Vladislav Andreevich Titov (; November 7, 1934 – May 1, 1987) 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 ...

socialist realist writer. At the age of 26 he lost both arms in a

coal mine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

accident. He became a novelist, writing with a pen held by his teeth, and produced several novels, the most famous being ''Defying death'' ().

Life and accident

Titov was born into a wheat farmer's family in

Voronezh Oblast Voronezh Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Voronezh. Its population was 2,308,792 as of the Russian Census (2021), 20 ...

. After serving in the Soviet Army, he completed a course at the College of Mines in

Voroshilovgrad Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

and started working at one of the new coal mines of

Donets Basin The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv ...

. In 1960 he became involved in a serious accident. A loaded coal carriage derailed, hit a high-voltage cable, and short-circuited it. The resulting fire ran along the cable to the power transformer and would have caused an explosion, burying alive the entire shift of miners. Hoping to save his co-workers, Titov rushed to the transformer and managed to shut it down, but by doing so he exposed himself to high voltage. Doctors saved his life and an injured leg, but both his arms had to be amputated up to the shoulders. After a long recovery period, Titov became a writer, scribbling on paper with a pen held by his teeth.

Writing career

Titov's first novel, ''Defying Death'', is

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

in nature and focuses on the mental problems a healthy young man develops after a serious accident. Physical pain, an inability to find employment, and the sense of being a burden to people put him on the verge of suicide. He manages not only to recover his mental balance but also begins to help others cope with their psychological problems. ''Defying Death'' was published in 1967 in the literary periodical ''Youth'' rather than as a separate book. This was a common practice at the time in the Soviet Union, especially for new writers. The novel quickly became popular. During the years following its publication, Titov received about 50,000 letters from

disabled people Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

asking for advice. The novel was included in the list of essential literature for secondary education and translated into 28 languages. Titov wrote the novels ''Feather Grass Growth in Steppe'' (, 1971), ''Partition'' (, 1973), and ''Drift Miners'' (, 1982), in addition to a number of short stories. His last completed novel was ''Old Park's Dreams'' (), which was published by his wife after his death at the age of 53. He left an uncompleted novel entitled ''Rye'' ().

References

External links

Vladislav Titov with his daughter, photo 1976Vladislav Titov, photo 1976
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titov, Vladislav 1934 births 1987 deaths People from Dobrinsky District Russian amputees Russian male novelists Socialist realism writers Soviet novelists