David Peisakhovich Shrayer-Petrov (; 28 January 1936 – 9 June 2024) was a Russian-American novelist, poet, memoirist, translator, and medical scientist best known for his novel about

refusenik Refusenik (, ; alternatively spelled refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authorities of the Soviet Union and oth ...

s, ''Doctor Levitin'', his poetry and fiction about

Russian Jew The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

ish identity and his memoirs about the Soviet literary scene in the late 1950s-1970s.

Biography

Shrayer-Petrov was born of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Both of Shrayer-Petrov's parents, Petr (Peysakh) Shrayer and Bella Breydo, moved from the former

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in the 1920s to attend college. Shrayer-Petrov spent his early prewar years in Leningrad and was evacuated from the besieged city to a village in the Ural Mountains. The future writer and his mother returned to Leningrad in the summer of 1944, his father serving as a captain, and, subsequently, a major, in a tank brigade, and, subsequently, a lieutenant commander in the Baltic Fleet. In 1959, Shrayer-Petrov graduated from Leningrad First Medical School and subsequently served in the army as a physician. In 1966 he received a Ph.D. from the Leningrad Institute of Tuberculosis. He married Emilia Polyak (Shrayer) in 1962, and their son

Maxim D. Shrayer Maxim D. Shrayer (; born June 5, 1967, Moscow, USSR) is a bilingual Russian-American author, translator, and literary scholar, and a professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies at Boston College. Biography Shrayer was born and grew up in M ...

was born in 1967, already after the family had moved from Leningrad to Moscow. From 1967 to 1978 Shrayer-Petrov worked as a researcher at the

Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology The Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, previously the N. F. Gamaleya Federal Research Center for Epidemiology & Microbiology, is a Russian medical-research institute within the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federa ...

in Moscow until he was fired from a senior research position after applying for an

exit visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...

. In 1979-1987 Shrayer-Petrov and his family were

s and endured persecution by the Soviet authorities. Shrayer-Petrov entered the literary scene as a poet and translator in the late 1950s. Upon the suggestion of

Boris Slutsky Boris Abramovich Slutsky (; 7 May 1919 – 23 February 1986) was a Soviet Union, Soviet poet, translator, Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War veteran, major, and member of the Union of Soviet Writers, Soviet Union of Writers (1957). ...

, the poet adopted the pen name David Petrov. This assimilatory gesture did not simplify the publication of Shrayer-Petrov's poetry 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 ...

. Most of his writings were too controversial for Soviet officialdom and remained in the writer's desk drawer or circulated in

samizdat Samizdat (, , ) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the documents from reader to reader. The practice of manual rep ...

. Shrayer-Petrov's first collection of verse, ''Canvasses'', did not appear until 1967. With great difficulty Shrayer-Petrov was admitted to the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...

in 1976, upon the recommendation of

Viktor Shklovsky Viktor Borisovich Shklovsky ( rus, Ви́ктор Бори́сович Шкло́вский, p=ˈʂklofskʲɪj; – 6 December 1984) was a Russian and Soviet literary theorist, critic, writer, and pamphleteer. He is one of the major figures asso ...

Lev Ozerov Lev Ozerov () (August 10/23, 1914 – March 18, 1996) was a Russian-Jewish poet, translator and essayist born in Kiev. Ozerov was the professor of Literary Translation at the Literary Institute until his death. He was one of the first Jewish autho ...

and

Andrei Voznesensky Andrei Andreyevich Voznesensky (, 12 May 1933 – 1 June 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who had been referred to by Robert Lowell as "one of the greatest living poets in any language." He was one of the "Children of the '60s ...

. His poem “My Slavic Soul” brought repressive measures against the author. A Jewish refusenik expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers, Shrayer-Petrov was unable to publish in the USSR; galleys of two of his books were broken in retaliation for his decision to emigrate. In spite of bullying and arrests by the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

, Shrayer-Petrov's last Soviet decade was productive; he wrote two novels, several plays, a memoir, and many stories and verses. He was granted permission to emigrate in 1987. Shrayer-Petrov's best-known novel, Doctor Levitin (known in Russian as ''Herbert and Nelly''), was the first to depict the exodus of Soviet Jews and the life of refuseniks in limbo. Since the publication of its first part in Israel in 1986, ''Herbert and Nelly'' has gone through three editions, most recently in 2014 in Moscow. Its English translation appeared in 2018. After a summer in Italy, in August 1987 Shrayer-Petrov and his family arrived in Providence, RI, the home of David Shrayer-Petrov and Emilia Shrayer for the next twenty years. In Providence he worked as a medical researcher at Brown University-Roger Williams Hospital (Dr. Shrayer published almost 100 scientific articles in microbiology and immunology). Emigration brought forth a stream of new literary works and publications. The writer and his wife resided until his death in

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri, a village * Brookline, New Hampshire, a town * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookl ...

, MA, where Shrayer-Petrov devoted himself to writing full-time. Shrayer-Petrov died from complications associated with Parkinson’s disease in Boston, on 9 June 2024, at the age of 88. The works of David Shrayer-Petrov have been translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

, Croatian,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Georgian,

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

, and other languages. Shrayer's first cousin is the Israeli visual artist David Sharir ().

Books in English translation

* ''Doctor Levitin''. A Novel. 2018, Detroit, Wayne State University Press. *''Dinner with Stalin and Other Stories.'' 2014, Syracuse, NY. Runner-up for the 2014 Edward Lewis Wallant Award. *''Autumn in Yalta: A Novel and Three Stories,'' 2006, Syracuse, NY. *''Jonah and Sarah: Jewish Stories of Russia and America,'' 2003, Syracuse, NY.

Books in Russian

Poetry collections

*''Village Orchestra'' (Derevenskii orkestr), six long poems, 2016, St. Petersburg, Russia. *''Nevan Poems'' (Nevskie stithi), poetry, 2011, St. Petersburg, Russia. *''Lines-Figures-Bodies: A Book of Poems'' (Linii-figury-tela: king stikhotvorenii), poetry, 2010, St. Petersburg, Russia. *''Two Books: Poems'' (Dve knigi: stikhi, poetry, 2009, Philadelphia, USA. *''Form of Love'' (Forma liubvi), poetry, 2003, Moscow, Russia. *''Drums of Fortune'' (Barabany sud'by), poetry, 2002, Moscow, Russia. *''Petersburg Doge'' (Piterskii dozh), poetry, 1999, St. Petersburg, Russia. *''Lost Soul'' (Propashchaia dusha), poetry, 1997, Providence, RI, USA. *''Villa Borghese'' (Villa Borgeze), poetry, 1992, Holyoke, MA, USA. *''Song about a Blue Elephant'' (Pesnia o golubom slone), poetry, 1990, Holyoke, MA, USA. *''Canvases'' (Kholsty; in the collective ''Pereklichka''), poetry, 1967, Moscow, Russia.

Fiction

* ''Judin's Redemption'' (Iskuplenie Iudina), novel, 2021, Moscow, Russia. * ''Round-the-Globe-Happiness'' (Krugosvetnoe shchast'e), stories, 2017, Moscow, Russia. *''The Story of My Beloved, or The Spiral Staircase'' (Istoriia moei vozliublennoi, ii Vintovaia lestnitsa), novel, 2013, Moscow, Russia. *''The Third Life'' (Tret'ia zhizn'), novel, 2010, Lugansk, Ukraine. *''Carp for the Gefilte Fish'' (Karp dlia farshirovannoi ruby), stories, 2005, Moscow, Russia. *''These Strange Russian Jews'' (Eti strannye russkie evrei), two novels, 2004, Moscow, Russia. *''The Tostemaa Castle'' (Zamok Tystemaa), novel, 2001, Tallinn, Estonia. *''The French Cottage'' (Frantsuzskii kottedzh), novel, 1999, Providence, RI, USA. *''Herbert and Nelly'' (Gerbert i Nelli), novel, 1992, Moscow; 2nd ed. 2006, St. Petersburg, Russia; 3rd ed. 2014, Moscow, Russia.

Novels published serially but not in book form

*''Model of Life'' (Model' zhizni), novel, 2009-2010 (''Mosty''). *''Judin's Redemption'' (Iskuplenie Iudina), novel, 2005-2006 (''Mosty''). *''The Kissing Game'' (Igra v butylochku), novel, 2018-2020 (''Slovo/Word'').

Non-fiction

*''Hunt for the Red Devil: A Novel with Microbiologists'' (Okhota na ryzhego d'iavola: Roman s mikrobiologami), memoir, 2010, Moscow, Russia. *''Vodka and Pastries: A Novel with Writers'' (Vodka s pirozhnymi: Roman s pisateliami), memoir-novel, 2007, St. Petersburg, Russia. *''Genrikh Sapgir: Avant-Garde Classic'' (Genrikh Sapgir: Classic avangarda), criticism and biography, with Maxim D. Shrayer, criticism, 2004, St. Petersburg, Russia. 2nd., corrected edition St. Petersburg: Bibliorossica, 2016. 3rd, corrected edition. Ekaterinburg: Izdatel'skie resheniia; Ridero, 2017. *''Gold-Domed Moscow'' (Moskva zlatoglavaia), memoir-novel, 1994, Baltimore, MD, USA. *''Friends and Shadows'' (Druz'ia i teni), memoir-novel, 1989, New York, NY, USA. *''Poetry of Labor Heroizm'' (Poeziia o trudovom geroizme), essays, 1977, Moscow, Russia. *''Poetry and Science'' (Poeziia i nauka), essays, 1974, Moscow, Russia.

Drama

*''Vaccine. Ed Tenner'' (Vaktsina. Ed Tenner), tragicomedy in verse, 2021, Moscow, Russia.

Edited by

*''

Genrikh Sapgir Genrikh Sapgir (; November 20, 1928, Biysk, Altai Krai, Russia – October 7, 1999, Moscow) was a Russian poet and fiction writer of Jewish descent. Biography He was born in Biysk to a family of a Moscow engineer on a business trip. The fam ...

, Shorter and Longer Poems'', co-edited with

, 2004, St. Petersburg, Russia.

References

Sources

David Shrayer-Petrov and Maxim D. Shrayer, "Dinner with Stalin: Parts 1-3," ''Jewish Book Council'' July 2014
* ttp://www.boston.com/ae/books/blog/2008/02/who_he.html David Mehegan, "Russia to Rhode Island," Off the Shelf/The Boston Globe, February 8, 2008br>Alice Nakhimovsky, "Russian Literature," "The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe"David Shrayer-Petrov reads from and discusses his works at Bar-Ilan University (2012)David Shrayer-Petrov(1936-2024) Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrayer-Petrov, David 1936 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American translators 20th-century Russian Jews 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian translators 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American poets 21st-century American translators 21st-century Russian Jews 21st-century Russian male writers 21st-century Russian poets 21st-century Russian translators American male novelists American male poets American male short story writers American medical researchers American people of Russian-Jewish descent American writers of Russian descent Employees of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology English–Russian translators Jewish American memoirists Jewish American novelists Shrayer-Petov Jewish American short story writers Jewish refugees Jewish Russian writers Refuseniks Russian emigrants to the United States Russian male poets Russian male short story writers Russian medical researchers Russian memoirists Russian refugees Soviet Jews Translators from English Writers from Saint Petersburg