Several years ago Malik Kayumov was called the last living witness of the opening of the famous Tamerlane's tomb. By that time, everyone, except for the cameraman who filmed this historic event on a movie camera, was already dead. At one time it was Malik Kayumov who warned all participants in this operation about the terrible curse of the conqueror's grave.
Talented operator
Malik Kayumovich Kayumov was born in Tashkent. Until the end of his days, he did not know exactly the date, month, or even the year of his birth. Presumably, he was born in the spring of 1911. More reliable information has not survived. Then, even in Moscow, not all children were registered, as it should be in the registry office, let alone Uzbekistan.
Immediately after graduation, Malik got a job at a new local film studio. There he worked as an assistant operator. The young man liked this craft, and in the early 1930s he left for the capital to apply to the VGIK for the camera department. At some point, Kayumov decided that he knew enough, dropped out of school and returned to Uzbekistan.
With experience, they came to Kayumov with all-Union fame and recognition. His documentaries have consistently received the highest marks from film experts. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was he who was sent on an expedition, the participants of which intended to open the tomb of the Uzbek hero Tamerlane.
Cursed tomb
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On June 21, 1941, Soviet scientists opened the tomb. The winch immediately broke. No matter how hard the members of the expedition tried, they failed to fix it. Therefore, heavy slabs were moved manually. But the oddities did not end there.
Cameraman Malik Kayumov met three elders during the lunch break. They showed Kayumov some book and said that it was written about the curse that would befall humanity if they disturbed the ashes of their ancestors. The old people argued that it was impossible to open the grave, otherwise there would be a bloody war.
Malik Kayumovich immediately told his colleagues about what he had heard, but they did not take the words of the unknown pilgrims seriously. The tomb was opened, and the next day the Great Patriotic War broke out. At least that's what Kayumov himself said in the 2003 documentary The Curse of Tamerlane.
After autopsy
Kayumov told about the curse to Georgy Zhukov himself and asked him to give the order to bury it back. Only after this was done did the Red Army begin to gain the first significant victories in the war.
As for Kayumov himself, he, like many representatives of his profession, served as a front-line operator during the war years. He was twice wounded and returned home disabled.
However, Malik Kayumovich did not abandon the art of cinematography. Throughout his life, he has directed over 400 documentaries, many of which have received the highest marks and awards in the field of cinematography.
Kayumov died in 2010 at the age of about 100. The operator was buried in his homeland in Uzbekistan.
Yulia Popova