Viktor Vladimirovich Yerofeyev (russian: Ви́ктор Влади́мирович Ерофе́ев, also transliterated as Erofeyev; born 19 September 1947 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 million ...

) is 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 A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. As son of a high-ranking

Soviet 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, ...

diplomat Vladimir Yerofeyev, he spent some of his childhood in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, which accounts for why much of his work has been translated from Russian into French, while comparatively little has been translated into English. His father, who was the interpreter for Molotov in the 1940s, wrote a book of memories; his brother is a curator at the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

Biography

Erofeyev graduated from

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

in 1970, where he studied literature and languages. He then did post-graduate work at the Institute for World Literature in

, where he completed his post-graduate work in 1973 and received his

kandidat Candidate of Sciences (russian: кандидат наук, translit=kandidat nauk) is the first of two doctoral level scientific degrees in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It is formally classified as UNESCO's ISCED level 8, "do ...

degree in 1975 for his thesis on

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

and French

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

. Erofeyev's work often contains pastiches of Dostoyevsky's work and themes. He became a literary critic, publishing works on

Lev Shestov Lev Isaakovich Shestov (russian: Лев Исаа́кович Шесто́в; 31 January .S. 13 February 1866 – 19 November 1938), born Yehuda Leib Shvartsman (russian: Иегуда Лейб Шварцман), was a Russian existentialist and ...

and the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

. He later organised his own literary magazine, ''Metropol'', in which many of the big names of Soviet literature participated, including

Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the autho ...

Andrei Bitov Andrei Georgiyevich Bitov (russian: Андре́й Гео́ргиевич Би́тов, 27 May 1937 – 3 December 2018) was a prominent Russian writer of Circassian ancestry. Biography Bitov was born in Leningrad. His father was an architect ...

Bella Akhmadulina Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina ( rus, Бе́лла (Изабе́лла) Аха́товна Ахмаду́лина, tt-Cyrl, Белла Әхәт кызы Әхмәдуллина; 10 April 1937 – 29 November 2010) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and ...

, and others. The magazine was put into circulation via

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

, i.e., avoiding Soviet censorship. As a result, Erofeyev was expelled from 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 ...

and was banned from being published until 1988, when

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

came to power. Victor Erofeyev resided in

until 2022 and frequently appeared on Russian television, where he had his own program on the TV channel «Kultura» ("culture"); he was also a continual guest on a Radio Liberty, Moscow. Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

in 2022 he and his family fled Russia to settle in Germany.

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

's opera ''

Life with an Idiot ''Life with an Idiot'' () is an opera by the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke to a Russian libretto by Viktor Yerofeyev, Viktor Erofeyev. Written as an allegory of oppression under the Soviet Union, the opera was first performed at Het Muziektheat ...

'' is based on Erofeyev‘s story of the same name, which he made into a libretto for the composer. The 2012 Finnish documentary movie
Russian Libertine
is centered on Victor Erofeyev and his view of the protests leading up to the

2012 Russian Presidential election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 4 March 2012. There were five officially registered candidates: four representatives of registered parties, and one nominal independent. The election was the first one held after constitutional amend ...

. On 3 October 2013, Victor Erofeyev received the Chevalier of Legion of Honour title from the French Government.

Major works

* ''Life with an Idiot'' («''Жизнь с идиотом''»; a collection of short stories; 1980) * '' Russian Beauty'' («''Русская красавица''»; 1990) * ''In the Labyrinth of Accursed Questions'' («''В лабиринте проклятых вопросов''»; a collection of essays; 1996) * ''The Last Judgement'' («''Страшный суд''»; 1996) * ''Five Rivers of Life'' («''Пять рек жизни''»; 1998) * ''Encyclopaedia of the Russian Soul'' («''Энциклопедия русской души''»; 1999) * ''Men'' («''Мужчины''»; 1997; in ''Russian'') and ''God X'' («''Бог X. Рассказы о любви''»; 2001) * ''The Good Stalin'' («''Хороший Сталин''»; 2004)

Journalism

Erofeyev also regularly contributes his articles to ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'', and ''

The International Herald Tribune ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''.

References

* Viktor Jerofejew,
Putins Russland hat ein Image-Problem
(''Die Welt'', 13 February 2007)

External links

Bibliography

Andrew Reynolds, "East is East...? Victor Erofeyev and the Poetics/Politics of Idiocy." Reynolds is the translator of ''Life with an Idiot'', first published by Penguin in English in 2004. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Yerofeyev, Viktor 1947 births Living people Russian critics Russian journalists Russian male novelists Russian male short story writers Moscow State University alumni Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur