The problem of ethnic identification and author`s concept in the historical novel “Tatars” by Güner Akmolla

Güner Akmolla, a representative of the Crimean Tatar diaspora in Romania is an active participant in the modern literary and artistic process. In her novel “Tatars”, which covers the socio-political events of the mid-nineteenth and early second half of the twentieth century, the ethnic picture of the world is artistically reproduced. The urgency of addressing such a problem turned out to be particularly relevant in conditions of exposure to the influence of other cultures, when the isolation of a part of the people from their historical roots began to slow down both in socio-cultural, linguistic relations, and in terms of the development of literature. Turning to folk traditions and rituals every now and then, the author frames her work with proverbs, sayings and parodies, which organically fits into the general compositional and conceptual scheme of the named novel. One of the markers of ethnolinguocultural identification here is the frequent use of the ethnonym(s) “Tatars” (or “Crimean Tatars”). In accordance with historical realities, the center of attraction in the work is Ajin, a charismatic man with leadership qualities who sees his main task in consolidating the people in a foreign country. His children will also be the bearers of these ideas, who in future will take an active part in solving the social problems of compatriots both in the Crimea and abroad.