Kaysyn Kuliev (1917-1985) Balkar poet, National Poet of the Kabardino-Balkar ASSR (1967), USSR State and Lenin Prizes laureate (1974, 1990):
I believe that there was no any writer writing in the Turkic languages who did not learn from the Tatar literature. The Kazakhs, Kirghizs, Uzbeks, Turkmen, and we, the Balkars, Karachais, Kumyks, Azerbaijanians nations living in the Caucasus, got a lot from the Tatar language. We are still thankful to this literature and its writers. Tukay… Tukay is one of our great common writers. His work is very familiar to us; he is read both in the Tatar language and in the translations in the Caucasus. He is not only our favourite poet, but also a spiritual bridge that connects nations.