Vasily Belov
Encyclopedia
Vasily Ivanovich Belov is a Soviet/Russian writer
, poet
and dramatist, who published more than 60 books which sold (as to 1998) 7 million copies. A prominent member of the influential 1970s-1980s derevenschiki
movement, Belov is best known for his novels Business as Usual (Привычное дело, 1966), Eves (Кануны, 1972–1987), Everything's Ahead (Всё впереди, 1986) and The Year of a Major Breakdown (Год великого перелома, 1989–1994).
Vasily Belov's ideas and statements caused a lot of controversy, he was a harsh critic of the Soviet rural policies (denouncing collectivisation which he saw was the Bolshevik
authorities conscious attempt to wipe out grass roots Russian ways as such) and also what he felt was a 'cosmopolitical
' doctrines' dominance in the latter time Soviet cultural and social strata resulting in methodical repression, as he saw it, of the Russian national identity. Ideological idiosyncrasies aside, unanimously praised were Vasily Belov's tough stance on ecological issues and his activities in the old Russian historic sites’ and churches restoration. A great admirer of Ivan Ilyin
and his legacy, Belov financed the Russian philosopher's Complete Of edition and wrote a preface for it.
Vasily Belov, the USSR State Prize
(1981) and the State Prize of the Russian Federation
(2003) laureate, has been awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
(1982), the Order of Lenin
(1984), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
(IV, 2003) and the Order of Honour (2003).
, helping his mother to raise the family. Later he referred to just one overbearing memory of his childhood, that of constant hunger - for food and books.
After school, in the spring of 1949, he went to the town of Sokol
to join a local professional college where he learned the craft of carpenter
and joiner
. After the army he worked in one of the Molotov (now Perm
) factories, then in 1956 moved back to Vologda where he started writing for a regional Communard newspaper, among other things, poetry. On recommendation of Aleksander Yashin, a well-established Vologda writer, Belovhe sent some of his work to Moscow and in in 1959 enrolled to the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
. It was only by this time that he managed to complete his education and receive a secondary school certificate.
In 1961 Vasily Belov's first book of poetry My Small Forest Village was published, along with the Village Berdyaika novelet, his debut in prose. 1963 saw Belov's becoming the member of the USSR Union of Writers
. A year later he graduated from the Gorky Institute and returned to Vologda. In 1964 his Sultry Summer book of short stories was published, followed by Beyond the Three Voloks (1965).
It was the Business as Usual novelet (1966) published by the Sever magazine, that made Belov's name well known and talked about. The piece's main character, Ivan Africanovich, became the author's artistic trademark and one of the Soviet so-called village prose movement archetypal figure. Business as Usual was miles apart from the bravada-fuelled common Socialist realism
type of literature; editor Dmitry Gusarov even had to place the "To be concluded" tag in the end of it to appease censors who refused the publication seeing the story's finale as "too pessimistic". It was followed in 1968 by the Carpenter Tales short stories collection (published in Tvardovsky's Novy Mir
magazine) and then Vologda Bukhtinas (1969) a set of modern local folklore pieces. The latter books's humorous nature made it a kind of exception: with the years Belov's attitude to the Soviet reality was becoming more and more somber and depressive. The Upbringing According to Dr. Spock 1974 novellas collection's leitmotif was the rural-against-urban lifestyle dilemma, the latter seen by the author as unnatural, amoral and in every possible way deficient.
In contrast, 1979's Lad (Harmony) non-fiction compilation of ethnographical essays came as arguably his most cheerful book, picturing traditional Russian rural way of life with its customs and holidays as an idyll of man living in harmony with nature. By this time Belov's books and statements have divided the press and were being assessed mostly in black and white tones, depending which camp, 'liberal' or 'hard-line', a critic belonged to. Despite being an outspoken opponent of the certain aspects the Soviet official policy, Vasily Belov has not for a moment been considered a dissident
, having found his ideological stronghold in the opposite corner of the ideological specter. In 1981 he received the USSR State Prize
("For creating works of superb artistic quality"), then the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
(1982) and Order of Lenin
(1984). In the early 1980s he became one of the leading figures in the Soviet Writers Union and the Russian Federation Writers Union's first secretary. Several of his plays (Over the Light Waters, On the 206th, The Immortal Koschey) were being staged in theaters all over the country, all maintaining the urgent need to stop the spread of the West-induced type of amorality (natural consequence of the urbanization, as he saw it) and start working hard on preserving Russian natural riches including the most precious one, that of the traditional rural way of life.
In 1986 Everything's Ahead novel came out, again targeting modern/urban set of values, bringing about controversy and violent polemic in the polarized Soviet press. It was followed by the book called Such Was the War (1987) which included a novel and some short stories. Before that, in 1983, one of his best-known works, the Eves novel (on which he started working in 1972) came out, followed by The Year of a Major Breakdown (1989-1991) and The Sixth Hour (1932 Chronicle). This powerful trilogy, telling the tragedy of three peasant families' decline, became arguably the strongest anti-collectivization manifest in the non-dissident Soviet literature, based upon, as the author saw it, deep conflict between Russian rural traditionalism and the Bolsheviks-imposed new kind of 'rootlessness', the latter leading to chaos, murder and human degradation.
In 1989-1991 Belov published a series of children's books: The Old and the Small, The Little Spring fairytale and others. Those were the years of his active involvement in practical politics, first as the People's deputy, then (in 1991-1992) the member of the Supreme Soviet
. In 1993-1995 the Sovremennik publishers issued the first Complete Vasily Belov in five volumes. Another novelet, The Honeymoon, came out in 1996, but by this time Belov became better known as a publicist, an author of highly emotional polemical essays (appearing mostly in pro-nationalist
Moskva, Nash Sovremennik magazines and Zavtra newspaper) targeting many issues, the tragic demise of small Russian villages and the degradation of the Russian language, high in the priority list. In 1997 Vasily Belov became the Honorary citizen of Vologda. Later in the 21st century (despite his current political views described as "still quite radical") Vasily Belov was awarded the Order of Reverend Sergius of Radonezh (2002), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
(IV, 2003) and the Russian Federation's State Prize (2004) for literature and arts.
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....
, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and dramatist, who published more than 60 books which sold (as to 1998) 7 million copies. A prominent member of the influential 1970s-1980s derevenschiki
Village 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...
movement, Belov is best known for his novels Business as Usual (Привычное дело, 1966), Eves (Кануны, 1972–1987), Everything's Ahead (Всё впереди, 1986) and The Year of a Major Breakdown (Год великого перелома, 1989–1994).
Vasily Belov's ideas and statements caused a lot of controversy, he was a harsh critic of the Soviet rural policies (denouncing collectivisation which he saw was the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
authorities conscious attempt to wipe out grass roots Russian ways as such) and also what he felt was a 'cosmopolitical
Cosmopolitanism
Cosmopolitanism is the ideology that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality. This is contrasted with communitarian and particularistic theories, especially the ideas of patriotism and nationalism...
' doctrines' dominance in the latter time Soviet cultural and social strata resulting in methodical repression, as he saw it, of the Russian national identity. Ideological idiosyncrasies aside, unanimously praised were Vasily Belov's tough stance on ecological issues and his activities in the old Russian historic sites’ and churches restoration. A great admirer of Ivan Ilyin
Ivan Ilyin
Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin was a Russian religious and political philosopher, White emigre publicist and an ideologue of the Russian All-Military Union.-Young years:...
and his legacy, Belov financed the Russian philosopher's Complete Of edition and wrote a preface for it.
Vasily Belov, the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The 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....
(1981) and the State Prize of the Russian Federation
State Prize of the Russian Federation
State Prize of the Russian Federation is a state honorary prize established in 1992 as the substitute for the USSR State Prize. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates and the status of the award was significantly changed making them closer to such awards as Nobel Prize or the Soviet Lenin...
