The truth of life in the works of Ulbashev Ahmadiya
Authors:   The Institute for the Humanities Research – Affiliated Kabardian-Balkarian Sci-entific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Alena М. Sarbasheva 
Published: July 2023

The article examines the literary heritage of one of the founders of professional Balkarian litera-ture, the poet and writer Akhmadia Ulbashev (1905–1965), his traces the stages of life and creativ-ity. Albeit the fate of A. Ulbashev developed dramatically (in 1935, he was arrested and exiled to Kolyma for 20 years on a false denunciation) he reacted sensitive and bold to the difficult circum-stances of life and tragic collisions of the historical era. In his work, a mirror reflection of the pic-ture of the restless time in which he lived was found. The main object of the analysis is his collec-tion of poems “Cherek” (“River”), perceived by the astute reader as a confession about the life of the “punished” author. The title of the book is symbolic: a person’s life is like a river, which “making its way through steep mountains, opens a wide road for itself” (“Chyngyl kayalany talap, zhyryp, // Kesine keng zhol achkhancha ...”). The poet’s work reveals the depth of philosophical reflections on the meaning of life, good and evil, death, freedom, the fate of the people. As seen from the contents of the collection, the thematic range of A.Ulbashev’s lyrics is wide: poems about the fate of the people (“Mingi Tau” (“Elbrus”), “Ullu palakh” (“Big Trouble”)), the nature of the native land (“Chyrpyla” (“Bushes”), “Shaudan” (“Spring”), “Tabiygat” (“Nature”) alternate with philosophical (“Kyadar” (Fate"), “Otun” (“Firewood”), “Sokur kel” (“Blind soul”), “Cherek” (“River”), “Mounds of kimdi?” (“Who is happy”?)) and love lyrics (“Meni syugenim” (“My be-loved”), “Baldyrgan” (“Anis”)). In several works (“Katyn” (“Woman”), “Zhashlag” (“Guys”), “Adam” (“Man”), “Mytyrny zharsiuu” (“The Suffering of the lazy”)) moral issues are being actu-alized. In fables written in the genre (“Beryu” (“Wolf”), “Oyumsuz” (“Unreasonable”), “Tulkyu blah adak” (“Fox and Rooster”), “Kishtik” (“Cat”) and fairy tales (“Mamai blah emegenle” (Mamai and the Monster"), “Indian zhomak” (“Indian fairy tale”)) human vices are exposed. Many of A. Ulbashev’s poetic works are full of aphorisms. The two-lines, capacious in meaning, convey the essence of the author’s thought, containing everyday folk wisdom. The vers-es “Sabiy” (“Child”), “Kiyim” (“Clothes”), etc. abound with moralizing sayings. The central place in the poet’s creative arsenal is occupied by the autobiographical poem “Aliy” (1939-1956), the prototype of the main character of which is the author himself, who survived the unbearable hard-ships of exile life on Kolyma. It reveals the bitter truth of life, praises the unshakable courage, the strength of the hero’s spirit in a distant Siberian exile. The article also examines the writer’s sto-ries (“Seyir uchuu” (“Interesting flight”), “Ege ana” (“Stepmother”)), identifies thematic and ar-tistic features of the works. Because of the research, A. Ulbashev’s persistent striving in his work for a truthful reproduction of reality is noted, which contributed to a deep realism in the artistic coverage of the dramatic fate of a person / people. The work uses historical, comparative methods, the method of literary analysis.