Pavel Filippovich Nilin (; 17 January 1908 – 2 October 1981) was a Soviet and Russian writer, screenwriter, journalist and playwright, best known for his novel ''A Man Goes Uphill'' (1936), adapted to the big screen under the title ''A Great Life'', for which he, as a scriptwriter, received the

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, ...

in 1941. Highly popular was his 1956 novel ''Cruelty''.

Biography

Nilin was born in

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...

, into the family of a political exile. After the

1917 Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

he worked as a criminal investigation officer in the town of

Tulun Tulun ( rus, Тулун, p=tʊˈlun) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the river Iya (Angara's basin), northwest of Irkutsk. Population: History It was founded in the second half of the 18th century as a village in the Iya Vall ...

, Irkutsk oblast, then in 1927 embarked upon the career of a journalist, moving from Siberia first to

Povolzhye The Volga Region (russian: Поволжье, ''Povolzhye'', literally: "along the Volga") is a historical region in Russia that encompasses the drainage basin of the Volga River, the longest river in Europe, in central and southern European Russ ...

, then

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 ...

and finally Moscow. He debuted as a published author in 1936 with a series of short stories published by the ''

Novy Mir ''Novy Mir'' (russian: links=no, Новый мир, , ''New World'') is a Russian-language monthly literary magazine. History ''Novy Mir'' has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet ...

'' magazine. In 1939 a novel about the

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

miners called ''A Man Goes Uphill'' (1936) was re-worked by Nilin into a script for the film which came out in 1940 under the title ''A Great Life'' (Bolshaya Zhyzn), enjoyed massive success and secured him the

in 1941. After the war the Part Two of ''A Great Life'' was shot, only to be shelved. In a revised version it came out in 1958. By this time Nilin was an established author, whose ''Cruelty'' (Zhestokost, 1956) novel, telling the story of the Soviet militia's fight against criminal gangs in the 1920s, proved to be both popular and critically acclaimed. Another well-received novel, a psychological war drama ''Across the Graveyard'' (Cherez kladbische) came out in 1962. In 1971 Nilin became of the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...

's high ranking officials. He died in Moscow and was interred in the

Vagankovo Cemetery Vagankovo Cemetery (russian: Ваганьковское кладбище, Vagan'kovskoye kladbishche), established in 1771, is located in the Presnya district of Moscow. It started in the aftermath of the Moscow plague riot of 1771 outside the cit ...

Private life

Pavel Nilin's wife was Matilda Yufit (1909—1993). They had two sons, Alexander Nilin (b. 1940), is a sports writer, and Mikhail Nilin (b. 1945), a psychologist and a script-writer.

Bibliography

* ''A Man Goes Uphill'' (Chelovek idyot v goru, 1936, novel) * ''Golden Hands'' (Zolotyie ruki, 1939, novelet) * ''About Love'' (O lyubvi, 1940, novelet) * ''In the White World'' (Na belom svete, 1947, play) * ''Going to Moscow'' (Poezdka v Moskvu, 1954, novelet) * ''The Trial Period'' (Ispytatelny srok, 1955) * ''Cruelty'' (Zhestokost, 1956) * ''Across the Graveyard'' (Cherez kladbishche, 1962) * ''Interesting Life'' (Interesnaya zhyzn, 1969—1980)

References

External links

Pavel Nilin @ the Moshkov Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilin, Pavel 1908 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian screenwriters Writers from Irkutsk People from Irkutsk Governorate Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Stalin Prize Socialist realism writers Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male novelists Russian male screenwriters Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male writers Soviet novelists Soviet screenwriters Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery