Lev Razgon
Encyclopedia
Lev Emmanuilovich Razgon (April 1, 1908, Gorki in the province of Mogilev
, — September 8, 1999, Moscow
) was a Soviet and Russia
n writer
, detainee of the Gulag
, human rights activist.
In 1932, he graduated from the history faculty of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute.
Razgon joined the NKVD
in 1933 and for two years worked in its special department headed by his father-in-law. In 1937, after the arrest of his father-in-law Gleb Bokiy, Razgon was expelled from the NKVD.
On 18 April 1938, he was arrested and spent the next 17 years in prisons, camps, and exile. According to Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko, who called Razgon a “honoured provocateur”, he was repressed together with a group of “too assiduous torturers”, did not push a wheelbarrow in a camp, did not fell wood in taiga
, and was not dying of starvation, but he worked as a work-assignment clerk in the prison camp and was an ally of governor of an operative Cheka
department. In 1955, he was released and rehabilitated.
After rehabilitation
he resumed his writing and published a number of books while writing his memoirs about gulag. He started publishing excerpts from his memoirs in literary magazines in 1987.
In 1988, the Ogonyok
magazine published Lev Razgon's writing Zhena Prezidenta (President's Wife), an unbelievable but true story featuring Ekaterina Kalinina, the wife of the first Soviet President Mikhail Kalinin
, who served in labor camps in Komi
taiga
.
Together with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
, Razgon was among the founders of the Memorial Society
. He was a member of the International PEN
and the Commission for Clemency created by Boris Yeltsin
that worked for the abolition of death penalty in Russia and reform of the judicial system. In October 1993, Razgon was one of the signatories of the Letter of Forty-Two
.
Among his books are Shestaja Stantsiya (The Sixth Station, 1964), Odin God i Vsya Zhizn (One Year and All Life, 1973), Sila Tyazhesti (Force of Gravity, 1979), Zrimoe Znanie (Visible Knowledge, 1983), Moskovskie Povesti (The Moscow Stories, 1983), Nepridumannoye (The Not Made-up, 1988), Pered Raskrytymi Delami (Before Revealed Cases, 1991), Pozavchera i Segodnya (The Day before Yesterday and Today, 1995). His book Nepridumannoye was also published under the title Plen v Svoyom Otechestve (Captivity in One's Own Homeland, 1994), and was translated into English under the title True Stories in 1995.
of the fourth class for his personal contribution to national literature, active participation in democratic reforms in Russia and in connection with his ninetieth birthday. Razgon was also honoured with the Andrei Sakharov
award “For Writer’s Civil Courage.”
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, — September 8, 1999, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, detainee of the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, human rights activist.
In 1932, he graduated from the history faculty of the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute.
Razgon joined the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
in 1933 and for two years worked in its special department headed by his father-in-law. In 1937, after the arrest of his father-in-law Gleb Bokiy, Razgon was expelled from the NKVD.
On 18 April 1938, he was arrested and spent the next 17 years in prisons, camps, and exile. According to Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko, who called Razgon a “honoured provocateur”, he was repressed together with a group of “too assiduous torturers”, did not push a wheelbarrow in a camp, did not fell wood in taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
, and was not dying of starvation, but he worked as a work-assignment clerk in the prison camp and was an ally of governor of an operative Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
department. In 1955, he was released and rehabilitated.
After rehabilitation
Rehabilitation (Soviet)
Rehabilitation in the context of the former Soviet Union, and the Post-Soviet states, was the restoration of a person who was criminally prosecuted without due basis, to the state of acquittal...
he resumed his writing and published a number of books while writing his memoirs about gulag. He started publishing excerpts from his memoirs in literary magazines in 1987.
In 1988, the Ogonyok
Ogonyok
Ogoniok is one of the oldest weekly illustrated magazines in Russia, issued since . It was re-established in the Soviet Union in 1923 by Mikhail Koltsov....
magazine published Lev Razgon's writing Zhena Prezidenta (President's Wife), an unbelievable but true story featuring Ekaterina Kalinina, the wife of the first Soviet President Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
, who served in labor camps in Komi
Komi Republic
The Komi Republic is a federal subject of Russia .-Geography:The republic is situated to the west of the Ural mountains, in the north-east of the East European Plain...
taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
.
Together with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
, Razgon was among the founders of the Memorial Society
Memorial society
A memorial society can be:*A society established in memory of someone or something, e.g.:**Memorial , an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-USSR states**Sardar Amir Azam Memorial Society...
. He was a member of the International PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
and the Commission for Clemency created by Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
that worked for the abolition of death penalty in Russia and reform of the judicial system. In October 1993, Razgon was one of the signatories of the Letter of Forty-Two
Letter of Forty-Two
The Letter of Forty-Two was an open letter signed by forty-two well-known Russian literati, aimed at Russian society, the president and government, in reaction to the events of September – October 1993...
.
Among his books are Shestaja Stantsiya (The Sixth Station, 1964), Odin God i Vsya Zhizn (One Year and All Life, 1973), Sila Tyazhesti (Force of Gravity, 1979), Zrimoe Znanie (Visible Knowledge, 1983), Moskovskie Povesti (The Moscow Stories, 1983), Nepridumannoye (The Not Made-up, 1988), Pered Raskrytymi Delami (Before Revealed Cases, 1991), Pozavchera i Segodnya (The Day before Yesterday and Today, 1995). His book Nepridumannoye was also published under the title Plen v Svoyom Otechestve (Captivity in One's Own Homeland, 1994), and was translated into English under the title True Stories in 1995.
Awards
In 1998, Razgon was honoured with the Order of Merit for the FatherlandOrder of Merit for the Fatherland
The Order of Merit for the Fatherland was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree. The statutes describe it as a decoration for merit, not an order of knights....
of the fourth class for his personal contribution to national literature, active participation in democratic reforms in Russia and in connection with his ninetieth birthday. Razgon was also honoured with the Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
award “For Writer’s Civil Courage.”
External links
- Pictures of Razgon.
- Lev Emmanuilovic Razgon on Gardens of the Righteous Worldwide Committee - Gariwo (The Russian text of the book in full is available on the website of the Sakharov Museum and Public Center by click)