“Modernized Tukay” as a Symptom of the Era: Ideological and Aesthetic Discussions on the Translation of Tatar Poetry in the 1950s–1960s

Abstract

The article analyzes Russian translations of Gabdulla Tukay’s poetry in the context of Soviet translation practice of the 1950s–1960s. Based on the publications of S. Bakhtiarov, S. Lipkin, R. Mustafin, and V. Ganiev, it is shown that the image of Tukay in Russian-language culture was formed within a stable normative approach oriented toward the canon of Soviet lyric poetry and the ideological ideas of the era regarding the “correct” reading of national classics. As a result, translation often led to the modernization of the original, the smoothing over of historical contradictions, and the loss of national-historical specificity. Two main trends are identified: the desire to “adapt” Tukay to the Soviet poetic tradition and, conversely, to emphasize his national exotica. It is shown that it was the combination of these approaches that formed the image of the “modernized Tukay”. The conclusion is drawn that this image arose not as a result of individual translation errors, but as a result of a stable, ideologically fixed translation practice.

For citation: Sibgatullina A.T. “Modernized Tukay” as a Symptom of the Era: Ideological and Aesthetic Discussions on the Translation of Tatar Poetry in the 1950s–1960s. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2026, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 125–142. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2026-16-1.125-142 (In Russian)