Smelyakov Yaroslav Vasilievich was born on January 8, 1913 (December 26, 1912 according to the old style) in the city of Lutsk, Volyn region of Ukraine.
His father worked as a railroad weigher. Mother was a housewife and was engaged in raising children (there were three in their family).
Childhood and youth
When Yaroslav was about a year old, the First World War began. In this regard, the family was forced to move to relatives in the village. There they did not stay long. After some time, the family settled in Voronezh, where they remained to live until the beginning of the next decade.
Smelyakov’s father passed away early when Yaroslav was only eleven years old.
At the same time, the future poet enters a seven-year school in Moscow, where he settles with his older brother and sister.
By the beginning of the thirties, Yaroslav graduated from high school and through the labor exchange received a referral to the PFZSh ("Printing Factory School") named after Lenin.
It was she who played a huge role in shaping future talent. Smelyakova was fascinated by the bustling life of the printing house.
As a typesetter, the poet was very proud that his favorite occupations - work and creativity - were related.
The beginning of the creative path
The publication of the first work took place thanks to his friend - Vsevolod of Jordan. It was he who motivated Smelyakov to include his works in the journal Rost.
However, having entered the publishing house, Yaroslav Smelyakov mixed up the doors of the rooms and mistakenly submitted the verses for consideration to the more respected and serious “October”, which at that time was popular among young people.
The fruits of his work were approved by the editorial committee and published in the journal.
In 1932-1933, Yaroslav Smelyakov released his first collections: "Work and Love" and "Poems"
However, after some time, he, as well as a number of other poets (Pavel Vasiliev, Boris Kornilov), became the victim of a false denunciation, which, as is typical for that time, became the reason for an immediate arrest without trial. Yaroslav Smelyakov could dismiss the accusations only in 1937. Then he was prematurely released.
Until the war, the poet worked in the editorial offices of various publishing houses, was engaged in reporting, wrote feuilletons and notes.
During this period, he writes the cycle "Crimean Poems", is repeatedly published in famous publications: "Literary Newspaper", "Young Guard", "Krasnaya Nov", etc.
The Great Patriotic War
The beginning of the war, Yaroslav Smelyakov met the rank and file of the Second Light Infantry Brigade on the Northern and Karelian fronts.
In November 1941, while surrounded, he, like many soldiers of his unit, fell into Finnish captivity, where for the next three years he worked hard for a merciless master.
It is noteworthy that, being in a similar situation, Smelyakov skillfully hid the creative status of the already famous Russian poet at that time.
The poet was able to return to his homeland only in 1944, when, as a result of a truce with Finland, prisoners of war were exchanged.
Smelyakova was expected by the fate of almost all liberated Soviet prisoners of war - he was sent to the camp for "filtration".
There are several versions about where Smelyakov was in this period. It is known that he worked in a coal mine near Moscow, but there is evidence of his arrival in the industrial town of Stalinogorsk (now Novomoskovsk) in the Tula region.
Post-war years
After several years of imprisonment, the poet comes to the rescue of his good friend Konstantin Simonov, who literally pulls a fellow out of oblivion.
In 1948, the first post-war collection of Smelyakov's “Kremlin Spruce” was published, which included verses from the war years.
However, the poet does not linger for long. Already in 1951, an unknown person wrote a denunciation about the feast conversation held in Smelyakov’s house.
The stigma of article 58 of the Criminal Code of the USSR was imposed on the poet, according to which he was to be punished in the form of twenty-five years in camps.
Thus, Smelyakov was able to get acquainted with the Arctic. Camp life adversely affects the health of the poet.
In 1956, "the exposure of the cult of Stalin" took place, according to which amnesty was granted to many prisoners. Yaroslav Smelyakov was also released. The poet until the end of his life will remember the days "in a state cap, in a camp pea jacket."
He devotes all subsequent years of his life to literary creation.
During this time, the poet was awarded three orders, as well as the USSR State Prize in 1967 and 1968.
Smelyakov died on November 27, 1972. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Personal life
The poet’s first novel happened in the 30s. He is associated with the name of the poetess Margarita Aliger (her photo, provided below, was taken in the mid-70s), who, together with Smelyakov, attended a literary club.
An interesting place in this novel is occupied by a ring donated by the poetess Smelyakov.
According to Aliger, when something bad happened to the poet, the ring was lost. So, for example, what happened when Smelyakov was captured in Finland.
He met Evdokia Vasilievna in the postwar years. She became the first woman with whom Yaroslav Smelyakov was married. The poet and Evdokia lived together for only two years: Smelyakov divorced his wife to protect her from the repressions that swallowed him. From this marriage, the poet had a son.
The second family, created by Smelyakov, was happier. This time, the translator Tatyana Streshneva became the poet's choice.
The poet Yaroslav Smelyakov, whose biography was presented in this article, is a truly talented poet, a “master of symbolic lists,” whose share was truly difficult and terrible episodes in the history of our country.