Amaldan Kukullu was born in 1935 into a Mountain Jewish family in the city of
Khasavyurt, located in
Dagestan, Russia. His father, Danil Kukullu, was an activist involved in the
collectivization movement: he voluntarily donated large plots of land with vineyards and gardens for collective use. He died in 1970 and was buried in
Makhachkala (Dagestan, Russia). His mother, Shura (Alexandra Nikolaevna Shubaeva), was a leading actress and a key figure in the creation of the first
Judeo-Tat theater in Khasavyurt. She died in 2003 and was buried in
Netivot,
Israel. From a young age, Amaldan Kukullu devoted his life to collecting, studying, and preserving the epic traditions of the
Mountain Jews. While studying in the journalism department at
Rostov State University, he officially turned his attention to Mountain Jewish folklore for the first time, dedicating his 1969 diploma
thesis to the subject. Following this work, he was recommended for postgraduate studies at the
Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1955, Amaldan Kukullu began his career as a
correspondent for various media outlets in Dagestan. His first publications appeared in the republican newspaper
Vatan. Around the same time, he initiated regular expeditions throughout the
Caucasus, aiming to systematically collect the oral folklore of the Mountain Jews in their traditional settlement areas. In 1962, he enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy at
Dagestan State University. The following year, in 1963, his first books
Scoot-scat! () and
Baby Camel () were published in
Moscow by
Detsky Mir. That same year, he published a satirical
feuilleton titled
The Intrigues of the Cunning Amal (), which attracted criticism for "
formalism" in his work and ultimately led to his denial of admission to the Union of Writers of Dagestan. Also in 1963, Kukullu transferred to the Faculty of Journalism at Rostov State University. He continued publishing poetry, with his work appearing in the newspaper
Dagestankaya Pravda and the magazine
Don. In 1965, his poetry collection
Choice of the Path () was published by
Soviet Writer in Moscow. His poems also appeared in prominent newspapers such as
Pravda and
Izvestia. That same year, he moved to Moscow, married Mira Gadalyevna Nasimova, and welcomed the birth of their son a year later. In 1966, his poetry book in the Judeo-Tat language,
Man and the Sea (), was published by
Dagestan Book Publishing House in Makhachkala. Two years later, in 1968, a collection of stories titled
The Trial () was published in the same language by
Daguchpedgiz. In 1969, Amaldan Kukullu defended his diploma thesis titled
Judeo-Tat Fairy Tales and
Historical Reality by Periods (Iranian Period) (), which marked the first official recognition in the
USSR of the existence of Mountain Jewish folklore. In 1972, his fairy tale collections
Stubborn Sparrow () and
Tell Me, Dad () were published by
Malysh in Moscow. This was followed in 1974 by the release of
The Golden Chest () through
Nauka. In 1978, Amaldan Kukullu began publishing the literary almanac
From the Russian Golgotha () in Moscow via
samizdat (underground publishing). His work attracted the attention of Soviet authorities, and in 1983, his apartment was searched by the
KGB. Portions of his collected folklore materials were confiscated, and he was imprisoned in
Butyrka prison. After the
fall of the Soviet Union, Amaldan Kukullu continued his literary and cultural efforts. In 1991, he founded his own publishing house,
Amaldanik. That same year, he published two poetry collections:
The Legend of the Song () and
My Continuation (), both in Moscow through
Amaldanik. In 1995, he released a collection of poems and songs by the defender of the Mountain Jewish people,
Mordecai ben Avshalom (1860–1925). In 1997, he published a multilingual
anthology of the Mountain Jewish proverbs and sayings titled
Echo of the Past and Call of Future Epochs (). Amaldan Kukullu died in Moscow on May 25, 2000. He was laid to rest at
Vostryakovskoye Cemetery. ==References==