Background
Ismail Gaspirali was born in currently-abandoned Avci (was renamed "Oknotnichie" in USSR) village, Crimea, Russian Empire.
Ismail Gaspıralı, Gasprinski
publisher writer social figure Cultural figure
Ismail Gaspirali was born in currently-abandoned Avci (was renamed "Oknotnichie" in USSR) village, Crimea, Russian Empire.
Ismail was home-schooled, then he studied at 1st Simferopol gymnasium, followed by eduaction in Voronezh as well as Moscow Cadet Corps. However he didn't finish the studies in Russian Empire. In 1871 he moved to France, and in the period of 1874-1875 he lived and studied in Turkey.
Before his departure to France, Ismail worked as a teacher in a russian elementary school. Upon his return to Crimea, he founded Russian-Turkic bilingual periodical called Tercümān (“The Interpreter”) and worked as its editor and publisher. This periodical was, for quite some time, the only one in turkic language within Russian Empire. Tercümān was closed down in February, 1918. Gaspirali had also assisted with establishment and publishing of other Turkic periodicals (newspapers, magazines).
Considered to be one of the founders of pan-turkism, the idea of unity of all Turkic peoples within Russian Empire. He was among the establishers of jidadism, a method of developing literacy among muslims by widely using phonetics to learn Arabic and Turkic languages. He is the author and publisher of many exercise books utilizing this method.
Gaspirali had advocated the idea of cultural and national unity of all Turkic peoples based upon the unity of "language, thought and act". He believed that education is the way to resuscitate muslim people within Russian Empire.
Besides that, Gaspirali clinged to liberal ideology, the ideas of friendship between Slavic and Turkic peoples and religious tolerance between Muslims and Christians.
He wasn't particularly fond of socialists and their "radical demands".
Quotations: "The largest and most major population of Russia - the Russians - are blessed with a rare trait. They're able to live peacefully among many other peoples. Envy, hostility and malevolence to foreigners are atypical of a common Russian man. This is a good trait, undoubtedly one of those underpinning serenity and grandure of Russia".
