Bekir Sidki Cobanzade

Bekir Sıdkı Çobanzade (pronounced cho-ban-za-de) (May 15 1893–October 13 1937) was a Crimean Tatar poet and professor of Turkic languages who was one of the victims of the Great Purge.

In the midst of a successful academic career, at the age of 44, Çobanzade was arrested by Soviet authorities for alleged subversive activities against the state and was sentenced to death. His writings have outlived him; his poetry, in particular, continues to enjoy popularity among Crimean Tatars.

Çobanzade was born in a family of humble origins in the village near Qarasubazar (Belogorsk) in Crimea. His father was a shepherd (çoban), and his last name means 'son of shepherd.' As a young boy, he helped his father herd the sheep, and these early experiences in the countryside left a lasting impression on the sensitive boy. Many of his poems are replete with descriptions of Crimean pastoral scenes. He received his early education in Crimea and Istanbul. In 1916, he went to Budapest to enroll at the University of Peter Pazmany and received his Ph.D. in 1919. After he returned to Crimea, he taught Crimean Tatar language and literature at the Pedagogy Institute in Aqmescit (Simferopol) and later accepted the chair of Turkology at the Taurida University in 1922. Early in 1925, he moved to Azerbaijan to become professor of Turkology at the University of Baku. He had a remarkable facility with languages. In addition to Turkic languages, he knew Arabic, Persian, Hungarian, Armenian, Georgian, Russian, French, German and English.
In January 1937, Çobanzade was placed on leave without pay by an order of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and subsequently arrested. During a 20-minute trial, he was found guilty and condemned to death. He was executed on 13 October 1937. Twenty years after his his death, in response to an appeal from Çobanzade's wife, a military court of the USSR reversed the decision against him. The court declared that the charges against Çobanzade were baseless.

For more information about Çobanzade and samples of his poetry, see the Web site of the International Committee for Crimea.

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