Fyodor Aleksandrovich Abramov (russian: Фёдор Алекса́ндрович Абра́мов) (29 February 192014 May 1983) was a Russian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and literary critic. His work focused on the difficult lives of the Russian peasant class. He was frequently reprimanded for deviations from

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

policy on writing.

Biography

Abramov was from a peasant background. He studied at Leningrad State University, but put his schooling on hold to serve as a soldier in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1951 he finished his schooling at the university, then remained as a teacher until 1960. After he left the university he became a full-time writer. His essay, written in 1954, "People in the Kolkhoz Village in Postwar Prose", which addressed the glorified portrayal of life in Communist Soviet Villages, was denounced by the Writers' Union and the Central Committee. In a later essay, Abramov argued for the repeal of the law that denied peasants internal passports; he also recommended giving the peasantry larger shares of the profits of their labors. This essay led to his removal from the editorial staff of the journal Neva. His first novel entitled, "Bratya i syostri" ("Brothers and Sisters") was written in 1958. It dealt with the harsh life of northern Russian villagers during World War II. Abramov wrote two sequels to "Bratya i syostri", entitled, "Dve zimy i tri leta" ("Two Winters and Three Summers"), written in 1968, and "Puti-pereputya" (“Paths and Crossroads”), written in 1973. He also wrote a fourth novel in 1978 called "Dom" ("The House"). Abramov started another novel, "Chistaya kniga", but did not finish it before his death in May 1983. The asteroid 3409 Abramov, discovered by Soviet astronomer

Nikolai Chernykh Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh (russian: Никола́й Степа́нович Черны́х) (6 October 1931 – 25 May 2004Казакова, Р.К. Памяти Николая Степановича Черных'. Труды Государст ...

in 1977, is named after him.

English Translations

* ''The Dodgers'', Flegon Press in association with Anthony Blond, 1963. * ''The New Life: A Day on a Collective Farm'', Grove Press, 1963. (Alternative translation of ''The Dodgers'') * ''Two Winters and Three Summers'', Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984. * ''The Swans Flew By and Other Stories'', Raduga Publishers, 1986. * "Olesha's Cabin" in ''The Barsukov Triangle, the Two-Toned Blond and other Stories'', Ardis, 1984.

Novels

* ''Bratya i syostri'' (''Brothers and Sisters''), 1958. * ''Dve zimy i tri leta'' (''Two Winters and Three Summers''), 1968. * ''Puti-pereputya'' (''Paths and Crossroads''), 1973. * ''Dom'' (''The House''), 1978. * "Chistaya kniga" ("Clean book"), Unfinished

Sources

*
Fyodor Abramov
, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009, Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 5 May 2009

References

External links

* 1920 births 1983 deaths People from Pinezhsky District People from Pinezhsky Uyezd Russian male novelists Soviet novelists Soviet male writers 20th-century Russian male writers Soviet short story writers 20th-century Russian short story writers Russian male essayists Soviet educators Russian male short story writers 20th-century essayists Soviet literary historians Saint Petersburg State University alumni Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the USSR State Prize {{Russia-writer-stub