On February 23, a public dialogue dedicated to the memory of Noman Chelebidzhikhan (1885-1918), a prominent public and political figure, writer, poet and spiritual leader of the Crimean Tatar people, will be held in the Treasury of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine.
Noman Chelebidzhikhan is one of the organizers of the first Kurultay, the first head of the government of the Crimean Democratic Republic, proclaimed in 1917, the first mufti of the Muslims of Crimea, Lithuania, Poland and Belarus.
Also known as Chelebi Chelebiev, this is how his name was recorded in official Russian documents. The words of his poem are Crimean. “Ant etkenmen!” (“I swore!”) became the national anthem of the Crimean Tatars.
Chelebijikhan maintained ties with the Ukrainian Central Council. In September 1917, at her invitation, he sent a delegation of 10 people from the Muslim Executive Committee to Kyiv to participate in the work of the Congress of the Peoples of Russia. The Crimean Tatar delegation supported the congress’s decision to transform Russia into a federation of equal republics. Noman welcomed the formation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic.
He showed indecision in the armed struggle with the Bolsheviks and on January 4, 1918, on his own initiative, he resigned from his leadership positions. At his suggestion, on January 10, 1918, Kurultai formed a commission that negotiated with the Bolsheviks on ending the armed struggle in the Crimea. Taking advantage of this, on January 14, 1918, the Bolsheviks unimpededly seized power in Simferopol, arrested Chelebidzhikhan and transported him by plane to Sevastopol. On February 23, 1918, he was shot in the city prison by Bolshevik sailors, and his body was thrown into the Black Sea.
The participants and guests of the event will discuss the contribution of this personality to the formation of the socio-political, intellectual and cultural environment of the era at the turn of the century, and will also try to understand the significance of the Crimean Tatar heritage in the formation of the identity of the indigenous people of Crimea.
As part of the event, visitors will also be able to view a unique collection of Crimean Tatar artifacts of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the formation and preservation of which is connected with the activities of prominent figures of the Crimean Tatar cultural revival.
Speakers of the event:
- Andrii Ivanets, candidate of historical sciences, leading researcher of the National Museum of the Holodomor-genocide, author of the monograph “The First Kurultai: from the Crimean Tatar Constituent Assembly to the National Parliament”, co-author and co-editor of the book “The Crimean Tatar National Movement in 1917-1920 according to the archives of the communist special services” ;
- Nadiya Goncharenko, senior researcher at the Institute of Cultural Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, co-organizer and editor of the “Crimean Tatar Prose in Ukrainian” series at the “Master Books” publishing house;
- Esma Ajieva, head of the board of the NGO “Alyem”, coordinator of the “Senses that unite” project, curator of the exhibition “MIRAS. Heritage”;
- Oleksiy Savchenko, candidate of historical sciences, senior researcher of the National History Museum of Ukraine, curator of the exhibition “MIRAS. Heritage”;
During the event, Alina Bondarenko and Arslan Fazilov will read an excerpt from the work of Noman Chelebidzhikhan “Prayer of Swallows” in Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages.
The event is organized in the space of the exhibition “MIRAS. Heritage” (continues within the framework of the “Senses that unite” NGO “Alyem” project, which is implemented with the support of Switzerland), in partnership with the NGO “Alyem”, the Holodomor Research Institute of the National Holodomor-Genocide Museum and the Institute of Cultural Studies of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine
When: February 23 at 6:00 p.m
Where: Treasury of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, str. Lavrska, 9, building 12 (territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve).
Free entrance.
Maria Kataeva
