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Khalid Said Khojayev was a Soviet-era Azerbaijani linguist of Uzbek origin, active in early 20th-century Turkology and the Jadid reform movement.
This text presents translated excerpts from the confidential Soviet trial and interrogation records of Khalid Said Khojayev, a prominent Uzbek origin Azerbaijani Turkologist. Arrested during Stalin’s purges in 1937 on fabricated charges of Pan-Turkism, nationalism, and espionage, Khojayev was executed by firing squad. His conviction was annulled in 1957, though full rehabilitation was never granted.
On August 3, the Military Supreme Court of the Soviet Union issued a ruling that revoked the verdict dated 10/12/1937 (December 10, 1937). However, the case was closed on the grounds of it being non-criminal.
"Khalid Said Khojayev"
Court Case Number: 12493
Among the renowned Azerbaijani scholars and intellectuals who were brutally and systematically eliminated during the years 1937–1938, one can mention the famous Turkologist and member of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, Khalid Said.
Khalid Said Khojayev was born in 1888 in the Kashkurgan region of Tashkent. After completing his primary education, he went to Istanbul in 1914 and, after passing the entrance exam, entered the university. In 1918, he graduated from the Faculty of History and Literature and worked as a teacher in Ganja between 1918 and 1920. From 1920 to 1921, he moved to Tashkent and continued teaching there. Shortly after, between 1921 and 1926, he moved to Baku, where he began working as the director of the dormitory for the Permanent Representation of Uzbekistan and as an instructor at both secondary and higher educational institutions.
After these years, and until the time of his arrest, he worked at the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. Khalid Said authored numerous books on literature, linguistics, and the Turkic and Persian languages. He also translated the Orkhon inscriptions. However, his most enduring work is the translation of "Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk" by Mahmud al-Kashgari.
It is deeply regrettable that his students attributed this valuable translation of their teacher to individuals who, during the 1930s, were not even aware of Mahmud al-Kashgari's existence. They even refrained from mentioning Khalid Said's name during those years!
Khalid Said Khojayev was arrested on June 3, 1937, and was imprisoned as person number 72 in case file number 12493.
June 5, 1937 – First Interrogation
Question: You were dismissed from your position as dormitory director due to promoting nationalist and revolutionary ideas?
Answer: Such an accusation has never been made against me.
Q: You are refusing to answer the question. The court is aware of your membership in Pan-Turkist and revolutionary organizations. Do you confess to these charges?
A: I categorically deny them.
(On June 5, 1937, by the order of the Director of the Institute of History, Language, and Literature of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences, “Khalid Said Khojayev” was removed from the institute’s academic staff as of June 4.)
June 21, 1937 – Second Interrogation
After the application of certain “special methods,” Khojayev responds like a Pan-Turkist:
“Yes, I confess that from 1916 until my arrest I was active as a Pan-Turkist.”
Q: When did you become a member of Pan-Turkist and revolutionary organizations?
A: In 1925, when the well-known Pan-Turkist “A.S. Qubaydullayev” came to Baku.
Q: As a Pan-Turkist, what revolutionary activities did you engage in?
A: Among young students, I promoted Pan-Turkism and tried to train Pan-Turkist cadres against Soviet authority.
July 7–9: The accused is asked:
Q: What can you say about your organizational duties as a revolutionary nationalist?
A: My revolutionary activities occurred between 1926 and 1928 in Baku among Uzbek students.
Q: Did you engage in revolutionary activity after 1928?
A: No, I did not. My Pan-Turkist activity was limited to my publications—particularly in translating the book “Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk” by Mahmud al-Kashgari.
Q: You are lying. You’d better stop resisting.
...!
A: Yes, I confess that in 1935 I encouraged an Uzbek nationalist student from the Azerbaijan Oil Academy, “Salim Sakov,” to engage in revolutionary activity. I also recruited three others between 1928 and 1936.
Q: You’re still hiding the truth. Did you have any connections in Baku with academic figures?
A: I am forced to confess that I had revolutionary ties with Vali Khalaflu, Ghulam Baghirov, Zifeld, Jabbar Muhammadzadeh, Hanafi Zeynal, and among the technicians, with Chupan-zadeh, Hussein-zadeh, and Demirchi-zadeh.
Q: What kind of activities did your relations with them include?
A: I discussed Pan-Turkism with them. In addition, Vali Khalaflu and Zifeld supported me for translating Mahmud al-Kashgari’s book.
Q: What do you have to say about your activities in the Turkish intelligence service?
A: I have never engaged in any activity with that organization.
Q: You are lying! Confess regarding these questions.
...!
A: I confess that in 1918, along with a group of university students in Istanbul, I was sent to Azerbaijan with the army of “Nuri Pasha.”
July 14–15
Investigator: The court has sufficient evidence of your ties to the Turkish intelligence agency after your release from the army.
A: Yes, I confess that around 1924 I established contact with the Turkish intelligence service and maintained it until 1937.
Investigator: What orders from the Turkish intelligence did you carry out?
A: Under orders from the organization to distance our group from the British, I engaged in nationalist Turkish activities among the members.
Khojayev’s final interrogation took place on September 4, 1937.
(His trial lasted three months.)
The investigator prepares the indictment related to the conclusion of his case:
Khalid Said is tried under Article 68 of the Military Tribunal of the Azerbaijan SSR for “membership in revolutionary organizations and collaboration with the Turkish intelligence service.”
He is convicted under Articles 1-63, 70, and 73 of the Military Tribunal.
On October 11, 1937, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR (Matlovich, Zaryanov, Zhigur) drafts the final resolution.
Khalid Said Khojayev confesses to his guilt.
He confirms the statements made in earlier interrogations and makes no further remarks in court.
In his final defense, he pleads for leniency.
The trial begins at 15:10 and ends at 15:25!
Final Verdict:
The defendant, Khalid Said Khojayev, has been a member of anti-Soviet, Pan-Turkist, terrorist, and espionage organizations since 1925.
Their goal was the overthrow of Soviet power, the establishment of a national republic and its independence, and the creation of a bourgeois Turkish–Tatar state.
He consistently engaged in nationalist activity, recruited members for Pan-Turkist organizations, and from 1924 to 1937, spied for a foreign government.
Based on the above and in accordance with Articles 316 and 317 of the Military Tribunal of the Supreme Court of the USSR, Khalid Said Khojayev is sentenced to the maximum punishment – execution by firing squad.
The verdict is final. No appeal is permitted. The sentence is to be carried out immediately, as per the December 1934 directive of the USSR Prosecutor's Office.
On October 13, 1937, an appendix is added to the case file, stating that the execution of Khalid Said Khojayev is to be carried out in Baku.
In October 1954, Sara Raza qizi Khojayeva, the wife of Khojayev, submitted a petition requesting clarification on her husband’s situation.
On April 16, 1955, she formally requested a review of her husband’s case.
The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, in a ruling dated May 16, 1957, annuls the 1937 verdict, but due to the non-criminal nature of the ruling, the case is closed.
محاکمات و دفاعیات «خالد سعید خوجایف»
Original Farsi Article:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140731031523/http://ruzbeh-s.blogfa.com/post-19.aspx