Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov; Russia Moscow; 01/01/1911 – 23/12/1998

The books of Anatoly Rybakov need no introduction. They have been published in more than 52 countries around the world. The total circulation of Rybakov's books has exceeded 20 million copies, and more than half of his works have been filmed. So on this moment based on the books by Anatoly Rybakov, 13 filmed feature films and television series.

Biography of Anatoly Rybakov

Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov was born in the village of Derzhanovka, Chernigov province. His father A.B. Aronov was a distiller and quite well known in professional circles as the author of many specialized books and publications. Aranov sent his son to study in Moscow. This was already after the revolution in 1919. At first, Anatoly Rybakov studied at the former Khvostovskaya gymnasium, but he graduated from the eighth and ninth grades at the Moscow experimental demonstration school-commune. After graduating from school, he worked as a loader and driver at the Dorogomilovsky Chemical Plant until he entered the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers in 1930. He studied at the institute for three years, and then was arrested and exiled for three years for anti-Soviet propaganda.

After the end of his exile, Anatoly Rybakov did not have the right to live in large cities, and following the advice of one of his acquaintances from Arbat, he did not appear near large industrial facilities. Nevertheless, in 1938 he became the chief engineer of the Ryazan Regional Department of Motor Transport, where he worked until the start of the war. At the beginning of the war, Anatoly Rybakov was drafted into the Red Army, where he served in the automobile troops. Just like he had the opportunity to participate in many companies in different sectors of the front. By the end of the war, he received the rank of major in the engineering forces and his main recognition as having no criminal record. Anatoly Rybakov was completely rehabilitated in 1960.

Anatoly Rybakov’s first book, “Dirk,” was published in 1947. The story received many rave reviews and was already filmed in 1954, and reshot in 1973. Anatoly Rybakov’s first novel, “The Driver,” was published three years later. And five years later, the novel “Ekaterina Voronina” was published, which was filmed in 1957. But Rybakov does not abandon youth literature, continuing his story “Dirk” and starting new series about the adventures of Krosh. By the way, this series of books was also filmed. At the same time, he was working on his work “Children of the Arbat,” which became the most iconic in the writer’s work. This novel will be published only in 1987. Moreover, interest in Anatoly Rybakov’s novel “Children of the Arbat” will be so high that the book will have a sequel. Anatoly Rybakov’s last book, “Novel-Memories,” was published in 1997. And a year later the writer died.

Books by Anatoly Rybakov on the Top books website

Books by Anatoly Rybakov are quite popular to read. And they show interest not only in the “Children of the Arbat” trilogy, but also in the writer’s youthful works. Thus, books about the adventures of Krosh and, of course, the story “Dagger” are enviably popular. And it is quite possible that they will be included in our rating. Well, the books of the “Children of the Arbat” trilogy took high places in our ratings and ratings. And given the stability of interest in them, they will certainly be presented in our subsequent ratings.

Anatoly Rybakov list of books

The adventures of Misha Polyakov and his friends:

1. Bronze bird
2. Shot

A. N. Rybakov(Aronov) was born on January 1 (14), 1911 in Chernigov in the Jewish family of engineer Naum Borisovich Aronov and his wife Dina Abramovna Rybakova.

Since 1919 he lived in Moscow, on Arbat, no. 51. He studied at the former Khvostovskaya gymnasium on Krivoarbatsky Lane. Yuri Dombrovsky studied at the same school and at the same time. He graduated from the eighth and ninth grades at the Moscow Experimental Communal School (abbreviated MOPSHK) in 2nd Obydensky Lane on Ostozhenka. The school arose as a commune of Komsomol members who returned from the fronts of the civil war.

After graduating from school, he worked at the Dorogomilovsky chemical plant, as a loader, then as a driver.

In 1930 he entered the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers.

On November 5, 1933, he was arrested and sentenced by a Special Meeting of the OGPU Collegium to three years of exile under Article 58-10 (Counter-revolutionary agitation and propaganda). At the end of his exile, not having the right to live in cities with a passport regime, he wandered around Russia. I worked where you didn’t have to fill out forms. From 1938 to November 1941 he worked as chief engineer of the Ryazan Regional Department of Motor Transport.

From November 1941 to 1946 he served in Soviet army in automobile parts. He took part in battles on various fronts, from the defense of Moscow to the storming of Berlin. The last position was the head of the automobile service of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps, the rank was guard engineer major. "For distinction in battles with German fascist invaders» was found to have no criminal record.

In 1960 he was completely rehabilitated.

