Коста Хетагуров. Ирон фӕндыр (Осетинская лира). Полное собрание сочинений. Том 1.
Москва ; Ленинград : Издательство Академии наук СССР, 1939.
314 с. + 30 л. ил., портр., факс. Твёрдый издательский переплёт, обычный формат. Тираж 7500 экз.
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Kosta Khetagurov. Iron Fændyr (The Ossetian Lyre). Complete Works. Vol. 1.
Moscow ; Leningrad : Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1939.
314 pp. + 30 plates, portr., facs. Publisher’s hardcover, ordinary format. Print run: 7,500 copies.
This 1939 volume is a monumental landmark in the history of Caucasian literature—the first academic edition of the works of Kosta Khetagurov, the national poet and founder of the Ossetian literary language. Published by the USSR Academy of Sciences to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the poet's birth, this edition remains a bibliographical rarity and a primary source for the study of Ossetian national identity.
The core of the book is "Iron Fændyr" (The Ossetian Lyre), a collection that serves as the "Ossetian Bible" for its deep reflection of the people's joys, sorrows, and revolutionary spirit. This 1939 publication is particularly significant as it was the first time these works were presented in a comprehensive academic format using the Cyrillic script, following the transition from the Latinized alphabet. The volume also includes the poem "Khetæg", which draws on ancient national legends.
Enhanced by thirty plates of illustrations, including a portrait of the author and facsimiles of his manuscripts, the book was designed by the notable artist M. V. Ushakov-Poskochin. His work brings a refined aesthetic to this pre-war academic publication. As the only volume of the planned complete works to be published at that time, it stands as a singular testament to the preservation of North Caucasian heritage during the Soviet era. This edition is highly prized by collectors of national literatures, historians of the Caucasus, and specialists in rare pre-war Soviet publications.