Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov, born Kirill Mikhailovich Simonov (, – 28 August 1979), was 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 ...

author,

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

, playwright and wartime correspondent,Константин Михайлович Симонов // " Литературная газета" № 36 от 5 сентября 1979 года стр.3 n official obituary article about death of K. M. Simonov/ref> arguably most famous for his 1941 poem "Wait for Me".

Early years

Simonov was born in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

in 1915. His mother, Princess Aleksandra Leonidovna Obolenskaya, came of the

Rurikid The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

Obolensky The House of Obolensky () is an ancient Russian princely family, claiming descent from the Olgovichi branch of the Rurik dynasty. History Their name is said to derive from the town of Obolensk in the Upper Oka Principalities near Moscow. ...

family. His father, Mikhail Agafangelovich Simonov, an officer in the Tsar's army, left Russia after the Revolution of 1917 and died in Poland sometime after 1921. Konstantin's mother, Alexandra, remained in Russia with Konstantin. In 1919 his mother married Alexander Ivanishev, a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

officer and veteran of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Konstantin spent several years as a child in

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

while his stepfather worked as an instructor at a local military school. They later moved to

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

, where Konstantin spent the remainder of his childhood. After completing a basic seven-year education in 1930 in Saratov, he went into the factory workshop school (Fabrichno-Zavodskoe Uchilishche-FZU) to become a lathe-turner. In 1931 his family moved to Moscow. After completing his precision-engineering course, Simonov went to work in a factory, where he remained until 1935. During these years he changed his given name from Kirill to Konstantin because he spoke with rhotacism and

lambdacism A speech sound disorder (SSD) is a speech disorder affecting the ability to pronounce speech sounds, which includes speech articulation disorders and phonemic disorders, the latter referring to some sounds (phonemes) not being produced or used ...

. The first of Simonov's poems were published in 1936 in the journals ''Young Guard'' and ''October''. After completing schooling at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in 1938, Simonov entered the Moscow Institute of History, Philosophy, and Literature. His time there was interrupted when he was sent as a war correspondent to cover the Battle of Khalkhin Gol of May–September 1939 in

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. Simonov returned to the Institute in 1939.

Works

Simonov's first play, ''The History of One Love'', was written in 1940, and performed on stage at the Memorial Lenin Komsomol Theater 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 ...

. He wrote his second play, ''A Lad from Our Town'', in 1941. That same year he was impressed by Soviet resistance in this place, during which 39 German tanks have been destroyed in one day, and described this episode in '' The Living and the Dead'' trilogy. Studying war correspondence at the Lenin Military-Political Academy, Simonov attained the service rank of quartermaster of the second rank. At the beginning of

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 ...

Simonov received a job with the official army newspaper '' Krasnaya Zvezda''. Simonov rose through the army ranks becoming a senior battalion commissar in 1942, lieutenant colonel in 1943, and a colonel after the war. Ilya Vlasenko Konstantin Simonov near Ponyri

Ilya Vlasenko Konstantin Simonov near Ponyri

During the war years, he wrote the plays ''Russian People'', ''Wait for Me'', ''So It Will Be'', the short novel ''Days and Nights'', and two books of poems, ''With You and Without You'' and ''War''. His poem " Wait for Me", about a soldier in the war asking his beloved to wait for his return, remains one of the best-known poems in Russian literature. The poem was addressed to his future wife, the actress Valentina Serova. Many of his poems for Valentina were included in the book ''With You and Without You''. As a war correspondent, Simonov served in Romania,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, Poland, and Germany, where he was present at the Battle of Berlin. After the war his collected reports appeared in ''Letters from Czechoslovakia'', ''Slav Friendship'', ''Yugoslavian Notebook'' and ''From the Black to the Barents Sea: Notes of a War Correspondent''.

Post-war works

For three years after the war ended, Simonov served in foreign missions in Japan, the United States and China. From 1958 to 1960 he worked in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

as the

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

n correspondent for

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

. His novel ''Comrades in Arms'' was published in 1952, and his longer novel, ''The Living and the Dead'', in 1959. In 1961 his play, ''The Fourth,'' was performed at the Sovremennik Theatre. In 1963–64 he wrote the novel ''Soldatami ne rozhdaiutsia'', which can be translated as "Soldiers Are Made, Not Born" or "One Isn't Born a Soldier." In 1970–71 he wrote a sequel ''The Last Summer''. For two spells, 1946–50 and 1954–58, Simonov was editor in chief of the journal ''

Novy Mir ''Novy Mir'' (, ) is a Russian-language monthly literary magazine. History ''Novy Mir'' has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine ''Mir Bozhy'' ("God's World"), w ...

''. From 1950 through 1953, he was editor in chief of the '' Literary Gazette''; from 1946 through 1959 and from 1967 through 1979, secretary of the Union of Writers of the USSR. In the year before his death, Simonov tried to create a special archive of memories of soldiers in the archives of the Defense Ministry in

Podolsk Podolsk ( rus, Подольск, p=pɐˈdolʲsk) is an industrial city, center of Podolsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River (a tributary of the Moskva River). Population: History The first mentions of the vill ...

, Moscow Region, but leaders of the army, in the high echelons, blocked the idea. Simonov died on 28 August 1979 in Moscow. According to his last will, he was cremated, and his ashes were scattered in Buynichi fields near

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

. He is the central character in Orlando Figes' book '' The Whisperers'' (2007).

Awards and honors

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

(September 1974) * Three Orders of Lenin *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(May 1942) * two Orders of the Patriotic War 1st class *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

(January 1939) * Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" * Medal "For the Defence of Odessa" * Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" *

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

(1974) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

(1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950) * Order of the White Lion (Czechoslovak SSR) * Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945 (Czechoslovak SSR) * Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolian SSR) * Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR (1966)

Film adaptations of Simonov's works

Numerous films were released 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 ...

on Simonov's scenarios and based on his works: *'' Lad from Our Town'' (1942), directed by Aleksandr Stolper *'' Wait for Me'' (1943), directed by Aleksandr Stolper *'' In the Name of the Fatherland'' (1943), directed by

Vsevolod Pudovkin Vsevolod Illarionovich Pudovkin ( rus, Всеволод Илларионович Пудовкин, p=ˈfsʲevələt ɪl(ː)ərʲɪˈonəvʲɪtɕ pʊˈdofkʲɪn; 28 February 1893 – 30 June 1953) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter and acto ...

and Dmitriy Vasilyev (play ''

Russian People Russians ( ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian, the most spoken Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Orthodox Christianity, ever since the Middle Ages. By total numbers ...

'') *'' Days and Nights'' (1945), directed by Aleksandr Stolper *'' The Russian Question'' (1947), directed by

Mikhail Romm Mikhail Ilyich Romm (; – 1 November 1971) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1950. Life and career Early life He was born in Irkutsk into a family of mixed Russian Jewish ...

*'' The Immortal Garrison'' (1956) *''The Normandy – Neman'' (1960), joint production by the

USSR 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 France; together with Charles Spaak and

Elsa Triolet Ella Yuryevna Kagan (; – 16 June 1970), known as Elsa Triolet (), was a Russian-French writer and translator. Biography Ella Yuryevna Kagan was born into a Jewish family of Yuri Alexandrovich Kagan, a lawyer, and Yelena Youlevna Berman, ...

*'' The Alive and the Dead'' (1964), directed by Aleksandr Stolper, starring Kirill Lavrov, Anatoli Papanov, Oleg Yefremov *''Grenada, Grenada, My Grenada...'' (1967), documentary, co-directed with Roman Karmen, on the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

*'' Retribution'' (1969), directed by Aleksandr Stolper *''The Case of Polynin'' (1970), directed by Aleksey Sakharov *''The Fourth'' (1972), directed by Aleksandr Stolper *'' Twenty Days Without War'' (1976), directed by Aleksei German, starring Yuri Nikulin and Lyudmila Gurchenko *''From Lopatin's Notes'' (1977), directed by Iosif Reichelgaus and Oleg Tabakov

Translations

*
Wait For Me: Selected poems of Konstantin Simonov
'. Trans. by Mike Munford. Thirsk, UK: Smokestack Books, 2020.

References

External links

* *
The Poems
by Konstantin Simonov {{DEFAULTSORT:Simonov, Konstantin 1915 births 1979 deaths Writers from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Candidates of the Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Auditing Commission of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Auditing Commission of the 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Second convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Third convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Russian male poets Russian-language poets Soviet newspaper editors Soviet journalists Russian male journalists Soviet novelists Soviet male writers 20th-century Russian poets 20th-century Russian male writers Soviet male poets Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet short story writers 20th-century Russian short story writers War correspondents of World War II Russian male novelists Russian male short story writers Soviet war correspondents Soviet translators 20th-century Russian memoirists 20th-century Russian journalists Novy Mir editors Socialist realism writers Soviet Army officers Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni Lenin Military Political Academy alumni Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Deaths from lung cancer in the Soviet Union