Alexander Yakovlevich Yashin (russian: Алекса́ндр Я́ковлевич Я́шин; March 27, 1913 – July 11, 1968) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

writer associated with the

Village Prose Village Prose (russian: Деревенская проза, or Деревенская литература) was a movement in Soviet literature beginning during the Khrushchev Thaw, which included works that focused on the Soviet rural communities. ...

movement.

Biography

Early life

Yashin was born in the northern Russian village of Bludnovo,

Nikolsky Uyezd Nikolsky Uyezd () was one of the subdivisions of the Vologda Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Nikolsk. Demographics At the time of the Russian Empire Census ...

Vologda Governorate Vologda Governorate (russian: link=no, Вологодская губерния, ''Vologodskaya guberniya'', ''Government of Vologda'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed fr ...

, to a poor peasant family. He finished a teachers' training college course and spent some time teaching in a village school.Biographical note, Fifty Years of Russian Prose, M.I.T. Press, 1971. His first poems were published in various district newspapers between 1928-29. His first book of poetry came out in 1934 in

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...

.Introduction to ''A Feast of Rowanberries'', Anthology of Soviet Short Stories, Vol 1, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1976. In the late 1930s he studied at the

Maxim Gorky Literature Institute The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute (russian: Литературный институт им. А. М. Горького) is an institution of higher education in Moscow. It is located at 25 Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow. History The insti ...

in Moscow where his book of poems, ''The Northern Maiden'', was published in 1938. His long poem, ''Mother'', followed in 1940.

Career

During World War II, Yashin was a naval war correspondent. He served with marine battalions during the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

, with the Volga Fleet at

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

, and with the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

. After the war he travelled back to the northern villages of his youth, staying with the builders at new construction sites and with the pioneers developing the virgin lands of Altay. His impressions are reflected in the numerous poetry collections he published in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. He began writing prose in the early 1960s. His best known stories were ''A Feast of Rowanberries'' and ''A Vologda Wedding''. He died in Moscow in 1968.

Awards

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

, 1950, for his poem ''Alena Fomina'' *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

Awards according to Alexander Yashin article at Ru.Wikipedia.

Notes

English translations

*''Levers'', Fifty Years of Russian Prose, Vol 2, M.I.T. Press, 1971. *''A Feast of Rowanberries'', Anthology of Soviet Short Stories, Vol 1, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1976.

References

1913 births 1968 deaths People from Nikolsky District, Vologda Oblast People from Nikolsky Uyezd Soviet short story writers 20th-century short story writers Soviet poets Russian male poets Soviet male writers 20th-century male writers Stalin Prize winners Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni {{Russia-writer-stub