Writer Vladimir Voinovich for more than half a century of his literary career has become accustomed to being in the center of readers' attention and constantly being in the zone of crossfire of literary criticism from ideologically opposite camps. Did the writer himself seek such a fate? Or did it happen by accident? Let's try to figure it out.
Vladimir Voinovich: biography against the background of the era
The future Russian writer was born in 1932 in the city of Stalinabad, as the capital of sunny Tajikistan, the city of Dushanbe, was called at that time. It will not be an exaggeration to say that Voinovich Vladimir Nikolaevich, whose biography began in a remote province, was initially predisposed to choosing just such a path.
The parents of the future writer were intelligent people who devoted their whole lives to journalism. However, the path to independent literary creativity turned out to be very long for him. Despite the fact that his poems were published in provincial newspapers, the first poetic experiments should be recognized as very amateurish. The country was going through a historical period, now known as the "Khrushchev thaw", when Vladimir Voinovich made his debut with the first proseworks. Behind was military service, work on the collective farm and construction sites, an unsuccessful attempt to enter the literary institute. It was a time of rapid renewal of the entire social and cultural life. A new generation quickly burst into literature, a prominent representative of which was Vladimir Voinovich. His books were sharply controversial and found a lively response from numerous readers.
Poetic creativity
However, Voinovich received his first fame as a poet. At the dawn of the space age, the song based on his poems "Fourteen minutes before launch" gained wide popularity. Khrushchev himself quoted it. For many years, this song was considered the unofficial anthem of the Soviet cosmonautics. But despite the fact that Vladimir Voinovich is the author of more than forty songs, prose has become the main direction of his work.
Completion of the "thaw"
After the overthrow of Khrushchev, new times began in Soviet cultural life. In the conditions of ideological reaction, it became very difficult to tell the truth. And very disadvantageous. But Vladimir Voinovich, whose books managed to win respect from the widest range of readers, did not deceive his fans. He did not become an opportunistic Soviet writer.
His new, sharply satirical works about Soviet reality were distributed in samizdat and published outside the Soviet Union. Often without the knowledge and permission of the author. The most significant work of this period is "The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of the Soldier IvanChonkina". This novel, designed in an absurdist style, became widely known in the West and was considered anti-Soviet. There was no question of publishing this book in the Motherland. This kind of literature was distributed in the Soviet Union only in typewritten form. And its reading and distribution were persecuted under criminal procedure.
Human rights activities
Besides literature, Vladimir Voinovich declares himself as an active public figure, advocating for the rights of the repressed. He signs various statements and declarations, advocates for the release of political prisoners, and helps their families financially. For human rights activities, the writer was expelled from the members of the USSR Writers' Union in 1974, which deprived him of the opportunity to earn a living by literary work and practically left him without a livelihood.
Emigration
Despite long-term persecution for political reasons, Vladimir Voinovich found himself abroad only after an attempt on his life by the security services. The writer survived after an attempt to poison him in a room at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. In December 1980, by Brezhnev's decree, he was deprived of Soviet citizenship, to which he responded with a caustic satirical comment, which expressed confidence that the decree would not last long. For the next twelve years, the writer lived in West Germany, France and the United States.
He broadcasted on the radio"Freedom", composed the continuation of "Ivan Chonkin", wrote critical and journalistic articles, memoirs, plays and scripts. I had no doubts that I would soon return to my homeland. Vladimir Voinovich returned to Moscow in 1992, after the destruction of the Soviet Union. It was a difficult time for the country, but there were reasons to hope not for the best.
The famous novel by Vladimir Voinovich "Moscow 2042"
One of the most famous works of the writer is a satirical dystopian novel about the hypothetical future of Russia. Many consider him the pinnacle of Voinovich's work. The protagonist, on behalf of whom the narration is being conducted, finds himself in a completely absurd, but easily recognizable world of Soviet reality, elevated to the highest degree of insanity.
Through the enchanting heap of various absurdities, familiar realities are everywhere visible to everyone. But in Voinovich's novel they are brought to their logical limit. This book turned out to be something that does not allow you to just laugh at its content and forget about it. Many readers consider the novel to be prophetic and every day they find an increasing similarity between the absurd world depicted in it and the real one. Especially as the distance to the year indicated by the author in the title of the book - "Moscow 2042" is gradually reduced.
