Valentin Ovechkin
Encyclopedia
Valentin Vladimirovich Ovechkin was a Soviet writer, playwright, and journalist.
, the son of an office employee. He studied at the Taganrog Technical School from 1913 to 1919. He began writing early, while he was still a member of the Komsomol
. His first story Saveliev was published in the newspaper Bednota (The Poor) in 1927. Other early works appeared in provincial papers. He stopped writing for several years and worked as a chairman of an agricultural commune on the Don River
, and later in Kuban
. In 1934 he became a traveling correspondent for the newspapers Molot (Hammer) and Kolkhoznaya Pravda, both published in Rostov-on-Don
, and for newspapers in Armavir
and Krasnodar
.
magazine Krasnaya Nov, including the novellas Guests in Stukachi, Praskovia Maximovna, and the sketch Without Kith or Kin. At the outbreak of World War II
, he was mobilized and sent to work as a front-line agitator and correspondent on the Crimea
n and Southern fronts, and later to Stalingrad and the Ukraine
. In 1945, the May issue of the magazine October published his novella Greetings from the Front, which was given a wide response in the press.
Valentin was connected with the Village Prose
movement, and the majority of his works deal with life on rural collective farms, though his most popular work, the novella Greetings from the Front focused on the war. The writer Sergey Zalygin gave the following assessment of Ovechkin in the January, 1956 issue of Novy Mir
:
His sketches and stories of collective farm life gathered in the collection District Routine (1952-56), while loyal to the official party
line, often expose managerial inefficiency, the self-interest of party functionaries, and other shortcomings in the rural Soviet Union.
He gave a speech at the 1954 All-Union Writers Congress, criticizing the main address by Aleksey Surkov, who spoke on "the conditions and tasks of Soviet literature". Ovechkin commented on the mediocrity of much of Soviet literature, and on the "system of awarding Stalin Prizes", which was done hastily and without regard for the opinions of the reading public. His speech produced a strong affect on the delegates, and found further support in the speech by Mikhail Sholokhov that followed. Ovechkin gave another critical speech at the 1955 Congress. His well-meant criticism went unheeded, shrugged off by reviewers as relating to the past only, and his deep disappointment led to a nervous breakdown and suicide attempt.
Ovechkin is also the author of the plays Nastia Kolosova (1949), To Meet the Wind (1958), Summer Showers (1959), and A Time to Reap (1960), as well as numerous sketches and essays. From 1963 he lived in Tashkent
, where he worked on the autobiographical cycle Uninvented Sketches (published 1972), which he never finished.
Early life
Valentin was born in TaganrogTaganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
, the son of an office employee. He studied at the Taganrog Technical School from 1913 to 1919. He began writing early, while he was still a member of the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
. His first story Saveliev was published in the newspaper Bednota (The Poor) in 1927. Other early works appeared in provincial papers. He stopped writing for several years and worked as a chairman of an agricultural commune on the Don River
Don River (Russia)
The Don River is one of the major rivers of Russia. It rises in the town of Novomoskovsk 60 kilometres southeast from Tula, southeast of Moscow, and flows for a distance of about 1,950 kilometres to the Sea of Azov....
, and later in Kuban
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
. In 1934 he became a traveling correspondent for the newspapers Molot (Hammer) and Kolkhoznaya Pravda, both published in Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don
-History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...
, and for newspapers in Armavir
Armavir
Armavir is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Kuban River. Population: 144,000 . Armavir was formerly the second-largest industrial center of Krasnodar Krai, after Krasnodar....
and Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
.
Career
His first book Kolkhoz Stories was published in Rostov-on-Don in 1935. His second collection was published in Krasnodar in 1938. In 1939 his work began to appear in the MoscowMoscow
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...
magazine Krasnaya Nov, including the novellas Guests in Stukachi, Praskovia Maximovna, and the sketch Without Kith or Kin. At the outbreak of 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 mobilized and sent to work as a front-line agitator and correspondent on the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
n and Southern fronts, and later to Stalingrad and the 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 1945, the May issue of the magazine October published his novella Greetings from the Front, which was given a wide response in the press.
Valentin was connected with the Village Prose
Village Prose
Village Prose was a movement in Soviet literature beginning during the Khrushchev Thaw, which included works that focused on the Soviet rural communities. Some point to the critical essays on collectivization in Novyi mir by Valentin Ovechkin as the starting point of Village Prose, though most of...
movement, and the majority of his works deal with life on rural collective farms, though his most popular work, the novella Greetings from the Front focused on the war. The writer Sergey Zalygin gave the following assessment of Ovechkin in the January, 1956 issue of Novy Mir
Novy Mir
Novy Mir is a Russian language literary magazine that has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine Mir Bozhy , which was published from 1892 to 1906, and its follow-up, Sovremenny Mir , which was published 1906-1917...
:
"Valentin Ovechkin has a number of followers. I think that among the very active and quite numerous group of writers, predominantly young, who write about the village, there are many whom Ovechkin has helped to find the way. I myself owe him a great deal. I think that much of my work would not have been written were it not for his stories."
His sketches and stories of collective farm life gathered in the collection District Routine (1952-56), while loyal to the official party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
line, often expose managerial inefficiency, the self-interest of party functionaries, and other shortcomings in the rural Soviet Union.
He gave a speech at the 1954 All-Union Writers Congress, criticizing the main address by Aleksey Surkov, who spoke on "the conditions and tasks of Soviet literature". Ovechkin commented on the mediocrity of much of Soviet literature, and on the "system of awarding Stalin Prizes", which was done hastily and without regard for the opinions of the reading public. His speech produced a strong affect on the delegates, and found further support in the speech by Mikhail Sholokhov that followed. Ovechkin gave another critical speech at the 1955 Congress. His well-meant criticism went unheeded, shrugged off by reviewers as relating to the past only, and his deep disappointment led to a nervous breakdown and suicide attempt.
Ovechkin is also the author of the plays Nastia Kolosova (1949), To Meet the Wind (1958), Summer Showers (1959), and A Time to Reap (1960), as well as numerous sketches and essays. From 1963 he lived in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, where he worked on the autobiographical cycle Uninvented Sketches (published 1972), which he never finished.
English translations
- Greetings From The Front, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1947.
- Collective Farm Sidelights: Short Stories, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1954.