Vasily Yan (Russian: Васи́лий Ян; 23 December 1874 (4 January 1875),

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– August 5, 1954,

Zvenigorod Zvenigorod (russian: Звени́город) is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: History The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a hydronym (cf. the Zvinech, Zvinyaka, Zveniga Rivers) ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

writer, author of famous historic novels. Also spelled "Vassily Yan" (or "Ian") or just "V. Yan", this is the pen name of Vassily Grigoryevich Yanchevetsky (Васи́лий Григо́рьевич Янчеве́цкий).

Biography

Born in Kyiv to a family of teachers, his father was from an Orthodox Christian priests family, who graduated from seminary and taught Latin and Greek at the University Gymnasium. In 1897, Yan graduated from the historical and philological faculty of

St. Petersburg 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 t ...

. Impressions of a two-year tour of Russia form the backbone of his book ''Notes of a Pedestrian'' (1901). In 1901–1904 he served as inspector of wells in

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

, where he studied Oriental languages and lives of local people. During the

Russian-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, he was a military correspondent for the St. Petersburg News Agency (SPA). In 1906–1913, he taught Latin at the first Petersburg Gymnasium. As an organizer of the scouts he met with Colonel

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the worl ...

, who came to Russia in 1910. In the autumn of 1910 Vasily Yan introduced the magazine ''Pupil''. In 1913, he worked as a correspondent in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

SPA. In 1914, with the beginning of the First World War - he became SPA military correspondent in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. In 1918–1919 he worked in the

Kolchak Kolchak, Kolçak or Kolčák is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Iliash Kolchak ("Kolchak-Pasha") ( fl. before 1710–1743), Moldavian mercenary and military commander * Alexander Kolchak (1873–1920), Russian naval commande ...

printing shop army camp in Siberia. After the restoration of Soviet power in

Achinsk Achinsk (russian: А́чинск) is a city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Chulym River near its intersection with the Trans-Siberian Railway, west of Krasnoyarsk. It has a population of 109,155 as of the 2010 C ...

he worked as a teacher, correspondent and director of schools in Uryanhae (

Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...

). He then became the editor of the leading newspaper ''The Power of labour'' in Minusinsk. That was when he first adopted the pseudonym Yan. In 1923, he moved to Moscow.

Works by Vasily Yan

*"Notes of a Pedestrian", 1901 *story "Story of Captain", 1907 *story "Soul", 1910 *"Raising of the Übermensch", 1910 *"What You Need to do for the Children of St. Petersburg", 1911 *novel "The Afghan Emerald" *story " Phoenician Ship", 1931 *story " The Lights at Barrows", 1932 *story "Spartacus", 1933 *story "Hammermen", 1933 *

Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire (1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

(trilogy): **story "

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

", 1939 (the USSR State Prize in 1942) **story " Baty", 1942 **story "To Last Sea", published 1955 *"Kids Commander" *"The Mystery of Lake Kara-Standard" *"

Yermak Yermak Timofeyevich ( rus, Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, p=jɪˈrmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ; born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossack ataman and is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. During the reign ...

's Campaign" *"On the Wings of Courage" *"Melters of the Vandzh" *"In the Sands of the Karakum" Falsification of the novel "Ermak's Campaign" was carried out in 2011 by " Leningrad publishing house" (ЛЕНИЗДАТ). In fact this novel is Lydia Charskaya's "Formidable squad" (Грозная дружина) published in 1909. The circulation of the fake "Lenizdat" was only 7050 copies. Since the falsification was successful, it is referred to as the real work of Vasily Yan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Vasily Writers from the Russian Empire Stalin Prize winners 1875 births 1954 deaths Writers from Kyiv Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery Soviet writers