Children of the great war - this can be called a galaxy of Soviet writers who came to great literature in the middle of the 20th century. Due to their young age, many of them did not take part in hostilities. The long days of the occupation, the gallows and executions, hunger, hatred and hope - they kept such childhood memories in their memory. The generation of writers who were born before the war (1941-1945) also includes Proskurin. Peter was born in a small village near the city of Sevsk (Bryansk region) on January 22, 1928.
Come from childhood
Kositsy is an unremarkable village near the border with Ukraine. The villagers were especially remembered for 1928 - the Soviet government carried out collectivization at an accelerated pace. With the active participation of the father of the writer, Luke Proskurin, a collective farm was formed in Kositsy. Children's memory photographed the low-key beauty of the nature of their native places: meadow grasses and a cool stream, an immense expanse of fields and the dry ringing of a pine forest. And also the old hut and the terrible groans of wind in the chimney were remembered. The works of Peter Proskurin always organically fit the first childhood impressions.
In 1934, the family moved to Sevsk. A provincial town with a rich historical past has become a small homeland for the writer. Morning fishing on the Sev River, the mysterious ancient Town (the historical center of Sevsk) and the ruins of the ancient Church of the Sign. Curious kids kept up everywhere. During these years, the boy was awakened by a love of reading. This was facilitated by the teacher A.M. Andrianova, in whose class Proskurin studied. Peter absolutely abandoned household chores and forgot about street entertainment. Soon, there were no unread books left in the city library.
War
The invasion of the Nazis interrupted the peaceful course of life in quiet Sevsk. Two months after the outbreak of war, the city was captured by German troops - the period of occupation began. Books saved him from the horrors of war, Proskurin recalled. Peter continued to read frantically. Mother considered it a whim and did not approve. But teacher Alexandra Mitrofanovna secretly handed over literature from the home library to her student.
At the same time, the future writer began to compose poetry. He wrote on everything that came to hand - on scraps of German newspapers, on a page mercilessly torn from the Bible of the Bible. It has become some kind of unconscious vital need. Amid the nightmares of war and fear of tomorrow, an emotional need for poetic self-expression arose. Love of poetry has been preserved for life.
Search for a way
After leaving school, Peter worked on a collective farm. He later recalled that he worked as a mason and a carpenter, sowed bread and plowed. In the difficult post-war period, life in the village was difficult. In 1950, Peter was drafted into the Soviet Army - he served in the air defense forces near Moscow (Reutovo). The first publication of poems in the newspaper "Red Warrior" dates back to this time. They were printed under the pseudonym P. Rosin.
Large construction projects were going up in the country, and Petr Proskurin after demobilization in 1953 did not return to his homeland, but went to his aunt in Grozny. Later he enlisted in the organizational recruitment and went to explore the Far East. In Kamchatka, he chopped and rafted the forest, was a driver and raftsman. A literary debut took place during these years. In Khabarovsk, an acquaintance with the journalist S. Rosly took place. He read some of the work of a novice writer and helped him organize the first publications.
In 1958, the regional newspaper published the story “The Price of Bread,” and the young author Proskurin came into great literature. Pyotr Lukich by this time had already moved to Khabarovsk (1957).
Becoming
Two years later, the local book publishing house published the novel Deep Wounds (1960), the first major work of a novice writer. In the center of the plot is the fate of the Bryansk partisans and underground. Heroes are ordinary Soviet people, for whom the war has become a test of courage, courage, patriotism. The book was pleasant to readers. Four years later, the second edition of this novel took place. A small book “Taiga Song” (a collection of short stories) was published in 1960 by the publishing house “Soviet Russia”. Later, these works were included in all the collected works of the author as an example of his early work.
The 60s were very fruitful for the writer. He created several novels. One of them is “The roots are exposed in a storm” (1962), which tells about the life of Far Eastern lumberjacks. The novel "Bitter Herbs" was published in the Novosibirsk edition (Siberian Lights, 1964). Moscow publishing houses were afraid to print it, because in them Proskurin criticized the state of the post-war restoration of the country's economy.
Book by book
After graduating from the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow (1962-1964), Pyotr Lukich leaves for Orel. During this period, several large works came out from under his pen - “Exodus” (1966) and “Stone Carnelian” (1968). The fate of Kolka’s little orphan is tragically depicted in the center of the short story “Human Love” (1965). The boy who lost his father in the war is a serious, responsible and with a great filial feeling of love for his homeland.
In Orel, the writer conceived a trilogy, which was supposed to cover a large time period of the Soviet period of Russian history. Moving to Moscow (1968), working as a special correspondent of Pravda and literary collaboration with many publications (Ogonyok, Our Contemporary, Moscow, etc.) did not distract the author from this plan. The first book of the trilogy is the novel "Fate" (1972). Work on this work was awarded them. M. Gorky. Later the following parts were written - the novels “Your Name” (1978) and “Renunciation” (1987). The trilogy will be included in all collected works of P. L. Proskurin. In 1974, the heroes of the trilogy loved by readers stepped onto the big screen.
Zakhar Deryugin and others
The magnificent prose of Proskurin literally pushed to the top of audience success the film adaptation of the novel "Fate" - the feature film "Earthly Love." A simple story: a communist, a collective farm leader and a father of three children Zakhar Deryugin fell in love with a young woman, Manya Polivanova. The true, recognizable plot and the stellar cast of artists brought tremendous success to the picture.
According to the results of the rental in 1975, this picture took 5th place in the list of highest grossing films. At the same time, the thoughts expressed by the author through the heroes of the film contained critical assessments of Soviet reality and did not lose relevance to the present day. Perhaps such courage became the key to the enduring success of the novel and its adaptation to the audience and readers. As part of the film crew of the painting “Earthly Love”, Peter Lukic received the State Prize in the field of literature and art (1979).
Living classic
The 80s is a turbulent period in the life of the Soviet Union. Proskurin is a member of the editorial board of the popular newspaper Roman-Gazeta and writes a lot. At this time, the Sovremennik publishing house was publishing a five-volume collected works of the author (1981-1983) - a kind of literary report by the writer. For creative achievements, Peter Lukic was awarded the highest award - the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (1988).
A clear citizenship of Proskurin was expressed in 1990. The “Letter of the 74s,” which he signed with other cultural figures, expressed protest against the defamation of the Russian people and the falsification of history. The author’s latest novel is The Number of the Beast. It was published in the Roman newspaper in 1999. October 26, 2001 P.L. Proskurin died.
The wife of the writer, L.R. Proskurin, made a lot of efforts to preserve the creative heritage of Pyotr Lukich and the memory of the great writer. His name is given to the library and square in the city of Bryansk. Children - Alexey and Catherine - continued the literary dynasty and became journalists.