The writer Vladimir Maximov, whose photo adorned the covers of books published in Paris in the second half of the twentieth century, was widely known far beyond the literature of Russian foreign countries. His works were delivered illegally to his homeland. But they were read with interest and discussed by everyone who was not indifferent to the past and future of Russia.
Facts from the biography
Maksimov Vladimir Emelyanovich - such a literary pseudonym was invented for himself by Lev Alekseevich Samsonov, who was born on November 27, 1930 in Moscow. The childhood of the future writer was difficult. His family belonged to the category of dysfunctional, which led to the escape of the boy from home. The young man wandered around Central Asia and South Siberia, visited several orphanages and colonies for juvenile delinquents. He was later convicted of criminal charges and was serving a prison term. The beginning of life was promising ...
Without the slightest exaggeration, it can be argued that the writer Vladimir Maximov, whose biography ended in a respectable suburb of Paris, began his life from the bottom.
Way up
The harsh trials of life did not break the future writer. Moreover, the experience of survival in constant conflict with the surrounding social environment has largely shaped its character. After being released from prison in 1951, Vladimir Maximov lived in the Krasnodar Territory. Feeling a taste for literary work, he interrupted by casual work for the sake of being able to write poetry and prose. The first publications in local periodicals were also held here. A little later, he manages to print in the provincial publishing house in the Kuban the first collection of poems. But, as you know, the path to great literature in Russia traditionally runs through the capital.
In great literature
Vladimir Maximov was able to return to Moscow only in 1956. His return coincided with the beginning of the so-called Khrushchev "thaw." The life of the country at that time was undergoing major changes. A new generation of young people quickly burst into Soviet literature. Many of them went through the war and the Stalinist camps. Vladimir Maximov writes and publishes a lot in metropolitan literary magazines. A notable event was his publication in the well-known literary almanac "Tarusa Pages". In 1963 he was admitted to the Union of Writers of the USSR. In addition, the writer is an active social activist. In 1967 he was elected a member of the editorial board of the influential Soviet literary magazine October. The books and publications of Vladimir Maksimov enjoy reading success and are actively discussed on the pages of periodicals.
Emigration
But Vladimir Maximov could not be an orthodox Soviet writer . His political views strongly disagreed with official ideology. And books negatively reflecting Soviet realities could not be published in the country. This sad circumstance was more than compensated by the attention of readers to his work. Very soon, he went beyond what was permissible in the Soviet Union. Maksimov’s novels “Quarantine” and “Seven Days of Creation” were distributed among the reading public in typewritten form, and were later published abroad. In 1973, Vladimir Maximov was expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers and placed in a psychiatric clinic for compulsory treatment. A similar practice in the USSR was quite common. In 1974, the writer manages to leave for emigration to France.
Continent Magazine
In Paris, Vladimir Maximov is actively involved in literary work and social activities. Elected by the Executive Director of the international resistance organization International of Resistance. In the capital of France, he publishes everything that was not possible to print in the Soviet Union. His books on Soviet realities are significant success and are translated into many European languages. But the main business of his whole life, Vladimir Emelyanovich considered the publication of the literary-artistic and socio-political magazine "Continent". This edition edited by Maximov publishes a significant amount of Russian literary heritage in poetry and prose, regardless of where these works were created. In addition, the Continent magazine is becoming the largest open journalistic platform in Russian literary abroad. For three decades, many writers and thinkers, from liberals to conservatives, have expressed their ideas and evaluated events.
At the same time, “Continent” is in constant controversy with another authoritative periodical - “Syntax” by
Andrei Sinyavsky. Vladimir Maksimov remained in the post of chief editor until the day of his death in 1995. The writer was buried in the famous Russian cemetery Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris.