Ісмаїл Ґаспринський

Activities: Culture, Politics
Date of Birth: August 6 (18), 1836 (Note: historically, March 8 (20), 1851)
Date of Death: November 29 (December 12), 1900, Kyiv (Note: historically, September 11, 1914)
Navigator: The Long 19th Century

Ismail Gasprinsky was one of the most famous educational reformers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His ideas influenced the development and implementation of the national education reform.

In the second half of the 19th century, a new figure appeared on the historical horizon, who pushed the Crimean Tatars towards renewal, enlightenment, and national awakening — Ismail Gasprinsky. He became a symbol of the revival of Turkism, change, and the rejection of old dogmas and stereotypes for the Crimean Tatar people.

Gasprinsky was one of the most famous educational reformers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His ideas influenced the development and implementation of the national education reform. And most importantly — Gasprinsky dedicated his life to the synthesis of traditional spirituality with the achievements of European culture, achieving outstanding success in this field. He was one of the few who shaped the national intelligentsia of his time, from which the intellectual elite of the Crimean Tatars later grew.

Ismail Gasprinsky was born on March 20, 1851, in the village of Avcıköy near Bakhchysarai into a family of Crimean Murzas — nobles by origin. He studied both in a madrasah and in a secular gymnasium, later obtained a philological education and began teaching. But Crimea seemed too small for him — he was attracted by the world, big ideas, and new horizons.

The young Ismail set off for Paris, full of ideas and plans. His knowledge of languages — Arabic, French, Russian — came in handy. In Paris, the young man immersed himself in the intellectual atmosphere, attended lectures at the Sorbonne, and became acquainted with progressive European ideas. In 1874, he embarked on a journey through North Africa and the Middle East, visited the Ottoman Empire: here he perfected his knowledge of the Turkish language, studied the education system, and gained a deeper understanding of the history of the Turkic peoples.

In 1876, Gasprinsky returned to Bakhchysarai, got a job as a teacher, and married for the first time. Already then, he had a dream to create the first Crimean Tatar newspaper in Crimea. He was supported by his father-in-law M., an educated and wealthy man. With his father-in-law’s money, Ismail acquired equipment for a printing house and was able to finance the publication of his first literary work.

Gasprinsky participated in the elections to local self-government bodies and on March 5, 1879, received the position of city mayor. However, the publishing business turned out to be unprofitable, funds were constantly scarce, so at this time he asked his father-in-law for money once again. The latter refused. A family scandal erupted, which ended in the dissolution of the first marriage. But Ismail did not give up his educational ideas.

Despite the divorce and social prejudice, this period turned out to be happy for Gasprinsky. The new mayor of Bakhchysarai “lit” the first lamps in the city, opened a hospital for the common people and a theater, and also tripled the city budget. He succeeded in getting the authorities to increase the legally restricted quota for Crimean Tatars in local self-government bodies, took care of the sanitary condition of the city and the development of public education. Five years later, Gasprinsky, leaving the post of city mayor, had the idea of publishing his own newspaper — but the authorities refused him.

A ray of new hope was the acquaintance with the daughter of a manufacturer, Zuhra Akchurina — an educated girl, in whom Ismail saw a like-minded person. She became not just a wife to him, but a loyal companion. And when on April 10, 1883, Gasprinsky received permission to publish a newspaper, the young couple immediately set to work; however, the imperial authorities allowed publication only on the condition that the newspaper would be bilingual: published not only in Crimean Tatar, but also in Russian.

Thus was born “Terjiman” (“The Interpreter”) — the main brainchild of Ismail Gasprinsky, a periodical that later became a legend. However, providing for it financially was extremely difficult, even with the support of patrons. Zuhra sold all her jewelry and invested the proceeds into the business. In the beginning, she and Ismail did everything themselves: manually turned the flywheel of the printing press, typeset and sorted newspapers, carried them to the post office, glued stamps, and mailed them to readers.

The newspaper gradually gained popularity, its circulation grew. While the first issues of the weekly had a circulation of only 320 copies, in subsequent years the newspaper’s circulation grew to 20 thousand, and publications became more frequent: eventually, it became a daily. The editorial office received many letters of gratitude — especially from the youth.

