Kosta Khetagurov, whose biography arouses the undisguised interest of admirers of the work of true talent, is an artist and sculptor, poet and enlightener, the pride of Ossetia, the founder of the language and literature of this country. Costa's creative heritage received worldwide and all-Union recognition in the 20th century, and his poems and poems have been translated into many languages.
Biography of Kosta Khetagurov briefly: for children
Born on October 15, 1859 in the mountain village of Nar in the family of the Russian ensign Khetagurov Levan. Mom Maria Gubaeva died almost immediately after childbirth, the father, five years after the death of his wife, started a family with the daughter of a local priest. Unfortunately, she did not succeed in replacing her mother with a child because of a lack of love for her step-mother. Kosta felt this and always tried to escape from his father’s new wife far away, to someone from relatives.
Therefore, in the work of the poet, in whose memory there was forever an orphan pain and a childhood devoid of maternal affection, the image of the mother and the painful longing for her are often found. Both parents were completely replaced by the father, whom Costa revered and idolized.
Costa Khetagurov: years of knowledge
The boy’s training began with the Narva school, and then the gymnasium in Vladikavkaz, which gave a good start to the moral, psychological and aesthetic formation of his artistic personality.
Soon, Costa escaped from the gymnasium to his father, who at that time had moved to the Kuban region, where he organized the village of Georgievsky-Ossetian (now named after Khet Khetagurov). This act prompted the parent to arrange a young man at the Kalanzhinsky school, after which Kosta studied at the Stavropol male gymnasium for 10 years since 1871, where his cultural development continued. It was here that the first poetic lines were written, of which only two works in the Ossetian language have survived to date: New Year and Husband and Wife.
In native Ossetia
In 1881, Kosta Khetagurov, whose biography and work are an integral part of the history of the Ossetian people, became a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and received one of two scholarships paid from the city’s penalties to the Kuban Regional Administration. After 2 years, the payment of scholarships by the Kuban authorities was discontinued; for some time Costa attended lectures by a volunteer, then completely abandoned his studies.
The young man, all the while longing for
his native land, native cultural and linguistic elements, decided to return to Ossetia. Until 1891, he lived in Vladikavkaz, wrote, mainly in Russian, poems and poems, worked as a painter and painted theatrical scenery. Kosta Khetagurov, whose biography is a good example of love and respect for his people, even exhibited his canvases together with Russian artist Babich A.G. He also arranged musical and literary evenings, and since 1888 he was published in the regional newspaper "North Caucasus".
Censorship vs Costa
Like all talented people, Costa had to deal with censorship. For the first time, the feeling that he was writing something forbidden came to the poet when a poem dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Lermontov was not allowed to print. It was published later, ten years later and anonymously.
The censorship reaction is quite clear: in Lermontov, the poet saw the harbinger of coveted freedom, raising people to fight for an honest and great cause. After all, the Ossetian reality of that time was simply terrible: complete lack of rights and poverty, moral and social conflicts, spiritual depression of the people and ignorance, wandering from century to century. The poems “The Weeping Rock”, “Before the Court”, “Fatima”, and the ethnographic essay “The Person” were devoted to assessing contradictions and analyzing the surrounding reality. In 1891, for freedom in the work of Kosta Khetagurov (a biography is summarized in the textbooks of Ossetia) he was sent out of his native land for 5 years.
Costa was forced to return to the village of Georgievsk-Ossetia, where his elderly father lived. Perhaps the most difficult period in the life of the poet began: he had to look after an elderly parent, put up with the existence and life of a simple peasant, thrown out of the usual social environment and not able to apply his talent and accumulated knowledge to any worthy cause.
A difficult period in the life of the poet
In personal life, not everything went well either: the matchmaking for Anna Tsalikova, a beloved girl, ended in a polite refusal. The father of the poet died. After his death, Costa Levanovich Khetagurov, whose biography has always been associated with creativity, moved to Stavropol. In 1893 he became an employee of the newspaper "North Caucasus", where he worked for 4 years. This was a time characterized by the active creative activity of the Ossetian author, therefore it is precisely these years that can rightfully be considered a significant step forward: from an unknown amateur poet Kosta Khetagurov became a significant literary figure of his time.
In 1985, a collection of his works was published in the newspaper: they were all in Russian. Kosta Khetagurov, whose biography is cognitive for a generation of all ages, also wrote in his native Ossetian, but poems in this language were not allowed for publication due to the absence of Ossetian book publishing and the press as such.
Costa Khetagurov: biography briefly
Soon, the poet fell ill with tuberculosis, survived two operations, remaining after them for almost six months bedridden. The disease was not finally defeated, health was undermined, but Costa, despite physical difficulties, tried to actively participate in literary life and continued to paint.
In 1899, Kosta Khetagurov, whose biography is closely connected with the culture of the Ossetian people, went to Kherson - another place of exile. He did not like the city, and he asked for a transfer to another place, which Ochakov became. It was here that he became aware that a collection of his Ossetian poems, the Ossetian Lyre, was nevertheless published in Vladikavkaz. In the winter of 1899, the poet was notified of the end of the exile, and therefore returned to Stavropol, eager to resume work in the newspaper: his journalism became more problematic and acute. The author takes an active part in all cultural and educational events of a local scale, is engaged in painting, works on the poem “Khetag”. The plans include opening a drawing school for gifted children and working as an editor in the newspaper "Kazbek". However, the disease prevented his grandiose plans, finally bedridden the poet. Since Costa practically didn’t have any money (sometimes he had to ask friends for bread), and his well-being worsened, the poet, who required care and thorough care, was taken to the village by her sister. Under her supervision, he lived another 3 years; in this difficult period, Costa was no longer able to return to his usual creative activities.
The poet died on April 1, 1906. Subsequently, his ashes were transported to Vladikavkaz.
Creative heritage of Kosta Khetagurov
Only after the death of Kosta Khetagurov did it become clear that a person of extraordinary character, talent and courage had left, leaving behind a significant creative legacy. In his works, written in Russian and Ossetian, Kosta Khetagurov, whose work was highly appreciated by his followers, opposed the oppression of the peoples of the Caucasus and defended their national dignity. He appealed to fellow countrymen with the idea of familiarizing with the creative heritage of the people of Russia, was an adherent of fraternal unity of the peoples of both countries.
Kosta Khetagurov, whose full biography is full of mostly tragic moments, was also an Ossetian professional painter; in his paintings he showed with great skill the life of an ordinary people, painted landscapes of the mountain Caucasus and portraits of the best representatives of his time.
Main reward: the love of the people
The object of close attention of numerous researchers was the creative and social activities of the great poet. He erected monumental monuments in the capitals of South and North Ossetia, he was named after the main North Ossetian State University - the main university of the republic. Costa is named after settlements, streets, ships, museums and state awards. Kosta Levanovich Khetagurov, whose biography is a great pride for the Ossetian people, deserved the most important award: his inexhaustible love.