Fyodor Abramov

Fyodor Abramov
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Born	(1920-02-29)February 29, 1920 Verkola, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian SFSR
Died	Leningrad, Soviet Union

Fyodor Aleksandrovich Abramov (Russian: Фёдор Алекса́ндрович Абра́мов) (February 29, 1920 – May 14, 1983) was a Russian novelist and literary critic. His work focused on the difficult lives of the Russian peasant class. He was frequently reprimanded for deviations from Soviet policy on writing.

Biography

Abramov was from a peasant background. He studied at Leningrad State University, but put his schooling on hold to serve as a soldier in World War II. In 1951 he finished his schooling at the university, then remained as a teacher until 1960. After he left the university he became a full-time writer.

His essay, written in 1954, "Lyudi kolkhoznoy derevni v poslevoyennoy" ("People in the Kolkhoz Village in Postwar Prose"), which addressed the glorified portrayal of life in Communist Soviet Villages, was denounced by the Writers' Union and the Central Committee. In a later essay, Abramov argued for the repeal of the law that denied peasants internal passports; he also recommended giving the peasantry larger shares of the profits of their labors. This essay led to his removal from the editorial staff of the journal Neva.

His first novel entitled, "Bratya i syostri" ("Brothers and Sisters") was written in 1958. It dealt with the harsh life of northern Russian villagers during World War II. Abramov wrote two sequels to "Bratya i syostri". Entitled, "Dve zimy i tri leta" ("Two Winters and Three Summers") and "Puti-pereputya" (“Paths and Crossroads”). Written in 1968 and 1973 respectively. He also wrote a fourth novel in 1978 called "Dom" ("The House")

Abramov started another novel, "Chistaya kniga", but did not finished it before his death in May 1983.

The asteroid 3409 Abramov, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Chernykh in 1977, is named after him.

English Translations

• The Dodgers, Flegon Press in association with Anthony Blond, 1963.
• The New Life: A Day on a Collective Farm, Grove Press, 1963. (Alternative translation of The Dodgers)
• Two Winters and Three Summers, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984.
• The Swans Flew By and Other Stories, Raduga Publishers, 1986.

Novels

• Bratya i syostri (Brothers and Sisters), 1958.
• Dve zimy i tri leta (Two Winters and Three Summers), 1968.
• Puti-pereputya (Paths and Crossroads), 1973.
• Dom (The House), 1978.
• "Chistaya kniga" ("Clean book"), Unfinished

Sources

• "Fyodor Abramov", Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009, Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 5 May 2009

External links

• Works by or about Fyodor Abramov in libraries (WorldCat catalog)