Saidnasir Mirjalilov (1884-1937) was an educator and statesman in Turkestan. He was born in 1884 in the city of Turkestan in an Uzbek family. Engaged in agriculture and trade, he became one of the major investors of Turkestan. He built a cotton gin and opened a modern school in the city of Turkestan (1914). He participated in the meeting of the Muslim branch of the State Duma held in Petersburg (1914). He moved to Tashkent in 1917 and became a member of the City Duma. As a member of the “Shurai Islam” organization, he actively participated in the establishment of the Turkestan Autonomous Government in November 1917 and was the treasurer of the government.
After the overthrow of the autonomous government by the Bolsheviks, S.Mirjalilov first went to Samara and Tbilisi, and then lived in Turkey for a while. He returned to Tashkent in 1921, founded the “Turkestan” trade and industrial company, supported the “National Union” organization with the income from it, and provided some students sent to study in Germany with allowances and provided them with financial support. He was one of the founders of educational organization “Nashri Maarif” and “Komak” society (1923-1925). S.Mirjalilov financially supported Turkestan poets Hamza, Cholpon, and writer Abdulla Qadiri.
He was imprisoned by the Soviet regime several times (1925, 1932, 1937). He was imprisoned on the Solovki Islands (1925-1928). S. Mirjalilov was imprisoned for the third time in Tashkent on July 21, 1937, and shot on October 9, 1937 [1]. He was acquitted after his death.
Mirjalilov’s daughter Zarifa Saidnosirova (1908-1986) was a chemist, professor, Honored Scientist of Uzbekistan (1968), and the first Uzbek woman artist. She was the wife of the famous writer Oybek (1905-1968). Z. Saidnosirova’s book of memoirs “Oybegim Mening” was published.
[1] [Rajabov Q.] Mirjalilov Saidnosir //Oʻzbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi. T. 5. - Toshkent: “Oʻzbekiston milliy ensiklopediyasi” Davlat ilmiy nashriyoti, 2003. - B. 692.
