Anatoly Rybakov
Encyclopedia
Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov was a Soviet
and Russian writer, the author of the anti-Stalinist
Children of the Arbat
tetralogy, novel Heavy Sand, and many popular children books including Adventures of Krosh, Dirk, Bronze Bird, etc. One of the last of his works was his memoir The Novel of Memoirs (Роман-Воспоминание) telling about all the different people (from Stalin
and Yeltsin
, to Okudzhava
and Tendryakov
) he met during his long life. Writer Maria Rybakova
is his granddaughter.
(now Chernihiv
, Ukraine
) in a Jewish family. In 1934 he was arrested by the NKVD
and exiled to Siberia
for three years. After the end of his exile, he worked as a transport worker. During World War II
, he was a tank commander.
In 1948, he wrote the popular children's book Dirk (Кортик). In 1950, he published the novel Drivers (Водители), then in 1979, the novel Heavy Sand (Тяжёлый Песок) about the fate of a Jewish family under Nazi
occupation.
Heavy Sand is an epic story of four generations of a Jewish family living in Communist Russia and its life in a ghetto
during the Nazi occupation, culminating in their participation in a ghetto uprising. Though the story of the ghetto uprising is fictional, some details of it seem to be based on the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto
. It is believed that the novel is based on numerous stories collected by Rybakov from people who survived Nazi occupation of Ukraine. This story was dubbed the "first Russian Holocaust novel" by one of the Western newspapers of the time. The book became a television series in 2008.
His most popular novel Children of the Arbat
was written and distributed via samizdat
in the 1960s, but was not published until 1987 despite having been officially announced for publication in 1966 and 1978 (in both cases publication was canceled at the very last moment by the Soviet government). The eventual publication of the novel and its sequels - 1935 and Other Years («Тридцать пятый и другие годы», 1989), Fear («Страх», 1990) and Dust & Ashes («Прах и пепел», 1994) - were considered a landmark of the nascent glasnost
, as the first in the trilogy was one of the earliest publications of previously forbidden anti-Stalin literature.
Rybakov was a laureate of the USSR and RSFSR state awards. He was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1948 and 1951. He received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University
.
Almost all his books have been made into movies. Rybakov’s books have been published in 52 countries, with overall distribution exceeding 20 million copies.
Marina Goldovskaya
, a famed Russian-born documentary filmmaker, forged a deep friendship with Rybakov after meeting him at the French Consulate in Moscow. Goldovskaya filmed Rybakov for over a decade; In 2006, seven years after his death, she released her film, a documentary titled Anatoliy Rybakov: The Russian Story (Анатолий Рыбаков: Послесловие).
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Russian writer, the author of the anti-Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
Children of the Arbat
Children of the Arbat
Children of the Arbat is a novel by Anatoli Rybakov that recounts the era in the Soviet Union of the build-up to the 'Congress of the Victors', the early years of the second Five Year Plan and the circumstances of the murder of Sergey Kirov prior to the beginning of the Great Purge.Principally...
tetralogy, novel Heavy Sand, and many popular children books including Adventures of Krosh, Dirk, Bronze Bird, etc. One of the last of his works was his memoir The Novel of Memoirs (Роман-Воспоминание) telling about all the different people (from Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
, to Okudzhava
Bulat Okudzhava
Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musician, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He was one of the founders of the Russian genre called "author song"...
and Tendryakov
Vladimir Tendryakov
Vladimir Tendryakov was a Soviet short story writer and novelist.-Biography:He was born at Makorovskaya near Vologda in 1923. His father was a civil servant. He studied at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow. He started writing in the late 1940s and graduated with a degree in...
) he met during his long life. Writer Maria Rybakova
Maria Rybakova
Maria Aleksadrovna Rybakova is a Russian writer, whose works are published in multiple languages.-Life:Rybakova is the only daughter of literary critic Natalia Ivanova, deputy editor of journal Znamya, and granddaughter of Russian writer Anatoly Rybakov.She studied Classics starting at the age of...
is his granddaughter.
Biography
Rybakov was born in the city of Chernigov, Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) in a Jewish family. In 1934 he was arrested by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
and exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
for three years. After the end of his exile, he worked as a transport worker. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he was a tank commander.
In 1948, he wrote the popular children's book Dirk (Кортик). In 1950, he published the novel Drivers (Водители), then in 1979, the novel Heavy Sand (Тяжёлый Песок) about the fate of a Jewish family under Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupation.
Heavy Sand is an epic story of four generations of a Jewish family living in Communist Russia and its life in a ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
during the Nazi occupation, culminating in their participation in a ghetto uprising. Though the story of the ghetto uprising is fictional, some details of it seem to be based on the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
. It is believed that the novel is based on numerous stories collected by Rybakov from people who survived Nazi occupation of Ukraine. This story was dubbed the "first Russian Holocaust novel" by one of the Western newspapers of the time. The book became a television series in 2008.
His most popular novel Children of the Arbat
Children of the Arbat
Children of the Arbat is a novel by Anatoli Rybakov that recounts the era in the Soviet Union of the build-up to the 'Congress of the Victors', the early years of the second Five Year Plan and the circumstances of the murder of Sergey Kirov prior to the beginning of the Great Purge.Principally...
was written and distributed via samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
in the 1960s, but was not published until 1987 despite having been officially announced for publication in 1966 and 1978 (in both cases publication was canceled at the very last moment by the Soviet government). The eventual publication of the novel and its sequels - 1935 and Other Years («Тридцать пятый и другие годы», 1989), Fear («Страх», 1990) and Dust & Ashes («Прах и пепел», 1994) - were considered a landmark of the nascent glasnost
Glasnost
Glasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
, as the first in the trilogy was one of the earliest publications of previously forbidden anti-Stalin literature.
Rybakov was a laureate of the USSR and RSFSR state awards. He was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1948 and 1951. He received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
.
Almost all his books have been made into movies. Rybakov’s books have been published in 52 countries, with overall distribution exceeding 20 million copies.
Marina Goldovskaya
Marina Goldovskaya
Marina Goldovskaya, is an eminent Russian born documentary cinematographer famed for her candid portrayal of people. She has documented many types of people including simple folk, seamstresses, a female astronaut, literary and artistic legends, as well as political leaders.The recipient of...
, a famed Russian-born documentary filmmaker, forged a deep friendship with Rybakov after meeting him at the French Consulate in Moscow. Goldovskaya filmed Rybakov for over a decade; In 2006, seven years after his death, she released her film, a documentary titled Anatoliy Rybakov: The Russian Story (Анатолий Рыбаков: Послесловие).
Awards
- Stalin PrizeUSSR State PrizeThe USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor
- Order of the Patriotic WarOrder of the Patriotic WarThe Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
(3) (2x 1st class, 1x 2nd class) - Vasilyev Brothers RSFSR State PrizeState Prizes of the Soviet RepublicsThe State Prizes of the Soviet Republics were each republic counterpart to the USSR State Prize. Each republic granted several different prizes, generally named after writers or artists from the republic, as well as a blanket Komsomol prize for young artists....
- Order of Friendship of PeoplesOrder of Friendship of PeoplesThe Order of Friendship of Peoples was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons , organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in strengthening of inter-ethnic and international friendship and cooperation, for...
English translations
- The Bronze Bird, Progress Publishers, 1975, and Fredonia Books, 2002.
- Heavy Sand, Penguin, 1982.
- Children of the Arbat, Little, Brown & Company, 1988.
- Fear, Little, Brown & Company, 1992.
- Dust and Ashes, Little, Brown & Company, 1996.
- The Dirk, Fredonia Books, 2001.