Hasan Kanykoff

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Hasan Hairetdin Kanykoff (February 27, 1880 – May 3, 1954) was a Tatar merchant and political activist. He was a part of the Finnish Tatar community.

Life[]

Hasan Hairetdin Kanykoff was born on February 27, 1880. He was from Nizhny Novgorod Governorate, Tatar village named Aktuk. Kanykoff came to Finland in 1895. He's known to have lived at least in Helsinki, Tampere, Hämeenlinna, and for a while in Sweden.^[1]

Kanykoff, like other Tatars of his generation operated as a merchant. Among his fellow tradesmen, he had a kind of leaders position; he recommended everyone get an official licence for their business on Finnish soil. In settling to the country, they also got help from some local university people, who for example helped them with the language and explained them the political situation during the Russification of Finland. One of these people was a linguist named , who had traveled to Aktuk in late 1800s and collected information on the Mishar Tatars, which comprise most of the Finnish Tatar community.^[1]

Kanykoff, with another Tatar activist Sarif Daher (1884-1959) and some Finnish like minded people established an association called Etuvartiokansojen klubi in fall 1919. It operated until 1928 and its purpose was to establish co-operation between the minorities in Russia and the then-new states that had separated from Russia. Before this Kanykoff had gotten friendly with linguist G.J. Ramstedt and professor Yrjö Jahnsson, who were interested in the pursuits for independence of Tatars.^[1]

Jahnsson helped Kanykoff acquire a Finnish citizenship in 1921. He also helped get the children of Kanykoff into the country.^[1]

The first wife of Hasan Kanykoff was Haditshä Ainetdin, who died in 1917. The second was Zöliha Mangushoff. Kanykoff had children Halisä, Djagfär, Hamzä, Feyezrahman ja Adhäm.^[1] His older brother was Silaletdin (1866-1930).^[2]

One of the sons of Kanykoff was killed while serving during the Winter War. Two of them served at winter war and Continuation War as lieutenants. The boys wanted to get rid of the Russian suffix (-off) but couldn't come to agreement on what the name should be, so one became Kajenuk, the other Kanukhan.^[1]

The writer is Kanykoff's granddaughter.^[1]

Hasan Kanykoff died May 3, 1954, in Järvenpää.^[1]

References[]