„ ...Per le distese di una baškira libera e selvaggia” la questione tartaro-baškira nella prosa narrativa di Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev

Abstract

Our article deals with the politicization of the so-called tartar-bashkirian issue in some of M. Sultan-Galiev’s short tales. Such an issue was, indeed, functional to back the autonomistic tendencies of tatar-bashkirian people and other muslim subjects of the Russian Empire during the years the latter fell down and civil war broke out. After examining the ideologic phases of Sultan-Galiev’s activity (djadidism 1912–1916; bolshevism 1917–1921; anticolonialism 1922–1925) as well as the specific features of the «tatar-bashkirian issue», we got on to analyze the conceptual basis on which the tatar thinker founded his claim to autonomy for muslim minorities and the preconditions that influenced the themes of his tales. We must take into account that Sultan-Galiev wrote most of his «ethnic-themed» narrative prose in 1912–14, namely when he was swayed by I.Gasprinskij’s djadidism. Obviously, all of the 1912–14 tales (Vse o tom zhe, Sredi Musul’man, Bashkirka, V tumane, Son tatarki, Jabloko razdora) are supposed to show a series of peculiar to djadidism motifs, such as the need of an enlightened islam and the importance of tatar educational system as the only means to preserve tartars from assimilation and civil decay as well. The tales which reflect an overall connection with the aforementioned motifs are Sredi Musul’man and Vse o tom zhe: the depiction of tatar rural masses’ backwardness and the desperate condition of tatar teachers allow Sultan-Galiev to expose the qadimist clergy’s stubborness and the coercive russification of tatar youth. Yet, other tales roughly disclose some ideas of the bolshevik-oriented theoretical phase, too: in particular, we mean the concept of the huge potentiality hidden in oriental peoples for a revolutionary renewal of mankind –such a concept being embodied by the female characters of Bashkirka and V tumane. As for Son tatarki, it could be deemed a representation of tatars’ cultural, civil and politic isolation in tzarist Russia. The years spent in Baku (1915–17) are related to the conclusive dropping out of djadidism, which in the end Sultan-Galiev considered too moderate to compel the russian government to grant any kind of autonomy to muslims. Sultan-Galiev chose the bolsheviks eventually, thanks to their pledges of autonomy to any minority. The commitment to the bolshevic cause drove Sultan-Galiev to give up narrative prose and switch to theoretical articles, which would have been far more fit to cope with the needs of political fight. It was not just a coincidence that Sultan-Galiev wrote his next and last tale, V carstve goloda, in 1921: at that time his relations with the communist party fell into a crisis. In the conclusive part of our article, after examining the reasons of Sultan-Galiev’s disgrace within the Party, we chose to give special attention to V carstve goloda, which could be considered an extremely harsh charge against the policy of war communism and NEP as well. The «tatar-bashkirian issue» narrative prose sheds some light on a neglected side of Sultan-Galiev’s literary legacy. In addition to that, the analyzed tales provide substantial documentary evidence of muslim autonomist ambitions’ failure in the first twenty years of the XX-th century in Russia.