(2003) laureate, has been awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
(1982), the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
(1984), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
Order 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....
(IV, 2003) and the Order of Honour (2003).
Biography
Vasily Ivanovich Belov was born in small Timonikha village of Vologodskaya oblast (then - Severny Krai), in the peasant family, the oldest of the five children. His father Ivan Belov was killed in 1943 in the Second World War. While studying in the 7-year secondary school, Vasily had to labour in the local kolkhozKolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
, helping his mother to raise the family. Later he referred to just one overbearing memory of his childhood, that of constant hunger - for food and books.
After school, in the spring of 1949, he went to the town of Sokol
Sokol
The Sokol movement is a youth sport movement and gymnastics organization first founded in Czech region of Austria-Hungary, Prague, in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner...
to join a local professional college where he learned the craft of carpenter
Carpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
and joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
. After the army he worked in one of the Molotov (now Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
) factories, then in 1956 moved back to Vologda where he started writing for a regional Communard newspaper, among other things, poetry. On recommendation of Aleksander Yashin, a well-established Vologda writer, Belovhe sent some of his work to Moscow and in in 1959 enrolled to the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute is a higher education institute in Moscow. It is located at 25 Tver Bulvar in Central Moscow.It was founded in 1933 on the initiative of Maxim Gorky, and received its current name at Gorky's death in 1936....
. It was only by this time that he managed to complete his education and receive a secondary school certificate.
In 1961 Vasily Belov's first book of poetry My Small Forest Village was published, along with the Village Berdyaika novelet, his debut in prose. 1963 saw Belov's becoming the member of the USSR Union of Writers
USSR Union of Writers
The USSR Union of Writers, or Union of Soviet Writers was a creative union of professional writers in the USSR. It was founded in 1932 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party after disbanding a number of other writers' organizations: RAPP, Proletkult, and VOAPP.The aim of...
. A year later he graduated from the Gorky Institute and returned to Vologda. In 1964 his Sultry Summer book of short stories was published, followed by Beyond the Three Voloks (1965).
It was the Business as Usual novelet (1966) published by the Sever magazine, that made Belov's name well known and talked about. The piece's main character, Ivan Africanovich, became the author's artistic trademark and one of the Soviet so-called village prose movement archetypal figure. Business as Usual was miles apart from the bravada-fuelled common 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...
type of literature; editor Dmitry Gusarov even had to place the "To be concluded" tag in the end of it to appease censors who refused the publication seeing the story's finale as "too pessimistic". It was followed in 1968 by the Carpenter Tales short stories collection (published in Tvardovsky's Novy Mir
Novy Mir
Novy Mir is a Russian language literary magazine that has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine Mir Bozhy , which was published from 1892 to 1906, and its follow-up, Sovremenny Mir , which was published 1906-1917...
magazine) and then Vologda Bukhtinas (1969) a set of modern local folklore pieces. The latter books's humorous nature made it a kind of exception: with the years Belov's attitude to the Soviet reality was becoming more and more somber and depressive. The Upbringing According to Dr. Spock 1974 novellas collection's leitmotif was the rural-against-urban lifestyle dilemma, the latter seen by the author as unnatural, amoral and in every possible way deficient.
In contrast, 1979's Lad (Harmony) non-fiction compilation of ethnographical essays came as arguably his most cheerful book, picturing traditional Russian rural way of life with its customs and holidays as an idyll of man living in harmony with nature. By this time Belov's books and statements have divided the press and were being assessed mostly in black and white tones, depending which camp, 'liberal' or 'hard-line', a critic belonged to. Despite being an outspoken opponent of the certain aspects the Soviet official policy, Vasily Belov has not for a moment been considered a dissident
Soviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents were citizens of the Soviet Union who disagreed with the policies and actions of their government and actively protested against these actions through either violent or non-violent means...
, having found his ideological stronghold in the opposite corner of the ideological specter. In 1981 he received the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The 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....
