The history of the study of the dramaturgy of the Karachay and Balkar peoples

Abstract

This article examines the historiography of Karachay-Balkar drama, its development as an independent scholarly field, its chronology, key trends, and the contributions of scholars who have studied it. Scholarly works emphasize that Karachay-Balkar drama is an important field in literary, theater, and art studies of the peoples of the North Caucasus. It is noted that national theater and performing arts, reflecting the historical and cultural identity and worldview of the people, played a significant role in shaping their historical consciousness and awakening their national spirit, and have also been studied from the perspective of a new scholarly paradigm. Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, Karachay-Balkar drama developed under the influence of Soviet ideology. During this period, a large number of plays appeared that glorified the ideas of the new society and the working man. At the same time, it is emphasized that themes of national identity and cultural heritage were transmitted indirectly. In the period following independence, drama received a new impetus: central themes became national identity, the restoration of historical justice, the fate of the people, questions of cultural continuity, and their artistic embodiment on stage. The formation and development of Karachay-Balkar drama, its artistic genre, thematic, and ideological features in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, have also become the subject of scholarly research. The connection between the origins of Balkar drama and folk oral tradition and epic traditions, as well as the reflection of folklore motifs in stage works, are analyzed in detail. The plot models of heroic songs and folk tales formed the basis of the first dramatic works, shaping their ideological and aesthetic foundation. Furthermore, it is shown that Karachay-Balkar drama, in its artistic exploration, linguistic structure, and theatrical approaches, developed in harmony with the literary traditions of related Turkic peoples. The article also notes that in recent years, young researchers and literary critics have been examining contemporary Karachay-Balkar drama in the context of cultural globalization, the preservation of national identity, and issues of historical memory. Such research allows for a new understanding of contemporary trends in the development of national theater and places regional literature within the broader context of Turkic and Russian literatures. Thus, it is concluded that the study of Karachay-Balkar drama is a relevant research area, opening the way to an understanding not only of the literary development of one people but also of the cultural and spiritual evolution of the entire Caucasus region.