Valentin Rasputin
Encyclopedia
Valentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin (born March 15, 1937) is a Russia
n writer
. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast
in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's works depict rootless urban characters and the fight for survival of centuries-old traditional rural ways of life. Rasputin covers complex questions of ethics and spiritual revival.
of Russia
. His father worked for a village cooperative store, and his mother was a nurse. Soon after his birth, the Rasputin family moved to
the village of Atalanka in the same Ust-Uda district, where Valentin spent his childhood.
Both villages, which were located on the bank of the Angara River
, do not exist in their original locations any more, as much of the Angara Valley was flooded by the Bratsk Reservoir
in the 1960s, and the villages were relocated to higher ground. Later, the writer remembered growing up in Siberia as a difficult, but happy time. "As soon as we kids learned how to walk, we would toddle to the river with our fishing rods; still a tender child, we would run to the taiga
, which would begin right outside the village, to pick berries and mushrooms; since young age, we would get into a boat and take the oars..."
When Valentin finished the 4-year elementary school in Atalanka in 1948, his parents sent the precocious boy to a middle school and then high school in the district center, Ust-Uda, some 50 km away from his home village. He was the first child from his village to continue his education in this way.
Rasputin graduated from Irkutsk University in 1959, and started working for local Komsomol
newspapers in Irkutsk
and Krasnoyarsk
. He published his first short story in 1961.
An important point in Rasputin's early literary career was a young writers' seminar
in September 1965 in Chita led by Vladimir Chivilikhin (Владимир Чивилихин), who encouraged the young writer's literary aspirations and recommended him for membership in the prestigious Union of Soviet Writers.
Since then Rasputin has considered Chivilikhin his "literary godfather
".
In 1967, after the publication of his Money for Maria, Rasputin was indeed admitted to the Union of Soviet Writers. Over the next three decades, he published a number of novels, many became both widely popular among the Russian reading public and critically acclaimed.
In 1980, after researching the Battle of Kulikovo
for two years, Rasputin was baptised
by an Orthodox
priest in nearby Yelets
.
Rasputin's literary work is closely connected to his activism on social and environmental issues. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Rasputin,
called by some the leading figure of the "Siberian environmental lobby",
took an active part in the campaign for protection of Lake Baikal
and against the diversion of Siberian fresh water
to Central Asia
n republics. In the 1990s he participated in the nationalist
opposition movement.
Having spent most of his adult life in Irkutsk, Rasputin remains one of the leading intellectual figures of this Siberian city.
He was an honoured guest for many events in the city of Irkutsk, including the unveilings of the monuments to Czar Alexander III
, Alexander Vampilov
and Admiral Kolchak
. He organized the readers' conference in Irkutsk Central Scientific Library named after Molchanov-Sibirsky.
Valentin Rasputin's daughter Maria died in the 2006 crash of S7 Airlines Flight 778
.
," or sometimes "rural prose" (деревенская проза). Beginning in the time of the Khrushchev Thaw
(оттепель), village prose was praised for its stylistic and thematic departures from socialist realism
. Village prose works usually focused on the hardships of the Soviet peasantry, espoused an idealized picture of traditional village life, and implicitly or explicitly criticized official modernization projects. Rasputin's 1979 novel Farewell to Matyora, which depicts a fictional Siberian village which is to be evacuated and cleared so that a hydroelectric dam can be constructed further down the Angara River
, was considered the epitome of this genre. The opening paragraph below is a good example of Rasputin's writing style (exceptional even for the village prose writers), and the novel's theme of natural cycles disprupted by modernization:
Rasputin's nonfiction works contain similar themes, often in support of relevant political causes. He directed particularly trenchant criticism at large-scale dam
building, like the project that flooded his own hometown, and water management
projects, like the diversion of the Siberian rivers to Central Asia. He argued that these projects were destructive not simply in an ecological sense, but in a moral sense as well.
