THE POSITION OF EDITOR AT THE NEWSPAPER KIZIL UZBEKISTAN BECAME A GREAT HELP FOR SHARAF RASHIDOV IN HIS LITERARY ACTIVITY
It was during this period that he began working on his first major prose work – the story The Victors. The story is based on such important events and phenomena in the life of Uzbekistan as the struggle against waterlessness and the victory of workers armed with modern technology over the elements of nature. The main theme of The Victors is the formation of the character of a working man in this struggle. The heroes of the story cultivate the virgin land, conquer the forces of nature and bring spring to the wild steppes.
The new irrigation system suggested the watering of large plots 10-20 hectares or more in area instead of smaller ones 1, 5-10 hectares, which had been irrigated with the help of small canals earlier. This would make it possible to apply a modern irrigation system, use machines and mechanisms more efficiently, reduce non-productive water costs, and increase labour productivity.
As a result, all this was supposed to contribute to the restoration of acreage, which was reduced during the war. But the conservatives considered these measures a utopia and preferred not to risk, leaving everything as it was.
Sharaf Rashidov was well aware of the situation in the agriculture of the republic, which was why he devoted his first novel to this topic. In The Victors, the main characters – Komsomol activist girl Aykiz and her lover, communist and war veteran Alimjan – acted as innovators: they wanted to block the Altynsai River with a dam, build a reservoir and use it to water the Golodnaya Steppe. These plans were opposed by the chairman of the collective farm Kadyrov – a man who had fallen behind life, proud of his past successes.
The Victors were warmly received by the people, because they saw themselves in the main characters: Aykiz symbolised an Uzbek girl from a new generation – brave and decisive, and Alimjan was like hundreds of Uzbek men – proven in battles and persistent in decisions.
The conflict of the old and the new was the main core of Soviet literature at those times, but in Uzbek literature Sharaf Rashidov was among the discoverers of this topic.
Before The Victors, a collection of journalistic works, The Verdict of History, was released – Sharaf Rashidov was awarded his first Order of Lenin for this book and his active work in the Writers' Union of Uzbekistan.
