Anatoly Ignatovich Pristavkin (, 17 October 1931 – 11 July 2008) was a Russian writer and public figure. His mother died when he was nine and his father died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After spending several years in Soviet

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

s, Pristavkin had to start working from the age of 14, and had various jobs. He started a career as a writer in 1961 and later became a lecturer at a university. Pristavkin's novel "The Inseparable Twins" was successful in the

Soviet Union 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 ...

, and describes the miserable conditions of orphans' life in an orphanage near Moscow during the years of World War II and the re-settlement to Chechnya in 1944, as Chechens had been deported. The book became part of school curriculum in the

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

-era USSR. Books by Pristavkin were translated into many languages. Pristavkin took part in the Soviet opposition movement. In 1988, he joined the writers association ''Aprel'', a pro-Perestroika organization of Russian writers. On 4 November 1989 he took part in the

Alexanderplatz demonstration The Alexanderplatz demonstration () was a demonstration for political reforms and against the government of the German Democratic Republic on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin on Saturday 4 November 1989. With between half a million and a million p ...

in East Berlin against the regime in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. In 1991 he supported the Latvian independence movement, stood at barricades in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and appealed to Soviet soldiers via regional television, urging them not to shoot at civilians. In 1995 and 1996 he visited

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

and encountered assaults on civilian population. He later criticised Russia's Chechnya policies in the media. In the 1990s, Pristavkin headed the Pardon Commission of the Russian Federation.Robert Porter, « Anatolii Pristavkin. Muted Soviet novelist who blossomed into a champion of liberalism », 14 Aug 2008

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In 1993, he signed the

Letter of Forty-Two The Letter of Forty-Two () was an open letter signed by forty-two Russian literati, aimed at Russian society, the president and government, in reaction to the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. It was published in the newspaper ''Izvestia'' on 5 O ...

in support of

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

in his stand against the Russian parliament.

References

Sources

*http://www.penrussia.org/n-z/an-prs.htm *http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/20/europe/obits.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Pristavkin, Anatoly 1931 births 2008 deaths People from Lyubertsy Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Russian male novelists Soviet dissidents Advisers to the president of Russia Recipients of the USSR State Prize Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni