Many of us remember the works of Viktor Petrovich Astafiev in the school curriculum. These are stories about the war, and stories about the hard life in the village of a Russian peasant, and reflections on the events occurring before and after the war in the country. Truly a national writer was Viktor Petrovich Astafiev! His biography is a vivid example of the suffering and miserable existence of a simple person in the era of Stalinism. In his works, the Russian people do not appear in the image of an omnipotent national hero, who can shoulder any deprivation and loss, as was customary to portray at that time. The author showed how heavy the burden of war and the totalitarian regime that prevailed at that time in the country was for a simple Russian peasant.
Victor Astafiev: biography
The author was born on May 1, 1924 in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the village of Ovsyanka, Sovetsky District. Here the childhood of the writer also passed. The boy's father, Pyotr Pavlovich Astafyev, and his mother, Lidia Ilyinichna Potylitsyna, were peasants, had a strong economy. But during collectivization, the family was dispossessed. The two eldest daughters of Peter Pavlovich and Lydia Ilyinichna died in infancy. Victor was left without parents early.
His father was imprisoned for "wrecking." And his mother drowned in the Yenisei when the boy was 7 years old. It was an accident. The boat on which Lydia Ilyinichna, among others, crossed the river to meet her husband in a prison, turned over. Having fallen into the water, the woman caught her scythe on the bon and drowned. After the death of his parents, the boy was brought up in the family of his grandfather and grandmother. Craving for writing in a child arose early. Later, becoming a writer, Astafyev recalled how Katherine's grandmother called him a âliarâ for his indefatigable imagination. The life of the elderly seemed to the boy a fairy tale. She became his only bright memory of his childhood. After the incident at school, Viktor was sent to a boarding school in the village of Igarka. There he lived unsweetenedly. The boy was often homeless. Boarding teacher Ignatius Rozhdestvensky noticed a craving for reading in a pupil. He tried to develop it. The boyâs work on his beloved lake will later be called his immortal work, Vasyutkino Lake, when he becomes a famous writer. After finishing the sixth grade of secondary school, Viktor enters the FZO railway school. He will finish it in 1942.
Adulthood
After that, the young man worked at the station for some time as a train compiler near the city of Krasnoyarsk. The war made adjustments to his life. In the autumn of the same year, 1942, he volunteered for the front. Here he was an art reconnaissance, and a driver, and a signalman. Victor Astafiev participated in the battles for Poland, Ukraine, fought on the Kursk. During the fighting he was seriously wounded and shell-shocked. His military exploits were marked with medals "For Courage", "For the Liberation of Poland", "For the Victory over Germany" and the Order of the Red Star. After demobilization in 1945, Victor Petrovich Astafyev settled in the city of Chusovoy in the Urals. His biography here makes a new round. A different, peaceful life begins. He also brings his wife, who later became known as a writer, to M.S. Koryakin. They were completely different people. Around Victor always curled women. He was a very interesting person. It is known that he has two illegitimate daughters. His wife Maria was jealous. She dreamed that her husband was faithful to the family. Here, in Chusovoy, Victor takes on any work to feed the children. In marriage, he had three of them. The oldest girl, Maria and Victor, were lost. She was only a few months old when she died in hospital from severe dyspepsia. It happened in 1947. And in 1948, the Astafievs had a second daughter, who was named Ira. After 2 years, the son of Andrei appeared in the family.
The children of Viktor Petrovich Astafiev grew up in difficult conditions. Due to the state of health undermined in the war, the future writer was not able to return to his specialty obtained in the Federal Law. In Chusovoy, he managed to work as a locksmith, and a loader, and a foundry worker at a local factory, and a carcass washer at a sausage factory, and a carpenter in a rolling depot.
The beginning of the creative path
Writing continues to attract the future master of the word. Here, in Chusovoy, he attends a literary circle. This is how Viktor Petrovich Astafiev himself recalls this. His biography is little known, therefore, for his readers, any trifles related to his life or work are important. âMy craving for writing came early. I remember very well how, while I was attending a literary circle, one of the students read his newly written story. The work struck me with its far-fetched, unnatural nature. I took and wrote a story. This was my first creation. In it I talked about my front-line friend, âthe author told about his debut. The title of this first work is âCivil Manâ. In 1951, it was published in the newspaper Chusovoy Rabochiy. The story was a success. The next four years, the writer is a literary employee of this print publication. In 1953, in Perm, his first collection of short stories was published, entitled "Until Next Spring." And in 1958, Astafyev wrote the novel âSnow is meltingâ, in which he highlighted the problems of rural collective farm life. Soon, the second storybook, entitled "Lights" was released by Victor Astafyev. âStories for childrenâ - this is how the author described this creation.
The story "Starodub". A turning point in the writer's work
Victor Astafiev is considered self-taught. He did not receive education as such, but he always tried to increase his professionalism. To this end, the writer in 1959-1961 studied at the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow. Viktor Ustafyev, whose biography is presented here, periodically prints his works in the magazines of the Urals.
In them, he raises the acute problems of the formation of the human personality, growing up in difficult conditions of the 30s, 40s. These are such stories as âTheftâ, âLast bowâ, âWar is booming somewhereâ and others. It is worth noting that many of them are autobiographical in nature. Here are scenes of orphanage life, presented in all its cruelty, and dispossession of peasants, and much more. A turning point in the work of Astafiev was his story "Starodub", written in 1959. The action takes place in an old Siberian settlement. The ideas and traditions of the Old Believers did not arouse sympathy for Victor. According to the author, taiga laws, ânatural faithâ do not at all save a person from loneliness and solving pressing problems. The culmination of the work is the death of the protagonist. Instead of a candle, in the hands of a deceased is a starodub flower.
Astafiev about the Russian character in the story âSoldier and Motherâ
When did the series of works by the author about the âRussian national characterâ begin? According to most literary critics, from Astafyevâs short story âSoldier and Motherâ. The main character of the creation has no name. She personifies all Russian women, whose hearts went through the "heavy iron wheel of war." Here the writer creates such human types that are striking in their reality, authenticity, âtruth of characterâ.
It is also surprising how the master boldly reveals the sick problems of social development in his creations. The main source in which Astafiev Viktor Petrovich draws inspiration is a biography. A short version of it is unlikely to arouse a reciprocal feeling in the heart of the reader. Therefore, the difficult life of the writer is considered here in such detail.
Theme of war in the writer's works
In 1954, the authorâs "favorite brainchild" was published. We are talking about the story "The Shepherd and the Shepherdess." In just 3 days, the master wrote a draft of 120 pages. Later, he only polished the text. The story was not wanted to be printed; whole fragments that censorship did not allow were constantly cut out of it. Only 15 years later, the author was able to release it in its original version. At the center of the story is the story of the young platoon commander Boris Kostyaev, who is experiencing all the horrors of the war, but is still dying of wounds and exhaustion in the train, taking him to the rear. The love of a woman does not save the protagonist. In the story, the author paints a terrible picture of the war and death that it brings before the reader. It is not so difficult to guess why the work was not wanted to be published. The people who fought and won this war, it was customary to portray the mighty, strong, unbending. According to the masterâs stories, he is not only bent, but also destroyed. Moreover, people suffer death and deprivation not only through the fault of the fascist invaders who came to their land, but also by the will of the totalitarian system that dominates the country. Astafyevâs Victorâs creativity was replenished with other bright works, such as Sasha Lebedev, Anxious Dream, Wife's Hands, India, Blue Twilight, Russian Diamond, Clear Day and others.
The story "Ode to the Russian Garden" - a hymn to peasant industriousness
In 1972, Astafiev Viktor Petrovich released his next work. The biography, a short version of which is presented here, is very interesting. The writer grew up in the village. He saw her inside out. He is not alien to the suffering and hardships of people engaged in excessive labor, which is familiar to him from childhood. The story "Ode to the Russian Garden" is a work that is a kind of anthem to peasant labor. The writer E. Nosov said this about him: âThis is not told, but sung ...â For a simple village boy, a garden is not just a place where you can âfill your stomachâ, but a whole world full of mysteries and secrets. This is his school of life, and the Academy of Fine Arts. When reading "Ode", the feeling of sadness over the lost harmony of agricultural work does not leave, which allows a person to feel a life-giving relationship with mother nature.
The story "Last Bow" about life in the village
The writer Victor Astafyev also develops a peasant theme in his other works. One of them is a series of stories called âThe Last Bowâ.
The narration is in the first person. At the center of this authorâs creation is the fate of village children, whose childhood fell on the years of the 30s, when collectivization began in the country, and youth fell on the âfieryâ 40s. It is worth noting that this cycle of stories was created over two decades (from 1958 to 1978). The first narratives are distinguished by a somewhat lyrical presentation, subtle humor. And in the final stories, the authorâs readiness to rigidly expose the system that destroys the national foundations of life is clearly traced. They sound bitterness and open mockery.
The story "King Fish" - a trip to their native places
In his works, the writer develops the theme of preserving national traditions. His story, entitled âKing of the Fishâ, published in 1976, is close in spirit to the cycle of stories about village life. In 2004, a monument was erected in Krasnoyarsk in honor of the 80th anniversary of the writer. Now it is one of the symbols of the city.
By the time the book was published, Viktor Astafyev was becoming a recognizable and popular author. His photo is on the front pages of literary magazines. What about the book? An interesting manner of presenting material in this work. The author draws pictures of pristine nature, untouched by civilization, popular life in the Siberian outback. People whose moral standards are lost, in whose ranks drunkenness, poaching, theft, courage flourish, are a miserable sight.
Novel about the war âDamned and killedâ - criticism of Stalinism
In 1980, Viktor Astafyev moved to his homeland - to Krasnoyarsk. His biography here is not changing for the better. A few years after the move, the daughter of the writer Irina suddenly dies. Viktor Petrovich and Maria Semenovna take her children, their grandchildren Polina and Vitya, to their homes. On the other hand, it is here, in the homeland, that the master observes a creative upsurge. He writes such works as Zaberega, Pestruha, Foreboding of the Ice, Conchina, the last chapters of The Last Bow and others. Here he created his main book on the war - the novel "Damned and killed." This creation of the writer is distinguished by sharpness, categorization, passion. For writing the novel Astafiev was awarded the State Prize of Russia.
The year 2001 became fatal for the author of immortal stories. He spends a lot of time in the hospital. Two past strokes do not leave hope for recovery. His friends petitioned the Krasnoyarsk Regional Council of Deputies to allocate funds for the treatment of the writer abroad. Consideration of this issue turned into a trial of the author. No money was allocated. Doctors, spreading their arms, sent the patient to die home. On November 29, 2001, Viktor Astafiev died. Films based on his works, and today are very interesting to the audience.