P rominent t ajik f igures of the

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ment of ideas thus far either ignored by other Tajik authors or not

within their grasp. Other themes in Tursunzoda's poetry include the
plight of women and the life of simple Soviet workers.
Tursunzoda was the recipient of the State Award (1948), the Lenin
Award (1960), the Rudaki State Prize (1963), the Jawaharlal Nehru
Prize (1968), the Lenin Komsomol Prize (1971), four Orders of Lenin,
three Orders of Red Banner of Labor, two Badges of Honor, and many
other accolades.
Tursunzoda died in Dushanbe on September 24, 1977. He is buried
on a hillside just outside the city proper, alongside a number of other
prominent Tajik authors and poets of the Republic.
Tuyboeva, Sofia
Tajik actor Sofia Erjonovna Tuyboeva was born in Kazalinsk,
Kazakhstan, on January 30, 1913.
Tuyboeva began her career in the mid-1920s in Bukhara. Between
1929 and 1931, she performed as an actor at the Hamza Dramatic
Theater in Tashkent. In 1931, she became a performer at the Lahuti
State Academy of Dramatic Arts. Tuyboeva's real talent as a performer
became apparent in the mid-1930s. She was particularly instrumental in
creating the characters of strong women. For instance, she played
Julietta in Romeo and Julietta (Romeo and Juliet), by W. Shakespeare,
1947; N. K. Krupskaya in Tufon (The Storm ), by Gh. Abdullo and Sh.
Qiomov, 1957; and similar roles.
In 1934, Tuiboeva began performing roles in motion pictures. Her
created roles include Mehrinisokhola in Man bo Dukhtari Vokhurdam (I
Met a Girl, 1957); Bonu in Qismati Shoir ( The Lot of the Poet, 1959);
Saidabonu in Vaqti Zangirii Pisaram Rasid (It Is Time for My Son to
Get Married, 1960); Modari Jalil in Zumrad (Zumrad, 1961); and
others.
Tuyboeva was recognized as one of the founders of the Tajik Na-
tional Theater. She became a People's Artist of Tajikistan in 1941. A
major contributor to the training of future Tajik artists, she was the re-
cipient of the Order of Lenin and three Orders of the Red Banner of
Labor. Tuyboeva passed away in 1996.

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