Yury Olesha
Encyclopedia
Yury Karlovich Olesha was a Russia
n and Soviet novelist. He is considered to have been one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th-century, one of the few to have succeeded in writing works of lasting artistic value despite the stifling censorship
of the era. His works are delicate balancing-acts that superficially send pro-Communist messages but reveal far greater subtlety and richness upon a deeper reading. Sometimes, he is grouped with his friends Ilf and Petrov
, Isaac Babel
, and Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky into the Odessa
School of Writers.
(now Kirovohrad, Ukraine
). Olesha’s father, Karl Antonovich, was an impoverished landowner who later became a government inspector of alcohol and developed a proclivity for drinking and gambling. In 1902 Olesha and his family settled in Odessa
, where Yuri would eventually meet many of his fellow writers such as Isaac Babel
, Ilya Ilf
, and Valentin Kataev
, and ultimately maintain a lifelong friendship with the latter. As a student, Yuri demonstrated a knack for science but favored literature above his other subjects and began writing during the year before his graduation with honors from high school. In 1917 Olesha entered law school but postponed his studies two years later to volunteer for the Red Army
during the civil war; during this time, Olesha began producing propaganda for the revolution.
Olesha’s writing career began while he was involved with the literary group of young writers in Odessa called “The Green Lamp,” which included not only Kataev
and Olesha, but such influential writers as Eduard Bagritski
and Dmitry Merezhkovsky
. Olesha continued to produce propaganda materials for the revolution in Odessa
and then in Kharkov
, where he relocated in 1921. In 1922, Olesha published his first short story, “Angel,” and moved to Moscow
the same year to work at a popular railway worker’s periodical called The Whistle. Here Olesha began writing featured satirical poetry under the pseudonym “Зубило” (“The Chisel
”), eventually publishing two collections of poems in 1924 and 1927 before turning to prose writing and drama.
Olesha’s literary debut would also become one of his most popular works: the novel Envy, which he published in 1927, follows five leading characters. Largely regarded as his greatest work, the novel thematically contrasts the old and new order, as well as individualism
and collectivism
, in Soviet Russia
. During this period Olesha published another popular success: the fairy tale The Three Fat Men
which he wrote in 1924 but did not publish until the year after his initial literary success. Olesha also wrote several short stories in the 1920s and 1930’s, the most prominent of which are “Liompa” (1928), “The Cherry Stone” (1929), and “Natasha” (1936). In addition to prose fiction, Olesha also wrote for the stage, not only adapting his novel Envy for the theater in 1929 under the title Conspiracy of Feelings, but also writing an original play called A List of Assets in 1931 and dramatizing Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot later in life. In the 1930’s and 1940’s Olesha found it increasingly difficult to publish his work as a result of stringent Stalinist
censorship. Despite continuing to write and edit, Olesha’s career was stunted by his political environment, and on May 10, 1960 the author died of heart failure.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n and Soviet novelist. He is considered to have been one of the greatest Russian novelists of the 20th-century, one of the few to have succeeded in writing works of lasting artistic value despite the stifling censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of the era. His works are delicate balancing-acts that superficially send pro-Communist messages but reveal far greater subtlety and richness upon a deeper reading. Sometimes, he is grouped with his friends Ilf and Petrov
Ilf and Petrov
Ilya Ilf Ilya Ilf Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Faynzilberg and Evgeny or Yevgeni Petrov (Yevgeniy Petrovich Kataev or Katayev were two Soviet prose authors of the 1920s and 1930s...
, Isaac Babel
Isaac Babel
Isaak Emmanuilovich Babel was a Russian language journalist, playwright, literary translator, and short story writer. He is best known as the author of Red Cavalry, Story of My Dovecote, and Tales of Odessa, all of which are considered masterpieces of Russian literature...
, and Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky into the Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
School of Writers.
Biography
Yuri Olesha was born on March 3, 1899 to Catholic parents of Polish descent in ElizavetgradKirovohrad
Kirovohrad , formerly Yelisavetgrad, is a city in central Ukraine. It is located on the Inhul River. It is a motorway junction. Pop. 239,400 ....
(now Kirovohrad, 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...
). Olesha’s father, Karl Antonovich, was an impoverished landowner who later became a government inspector of alcohol and developed a proclivity for drinking and gambling. In 1902 Olesha and his family settled in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, where Yuri would eventually meet many of his fellow writers such as Isaac Babel
Isaac Babel
Isaak Emmanuilovich Babel was a Russian language journalist, playwright, literary translator, and short story writer. He is best known as the author of Red Cavalry, Story of My Dovecote, and Tales of Odessa, all of which are considered masterpieces of Russian literature...
