The poet and philosopher was one of the best sons of his people and a staunch supporter of Soviet power. This did not save him. The old sage was separated from his homeland, accelerating his death.
This talented man wrote about what his people lived. In his rhymed lines, borrowing the form of ancient religious works, he expressed new ideas consistent with his time. He lived according to the covenants of his ancestors, but did not deny himself the freedom of thought.
Childhood
Kyazim was born in 1859. His family lived in the village of Shiki in the Hulamo-Bezengi Gorge. The boy's father worked as a blacksmith and made good money. Our hero from childhood was not distinguished by good health, when he began to walk, everyone noticed that the baby was limping. There was no question that he would inherit the profession of a parent.
House-Museum of Kyazim Mechiev
The unfortunate child did not become a kind of curse - he allowed Mechiev Sr. to realize his dream. The master did not know the letter and did not have the time to master it. When he asked his son if he wanted to learn book wisdom, he took his father’s idea with enthusiasm. It was decided that this boy would receive an education and become a theologian. At an early age he was sent to study for effendi, who prepared the boy for admission to the Lesken madrassah. In a religious school, a teenager perfectly mastered the Arabic, Turkish and Persian languages, learned more about Islam.
Youth
Returning home, Kyazim Mechiev pleased his father - he got stronger, a slight limp practically did not bother him. The young man began to help his father, took up any work. Fellow villagers admired a skilled blacksmith. He did not become a clergyman. The fellow countryman passed on his duties to the fellow countryman, in his free time he gave lessons to everyone who wanted to learn to read and write. A good deed helped to arrange a personal life - Kyazim fell in love with one of his students and took her as a wife.
A public educator met Chepelleu Effendi, who was his like-minded person. This man also taught. Among the books that he offered to his students, there were not only classics of the theological sense, but also works with secular subjects. A new friend prompted Mechiev to the idea that he could describe his romantic feelings for his young wife in verse. Kyazim wrote down his lines in his native Balkar language in Arabic letters, making a significant contribution to linguistics.
Illustrations to the works of Kyazim Mechiev. Artist Alexander Glukhovtsev
Together with the people
Having a spiritual education, Kyazim Mechiev was a devout person. In 1903 he made the hajj - pilgrimage to Mecca and in 1910 he repeated his journey. At home, he studied sacred texts and collected the folklore of his native land, which formed the basis of his works of authorship. The pundit also had time to raise children - there were 14 of them in the family.
Kyazim Mechiev. Artist Boris Gudanaev
Life in the poet’s hometown was not cloudless. The utter indifference of the authorities to the needs of the highlanders, exorbitant taxes and social tension within society, because of the huge number of ancient prejudices, put pressure on everyone. Mechiev found this state of affairs unfair from the point of view of the Qur'an and ordinary human logic. In his work, he preached humanism and called for a struggle against injustice.
During the revolution
Resistance to autocracy in the native Kyazim Mechiev region led the nobility. The people unanimously welcomed the overthrow of the king, and then the paths of different estates diverged. The aristocracy was pleased with the results of the February Revolution, the end of the war to the Balkar nobles, many of whom served in the army and waited for high awards and ranks, was not profitable. Ordinary people were on the side of the Bolsheviks, which caused strife.
Kyazim Mechiev found much in common between his ideas and Marxism. The famous Caucasian philosopher was not afraid to talk about it. His sons fought in the ranks of the Red Army. In 1919, his father received mournful news - one of his descendants, Mohammed, died in battle. In 1922, the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Region was created. The proletarian biography of Kyazim Mechiev and his progressive views suit the new government, he was awarded the title of People's Artist of the KBASSR. The poetry of the Caucasian philosopher was published in a separate edition in 1939. Mechiev himself was very sorry that in his youth he had not studied Russian so as to independently make translations that would be available to all citizens of the USSR.
Presentation of Kyazim Mechiev membership card of the USSR Literary Fund
