Not every participant in historical events manages to leave their memories and impressions for posterity. Vsevolod Ivanov is one of the prominent Soviet writers. His biography and works can serve as a source of truthful information for those who are interested in history.
Born free
In the constellation of Russian writers and poets, the name of Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich Ivanov takes its rightful place. It is not customary to rank engineers of human souls and workers of the pen according to the table of ranks. One wrote a dozen novels, and the other only a couple of lyrics. But both touched upon topics important for civilization. So their books are worthy to stand side by side on the same shelf. The future writer was born on February 24, 1895 in a Russian family. Parents lived in the village of Lebyazhye, located in the vastness of the Semipalatinsk province.
Father, a man of difficult fate, worked for many years in the mines. I tried on gold, tin and mica. He did not make much money, but by the end of his life he served as a district teacher. Mother grew up in a family of Poles exiled to Siberia for taking part in an uprising against autocratic rule. Seva Ivanov's childhood cannot be called cloudless. He managed to finish four classes of the parish school when his father died. That's all his education. In the village it was possible to feed on alms. The boy faced a tough choice: either to die of shame, or to go “into the people”.
Lacking a demanded specialty, he was not even fourteen years old, Ivanov went to Omsk "on foot." In a big city, there are much more opportunities to "settle in" than in the countryside. It is important to note that Vsevolod learned to read early. More precisely, to put letters into words. The boy read everything that caught his eye - shop signs, street names, inscriptions on cigarette packs and matchboxes. After a long search for a worthy occupation, he was accepted as an auxiliary worker in a printing house. It was here that Ivanov wrote his first meaningful notes and essays.
In 1915, the first publications of a lively reporter began to appear on the pages of the local newspaper, who signed himself as Vsevolod Tarakanov. A year later, he sent several stories to Maxim Gorky and received approval. It is interesting to note that his first book, which was called "Rogulki", Ivanov typed with his own hand and printed in the printing house, at his workplace. When revolutionary events shook Russia in 1917, the aspiring writer took an active part in them. He even had to publish the newspaper Vperyod, in which he published several articles against Soviet power.
In the family of proletarian writers
During the Civil War, Ivanov managed to get his bearings in time and moved from Kolchak's army to the ranks of the Red Army. He managed to fight in the ranks of the partisans. During this time, the writer had not only to observe people and events, but also to participate in them himself. Returning to Omsk, Ivanov plunged headlong into the literary process. In 1921 he was sent to Petrograd from the editorial office of the newspaper "Soviet Siberia". In the city on the Neva, the first literary and publicistic magazine "Krasnaya Nov" was being prepared for publication. Ivanov's story "Partisans" was published on the front pages.
A few months later, the story "Armored train 14-69" was published in the same "thick" magazine. The creativity of the provincial writer was recognized by the capital's masters. Ivanov was accepted into the community of young Petrograd writers "The Serapion Brothers". In 1924 the writer moved to Moscow. A few years later, at the apartment of Maxim Gorky, a famous meeting of writers and poets with the country's leadership took place. Stalin, Molotov, Voroshilov talked with the toilers of the pen in an informal setting. Coordinated their plans for organizing literary creativity in the context of the tasks at hand.
Successes and achievements
At the founding congress of the Union of Writers of the USSR, which took place in 1934, Vsevolod Ivanov was elected chairman of the board of the Literary Fund. Administrative activities had little impact on the creative process. Ivanov, possessing a colossal capacity for work, managed everywhere. He was invited on a trip to the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal. A book was written by a team of authors based on the results of the trip. When the war began, Ivanov did not go to the evacuation, despite the available opportunity. He was hired as a war correspondent for the Izvestia newspaper.
Ivanov ran along the fronts, collecting materials for newspaper articles. In days free from business trips in the active army, he worked at his desk on future books. A writer in the rank of special correspondent reached Berlin and signed on the wall of the Reichstag. He did not exaggerate his contribution to the defeat of the enemy. The front-line soldiers spoke of the novel "At the capture of Berlin" with great respect. In 1946, Ivanov wrote reports from the Nuremberg Trials, under the heading "Where Murderers Are Tried."
Personal life plots
Vsevolod Ivanov inserted scenes from his personal life into his works. He tied the knot three times. His first wife left him and left with a Czech officer from Omsk during the Civil War. In alliance with Anna Vesnina, daughter Maria was born. After five years, the family broke up. For the third time, the writer married Tamara Kashirina. The husband and wife lived under the same roof for the rest of their lives. They raised their son Vyacheslav, who became a linguist.
In the last years of his life, the writer lectured at the Literary Institute. Vsevolod Ivanov died in August 1963 after a serious illness. Buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
