The transfer of information about Muslim urban cultures from the Tatar public discourse to the Ukrainian one in the early 20th century (Ismail Gasprinsky and Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi)

Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi is a Ukrainian author, journalist, and political activist of the late 19th – early 20th century. He is considered one of the most talented representatives of Ukrainian literature. He is known as an elegant impressionist and master of psychological prose. In the 1890’s he spent a total of two years of his life in Crimea. As a result, he wrote the «Crimean series» (three short stories: “In the Shaytan’s Chains”, “On the Stone”, and “Under the Minarets”). Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi's trip to the Crimean Peninsula coincides chronologically with the presence of progressive ideas in the Crimean public discourse. There were passionate supporters of European-style reform in Crimea. One of the leading figures for such movements was Ismail Gasprinsky - a Tatar enlightener and Pan-Turkist. He supported the concept of the modernization of Muslim cultures through the adaptation of some Western elements. Ismail Gasprinsky was convinced of the negative influence of traditionalism on the development of Muslim societies. The content of Kotsiubynskyi's short stories matches the Crimean reality of the early 20th century and Gasprinsky’s narrative considerably. The paper aims to examine Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi's role in the transfer of information about Muslim urban cultures from the Tatar public discourse to the Ukrainian one in the early 20th century.