Ähmätzäki Välidi Tugan
Ähmätzäki Välidi Tugan | |
---|---|
Date of Birth | 10th December 1890 |
Place of Birth | Kuzyanovo, Bashkortostan, Russian Empire |
Age at start | 72 |
Nationality | Bashkir |
Role | President of Bashkortostan |
Political Party | Bašǩort Milli Häräkäte
Bashkir National Movement (BMH) |
Ideology | Social Nationalist |
Ähmätzäki Välidi Tugan (Bashkir: Әхмәтзәки Вәлиди Туған; born 10 December 1890) is the current head of state of Bashkortostan.
In-Game Description[edit | edit source]
The story of Ähmätzäki Välidi Tugan, or merely Zeki Velidi Togan as was more known abroad, is, in many ways, reflective of the Bashkir history in the 20th century - the formation of identity in the youth, the upheaval in the days of the Russian Civil War, a shameful detachment from the heritage, and, finally, a second chance to prove himself. A descendant of the Muslim clergy, Välidi became known as an accomplished Turkologist scholar and researcher of the Bashkir nation in the later days of the Russian Empire. In those days, he started his political activity on the behalf of the Russian Muslim community and advocate of the Bashkir autonomy. Following the two Russian Revolutions, Välidi became one of the most popular spokesmen for the Bashkir nationalism. Initially cooperating with the Bolsheviks, believing their promises to break the Tsarist prison of the peoples, he later realized that behind their slogans hides the great Russian chauvinism that oppressed its little nations since the emergence of the Tsar's power. Driven away from Bashkortostan, he continued to struggle against the autocratic Soviet power together with the Basmachi movement in Central Asia, but to no avail. Forced into exile, detached from his roots, Välidi continued his intellectual labor abroad, keeping the Bashkir intellectual tradition alive even far away from the home. As the independent Bashkir Islamic Republic was proclaimed in the chaos of the West Russian War, few people expected that Välidi will ever become a relevant person in the chaotic Bashkir politics, if the younger generations could ever remember his name. How wrong were they! The journey from Turkey to the middle of the conflict-ridden Russia was not an easy task. His contributions were acknowledged in his motherland and he found no problem to rise as the Bashkir national leader in the time of the greatest challenge to the Bashkir and Muslim sovereignty in their own lands.