P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Rabiev, Muhammad
Tajik author and playwright Muhammad Rabiev was born into a
merchant family of Samarqand on May 2, 1913. He joined the CPSU in
1941.
Rabiev graduated from the Dushanbe Labor Institute in 1934. Soon
after, he joined the Khorugh City Theater Company as an actor. Be-
tween 1941 and 1945, he participated in the war effort. After the war, he

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worked at the Ministry of Education of Tajikistan and at Kino Studio

(TajikFilm). He was the Director of the Aini Opera and Ballet Theater
between 1957 and 1960. His plays, which deal with historical and
revolutionary themes, include Du Gul (Two Flowers, 1941); Sahvi
Rustam (Rustam's Error, 1948); Sa'odat (Good Fortune, 1949); Dilbar
(Ravisher, 1954); Shuhrati Nik (Good Reputation, 1956); Gulhoi Kanori
Shahr (Flowers on the Outskirts of Town, 1963); and Oftob Baroiton
Miros Ast (The Sun Is Your Heritage, 1965). A selection of his best
pieces was presented in Naqshi Zindagi (The Design of Life) in 1984.
Rabiev joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1963. He
was decorated with many medals. Rabiev died in Dushanbe on May 20,
1983.
Rabi'i, Sa'dullo
Tajik poet Sa'dullo Rabi'i was born in Varzob in 1883. He received
his early education in Hissar. Early in life, influenced by the poetry of
Mirzo Bedil and So'ib, he began composing verses which he eventually
published as a collection entitled Hisori 'Ishq (The Love Barrier, 1920).
The volume consists of some 200 ghazals, 30 marsiyyas, 32 mukham-
mases, 11 ruba'is, and 2 stories. He also left an incomplete story in
verse that consists of 1183 verses.
His other works include "Berigod" ("Brigade," 1932), "Moskva"
("Moscow," 1935), and "Qalami Man" ("My Pen," 1985).
Rabi'i joined the Union of the Writers of Tajikistan in 1934. A
victim of Stalin's purges in Central Asia, Rabi'i died in 1939.