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Yuri Pavlovich Kazakov (russian: Юрий Павлович Казаков; August 8, 1927 – November 29, 1982) 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 ...
author of short stories, often compared to
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
and
Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga;  – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer awarded the ...
. Born 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 ...
, he started out as a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
musician, but turned to publishing his stories in 1952. He attended 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 ...
, graduating in 1958.


Biography

Reportedly, Yuri Kazakov was born to a worker's family in Moscow and grew up in the old
Arbat Arbat Street (Russian ), mainly referred to in English as the Arbat, is a pedestrian street about one kilometer long in the historical centre of Moscow, Russia. The Arbat has existed since at least the 15th century, which makes it one of the o ...
area, which has today been turned into a tourist attraction but in the mid-1900s was the focal point of
Russian culture Russian culture (russian: Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and Western culture, Western influence. Russian ...
.''WRITER WITH RARE GIFT.'' Moscow News (Russia). YESTERYEAR; No. 33. August 28, 2002. "The year when Yuri was born, 1927, was a time when the relative freedom of the 1920s was being replaced by the
Red Terror The Red Terror (russian: Красный террор, krasnyj terror) in Soviet Russia was a campaign of political repression and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police. It started in lat ...
of the 1930s ndYuri's father was arrested when the future writer was six ecausehe had failed to inform on a man who described the horrors of
collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member ...
in a conversation." "Kazakov went to a typical Soviet school in the center of Moscow." "When his father disappeared in the
Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
, the family lived in dire need, utKazakov ontinued tostud at an elite vocational school and the Gnesins music school where he played classical music on the
double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
." "For a while he performed in orchestras, but eventually abandoned music." "In 1958 Kazakov graduated from the
Maxim Gorky Literary 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 ...
." "By this time he had already written and published several stories, which were appreciated by such established writers as
Konstantin Paustovsky Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky ( rus, Константи́н Гео́ргиевич Паусто́вский, p=pəʊˈstofskʲɪj; – 14 July 1968) was a Soviet writer nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature in 1965. Early life ...
,
Viktor Shklovsky Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky ( rus, Ви́ктор Бори́сович Шкло́вский, p=ˈʂklofskʲɪj; – 6 December 1984) was a Russian and Soviet literary theorist, critic, writer, and pamphleteer. He is one of the major figures ass ...
, and
Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg (russian: link=no, Илья́ Григо́рьевич Эренбу́рг, ; – August 31, 1967) was a Soviet writer, revolutionary, journalist and historian. Ehrenburg was among the most prolific and notable autho ...
." It's been said that "the writer's early works displayed the influence of Russian classical literature, in particular the writer
Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga;  – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer awarded the ...
, who had emigrated following the revolution and began to be published in Russia widely again only following
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 Secretar ...
's death." At the end of the 1950s Kazakov traveled to the north of Russia, and the trip became the subject of several new stories. On the strength of a collection of these stories he joined the Writers' Union in 1958. The North remained one of the most important themes in his work, one to which he returned in more difficult times." However, the authorities adopted a critical attitude to the new writer and the central literary journals stopped publishing him in 1959. Kazakov emerged as a writer only thanks to the short period in recent Russian history known as the Thaw, but in the mid-1960s, this period gave way to stagnation in culture and public life." "For many years Kazakov worked on a translation into Russian of a Kazakh novel devoted to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
on the
Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic basin, endorheic lake lyi ...
ndsome of his own works were published 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 ...
." In defiance of the situation in the country, Kazakov produced some of his best stories in the 1970s, which dealt with the merging of two souls, the soul of the newborn and the soul of the poet at the end of his life. "The writer considered simple but important problems of birth and death, suicide and suffering. "Kazakov penetrated the mind of the child and presented his view of the world." The writer's formative years passed under the influence of two major factors: Russian classical literature (in addition to Bunin, Kazakov's early prose bore the imprint of the works of Chekhov and
Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 ( Old Style da ...
) and the Thaw." Kazakov slowly but surely overcame the influence of the classics and developed his own style and voice in his stories and as to the Thaw, it petered out gradually, but Kazakov did not take the road of the dissidents or many of the other "men of the sixties", who vacillated between collaboration with the Soviet regime and fawning on the West." Kazakov died on November 29, 1982 and was buried in
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 ...
in Moscow. It has been reported that Kazakov was modest and avoided cheap public relations. In one interview Kazakov summed up his life and world outlook: "We are not great writers, but if we have a serious attitude to our work, then our word will perhaps prompt someone to stop and ponder for at least an hour, for at least a day, the meaning of life. For at least a day! That is so much!"


Career

Kazakov lived in Moscow but spent a good deal of time traveling along the shores of the
White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...
, among the provincial towns along the
Oka Oka or OKA may refer to: Cars * Oka (automobile), a small car designed by AvtoVAZ and produced by ZMA and SeAZ * OKA 4wd, a large 4-wheel-drive vehicle made in Western Australia by OKA Military * 2B1 Oka, Soviet 420 mm self-propelled mor ...
, and in
Central Russian Upland The Central Russian Upland (also Central Upland and East European Upland) is an upland area of the East European Plain and is an undulating plateau with an average elevation of . Its highest peak is measured at . The southeastern portion of the u ...
and the wooded areas around them. He also spent periods of time with the fishermen of the
Russian North Russian North (russian: Русский Север) is an ethnocultural region situated in the northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republic, Vologda Oblast and Nenets Autonomous ...
. Several of his stories are set in these regions and enhanced by his experiences of life and nature in them.Paraphrased from George Gibian's introduction to ''Yurii Kazakov Selected Short Stories'', 1963. George Gibian has said that "Kazakov is worthy of note not because of any 'disaffection' or 'dissidence,' but because what he says about his haunting characters set against an impressively captured nature is penetrating, true and beautiful." According to Gibian, Kazakov is distinctive among Russian authors. His work has an intrinsic, intangible quality which makes it unmistakably his. His characters are charged with emotion and tend to have a keen sense of an aspect of nature. Some enjoy the beauty of the visual world, some the scents of the forest, some the sounds of music but all intensely and with heightened senses experience the world around them.


English translations

*"The Hound" (story), from ''Such a Simple Thing and Other Stories'', FLPH, Moscow, 1959
from Archive.org
*''Selected Short Stories'', Pergamon Press, 1963. *''Going To Town and Other Stories'', Houghton Mifflin, 1964. *''Arcturus the Hunting Hound: And Other Stories'', Doubleday, 1968. *''Autumn in the Oak Woods: Short Stories'', Moscow: Progress, 1970. *"Adam and Eve" (story), from ''The Portable Twentieth Century Russian Reader'', Penguin Classics, 2003.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazakov, Yury Pavlovich Russian male short story writers Soviet short story writers 20th-century Russian short story writers 1927 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Russian male writers Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni