The writer George Markov is well known to the older generation, those who have personal memories of the Soviet period of history. Are the books of this author interesting today? Or did he stay forever in the Soviet era?
Some facts from the biography of the writer
The future writer Georgy Markov, whose biography is largely typical of Soviet people, was born in April 1911 in the remote Siberian village of Novokuskovo, Tomsk province, in the family of a taiga hunter. Georgy Markov was able to get an education, break into people and ultimately find a realization of his creative potential only thanks to the radical changes that took place in Russia in 1917. The revolution and Soviet power gave young people from the very bottom a chance to access knowledge and higher education, which allowed them to climb up the social ladder. And Markov Georgy Mokeevich, a famous Soviet writer from the Siberian hinterland, is a clear illustration of this statement.
He began his journey upstairs with the activities of a rural Komsomol activist. This made it possible to move to the regional city of Tomsk and enter the local university in the evening department. The future writer combined his studies with active Komsomol and social activities.
Editorial weekdays
It remains unknown why Georgy Markov did not complete his studies at Tomsk State University. His path to great literature was through routine journalistic and editorial work in various periodicals published in the regional centers of western Siberia - Tomsk, Novosibirsk and Omsk. But in parallel with journalism, Georgy Markov begins work on his own works. His first publication was marked in 1936. After her, she immediately begins work on a significant volume of work, which in the future will be called Strogov. But the development of the creative plans of the young writer was interrupted by the war. From the novel he started, he managed to publish only the first chapters; they were published in the New Siberia literary journal Irkutsk.
During the war
In the very first month of the war, the writer was drafted into the army. He served in the Transbaikal Front in the status of a war correspondent for the newspaper "At a military post." The command decided that Georgy Markov, whose biography was almost completely unconnected with military service, would bring more benefit in literary and ideological work. It was this circumstance that allowed the writer to continue work on the unfinished novel.
And the Transbaikal Front launched an offensive on the
Kwantung Army only in the autumn of 1945. And George Markov participated in its composition in the defeat of the Japanese in Manchuria. Subsequently, these events will be reflected in a number of literary works and in the scripts of the films "Order: Do not open fire" and "Order: cross the border." In 1943, Georgy Markov was admitted to the Union of Soviet Writers. And in December 1945 he was demobilized from the Soviet army with the rank of major.
The novel "Strogov"
It is generally accepted that Georgy Markov (writer) began precisely with this book. And this statement is quite true. Georgy Markov worked on a voluminous novel that tells about the life of a Siberian village during the civil war for seven years. It would be an exaggeration to say that the book has an autobiographical character, but many of its realities were taken by the writer from his childhood, spent in the Tomsk taiga. At the center of the narrative are the events of the civil war and the fate of the peasants waging a guerrilla war with the whites. The novel received recognition from ordinary readers and approval of literary criticism. The book was awarded the Stalin Prize.
In the seventies, a script for a television film will be written on its basis. After the success of the Strogovs, Georgy Markov is elected to a secretary position in the Writers' Union, which allows him to move from Irkutsk to Moscow. In the capital, the writer continues active literary work.
Socialist realism
All the literature of Georgy Markov ideally corresponds to that standard, which in the Soviet Union was considered the only acceptable for any kind of art. We are talking about the so-called socialist realism, based on the principles of partisanship, ideology and nationality. Those who refused to work in this direction could not count on the publication and recognition of the results of their work. And after this era became a thing of the past, a logical question arose - how to relate to her works? Do they have any value at all? Or are they just literary monuments and artifacts of their time? Of course, everyone has the right to give their own answer to these questions. But for so many, the writer Georgy Markov is forever in the past. However, it may be interesting for those who study the Soviet historical era. His books can help in understanding the departed realities.
Literary functionary
Over the post-war decades, the writer Georgy Markov worked actively, published, and performed numerous nomenclature and public duties. He was a very influential figure in the leadership of the Union of Writers of the USSR, he constantly sat in various commissions, sat in the stands of numerous presidiums and congresses. He signed letters and petitions, including those for which it was subsequently embarrassing - with the condemnation of Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn. With the beginning of perestroika, Markov Georgy Mokeevich left all posts.