Absolutely different Soviet-era writers have one thing in common. All of them were people who lived an interesting life and described events to which they were witnesses or participants. Their heroes stepped on book pages directly from the Komsomol construction sites of the first five-year plans or from the field barracks of the Red Army. Vasily Ardamatsky, a journalist and writer whose works have been read out by several generations of Soviet people, can be added to the galaxy of such authors.
Part one: childhood
The childhood information of this talented person is surprisingly stingy and faceless.
Born on October 8, 1911. A small county town in the Smolensk province of Dukhovschina, named after the Church of the Holy Spirit and the convent. Own house, three windows, from which a view of Smolenskaya street and a chestnut tree was opened. His father, the writer, planted under the window. The overgrown tree covered the sunshine, but the hand did not rise to cut it down - it was a living family value.
Parents are sketchy and concise. The family was a teacher - the writer’s father worked as a teacher of singing at a local school and as regent of the church choir. The man is educated and enthusiastic. He knew the history well and sometimes got into heated debates with the local priest over the interpretation of some historical events. The revolutionary upheavals of 1905 found him in St. Petersburg. Senior Ardamatsky, Vasily listened with interest to his memories, was a wonderful storyteller and an intelligent person.
Part Two: Pop Gapon and the Komsomol
Mid 20s. Father’s stories about the bloody events of 1905 nearly disrupted his son’s entry into the Komsomol. For Christmas, a costume party was held at the People’s House. For the best suit rely reward. Without thinking twice, Vasily and a friend decided to dress up in the king and priest Gapon. A small scene in which they find out which of the heroes after death will go to heaven, and which - to hell, ended with the appearance of a third character. Dressed in the suit of a worker, the judge sent the king and priest to hell. Only the third character was late. When he came and began to shout out his text, the commission was already looking at other costumes. The meaning of the scene remained incomprehensible to the audience. When admitted to the Komsomol, the costume of the priest Gapon Vasily was recalled. The organization was accepted, but punished to engage in political self-education. And the young man from this incident made the right conclusion. Subsequently, Vasily Ardamatsky, whose books were eagerly awaited by admirers of his literary talent, always scrupulously and clearly conveyed to the readers the main idea of ​​the author's intention.
Part Three: on the verge of adulthood
The turbulent revolutionary events and the ebullient life of a young Soviet country did not leave the boys of the 1920s time for idleness. Grandiose plans, new construction projects, the revival of the village - everywhere inquisitive and active teenagers had to be in time. They were confident that they could build a new, just society. In this seething public whirlpool, Vasily Ardamatsky began his conscious life. The biography of a young country has become part of the biography of a guy coming into life.
He goes on raids with fighters of special forces. He takes part in the creation of collective farms and collectivization in the villages of Smolensk province. After graduation, he enters the Smolensk Medical Institute. At the same time, Ardamatsky Vasily is already devoting a lot of time to social work and is taking another important step towards his future profession.
Part Four: Smolensk Radio Newspaper
December 1929 A new employee appears in the Smolensk regional radio newspaper. By this time it was no longer possible to call Vasily a newcomer to journalism. He wrote small notes for Komsomolskaya Pravda and for the Smolensk regional newspapers. The heroes of his materials are living people with whom studies or social activities drove him. Gradually, he came to the conclusion that journalism is a matter to which one should devote life.
A radio correspondent is a special kind of activity. Permanent business trips, meetings, events, new places and interesting people. A young journalist travels throughout the Smolensk region. By 1931, he became the executive secretary of the editorial office and still traveled a lot in the region. At that time, that journalistic style was born, with which the writer Vasily Ardamatsky distinguished himself in his future work. The author’s books have always been based on verified and true facts.
Part Five: Moving to Moscow
The beginning of the 30s was the time of the rise of the youth military-patriotic movement in Soviet Russia. The slogans that called on the Komsomol members to go to military service were not accidental. The young country was preparing to defend its conquests. Not shied away from military duty and Ardamatsky. Basil was drafted into the army and served in military service in 1931-1932.
After demobilization, he did not return to Smolensk. He firmly decided to become a journalist and continue working on the radio. The greatest opportunities for the realization of this dream were given by Moscow. The young man moves to the capital. The next 30 years of his life, Ardamatsky Vasily Ivanovich devoted to his favorite business - radio journalism.
Part six: the 30s through the eyes of the correspondent
In Russian history, it is difficult to find another such period in which the elastic movement towards new discoveries, records, victories was so concentrated. The rapid pace of life pushed for achievements. The real heroes and idols of the country were Soviet pilots. Unprecedented record flights did not leave the pages of newspapers. Radio reports on the most significant events were conducted by a young journalist Ardamatsky.
Vasily often travels around the country, meets with many people. Aviator heroes became his favorite characters during this period. Thanks to his work, he personally knows many of them. Accompanying the conquerors of heaven on foreign trips, he has the opportunity to get acquainted with the life of people in other countries. Gradually, the storehouse of knowledge is filled with experience and impressions, which later will form the basis of his literary works. But it will be in the future. And in the 30s the whole country knew the voice of a young correspondent. It was he who introduced the Soviet people to the heroes of the most significant events.
Part Seven: Blockade Microphone
Meeting with different people, Ardamatsky understood - the tension around the Soviet Union was increasing. He makes reports with participants in the events on Lake Hassan, tells the audience about the hot sands of Khalkhin Gol. A business trip to the Baltic states in 1940 for the first time made it possible to meet face-to-face with real opponents of the USSR. Vasily Ivanovich had the opportunity to talk with identified saboteurs.
The summer of 1941 brought great misfortune. Journalists are eager for the front, in the army. Among them was Vasily Ardamatsky. His first front-line correspondence was published in central newspapers two days after the Nazi invasion.
On the instructions of the editors, Ardamatsky is sent to Leningrad. He spent more than a year in the besieged city, having survived the difficult siege winter of 1941-1942. Many years later, the impressions of this time were reflected in the book “Leningrad Winter” (1970).
Part Eight: The First Book
In 1943, a collection of short stories, The Ability to See at Night, was published. The author is Vasily Ardamatsky. The biography of the work began all in the same besieged Leningrad. This book has been dedicated to the defenders and residents of the unconquered city. The accumulated impressions and meetings no longer fit within the framework of newspaper strips and in the radio broadcast format. The “godfather” of the first collection was the writer Evgeny Petrov, who at that time worked as the chief editor of Ogonyok. He printed short stories in The Twinkle Library and opened the way to great literature for the young author.
The next book appeared only 10 years later. Starting in the mid-50s, Vasily Ivanovich began to write a lot and fruitfully. New works appear on the shelves of bookstores with amazing speed. During the period from 1956 to 1970, he wrote more than 10 works. Heroes are brave and honest people who defend their country. Scouts and counterintelligence, pilots, partisans are ordinary people whose fate passed before the eyes of Ardamatsky during his journalistic work. In total, more than 20 books have been written by the writer.
Part Nine: Exit to the Movie Screen
By the beginning of the 70s, all the fans of the "spy genre" in the USSR already knew the name of the author of fascinating action-packed works - Ardamatsky. Vasily Ivanovich, whose books from the shelves of bookstores disappeared in a matter of hours, gets the opportunity to prepare his works for adaptation. Heroes of literary works stepped onto the big screen. The beginning of this was the film adaptation of the novel "Saturn is almost invisible." The scout movie trilogy, which was shot on this work, became the leader in film distribution of those years. More than 120 million people watched this epic movie about Soviet intelligence.
The popularity of the works of Ardamata is simply explained. The author was well versed in factual material, which became the basis of the plot of the new book. In most cases, documentary material was used. Clearly stated and built plot, a large number of details that raised the artistic narrative to the level of documentary. In the future, other authors began to use this technique, but the first to use it in his work was Ardamatsky. Vasily Ivanovich, whose biography was closely intertwined with the prototypes of his heroes, treated his characters with care. Perhaps this was because many of them were for him part of his own life. Just filmed nine works of the writer. The scripts for the production were written by V.I. Ardamatsky himself.
Part Ten: The Epilogue
At first glance, it may seem that the life of a famous writer was direct and successful. From a young age he was in the thick of things. He flew on an airship and accompanied famous pilots. On warships he sailed through the southern seas and raced to the ends of the earth to tell about the salvation of the Chelyuskinites. Several generations of Soviet people recognized Ardamatsky’s voice on the air when he talked about the most interesting events taking place in the country. A member of the Writers' Union, holder of the State Prize of the RSFSR and the prize of the State Security Committee, Ardamatsky was not an untouchable celestial. After the publication of the feuilleton “Pine from Zhytomyr” (1953), he was accused of anti-Semitism. The train of this accusation was long after Vasily Ivanovich for life.
V.I. Ardamatsky was an honest and principled person. Both in life and in his books, he defended ideals, in which he selflessly believed. And the feeling of this faith was conveyed to readers - Ardamatsky's prose was so convinced of its rightness. In 1989, he finished the last book, Before the Storm. For some coincidence, this was a study of events during the period of revolutionary unrest in 1905. The same pop Gapon, about which father had once told little Vasya and because of which he was almost refused to be admitted to the Komsomol. Soon Vasily Ivanovich died. His heart stopped on February 20, 1989.