Vladimir Mikhailovich Kirshon (russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Киршо́н) ( - July 28, 1938) was a

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, ...

playwright, poet, publicist and screenwriter.

Biography

Born in

Nalchik Nalchik (russian: Нальчик, p=ˈnalʲtɕɪk; Kabardian: //; krc, Нальчик //) is the capital city of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwe ...

in the Caucasus into the family of a lawyer, Kirshon served in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

and in 1920 joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, which sent him to the

Sverdlov Communist University The Sverdlov Communist University (Russian: Коммунистический университет имени Я. М. Свердлова) was a school for Soviet activists in Moscow, founded in 1918 as the Central School for Soviet and Party Work. ...

. As a young idealist, he was upset by the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

, and this is reflected in his early plays. He was an organizer of the Association of Proletarian Writers in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

and in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

, and from 1925 was one of the secretaries of the

Russian Association of Proletarian Writers The Russian Association of Proletarian Writers, also known under its transliterated abbreviation RAPP (russian: Российская ассоциация пролетарских писателей, РАПП) was an official creative union in the ...

(RAPP) in Moscow. He was among the most radical literary functionaries of the day, and was one of the most relentless persecutors of

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...

. His ideological fervor recommended him to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, to whom he sent his work for approval. "When he was in favour, he could do no wrong: 'Publish immediately,' Stalin scrawled on Kirshon's latest article when returning it to ''Pravdas editor." His early plays ''Konstantin Terekhin'' (1926) and ''Rel'sy gudyat'' (Rails are Humming, 1927) "caused a sensation," but ''Khleb'' (Bread, 1931) "had but an ephemeral success." His later ''Chudesny splav'' (Miraculous Alloy, 1934) was still popular in the 1960s. At the beginning of 1937, however, Kirshon fell out of favour due to his close association with

Leopold Averbakh Leopold Leonidovich Averbakh (Russian: Леопо́льд Леони́дович Аверба́х; 8 March, 1903 Saratov – 14 August, 1937, Moscow) was a Soviet literary critic, who was the head of the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers ...

, former head of RAPP and brother-in-law of

Genrikh Yagoda Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda ( rus, Ге́нрих Григо́рьевич Яго́да, Genrikh Grigor'yevich Yagoda, born Yenokh Gershevich Iyeguda; 7 November 1891 – 15 March 1938) was a Soviet secret police official who served as director ...

. At a public meeting he was relentlessly attacked by

Vsevolod Vishnevsky Vsevolod Vitalyevich Vishnevsky (russian: Все́волод Вита́льевич Вишне́вский, – 28 February 1951) was a Soviet and Russian writer, screenwriter, playwright and journalist. Early life He was born in 1900 in Sain ...

for associating with an "enemy of the people" and criticizing decisions of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

; he attempted to defend himself, but was expelled from the Party and the Writers' Union and soon disappeared from Moscow. In August 1937 he was arrested along with other former RAPP leaders as

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

sympathizers, and the next year he was executed at

Butyrka prison Butyrskaya prison ( rus, Бутырская тюрьма, r= Butýrskaya tyurmá), usually known simply as Butyrka ( rus, Бутырка, p=bʊˈtɨrkə), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia it ...

in Moscow. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1955 and his plays were performed again.Vladimir Kirshon
at Find a Grave.

References

1902 births 1938 deaths People from Nalchik Russian dramatists and playwrights Russian male dramatists and playwrights Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male writers 20th-century male writers Great Purge victims from Russia Soviet rehabilitations {{Russia-writer-stub