On the Development of Historical Novel Genre in Kazan Tatar Literature

Abstract

First studies on Tatar history, literature and literary science started at the early 20th century. The historicity trend in the Soviet ideology period is limited to works involving revolution and wars in the 20th century. The openness and democratic developments in history with the name 'Khrushchev leniency' in the 60's partly alleviated the ideological pressure on literature and arts. The start of excavation works on the ancient lands where Bulgars lived directed scientists of letters towards new searches. The new process firstly started with the novel of Nurihan Fettah named İtěl Suvı Aka Torur (1969). Afterwards, especially in the 80's, many novels, which not only uncovered the significant historical periods of ancient Tatar peoples but also reevaluated political revolutions and wars in the 20th century, individuals who made a mark in history and historical events such as famine and kolkhozification, were written. Considering that the development of the Tatar historical novels has almost never been studied as a whole in Turkey until now, in our study, we will provide information on the formation of the Tatar historical novel, the research status of this genre, authors working on historicity and their novels. Tatar historical novels published in the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century will be presented based on the periods they reflect and the historical events they focus on. Finally, the classification of historical novels into different subgenres based on their topics, literary style and their interpretations.