("For creating works of superb artistic quality"), then the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
(1982) and Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
(1984). In the early 1980s he became one of the leading figures in the Soviet Writers Union and the Russian Federation Writers Union's first secretary. Several of his plays (Over the Light Waters, On the 206th, The Immortal Koschey) were being staged in theaters all over the country, all maintaining the urgent need to stop the spread of the West-induced type of amorality (natural consequence of the urbanization, as he saw it) and start working hard on preserving Russian natural riches including the most precious one, that of the traditional rural way of life.
In 1986 Everything's Ahead novel came out, again targeting modern/urban set of values, bringing about controversy and violent polemic in the polarized Soviet press. It was followed by the book called Such Was the War (1987) which included a novel and some short stories. Before that, in 1983, one of his best-known works, the Eves novel (on which he started working in 1972) came out, followed by The Year of a Major Breakdown (1989-1991) and The Sixth Hour (1932 Chronicle). This powerful trilogy, telling the tragedy of three peasant families' decline, became arguably the strongest anti-collectivization manifest in the non-dissident Soviet literature, based upon, as the author saw it, deep conflict between Russian rural traditionalism and the Bolsheviks-imposed new kind of 'rootlessness', the latter leading to chaos, murder and human degradation.
In 1989-1991 Belov published a series of children's books: The Old and the Small, The Little Spring fairytale and others. Those were the years of his active involvement in practical politics, first as the People's deputy, then (in 1991-1992) the member of the Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
. In 1993-1995 the Sovremennik publishers issued the first Complete Vasily Belov in five volumes. Another novelet, The Honeymoon, came out in 1996, but by this time Belov became better known as a publicist, an author of highly emotional polemical essays (appearing mostly in pro-nationalist
Russian nationalism
Russian nationalism is a term referring to a Russian form of nationalism. Russian nationalism has a long history dating from the days of Muscovy to Russian Empire, and continued in some form in the Soviet Union. It is closely related to Pan-Slavism...
Moskva, Nash Sovremennik magazines and Zavtra newspaper) targeting many issues, the tragic demise of small Russian villages and the degradation of the Russian language, high in the priority list. In 1997 Vasily Belov became the Honorary citizen of Vologda. Later in the 21st century (despite his current political views described as "still quite radical") Vasily Belov was awarded the Order of Reverend Sergius of Radonezh (2002), the Order of Merit for the Fatherland
Order 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....
(IV, 2003) and the Russian Federation's State Prize (2004) for literature and arts.
Honours and 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....
(1981) - Russian Federation State Prize (2003)
- Order of the Red Banner of LabourOrder of the Red Banner of LabourThe Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
(1982) - 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) - Order of Reverend Sergius of Radonezh (Russian Orthodox Church, 2002)
- Order of Merit for the FatherlandOrder of Merit for the FatherlandThe 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....
, 4th class (2003) - Order of Honour (2008)
Select works
- My Small Forest Village (Деревенька моя лесная, 1961, poetry collection)
- Village Berdyaika (Деревня Бердяйка, 1961, novelet)
- Sultry Summer (Знойное лето, 1963, short stories)
- Beyond the Three Voloks (За тремя волоками, 1965, novelet)
- Business as Usual (Привычное дело, 1966, novelet)
- The Carpenter’s Tales (Плотницкие рассказы, 1968, short stories)
- Vologda's Buktinas (Бухтины волгодские, 1969, a collection of modern local folklore)
- Eves (Кануны, 1972-1983, a novel in three parts)
- The Upbringing According to Dr. Spock (Воспитание по доктору Споку, 1974, short stories)
- Everything's Ahead (Всё впереди, 1986, novel)
- Such Was the War (Такая была война, 1987, a collection of wartime prose)
- The Year of a Major Breakdown (Год великого перелома, 1989-1991, novel)
- The Sixth Hour. The 1932 chronicle (Час шестый. Хроника 1932 года, novel)
- The Old and the Small (Старый да малый, 1990, novelet)
- Honeymoon (Медовый месяц, 1996, novelet)
External links
- Vasily Belov at www.booksite.ru.