ASU News

Today, Adygea has suffered an irreparable loss. Iskhak Shumafovich Mashbash — Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, People's Writer of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Abkhazia, and author of the lyrics to the National Anthem of the Republic of Adygea — has passed away.

For Adyghe State University, Iskhak Shumafovich was more than an outstanding writer and an honorary doctor of ASU. For many years, he remained a close friend of the university, a welcome guest, and a participant in its most significant academic and cultural events.

He maintained long-standing relationships with the university's scholars, faculty, and students. He took part in academic and public discussions, book presentations, and gatherings devoted to the history, literature, culture, and destiny of the Adyghe people. Most recently, Iskhak Shumafovich met with his readers at ASU, sharing his memories and reflections on literature, history, and life

Last April, the Faculty of Philology and the Faculty of Adyghe Philology and Culture convened a meeting at the university to celebrate his 95th birthday. Ishak Shumafovich himself addressed the students, reflecting on his creative journey, reading from and reminiscing about his writings, answering their questions, and presenting signed copies of his books to the young attendees. For many, this was an opportunity to meet not merely the author of the works they were studying, but a man who had largely shaped the development of modern Adyghe literature.

Ishak Mashbash's work has long been an integral part of ASU's academic and educational life. His poetry and prose are studied by our philologists and serve as the subject of scholarly articles, dissertations, and student projects. For new generations of readers, his books remain a continuing conversation about history, memory, human dignity, native language, and love for one's land.

Ishak Shumafovich was one of those individuals whose presence seemed a natural and integral part of the republic's life. People approached him as an elder, a writer, a thinker—a man of immense life experience. And it is difficult to comprehend that our encounters with him will now remain only in our memories.

But his words will endure. His books, his heroes, his translations, and his songs will endure. The Adyghe anthem, performed at the most significant moments in the republic's life, will endure. Generations will endure for whom Ishak Mashbash's work became a path to a deeper understanding of the history of their people, their language, and their culture.

The staff of Adyghe State University extends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Ishak Shumafovich, to his colleagues, readers, and the entire literary community.

Blessed memory to Ishak Shumafovich Mashbash.