Sergey Davidovich Izgiyayev (‹See Tfd›Russian: Сергей Давидович Изгияев; Hebrew: סרגיי איזגיאייב; born 24 November 1922 – 27 July 1972) was a member of the Union of Soviet Writers, the author of nine books of poetry and five plays, the translator and creator of lyrics for more than thirty songs (nine of which were produced by Moscow's firm Melodiya on Gramophone records).[1] He was of Mountain Jew descent.
Sergey Izgiyayev was born in Myushkyur, a village located south-east of the town of Derbent, in the Republic of Dagestan, on the river Gyul'gerychay. Its modern name is Nyugdi. His parents, Dovid-Haim and Leah, had seven children, including three sons and four daughters. Sergey Izgiyayev was the only one of the parent's three sons to live to adulthood. His brother Hizgie, when he was a child, accidentally fell into a flamed tandoor oven, and burned to death. His other brother Gadmil died of typhoid fever in his early teens. His sisters Sariah, Mazaltu, Tirso and Shushen survived to adulthood.[2]
Sergey Izgiyayev with wife Sarah 1968-69
Sergey Izgiyayev started writing poems as a child.[3] In 1939, the regional newspaper Red Star (in the language of the Mountain Jews) published a large collection of his poems. Later that year he married Sarah Shamailov (1923-1978). Her contemporaries, men and women alike, thought that she was a beautiful woman.[2] Sergey Izgiyayev dedicated her many lyric poems.[1]
From 1940 to 1946 Sergey Izgiyayev was in the military, where he continued to write and publish in the military press. After demobilization, Izgiyayev went to school and graduated from a Pedagogical College while working at the local radio station. In 1947, Sergey Izgiyayev participated in the first congress for young writers in Dagestan.[3] In the early 1960s, he earned his MA in education. From 1961 he served as the chairman of a collective farm (kolkhoz), and was the head of the department of culture of Derbent District Executive Committee, among other leadership positions. In 1963, Sergey Izgiyayev was accepted to the Union of Soviet Writers.[3]
In addition to poetry, Sergey Izgiyayev wrote stage plays for the Judeo-Tat Theatre. He translated poems and plays from Russian, Avar, Azerbaijani, and other languages into his native Mountain Jew’s language, Juhuri. He also translated the libretto of Uzeyir Hajibeyov's opera Layla and Majnun, and poems by Mikhail Lermontov, Suleyman Stalsky, Gamzat Tsadasa, Rasul Gamzatov and other poets. His second major work in translation involved a poem in Avar called (Juhuri:«Буьлуьнде астарегьо». 1968.)[4] - High Stars written by a national Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov. Izgiyayev's son David commented on this in an article:[1]
"My father was friends with Rasul Gamzatov, who repeatedly visited my father at a party, but I particularly remember his visit with Murat Kazhlaev (composer of Dagestan), to finalize the book to print…"
About thirty of Sergey Izgiyayev's poems became songs. David, his son, wrote:[1]
"Daddy's songs, especially Gyulboor, are still sung by people in Russia, Israel, America and Europe…"
Izgiyayev dedicated many poems to his wife Sarah, one of them was To the beloved that written by him while still the groom. A poem Daughter Sveta he dedicated to his youngest daughter.[1]
Izgiyayev died on 27 July 1972 and was buried at the Jewish cemetery in Derbent.[1]
Family
The eldest son Rashi (1947-2009) died in Derbent. The other children Leah (Lisa), David, Ruspo (Rosa), Svetlana and grandchildren live in Israel.
Books
During Izgiyayev's lifetime, five book collections of his poems and plays were published. Those included:
(Juhuri:Иму гъэлхэнд шолуминим) - We are the defenders of the World (1952)[6]
(Juhuri:МэгIнигьой жовони) - Songs of Youth (1959)[7]
In 1959, along with many other poets, Sergey Izgiyayev published his poems in a literary anthology (Juhuri:Сесгьой жовонгьо) - Voices of the Young.
Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov was a Russian poet who wrote in Avar. Among his poems was Zhuravli, which became a well-known Soviet song.
