Craft culture of guild crimean tatar master of manufacturing traditional leather shoes (on the manuscripts and published materials of

Adstract: The authors consider the scientific works of the famous turkologist V.A. Gordlevsky (1876-1956), which are largely preserved in handwritten form, in particular, in the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and other archives. On the basis of the scientist’s work, there is carried out the comparative analysis of the guild organization of artisans in the Crimea and in Asia Minor, with the study of craftsmanship of the Crimean Tatar masters, who produced casual leather shoes on the territory of the Crimean peninsula in the late 18th - early 20th centuries. There is emphasized the leading role of the scientist in studying this problem. The authors point out the features of his life and scientific activity, which affected the formation of his fundamental and profound knowledge of this issue. There are formulated the conclusions reflecting the main aspects of the craft culture in the Crimea. The brotherhood of Akhi appeared and functioned in the Crimea as a voluntary union of the local professional and religious associations of guild craftsmen from the 13th century. In the opinion of V.A. Gordlevsky, these professional organisations played the leading religious, political and economic role in the region thanks to a “futuwwa”, the statute of the craft unions, which in Crimea were called “selef-name” and included ethical and moral codes, such as generosity, honesty and modesty. In the Crimea, there also was a hierarchy of guild craftsmen; it included three main levels of the craftsmen (the student “shekird”, apprentice “kalfa”, master “usta”) as well as administration headed by the supreme spiritual mentor of the guild “nakib” and the main masters “usta-bashi”.