Viktor Sergeyevich Rozov (; 21 August 1913,

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

– 28 September 2004,

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 ...

) was a Soviet and Russian dramatist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 20 dramatic pieces and 6 film scripts, including ''Вечно живые''/''Life Eternal'', the basis for his film script ''

The Cranes Are Flying ''The Cranes Are Flying'' (, translit. ''Letyat zhuravli'') is a 1957 Soviet war drama film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov at Mosfilm, written by Viktor Rozov, and starring Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. It depicts the cruelty an ...

''. He was a member of the Russian Academy of Letters, and was the president of the

Russian Institute of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent drama school, theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the ...

and a member of 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 ...

Biography

Viktor Rozov was the son of accountant Sergei Fyodorovich Rozov (a soldier who fought in

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 ...

) and Yekaterina Ilyinichna. During the Yaroslavl rebellion in 1918, the family home was burned, forcing the family to move to

Vetluga Vetluga () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vetluzhsky District in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vetluga River, after which the town is named. Population: Hi ...

. It was there that Viktor completed three years of primary education. From 1923, he lived and studied in

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

. In 1929, he failed the entrance exams at the Russian State University of Agriculture in Moscow and started working in a textile factory in Kostroma. That same year, he became a regular actor and spectator of Kostroma's youth theater. In 1932 he entered the Technical School in Kostroma. In 1934, he entered the Theatre of Revolution School in Moscow (under the direction of Maria Babanova). After the entry into war of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Rozov joined the 8th National Division Popular militia in the

Krasnopresnenskaya Krasnopresnenskaya () is a Moscow Metro station in the Presnensky District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. It is on the Koltsevaya line, between Kiyevskaya and Belorusskaya stations. It was named for the street, Krasnaya Presnya, on whi ...

district. In the autumn of that year, he was seriously injured. He left hospital in mid-1942, and led a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

group at the front; at the same time, he took

correspondence courses Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

at 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 ...

. At the end of the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, he interrupted his studies at the institute and founded the Theatre for children and youth of

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

. Returning to Moscow, he worked as an actor and director at the Theatre of the Central House of Railway Culture. In 1953, Rozov completed his studies at the Institute of Literature. From 1949, his plays have been staged in various theatres. His play Friends, presented in 1949 at the Central Youth Theatreh failed to see the light because it was considered "too sentimental". Director

Anatoly Efros Anatoly Vasilievich Efros (; July 3, 1925, Kharkiv – January 13, 1987, Moscow) was a Soviet theatre and film director. He was a leading interpreter of Russian classics during the Era of Stagnation and "received numerous awards for creative exce ...

directed Rozov's "Well and good!", "Finding Joy", "The Wedding Day" and "Before Dinner"), with

Oleg Yefremov Oleg Nikolayevich Yefremov (; 1 October 1927 – 24 May 2000) was a Soviet and Russian actor and Moscow Art Theatre producer. He was a People's Artist of the USSR (1976) and a Hero of Socialist Labour (1987). In 1949, he graduated from Moscow A ...

Mikhail Kalatozov Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov ( ka, მიხეილ კალატოზიშვილი, ; 28 December 1903 – 26 March 1973), born Mikheil Kalatozishvili, was a Soviet film director of Georgians, Georgian origin who contributed to b ...

's ''The Cranes Are Flying'', was an adaptation of Rozov's "Life Eternal". He received the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

at the 1958

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

"for his humanism, his unity and his high artistic quality". Rozov died at the age of 91 and was interred at

Vagankovo Cemetery Vagankovo Cemetery () is located in the Presnensky District of Moscow, Russia. It was established in 1771, in an effort to curb 1770–1772 Russian plague, an outbreak of bubonic plague in Central Russia. The cemetery was one of those created ou ...

Personal life

Rozov married to Nadezhda Varfolomeyevna Kozlova (born 1919). He had a son, Sergei (born 1953) - a director, and a daughter, Tatiana (born 1960) – an actress at the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; , ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was founded in by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright ...

Works

Plays

* ''Life Eternal'' (Вечно живые, 1943) * ''Her Friends'' (1949) * ''The Page of Life''/''Your Way)'' (1953) * ''In the good time!'' (1955) * ''Finding Joy'' (1958) * ''Freemasters'' (1959) * ''The unequal battle'' (1960) * ''On the Road'' (1962) * ''Before dinner'' (1962) * ''On the wedding day'' (1964) * ''The inventor'' (1966) * ''Ordinary history'' (1966, according to I. A. Goncharov) * ''The Traditional Collection'' (1967) * ''On the treadmill'' (1968) * ''From evening until noon'' (1970) * ''Boys (Brother Alyosha)'' (1971, based

Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influenti ...

's novel ''

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' ( rus, Братья Карамазовы, Brat'ya Karamazovy, ˈbratʲjə kərɐˈmazəvɨ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly ...

'') * ''The Situation'' (1973) * ''The Four Drops'' (1974) * ''Riders from the station Rosa'' (1978, by. V. Krapivin) * ''The nest of the grouse'' (1979) * ''The Host'' (1982) * ''By the Sea (Kabanchik)'' (1986) * ''At Home (The Return)'' (1989) * ''Hidden spring'' (1989) * ''Lyubkin'' (1991, according to N. Narokov’s novel Imaginary Values) * ''Hoffman'' (1996)

Filmography (screenwriter)

* 1956 - ''In Good Time!'' * 1957 - ''

'' - the screen version of the play "Life Eternal" * 1959 - '' Letter Never Sent'' * 1960 - ''Noisy Day'' - the film adaptation of the comedy "Finding Joy" * 1961 - ''Auf der Suche nach Glück'' ( Germany ) - German television version of the film "Finding Joy" (1957) * 1962 - ''På jakt efter lyckan'' “Finding Joy” (Sweden, in collaboration with Lennart Lagerval) * 1968 - ''On the wedding day'' * 1972 - ''For All the Responsibility'' - the film adaptation of the play "The Traditional Collection" * 1972 - ''Life Page'' * 1973 - ''In Good Time!'' - TV version of the play of the same name * 1975 - ''To the end of the world ...'' * 1980 - ''A Siketfajd fészke'' (The Grouse's Nest) ( Hungary ) * 1980 - ''Before dinner'' (TV show) * 1981 - 'From evening until noon'' * 1982 - ''A few drops'' (movie) * 1987 - ''The Riders'' * 1987 - ''Grouse's Nest'' (drama play)

Distinctions

He received Russian and Soviet orders and awards, such as: * The

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

of the III degree (5 August 1995) - for services to the state and many years of fruitful work in the field of art and culture; *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

I degree; * Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour (08/19/1988); *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(1969, 08/19/1983); *

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 ...

(08/31/1973); * medals of Russia and foreign countries; * Order of Mercy (

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

); *

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 ...

in the field of literature, art and architecture of 1967 (in the field of theatrical art) (1 November 1967) - for the play “Ordinary History” at the Sovremennik Theater in Moscow; * Laureate of the Award of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rozov, Viktor 1913 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian screenwriters People from Yaroslavl Academic staff of High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors Full Members of the Russian Academy of Arts Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Russian male dramatists and playwrights Russian male screenwriters Russian philatelists Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male writers Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery