Autobiography

My name is Adjiev Murad Eskenderovich (Murad Adji), Kumyk by nationality, I was born on December 9th, 1944 in Moscow. In 1969 I graduated from the Faculty of Geography of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov ahead of time and proceeded to post-graduate studies. I have a Ph. D. and lecturer degree. I live for science — economic, social and historical geography.

My thesis was connected with economic and mathematical modeling in terms of development of Siberia; after the defense I worked in the Economic Forecasting Department of the Ministry of Nonferrous Metallurgy of the USSR.

In 1975 I was elected to the Chair of Geography of the Finance and Economics Institute where I worked for about fifteen years. During these years, apart from my main work, I was engaged in scientific journalism and worked as a TV presenter. There are many things to remember. I can hardly find a subject I was not interested in: physics, chemistry, economics, medicine, ethnography, history, engineering, energetics, theater, literature… I did not mention how I wrote more than four hundred articles and about thirty factual books, including books for children.

Today I am astonished at my carelessness which, it seems, is peculiar to youth. But what’s done can’t be undone: time perfected my skills. All those books were being written not with ease, especially «Siberia: XX Century» published by «Mysl» Publishing House in 1983. Being thoroughly edited, it stirred wrath of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union due to its innocent truthfulness; my name was included into black books. And if it had not been for reshuffles that followed Brezhnev’s death, I would have found myself in serious troubles. But God was merciful to me. However, I was not allowed to defend my doctoral thesis.

In 1989 I abandoned my thesis and left the chair for good and got to work in «Around the World» magazine; there I took part in several expeditions heading them and being a worker at the same time; I was taking pictures, writing essays on the life of little-known nations. Those essays led to a new theme that has become determinative in my future life.

I turned to the history of my nation — of Kumyks. We are referred to minor nations together with the Karachai and Balkarians; our “official” history begins in the XIX century when the Caucasus was conquered by Russia. But what was before? I wrote a series of essays on this point. They were the basis for the book «We Are from the Polovets Family» published in 1992 in Rybinsk. Alas, for that book I was discharged from my office in the editorial staff by order of the authorities.

At that time Murad Adji — a professional writer and free man — was born.

Moscow. December, 2004