“Terjiman” remained the only Turkic-Crimean Tatar newspaper for a long time. It is not difficult to imagine the enthusiasm of the Turkic peoples of the empire, who for the first time received a periodical in their native language. The newspaper, which covered problems of culture and education, was eagerly awaited in all corners of the Russian Empire. In addition, it was bought by readers from Turkestan, Romania, China, France, Switzerland, Iran, Egypt, Bulgaria, and even the USA. Gasprinsky himself believed that his newspaper was more popular among foreigners than among his compatriots — but he was mistaken: Crimean Tatars avidly read the publication and passed the newspaper from hand to hand, carefully preserving the copies worn by time. It was then that Gasprinsky thought of organizing a subscription to the publication.

Subsequently, the family began to publish supplements to “Terjiman”. Gasprinsky’s printing house printed the weekly newspaper “Millet” (“The Nation”), the magazine for women “Alem-i Nisvan” (“The World of Women”), the magazine for children “Alem-i Subyan” (“The World of Children”) in the Crimean Tatar language, as well as the humorous publication “Ha-ha-ha!”. In 1886, advertising appeared on the pages of “Terjiman” for the first time — the “Announcement Sheet”.

Gasprinsky managed to combine spiritual tradition with secular education, to create the first public space for discussion among the Turkic-speaking peoples of the empire. On the pages of the newspaper, his talent was revealed not only as an editor, but also as a publicist and writer. He himself supported talented people. Thanks to “Terjiman”, readers discovered many Crimean Tatar writers, poets, and future politicians.

From issue to issue, Gasprinsky expressed the idea of the equality of Muslim women, believing that they needed the exact same rights as men. In his opinion, “a well-read, educated ten-year-old girl is more useful than a boy of the same age, because a girl is a future mother and the natural, first teacher of her children.” This was not a simple theory: thanks to Gasprinsky’s efforts, schools for girls were established in Crimean cities.

In 1903, Zuhra died. His son Refat and 17-year-old daughter Shefika joined the publishing work, and the father later entrusted his daughter with managing the magazine “The World of Women”. The popularity of the magazine increased even more after that.

Ismail Gasprinsky’s educational role is invaluable. He made maximum efforts to reform the system of public education of the Crimean Tatars, leading the new-method pedagogical movement — the transition from confessional to national-secular education. He and his like-minded associates managed to build a promising, clearly thought-out structure of national education: mekteb (primary school) — mekteb-rushdiye (secondary school) — madrasah (higher school, university). Gasprinsky opened the first new-method educational institution in Crimea back in January 1884; he himself taught there using his own textbook. In 1909, the enlightener initiated the construction of a new two-story building of the Zinjirli Madrasah, where they also taught according to the new method.

In 1910, for achievements in international education, educational activities in Europe and Asia, as well as the search for ways of tolerant relations between different peoples, the French magazine “La Revue du Monde Musulman” nominated Ismail Gasprinsky for the Nobel Prize. In 1911, he was elected chairman of the Central Committee of the Turkish party “Accord and Progress”.

Gasprinsky traveled extensively around the world, speaking in the media of different countries and promoting his new educational method. He was also known as a writer — the author of popular novels and novellas “Arslan Qiz”, “A Hundred Years Later”, “African Letters”, and “French Letters”.

Ismail Gasprinsky died on September 11, 1914, from tuberculosis, leaving a will to bury him next to the Zinjirli Madrasah. This request was fulfilled. The entire intelligentsia of Crimea accompanied the enlightener, writer, and publisher on his last journey. Later, the men’s teacher training seminary in Bakhchysarai and the women’s teacher training seminary in Simferopol would be named after him.

Gasprinsky’s work was continued by his children, in particular his son Refat. His eldest daughter Hatice Gasprinska became a delegate to the first Kurultai of the Crimean Tatar people in 1917. Shefika Gasprinska was also a political figure, and also a companion of Noman Çelebicihan.

During the Soviet period, Gasprinsky was accused of Pan-Turkism and Pan-Islamism. They tried to erase his name from history, and his grave was demolished. Only in 1999 did the Crimean Tatars manage to restore the tombstone.

Ismail Gasprinsky was a reformer without a mandate, a leader without an army, but his word outlived the empire. He believed: “To be strong, one must be educated. To be educated, one must have one’s own language, one’s own school, one’s own newspaper.” And this he gave to his native people.

Author: Gulnara Abdulaeva