Ivan Dmitrievich Vasilenko (russian: Ива́н Дми́триевич Василе́нко, uk, Іван Дмитрович Василенко; January 20, 1895 – May 26, 1966), was a Soviet writer of children's books.

Early years

Ivan Dmitrievich Vasilenko was born January 20, 1895, in the village of Makiivka, in Don Host Oblast (in present-day Donetsk Oblast,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

) in a clerk’s family. Seven years later, his family moved to the city of

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog ...

proper. In 1912 Ivan Vasilenko graduated from the 4-year college and became teacher at a village school. He entered the

Belgorod Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of B ...

pedagogical institute, but was soon dismissed for organization of a Marxist group, because of that the further route for Vasilenko to teaching was closed and he worked as an accountant in the Taganrog Land bank. After

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

, he managed trade department, later the department of public education, and gave lessons. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he contributed to Soviet military newspapers.

The literary career of Ivan Vasilenko

The literary talent of Vasilenko was discovered by Russian writer Vikenty Veresaev in 1937. All of his tales and stories written for 30 years of creative life, such as ''Magic Box'', ''Childhood of the Actor'', ''The Little Mouse'', ''The Gordian Knot'', ''Cocks'', ''Green Trunk'', ''Golden Shoes'', ''Sunrise is only Once a Day'', ''Merimes Watch'', ''Family Council'', ''Misha and Masha'' and others, were reissued by local, republican and central publishing houses and used large popularity both for children and for adults. Ivan Vasilenko Museum

In 1949, Vasilenko was awarded a State Stalin Prize for the story "The Little Star" about life of trade school’s students. Many books have been translated into 27 languages of

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

nations, and into Czech, German, Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, Vietnamese,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and English languages. His works ''The Little Star'', ''Artyomka in the Circus'', ''Magic Box'', ''Golden Shoes'' were filmed and released as motion pictures. He died in

on May 26, 1966.

Remembrance

* Memorial museum was inaugurated in the house on Ulitsa Chekhova 88 in

, where Ivan Vasilenko and his family lived from 1923 until 1966. * One of Taganrog Public Chekhov Library's branches is named after Vasilenko. * In May 2010 a monument "Artyomka" was inaugurated in front of the memorial museum on Chekhov Street.

Works

* ''Magic Box'' («Ростиздат», Ростов, 1938) *''Magic Box'' («Детгиз», М., 1941). *''Life Plan'' or ''Little Star'' («Молодая гвардия», М., 1948). *''Amazing Stories'' («Ростиздат», Ростов, 1946). *''My friends'' (novels and stories) («Сов. писатель», М., 1946). *''Actor's Childhood - Artyomka in the Circus'' («Правда»,М., 1952). *''Captain's Order'' («Детизд», М., 1953). *''Magic Box'' (novels and stories) («Моск. рабочий», М., 1953). *''Selected Stories'' («Сов. писатель», М., 1956). *''Golden Shoes'' («Детизд», М., 1958). *''Selected Stories of Children'' («Детизд», М., 1960). *''Novels'' (Душанбе, 1966)

External links

Ivan Vasilenko and his home city Taganrog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasilenko, Ivan 1895 births 1966 deaths People from Makiivka People from Don Host Oblast Soviet children's writers Soviet male writers Recipients of the Stalin Prize