Tatar theatrical art is a unique part of world culture of the 20th century, worthy of special attention.
On December 22nd, 105 years ago, Tatar theatre was born. Tatar theatre, which was the first art to arise for these Turkish people, today has a rich history, with many high achievements and glorified figures.
In this history great merit goes to the founding father of Tatar theatre, the director and actor Gabdulla Kariev.
May 8, 2011, marked the 125th anniversary of the birth of Gabdulla Kariev, the founder of the first Tatar professional theatre. He completely devoted his brilliant life to the development of culture and art for Tatar people and has become famous as the founder of national theatre.
Gabdulla Kariev created an actor's school with graduates such as Kasim Shamil, Gulsum Bolgarskaya, Zaini Sultanov, Fatima Ilskaya, Shakir Shamilski, Halil Abzhalilov and other Tatar actors.
The next bio-bibliographic directory is dated according to two significant dates: the start of the Tatar professional theatre and the 125th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Gabdulla Kariev. It consists of biographic materials, memoirs about Kariev, and some articles about his life and creativity. In the directory there are verses and stories devoted to Kariev, a photo-archive with photographic materials about his life and creativity, and a bibliography. There is a separate section titled, “Tatar Theatre at the Crossroads of an Epoch.”
The directory is in Tatar, Russian and English languages.