Vladimir Dudintsev
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Dimitrievich Dudintsev was a Ukrainian-born Russian writer who gained fame for his 1956 novel, Not by Bread Alone
, published at the time of the Khruschev Thaw.
Dudintsev, the son of a member of the gentry, attended law school in Moscow and fought during the second world war. After the war, he became a reporter and writer.
Inspired by Soviet
apparatchik
s refusing to credit a report of a deposit of nickel because Soviet dogma said it was impossible, Dudintsev wrote Not by Bread Alone, the tale of an engineer who is frustrated by bureaucrats when he attempts to bring forth his invention. The novel sparked wild enthusiasm among the Soviet population. Official reaction soon turned against the book, and Dudintsev suffered years of poverty, and was only able to publish occasional works. As the USSR tottered, in 1987, Dudintsev published a novel, The White Robes, for which he was awarded a State Prize the following year. He died in 1998.
(now in Kharkiv Oblast
, Ukraine
). His father, a member of the gentry, served as a White Russia
n officer and was executed by the Bolsheviks. Despite his paternity, he was able to be accepted into the Moscow Law Institute. In the second world war, he rose to the rank of company commander. Wounded near Leningrad
, he was demobilized and spent the remainder of the war in the military prosecutor's office. After the war, he worked for Komsomolskaya Pravda
.
While travelling, Dudintsev heard a story about a worker who could not convince his superiors that he had discovered a valuable nickel deposit, because the discovery went against Soviet dogma. This became the basis of Not by Bread Alone. However, Dudintsev had great difficulty finding a publisher willing to print the novel, and the manuscript languished until Communist Party First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev
delivered his Secret Speech in February 1956, attacking Stalinization. In the slightly more relaxed times which followed, Dudintsev was able to get Novy Mir
to print the work. However, Khrushchev accused Dudintsev of taking "a malicious joy in describing the negative sides of Soviet life". Dudintsev was dismayed at the propaganda usage some foreign countries made from his book. Dudintsev was bitterly attacked at a meeting of the Union of Writers; the author fainted during the meeting.
After the attacks, Dudintsev was shunned by most. He was able to get two books of his stories published in 1959 and 1963, and in 1960, published a work of science fiction, A New Year's Fairy Tale. He survived from loans and gifts. In 1987, after the onset of Perestroika
, he published The White Robes, a fictionalized version of the devastation which Trofim Lysenko
wreaked on Soviet genetic study, and received the USSR State Prize
for it the following year. He died in 1998.
Not by Bread Alone
Not by Bread Alone is a 1956 novel by the Soviet author Vladimir Dudintsev. The novel, published in installments in the journal Novy Mir, was a sensation in the USSR...
, published at the time of the Khruschev Thaw.
Dudintsev, the son of a member of the gentry, attended law school in Moscow and fought during the second world war. After the war, he became a reporter and writer.
Inspired by Soviet
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....
apparatchik
Apparatchik
Apparatchik is a Russian colloquial term for a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party or government; i.e., an agent of the governmental or party "apparat" that held any position of bureaucratic or political responsibility, with the exception of the higher ranks of management...
s refusing to credit a report of a deposit of nickel because Soviet dogma said it was impossible, Dudintsev wrote Not by Bread Alone, the tale of an engineer who is frustrated by bureaucrats when he attempts to bring forth his invention. The novel sparked wild enthusiasm among the Soviet population. Official reaction soon turned against the book, and Dudintsev suffered years of poverty, and was only able to publish occasional works. As the USSR tottered, in 1987, Dudintsev published a novel, The White Robes, for which he was awarded a State Prize the following year. He died in 1998.
Early life
Dudintsev was born in KupyanskKupyansk
Kupyansk , is a city in the Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Kupianskyi Raion , the city itself is directly subordinated to the oblast, and is an important railroad junction in the oblast....
(now in Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast is an oblast in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the north-west...
, 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...
). His father, a member of the gentry, served as a White Russia
White Russia
White Russia or White Ruthenia is a name that has historically been applied to a part of the wider region of Ruthenia or Rus', most often to that which roughly corresponds to the eastern part of present-day Belarus including the cities of Polatsk, Vitsyebsk and Mahiliou. In English, the use of the...
n officer and was executed by the Bolsheviks. Despite his paternity, he was able to be accepted into the Moscow Law Institute. In the second world war, he rose to the rank of company commander. Wounded near Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, he was demobilized and spent the remainder of the war in the military prosecutor's office. After the war, he worked for Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Komsomolskaya Pravda is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper, founded on March 13th, 1925. It is published by "Izdatelsky Dom Komsomolskaya Pravda" .- History :...
.
Literary career
Dudintsev wrote a book of short stories, Among Seven Bogatyrs, which he published in 1953. Several of the stories in that book deal with an explosives team, blasting away mountainsides for a new railroad.While travelling, Dudintsev heard a story about a worker who could not convince his superiors that he had discovered a valuable nickel deposit, because the discovery went against Soviet dogma. This became the basis of Not by Bread Alone. However, Dudintsev had great difficulty finding a publisher willing to print the novel, and the manuscript languished until Communist Party First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
delivered his Secret Speech in February 1956, attacking Stalinization. In the slightly more relaxed times which followed, Dudintsev was able to get 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...
to print the work. However, Khrushchev accused Dudintsev of taking "a malicious joy in describing the negative sides of Soviet life". Dudintsev was dismayed at the propaganda usage some foreign countries made from his book. Dudintsev was bitterly attacked at a meeting of the Union of Writers; the author fainted during the meeting.
After the attacks, Dudintsev was shunned by most. He was able to get two books of his stories published in 1959 and 1963, and in 1960, published a work of science fiction, A New Year's Fairy Tale. He survived from loans and gifts. In 1987, after the onset of Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
, he published The White Robes, a fictionalized version of the devastation which Trofim Lysenko
Trofim Lysenko
Trofim Denisovich Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist of Ukrainian origin, who was director of Soviet biology under Joseph Stalin. Lysenko rejected Mendelian genetics in favor of the hybridization theories of Russian horticulturist Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, and adopted them into a powerful...
wreaked on Soviet genetic study, and received the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The 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....
for it the following year. He died in 1998.
English translations
- Not by Bread Alone, Dutton, 1957.
- A New Year's Tale, Dutton, 1960.
- White Garments, Hutchinson, London.
External links
- Vladimir Dudintsev on Lib.ruLib.ruLib.ru, also known as Maksim Moshkow's Library is the oldest electronic library in the Russian Internet segment.Founded and supported by Maksim Moshkow, it receives contributions mainly from users who send texts they scanned and processed...
electronic library