Astafiev Viktor Petrovich is a famous writer, whose books are known not only in Russia, but also abroad. His works have been translated into many languages of the world. His books in the Soviet Union, as well as at the present time, were published in huge editions and quickly understood by readers. This writer was recognized as a classic during his lifetime. For his successful and talented literary activity, he was awarded prizes.
Childhood
Viktor Petrovich was born in early May 1924 in the small village of Ovsyanka, Krasnodar Territory. In the family of Pyotr Pavlovich Astafyev and his wife Lidia Ilyinichna Potylitsina, the future writer was the third child.
It is known that childhood was tragic. So, two older sisters of Victor died in infancy. And when the boy was barely seven years old, his father went to prison. They imprisoned him for "wrecking". The mother of the future writer tried to visit his father in prison, although this was not easy. To get on a date, she was forced to cross the Yenisei by boat.
Once, during one of these crossings, a misfortune happened: the boat capsized, and the mother of the future writer was in the water. In addition, she caught her scythe over the side of the boat and could no longer escape. Her body was not found until a few days later. The boy was left alone.
He was immediately taken away by his mother's parents, and the time he spent in their house, he considered the happiest childhood years. Ilya Evgrafovich Potylitsin and his wife Katerina Petrovna loved their grandson and tried to surround him with care and love. About grandparents, about life in their house, he will later write in one of his works. The story "The Last Bow" is autobiographical.
But when the father was released from prison, the happy time in the boy's life ended. His father took him to him, and soon he married a second time. At this time, the Astafiev family was dispossessed and sent to Igarka. In the second marriage, the boy Kolya is born.
In Igarka, Victor helped his father by fishing. But soon his father also fell ill. As soon as Pyotr Pavlovich was in the hospital, the stepmother put the boy out of the house. So he ended up on the street, abandoned and useless.
Astafiev Viktor Petrovich: short biography and fate
For some time, once on the street, Victor was homeless. He found an abandoned building, where he began to live, but he went to school all the time. For his next misconduct, the boy was sent to an orphanage.
After graduating from six grades in an orphanage, Viktor Petrovich Astafyev began his studies at a factory school. In parallel, he worked as a coupler, and then as a duty officer at a railway station. But fate has prepared new trials for the teenager.
When the war began, Viktor Petrovich volunteered for the front. First, he went to study at the automobile unit, which was located in Novosibirsk, and then went to the front. Viktor Petrovich Astafiev fought on many fronts, starting in 1943. He mentions it briefly in his books. On the Voronezh, Bryansk and Steppe fronts, he was both a signalman, and a driver, and even a reconnaissance officer in artillery.
It is known that Viktor Petrovich Astafiev, whose biography is always interesting to readers, was not only shell-shocked, but also wounded several times. For courage and heroism, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star and such medals as "For Courage", "For the Liberation of Poland" and "For the Victory over Germany".
In the post-war period, to help the family, he tried himself in various professions. For the sake of his wife and children, he worked as a carcass washer, and a locksmith, and a janitor, and a loader, and even a simple laborer. And all the while he was writing.
Literary debut
In his school years, Viktor Petrovich Astafyev, whose biography is full of events, gets acquainted with the teacher Ignaty Rozhdestvensky, who not only wrote poetry himself, but noticed literary talent in a difficult teenager. With his help, the boy began to write, and soon his short work "Alive" was published in one of the issues of the school magazine.
It is known that Viktor Petrovich edited this story several times, and it is already known to modern readers under the name "Vasyutkino Lake".
Literary activity
In 1951, Viktor Petrovich Astafyev decided to join a literary circle. Having attended the first meeting of this circle, he worked hard all night on his work and wrote the story "Civil Man" in one night. But later he improved it a little more, and from the press this story appeared already with the name "Siberian".
Soon the young writer was noticed and invited to work in the local newspaper Chusovskoy Rabochiy. By this time, Viktor Petrovich had written more than twenty stories and essays. In 1953 Astafiev Viktor Petrovich was able to publish his first book. The first published collection of short stories was called “Until Next Spring”, and a couple of years later the second collection for children, “Lights”, was released.
After that, almost every year his works were published: 1956 - Vasyutkino Lake, 1957 - Uncle Kuzya, Fox, Cat, 1958 - Warm Rain.
Features of creativity and books
In 1958, Viktor Petrovich's first novel was published. The work "The Snows Are Melting" tells how the collective farms were transformed. In the same year, other changes take place in the life of the writer. So, he goes to the capital to study at the courses of writers, which took place at the Literary Institute. In the same year, Viktor Petrovich became a member of the Writers' Union.
By the end of the 50s, Astafiev's works became known throughout the country, the writer received not only success, but also popularity. At the same time, other works of the writer came out of print: "Pass", "Starodub", "Starfall" and others.
In 1962, the life of Viktor Petrovich Astafyev changes dramatically, as he and his family move to Perm for permanent residence. In a new place, he writes several miniatures and immediately publishes them in various magazines. In 1972, he collects all these miniatures into one book and publishes it. The main themes of his miniatures are war, village life, heroism and patriotism.
In 1967, Astafiev worked on the story "The Shepherd and the Shepherdess". He thought about the idea for a long time, but when the work was ready, the censorship did not let it go to print. Viktor Petrovich had to delete a lot from his work, and despite the fact that it was still published, twenty years later he returned to it in order to return the old text.
In 1975, for his successful literary activity, the writer Astafiev became the laureate of the State Prize and soon received it. Encouraged, he immediately set to work on his new work, and the next year the novel "Tsar-Fish" was created, which is still popular today. But at that time, censorship did not want to let this novel go to print. As a result, this led to the fact that the famous writer ended up in the hospital due to stress.
In 1991, the writer Astafiev begins work on his new work. The book "Cursed and Killed" will be published only after 3 years. Readers liked the book about the senselessness of war, while literary critics had different opinions.
Victor Petrovich Astafiev "Horse with a pink mane"
The story is based on real events when the writer himself, as a child, left without parents, lived with his grandparents.
The plot of the story is very simple: Vitya asked his grandmother for a sweet and fragrant gingerbread, but she can buy it only if she sells strawberries, which the boy must collect in the forest. Vitya picked up strawberries, but after a bet, he pours them on the ground and the village guys immediately eat them. Vitya, wanting to get a gingerbread, stuffs a basket with all sorts of nonsense and gives it to his grandmother. In the morning, the grandmother leaves for the market, and the boy becomes ashamed of his act.
When the grandmother returned, she strongly scolded Vitya. But his grandfather taught him how to ask for forgiveness properly. The boy, having repented, follows the advice of his grandfather and for his act receives a gingerbread in the form of a horse with a pink mane. And for the rest of his life, the boy, having already become an adult, remembered this gingerbread.
Personal life
The famous and talented writer met his wife at the front. Maria Koryakina was a nurse. After the war they got married. In 1947, a daughter, Lydia, was born into their young family, but she died six months later. The writer blamed the doctors for her death, and his wife believed that Viktor Petrovich earned little and could not feed his family, which is why the girl died.
In 1948, a daughter, Irina, was born in the family, and two years later, a son, Andrei, was born. But it is known that the writer also had illegitimate daughters. Astafyev's wife did not know about the children, but she was constantly jealous of both women and books.
Astafiev left the family several times, but each time he returned. Together they lived for over 50 years. In 1984, daughter Irina unexpectedly and suddenly died of a heart attack, leaving two children orphans. Viktor Petrovich and his wife Maria Semyonovna took Vitya and Polina to their place, raised and raised them.
Writer's death
In the spring of 2001, Astafyev became ill. He was taken to the hospital with a stroke. After spending about two weeks in intensive care, he returns home. He seemed to feel better, he could even read newspapers. But in the fall, he again ends up in the hospital. In his last week of life, Viktor Petrovich became completely blind.
The great and talented writer died at the end of November 2001. They buried him near the village of Ovsyanki, where he was born. A year later, a museum of the Astafyev family was also opened there. Eight years later, the writer Viktor Astafiev was awarded the Solzhenitsyn Prize. The diploma and money were received by the writer's widow, who outlived him by ten years.
