Sad interview with a humorist

Tahir Imanov, a legendary member of the "Club of the Funny and Inventive”, better known for its Russian abbreviation KVN, does not like it when Azerbaijani-language media ask him for interviews in Russian. 

Tahir was a Russian-speaker in his childhood and youth. He went to a Russian school and studied at university in Russian. But then he had to learn his native language, Azerbaijani Turkish, and Tahir is proud that he is fluent in the language of his father and grandfather.

“We lived in a country where people who couldn’t speak Russia were looked down at,” Tahir says. “But it was fine if you didn’t speak your own language. In the neighboring republics of the South Caucasus, i.e. Georgia and Armenia, people preferred their own languages.”

Tahir was not always a popular humorist as he is today. He remembers the times when he worked as a taxi driver in Baku in 1995 to support his family. “There is nothing shameful in working as a driver or a mason,” he says. “It’s great if you make halal money. What is shameful is to take bribes, ruin lives and pocket haram money.”

Tahir’s grandfather, prominent composer Suleyman Alasgarov, was the moral guide for their entire family. He taught them not to bow or break.  

Tahir believes that everybody should do his job and refrain from gossiping. 

“If everybody does his job, there will be no unresolved problems left in the country,” he says.

Tahir says he once overheard several ladies gossiping about him and claiming that he is homosexual. 

“I am not, it’s a lie,” Tahir says, adding he didn’t waste time replying to the ladies. “God created them weak. What can I do?”

Several years ago, Tahir’s Planet of Baku Boys Theater asked the authorities for a building to conduct its rehearsals. The club has yet to receive one. 

“There is no-one to support us,” he says. KVN will soon celebrate its 50th anniversary but it still has no office.”

There were times when KVN had many sponsors in Azerbaijan. Things changed after the country’s president stopped vising KVN shows. 

Now government officials do not even receive members of the KVN team to hear their problems. It has gotten so worse that some officials are trying to bribe them.     

“Who shall we ask for help? We are working hard to make ends meet. We are no longer popular. It is not only about me. All members of KVN are facing with serious problems.”  

Yet, there are people, among them officials, who are still helping. 

“Thanks to them, the Planet of Baku Boys Theater exists today,” Tahir says, smiling.

“In Russia, KVN shows are broadcast at prime time of the most popular TV channel. There is nothing like that in Azerbaijan. Maybe one reason is that KVN remains to be a Russian-language show as it was under the Soviet Union. In Azerbaijan, Russian loses influence every passing year.”

Senior officials and heads of government agencies demand TV channels not to broadcast shows by the Planet of Baku Boys Theater. “It is a very serious problem,” Tahir says. “The late president, Heydar Aliyev, supported members of KVN, rewarding them for shows satirizing officials. How come satire has now become something undesirable? How can someone threaten actors? Actors should only think about their creative activities. They should not be intimidated or bribed.”

Bakudaily.Az