Socio-political satire of Abdurrahman Kadrizadeh: language, style and thematics. 2025

This study examines the literary and artistic distinctiveness and social significance of A. Kadrizadeh's satire, focusing on this prominent early 20th-century Crimean Tatar writer. The research addresses a significant gap in scholarship, as Kadrizadeh's satirical legacy remains understudied despite contributions from scholars such as Z. Dzhavtobeli, I. Kerimov, Sh. Yunusov, and N. Abdulvapov. By analyzing little-studied sources, this study offers a comprehensive understanding of Kadrizadeh's creative trajectory and his contribution to Crimean Tatar literature. Employing a comparative-historical methodology, the analysis of Kadrizadeh's work, alongside that of his contemporaries, illuminates the sociopolitical and cultural landscape of Crimea and traces the development of modern Crimean Tatar literature. This work aims to analyze the language, style, and thematic concerns of Kadrizadeh's socio-political satire. The research utilizes his satirical poems published in newspapers and magazines (1917–1930’s), and critically examines little-studied manuscripts written in Arabic script. The analysis reveals an evolution in Kadrizadeh's language, from a complex, archaic style to a simpler, more colloquial one. This stylistic shift reflects a broader trend in contemporary Crimean Tatar literature: a move towards greater accessibility and popular appeal, abandoning bookish archaisms in favor of lively colloquial speech, thereby aligning with oral folk traditions. Kadrizadeh masterfully employs traditional Crimean Tatar literary techniques – folk sayings, aphorisms, admonitions, curses, dialectisms, and references to historical events and figures – to create parodies, pamphlets, and caricature sketches reflecting the socio-political realities of his time. His reinterpretations of Ivan Krylov's fables within a Crimean Tatar context highlight the interplay between European literary traditions and indigenous techniques and genres. This research significantly contributes to the field by illuminating a previously under-researched aspect of Crimean Tatar literature, offering a nuanced understanding of satire's role in the socio-political life of Crimea.

Keywords: satire, parody, journalism, Crimean Tatar literature, authorial personality, cultural integration

Abstract source: journals.udsu.ru