P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Tabarov, Nur

Tajik intellectual and journalist Nur Muhammad Tabarov (with the

occasional penname of Afsar) was born in Kofarnihon on July 15, 1941.

He received his elementary education at the Middle School #1 Named

after Krupskaya, in the Kofarnihon region. He is considered to be one of

the best, if not the best journalists in present-day Tajikistan. He joined

the CPSU in 1969.

Tabarov graduated from the Tajikistan State University in 1962 with

a degree in language and literature. In 1976, he graduated from the

Academy of Public Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist

Party of the Soviet Union. Between 1962 and 1968, he served as the

Chief Editor of Javononi Tojikiston. He was a reporter for the Moscow-

based Komsomolskaya Pravda from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1974,

Tabarov served as the Chief Editor of the Russian version of Javononi

Tojikiston. Between 1988 and 1990, he served as the Minister of Edu-

cation of Tajikistan and the Director of International Relations of the

Ministry of Education of the Republic.

Tabarov has authored a number of works dealing with Tajik culture,

which include, Rohhoi Dur va Nazdik (Far and Near Roads, 1977) and

In Bahor Chi Miovarad (What Will This Spring Bring? 1983).

As a playwright, Tabarov has made several contributions including

Shikori Divon (Hunting Demons), Parvozi Vopasin (The Last Flight),

Kafshhoi Abulqosim (Abulqosim's Shoes), and Dar Chorsu (At the

Crossroads). This latter play, which created a commotion in Tajikistan

when it appeared in 1986, was staged at the Lahuti Academy of Dra-

matic Arts, as well as at the Ashkabad, Bukhara, Khujand, and Kulab

Theaters. Additional contributions include Qismat (Lot, 1997), Tars

(Fear, 1998), and Payomi Zardusht (The Message of Zoroaster, 2001);

all were staged at the Lahuti Academy of Dramatic Arts. Okharin

Vagon (The Last Wagon, 2001) was staged at the Russian Theater

Named After Mayakovskii.

Tabarov joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1983. He

is the recipient of the 1981 Lahuti Union of Journalists of Tajikistan

Award, as well as the 1991 Ostona Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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