Mikhail Iosifovich Veller (also sometimes Weller; russian: Михаи́л Ио́сифович Ве́ллер, uk, Михайло Йосипович Веллер) (born May 20, 1948) is a Russian writer of Ukrainian Jewish extraction. He holds a dual citizenship of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

Biography

Veller was born in

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

Soviet Union 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, ...

(modern day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

) in 1948. In 1972 he graduated with a degree in linguistics from

Leningrad University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

. He worked as a children's summer camp counselor, a hunter in Taimyr, a shepherd in the Altai mountains, a logger, a journalist, a teacher, and more - around 30 professions in all. Veller's first book, a collection of short stories titled ''I Want To Be A Yard-Sweeper'', was published in

in 1983, followed by ''Heart Breaker'' (1988), ''Technology of a Short Story'' (1989), and ''Rendezvous with a Celebrity'' (1990). ''A Novel of Upbringing'' and ''Adventures of Major Zvyagin'' (1991) became bestsellers, along with "The Legends of Nevsky Prospect" (1993). His book ''Everything about Life'' is a book about how the world works, why a no one ever has what they need, and why happiness is not achievable but should be sought (his later book ''Cassandra'' updates this philosophy). His mini-novel ''The Knife of Seryozha Dovlatov'' created a literary scandal. Hist latest bestseller, ''Courier from Pisa'' (2000), has had 11 editions. In ''Everything about Life'' Veller repeated

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

's words: "There are people who want to know everything and those who are sick of what they already know. The latter say nothing to prevent things from turning for the worse, while the former interfere in all, hoping to make things better" (paraphrased). Veller proclaims himself to be with the former kind. Veller nurtures his world-view to the point that he publishes volumes with philosophical inclination. He invented ''energoevolutionism''. According to this theory the primordial energy released in the Big Bang is attached to material structures of ever increasing complexity, which in their turn decompose and release energy. These cycles continue at ever increasing speed. The human existence is entangled in this process and also increases the speed of revolution. Humankind thus is at the cutting edge of the evolution of the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. ...

. The end of history is to arrive when post-humanity will assist the release of all energy in the matter, thereby causing a new cycle by the next BIg Bang event. Within the concept of energoevolution Veller addresses also

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

. Veller's philosophical essays achieved some attention in Russia and abroad, but also met with severe criticism from professional philosophers.Дубровский, Давид Израилевич. «Самодельные» философы наступают!
:ru:Дубровский, Давид Израилевич
«Самодельные» философы наступают!
// Вестник РФО, №3, 2008 год. False link! Veller has lectured on modern Russian prose in the universities of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. In his free time, Veller lives in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

but continues to work in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

. His hobbies include target shooting.

English translations

The Guru

References

Veller's biography
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veller 1948 births Living people People from Kamianets-Podilskyi Russian male novelists Russian philosophers Russian Jews Jewish Russian writers Russians in Estonia Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class