Not everyone today knows who Boris Nikolayevich Polevoy is. In the old days, he was a favorite writer of millions of Soviet citizens, and his "Tale of a Real Man" was reprinted many times and was filmed.
Writer childhood
The future writer in Moscow was born and spent the first five years of his life. In 1913, the young Boris moved with his parents to Tver, where his father received the position of city judge.
Two years later, Boris's father died of tuberculosis, and his mother began to work as a doctor in a local hospital to feed her family.
When Boris turned nine, he went to study at Tver School No. 24. After completing seven classes, the young man entered the Tver Technical School, from where he was later sent to work at the Proletarka textile factory as a technologist.
Beginning of a career as a journalist and writer
Boris Nikolayevich was interested in the profession of a writer even at school. His first article was published in a local newspaper when he was a 6th grade student. Later, articles and notes by the youth often appeared in Tver newspapers. The aspiring journalist managed to attract the attention of Maxim Gorky himself and he began to patronize the young talent.
Encouraged by Gorky's high praise, in 1927 Boris Nikolayevich published his first book of fiction - The Memoirs of a Lousy Man. This collection had several essays on the life of criminals.
The story behind the writing of Memoirs ... is quite fascinating. A few months before the writing of the book in Moscow, a certain “teddy bear” Makhovsky was known. When he was arrested, it turned out that he looked very similar to the technologist of the "Proletariat". To catch the whole gang with which this criminal worked, the writers were persuaded to work "undercover". Agreeing to this crazy and dangerous adventure, Boris Nikolayevich was in a gang of criminals for some time, robbed a bank with them, ended up in prison, and even escaped from there.
After the operation was successfully completed based on the memoirs, Boris Nikolayevich wrote the book Memoirs of a Lousy Man. This publication was highly praised by critics, in particular, Maxim Gorky, and soon Boris Nikolayevich left the plant and concentrated on the work of a journalist and writer.
Literary pseudonym "Field"
The surname “Field”, which signed most of the writer's works, is actually a pseudonym. The real name of the writer is Kampov.
Boris Nikolayevich signed her youthful articles, as well as the first book. However, after the release of Memoirs ... by criminals with whom the writer “collaborated”, working “undercover,” Boris Nikolaevich was in danger. To hide the name, the publisher suggested that the writer use a pseudonym. In Latin, there is the word campus, which means “field,” it is consonant with the name Kampov, which prompted the idea to take the name Poleva as a pseudonym. After the publication of Memoirs ... all subsequent works of the writer were signed by Boris Nikolaevich Polevoy.
Successful career as a writer and two Stalin Prizes
Starting to work as a journalist in 1928, the writer finds time not only for articles on work, but also for works of art. So, in 1939 the magazine "October" publishes the first story of the writer "Hot Shop". She brings him recognition in literary circles. With the outbreak of World War II, the writer moved to Moscow.
Throughout the war years, Boris Nikolayevich Polevoy was a correspondent for Pravda and was at the front, covering all important events. The writer's notes made at that time formed the basis of many of his works published after the war. In particular, the books “From Belgorod to the Carpathians”, “The Story of a Real Man”, “Gold” and others.
After the victory of 1945, Boris Polevoy attended the Nuremberg trials as a representative of the newspaper Pravda. On the basis of notes from this process in 1969, he wrote the book “In the End”.
Real recognition as a writer and all-Union fame came to Polevoy after the publication of his "Tale of a Real Man" in 1946. For her, the writer was awarded his first Stalin Prize of the second degree. By that time, Polevoy was already awarded two orders of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, as well as the Order of the Red Star. Two years later, the writer was re-awarded the Stalin Prize for the collection of short stories "We Are Soviet People."
Last years
Having become a recognized writer, Boris Nikolayevich traveled a lot around the world, describing his impressions in newspaper articles and books.
From the beginning of the 60s until his death, the writer headed the editorial board of the journal "Youth". In addition, Boris Polevoy held a number of other prestigious posts in the Union of Writers of the USSR, the Soviet Peace Fund and the Supreme Council of the RSFSR.
