The beautiful love story of Ali and Nino: truth and fiction

Kurban Said was born in Kiev, but spent his childhood in Baku. His real name is Lev Nussimbaum. He wrote novels and biographies of famous people. He published his works under the pseudonyms Mohammed Essad Bey and Kurban Said.

The plotline of the novel is based on the tragic story of Georgian Nino Kipiani and a representative of the rich Azerbaijani family Alexander Sakandelidze. The events described take place in the Caucasus during the war of 1914-1918 .

Relatives on both sides were against this relationship, but the young people loved each other very much and could not part. Differences in upbringing and religion did not become a hindrance for them.

To make his beloved happy, Alikhan decided to move from his native Azerbaijan to Georgia. Nino was also willing to do a lot for the sake of her beloved.

But the First World War began. Alikhan had to leave Nino and go to defend his homeland. He died in a battle near the city of Ganja. A notebook with notes was found next to the deceased, on the basis of which the novel was written.

In the book, of course, there is fiction. The author slightly changed the fate of the main characters, but he did it superbly.

The book was published in pre-war Vienna, in 1937. Now the novel is popular in many countries, many positive reviews have appeared. The sad story of loving hearts touches to the depths of the soul.

In 2016, director Asif Kapadia made a film based on the novel.

The counter theme of the novel is the conflict of East and West, which is described against the background of the horrific events of the First World War, the Bolshevik Revolution and the collapse of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Throughout the book, the author invariably returns to the problem of East and West, which covers the daily life of the characters.

In the spring of 2007, Azerbaijani director Elvin Mirzoev staged the play “Ali and Nino” at the Actors' House in Baku and became the first performer in the world of the role of the main character Ali. Thanks to the positive reviews of critics and reviews of the audience in Azerbaijan, the play has been further developed and a stunning success on international theater stages.

Today there are more than 30 editions of the novel in various languages of the world. It is known that about 100 publications of the book were published, most of them had the original German or English translation. Similar topics in literature were touched upon by other authors: “Asli and Kerem”, “The Red Veil”, “In 1905".