A. N. Rybakov died on December 23, 1998 in New York. He was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery in Moscow.

Poet, prose writer and essayist Alexey Makushinsky is the son of Anatoly Rybakov. Writer Maria Rybakova - granddaughter of A. N. Rybakov

Anatoly Rybakov was president of the Soviet PEN Center (1989-1991), secretary of the board of the USSR Writers Union (since 1991). Doctor of Philosophy from Tel Aviv University.

With difficulty, due to the unusual subject matter, the novel Heavy Sand (1978), which made its way into the Soviet press and immediately brought Rybakov enormous popularity, tells the story of the life of a Jewish family in the 1910-1940s in one of the multinational towns of Western Ukraine, about the bright and all-overcoming love carried through the decades, about the tragedy of the Holocaust and the courage of the Resistance. This pinnacle work of the writer combined all the colors of his artistic palette, adding to them philosophy, a craving for historical analysis and mystical symbolism (the image main character, a beautiful lover, then wife and mother of Rachel in the last pages appears as a semi-real personification of the anger and revenge of the Jewish people).

Based on Rybakov’s personal experiences, the novel Children of Arbat (1987) and the trilogy that continues it, The Thirty-fifth and Other Years (book 1, 1988; book 2 - Fear, 1990; book 3 - Ashes and Ashes, 1994) recreates the fate of the generation of 1930- s, trying to reveal the mechanism of totalitarian power. Among the writer's other works are the story The Unknown Soldier (1970) and the autobiographical Novel-Memoirs (1997). Anatoly Rybakov is a laureate of State Prizes of the USSR and the RSFSR.

Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov ( real name Aronov, Rybakov - mother's surname) was born on January 14 (January 1, old style) 1911 in the city of Chernigov (Ukraine) in the family of an engineer.

His grandfather owned a mosquito shop, selling paints and glue, and was the head of the synagogue. The revolution abolished the Pale of Settlement, young parents and their son left the province and in 1919 moved to Moscow.

The family settled on Arbat, in house number 51, described later in stories and novels. Anatoly Aronov studied at the former Hvorostovsky gymnasium in Krivoarbatsky Lane. He graduated from the eighth and ninth grades (then there were nine-year-olds) at the Moscow Experimental Communal School (MOPSHK), where some of the best teachers of that time taught.

After graduating from school, he worked at the Dorogomilovsky Chemical Plant as a loader, then as a driver.

In 1930, he entered the road transport department of the Moscow Transport and Economic Institute.

On November 5, 1933, student Anatoly Aronov was arrested and sentenced to three years of exile under Article 58-10 - counter-revolutionary agitation and propaganda. At the end of his exile, not having the right to live in cities with a passport regime, he wandered around the country, worked as a driver, mechanic, and worked at motor transport enterprises in Bashkiria, Kalinin (now Tver), and Ryazan.

In 1941, with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was drafted into the army. From November 1941 to 1946, he served in automobile units and took part in battles on various fronts, from the defense of Moscow to the assault on Berlin. He finished the war with the rank of Guards major engineer, holding the position of head of the automobile service of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps. For his distinction in battles with the Nazi invaders, he was recognized as having no criminal record, and in 1960 he was completely rehabilitated.

Having been demobilized in 1946, Anatoly Aronov returned to Moscow. At the same time, he began his literary activity and began writing adventure stories for youth.

In 1948, his first story “Dagger” was published, which he signed with his mother’s surname - Rybakov.

In 1956, the continuation of "Dirk" was published - the story "The Bronze Bird.

His novel "Drivers" (1950) was awarded the USSR State Prize in 1951. Then the novels “Ekaterina Voronina” (1950), “Summer in Sosnyaki” (1964), the stories “The Adventures of Krosh” (1960), “Krosh’s Vacation” (1966) and “The Unknown Soldier” (1970) were published.

In 1978, the novel "Heavy Sand" was published, in 1987 - the novel "Children of the Arbat", written back in the 1960s. The events described in the work were continued in the novel “The Thirty-Fifth and Other Years” (1988), the second book of which was the novel “Fear” (1990), and the third was the novel “Dust and Ashes” (1994).

In 1995, the Collected Works of Anatoly Rybakov was published in seven volumes, and in 1997, the autobiographical “Novel-Memoirs” was published.

His books have been published in 52 countries, with a total circulation of more than 20 million copies.

Films and television films have been made based on the writer’s books. In 1954, the film "Dagger" was released, in 1957 - "Ekaterina Voronina", in 1961 - "The Adventures of Krosh". Rybakov is the author of the scripts for the films "These Innocent Fun" (1969), "A Minute of Silence" (1971), "Dagger" (1973), "The Bronze Bird" (1974), "The Last Summer of Childhood" (1974), "Krosh's Vacation" (1980), "The Unknown Soldier" (1984), "Sunday, Half Six" (1988).

The television series “Children of the Arbat” was released, and in 2008 the television series “Heavy Sand” was released.

In 1989-1991, the writer was president of the Soviet PEN Center.

Since 1991 - Secretary of the Board of the Union of Writers of the USSR.

On December 23, 1998, Anatoly Rybakov died in New York, where he came for an operation. He was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery in Moscow.

The writer was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, and two Orders of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree. Among his awards are the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Order of Friendship of Peoples. Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1951), State Prize of the RSFSR named after the Vasilyev brothers (1973).

In 2006, the famous documentarian Marina Goldovskaya made the film “Anatoly Rybakov. Afterword,” dedicated to the life and work of the writer.

The writer's eldest son, Alexander Rybakov, born in 1940, died in 1994. His daughter Maria, born in 1973, the writer’s granddaughter, -

en.wikipedia.org

Biography

Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov is a writer, laureate of the State Prizes of the USSR and the RSFSR. Author of the books: “Dirk”, Bronze Bird” (1956), “Ekaterina Voronina”, “Summer in Sosnyaki”, “The Adventures of Krosh”, “The Unknown Soldier”, “Children of the Arbat”, etc. He was awarded 3 orders and medals. Participant of the Great Patriotic War

He said that he had fulfilled his life's work - by writing a novel about Stalin's time. He did not have time to write a novel about the end of the 20th century.

Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov was born on January 14, 1911 in the Ukrainian city of Chernigov, but at an early age he moved with his parents (Naum Borisovich Aronov and Dina Avraamovna Rybakova) to Moscow. They lived at Arbat, no. 51

All of Rybakov’s childhood impressions and memories are connected with the life of a big city in the 20s. Here, in Moscow, he joined the pioneers when the first pioneer organizations were just being formed, here he studied at the then famous school-commune named after Lepeshinsky, here he became a Komsomol member, here he began his working life early at the Dorkhimzavod.

In 1930, A. N. Rybakov entered the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers and subsequently became an automobile engineer. On November 5, 1933, while a student, he was arrested and sentenced under Article 58-10 (“counter-revolutionary agitation and propaganda”) to three years of exile. After ending his exile, he wandered around the country, working as a driver and mechanic.

The second half of the 30s was the time of Rybakov’s wanderings around the country; then the future writer saw many cities and changed many professions, truly getting to know people and life.

From the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was mobilized into the army. He took part in battles on various fronts, from the defense of Moscow to the storming of Berlin. His last position was as head of the automobile service of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps, and received the rank of Guard engineer major. “For distinction in battles with the Nazi invaders” he was found to have no criminal record.

After the war, A. Rybakov turns to literary activity. Writes adventure stories for young people. Fame came to the writer with “Dirk” (1948), then other books appeared that strengthened his popularity: “The Bronze Bird”, the trilogy “The Adventures of Krosh”, “Heavy Sand”...

The first novel written by Rybakov, “Drivers” (1950), was dedicated to people he knew well. The novel "Ekaterina Voronina" (1955), filmed in 1957, was also a great success. In 1964 he published the novel “Summer in Sosnyaki”.

"Children of Arbat"

In 1965, Rybakov began writing his main novel, Children of the Arbat. The magazine "New World" announced its publication in 1967. He has not appeared. The magazine "October" announced its publication in 1979. He has not appeared. The magazine "Friendship of Peoples" began publishing the novel in 1987. With the release of the novel, the magazine's circulation increased from 150 thousand to 1,200 thousand. copies

The novel, in the words of the poet Semyon Lipkin, “of Shakespearean power,” appeared at an extremely timely time. If he had appeared earlier in samizdat or abroad, as Rybakov was repeatedly suggested, they would have talked about him, but in a low voice, in kitchens. Publicity provided him with an incomparable resonance; the novel's circulation amounted to 10.5 million copies. It has been translated into dozens of languages. Copies of various publications occupy an entire closet in his Moscow apartment.

The work of art has become a fact of history. New generations judge the storming of the Winter Palace, which in fact did not happen, by Sergei Eisenstein’s dramatization in the film “October”. So Stalin will be judged by Rybakov’s novel. Actually, the Soviet dictator is not the main character, but it was this image that caused a particularly heated debate between his defenders and critics.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko said: “After this novel it will be impossible to leave the same history textbooks in libraries and schools.” Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, will read historical studies about Stalin. Millions have read "Children of the Arbat" and formed their own opinions. And not only here. The novel was published in 52 countries!

In the book, Stalin says: “Death solves all problems. No man, no problem.” It is not known whether Stalin ever uttered this maxim. But the reader seems to hear, here Stalin slowly, smoking a pipe, pronounces this phrase with his Georgian accent. And now it is attributed to Stalin in collections of quotes.

The permanent author of the hymns, Sergei Mikhalkov, warned Rybakov before one of the discussions of the novel: he will not go, “you are arguing for Stalin there.” Rybakov retorted: “Doesn’t Tolstoy argue for Napoleon?” - “You’re not Tolstoy.” - “However, I strive and advise others.”

The author, a young man from Arbat, who went through Lubyanka, Butyrka and Siberian exile In order to become a laureate of the Stalin Prize for Literature in 1951 for the novel “Drivers,” he studied all the materials available to him about the leader of the people. Now there are many of them, but then the archives were closed, and yet Rybakov, a keen observer of human passions, managed to leave us a portrait of the “leader,” which most would consider complete.

It is this meticulousness of research, combined with a talent for penetrating psychological depths, that gives us the Stalin we will remember, and it is not so important what else historians write about him.

“Although I understand that the text of the reasoning of the then Secretary General is your fiction, in fact, your version,” Eldar Ryazanov wrote to the author, “was written with incredible persuasiveness.” And here is Veniamin Kaverin’s review: “The term “research novel” begs to be called here. The author’s position is dictated by the desire to prove that the saying “the end justifies the means” is based on lies and immorality. Stalin’s moves are inhumanly talented, but in these moves there is no one for whom he according to him, he acts - the person is missing."

Many critics greeted the novel with hostility - their idol was skillfully and convincingly debunked. In Cheboksary, for example, local authorities opposed the translation of the book into the Chuvash language. And from Yaroslavl they asked to allow royalty-free additional printing.

The novel "Children of Arbat", published in 1987, became a real event in literary life Russia. Subsequently, the Arbat trilogy was completed by the novels “Fear” and “Dust and Ashes”.

Our days

Before last days In his life, Anatoly Rybakov remained an optimist, a lover of life due to his fighting character. Rybakov was very concerned about the fate of his generation - a generation of idealists who believed that it was possible to improve the human race and create a just society.

This generation generously fell to Stalin's and German bullets, ashes, and what they still managed to do became ashes. This, in fact, is the name of the last book of the trilogy about the children of Arbat - “Dust and Ashes”. The title does not entice the reader to open the book. But read by those who were fascinated by the fate of Sasha Pankratov, his friends, his country.

Rybakov managed to joke even on the operating table. On the second day after bypass surgery, in June 1998, he, as if nothing had happened, signed autographs for the clinic’s nurses, who turned out to be Russian emigrants, and planned to return to the table to write another manuscript.

And he decided to undergo the operation for the sake of readers who wanted to trace the further fate of the children of Arbat in the third and fourth generations. At 87 years old, Rybakov continued to work, wrote by hand, gave what he had written to his wife Tanya, she typed it on the computer - and the editing began.

The doctors, having traveled with a catheter through the vessels of his heart, said (in America doctors do not hide anything from the patient) that they could not guarantee him the six years necessary to carry out this last author's intention. The irreparable can happen at any moment. Moreover, the doctors did not promise him continued ability to work. It was necessary to create bypass pathways for supplying the heart muscle to replace blocked vessels, borrowing pieces of vein from the leg. Then there are several more creative years ahead.

“I have completed my life’s work,” said Rybakov. – Wrote a novel about Stalin’s time and published it during his lifetime. He also wrote an autobiography, as if summing up the results (“Novel-Memoir”). Now I get six years. I want to write a novel about the end of the twentieth century, about the history of destruction first Soviet Union, and now Russia.

The operation was carried out by the famous surgeon Subramanian, an Indian by nationality, using the latest techniques, without opening the chest, both the operation itself and postoperative period It seemed like it went well. Six years ahead!

Six months later, Rybakov, having gone to bed, did not wake up. And just two days before that, he heatedly discussed the fate of Russia with Grigory Yavlinsky. And he told him: “You need the slogans of Napoleonic power: “Soldiers, the sun of Austerlitz is above you.”

Rybakov left for America to be able to work in peace. In Peredelkino they constantly pulled me and tore me from my desk. And there was little time left... In the end, Maxim Gorky wrote his novel “Mother,” which laid the foundation for the so-called socialist realism, at his dacha in the Adirondack mountains north of New York.

In 1990, the collection “Children of Arbat” by Anatoly Rybakov was published, where opinions about the novel collided. The book was declared written in a “traditional manner,” as if this had any significance for millions of readers who devoured the fascinating novel with avidity. They compared it with “Three musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas, they say, adventure literature on historical topic for children. This is rather a compliment to the author of the children's favorite Dirk.

Rybakov always worked carefully. All that was left of him were old-fashioned folders with ribbons. On the folders there are inscriptions: “Yeltsin”, “Gaidar”, “Chubais”, “Kiriyenko”. They contain clippings and preparations for the planned novel “Son”. Torn apart by merciless time.

A few days after the writer's death, his widow Tanya received, among others, a letter from Bernard Kamenicki, a reader from Boca Raton in Florida. The author expressed his condolences and wrote: “After reading his books, I became a better person.”

What more could any writer wish for? Sem40.ru according to media reports. 01/17/2005

en.wikipedia.org

Biography

Born into the family of engineer Naum Borisovich Aronov and his wife Dina Abramovna Rybakova in Chernigov.

Since 1919 he lived in Moscow, on Arbat, no. 51. He studied at the former Khvostovskaya gymnasium on Krivoarbatsky Lane. He graduated from the eighth and ninth grades at the Moscow Experimental Communal School (abbreviated MOPSHK) in 2nd Obydensky Lane on Ostozhenka. The school arose as a commune of Komsomol members who returned from the fronts of the civil war.

After graduating from school, he worked at the Dorogomilovsky chemical plant, as a loader, then as a driver.

In 1930 he entered the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers.

On November 5, 1933, he was arrested and sentenced by a Special Meeting of the OGPU Collegium to three years of exile under Article 58-10 (Counter-revolutionary agitation and propaganda). At the end of his exile, not having the right to live in cities with a passport regime, he wandered around Russia. I worked where you didn’t have to fill out forms.

Since 1941 in the army. He took part in battles on various fronts, from the defense of Moscow to the storming of Berlin. Last position - head of the automobile service of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps, rank - guard engineer major. “For distinction in battles with the Nazi invaders” he was recognized as having no criminal record. In 1960 he was completely rehabilitated.

He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, I and II degrees, the Red Banner of Labor, and Friendship of Peoples. Anatoly Rybakov was buried at the Kuntsevo cemetery in Moscow.

Creation

After the war, A. Rybakov turned to literary activity, starting to write adventure stories for youth - the story “Dirk” (1948) and its continuation - the story “The Bronze Bird” (1956). Both stories were filmed - the film "Dirk" in 1954 (again in 1973), the film "The Bronze Bird" in 1974.

The following stories were also addressed to youth - “The Adventures of Krosh” (1960) with the continuation “Krosh’s Vacation” (1966). Their film adaptations are “The Adventures of Krosh” in 1961 and “Krosh’s Vacation” in 1979.

The first novel written by Rybakov was dedicated to people well known to him - “Drivers” (1950; Stalin Prize, 1951). The novel “Ekaterina Voronina” (1955), filmed in 1957, was a great success. In 1964 he published the novel “Summer in Sosnyaki”.

In 1975, the continuation of the stories “Dirk” and “Bronze Bird” was released - the story “Shot” and the film based on it - “The Last Summer of Childhood”.

In 1978, the novel “Heavy Sand” was published. The novel tells about the life of a Jewish family in the 1910-40s in one of the multinational towns in northern Ukraine, about a bright and all-overcoming love carried through decades, about the tragedy of the Holocaust and the courage of civil resistance. This pinnacle work of the writer combined all the colors of his artistic palette, adding to them philosophy, a craving for historical analysis and mystical symbolism (the image of the main character, a beautiful lover, then wife and mother Rachel on the last pages appears as a semi-real personification of the anger and revenge of the Jewish people).

The novel "Children of the Arbat", written in the 60s and published only in 1987, was one of the first about the fate younger generation the thirties, a time of great losses and tragedies, the novel recreates the fate of this generation, trying to reveal the mechanism of totalitarian power, to understand the “phenomenon” of Stalin and Stalinism.

In 1989, its sequel was published - the novel “The Thirty-Fifth and Other Years.” In 1990 - the novel “Fear”, in 1994 - “Dust and Ashes”. The tetralogy uses elements of the biography of the author (Sasha Pankratov).

In 1995, a collection of works was published in seven volumes. Later - the autobiographical “Novel-Memoirs” (1997).

The books were published in 52 countries, with a total circulation of more than 20 million copies. In 2005, the television series “Children of Arbat” was released. In 2008, the television series “Heavy Sand” was released.

Anatoly Rybakov - laureate of State Prizes of the USSR and the RSFSR, was president of the Soviet PEN Center (1989-1991), secretary of the board of the Union of Writers of the USSR (since 1991). Doctor of Philosophy from Tel Aviv University.

Interesting Facts

Two different cycles of works, begun by “Dirk” and “Children of the Arbat”, respectively, are interconnected. Main character"Children of Arbat" - Sasha Pankratov - is one of the episodic characters in the last story of the first cycle - "Shot". The novel "Fear" mentions the execution of Misha Polyakov during the purges of 1937-1938.

Bibliography

Series "Dirk":
Dirk (1946-1948)
Bronze Bird (1955-1956)
Shot (1975)

Series "The Adventures of Krosh"
The Adventures of Krosh (1960, January-March)
Krosh's vacation (1964-1964)
Unknown Soldier (1969-1970)

Trilogy "Children of Arbat"
Children of Arbat (1966-1983)
Fear (1988-1990)
Ashes and Ashes (1991-1994)

Drivers (1949-1950)

Heavy Sand (1975-1977)

Novel-memoir (published 1997)

Ekaterina Voronina (1955)
Summer in Sosnyaki (1964)

Translated works
The Dirk (by David Skvirsky)
The Bronze Bird (by David Skvirsky)

Biography

In the 1950s in the former Soviet Union, children read the civil war-era adventure story Dirk, written by Anatoly Rybakov. Then came the continuation of "Dirk" - the story "The Bronze Bird", followed by - fascinating story cute teenager Krosh - “The Adventures of Krosh” and “Krosh’s Vacations”. Along with books for children and youth, the author published two novels on the then fashionable “industrial” theme: “Drivers” and “Ekaterina Voronina.” Most of the author's works were filmed and had, in addition to reader success, also audience success.

How did it happen that a Judeophobic magazine published such a novel, and in general, why did a quite successful Russian writer (many did not realize that Rybakov, a Jew, dared to write a dubious, in the opinion of Brezhnev’s literary dishonesty, novel, and then the generally seditious “Children of the Arbat”?

The writer, who is currently in New York and working at the Columbia University library on the final part of the epic about Stalin's times, spoke about all this, as well as much more, at an evening organized by the Center for the Culture of Immigrants from the Soviet Union. The meeting took place in the Arbeter Ring, one of the oldest Jewish organizations in America.

Short, youthful (you would never think that he was already 82 years old), friendly and sociable, Anatoly Naumovich, without further ado, began a kind of author’s confession.

In the “Brief Literary Encyclopedia”, in the 6th volume, published in 1971, it is reported that the writer was born in 1911 in Chernigov, graduated from the Moscow Institute of Railway Transport in 1934, worked in his specialty for a long time, and was a participant in the Great Patriotic War. The following is a list of his works. That's all. About the fact that he was expelled from the institute, repressed, exiled, and three years after his return he lost the right to live not only in his native Moscow, in that very courtyard on Arbat, which he later described in “Children of the Arbat,” but also in other capital cities, was forced to wander all over Russia in search of a corner and a piece of bread - not a word was said about all this.

And then one day, it was in 1939, he, while spending the night at some station, met a young guy who told him something completely incredible, in a sense. funny story about how his grandfather left for Switzerland at the end of the last century, graduated from the medical faculty of the university there, became a successful doctor, got married, his wife bore him three sons, two of them followed in his footsteps, and with the third, the youngest, whose name was Jacob, he went to visit his native Simferopol. There, in Simferopol, Yakov met beautiful girl and fell in love with her at first sight. She turned out to be the daughter of a local shoemaker and her name was... however, it doesn’t matter what her real name was, in the novel she is named after our ancestress Rachel, the wife of Jacob.

What happened next? Yakov married Rachel, took her to Switzerland, there she gave birth to a son, they were happy, but after some time the girl became sad for home, her family and, despite the persuasion of Yakov and his relatives, she returned home with her little son to Simferopol. After some time, Yakov also rolled there. I thought about persuading my wife to return from Switzerland, but then the First World War began. World War, then the revolution, and he was “stuck” in Russia for the rest of his life. He became a shoemaker, learned Russian, more children appeared, and this guy was among them...

Rybakov was touched by this story, but he did not even think that it would form the basis of his novel; at that time he did not even think about becoming a writer. He was more concerned with the question of whether he would find work and accommodation tomorrow.

In the early 70s he was already famous writer, was found by the same guy, who had aged thirty odd years, and talked about how his parents, relatives, and the Jews of Simferopol in general died at the hands of fascist murderers. And then Rybakov realized that he could not escape this topic, that he must, must write about all this great novel, capture your unfortunate fellow tribesmen. In a word, as Ilya Ehrenburg said: “Woe, an old wound has opened, my mother’s name was Khana.”

Rybakov began working on the novel with a trip to Simferopol, wandered through the streets and alleys where there was a Jewish ghetto for a short time during the occupation, and visited the place where Simferopol Jews were taken and shot. He realized that he couldn’t write a book here, that Simferopol was a foreign city to him.

And then he decided to move the scene of the future novel to the homeland of his grandfather, to Snovsk - a small commercial and industrial city of the former Chernigov province, where his mother brought him as a ten-year-old boy in the hungry year of 1921.

My grandfather was a wealthy industrialist; the way of life in his house was maintained by a religious-patriarchal structure. The town itself was international; Jews, Ukrainians, Poles, Belarusians, and Russians lived in it (in peace and harmony).

And now, more than half a century later, he again found himself in Snovsk. Now it was a typical Soviet regional center: there were more than enough officials, and the economy was deplorable, out of 3 thousand Jews there were no more than 200 left...

And then, when the novel was written, the question arose: where to publish it? It turned out to be impossible to do this in Novy Mir or Yunost, in the magazines where Rybakov published most of his works. And then he turned, as we already know, to “October”. Not long before this, there was a change of power here. After Kochetov’s death, the editorial board was headed by A. Ananyev, known in literary circles as a decent person. In order to pull the magazine out of the swamp and attract new readers, he urgently needed to publish something sensational. “Heavy Sand” turned out to be such a work. Moreover, in order to “slip” the censorship controlled by the highest party bodies, Rybakov initially presented only the first part of the novel, the action of which takes place before the revolution. And yet, it was necessary to change one of the places of action - the Swiss city of Basel: a certain critic reported to the “gray eminence” Suslov himself that a Zionist congress had once taken place in this very Basel, therefore, an affair with a Zionist scent.

One way or another, the novel was published and made a huge impression on readers, and not only Jews. As for criticism, in most cases she kept silent, for fear of getting into trouble, and most of all, out of favor with her party leadership.

But this did not upset the writer; for him, heartfelt reviews from readers and tens of thousands of letters were much more important. One of the letters contained the following words: “Only after reading the novel did I feel like a real Jew and am proud of it.” One day leaving his house in Peredelkino, Rybakov saw Jewish youths who, it turned out, were protecting his home from hooligans who threatened to start a fire.

Anatoly Rybakov told his fans that evening many more interesting things. And not only about “Heavy Sand”, but also about the even more difficult fate of “Children of the Arbat”, as well as about the work on the final part of the tragic epic, which he conventionally called “Reckoning”.

Biography

Anatoly Naumovich Rybakov (1911 - December 23, 1998) - Russian writer. Novels about social and moral conflicts of modern production: “Drivers” (1950; USSR State Prize, 1951), “Ekaterina Voronina” (1955). Social and psychological novel “Heavy Sand” (1978). Stories for youth “Dirk” (1948), “The Adventures of Krosh” (1960).

In the novels “Children of the Arbat” (1987), “The Thirty-Fifth and Other Years” (book 1, 1988, book 2, “Fear”, 1990, book 3, “Dust and Ashes”, 1994) the time of the totalitarian regime is recreated through the destinies of the generation of the 30s; artistic analysis"Stalin phenomenon". "Novel-Memoir" (1997). Repressed in 1933-36.

Encyclopedia Cyril and Methodius

“Anatoly Rybakov was born in the city of Chernigov, in the family of an engineer. After graduating from school, he entered the road transport department of the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers. However, Rybakov did not have time to finish it - on political charges he was expelled from the capital with a “minus” mark in his passport (its owner was not allowed to live in big cities).

Rybakov's long wanderings around the country begin. First he works at the Dorogomilovsky chemical plant, then he works at motor transport enterprises in Bashkiria, Kalinin, and Ryazan. According to the writer: “This saved me from re-arrest during the period of rampant repression in the 37-40s. Having become a kind of “homeless”, I seemed to fall out of sight of the “authorities” who were constantly “picking up” those who had once been in their clutches. What also saved me was that, following the advice of one kind woman, who also lived on Arbat, a close friend of my mother, always tried to stay away from large industrial facilities ... "

In 1941, Anatoly Rybakov went to the front as a private. He ended the war with the rank of major, as head of the automobile service of the Guards Rifle Corps.

Anatoly Rybakov’s first book, the children’s adventure story “Dirk,” was published in 1948. Three years later, Rybakov had already received the Stalin Prize for the stories “Drivers” and “Ekaterina Voronina”. Over the following years, Rybakov wrote several more books, each of which was a success with readers: “The Adventures of Krosh” (1960), “Summer in Sosnyaki” (1964), “Krosh’s Vacation” (1966), “The Unknown Soldier” (1970), “Heavy Sand” (1979), etc.

Many of these works were filmed, for which in 1973 Anatoly Rybakov was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR in the field of cinematography named after the Vasilyev brothers.”

Razzakov F.I. Dossier on stars. They are loved and talked about. - M.: ZAO Publishing House EKSMO-Press, 1999, p. 679-680.

Biography

RYBAKOV, ANATOLY NAUMOVICH
(1911-1998), Russian writer.
Real name is Aronov.

Born January 1 (14), 1911 in Chernigov, the son of an engineer. From 1918 he lived in Moscow, where he graduated from school and entered the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers. On November 5, 1933, while a student at the Transport Institute, he was arrested and sentenced under Article 58-10 (“counter-revolutionary agitation and propaganda”) to three years of exile. After the end of his exile, he wandered around the country, working as a driver, mechanic, etc. From the very beginning of the war he was mobilized into the army. He fought from Moscow to Berlin, was awarded many orders and medals; Having started the war as a private, he ended it with the rank of major, as head of the automobile service of the Guards Rifle Corps.

He gained fame with his first stories addressed to young readers, more than one generation of whom the author captivated with an exciting plot based on the disclosure of a “secret”, a high romantic mood combined with everyday reality, good humor and lyricism: Dirk (1948; film of the same name 1954, dir. . V.Ya. Vengerov and M.A. Schweitzer), where the events unfold during Civil War and NEP in Moscow, on Arbat - the favorite setting of many of Rybakov’s heroes., and its continuation, The Bronze Bird (1956). The liveliness of the narrative, psychological persuasiveness, and wit manifested in these works are also characteristic of the stories The Adventures of Krosh (1960) and Vacations of Krosh (1966), written from the perspective of a teenager.

Rybakov’s first “adult” novel, Drivers (1950; USSR State Prize, 1951) is dedicated to people well known to the author from his previous profession as an automotive engineer, and belongs to the best examples of “industrial” prose, captivating with the authenticity of the image, skillful recreation of the everyday work of a provincial town motor depot , subtle individualization of characters.

Difficult problems of relationships in the team of Volga rivermen in the center of Rybakov’s second “production” novel Ekaterina Voronina (1955; film of the same name 1957, directed by I.M. Annensky). In the novel Summer in Sosnyaki (1964), the writer shows the intense life of a large enterprise through the prism of the psychological conflict between an honest loser and a stupid dogmatist, which reflected the real explosive contradiction of “stagnant” times.

With difficulty, due to the unusual subject matter, the novel Heavy Sand (1978), which made its way into the Soviet press and immediately brought Rybakov enormous popularity, tells the story of the life of a Jewish family in the 1910-1940s in one of the multinational towns of Western Ukraine, about the bright and all-overcoming love carried through the decades, about the tragedy of the Holocaust and the courage of the Resistance. This pinnacle work of the writer combined all the colors of his artistic palette, adding to them philosophy, a craving for historical analysis and mystical symbolism (the image of the main character, a beautiful lover, then wife and mother Rachel on the last pages appears as a semi-real personification of the anger and revenge of the Jewish people).

Based on Rybakov’s personal experiences, the novel Children of Arbat (1987) and the trilogy that continues it, The Thirty-fifth and Other Years (book 1, 1988; book 2 - Fear, 1990; book 3 - Ashes and Ashes, 1994) recreates the fate of the generation of 1930- s, trying to reveal the mechanism of totalitarian power. Among the writer's other works are the story The Unknown Soldier (1970) and the autobiographical Novel-Memoirs (1997). Anatoly Rybakov is a laureate of State Prizes of the USSR and the RSFSR.