My Tukay, "Israeli military" and "Lenin with a log and... Shurale": 10 pictures from "Chayan"

      The funniest thing in the April issue of the magazine "Chayan" COVER HERE-THERE INFORM A proposal has been submitted to the deputies for the introduction of a "just because" tax and a "what difference does it make" fine. A high-ranking official was found to have an apartment where no money or jewelry was hidden. A test for attentiveness for men has been invented: one stripe – attentive, two – somewhere distracted. Scientists have found that the more educated a person is, the smarter their cockroaches are. A cactus that stood by the computer for ten years began to distribute Wi-Fi. The semiconductor plant has been named after Ivan Susanin. Scammers convinced a deaf-mute citizen to transfer money to a safe account. Larisa Dolina, left without an apartment, wanders around her country houses. Doctors are concerned: today's children walk less than convicts. The Academy of Sciences has updated the list of pseudosciences, which now includes international law. GABDULLA TUKAI – 140 YEARS MY TUKAI My first encounter with the name Tukai happened before I was born. My father, then a young but already talented painter, planned to paint a picture. Its plot was simple. Peasants from his homeland came to visit the sick poet. They sit in a dimly lit room around Tukai lying in bed and talk to him about something. My mother posed for the figure of the poet when she was pregnant with me. Thus, I, not yet born, found myself drawn into the Tukai orbit. Later, when I grew up, the name and image of Tukai fell upon me, like a May downpour, as it did for any Kazan resident. Tukai Street and Tukai Square, the cinema named after him, the Shamil House, where his living conditions were improved posthumously, and the "Bulgar" hotel, where he stayed, monuments and books, paintings and performances, songs to his words. Finally, the Tukai Prize, which every notable figure in the arts dreams of. Kazan breathed Tukai… My grandmother Vasfizhamal Fazylovna Khuzakhmetova, née Akchurina, once mentioned that in her youth she knew Tukai and he visited their home. I didn't believe her. It seemed so incredible: a bronze classic and my grandmother. But it turned out that she remembered him from Uralsk. A small, frail, poorly dressed former student with a squint who also avoided girls… Tukai, as far as I understood, did not make a special impression on a girl from a well-off merchant family. "There were young men who were more interesting," she admitted. For example, the idol of local youth, Kamil Mutygi, who, in my grandmother's opinion, was never fully appreciated. Before her death, she wrote down her memories of Tukai in Arabic script in a blue student notebook. In verse. While working at "Chayan" in the late eighties, I found myself on a business trip to Leningrad. I tracked down the phone number of Lev Nikolaevich Gumilev and, gathering my courage, called him. The reward for my courage was the most interesting conversation with the legendary scholar in a famous communal apartment on Moskovskaya Street. That evening, Tukai's name came up. The conversation turned to the Akhmatova translations, which we are so proud of. Of course, one poetic genius with a Tatar surname translated another! And then Gumilev confessed: "Actually, most of the translations were done by me. They were published under my mother's surname because she, as a member of the Writers' Union, was paid more. And I was then, after another stint in prison, sitting without work…"

      

       And another facet of my Tukai. For us, Chayanists, he is one of us – a colleague in the humorous trade. Tukai, just like us, worked in humorous magazines. He wrote feuilletons, invented captions for drawings, edited incoming materials, argued, was sharp-tongued, loved and valued a joke. Who knows, had he lived another decade, he could very well have found himself among the organizers and regular authors of "Chayan"! Rafael KHALILULLOV (from the book "Scales under the Sign of Scorpio"). LAUGHTER THROUGH THE YEARS CARICATURES WITHOUT A THEME

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       More news about the event:

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       From scientific understanding to living tradition: the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences has released a directory of Tukai Prize laureates

       The Institute of Tatar Encyclopedia and Regional Studies of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences has published a directory of Tukai Prize laureates from 1958 to 2026.20:54 26.04.2026 Tatarstan Academy of Sciences - Kazan

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       In Yelabuga, the 140th anniversary of Gabdulla Tukai was celebrated in the updated square named after him

       On the birthday of the great Tatar poet, April 26, the updated square named after Gabdulla Tukai in Yelabuga turned into the main festive venue of the city.20:38 26.04.2026 Novaya Kama Newspaper - Yelabuga

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       Choruses, Tatar music, and a fair: the "Min tatarça söyläşäm!" event took place in Kazan Kremlin

       A gala concert of the "Min tatarça söyläşäm!" ("I speak Tatar!") event, dedicated to the birthday of Gabdulla Tukai, took place today in the courtyard of the Kazan Kremlin.20:37 26.04.2026 Business Online - Kazan

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       Minnikhanov proposed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Gabdulla Tukai at the federal level

       During the solemn ceremony held at the Galiaskar Kamal Tatar State Academic Theater,20:31 26.04.2026 Zainsk-inform - Zainsk

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       GTRK "Tatarstan" began airing a ten-part film about Gabdulla Tukai

       Returning to the main theme of the release – the Day of the Native Language and the 140th anniversary of Gabdulla Tukai's birth.20:22 26.04.2026 GTRK Tatarstan - Kazan

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       Address by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov on the occasion of the Day of the Native Language and the 140th anniversary of the birth of the great Tatar poet Gabdulla Tukai

       "Dear Tatarstan residents! Dear compatriots! I sincerely congratulate you on the Day of the Native Language and the significant event – the 140th anniversary of the birth of the great son of the Tatar people, the genius poet Gabdulla Tukai!20:21 26.04.2026 Ministry of Culture - Kazan

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       The laureates of the State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan named after Gabdulla Tukai in 2026 have been determined

       On the Day of the Native Language and the 140th anniversary of the birth of the great Tatar poet Gabdulla Tukai, the awarding ceremony took place at the Galiaskar Kamal Tatar State Academic Theater as part of the festive concert.20:21 26.04.2026 Ministry of Culture - Kazan

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       Minnikhanov proposed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Gabdulla Tukai at the federal level

       During the solemn ceremony held at the Galiaskar Kamal Tatar State Academic Theater,20:10 26.04.2026 Zainsk News - Zainsk

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       The 150th anniversary of Gabdulla Tukai is planned to be celebrated at the federal level

       A solemn ceremony dedicated to the Day of the Native Language and the 140th anniversary of the birth of the great Tatar poet Gabdulla Tukai took place at the Galiaskar Kamal Theater in Kazan.19:28 26.04.2026 Novaya Kama Newspaper - Yelabuga

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       The Kazan Circus conquered Budapest with the performance "Miras"

       The Kazan State Circus performed in Western Europe for the first time in four years – and immediately to a full house.19:28 26.04.2026 Novaya Kama Newspaper - Yelabuga

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

       The Kazan Circus opened its European tour with a performance about Tukai's legacy

       The shows in Budapest will last until the end of September 2026.

      The Kazan Circus presented the national Tatar fantasy performance "Miras" to a full house in Budapest.19:26 26.04.2026 Almetyevsk RTV -