P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Niyozi, Shavkat M.

Tajik literary critic Shavkat Muhammadovich Niyozi was born into a

family of workers in Samarqand on December 19, 1927. He is the

brother of Foteh Niyozi, a famous Tajik author. He joined the CPSU in

1962.

Niyozi graduated from the Dushanbe Pedagogical Institute in 1948.

From 1948 to 1957, he served as a teacher at the same institute and

contributed articles on literary criticism to journals. In 1957, he became

the secretary of the Tajik literary division of the Union of Writers of the

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Iraj Bashiri

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

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Soviet Union. Then, for a while, he was a Senior Scientific Worker at

the Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of

Tajikistan, and an Assistant Professor at the Lunacharskii State Institute

of Dramatic Arts. Niyozi's research deals with aspects of Soviet Tajik

literature. His contributions include "Nazmi epikii Sovetii Tojik dar

Solhoi Jangi Buzurgi Vatani" ("The Soviet-Tajik Epic Poetry During

the Years of the Great Patriotic War," 1968), "Surudi Chashmasor"

("The Song of the Fountain," 1956), "Rohhoi Taraqiyoti Adabiyoti

Sovetii Tojik dar Solhoi 1954 to 1959" ("Paths of the Development of

Tajik Literature from 1954 to 1959"), and "Oid ba Mas'alai An'ana va

Navovari dar Nazmi Tojik" ("Regarding the Question of Tradition and

Innovation in Tajik Poetry," 1971).

Niyozi joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1959. He

was recognized as a Distinguished Educator of Tajikistan in 1976 and

of the Soviet Union in 1978.