Suleyman Rustam

In 2006, Azerbaijan issued a stamp in commemoration of Suleyman Rustam’s life and works.

Following his death, a plate was posted in Baku in his memory.

Rustam was born on November 27, 1906, to a blacksmith family in Novxani village, about 20 km outside Baku and just off the coast of the Caspian Sea.

He initially studied at a Russo-Tatar school, where he developed an early interest in literature and pedagogy, counting M. Vezirov, R. Tahirov and A. Israfilbeyli among his inspirations.

During his early school years, he attributed much of his early interest in literature to the encouragement of Suleyman Sani Akhundov, his headmaster.

At the time of the Russian Revolution, he changed from the Russo-Tatar school to the Baku Electric Technical School.

Upon reaching the university age, he enrolled first at the Baku State University, eastern faculty, where he studied alongside poet and dramatist Jafar Jabbarly, composer A. Badalbeyli and historian V. Khuluflu. They were taught by writer and politician Abdurrahim bey Hagverdiyev among others.

In 1927, his first collection of poems titled “From sadness to happiness” was published - it dealt with patriotic and military themes.

In 1929, he switched from Baku State University to Moscow State University, where he studied in the faculty of literature and arts.

From 1937, he worked as a chairman of Azerbaijan State Academic Drama Theatre.

Between 1939 and the early 1940s, he wrote his novel, ‘Qachaq Nebi’, which was an expansion and commentary on the folk proverbs about the folk figure, Qachaq Nebi.

In 1927, Rustam published his first work, ‘From sadness to happiness’, dedicated to Komosol and the courage of soldiers.

In 1933, his poem ‘A good comrade’ highlighted the theme of the cotton farmers in the Mugham steppe, adopting a romantic tone to extol their impressive feats of intense work.

In 1940, his poem ‘Romanticism of a night’ was published, furthering Rustam’s romantic presentation of collective effort and the spiritual riches of shared industry.

In 1942, his poem ‘Mother and a postman’ won widespread attention, recounting the story of a mother waiting for news of her son at the front lines.