most known story of İshaki's is the dystopian "Extinction in 200 years" (''200'' ''yıldan soñ inqiraz'', Kazan 1904). Among the plays often revered is "Zuleiha" (''Zöləyxa,'' 1917), which focuses on forced baptism of his people.

İshaki was the secretary of state of the short lived Idel-Ural State (1918). While he notably stated that "Russia is a prison of nations", he also (based on his early writings) felt that the so called national problem of the Tatars was largely their own fault; .."[a people] threatened with complete extinction due to their reluctance to follow progress, the Russian culture and renew their centuries-old customs". İshaki himself was heavily influenced by Russian authors and aligned with the Jadid movement. According to researcher Azat Akhunov, İshaki believed that the progress of the Tatar nation was possible only in close cooperation with the Russian world, primarily its enlightened part. While living in İstanbul, İshaki actively corresponded with Maxim Gorky, who wanted to translate his works into Russian.

Ayaz İshaki's daughter was the Turkologist Saadet Çağatay. Provided by Wikipedia