Ahmad Javad

Biography

Ahmad Javad Akhundzade was born on May 5, 1892, in the village Seyfali of Shamkir rayon. He got his primary education at home, learnt Turkish, Persian, Arabic languages and Eastern literature. In 1912, after graduating from religious seminary in Ganja, he worked as a teacher and took part in the literary and socio-political life of the city.

During the Balkan war he fought on the side of Turkey in the part of "Caucasian detachment of volunteers". Being a member of the Charity Society he helped orphants and refugees in Kars, Erzurum and in other cities.

In 1916, a collection of Ahmad Javad's poems "Goshma" and in 1919, "Dalga" (Wave) were published.The period Ahmad Javad's activity, who was famed as the poet of independence is related to Mammed Amin Rasulzade. On the proposal of Rasulzade, the poet joined the party "Musavat". The peak of poet's poetry is related to ADR. Ahmad Javad welcomed the declaration of ADR in the poem "Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan!". He glorifies three-coloured flag of Azerbaijan in the poem "To Azerbaijan's flag". After the declaration of ADR the poet continued teaching and helped the minister of ADR-Nasib bey Yusifbeyli in the enlightenment of cultural sphere. He actively took part in the establishment of Azerbaijan University. In the poem "O, soldier!" he glorified Turkish Army, which came to the aid of Azerbaijani people in 1918. After the establishment of Soviet authority Ahmad Javad continued pedagogical activity. In 1920, he worked as the school headmaster and the teacher of Russian and Azeri languages in the village Khulug of Gusar rayon, but from 1920 to 1922 he was Quba rayon's public education branch's manager.

In 1922–1927 he studied in the history and philology department of Azerbaijan's Pedagogic Institute, and simultaneously taught at the technical scholl named after Nariman Narimanov.

In 1924–1926 he worked as the senior secretary of the Union of Soviet Writers of Azerbaijan. In 1925, Ahmad Javad was arrested for the poem "Goygol".

In 1930 he moved to Ganja. From 1930 to 1933 he was a teacher, then the associate professor and the head of a chair of Russian and Azerbaijani languages of Ganja Agricultural Institute. In 1933, Ahmad Javad was conferred on the tytle of professor. Afterwards he headed a literary department of Ganja Drama Theatre.

In 1934, Ahmad Javad returned to Baku, worked as an editor of translation department of "Azernashr" Publishing House. In 1935–1936, he headed the department of documentary films at "Azerbaijanfilm" film studio. In March 1937 Ahmad Javad was awarded the first premium for translation of Shota Rustaveli's "The Knight in tiger skin" into Azerbaijani language. Such works had been translated by Ahmad Javad into Azerbaijani language: A.S.Pushkin's "Copper Rider", M. Gorky's "Childhood", I.Turgenev's proses. European works, such as Shakespeare's "Otello", F. Rabelais's "Gargantua and Pantagruel", K. Gamsun's "Hunger". He was later arrested by the Soviet regime and executed on October 13, 1937, accused of trying to infuse the Musavat spirit of nationalism and independence into young Azerbaijani poets. He became a member of Musavat Party in 1918, and from 1920 to 1923 he was a member of the Central Committee Musavat, for which he was arrested in 1923 and later freed. He was a leader of the Musavat Literature Union called Yashil Galamlar (Green Pens). Ahmad Javad was the victim of Soviet regime of 1937 was one of the many Azerbaijani artists and writers who was imprisoned and killed for having idea that were considered to be dangerous to Soviets.

Yellowed official documents vividly recount the tragedy of his case. From the archives of the former Azerbaijan People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (KGB) come many cases that are absolutely impossible to read without feeling pain in one’s heart.

Case № 12493 is the file of Ahmad Javad Akhundzade, poet, public figure, author of numerous esseys, translator of the world’ classic writers – Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Gorky. On the first page of the case document, there is a reference to May 27, 1937, entered by two officials of the Force Department of the State Security Office-Tsinman and Klementsitsem (both of whom were later convicted for beating, torturing and killing many of Azerbaijan's intellectuals. In his case, there is a photo of prisoner Ahmad Javad, number 1112. The last sentence reads: “The death sentence of Ahmad Javad was executed on October 13, 1937, in Baku”.

The KGB held that he was the member of the Communist Party as well as the government of Azerbaijan Republic and its counterrevolutionary positions. His family was exiled, too.

His wife Shukriya Khanum was questioned in the infamous “ inner jail “ for the first and last time. This innocent woman separated from her children sentenced to eight years in a Siberian Labor camps. As many Azerbaijani women – the wives of progressive minded writers and poets, she didn’t know why her husband was sentenced to death.

Along with Ahmad Javad many other talented literary critics, poets, writers, such as Huseyn Javid, Mikayil Mushfig, Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli, Ali Sabri, Khulufly, Hanafi Zeynally, Hajibaba Nazarli, Bekir Chobanzade, Kazym Alekberli and many intelligencia were repressed in their efforts to spread “strange” and “politically harmful” works.

In December 1955, Ahmad Javad got rehabilitation. His works, such as "Poems" (1958), "Don't cry, I will do" (1991), translations: F. Rabelais's "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (1961), tragedies: Shakespeare's "Otello" and "Romeo and Juliett (1962), poem: Rustaveli's "The Knight in tiger skin" (1978). The documents charged that in addition to being a member of the Musavat Party, Ahmad Javad was a friend of M.A.Rasulzade, the founder of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, as well as the poets Mushfig and Javid.

Ahmad Javad was very talented poet who glorified patriotic ideas, ideas of independence in heis poetry. He artistically described the beauty of his motherland's nature.