Igor Markovich Yefimov or Igor Efimov (Russian: И́горь Ма́ркович Ефи́мов; August 8, 1937 – August 12, 2020) was an American philosopher, historian, writer and publisher of Russian origin. Some of his works were published under the pen name Andrei Moscovit. Together with ,

Sergei Dovlatov Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (; 1941 1990) was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century. Biography Dovlatov was born on 3 September 1941 in Ufa, the capital of Bas ...

, , and , he founded the

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 ...

writers' group "Townspeople" (), whose works 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 ...

. He was also the founder of Hermitage Publishers; a company specializing in Russian writers.

Biography

In 1960, he graduated from the

Leningrad Polytechnic Institute Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, abbreviated as SPbPU, is a public technical university located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Over the decades, it established itself as a cornerstone of technical education and research, ulti ...

. He then attended the

Maxim Gorky Literature Institute The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute () is an institution of higher education in Moscow, Russia. It is located at 25 Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow. History The institute was founded in 1933 on the initiative of Maxim Gorky, a writer, foun ...

; graduating in 1973. He joined 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 1965. He originally wrote stories for children and pieces for Soviet radio and television as well as screenplays. It was not known until after he left the Soviet Union, in 1978 by way of Austria, that he had written ''Practical Metaphysics'' and ''Metapolitics'' under the pseudonym Andrei Moscovit. After arriving in the United States, he worked for Ardis Publishing until 1981, when he established his own company to print works, both contemporary and classic, that could not be published in the USSR. The writers who were first presented by ''Hermitage'' include Sergei Averintsev,

Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the autho ...

, Fridrikh Gorenstein, Lev Losev,

Anatoly Naiman Anatoly Genrikhovich Naiman (; 23 April 1936 – 21 January 2022) was a Russian poet, translator and writer. He was one of the four Akhmatova's Orphans. Biography Born on 23 April 1936 in Leningrad, Naiman was a graduate of the Leningrad Techn ...

Ernst Neizvestny Ernst Iosifovich Neizvestny (; 9 April 1925 – 9 August 2016) was a Russian sculptor, painter, graphic artist, and art philosopher. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1976 and lived and worked in New York City. American playwright Arthur Miller once ...

and . Since 1991, most of his works have appeared in Russia. Many originally appeared in the literary journal '' Zvezda'' (Star). In 2005, he published ''The Noble Prankster'', a memoir of

Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union, Brodsky ran afoul of Soviet authorities and was expelled ("strongly ...

. This was followed by a new work of philosophy, ''The Shameful Mystery of Inequality''. Five of his works are available in English and a book on the

Assassination of President Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas gove ...

was published in France. All the critics who have written about Yefimov have noted the philosophical nature of his prose; Brodsky described him as belonging "to the great Russian tradition of philosophical writers in the vein of

Herzen Herzen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Herzen (1812–1870), writer * Édouard Herzen (1877–1936), chemist * Jana Herzen, singer See also * 3052 Herzen, asteroid * '' Flammende Herzen'', 1977 album * Herzen U ...

." However, his books also have another characteristic, noted by in his foreword to the Russian edition of the novel ''Arkhivy Strashnogo Suda'' (The Judgment Day Archives): "The real hero of Yefimov's prose has always been human passion. To put it in other words - will in arousal." Born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1937, Yefimov died at home in Pennsylvania on August 12, 2020, aged 83.

In translation

English *Our Choice And History. New York: Philosophical Library, 1985. ("Метаполитика".) *The Judgment Day Archives. San Francisco: Mercury House, 1988. ("Архивы Страшного суда".) *The Seventh Wife. Dallas: Baskerville, 1994. ("Седьмая жена".) *Did Castro Kill Kennedy? Miami, 1997. ("Кеннеди, Освальд, Кастро, Хрущёв".) *Five Talents or One? The Shocking Secret of Inequality. Tenafly: Hermitage Publishers, 2004. ("Стыдная тайна неравенства") French *"Comment Castro a tué Kennedy." Éditions du Rocher, France, 2006. (Перевод «Кеннеди, Освальд, Кастро, Хрущёв»)

References

External links

Hermitage Publishers owned and managed by I. Efimov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yefimov, Igor 21st-century American philosophers 20th-century American philosophers American writers of Russian descent 20th-century Russian philosophers 21st-century Russian philosophers Russian male writers 1937 births 2020 deaths Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni