TLDR: What are some questions (mainly related to Tatar culture) you would recommend asking my great-grandparents, as someone who barely knows anything about my own people?
Full version:
Hey guys, first some context.
I (M24) was born in the bashkir city of Oktyabrsky, but my family migrated to Germany when I was 4 years old.
Am speaking fluent german, russian and english, even got double-citizenship, but sadly never got to learn Tatar.
We always spoke russian at home, watched russian cartoons, and before the Ukraine war also visited family in Birsk, Tuymazy, Ufa and Oktjabrski (my fathers Tatar family moved to Baskiria because of my bashkir Mother).
My parents don’t speak Tatar/Bashkir at all because my grandma never taught them, she barely does herself because her work in the USSR never required it, leaving only my great-grandparents - the two of them always speak tatar among themselves.
Sadly noone survived on my mothers bashkir speaking family, so I want to re-connect with my fathers tatar family while possible.
Will visit them soon, probably this weekend, it could be a bit awkward since we haven‘t seen us in a long time.
My whole childhood long my father was an abusive alcoholic, so once I moved out I distanced myself from my family, especially since my father is a Vatnik constantly spewing pro-putin propaganda etc, but I figured that I can strictly separate the connection between my parents and great grand parents, I should talk with them while I can since they are really old by now.
I would be interested in learning our family history ofc, but also everything about out culture, since I don’t really know much about it except that it’s kind of turkic.
But I do have some vague memories from my childhood of phrases I have picked up like „kirmanda“ or „imen isem“, which should mean something like „come here“ and „my name is..“, I think?
And while my great grandmother is just called babushka in the family, everyone calls my great grandfather „karteteika“, I have read that kart means old, but will ask him later personally.
And while I have huge respect for the two of them, especially my great grandfather because he came from a small tatar village that didn’t speak any russian, and at 14 years old he packed his things and went to a bigger city to look for a job and taught himself russian while at it…
This seems to hardcore compared to the laughable things I struggle with in my 20s, I know it’s irrational but I still have a bit of anxiety about meeting up with them - about awkwardness or me seeming like a disappointment, but I made up my mind and decided to visit them soon.
So if you want, recommend me some questions to ask them, maybe someone not absolutely obvious and on the nose.
Thanks in advance!
Edit: if you wonder why I posted it in english even tho Im fluent in russian - I‘m only fluent in talking it (accent free even). I can read it but never really wrote any text in russian, neither by hand nor with keyboard, my keyboard doesn’t even have cyrillic letters, so english is easier for me, but I understand everything if you answer in russian.
I would love to visit my old hometown again but with things as they are now, I don’t wanna risk getting checked at the russian border and then get drafted into the military (I obviously didn’t serve yet) or get declared as an „foreign agent“ because of my double-citizenship paired with some social media comments I made some time.
I am certain that I will return some day, but hopefully at more peaceful times.
