Petr Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively for IAA "Vestnik Kavkaza"
A creative evening dedicated to the outstanding Azerbaijani writer Chingiz Guseynov, who recently celebrated his 85th birthday, has taken place in the Central Russian Library of Jerusalem.
Contrary to expectations, not only natives of Azerbaijan came to the meeting with the favourite writer, but from many other CIS countries – Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan. And regardless of their country of origin, all the speakers noted that in the 70-90s of the last century Huseynov's prose played a huge role in shaping their attitudes and understanding of the spiritual and social processes that took place in Soviet society, and eventually led to its collapse. Congratulatory messages to the birthday hero from various CIS countries, and also from the USA and Canada, were also read out. An extraordinary warm message came from the outstanding Uigur writer Isroel Ibragimov living in Bishkek, whose first book was published in 1980 by the Soviet Writer publishing house thanks to Chingiz Guseynov's efforts. The poet Mikhail Salman read a poem devoted to the birthday hero in which he noted extraordinarily precisely the main trait of his creativity – intolerance of any lie, injustice or falseness.
The writer, performing before those gathered, noted that as a whole he continued the traditions of great Russian literature which, owing to historically-developed circumstances, was always a literature of protest.
"Almost all my books were also born out of a protest against these or those phenomena or tendencies," the writer explained his thinking. "For example, the novel Fatal Fatali was written at first in Russian as a protest against concealment in the former USSR of the truth about the colonial policy of Russia. My novel about Prophet Mohammed was born as a protest against attempts by a number of Armenian writers and politicians to present the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict asb a conflict between "progressive Christians and Muslim barbarians". A similar transfer of the conflict from the military-political to the religious plane was categorically unacceptable for me, and a similar attitude to Islam offended me to the depths if my soul, as Islam gave to the world no less cultural wealth than the same Christianity," the writer said.
In recent years, the writer noted, his life has proceeded in a Baku-Moscow-Jerusalem (where his adopted son's family lives) triangle, and all these three cities and three countries are equally dear to him.
"If I ever write a book about Israel," Chingiz Gasanovich added, "it also will be generated by a feeling of protest – a protest against the unfair world's attitude to the Jewish state, a protest against the hatred the world feels for the country and the people.”
In summary, it should be noted that at the age of 85 Chingiz Guseynov, no doubt, remains one of the biggest not only writers, but also intellectuals of our time, and the hall listened to him with bated breath. According to rumours, the master is now intensively working on a new book, and admirers of his huge talent look forward to its publication.
