Tatar holiday in St. Petersburg, Sergiev Posad, Domodedovo, Moscow region

12.07. 2018

Sabantuy: from Atilla to the President

In the era of globalization, cosmopolitanism and mass mankurtism (alienation from national values) for the Tatar nation, the Sabantuy holiday became the main and probably the last single lever of influence on the Tatar youth for education in the native Tatar traditions. Sabantuy is the Tatar people: their culture, soul, strength, hopes and aspirations. No event, no national holiday is able at this level to collect the Tatars together. It is Sabantuy – the last support, the leverage of the national youth policy, the awakening of love for the native culture, language. Coordinator of the “Headquarters” of the Tatars of Moscow Gulnara Rinatovna Yarullina, uniting more than a thousand Tatars and Tatarstanians in the Russian capital, visited the main Tatar festival in St. Petersburg, Sergiev Posad, and Domodedovo, Moscow Region.

Sabantuy steps on the planet

It is gratifying to note that Sabantuy is walking around the whole planet Earth. Tatars celebrate the holiday,  in Turkey, and in America, and in Canada, and in China and other expanses of different continents. This year the festival will be held in 58 regions of Russia and 30 countries of the world with the support of the World Congress of Tatars. I, as a native of Tatarstan, rejoice that Sabantuy is organized large-scale in  Moscow, as well as in other cities of Russia. After the war, the Moscow Sabantuy has been revived   by  the Tatar patriots under the leadership of the leader of the «Vatan» movement, Mukhammad Minachev. In recent years, Muhammad often communicated with the Tatar youth in the “Shtab” and regularly repeated: “Sabantuy gives a great impetus not only to the gathering of the Tatars, but also to the revival of the Tatar traditions as a whole. We have  fulfilled our mission by reviving Sabantuy. We pass the baton to your trusty hands. ” We are very grateful to our aksakals for their work and we are trying to continue the traditions with dignity, attracting young people to national projects.

I am sure that Sabantuy is the Tatar people with their culture and traditions. And today, more than ever, it is necessary to spend more and more productive Sabantuy. When there are no Tatar schools, the number of speakers of the native language is reduced, culture is lost, Sabantuy remains the only lever of influence on youth, the inculcation of national values. Therefore, we must give all the forces to attract the younger generation to the Maidan Sabantuy. For example, in last year’s Moscow Sabantuy, the director of the Tatar house at  the Patriarshikh, Ildar Umirovich Khaliulin, organized the regatta for the first time, where numerous teams of Tatar youth took part. By the way, the first place was taken by the command of the “Shtab” of the Tatars of Moscow.

Raising the image of Sabantuy – dividends to the Tatars!

Within a week we visited Sabantuy in Sergiev Posad, St. Petersburg and Domodedovo. Of course, Sabantuy of  St. Petersburg Tatars was held on a grand scale. We hope that the holiday will help the Tatars of the northern capital to preserve their language and traditions. This year is a special holiday: Sabantuy is 105 years old. Hospitable hosts  of the Tatar and Bashkir farmstead treated the guests with dishes of national cuisine, mastership was taught, and danced offered to their favorite folk music. The Tatar village was built by representatives of the Elabuga district of the Republic of Tatarstan, under the leadership of its head Gennady Emelyanov.

I would like to say a few words about the Moscow regional Sabantui in Sergiev Posad, which was held by the national-cultural autonomy of the Tatars of the Moscow region and its permanent leader Farit Mukhtasarov. Sabantuy in Sergiev Posad, of course, was prepared, like a real Tatar holiday. I would like to express my gratitude to Tatarstan and personally to President Rustam Minnikhanov for the assistance provided in the regional Sabantuy. Traditionally, this year Tatarstan was represented by Laishevsky district. We are very grateful to the district administration and head Mikhail Afanasyev for the huge support of the regional Sabantuy. We also express our gratitude to the leader of the Novoshishminsky district of Tatarstan for their support of the Sabantuy in Domodedovo. They brought artists and organized a Tatar household.

The Tatar autonomy of the Moscow Region under the leadership of Farit Mukhtasarov certainly conducts a vigorous activity in the direction of revival, awakening of the Tatar nation. But why did not we see the deputies of the State Duma from Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, or representatives of the scientific, cultural community of the Tatar people on Sabantuya? Where are they, our deputies, writers, singers?

Let’s all support the regional Sabantuy and make it at such a level that Sabantuy will be visited by the governor of the Moscow region himself. It’s time to think about holding Sabantuy in all the cities around Moscow. There is something to think about for our regional leaders. For example, attracting children and adolescents to the Tatar holiday remains an unresolved problem. It is also necessary to work with Bashkirs and representatives of Bashkortostan. It is necessary to ensure that the Bashkir farmstead is put on Sabantuy, the Bashkir collectives performed. Let us unite on the basis of our common holiday. If Sabantuy passes at the highest level, then we will be respected. And these are bonuses for dividends to Tatars in all spheres.

In general, the Tatar language should become the state language of Sabantuy! Also, on the Sabantuy it is necessary to involve the Turkic communities under the slogan “One people of one country”.

Tatar Olympiad or Attila to the President

Historical science says that Sabantuy was initiated by the ancestors of the Tatars – the Huns during the time of the legendary ruler  Atilla. But then the holiday was not of a cultural nature, but was organized for military training purposes. Our ancestors – the Turkic nomads wrestled (koresh), conducted horse races and other types of military training. Of course, all this today has become a cultural one, and  turned into a national holiday. Sabantuy is a real Tatar Olympiad. As I said earlier, unfortunately, the Tatar holiday has not acquired an international profile, it does not have numerous fans, like the football championship. And if you think about it, the Tatar “koresh” (fight) can be held at the level of the football championship. To do this, the koresh  needs to be promoted at the international level and achieved success.

The Tatars have always been a state-forming nation, patriots of our great homeland, defenders and builders of a beloved country. And it is very symbolic that today the Tatar holiday Sabantui has become an international holiday, bringing together people of different nationalities and religions for the holiday. And I have one dream – to see our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin at the Tatar Sabantuy holiday. He already took part in the celebration, giving value to our holiday. I’m sure Sabantuy will certainly acquire an international scale if Sabantuy’s visit to the Russian president becomes a tradition. This will be a great honor for the Tatars of Russia and the all-Russian Sabantuy holiday.

Gulnara Yarullina, Moscow