Abdulla Gareevich Amantai

Born Dec. 23, 1907, in the village of Kunakbai, Orenburg Province; died Mar. 30, 1944. Soviet Bashkir poet and folklorist. Became a member of the CPSU in 1926. Graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Philosophy, Literature, and History in 1932.

Amantai’s first collection, Songs of Struggle, appeared in 1927. His poems reflect the participation of young people in socialist construction and the new relationships among people. He wrote children’s books: To My Little Friends (1928), By the River (1930), and Tales of a Crow (1935). He is also the author of a textbook in Bashkir literature (1934) and various works on Bashkir folklore.