The books of the writer of recent years may not have been as demanded as his earlier works, but they were also qualitatively and interestingly written in the corporate style of Polevoy.
Interestingly, Fidel Castro and David Rockefeller visited Polevoy at different times.
He also made acquaintance of Polevaya with many other famous people of his time.
Boris Nikolayevich Polevoy died in June 1981 at the age of seventy-three. He was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.
In memory of the writer, the ship carries his name, and in Tver a street was named in his honor, where in the 2000s a memorial plaque was installed on the house in which Boris Nikolaevich once lived.
Parsnip and Field
Despite an exemplary and dignified life, contained the biography of Field Boris Nikolaevich and unsightly facts.
The famous poet and translator Boris Pasternak, who was awarded the Nobel Prize, was persecuted in the USSR for most of his life. If at first his poems were perfectly accepted not only by the intelligentsia, but also by Stalin himself, then in the following years Pasternak was accused of isolation of his works from the life of the socialist people. And after the Nobel Prize was awarded to him, they demanded that they deprive Soviet citizenship. Among the active persecutors of the great poet was Boris Polevoy.
Today it’s hard to say what caused this attitude from one talent to another. Perhaps Polevoy really found the work of his namesake Pasternak contrary to the needs of a socialist society. Perhaps the writer simply did not want to lose his posts and supported the majority opinion. Or maybe he simply envied, because, despite his talent, Boris Nikolaevich was one of many, and Pasternak was once considered the best.
The story "Hot shop"
It was this story that helped make Boris Polevoy a name in literature. Published in 1939, the first story of Polevoy corresponded to the requirements of the time - she talked about the daily labor exploits of the workers.
The heroes of the "Hot shop" were employees of the Kalinin Carriage Works. Polevoy, who knew firsthand how difficult it is to work in a large enterprise, managed to realistically convey the atmosphere of the plant in the first five-year plan.
Boris Polevoy "The Tale of a Real Man"
It is this work that is considered the "pearl" in the creative heritage of Boris Polevoy.
Even during the war, Boris Polevoy had to visit one of the military airfields as a correspondent for Pravda. Staying there for the night, the writer was sent to sleep in one of the dugouts with the pilots. To the correspondent's surprise, before going to bed, one of the pilots unfastened the prostheses from his feet. The next morning, as if nothing had happened, the brave pilot flew out on a mission.
Interested in the fate of this man, Polevoy soon learned that the name of the hero was Alexei Maresyev. Having lost his legs, he learned to walk on prostheses so well that he was able to return to the profession and fight on.
Boris Nikolaevich wanted to write about Maresyev, but the newspaper forbade him, saying that an article about a legless pilot flying on prostheses would give the impression that there weren’t enough military personnel in the USSR troops, since people with disabilities were allowed to fight.
Only after the victory, while attending the Nuremberg trials, Polevoy remembered the heroic pilot and wrote “The Story of a Real Man” in only 19 days (according to the stories of the writer’s son - for 28).
Published in 1946, the story of Polevoy instantly became popular throughout the USSR and far beyond its borders. Two years after publication, based on her motives, they shot a film of the same name with Pavel Kadochnikov in the title role.
Perhaps the story has earned such phenomenal success among readers because of the deep respect that Boris Poleva had for his character. The "Tale of a Real Man" is literally permeated with this feeling. In honor of Maresyev, Boris Nikolaevich named his son Alexei.
Screen adaptations of works
In addition to The Tale of a Real Man, four more films were shot based on the works of Boris Polevoy. These are the melodramas “I -“ Birch ”(“ We Are Soviet People ”) and“ Doctor Vera ”, the social drama“ On the Wild Brega ”and the military drama“ Gold ”(the script was written by Boris Polevoy himself).
Today, the work of Boris Polevoy is not very popular. A few years ago, "The Tale of a Real Man" was generally expelled from the school curriculum in literature. However, many cultural figures protested against this decision, and if they succeed, their schoolchildren of the future will again have the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of Boris Polevoy.