Oleg Pavlov ( Russian: Олег Олегович Павлов; 16 March 1970 – 7 October 2018) was a prominent Russian writer and winner of the

Russian Booker Prize The Russian Booker Prize (russian: Русский Букер, ''Russian Booker'') was a Russian literary award modeled after the Booker Prize. It was awarded from 1992 to 2017. It was inaugurated by English Chief Executive Sir Michael Harris C ...

. He was only 24 years old when his first novel, ''Captain of the Steppe'', was published, receiving praise not only from critics but from the jury of the Russian Booker Prize, which shortlisted the novel for the 1995 award. Pavlov went on to win the Prize in 2002 with his next book, ''The Matiushin Case'' (English translation published in 2014 by And Other Stories). ''The Matiushin Case'' was the second novel in what would become the thematic trilogy set in the last days of the Soviet empire: ''Tales from the Last Days.'' All three works in the trilogy are stand-alone novels. The third book, ''Requiem for a Soldier,'' was published by And Other Stories in 2015.

Life

Born in Moscow in 1970, Pavlov spent his military service as a prison guard in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Many of the incidents portrayed in his fiction were inspired by his experiences there. During his service, Pavlov suffered a head injury, was hospitalised, and spent over a month in a

psychiatric ward Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. This allowed him to be released from the army before the end of the mandatory two-year military service. He went on to study 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.

Work

He was only 24 years old when his first novel, ''Captain of the Steppe'', was published, receiving praise not only from critics but also from the jury of the

, which shortlisted the novel for the 1995 award. Pavlov went on to win the Prize in 2002 with his next book, the second novel in what would become the trilogy ''Tales from the Last Days''. Pavlov was also the author of articles on literature and historical and social aspects of life in Russia, as well as numerous essays. In his 2003 book "The Russian Man in the 20th Century", he wrote about Russian life, not only based on his personal experience, but also on numerous letters received from the

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...

Foundation in the early 1990s, which were given to him by the famous Russian writer and dissident and his wife, Natalia. Oleg Pavlov is said to be one of the most gifted examples of what has been dubbed the "renaissance in Russian literature.

''Captain of the Steppe'' has been translated into English by Ian Appleby and published by independent London publisher

And Other Stories And Other Stories is an independent British book publisher founded in 2009, notable for being the first UK publisher of literary fiction to make direct, advance subscriptions a major part of its business model as well as for its use of foreign l ...

in 2013.

Death

Pavlov died, in Moscow, of a heart attack on October 7, 2018

Awards

*2017

Angelus Award The Angelus Central European Literature Award also known as Angelus Award (Polish: ''Nagroda Literacka Europy Środkowej Angelus'') is a Polish international literary award established in 2006 and presented by the city of Wrocław, Lower Silesia ...

(Poland) *2012

Solzhenitsyn Prize The Solzhenitsyn Prize is a non-governmental Russian literary award established by the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn in 1997. The $25,000 prize is awarded for "works in which troubles of the Russian life are shown with rare moral purity and ...

(Russia) *Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger 2012 *Shortlisted for Russian National Literary Award 'Big Book' (2010) *Znamya Literary Magazine Prize (2009) *October Literary Magazine Prize (Best Fiction of the Year 1997, 2002) *

(2002) *Novy Mir Literary Magazine Prize (1995) *Russian Booker of the Decade nominee (2011)ELKOST International Literary Agents for Oleg Pavlov
Retrieved 23 January 2013

Novels

''Captain of the Steppe''
(trans. Ian Appleby):

, UK (2013). *''The Matiushin Case'':

, UK (2014). *''Requiem for a soldier'' (trans. Anna Gunin):

, UK (2015)

References

External links

Oleg Pavlov's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlov, Oleg 1970 births 2018 deaths Russian Booker Prize winners Russian male novelists Russian male short story writers Solzhenitsyn Prize winners Writers from Moscow Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni