Ilyina Natalya Iosifovna (1914-1994) - a well-known Russian writer and journalist, author of biographical works, in whose life two opposite sides of the world inexplicably connected: East and West.
A wonderful woman is a vivid example of the fate of one of the Russian people scattered around the world by the will of cruel circumstances.
Biography of Natalia Ilyina
Natalia Ilyina was born on May 19, 1914 in the Simbirsk province (Russia). Her mother, Elena Dmitrievna Voyeikova, spoke several languages, was engaged in translations and teaching. Pope Joseph Sergeevich was a hereditary naval officer, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Naval Corps, was a staunch supporter of the White Guard movement. Great-grandfather is the hero of the war of 1812, grandfather is a journalist and scientist in one person, and uncle is a famous geographer, friend and ally of D. Mendeleev and Yu. Shokalsky.
In 1920, the family was forced to emigrate to the huge at that time “Russian” city of China - Harbin. There, the girl received an excellent education, studying at the Institute of Oriental and Commercial Sciences. At the same time, Natalia took an active part in the activities of the city theater studio.
Long life in China
Without graduating from an educational institution, the girl moved to Shanghai, where she got a job in the emigrant newspaper "Shanghai Dawn." Their feuilleton, imbued with subtle humor, caustic and apt, first published under the pseudonym Miss Pan. These satirical articles truthfully described the exact and bitter pictures of the life of Russian people in Harbin and Shanghai. Then Natalya and several comrades formed the weekly newspaper Shanghai Bazaar; as the author herself believed - it was a fun publication on topical issues. In addition to Ilyina, many Russian emigrants took part in the work on the newspaper, among which was her friend A. Vertinsky.
With the attack on the USSR of Germany, Natalya Ilyina began to succumb to the patriotic mood more and more. The Shanghai Bazaar entered into open hostility with dissenting emigrant societies and publications, was persecuted by the police and ceased operations in 1941. Essays on life in China, where Natalia Ilyina spent the whole 27 years, are collected in the book “With Different Eyes”, published in 1946. Since then there have been no reprints, and today the book is a bibliographic rarity. Natalya did not remember her Motherland - Russia and returned here only in 1947.
Hello Russia! The writer Ilyina Natalya
Moscow became the next stop in its eventful, full of new journeys and unforgettable impressions of life. In the capital, on the recommendation of Konstantin Simonov, she enrolled in absentia at the Gorky Literary Institute . This paved the way for professional engagement in literary work. The style of her feuilleton has changed, incorporating pro-Soviet sentiments and illusions about Soviet life. In addition, Natalya Ilyina felt the need to put on paper her life, which was so unlike the life of ordinary Soviet citizens.
The young woman began to write an autobiographical novel, The Return, whose key idea was the difficult fate of an emigrant. After all, no matter what you achieve on a foreign land, all this is ephemeral and shaky, built on the sand and depends on any blow of the breeze. In exile, you are a person without a passport, second-rate and often humiliated. The first work about the Russian foreign countries, written on the example of his own experience, aroused sincere reader interest.
The work of Ilyina is a vivid reminder that there are values in life that you should not renounce: self-esteem, inner freedom, sincerity, common sense. Talking about the history of his noble family, the very intonation of prose, the author rewarded the reader with a forgotten sense of norm inherent in the Russian intelligentsia and culture.
The popularity of Natalia Ilyina
Ilyina came to prominence after the “Khrushchev thaw,” when periodicals actively began to print her caustic, witty feuilleton ridiculing the negative processes of literary and state life (“Doubtful Freshness”, “Automotive Psychosis”, “Belogorsk Fortress”, “Tales of the Bryansk Forest” ", "Birthday").
Ilyina Natalya Iosifovna (photo of the Russian period of life, see above) was characterized by a natural ironic mentality, had a subtle sense of humor, could laugh at herself. With cheerful, extravagant courage, she easily made enemies, unlike the majority, aptly wrote about the absurdities and absurdities of the Soviet economy, about the incorrigible "secretary" literature. Being a free man, Natalya lived in harmony with her conscience. In life, she was a wonderful storyteller and an interesting conversationalist: insightful, easy, sharp.
Books by Ilyina Natalia
In 1960, the author’s satirical works began to be issued in separate editions: “Everything is written here”, “Laughter is a serious matter”, “Luminous placards”, “Something is not glued here”. Her skits, tart and thick, Korney Chukovsky liked to read aloud , and Twardowski with pleasure printed brilliant feuilleton in The New World. Ilyina’s works were also actively published by the Crocodile and Youth magazines.
Roads and fate of Ilyina Natalya Iosifovna
The Russian writer Ilyina Natalya Iosifovna did not keep diaries, but for many years she made notes in the desk calendar, hastily wrote on separate sheets and put them in one folder. Sometimes part of the contents of the diaries appeared in books, but the main texts remained unpublished. In the final book of memoirs, “Roads and Fates,” the author spoke about the difficult fate of Russian emigrants ousted to Shanghai by a revolutionary wave, the bitterness of life in a foreign land and the joy of returning.
The lyrical spelling, the style of this thing helps to feel in a single stream the diverse fates of people met by Natalia Ilyina on the roads of life. It is easy to read, characterized by great taste and a huge share of self-irony. Descriptions of the heroes of the book are accurate and carefully verified, without the use of stamps and artificiality.
Life traits of a Russian writer
The writer Ilyina, Natalya Iosifovna, loved to create from nature. Such was her life: general and personal, funny, bitter, with an unsettled life. The writer was interested in the fates of different people: popular and unknown, good and not so, old and young, old acquaintances and casual companions. Going into contact with people with ease, she was the first to reach out her hand. Among her friends, writers and artists, there were many celebrities. Natalia Ilyina made friends with Anna Andreevna Akhmatova, Alexander Vertinsky, Korney Chukovsky. In family life, Natalia was happy with Alexander Reformed, an outstanding Russian linguist.