P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Iraj Bashiri

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

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ment of ideas thus far either ignored by other Tajik authors or not

within their grasp. Other themes in Tursunzoda's poetry include the

plight of women and the life of simple Soviet workers.

Tursunzoda was the recipient of the State Award (1948), the Lenin

Award (1960), the Rudaki State Prize (1963), the Jawaharlal Nehru

Prize (1968), the Lenin Komsomol Prize (1971), four Orders of Lenin,

three Orders of Red Banner of Labor, two Badges of Honor, and many

other accolades.

Tursunzoda died in Dushanbe on September 24, 1977. He is buried

on a hillside just outside the city proper, alongside a number of other

prominent Tajik authors and poets of the Republic.

Tuyboeva, Sofia

Tajik actor Sofia Erjonovna Tuyboeva was born in Kazalinsk,

Kazakhstan, on January 30, 1913.

Tuyboeva began her career in the mid-1920s in Bukhara. Between

1929 and 1931, she performed as an actor at the Hamza Dramatic

Theater in Tashkent. In 1931, she became a performer at the Lahuti

State Academy of Dramatic Arts. Tuyboeva's real talent as a performer

became apparent in the mid-1930s. She was particularly instrumental in

creating the characters of strong women. For instance, she played

Julietta in Romeo and Julietta (Romeo and Juliet), by W. Shakespeare,

1947; N. K. Krupskaya in Tufon (The Storm ), by Gh. Abdullo and Sh.

Qiomov, 1957; and similar roles.

In 1934, Tuiboeva began performing roles in motion pictures. Her

created roles include Mehrinisokhola in Man bo Dukhtari Vokhurdam (I

Met a Girl, 1957); Bonu in Qismati Shoir ( The Lot of the Poet, 1959);

Saidabonu in Vaqti Zangirii Pisaram Rasid (It Is Time for My Son to

Get Married, 1960); Modari Jalil in Zumrad (Zumrad, 1961); and

others.

Tuyboeva was recognized as one of the founders of the Tajik Na-

tional Theater. She became a People's Artist of Tajikistan in 1941. A

major contributor to the training of future Tajik artists, she was the re-

cipient of the Order of Lenin and three Orders of the Red Banner of

Labor. Tuyboeva passed away in 1996.

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