Aleksandr Borisovich Chakovsky (; August 26, 1913 – February 17, 1994) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n editor and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

; editor-in-chief of "

Literaturnaya Gazeta ''Literaturnaya Gazeta'' (, ''Literary Gazette'') is a weekly cultural and political newspaper published in Russia and the Soviet Union. It was published for two periods in the 19th century, and was revived in 1929. Overview The current newspa ...

" from 1962 to 1988. A hard-line

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

, he served as an unofficial cultural arbiter through his position in the powerful

Writers' Union Writers' Union may refer to the following organizations: Statewide unions * Writers Union of Armenia * Azerbaijani Writers Union * Writers' Union of Canada * Chinese Writers Union * Estonian Writers' Union * Hungarian Writers' Union * Iraqi Writer ...

.Lyons, Richard D. (February 19, 1994). Aleksandr Chakovsky Dies at 80; Enforcer of Soviet Line on Writers. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Biography

Born on August 13 (26), 1913 in St. Petersburg, into a wealthy Jewish family. His grandfather Matvey Abramovich Chakovsky was a merchant of the first guild and a large homeowner in Samara, his father Boris Matveevich Chakovsky was a venereologist, and his uncle Ilya Matveevich Chakovsky was a sworn attorney in Saint Petersburg. Chakovsky spent his childhood and adolescence in Samara: here he graduated from school in 1930, went to the village as a high school student to eliminate illiteracy, was an “assistant” of the collectivization commissioner and editor of a wall newspaper. At the age of 17, he went to Moscow to study at the evening department of the law institute. In 1938 he graduated from the A. M. Gorky Literary Institute and attended graduate school at the Moscow Institute of Philosophy and Literature. During his studies, he worked in the literary and artistic "October" magazine. He made his debut as a critic in 1937, and later also published as a playwright. Since 1939 - candidate member of the CPSU (b), since 1941 - member of the CPSU (b). Member of the Writers' Union since 1941. In 1941, he was the head of the script department of the Mosfilm film studio, and edited the first issues of the Combat Film Collection. Since January 1942, with the rank of major in the administrative service, he has been a correspondent for the

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front () was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group North in its offensive thrust towards L ...

newspapers “Banner of Victory” and “Front-line Pravda”. He was demobilized in March 1945. From 1955 to 1963 - the first editor-in-chief of the journal Foreign Literature. From 1962 to 1988, he was editor-in-chief of the Literary Newspaper, which at that time received the informal name "Hyde Park of Socialism" and reached the peak of its popularity. However, according to the memoirs of his deputy Vitaly Syrokomsky, the editor-in-chief "was absent from the editorial office for an average of seven months a year: three months - the prescribed leave of the secretary of the board of the Union of Writers of the USSR, another three months - sabbatical leave at his own expense, at least a month - deputy trips to voters in Mordovia and foreign business trips". In 1973, he signed a letter from a group of Soviet writers about

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Soviet and Russian author and Soviet dissidents, dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag pris ...

and

Andrei Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet Physics, physicist and a List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world. Alt ...

, and wrote an article denouncing the dissidents

Alexander Ginzburg Alexander "Alik" Ilyich Ginzburg ( rus, Алекса́ндр Ильи́ч Ги́нзбург, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ɨˈlʲjidʑ ˈɡʲinzbʊrk, a=Alyeksandr Il'yich Ginzburg.ru.vorb.oga; 21 November 1936 – 19 July 2002), was a Russian journalist ...

Yuri Galanskov Yuri Timofeyevich Galanskov (; 19 June 1939 – 4 November 1972) was a Russian poet, historian, human rights activist and dissident. For his political activities, such as founding and editing samizdat almanac '' Phoenix'', he was incarcerated i ...

Alexey Dobrovolsky Alexey Alexandrovich Dobrovolsky (; 13 October 1938 – 19 May 2013), also known as Dobroslav (), was a Soviet-Russian ideologue of Slavic neopaganism, a founder of Russian Rodnoverie, national anarchist, and Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi. Dobrovolsky ...

and

Vera Lashkova Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarra ...

Honours and awards

* Stalin Prize, 3rd class (1950) – for the novel "We already Morning" (1949) *

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1978) – for the novel "The Siege" *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

(1983) – for the novel "Victory" *

Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR The Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR was an annual State Prize established by the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) in 1965. Three Vasilyev Brothers prizes were awarded annually from 1966 unti ...

(1980) – a script for the film "Siege" (1973, 1977) * Four

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

References

External links

* 1913 births 1994 deaths Soviet writers Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR Recipients of the Order of Lenin Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni Candidates of the Central Committee of the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Candidates of the Central Committee of the 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union {{Russia-writer-stub