SEVENTY - SECOND HALF (1976 - 1979). Sharaf Rashidov and literature
Sharaf Rashidov always amazed the audience with his speeches. The clear structure of his narrative, subtle delivery of proverbs and even recited poems – all distinguished him as an excellent speaker. He was so much so that, according to his assistant Shabshay, some wondered how much of the text in Sharaf Rashidov's speeches was actually his. Some mistakenly believed that assistants entirely made up all his reports.
But the assistants admit that the power of these reports was not in their hands – they composed any text according to a clear speech plan prepared by Sharaf Rashidovich himself. To his assistant Lazar Shabshay and his speechwriter Zhukov, he always told them where to find theoretical and factual materials for a report, helped them draw conclusions and set tasks, and even clarified which proverbs and sayings should be included in the text.
LAZAR SHABSHAY, IN HIS ADDRESS TO SHARAF RASHIDOVICH, RECALLED: "OFTEN YOU TOOK OUT SMALL SHEETS OF PAPER FROM YOUR JACKET POCKET, THICKLY COVERED WITH YOUR SMALL HANDWRITING, WHERE THE ESSENCE, CONTENT AND ORIENTATION OF THE DESIRED DOCUMENT WERE SUMMARISED WITH IMPECCABLE CLARITY. I OFTEN WAS AMAZED AT HOW SUBTLY YOU, AN UZBEK WRITER, USED THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE. YOU IMMEDIATELY FELT EVEN THE SLIGHTEST STYLISTIC ERROR, INACCURATELY OR INAPPROPRIATELY USED RUSSIAN WORD, AND QUICKLY FOUND A SYNONYM."
The secret of Sharaf Rashidov's impeccable Russian was in his boundless love for literature. Answering a question about his literary preferences, he wrote: "Among the Russian writers of the 19th century, I gratefully remember a number of glorious names, from Alexander Pushkin to Lev Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. And yet I am particularly fond of Ivan Turgenev, who captivates me with his sincere lyricism, love of nature and skills in sculpting images. Insarov, the protagonist of his novel The Day Before, is one of my favourite heroes. I also learned a lot from Nikolay Gogol."
Sharaf Rashidov also read classical Russian literature for a deeper knowledge of his people. He believed that the entire spiritual practice of the Uzbeks was not only embodied in the best examples of their Eastern culture but also closely connected with the Russian classics.
Sharaf Rashidovich considered the creations of Alisher Navoi to be the greatest examples of the classics of the East. He knew his works by heart and often quoted them. Paradoxically, the immortal lines of Navoi, written 500 years ago, often helped Rashidov to talk about modernity.
In those years, Aesop's language – allegories that deliberately masked the author's thoughts was very popular. It formed through prohibitions to speak openly about some negative phenomena. For example, even Rashidov, a candidate for Politburo, could only hint at the decay of some of the party nomenclature in his speeches. And Navoi's lines helped him – he used the verse format to express his viewpoint.
