Ioakim Stepanovich Maksimov-Koshkinskii

Born Sept. 2 (14), 1893, in the village of Koshki-Novotimbaevo, present-day Tetiushi Raion, Tatar ASSR. Soviet Chuvash dramatist and theatrical figure. People’s Artist of the Chuvash ASSR (1933).

Maksimov-Koshkinskii was the son of a peasant. During the years of the Civil War of 1918-20 he served as an agitator and political commissar in the Red Army. He was one of the founders of the Chuvash drama theater and from 1918 to 1925 became its chief director and actor. From 1925 to 1931 he was a screenwriter and director for Chuvashkino (Chuvash Film Studio); after this period he returned to the theater.

Maksimov-Koshkinskii began his literary activity in 1922. He wrote the scenarios for the Chuvash films Black Pillar (1928) and Apaika (1930). His other works include the plays Sadur and Hem (1933), Pugachev’s Gift (1940), and Konstantin Ivanov (1954); the musical comedy Masters of Joy (1958); the librettos of operas and operettas; and stories. He has translated plays by Russian and foreign dramatists into Chuvash. Many of his plays have been translated into Russian. Maksimov-Koshkinskii has been awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and a number of medals.