Yuri Dombrovsky: biography, best books, main events and interesting facts

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

The fate of many worthy people of their time will sink into obscurity. This is very sad, because they could teach the modern generation to truly live. The life and work of Yuri Dombrovsky are undeservedly forgotten and erased from literature textbooks.

First meeting

Do you know such a person as Yuri Dombrovsky? The author's books are very popular, but he himself speaks too modestly about his work. Who is this stranger?

Russian writer, prose writer and literary critic - that's who Yuri Osipovich Dombrovsky is. Biography, list of books - all this is impressive from the first time. Well, let's get acquainted with the list of his creations:

• Derzhavin.
• "Faculty of unnecessary things."
• "Dark Lady".
• "The monkey comes for his skull."
• "Keeper of Antiquities".
• "Birth of a Mouse".
• "Torch".

Biography: beginning

Yuri Dombrovsky was born in Moscow, in May 1909, in a family of intelligent people. Mother was a biologist, and father was an attorney. Having reached a certain age, young Yuri enterstailing gymnasium, which was located in Krivoarbatsky lane. Having adequately graduated from it, he begins to go to the Higher Literary Courses and successfully graduates from them in 1932.

Arrest and deportation

1933 was a very sad year. Yuri Dombrovsky was arrested and expelled from Moscow. The reason for this was an incomprehensible flag found in Yuri's dorm room. Naturally, this was only a pretext, and we are unlikely to ever know the true reasons for the expulsion. Those who were familiar with Yuri suggest that he was deported to Alma-Ata because of his harsh statements against the state authorities. Some categorically deny Dombrowski's interest in political affairs.

Life goes on

Despite life's circumstances, Yuri Dombrovsky tried various professions in the new city. He worked as an archaeologist, journalist, art critic, teacher. Yuri was married to a beautiful philologist, but the couple had no children.

However, the thunder struck again, and already in 1937, an ambitious man was taken under investigation. Within a few months, he is completely cut off from the life of society. Yuri is then released. This situation will soon form the basis of two of his books.

Literary field and subsequent arrest

The author begins to publish in the newspaper "Kazakhstanskaya Pravda" and the magazine "Literary Kazakhstan" under his real name - Yuri Dombrovsky. Books have not yet completely taken over him, but he is already publishing the first part of his novel Derzhavin and is behind bars. In 1939 hearrested again, and he is serving his sentence in the Kolyma camps.

Liberation, anti-fascist book and arrest

It's 1943. What is Yuri Dombrovsky doing now? His biography is making a new round. The writer is released from prison, and Yuri returns to Alma-Ata to engage in theatrical activities. In addition, he lectures at the university on the work of W. Shakespeare. The same time falls on the writing of such books as "The Monkey Comes for His Skull" and "The Swarthy Lady". The first of the books contained strong anti-fascist thoughts.

1949 was marked by the fourth arrest, the reason for which was the testimony of Irina Strelkova, a correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda. Yuri is sent to prison in the North - Ozerlag.

Finally, after hard years spent alone in the North, the writer is released in 1955. At this time, he becomes calm, balanced and comes to the realization that the regime cannot be broken. He tried to write the truth, to convey it to people, but constantly the iron hand of power found him, humiliated and destroyed him. After arrests and deportations, Yuri always had to spiritually revive, rediscover the desire to create in himself. It is impossible to ignite what was smoldering, but he succeeded every time. It is difficult to find a person with such a will to live and a desire to create.

The all-seeing eye of power noticed this change in the writer. Life broke him, but did not break him. Yuri is allowed to live in his hometown - Moscow. Here he iscontinues his literary activity, but more calmly and thoughtfully. But despite this, he did not change his views, he just learned to hide them.

Fun facts of life

When Yuri wrote the novel "The Monkey Comes for His Skull", the manuscript was allowed to print. However, the subsequent arrest of the writer led to the fact that all his manuscripts were taken away by the authorized bodies. When the author was finally released to Moscow, that is, after many years, an unknown person came to him. The name of this man remains unknown. He brought Yuri the saved manuscript, although he was ordered to burn it.

Yuri was very hard on one notorious story by A. Solzhenitsyn. In his letters, he wrote that the author glorifies the vile servants of the regime and belittles an honest and worthy person. Yuri led to the fact that the person who writes such stories was himself only a “six” of more powerful people in the camp.

Throughout his life, in addition to references, the author of unique texts has also suffered from ordinary human cruelty. He was beaten many times just like that, and it would be simply ridiculous to go with a statement to the police. The cases were not made public and were gradually forgotten about.

Besides, the writer was constantly targeted by the KGB persecutors. This is a little-known fact, and only relatives knew that a person who just wanted to create was walking around every day of his life, as if at gunpoint.

A little about famous books

"Keeper of Antiquities"

Yuri Dombrovsky, whose books were published only in a negligiblequantity, does not lose his will and continues to write. In 1964, he published the novel The Keeper of Antiquities, in which, using a fictitious name, he describes his gloomy adventures of expulsion from Moscow.

"Faculty of unnecessary things"

This book was started in the same 1964. She became the pinnacle of the writer's work. Having finished the book in 1975, the writer could not publish it in his homeland, so three years later he publishes it in France in Russian.

The essence of the work is what happens to Christian values in an inhumane world. The main characters are the "cogs" of the Stalinist system, which work properly for the regime.

Death

After the release of his cult book, the author was severely beaten, life hung in the balance. As a result, he died in the hospital from a severe internal hemorrhage in May 1978. It was not possible to establish the identity of several attackers. This case was quickly hushed up, and no one found out the names of the true killers of the great man. It is noteworthy that the beating took place near the House of Writers, to which Yury was heading.

Relatives buried the writer at the Kuzminsky cemetery in Moscow. After the death of the writer, his works saw the world. Three books were published by the writer's family and friends.