Shapi Kaziev


Shapi Magomedovitch Kaziev was a Russian writer, playwright and script writer. Avar by ethnicity, he was the author of historical novels and other books.

Life and career

Kaziev was born in Makhachkala, in the Dagestan ASSR, and lived in Moscow since 1974. His education in scriptwriting was with the faculty of VGIK. His cinematic debut was the screenplay of the movie Breakfast. He was author of the film Rasul Gamzatov. He was awarded the 2003 special prize of the "Eurasian Kaleidoscope" Documentary Film Competition.
Kaziev was a productive playwright. In addition to comedies and avant garde plays, he wrote historical dramas. His first published play was the Answering machine, Modern Drama, No. 3, 1986. In 1987 his play on Imam Shamil was published. He made his stage debut with the play Newcomer. His plays have been staged in Russian and foreign theaters and on the radio.
He was a member of the USSR Union of Writers since 1989.
In 1992 he founded the "Echo of the Caucasus" Publishing House in Moscow and became its editor-in-chief.
He gained literary popularity from his book Imam Shamil in series "The Lives of Remarkable People". Four editions have been published from 2001 to 2010.
He wrote in different genres. He also wrote for children.
The total circulation of his books is over 50,000 copies.
He won domestic and international literary prizes and competitions.
He was involved in civic activities in the field of international relations and participated in international academic congresses and peace projects.

List of Works