Yuri Olesha had a huge creative potential, which the author failed to fully realize. He was not subjected to repression. However, for many years the name of the writer who created the fascinating and instructive novel "Three Fat Men" was undeservedly consigned to oblivion.
Pages from the biography of Yuri Olesha
Yuri Karlovich Olesha was born on March 3 (according to the old style - February 19), 1899. The future writer, playwright and screenwriter was born in Ukraine, in Elizavetgrad (now Kirovograd). Olesha's father came from a family of impoverished Polish nobles. At the beginning of the 20th century, Yuri's family moved to Odessa.
Olesha joined literary work at a young age. In the year when the revolution took place in Russia, Yuri graduated from high school. He studied well - the young man's successes were awarded a gold medal.
In the same eventful 1917, Yuri became a student of the law faculty of the University of Odessa. Here he studied for two years. During this period, Olesha met Valentin Kataev, Ilya Ilf, Eduard Bagritsky. Subsequently, all these authors became the founders of the so-called "South Russian school". Yuri takes an active part in the activities of the poetry circle with the romantic name "Green Lamp".
When the power of the Soviets was established in Odessa, Olesha began to cooperate with the Bureau of the Ukrainian Press. This was the name of the information body of the government of Soviet Ukraine. One of the first successful literary experiences of the writer dates back to 1921 - he publishes the one-act drama "The Blockblock Game".
Then the writer moved to Kharkov and became a journalist. Yuri's parents chose to leave the country, settling in Poland. But Yuri made a different choice - he remained in the renewed Russia.
Olesha decides to move to Moscow. Here he actively writes articles and feuilletons. Yuri signs his literary works with the pseudonym "Chisel".
Yuri Olesha and his career
The year 1924 can be considered a breakthrough in the writer's work, when the fairy-tale novel Three Fat Men was written. This essay, published in 1928, contributed to the strengthening of Olesha's popularity. Later, Yuri commissioned the theater to create a play of the same name. She subsequently went on theatrical stages in many countries of the world. A film was made based on the novel. And the book itself has withstood many translations into foreign languages.
One of the best works of Olesha is rightfully considered the novel "Envy". In this book, the author talks about the role and place of the intelligentsia in the events that took place in post-revolutionary Russia.
In 1931 he saw the light of the collection "The Cherry Pit", which included works of different years.
In 1934, Olesha made a scandalous speech at the 1st Congress of Soviet Writers. He referred to himself as "a beggar from whom everything has been taken." After this attack, the works of Yuri Karlovich were not published for two decades. He was not even mentioned officially. Many of Olesha's friends and acquaintances were repressed in the 1930s.
During the war with the Nazis, Olesha was evacuated to Ashgabat.
The publication of Yuri Karlovich's works resumed in 1956. In the same period, his diary entries were published in the literary Moscow almanac.
A number of films have been created based on scripts written by Yuri Olesha. He also wrote the lyrics for the film The Sea Calls (1956).
The wife of the writer and playwright was the famous artist Olga Suok. It is to this woman that Olesha dedicated his wonderful tale "Three Fat Men".
The famous writer passed away in the capital of the USSR on May 10, 1960. The grave of Yuri Karlovich is located at the Novodevichy cemetery.
