There is nothing surprising in the fact that Valentin Kataev is better known as a children's writer. However, few people know that he was awarded two St. George crosses, the Order of St. Anne of the 4th degree, three Orders of Lenin, has the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (1974) and the winner of the State Prize for the novel “Son of the Regiment” (1946).
In the article we will talk more about how Valentin Kataev lived. The biography and work of the famous writer cannot but arouse interest.
Odessa Mama
Valentin Petrovich was born in Odessa on January 28, 1897 in an educated family. His father was the son of a priest from Vyatka, and also wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, but, after studying at a theological seminary, he changed course at the Novorossiysk University of History and Philology and then taught at the Odessa Cadet Diocesan School.
The writer’s mother was a general’s daughter. The family lived happily, but not for long. Shortly after the birth of his brother Valentine - Eugene - a woman died of pneumonia. And the orphans took to her upbringing her sister.
Valentin Kataev: biography, photo
Since childhood, Valentina and Eugene were instilled with a love of classical literature, they had a huge library in their house. Parents often read books to them aloud.
This is an interesting writer's biography. Kataev Valentin Petrovich recalled a little later that in his works he often described intelligent families, and their family was the prototype, as a rule, in which warmth of relations, the deepest decency and selflessness reigned.
From the age of 12, Valentin began to write poems that he read to everyone in a row: relatives, comrades, acquaintances. He was interested in their opinion. And then he, as a schoolboy, began to run around the editorial offices, where his poems were in no hurry to take for print. The poem “Autumn” alone was still published in 1910 in the Odessa Herald.
It just inspired a thirteen-year-old teenager. He began to take his brother with him to storm the editorial offices. Eugene recalled that he was crying when he dragged him to the next edition, because Valentine alone was afraid to go. It would have continued like this until his comrade in the gymnasium advised him to turn to his father, the writer Alexander Mitrofanovich Fedorov.
Soon, he already introduced Kataev as his very capable student. Fedorov introduced him to the work of Ivan Bunin. And this became for a young man a miracle of genuine poetry. He immediately asked his father to buy him a collection of Bunin's poems. His father shed tears of tenderness, he thought that, finally, his son took up his mind.
Dream
Every year Bunin came to Odessa. And the time has come for them to meet in person. It was a very important day for the future writer, which is what his biography tells about. Kataev Valentin Petrovich became an exemplary student of the famous poet. He taught him to work, write poetry every day, and learn from it, like that pianist on the piano, constantly honing his skills.
Bunin told his student that otherwise his talent would become impoverished, like a well from which water was not taken for a long time. Kataev did not know what to write about, but Bunin argued that one should write regularly and even without the necessary inspiration, about what you see, for example, about the sea, about stone, about a bench.
Bunin did not greatly approve of Kataev’s desire to publish his every poem in Odessa print publishers and advised him not to rush. He understood the young poet, but explained that there was no need to rush into this matter, because he too had hastened in his time and published many weak works, which he now very regretted.
Tender affection
Biography of Valentin Kataev contains interesting facts of a romantic nature, because sooner or later love happens to everyone. The Alekseevs lived next to the Kataev family.
The eldest daughter of Colonel Alekinsky, whose name was Irina, was a versatile girl. She painted, sculpted, played the piano, wrote poetry and wrote down the best in her notebook. Then, in the Aleksinsky house, a literary club of poetry lovers formed by itself. Kataev also came there, who could not help falling in love with a sweet and very pretty girl, he devoted many of his poems to her, and after many years her image became the prototype of his heroines in prose.
War
In 1915, Kataev, having not finished high school, was forced to leave for the front. He served in the army under the command of that very neighbor, now General Aleksinsky, father of Irina, to whom he wrote his letters, hiding in the damp, cramped and dark dugouts. There he often recalled glorious past times and how he confessed to the girl his love in their house on the balcony.
Even in the war, Kataev, constantly under bullets, fulfilled Bunin's testament: to write regularly and every day. At this time, he created many stories and essays, which he then sent to his beloved in the capital’s magazines.
Return
The biography of Valentin Kataev is further tied to the fact that in December 1916 he returned to his native Odessa to study at the infantry school. He changed the firing time of the war to several of his best months, which he spent in a good family atmosphere. Again, Valentin Kataev spent a lot of time at the Aleksinsky (biography briefly, but mentions these facts) and devoted poetry to Irina. Her notebook at that time was noticeably replenished.
But in May 1917, he again left for the front, where he was badly wounded, and until November he was in the Odessa hospital. As soon as he felt a little relief, he immediately began working on the almanac “Three Sonnets”, published in 1918. In the same year, he received the news that Irene had stopped loving him. For him, these words sounded like a sentence. However, life was in full swing.
Revolution
Dashing years began, from 1917 to 1920, power in Odessa changed 14 times. Soviet power could not take hold for a long time, and the city remained under the rule of Hetman Skoropadsky. Odessa became a transit point for Russian emigration to Berlin, Paris and Constantinople. Then Ivan Bunin, Alexei Tolstoy, as well as other well-known writers and intellectuals, left abroad.
Later, Kataev served in the volunteer army and fought on the battleship Novorossiya. Soon typhus began to mow both white and red. Again, the writer was waiting for the Odessa hospital, and for recovery - work in a telegraph agency. As a former officer, he was sent to prison, he was already thinking about the execution, but then, recognizing the writer as him, Kataev was nevertheless released.
These impressions he had enough for life. Of his generation of officers who did not have time or did not want to leave Russia, almost no one lived to old age, they were killed in the 20s and shot to death in the 37th. He even wanted to write a book about this and, in old age, did it.
Moscow
In 1921, his father died of starvation, and Kataev went to Kharkov, away from the memory and the Cheka, and then to Moscow, where he began to work in the Gudok newspaper. In the capital devastated by emigration, he slowly pulled his brother and friends.
At the publishing house, he met a doctor, Mikhail Bulgakov, also a former White Guard and also stuck because of typhus. They become friends. The entire writer's horde lived in Kataev’s room on Chistye Prudy.
Lelia's sister came to the Bulgakovs, Kataev fell in love with her instantly and made her an offer. Lelia refused him, and then Valentin promptly married Anna Kovalenko - the artist. His company immediately gave the girl the nickname Madame Mucha.
And then he calmly passed all lines, wrote about what he wanted and considered himself lucky.
In World War II, Valentin Petrovich was a correspondent for Pravda and was engaged in publishing books about the war. In 1942, the Germans shot down a plane flying from Moscow to Novorossiysk with his brother, also a writer, Eugene. Tom was then 39 years old and he was co-author of I. Ilf's novels “12 Chairs” and “Golden Calf”.
Once he worked as inspectors in the Odessa criminal investigation department, and then in Odessa publishing houses, where he met Ilya Fainzilberg (pseudonym Ilf), but then Valentin pulled them out to Moscow and presented the idea of a novel about Ostap Bender. They even said that Kataev became his prototype.
Literature for children
Curious enough for us today will be a biography written by an entire era in which Valentin Kataev lived.
For children, by the way, he wrote a huge number of stories and fairy tales, many of which were screened and enjoyed great popularity.
The biography of Valentin Kataev is so fascinating and interesting that it does not seem possible to cover it all. However, the most important thing is that he was loved and appreciated. After the war, he will become the editor of Youth and will cultivate young talents.
The writer will be very happy in a marriage with Esther Brenner, with whom she will live 55 years and who will truly look after him and love her whole life. Esther bore him two children - daughter Eugene and son Paul.
Biography of Valentin Kataev is a long way. The writer was always at work and lived a long 90 years. He died of a cancer in 1986 on April 12th. His grave is located at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.