Alexander Strakhov is a Russian poet and scientist, linguist and specialist in Slavic ethnography. At the end of the 80s of the last century, he left for the United States, where he currently lives. Father of the famous Russian actor Daniil Strakhov.
Biography
Alexander Strakhov was born in Moscow in 1948. Here he studied, and received his higher education at Moscow State University. After graduating from this university in 1972, he became a philologist.
Alexander began to write poetry as a child, at the age of ten. Usually he spent summer vacations in Uglich, where nature is very conducive to observation and reflection. But, by his own admission, versification for him was an irregular process, there were quite long breaks.
Labor activity began for Alexander at the age of 17. He served in the army, was demobilized with the rank of junior sergeant.
After that, Alexander Strakhov felt that he was interested in Slavic ethnography, and indeed everything connected with it. He immersed himself so deeply in the topic that in 1986 he successfully defended his thesis on the basis of the Institute of Slavic and Balkan Studies. The theme for her was Slavic ethnography, linguistics and history.
In Soviet times, Strakhov's poems were distributed mainly through samizdat. In the late 60s, he was a member of the literary association "Spectrum", which was supervised by E. Druts. It was this time that is considered to be the start of his poetic career. Then another creative downtime happened. For 10 years Strakhov did not turn to poetry, he was engaged in scientific activities. New works came out of his pen only in 1979.
Contemporaries characterized Alexander's work as "full-sounding, mythological and symbolic poems." Strakhov's first book was published in Moscow, although its author had already lived abroad. It includes texts written in 1979-1983.
Scientific activity
In the mid-80s of the last century, Strakhov again forgets about poetry and completely goes into science. In 1989 he decides to leave Russia and leaves for the USA. Choosing to live in the city of Boston, after a while he became the editor of Palaeoslavica magazine. This publication specializes in the history of the Slavs in the broadest sense. There are articles on antiquities, Slavic folklore, ethnology, etc.
According to the eldest son Alexander Borisovich, Strakhov managed to achieve such a state in his life when he is independent from anyone. He does not care about financial or scientific-organizational issues. Therefore, in the Palaeoslavica magazine, he can afford to publish his works and the works of those whose works respond to him and are similar in subject matter.
Strakhov has an impressive number of scientific papers. The most famous and significant in Russia are considered to be the works on the attitude of the Slavs to bread and traditions on this topic ("The Cult of Bread among the Eastern Slavs"). There is an article about the differences in the Christmas rites of the Eastern and Western Slavs - "The Night Before Christmas: Popular Christianity and Christmas Rituals in the West and among the Slavs." A. Strakhov studied a lot the principles of constructing texts in antiquity, its design, sound features and transitions that distinguished the inhabitants of different provinces.
Works and books by A. Strakhov
At the moment, eight poetry collections by Alexander Strakhov have seen the light. The latter was published by N. Filimonov's publishing house in 2015.
In a letter to the publisher that accompanied the manuscript of the first book (Awakening), Strakhov characterized his literary passions as "Soviet-avant-garde." And he even gives the names of those who had the greatest influence on him: Mayakovsky, Blok and Bely, A. K. Tolstoy, Sluchevsky and others. At Mayakovsky's, he once analyzed the style and language, and outlined his conclusions in his thesis.
At first glance, Strakhov's texts seem simple and heavy. They are very serious and dedicated to a person's self-awareness. At the same time, the author conveys his thoughts with the help of analogies and images directly related to his scientific activities. There are many philological and historical quotes here, which are not always found on the first reading. The poet's texts always contain words that are rare for the daily Russian language (obryashchem, plugging, etc.). However, they are completely understandable to the reader and make the work full.
A family
Alexander Strakhov was married and has two children. After the divorce, Strakhov left for the United States. The wife is engaged in psychological practices and has her own clinic, which specializes in gestalt therapy. The youngest daughter Elizabeth lives with Alexander Strakhov in Boston.
The eldest son Daniil Strakhov is known in Russia much more than his father - he is a famous theater and film actor. Alexander Borisovich's passion for the culture of the Slavs and their history was reflected in the choice of a name for his son. Before his birth, he actively studied the fate of Prince Daniel Galitsky. Therefore, the son received a princely name.
The Strakhovs never limited the freedom of their children and allowed them to make choices in any area on their own. According to Daniel, his relationship with his parents has always been very trusting. When the young man announced his intention to become an actor, his parents agreed on several master classes for him from the actor O. Vavilov.
