Kasymov, Mukhammedzhan

Born May 9, 1907, in the kishlak (hamlet) of Rishtan, in present-day Altyaryk Raion, Fergana Oblast, Uzbek SSR; died July 5, 1971, in Dushanbe. Soviet Tadzhik actor, People’s Artist of the USSR (1941). Member of the CPSU (1948).

Kasymov studied at the Kokand Pedagogical Technicum and the Tashkent Cooperative Technicum and took part in amateur theatrical performances. In 1931 he joined the company of the Lakhuti Tadzhik Theater in Dushanbe; by the early 1940’s he had become its leading actor. His best roles included Rakhimbek in The Men With the Red Sticks by Ulug-zoda, Allan in A Family’s Honor by Mukhtarov, Salikh-bai in The Landowner and the Farmhand by Khamza, the Town Governor in The Inspector-General by Gogol, and the title roles in Shakespeare’s Othello and King Lear. Kasymov had enormous stage presence, and his art was characterized by emotional expressiveness and sharp character outline. He worked also as a director and appeared in films. Kasymov was awarded two Orders of Lenin, two other orders, and medals.