Farhad N. Fatkullin

Farhad Nail Fatkullin (born 2 November 1979) is a Russian social activist from Tatarstan best known for his activities in promoting the Wikimedia movement among non-Russian speaking peoples of Russia. He was declared Wikimedian of the Year by Jimmy Wales during Wikimania 2018. He is a professional simultaneous interpreter previously serving for Mintimer Shaimiev, former President of Tatarstan.

Biography

Fatkullin was born on 2 November 1979, in Kazan. He is married, with two children.

He speaks and is able to translate into Tatar, Russian, English, French, Turkish and Italian.

Has a lengthy record of many other translation activities at numerous political, educational, cultural and business events.

In 2020, he was included by the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov into the Commission for Preservation and Development of the Tatar language consisting of 35 high-profile language and culture specialists.

Wikimedia projects

Farhad is involved in a large number of volunteering initiatives related to global Wikimedia movement and to development of Wikipedias in languages of Russia. These include:

Selet WikiSchool (regional classes for learning wiki technologies); Smart region (project to use wiki technologies for governance); Wikimedia Community of Tatar language User Group (Wikimedia volunteers union); Wikimedia Russia (regional Wikimedia chapter); Tatar Wikipedia (development and promotion of a flagship Wikimedia project).

In 2018, at the moment his Wikimedian of the Year award was announced by Jimmy Wales at Wikimania in Cape Town, Farhad was busy at home simultaneously translating live broadcast from Wikimania for Russian Wikipedians as volunteer interpreter for community (without knowing he was going to be awarded).

Fatkullin is a member of Wikimedia Russia and maintains collaboration with Wikigrannies wiki-usergroup from neighboring Bashkortostan.