Fitrat and “Abulfayzxon”

Abdurauf Fitrat (1886–1938) was born in Bukhara in 1886; after studying in an old-style school and the Mirarab madrasa, in the early 20th century he studied in Istanbul, where he published the prose works “Munozara” and “Hind sayyohi bayonoti” and the poetry collection “Sayha.” From April 1917 to March 1918 he edited the newspaper “Hurriyat,” published in Samarkand, and from 1921, working in Bukhara, he took the initiative in sending 70 gifted young Turkestanis to study in Germany. In 1923–1924 he taught at the Institute of Oriental Languages in Moscow and Leningrad and wrote the works “Abulfayzxon,” “Bedil,” “Qiyomat” and “Shaytonning tangriga isyoni.” He is the author of the textbook “Adabiyot qoidalari,” the books “Sarf” and “Nahv” and studies such as “Shashmaqom” and “O‘zbek klassik musiqasi va uning tarixi.” Arrested in 1937 on a groundless charge, he became a victim of repression in 1938; in the independence era his work was returned to a wide readership.