In "Siberia, Siberia
" (first published in 1991), Rasputin compares what he considers modern moral relativism
with the traditional beliefs of the people of Russkoye Ustye
, who believed in reincarnation
. According to Rasputin, when burying their dead, the Russkoye Ustye settlers would often bore a hole in the coffin
, to make it easier for the soul to come back to be reborn; but if the deceased was a bad person, they would drive an aspen
stake through the grave, to keep his soul from coming back into the world of living again. The writer is not ambiguous as to which category the souls of the "modernizers" should belong:
Some critics accused Rasputin of idealizing village life and slipping into anti-modern polemics. The journal Voprosy literatury published an on-going debate on the question, "Is the Village Prose of Valentin Rasputin Anti-Modern?" Controversy intensified in the 1980s, as Rasputin became associated with the nationalist organization Pamyat
(Память: "Memory"). Originally formed to preserve monuments and examples of traditional Russian architecture, Pamyat became increasingly known for a reactionary, antisemitic form of Russian nationalism
. Rasputin has been criticized for his involvement with this organization, as well as for making his own antisemitic statements. Rasputin himself argues that his alleged antisemitic statements have been exaggerated and taken out of context. In July, 1991, Rasputin signed the open letter "A Word to the People
", other signatories of which were mostly Soviet functionaries opposed to Gorbachev's reforms. In 1992, Valentin Rasputin joined the National Salvation Front
(a coalition of radical opposition forces), nominally belonging to its leadership.
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....
. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's works depict rootless urban characters and the fight for survival of centuries-old traditional rural ways of life. Rasputin covers complex questions of ethics and spiritual revival.
Biography
Valentin Rasputin was born on March 15, 1937 in the village of Ust-Uda (Усть-Уда) in Irkutsk OblastIrkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of Angara River, Lena, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska Rivers. The administrative center is the city of Irkutsk. Population: -History:...
of 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...
. His father worked for a village cooperative store, and his mother was a nurse. Soon after his birth, the Rasputin family moved to
the village of Atalanka in the same Ust-Uda district, where Valentin spent his childhood.
Both villages, which were located on the bank of the Angara River
Angara River
The Angara River is a long river in Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai, south-east Siberia, Russia. It is the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal, and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisei River....
, do not exist in their original locations any more, as much of the Angara Valley was flooded by the Bratsk Reservoir
Bratsk Reservoir
Bratsk Reservoir is a reservoir on the Angara River, located in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It is named after the city of Bratsk, the largest city adjacent to the reservoir. It has a surface area of and a maximum volume of 169.27 × 1012 litres .The concrete dam of the Bratsk hydroelectric plant was...
in the 1960s, and the villages were relocated to higher ground. Later, the writer remembered growing up in Siberia as a difficult, but happy time. "As soon as we kids learned how to walk, we would toddle to the river with our fishing rods; still a tender child, we would run to the 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...
, which would begin right outside the village, to pick berries and mushrooms; since young age, we would get into a boat and take the oars..."
When Valentin finished the 4-year elementary school in Atalanka in 1948, his parents sent the precocious boy to a middle school and then high school in the district center, Ust-Uda, some 50 km away from his home village. He was the first child from his village to continue his education in this way.
Rasputin graduated from Irkutsk University in 1959, and started working for local Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
newspapers in Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
and Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...
. He published his first short story in 1961.
An important point in Rasputin's early literary career was a young writers' seminar
in September 1965 in Chita led by Vladimir Chivilikhin (Владимир Чивилихин), who encouraged the young writer's literary aspirations and recommended him for membership in the prestigious Union of Soviet Writers.
Since then Rasputin has considered Chivilikhin his "literary godfather
The Godfather (novel)
The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia...
".
In 1967, after the publication of his Money for Maria, Rasputin was indeed admitted to the Union of Soviet Writers. Over the next three decades, he published a number of novels, many became both widely popular among the Russian reading public and critically acclaimed.
In 1980, after researching the Battle of Kulikovo
Battle of Kulikovo
The Battle of Kulikovo was a battle between Tatar Mamai and Muscovy Dmitriy and portrayed by Russian historiography as a stand-off between Russians and the Golden Horde. However, the political situation at the time was much more complicated and concerned the politics of the Northeastern Rus'...
for two years, Rasputin was baptised
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
by an Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
priest in nearby Yelets
Yelets
Yelets is a city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don. Population: -History:Yelets is the oldest center of the Central Black Earth Region. It is mentioned in historical documents as far back as 1146, when it belonged to the Princes of Ryazan...
.