Dagestan, officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Federal District. The republic is the southernmost tip of Russia, sharing land borders with the countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia to the south and southwest, the Russian republics of Chechnya and Kalmykia to the west and north, and with Stavropol Krai to the northwest. Makhachkala is the republic's capital and largest city; other major cities are Derbent, Kizlyar, Izberbash, Kaspiysk, and Buynaksk.
Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature and rabbinic literature. Medieval Jewish literature includes not only rabbinic literature but also ethical literature, philosophical literature, mystical literature, various other forms of prose including history and fiction, and various forms of poetry of both religious and secular varieties. The production of Jewish literature has flowered with the modern emergence of secular Jewish culture. Modern Jewish literature has included Yiddish literature, Judeo-Tat literature, Ladino literature, Hebrew literature, and Jewish American literature.
"Cranes", first performed in 1969, is a famous Russian song about soldiers who did not come back alive from battles. The song was composed by Yan Frenkel on translation of poem by Rasul Gamzatov and performed by Mark Bernes.
The Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991), abbreviated as Dagestan ASSR or DASSR and also unofficially known as Soviet Dagestan or just simply Dagestan, was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union. This "Land of Mountains" was known also for having a "mountain of peoples," with more than thirty ethnic groups indigenous to the territory. This region was absorbed in to the Russian Empire in 1813 after the signing of the Treaty of Gulistan, and subsequently became a breeding ground for early revolutionary fervor in the Russian Revolution due its people's discontent with being part of the empire.
Shapi Magomedovitch Kaziev was a Russian writer, playwright and script writer. Avar by ethnicity, he was the author of historical novels and other books.
Hizgil Davidovich Avshalumov was a Soviet novelist, poet and playwright. He wrote in languages of the Mountain Jews (Juhuri) and Russian. He was awarded the Suleyman Stalsky award. He was a USSR Union of Writers member.
My Dagestan is a book written in the Avar language by the Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov. The book does not belong to any specific genre but is a work of poetry, prose and criticism.
Mushail Mushailov was a Soviet/Russian artist and teacher of Mountain Jewish descent. He was a member of the USSR Union of Artists and Israel. He was also a laureate of the State Prize of the USSR.
Zoya Yunoevna Semenduyeva was a Soviet and Israeli poet. She wrote in a language of the Mountain Jew (Juhuri). She was a member of Dagestan Writers' Union.
Judeo-Tat literature is the literature of the Mountain Jews in the Juhuri language.
Daniil Atnilov was a Soviet poet of Mountain Jew origin. He wrote in a language of the Mountain Jew (Juhuri). He was a USSR Union of Writers member.
Mishi Bakhshiev was a Soviet writer and poet of Mountain Jew origin. He wrote in languages of the Mountain Jews (Juhuri) and Russian.
Boris Gavrilovich Gavrilov was a Soviet writer, poet, dramatist and teacher of Mountain Jew origin. He wrote in a language of the Mountain Jews (Juhuri). He was the founder of the Mountain Jews school. He was a compiler of the first grammar, textbooks and dictionary in Judeo-Tat.
Manuvakh Dadashev was a Soviet poet of Mountain Jew origin. He wrote in a language of the Mountain Jew (Juhuri).
Mikhail Gavrilov was a Soviet writer and poet of Mountain Jew descent. He wrote in Judeo-Tat and Russian. Mikhail Gavrilov held the title of Honored Worker of Culture of Dagestan.
The Judeo-Tat Theatre in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia specializes in staging plays with themes related to the lives of Mountain Jews, which are created mainly by Mountain Jews. The plays are performed in the Judeo-Tat language (Juhuri).
Abram Borisovich Avdalimov was a Soviet, Russian folk singer, stage actor and theatre director. Honored Worker of Culture of the Dagestan ASSR (1967). Co-founder of the Judeo-Tat theatre in Dagestan. He made a great contribution to the development of Dagestan culture.
Gamzat Tsadasa was a Avar poet from Dagestan. He is the father of famous Russian writer Rasul Gamzatov.
The Jewish community of Derbent, a city in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, is the oldest in the North Caucasus and dates back to the 7th century. A large influx of Jewish immigrants occurred during the Russian Civil War (1917-1923). Most Derbent Jews immigrated from the mountain and steppe villages of the northern Caucasus.
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