Origins of Kabardian Writing System: Baty Lukmanovich Khuranov

Abstract

The article is devoted to outstanding Kabardin educator, first Commissar of enlightenment of Kabardino-Balkaria Baty Lukmanovich Khuranov (1890-1928). On the basis of archival materials the public, state and scientific activities of one of the organizers of the national education of the region are traced. It is noted that B. L. Khuranov made a great contribution not only to the creation of the Kabardian alphabet and writing, but also to the entire national education. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the life and scientific activity of B. L. Khuranov are little studied. A bibliography of the works of B. L. Khuranov is inaccurate. In particular, B. L. Khuranov is credited by many researchers with “The Grammar of the Kabardian language,” while he is not its author. The novelty of the study lies in the elimination of these significant shortcomings. The author claims that B. L. Khuranov is at the origins of the national writing as the author of the first approved Kabardian alphabet on the Latin graphic basis. It is proved that B. L. Khuranov was a talented organizer of the national education of the region. The conclusion is made about the importance of reissue of B. L. Khuranov’s scientific works. The author hopes that the memory of this public figure will be immortalized in the name of one of the streets or schools in his ancestral village.