Rasputin's literary work is closely connected to his activism on social and environmental issues. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Rasputin,
called by some the leading figure of the "Siberian environmental lobby",
took an active part in the campaign for protection of Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
and against the diversion of Siberian fresh water
Northern river reversal
The Northern river reversal or Siberian river reversal was an ambitious project to divert the flow of the Northern rivers in the Soviet Union, which "uselessly" drain into the Arctic Ocean, southwards towards the populated agricultural areas of Central Asia, which lack water.Research and planning...
to Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n republics. In the 1990s he participated in the nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
opposition movement.
Having spent most of his adult life in Irkutsk, Rasputin remains one of the leading intellectual figures of this Siberian city.
He was an honoured guest for many events in the city of Irkutsk, including the unveilings of the monuments to Czar Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
, Alexander Vampilov
Alexander Vampilov
Alexander Valentinovich Vampilov was a Russian playwright. His play Elder Son was first performed in 1969, and became a national success two years later. Many of his plays have been filmed or televised in Russia...
and Admiral Kolchak
Aleksandr Kolchak
Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak was a Russian naval commander, polar explorer and later - Supreme ruler . Supreme ruler of Russia , was recognized in this position by all the heads of the White movement, "De jure" - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "De facto" - Entente States...
. He organized the readers' conference in Irkutsk Central Scientific Library named after Molchanov-Sibirsky.
Valentin Rasputin's daughter Maria died in the 2006 crash of S7 Airlines Flight 778
S7 Airlines Flight 778
S7 Airlines Flight 778 was an Airbus A310-300 passenger flight en route from Moscow to Irkutsk when it crashed upon landing at Irkutsk International Airport at 07:44 local time on 9 July 2006 . The plane overshot the runway, sliding over several hundred metres of wet runway and grass...
.
Rasputin's writing
Rasputin is closely associated with a movement in post-war Soviet literature known as "village proseVillage Prose
Village Prose was a movement in Soviet literature beginning during the Khrushchev Thaw, which included works that focused on the Soviet rural communities. Some point to the critical essays on collectivization in Novyi mir by Valentin Ovechkin as the starting point of Village Prose, though most of...
," or sometimes "rural prose" (деревенская проза). Beginning in the time of the Khrushchev Thaw
Khrushchev Thaw
The Khrushchev Thaw refers to the period from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, when repression and censorship in the Soviet Union were partially reversed and millions of Soviet political prisoners were released from Gulag labor camps, due to Nikita Khrushchev's policies of de-Stalinization and...
(оттепель), village prose was praised for its stylistic and thematic departures from socialist realism
Socialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
. Village prose works usually focused on the hardships of the Soviet peasantry, espoused an idealized picture of traditional village life, and implicitly or explicitly criticized official modernization projects. Rasputin's 1979 novel Farewell to Matyora, which depicts a fictional Siberian village which is to be evacuated and cleared so that a hydroelectric dam can be constructed further down the Angara River
Angara River
The Angara River is a long river in Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai, south-east Siberia, Russia. It is the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal, and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisei River....
, was considered the epitome of this genre. The opening paragraph below is a good example of Rasputin's writing style (exceptional even for the village prose writers), and the novel's theme of natural cycles disprupted by modernization:
Once more spring had come, one more in the never-ending cycle, but for Matyora this spring would be the last, the last for both the island and the village that bore the same name. Once more, rumbling passionately, the ice broke, piling up mounds on the banks, and the liberated Angara River opened up, stretching out into a mighty, sparkling flow. Once more the water gushed boisterously at the island’s upper tip, before cascading down both channels of the riverbed; once more greenery flared on the ground and in the greens, the first rains soaked the earth, the swifts and swallows flew back, and at dusk in the bogs the awakened frogs croaked their love of life. It had all happened many times before. (From Rasputin's novel Farewell to Matyora, translated by Antonina Bouis, 1979)
Rasputin's nonfiction works contain similar themes, often in support of relevant political causes. He directed particularly trenchant criticism at large-scale dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
building, like the project that flooded his own hometown, and water management
Water transportation
Water transportation is the intentional movement of water over large distances. Methods of transportation fall into three categories:* Aqueducts, which include pipelines, canals, and tunnels,...
projects, like the diversion of the Siberian rivers to Central Asia. He argued that these projects were destructive not simply in an ecological sense, but in a moral sense as well.
