A talented writer, screenwriter and playwright, military journalist and poet. The popularity of Valentin Kataev in the Soviet years was incredible. Having already become a famous author, Kataev admitted: from his boyhood years he believed that he would become a writer. It took years of creative effort to make his dream come true.
From the biography of Valentin Kataev
Valentin Petrovich Kataev was born in 1897 in Odessa. He came from the most ordinary family. The father of the future writer, Peter Vasilievich, was closely associated with Orthodoxy - he taught at the diocesan school. Behind my father was not only the theological seminary, but also the history and philology faculty of Novorossiysk University.
Valentin Petrovich's mother came from a general's family. Kataev was brought up in a very cultured family, where love and mutual respect reigned. Love for his parents was also reflected in the writer's work: later Kataev gave the main character of his story "The Lonely Sail Whitens" Kataev gave his father's name and his mother's surname.
Mom Valentina did not live to see the age of majority of her children: even in her youth, she died of pneumonia. The care of the upbringing of the two children fell on the shoulders of the mother's sister.
The father did his best to develop an interest in reading in his sons. The family had an impressive library. Kataev had at his disposal books of various genres.
Kataev's younger brother, Evgeny, was a gifted boy. Subsequently, he was actively engaged in literary activities under the pseudonym Petrov. He is known to readers as the co-author of two immortal works: The Golden Calf and The Twelve Chairs.
Valentin Kataev's mentors in the field of literature were I. A. Bunin and A. M. Fedorov, with whom he managed to get to know even before the start of the imperialist war. Soon the circle of acquaintances of the writer expanded: it included Eduard Bagritsky and Yuri Olesha.
During the First World War, Kataev served as an ensign, in 1917 he was seriously wounded on the Romanian front and even received gas poisoning. For his service, Kataev was awarded the St. George Cross and the Order of St. Anna. Moreover, Kataev was granted a title of nobility. True, he could not pass it on by inheritance.
The writer was married twice. His first wife died of pneumonia. Esther Brenner became the second wife of Kataev. In this marriage, in 1936, Kataev's daughter, Evgenia, was born, and two years later, his son Pavel.
Valentin Kataev and his work
From his youth, Valentin Kataev was fascinated by classical literature.
His first poem "Autumn" Kataev created in 1910 It was published by "Odessa Bulletin". The interest shown by readers to his poem fueled Kataev's desire for creativity. In two years he wrote another two and a half dozen wonderful poems.
In 1912, Valentin tried himself in a different genre: humorous stories began to come out from under his pen. At the same time, voluminous books appeared: "The Awakening" and "The Dark Person".
Kataev was engaged in creativity even during the war years. His essays and stories tell about the hardships of everyday life in the army. Military fate in 1918 brought Kataev into the ranks of the troops of Hetman Skoropadsky. After that, the writer managed to serve in the Volunteer Army. He also had a chance to fight against the Petliurites. In 1920, the writer nearly went to his grave from typhus. He was able to recover only thanks to the care of his relatives.
Kataev after the Civil War
In 1921, working together with Yuri Olesha in one of the publishing houses in Kharkov, Kataev decides that the time has come to conquer the capital's public. He fruitfully works in the newspaper "Gudok", where his humorous and satirical articles appear regularly.
In 1938, Kataev witnessed the arrest of Osip Mandelstam. Subsequently, he provided material assistance to the family of the slandered poet.
With the outbreak of World War II, Kataev became a war correspondent. He writes many essays and articles. In this difficult time, Kataev creates one of his most famous works - Our Father. And just before the victory, the readers got acquainted with the story "The Son of the Regiment", for which the author received the State Prize.
After the war, Kataev succumbed to a pernicious passion: due to problems with alcohol, he was on the verge of divorce from his beloved wife. But at some point, he realized the approach of a catastrophe and gave himself a vow never to touch the glass.
In 1955, Kataev became the head of the Yunost magazine, having been its editor-in-chief until 1961.
Over the years of his creative activity, Valentin Kataev has presented readers with more than a hundred magnificent works.
The writer's heart stopped on April 12, 1986. In recent years, he has been struggling with a serious illness: he was diagnosed with cancer. Kataev was buried in Moscow, at the Novodevichy cemetery.
