May 7 — the birthday of the great Tatar singer, our outstanding fellow countryman Rashit Vagapov.
Yesterday in Nizhny Novgorod, the memory of the legendary Tatar singer, People’s Artist of the Tatar ASSR Rashit Vagapov — a man whose name became a symbol of Tatar musical culture and an entire era in the history of Tatar art — was honored.
For the Tatars of Nizhny Novgorod, it is especially significant that Rashit Vagapov is a native of the Nizhny Novgorod region. They are sincerely proud of their great fellow countryman and consider it a most important task to preserve his memory and promote his legacy among young people.
In recent years, extensive work has been carried out to immortalize the name of Rashit Vagapov. Thanks to the efforts of the Rashit Vagapov Tatar Culture Foundation, led by our fellow countryman Rifat Akhmetovich Fattakhov, monuments to the singer have been erected in Kazan and Urazovka.
Three years ago in Nizhny Novgorod, on Varvarskaya Street, on the building of the former Tatar Pedagogical College where Rashit Vagapov studied, a memorial plaque to the great singer was unveiled. This work was carried out by the Rashit Vagapov Foundation together with the Regional National-Cultural Autonomy of Tatars of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
It is important to note that this became the first example in the history of Nizhny Novgorod of the official memorialization of a Tatar cultural figure.
Just recently, participants of the 4th “NizhgarForum” — Tatar youth from different regions of Russia — laid flowers at the memorial plaque of Rashit Vagapov in Nizhny Novgorod. And on the singer’s birthday, a flower-laying ceremony took place at the monument in Urazovka.
The name of Rashit Vagapov should resonate even more widely — his legacy must be preserved, promoted, and passed on to new generations. Such great personalities are the pride not only of the Tatar people but of all Russia.
The Tatars of Nizhny Novgorod remember, honor, and are proud of their great fellow countryman — Rashit Vagapov.
Source: Tatar Autonomy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region