In "Siberia, Siberia
Siberia, Siberia
Siberia, Siberia is a non-fiction book by the Russian writer Valentin Rasputin. It was originally published in Russian in 1991 by Molodaya Gvardiya Publishers. The second and third editions appeared in 2000 and 2006; an English translation is available as well.Rasputin is a Russian novelist based...
" (first published in 1991), Rasputin compares what he considers modern moral relativism
Moral relativism
Moral relativism may be any of several descriptive, meta-ethical, or normative positions. Each of them is concerned with the differences in moral judgments across different people and cultures:...
with the traditional beliefs of the people of Russkoye Ustye
Russkoye Ustye
Russkoye Ustye is a village in Allaikhovsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia. For several decades during the Soviet era, the village was officially called Polyarny ....
, who believed in reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
. According to Rasputin, when burying their dead, the Russkoye Ustye settlers would often bore a hole in the coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
, to make it easier for the soul to come back to be reborn; but if the deceased was a bad person, they would drive an aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...
stake through the grave, to keep his soul from coming back into the world of living again. The writer is not ambiguous as to which category the souls of the "modernizers" should belong:
When reflecting on the actions of today's "river-reroutingNorthern river reversalThe Northern river reversal or Siberian river reversal was an ambitious project to divert the flow of the Northern rivers in the Soviet Union, which "uselessly" drain into the Arctic Ocean, southwards towards the populated agricultural areas of Central Asia, which lack water.Research and planning...
" father figures, who are destroying our sacred national treasures up hill and down with the haste of an invading army, you involuntarily turn to this experience: it would not be a bad idea for them to know that not everything is forgiven at the time of death.
Some critics accused Rasputin of idealizing village life and slipping into anti-modern polemics. The journal Voprosy literatury published an on-going debate on the question, "Is the Village Prose of Valentin Rasputin Anti-Modern?" Controversy intensified in the 1980s, as Rasputin became associated with the nationalist organization Pamyat
Pamyat
Pamyat is a Russian nationalist organization identifying itself as the "People's National-patriotic Orthodox Christian movement." The group's stated focus is preserving Russian culture.- History :...
(Память: "Memory"). Originally formed to preserve monuments and examples of traditional Russian architecture, Pamyat became increasingly known for a reactionary, antisemitic form of Russian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. Rasputin has been criticized for his involvement with this organization, as well as for making his own antisemitic statements. Rasputin himself argues that his alleged antisemitic statements have been exaggerated and taken out of context. In July, 1991, Rasputin signed the open letter "A Word to the People
A Word to the People
A Word to the People was an open letter signed by a number of Soviet politicians, literati and other figures. The declaration was published in 'Sovetskaya Rossiya' on 23 July 1991...
", other signatories of which were mostly Soviet functionaries opposed to Gorbachev's reforms. In 1992, Valentin Rasputin joined the National Salvation Front
National Salvation Front (Russia)
The National Salvation Front was a broad coalition of communist, socialist and ultra-nationalist movements against the reforms in Russia. The front was organized on 24 October 1992...
(a coalition of radical opposition forces), nominally belonging to its leadership.
Awards
- USSR State PrizeUSSR State PrizeThe USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
, 1977. The prize was awarded for his novel To Live and Remember, the protagonist of which was a deserter during the war. - Order of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, 1984 - UNEP Global 500 Roll of HonourGlobal 500 Roll of HonourThe United Nations Environment Programme established the Global 500 Roll of Honour in 1987 to recognize the environmental achievements of individuals and organizations around the world.The last Global 500 Roll of Honour awards were made in 2003...
, 1988. - Solzhenitsyn PrizeSolzhenitsyn PrizeThe Solzhenitsyn Prize is a a non-governmental Russian literary award established by the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 1997.The $25,000 prize is awarded for "works in which troubles of the Russian life are shown with rare moral purity and sense of tragedy, for consecutiveness and...
, 2000
External links
- The Social Vision of Valentin Rasputin
- Rasputin Biography - in Russian (dead link)
- Extended New York Times review of Siberia on Fire: "The Day Before the Thaw" (dead link)