P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Prominent Tajik Figures of the Twentieth Century

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Life of Sadriddin Aini: Both A High Mountain and a Magnificent City,

1983), Taqvimi Rohgum (The Misguided Calendar, 1989), and others.
Kuhzod joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1975.
Kurbonmamadov, Khushqadam
Tajik poet Khushqadam Buniodovich Kurbonmamadov, also re-
ferred to as Shirin Buniyod, was born into a farming family in the vil-
lage of Rijist in Shughnon, Badakhshan, on December 14, 1941. He
joined the CPSU in 1976.
Kurbonmamadov graduated from the Tajikistan State University in
1973. For several years, he was the Acting Director of the Drama
Theater of Khorugh. In 1980, he became the Director of the Education
Division of Badakhshoni Sovieti journal. His first poem appeared in
1965. His contributions include Bomdod (Morning, 1982), and Zartiq
(Golden Sword, 1984).
The main themes of his compositions are the joy in contemporary
life, a praise of the endeavors of the founders of the new society, a glo-
rification of the efforts of the soldiers at the front, and an homage to the
artists and creators of the physical and spiritual contributions to modern
Soviet society.
Kurbonmamadov joined the Union of the Writers of the Soviet
Union in 1983.

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L
Lahuti, Abulqosim
Iranian-born Tajik poet Abulqosim Lahuti was born on December 4,
1887, into a family of shoemakers in Kirmanshah, Iran. Influenced by
the contemporary social consciousness stemming from the demands of
the workers for a better life, he published his first work at the age of 16.
It was entitled "Masnaviye Ranjbar" ("An Ode to the Worker"). Soon
after that, he joined the revolutionary groups.
After the establishment of the constitution, he found employment in
the gendarmerie. In 1914, on charges of the execution of a major local
figure without acquiring permission from higher authorities, he was sen-
tenced to death by hanging. He fled to Turkey. Soon after, he clandes-
tinely returned to Kermanshah and established the worker's party. In
1918, he accompanied the deposed governmental figures to Turkey,
where he established the Pars journal. In 1920, he returned to Iran via
the Azerbaijan border and was pardoned by the governor of Azerbaijan.
After participating in an uprising against the governor who had par-
doned him, he fled Iran for the last time and went to the Soviet Union.
He lived in a number of places in the Soviet Union, including Tajiki-
stan. He joined the CPSU in 1924. In 1925, he came to Dushanbe and
joined the friends of Sadriddin Aini. His poetry, which appeared first in
Baroye Adabiyoti Sotsialisti, was welcomed by audiences and gained
him the position of the founder of Soviet Tajik poetry.
Lahuti's works include on the one hand, a series of love sonnets and
lyrical pieces about love and patriotism and, on the other hand, a num-
ber of ethical and social pieces centered on the theme of revolution.
Their combined impact on Tajik Soviet society of his time elevated him
to the level of the first Persian-speaking Communist poet.
Tajiks, however, know Lahuti mostly for the composition of their
national anthem. Lahuti's other works include "Kovai Ohingar" ("Kaveh
the Blacksmith," 1947), "Qasidai Kremel" ("Ode to the Kremlin,"
1923), and "Toj va Bairaq" ("The Crown and the Banner," 1935). His
collection of poetry, in six volumes, was published between 1960 and
1963.
Lahuti died on March 16, 1957, in Moscow.

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