Vladimir Kunin is a writer about whose past there is a lot of conflicting information. Many incorrect facts about his life were the result of journalistic errors, but some he created. The NKVD archives are still inaccessible to a wide audience. But it was precisely on them that the Russian writer and playwright Vladimir Kunin referred, whose biography even now, after his death, excites and intrigues journalists and critics.
Biographical data
In 1927, in Leningrad, Vladimir Kunin, one of the most scandalous authors of the post-Soviet era, was born in the family of a military pilot and film director. The real name of the writer is Feinberg. As a pseudonym, he, after many years, took the name of his mother, who by the beginning of World War II was no longer alive.
About the writer’s teenage years, which fell on wartime, much remained unsaid. But there is still an official version, according to which the famous screenwriter studied at the military aviation school until 1946. Then for five years he was a navigator on a dive bomber and only in 1951 he was demobilized.
Autobiographical myth
Kunin did not like to give interviews, but during his life he talked a lot with journalists. In recent years, he has increasingly misled the press. Citing facts from his childhood, he often accidentally or intentionally confused the year.
As a mature writer, he was known in literary circles as a person creating a heroic autobiography. In fiction in his biography include, first of all, childhood and adolescence. According to him, which he himself subsequently refuted, he spent the first years of the war in the secret camp of the NKVD.
In adolescence, the future writer was left to his own devices: his mother died, his father at the front. These circumstances led him to a gang of juvenile delinquents, and then to prison, where NKVD officers once had a long conversation with him. After a difficult conversation, the fourteen-year-old criminal had no choice but to enter the school of saboteurs. The "cadets" were to undergo military training, then participate in special operations. At least, this was what Vladimir Kunin himself claimed, although he was already sixteen in the year when, according to his version, these events took place.
A family
One of the most mysterious figures in Russian culture was undoubtedly the writer Vladimir Kunin. The personal life of this person was never open to prying eyes. In 1990, he and his wife Irina emigrated to Germany. His wife's illness forced him to go abroad for permanent residence. This was the only way to save her life. In St. Petersburg, their son remained.
Fame and glory
More than thirty of his books were filmed. His works are read worldwide today in seventeen languages. But the famous writer Vladimir Vladimirovich Kunin became with the release of the story "Chronicle of a dive bomber." It happened in 1967.
To this day, the film version of this book is considered one of the best Soviet films about the war. Along with this work, twelve short stories and one more story were also published in one collection.
"Intergirl"
After the Chronicle, Kunin wrote several more works on military subjects. However, the next breakthrough in literature and cinema was not just another story about military pilots. Vladimir Kunin received great fame with the release of the first Soviet film about the life of currency prostitutes. Gathering materials for the script of this film, the writer accompanied police officers who traveled to detain girls of easy virtue. Accumulating information about the world of prostitution, he tried to establish friendly contacts with the prototypes of his heroines. It was possible for the screenwriter with difficulty. He was increasingly mistaken for a KGB officer. But when the story saw the light, representatives of the most ancient profession literally showered the author with soulful letters.
The girls liked the book, and the film - even more. Only the scriptwriter was dissatisfied with the film. In his opinion, it was not necessary to make a film of state scale from this material. This story, like many of his other works, is just one of the sad stories of life.
The story "Bastards"
The film shot on this work left no one indifferent. Actions take place in 1943. At the center of the story is an officer who is released from prison to complete a mission of particular importance. He will lead a detachment consisting of juvenile delinquents. The sabotage group goes to the mountains, where it must destroy the German fuel depot.
After writing the script, the author was able to convince the director and government cultural workers that the work is not only based on real events, but also on his own biography. Both the story and the film caused a huge resonance and controversy among historians regarding the reliability of the data provided by the writer Vladimir Kunin. His biography will remain a mystery for seven seals. The director of the picture will later say that he fully believes in the historical veracity of the script. But now he is sure that Kunin himself never took part in any special operations.
"Bastards": truth or fiction?
After the screening of the film, a fierce debate opened up: did there exist a similar sabotage detachment, which Vladimir Kunin testifies to? Photos and documents of the war, which are available to the archives, came to a completely unexpected conclusion. The sensational scenario, in fact, is not without a historical foundation. Special schools for criminal children existed, but under the leadership of the German army. As part of the NKVD, children's sabotage institutions never existed.
Emigration
One of the most popular writers of the 90s has repeatedly said that his political views did not force him to leave Russia. He was never a dissident. Although he arrived in Germany as a contingent refugee. Kunin maintained friendly relations with one of the German publishers. This friendship allowed the author of Interdevochki to work fruitfully abroad.
Living in Germany, he did not stop writing. He often visited St. Petersburg, met with colleagues and readers. During these years he published his latest collection, which included the novels Ivanov and Rabinovich, Interdevochka and others. Besides this, Kunin also wrote the novel “Russians at Marienplatz”. All his works of these years are devoted to the life of Russian emigrants in Europe.
Criticism
Kunin’s military prose was perceived positively by both literary critics and readers. The works created during the years of emigration aroused burning interest of readers, but not always approval. The story "Intergirl" caused indignation among government officials. Speaking aloud about the presence of such a social evil as prostitution was not accepted.
But not a single work by Kunin caused so much controversy and indignation as his last military novel, “The Bastards.” In order to refute the facts that formed the basis of this literary work, many negative reviews were written. The authors were FSB officers, cultural figures and famous writers. The imaginary “autobiographical” story caused particular indignation. The author of the Bastards was accused of Khlestakovism and malicious slander against a Soviet soldier.
Last years
In Munich, the writer lived for more than twenty years. According to close and friends of the screenwriter, until the last days he did not want to return to his homeland. The reason for the reluctance to go to Russia was, first of all, in the scandal caused by the film “Bastards”. At the MTV Russia award ceremony, the famous Russian director Vladimir Menshikov refused to make a prize, calling the film vile and dishonoring the country.
Vladimir Kunin died after a long illness. He was 84 years old. His works forever became part of Soviet and Russian culture.