The poem by Asan Chergeev “Listen to What the Dead Man Says!”. History of publication, reaction of authorities

The purpose of this study is to reveal the dramatic circumstances associated with the publication in 1909 and an attempt to distribute the poem “Listen to What the Dead Man Says!”, the first significant work of Asan Chergeev, a classic of Crimean Tatar literature of the first half of the 20th century. A long-dead venerable Crimean Tatar is the main character and at the same time the narrator in this poem. He suddenly comes to life and, wandering around his native land, becomes more and more depressed by the pictures he sees of the decline and poverty of his people, the destruction of cultural heritage, and the loss of national identity. He prefers death to such a life and returns to the grave. In this way, the author expresses protest against the tsarist policy of oppression, calling for the unity of the people and education. The scientific novelty of the publication lies in the fact that it presents previously unknown details revealed from archival documents, including reports, interrogation protocols and correspondence of the tsarist censorship authorities, which makes it possible to clarify the chronology of events and the context of the criminal case brought against A. Chergeev in 1912 under the conditions of the “Stolypin reaction”. The obtained results showed that almost three years after the publication of the poem, its author was subjected to persistent persecution by the authorities. The examined materials made it possible to trace the stages of persecution of the writer, as well as the publisher, including confiscation of the print run, searches and interrogations. Particular attention is paid to A. Chergeev’s attempts to mitigate his guilt. The poem, despite its fantastic nature, was perceived by the authorities as an anti-government proclamation, which led to the imprisonment of A. Chergeev, interrupted by the amnesty of 1913 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov.