Kir Bulychev (; 18 October 1934 – 5 September 2003) was a

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko (И́горь Все́володович Може́йко), 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 ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer, critic, translator and historian. His

magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...

is a children's science fiction series '' Alisa Selezneva'', although most of his books are adult-oriented. His books were adapted for film, TV, and animation over 20 times – more than any other Russian science fiction author – and Bulychev himself wrote scripts for early adaptations.

Biography

Mozheiko (Mojeiko) received a Master's degree in 1965 and a Ph.D. in 1981. From 1963 he worked in the

Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (), formerly Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, is a Russian research institution for the Oriental studies, study of the countries and cultures Asia ...

. He was a specialist in the medieval

history of Burma The history of Myanmar ( ) covers the period from the time of first-known human settlements 13,000 years ago to the present day. The earliest inhabitants of recorded history were a Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who established the Pyu city-sta ...

and wrote a biography of

Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947), known honorifically as '' Bogyoke'' Aung San, was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he w ...

. He first used the pseudonym Kir Bulychev in 1965, for his very first science fiction story, "A Girl Nothing Can Happen To". It was the first in what would become his most popular book series, '' Alisa Selezneva'', that eventually comprised more than 50 novellas and short stories. This children's science fiction series is centered around the titular heroine, a teenage girl from the future, who travels through space and time, solves mysteries, makes discoveries and saves endangered peoples and species. Bulychov kept writing ''Alisa'' for the rest of his life: the last book appeared in 2003, months before his death. There were four animated and three life-action adaptations of ''Alisa'' stories, as well as tie-in comics and video games. Another of Bulychev's best-known works is a series of short stories about Veliky Guslar, a Russian town that attracts all kinds of aliens and supernatural beings. This fictional city is based on the real city of

Veliky Ustyug Veliky Ustyug () is a town in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the northeast of the oblast at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 31,665. Veliky Ustyug has a great historical signific ...

. He also wrote many standalone science fiction novels, including ''The Last War'' (1970), ''Thirteen Years of Travel'', ''Those Who Survive'' (adapted as the animated film '' Pereval''), ''

The Witches Cave ''The Witches Cave'' () is a 1989 science fantasy film from Gorky Film Studio, USSR and Barrandov Studios, Czechoslovakia. The script was written by Kir Bulychov based on his own story and directed by Yuri Moroz. The cast featured Sergei Zhigu ...

'' (filmed), ''River Chronos'' and '' Abduction of the Wizard''. Bulychev wrote scripts for more than 20 movies: according to ''

Mir Fantastiki ''Mir Fantastiki'' (), officially abbreviated as ''MirF'', is a Russian monthly science fiction and fantasy magazine. The name also refers to the website run by the magazine, Mirf.ru. ''Mir Fantastiki'' literally translates from Russian as ''Wor ...

'' magazine, he is the most adapted Russian science fiction author. Besides his own writing, he translated numerous American science fiction stories into Russian.

Selected bibliography

Only novels and novellas included. Alisa Selezneva series * Ржавый фельдмаршал (''The Rusty Field Marshal'', 1968) * Путешествие Алисы (''Alisa's Voyage'', 1974) * День рождения Алисы (''Alisa's Birthday'', 1974) * Миллион приключений (''A Million Adventures'', 1976) * Сто лет тому вперёд (''One Hundred Years Ahead'', 1978) * Пленники астероида (''Prisoners of an Asteroid'', 1981) * Лиловый шар (''The Lilac Ball'', 1983) * Заповедник сказок (''The Reserve of Fairy Tales'', 1985) * Козлик Иван Иванович (''Ivan Ivanovich the Goat'', 1985) * Гай-до (''Guy-do'', 1986) * Конец Атлантиды (''The End of Atlantis'', 1987) * Город без памяти (''The City Without Memory'', 1988) * Подземная лодка (''The Underground Boat'', 1989) * Война с лилипутами (''The War Against the Lilliputians'', 1992) * Алиса и крестоносцы (''Alisa and the Crusaders'', 1993) * Излучатель доброты (''The Kindness Ray'', 1994) * Дети динозавров (''Dinosaur Children'', 1995) * Сыщик Алиса (''Alisa the Detective'', 1996) * Привидений не бывает (''Ghosts Don't Exist'', 1996) * Опасные сказки (''Dangerous Tales'', 1997) * Планета для тиранов (''A Planet for Tyrants'', 1997) * Секрет чёрного камня (''The Secret of the Black Stone'', 1999) * Алиса и чудовище (''Alisa and the Monster'', 1999) * Звёздный пёс (''The Star Dog'', 2001) * Вампир Полумракс (''Twilights the Vampire'', 2001) * Алиса и Алисия (''Alisa and Alicia'', 2003) Veliky Guslar series * Марсианское зелье (''The Martian Potion'', 1971) * Нужна свободная планета (''A Free Planet Needed'', 1977) * Глубокоуважаемый микроб (''Dear Mr Microbe'', 1987) * Перпендикулярный мир (''Perpendicular World'', 1989) * Over 130 short stories, published in seven volumes: **Чудеса в Гусляре (''Miracles in Guslar'') **Пришельцы в Гусляре (''Aliens in Guslar'') **Возвращение в Гусляр (''Return to Guslar'') **Гусляр-2000 (''Guslar-2000'') **Господа гуслярцы (''Gentlemen Guslarians'') **Гусляр навеки (''Guslar Forever'') **Письма в редакцию (''Letters to the Editorial Office'') Dr. Pavlish series * Последняя война (''The Last War'', 1970) * Великий дух и беглецы (''The Great Spirit and the Refugees'', 1972) * Половина жизни (''Half a Life'', 1973) * Закон для дракона (''A Law for a Dragon'', 1975) * Белое платье Золушки (''Cinderella's White Dress'', 1980) * Тринадцать лет пути (''Thirteen Years in Flight'', 1984) * Посёлок (''The Settlement'', 1988) * Пленники долга (''Prisoners of Duty'', 2009) Cora Orvath ("InterGPol") series * Покушение на Тесея (''The Attempted Murder of Theseus'', 1994) * В куриной шкуре (''In a Hen's Skin'', 1994) * Предсказатель прошлого (''Prophet of the Past'', 1994) * Последние драконы (''The Last Dragons'', 1994) * Детский остров (''The Children's Island'', 1995) * На полпути с обрыва (''Halfway Down the Ridge'', 1995) * Зеркало зла (''The Mirror of Evil'', 1996) River Chronos series * Река Хронос (''River Chronos'', 1992) * Заповедник для академиков (''The Academicians' Reserve'', 1992) * Усни, красавица (''Sleep, Beauty'', 1994) * Купидон (''Cupid'', 1998) * Таких не убивают (''Those are not to be Killed'', 1998) * Младенец Фрей (''Baby Frei'', 2000) * Дом в Лондоне (''A House in London'', 2003) Andrey Bruce duology * Агент КФ (''SF Agent'', 1984) * Подземелье ведьм (''The Witches' Dungeon'', 1987) Non-serialized * Умение кидать мяч (''A Talent for Throwing Balls'', 1973) *Похищение чародея (''Abduction of the Wizard'', 1979) * На днях землетрясение в Лигоне (''The Upcoming Earthquake in Ligon'', 1980) * Два билета в Индию (''Two Tickets to India'', 1981) * Тайна Урулгана (''The Secret of Urulgan'', 1991) * Любимец (''A Pet'', 1993) * Театр теней (''Theatre of Shadows'', 1998)

Books published in English

The dates given are the dates of English editions. Science fiction: *''Alice: The Girl from Earth'' (translation of ''Alisa's Voyage'', July 2002), *'' Half a Life'' (1977) *''Gusliar Wonders'' (1983) *''Earth and Elsewhere'' (1985) *''Abduction of the Wizard'' (1989) *''Those Who Survive'' (translation of ''The Village'', 2000) History: *''1185 A.D.'' (1989) *''South-East Asia: Unity in Diversity''. Ahmedabad: Allied (with Gennadi Chufrin) (1989).

Film adaptations

All scripts are written by Bulychov himself, except noted.

Based on Alisa Selezneva

*'' Mystery of the Third Planet'' (1981), animated, based on ''Alisa's Voyage'' *'' The Guest from the Future'' (1985), TV miniseries based on ''One Hundred Years Ahead'' *'' The Lilac Ball'' (1987), based on the book of the same name * '' Prisoners of Yamagiri-Maru'' (1988), animated, based on a story of the same name * '' Island of Rusty General'' (1988), based on ''The Rusty Field Marshal'' * '' One Hundred Years Ahead'' (2024), based on the story of the same name Not written by Bulychev: *'' Alice's Birthday'' (2009), animated, based on the novella of the same name * '' Alisa Knows What to Do!'' (2013), animated TV series, based on characters only

Other

* '' The Throw, or Everything Started on Saturday'' (1976), TV film, based on the story ''The Ability to Throw Ball'' * '' Abduction of the Wizard'' (1981), TV film, based on a story of the same name * ''

Per Aspera Ad Astra is a Latin language, Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote in his ''Aeneid'': "''sic itur ad astra''" ('thus one journeys to the stars') and "''opta ardua pennis astra sequi''" ('desire to pursue t ...

'' (1981), based on an original script by Bulychev * '' Tears Were Falling'' (1982) * ''Comet'' (1983) * '' Chance'' (1984) * '' Two Tickets to India'' (1985), animated, based on a story of the same name * '' The Pass'' (1988), animated, based on ''Village'' * ''

'' (1989), based on the novella of the same name * '' Abduction of the Wizard'' (1989), based on a story of the same name

External links

Official website
*
Alisa and the ''Guest from the Future'' Fan Site
(in Russian)
Kir Bulychev: Tale-Teller and Scientist
fossickerbooks.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulychev, Kir 1934 births 2003 deaths Writers from Moscow Russian science fiction writers Soviet science fiction writers Russian orientalists Russian speculative fiction critics Russian speculative fiction translators Soviet historians Russian children's writers Soviet children's writers Soviet male writers 20th-century Russian male writers 21st-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian historians Recipients of the USSR State Prize Translators to Russian 20th-century Russian translators Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers