Alexander Petrovich Kazantsev (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Каза́нцев; 2 September 1906 – 13 September 2002) was a popular Soviet and Russian

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

writer,

ufologist Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and f ...

and

chess composer A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. Chess composers usually specialize in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems, or retrograde ...

Biography

He was born in

Akmolinsk Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, thou ...

, Russian Empire. He graduated from

Tomsk Polytechnic University National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) is a technical university in Russia. TPU was a member of 12 international associations, including the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research (CESAER) un ...

, and worked at the Soviet Research Institute of Electromechanics. Kazantsev was a member of the Soviet delegation at the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Kazantsev joined the army. He left military service in 1945 with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, and was awarded a number of orders, including

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

and

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 ...

. From then on, Kazantsev settled in the "literary village" of

Peredelkino Peredelkino ( rus, Переде́лкино, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈdʲelkʲɪnə) is a dacha complex situated just to the southwest of Moscow, Russia. History The settlement originated as the estate of Peredeltsy, owned by the Leontievs (maternal rela ...

and concentrated on his writings. He survived the dissolution of the Soviet Union and died in 2002.

Writings

Kazantsev was an enthusiast of the unknown, and a pioneer of Soviet

ufology Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and f ...

. Many of his works, both fiction and non-fiction, deal with controversial scientific theories. He researched the

Tunguska event The Tunguska event (occasionally also called the Tunguska incident) was an approximately 12-megaton explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of June 30, ...

and published a number of science fiction, as well as

popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

books, on the topic. He believed the Tunguska impact was caused by an alien spacecraft that crash-landed on the Earth. Kazantsev researched events and legends that he believed were evidences of paleocontacts with extraterrestrials. His novel ''The Destruction of Faena'', an adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', is based on the hypothetical planet Phaeton that some believe existed in the orbit of modern

asteroid belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, called ...

. According to the novel, Phaeton was inhabited by a developed civilisation of the ''phaetae'' race, who survived the destruction of their planet and brought some of their culture to the prehistorical people of Earth. Kazantsev was also interested in the

Martian canal During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was erroneously believed that there were "canals" on the planet Mars. These were a network of long straight lines in the equatorial regions from 60° north to 60° south latitude on Mars, observed ...

theory, and used it in his fiction concerning Mars. He was also a composer of chess

endgame studies In the game of chess, an endgame study, or just study, is a composed position—that is, one that has been made up rather than played in an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find the essentially uniqu ...

. In 1975 he was awarded by the

Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions The World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) is the highest body governing the official activities in the chess composition. It was known as the Permanent Commission of the FIDE for Chess Compositions (PCCC) from its inception in 1956 until Oct ...

(PCCC) the title of International Master of Composition.

Bibliography

Note: of this list, only ''The Destruction of Faena'' (''Faety''), ''A Visitor From Outer Space'', and ''The Martian'' have been translated into English. *''Burning Island'' (Пылающий остров) (1939–1940) *''The Destruction of Faena'' ( Фаэты ru)(1974) *''Stronger than Time'' (Сильнее времени) *''The Sunbell'' (Колокол солнца) *''The Dotted Line of Memories'' (Пунктир воспоминаний) *''The Dome of Hope'' (Купол надежды) *''A Visitor From Outer Space'' (Гость из космоса) (1946) *''The Martian'' (Марсианин) (1946) *Northern Bridge (Северный мост): # ''Polar Dream'' (Полярная мечта) # ''Glaciers Return'' (Льды возвращаются) # ''Bridge of Friendship'' (Мост дружбы )

Film screenwriting

*'' Planet of Storms'' (Планета бурь)

Film appearance

*'' Chariots of the Gods'' (1970, West German) *'' Target...Earth?'' (1980, U.S.)

References

External links

"The Destruction of Faena"(in English)

The complete works in Russian and selected translations

Website about Kazantsev, with interviews
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kazantsev, Alexander Petrovitch 1906 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Russian male writers People from Akmolinsk Oblast (Russian Empire) People from Astana International Judges of Chess Compositions Tomsk Polytechnic University alumni Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Chess composers Russian people of Kazakhstani descent Ufologists Russian male writers Russian science fiction writers Soviet male writers Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet science fiction writers Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery