Nikolai Semenovich Tikhonov (russian: link=no, Никола́й Семёнович Ти́хонов; – 8 February 1979) was a Soviet writer and member of the Serapion Brothers literary group.

Biography

Born of parents who were petty tradesmen of

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

descent, Tikhonov trained as a clerk, graduating from the Petersburg School of Commerce in 1911. He volunteered for the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

at the outbreak of

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, ...

and served in a

hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

regiment; he entered the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in 1918, fought in 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 ...

, and was demobilized in 1922. He began writing poetry early; his first collection, ''Orda'' (''The Horde'', 1922), "shows startling maturity" and "contains most of the few short poems which have made him famous." After 1922 he devoted himself to traveling and writing, and his later work, both verse (the collection ''Ten' druga'', or ''The Shadow of a Friend'', 1936) and prose (many adventure stories and the novel ''Voina'', or ''War'', 1931) reflects his delight in what he found in his travels, particularly in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. His cycle of war stories ''Voennye koni'' (''Military Horses'', 1927) is "perceptive and well constructed." He served on the Finnish front in the

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 was in Leningrad for the

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

. In 1944 he became chair of the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...

, but was dismissed by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

in 1946 for being too tolerant of Zoshchenko and Akhmatova.Milner-Gulland, op. cit. However, he remained an important figure in Soviet literary circles, and he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1957. Some of his well-known ballads are "Ballada o gvozdyakh" ("Ballad About Nails"), "Ballada o sinem pakete" ("Ballad of the Blue Parcel"), and "Dezertir" ("The Deserter"). Tikhonov was the first chairman of the

Soviet Peace Committee The Soviet Peace Committee (SPC, also known as Soviet Committee for the Defense of Peace, SCDP, russian: Советский Комитет Защиты Мира) was a state-sponsored organization responsible for coordinating peace movements active ...

, serving from 1949 to 1979.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Soviet Writers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tikhonov, Nikolay Semenovich 1896 births 1979 deaths Writers from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Soviet short story writers 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Russian poets Soviet novelists Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of Socialist Labour Lenin Peace Prize recipients Recipients of the Shevchenko National Prize 20th-century Russian translators Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War