Tufan Minnullin (b.1935) Dramaturge, public figure, Honoured Art Worker of the TASSR, RSFSR, Republic of Bashkortostan (1978, 1984, 1995), K.S. Stanislavsky RSFSR State Prize and Gabdulla Tukay TASSR State Prize laureate (1979, 1979), National Writer of Tatarstan (2005):
Examining life journey of outstanding personalities, we always refer to the level of social conscience of the time when they developed, gained general recognition. Tukay’s birth was not an accidental prodigality of nature; it was a natural phenomenon. Tukay was the son of his time. The poet lived and worked being surrounded by the whole galaxy of gifted, talented, highly educated, active representatives of national intellectuals such as F.Amirkhan, Kh.Yamashev, G.Kamal, G.Ibragimov, and others. Being the brightest one among them, he understood well his mission in the Tatar’s life. Brilliant words of Nekrasov: “You are able not to be a poet, but to be a citizen you must” became Tukay’s credo.
…High spirit of internationalism that exists in Tukay’s oeuvre is a part of his whole-hearted love to his nation, not a blind love, but a conscious one. This conscious love, void of any prejudices, kept his respect for other nations. Tukay’s works have no any irreverent word that would at least indirectly offend dignity of other nations. This is the reason of our deep appreciation of Tukay now, when a notion “the friendship between nations” is becoming more and more important and getting political significance. That’s why we hang our heads with the sense of deep respect towards the memory of Gabdulla Tukay.