, Ilya Ilf
Ilya Ilf
Ilya Ilf was an extremely popular Soviet author of the 1920s and 1930s, who worked in collaboration with Yevgeni Petrov. See Ilf and Petrov for more info....
, and Valentin Kataev
Valentin Kataev
Valentin Petrovich Kataev was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing post-revolutionary social conditions without running afoul of the demands of official Soviet style. Kataev is credited with suggesting the idea for the Twelve Chairs to his...
, and ultimately maintain a lifelong friendship with the latter. As a student, Yuri demonstrated a knack for science but favored literature above his other subjects and began writing during the year before his graduation with honors from high school. In 1917 Olesha entered law school but postponed his studies two years later to volunteer for the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
during the civil war; during this time, Olesha began producing propaganda for the revolution.
Olesha’s writing career began while he was involved with the literary group of young writers in Odessa called “The Green Lamp,” which included not only Kataev
Valentin Kataev
Valentin Petrovich Kataev was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing post-revolutionary social conditions without running afoul of the demands of official Soviet style. Kataev is credited with suggesting the idea for the Twelve Chairs to his...
and Olesha, but such influential writers as Eduard Bagritski
Eduard Bagritsky
Eduard Bagritsky , real name Dzyubin , was an important Russian and Soviet poet of the Constructivist School.He was a Neo-Romantic early in his poetic career; he was also a part of the so-called Odessa School of Russian writers...
and Dmitry Merezhkovsky
Dmitry Merezhkovsky
Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky, , 1865, St Petersburg – December 9, 1941, Paris) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, and literary critic. A seminal figure of the Silver Age of Russian Poetry, regarded as a co-founder of the Symbolist movement, Merezhkovsky – with his poet wife Zinaida...
. Olesha continued to produce propaganda materials for the revolution in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
and then in Kharkov
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, where he relocated in 1921. In 1922, Olesha published his first short story, “Angel,” and 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...
the same year to work at a popular railway worker’s periodical called The Whistle. Here Olesha began writing featured satirical poetry under the pseudonym “Зубило” (“The Chisel
Chisel
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.In use, the chisel is forced into the material...
”), eventually publishing two collections of poems in 1924 and 1927 before turning to prose writing and drama.
Olesha’s literary debut would also become one of his most popular works: the novel Envy, which he published in 1927, follows five leading characters. Largely regarded as his greatest work, the novel thematically contrasts the old and new order, as well as individualism
Individualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
and collectivism
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
, in Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia
Soviet Russia usually refers to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. It may also denote:* Soviet Russia , magazine of the Friends of Soviet Russia in the United States...
. During this period Olesha published another popular success: the fairy tale The Three Fat Men
Three Fat Men
Three Fat Men written in 1924, by Yuri Olesha, was published in 1927. It was the first revolutionary fairy tale in Soviet literature. The critical reaction at first was varied. V. Boichevsky in an article "How Stories For Children Should Not Be" saw it as a "sugarcoated" presentation of revolution....
which he wrote in 1924 but did not publish until the year after his initial literary success. Olesha also wrote several short stories in the 1920s and 1930’s, the most prominent of which are “Liompa” (1928), “The Cherry Stone” (1929), and “Natasha” (1936). In addition to prose fiction, Olesha also wrote for the stage, not only adapting his novel Envy for the theater in 1929 under the title Conspiracy of Feelings, but also writing an original play called A List of Assets in 1931 and dramatizing Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot later in life. In the 1930’s and 1940’s Olesha found it increasingly difficult to publish his work as a result of stringent 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...
censorship. Despite continuing to write and edit, Olesha’s career was stunted by his political environment, and on May 10, 1960 the author died of heart failure.
See also
- Envy (novel)Envy (novel)Envy is a landmark novel published in 1927 by the Russian novelist Yuri Olesha and acclaimed by Vladimir Nabokov as the greatest novel produced in the Soviet Union...
- Engineers of the human soulEngineers of the human soulEngineers of the human soul was a term applied to writers and other cultural workers by Joseph Stalin.The phrase was apparently coined by Yury Olesha; Viktor Shklovsky said that Olesha used it in a meeting with Stalin at the home of Maxim Gorky, and it was subsequently used by Stalin, who said...
(the phrase attributed to Yuri Olesha)