Gennady Fyodorovich Shpalikov was a Soviet Russian poet and a screenwriter.

Born in the town of Segezha

Segezha

Segezha is a town and the administrative center of Segezhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located north of Petrozavodsk on the Segezha River and on the west shore of Vygozero Lake. Population:...

, he moved to Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 with his parents in 1939. In the fall of 1941, he was evacuated to the Kirghiz SSR, together with the Academy of Military Engineers, where his father, Fyodor Grigorievich Shpalikov, served. He returned to Moscow in 1943. His father was declared missing in action in Western Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 in 1945 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...

.

In 1947 the poet was sent to study in Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

's military cadet school (Киевское Суворовское военное училище). His first work was published in 1955. In 1956, after receiving a wound during training, he was discharged and successfully applied to the screenwriting faculty of VGIK

Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography

The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov), VGIK for short, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.-History:...

, a premier film school in the Soviet Union. In 1959 he married Natalya Ryazantzeva, another aspiring screenwriter. In 1960 his script was approved for filming, but the young director, V. Kitaysky, killed himself, putting the film on hold.

In 1964 he wrote his most famous film I Step Through Moscow

I Step through Moscow

Walking the Streets of Moscow is a 1963 Soviet movie directed by Georgi Daneliya and produced by Mosfilm studios. It stars Nikita Mikhalkov, Alexei Loktev, Evgeniy Steblov and Galina Polskikh. The film also features cameos by four People's Artists of the USSR: Rolan Bykov, Vladimir Basov, Lev...

for Soviet director Georgi Daneliya

Georgi Daneliya

Georgi Daneliya is a Soviet/Georgian/Russian film director, who became known throughout the Soviet Union for his "sad comedies" .Daneliya graduated from the Moscow Architecture Institute and worked as an architect...

. In 1966, the only film he both wrote and directed, Long Happy Life received a prize at the Bergamo Film festival. Gennady died in 1974 after committing suicide by hanging. He is buried at Vagankovo Cemetery

Vagankovo Cemetery

Vagan'kovskoye Cemetery , established in 1771, is located in the Krasnaya Presnya district of Moscow...

.

Sergey Nikitin wrote melodies for many of his poems.

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