Rabit Batulla

Born on March 26, 1938 in the village of Tübən Olıcı in the Zəy district of the Tatar ASSR in a family of teachers, but he grew up with his grandfather and considered Şıqmay to be his native village. During World War II, the boy's father spent three years as a prisoner of war in Germany. Later, he faced imprisonment and was listed by the NKVD. Due to these circumstances, the boy's parents lost their land and were fired from school, ultimately resorting to working on a collective farm. Robert, too, became accustomed to physical labor from a young age and continues to identify himself as a villager with a middle-class nobility upbringing. 

In 1956, he along with two school friends pursued his passion for the performing arts by enrolling in the acting faculty of Moscow's M. S. Shchepkin Theater School, earning his diploma five years later. After completing his studies, he initially worked as an actor at the Kamal Tatar Academic Theater but soon developed a keen interest in directing. In 1963, he was appointed as the director of the Kazan Puppet Theater, and he also took on the role of director at the editorial office of the Kazan Children's Studio of Television. Three years later, he pursued further education in the Higher Directing Course in Moscow. In 1969, Batulla founded a theater of satire, and held the position as its principal director for the next 17 years.  

It was during this period that his enthusiasm for literary creation began to flourish, leading him to write plays, scripts, and stories, primarily for children. He adopted the Tatar variant of his childhood name as his pen name (Irabit), which translates from Arabic to "leader" or "great." 

In 1968, Rabit Batulla became a member of the Writers' Union of Tatarstan, solidifying his position as a writer. In 1977, he returned to Moscow with the goal of attending the Higher Literary Courses at the Literary Institute named after M. Gorky. Following his graduation in 1979, he embarked on a teaching career at the Kazan Theater School. 

In 1966, his literary journey took a significant step with the publication of his first book, a short story titled "İsemem minem Dürtküz" ("My name is Dürtküz"). His plays, including "Töş waqıtında moğciza" ("Magic in the afternoon", 1966), and "Quray uynıy ber malay" ("A boy plays a kuray", 1970), were performed in various cities across the Soviet Union. His books, such as "Uylarımnı keşe belsen" ("Let people know my thoughts", 1969), and "Taşlamam, cankisəgem" ("I will not leave you, darling", 1980), gradually gained popularity among readers due to their compelling plots and subtle humor. 

During this period, Rabit Batulla faced challenges with governmental authorities. His story "Murtaza," depicting the Tatars' struggle for liberation after the capture of Kazan in 1552 by Ivan the Terrible's troops, drew mixed reactions from the party government leadership. In 1970, he sent two telegrams to Brezhnev — one requesting permission to establish a magazine for young Tatar writers and the other expressing his protest against converting the Asimov Mosque into a hostel. As a consequence, he found himself on a government blacklist, leading to rejections from publishing houses, editorial offices of newspapers, and magazines. Only after Perestroika his works got published again.

Nevertheless, in 1979, Batulla completed literary courses in Moscow and continued writing. He also began teaching at the theater school and the Institute of Culture in Kazan. In 1953, he earned another diploma in higher education from Moscow University of Culture and Arts. 

Batulla proved himself as a writer on an epic scale. In the story "Yul buyında zəñgər çəçək" ("A forget-me-not by the roadside", 1990) the problems of modern youth are raised. The novel "Söyembikə" (1992; translated into Russian in 2001) is based on the tragic fate of the last xanbikə (ruler) of Kazan. 

Rabit Batulla is also notable for his translation of the Quran into the Tatar language (2000). 

In more recent times, Batulla served as a television presenter, reading fairy tales and conducting dance lessons for children on air. In 2014, his novel "Biyü cene qağılğan yeget" served as the basis for the biographic movie "Rudolf Nuriyev. Rudik," portraying the childhood and youth of ballet dancer Rudolf Nuriyev. Batulla co-wrote the screenplay and made a brief appearance in the film, while his son Nurbək Batulla played the lead role. 

In 2023, Rabit Batulla, Roza Xəyrullina, and Yunus Tairov starred in the leading roles of the movie "Yədəş! İstə!" (Beri da pomni) depicting village life involving a grandfather, grandmother, and grandson. The younger son of the writer, Baybulat, co-authored the screenplay and directed the film. Notably, Nurbək, the elder son, portrayed a secondary character. 

The film, partially based on real-life experiences, Rabit and his wife Ruzia serving as prototypes for the grandparents, who grapple with the challenges of aging. Baybulat Batulla struggled to find an actor for the role of Rasim until he proposed to his father to basically portray himself. The film was shot in the Tatar language and released in movie theaters with Russian dubbing or in the original with subtitles. Interestingly, the production took place in the same village where Roza Xəyrullina used to collect beetroots during her school days.