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

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and educated at a Petersburg gymnasium. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he enrolled in

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

as sea cadet. He participated in the militant rebellion in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1917, in battles of the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

as a machine gunner in the

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (russian: Первая конная армия, Pervaya konnaya armiya) was a prominent Red Army military formation. It was also known as "Budyonny's Cavalry Army" or simply as ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Hors ...

; he worked as political agitator attached to the Black Sea and Baltic fronts. During the German-Soviet War he participated in the defense of Leningrad.

Writing career

Later he became an editor of ''Krasnoflotets'' (russian: Краснофлотец, "Red Fleet sailor") magazine. He battled at the fronts of

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

and German-Soviet War, worked as war correspondent for ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the ...

'' newspaper. Since 1944 he worked as editor of '' Znamya'' magazine. His first works were published in 1920. In 1929 his play ''The First Horse Army'', which celebrated Marshal

Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonnyy ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian ca ...

's Rostov campaign during the civil war, was published. In 1930s he wrote many plays, including ''We Are from

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

'', ''Last Decisive'', and his most famous play ''

An Optimistic Tragedy ''Optimistic Tragedy'' (russian: Оптимистическая трагедия) is a play written by Vsevolod Vishnevskiy in the Soviet Union in 1933 with a dedication to the 15th anniversary of the Red Army. The play is set in St. Petersb ...

'' (1934). In 1941, Vishnevsky was awarded the Stalin Prize.

Death

In the winter of 1950 Vishnevsky suffered two strokes. He died in Moscow in 1951 and was buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular touris ...

Works

*''

The First Horse Army ''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 ...

'' *''

'' *''Last Decisive'' *'' We Are from Kronstadt'' *''Unforgettable 1919'' *''Battle at West'' *''By the Walls of Leningrad'' *''Sea Spread Wide'' *''We, Russian People''

Sources

* Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 1173. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Vishnevskiy, Vsevolod 1900 births 1951 deaths 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian male writers Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Cross of St. George Recipients of the Medal of St. George Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Male screenwriters Socialist realism writers Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male writers Russian memoirists Russian military personnel of World War I 20th-century Russian screenwriters Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male writers Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet screenwriters Soviet war correspondents Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery