Vsevolod Vitalyevich Vishnevsky (, – 28 February 1951) was a Soviet and Russian writer, screenwriter, playwright and journalist.

Early life

He was born in 1900 in

Saint Petersburg 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 ...

and educated at a Petersburg gymnasium. During

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 ...

he enrolled in

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

as sea cadet. He participated in the militant rebellion 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 1917, in battles of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

as a machine gunner in the

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (), or ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horsearmy"), was a prominent Red Army military formation that served in the Russian Civil War and Polish–Soviet War, Polish-Soviet War. History Formation On 17 Novem ...

; he worked as political agitator attached to the Black Sea and Baltic fronts. During the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

he participated in the defense of Leningrad.

Writing career

Later he became an editor of ''Krasnoflotets'' (, "Red Fleet sailor") magazine. He battled at the fronts of

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

and

, worked as war 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 ...

'' newspaper. Since 1944 he worked as editor of ''

Znamya ''Znamya'' ( rus, Знамя, p=ˈznamʲə, a=Ru-знамя.ogg, lit. "The Banner") is a Russian monthly literary magazine, which was established in Moscow in 1931. In 1931–1932, the magazine was published under the name of ''Lokaf'' ("Лок ...

'' magazine. His first works were published in 1920. In 1929 his play ''The First Horse Army'', which celebrated Marshal

Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian and ...

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

campaign during the civil war, was published. In 1930s he wrote many plays, including ''We Are from

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

'', ''Last Decisive'', and his most famous play '' An Optimistic Tragedy'' (1934). In 1941, Vishnevsky was awarded the Stalin Prize.

Death

In the winter of 1950 Vishnevsky suffered two strokes. He died in Moscow in 1951 and was buried at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Works

*'' The First Horse Army'' *'' An Optimistic Tragedy'' *''Last Decisive'' *'' We Are from Kronstadt'' *''Unforgettable 1919'' *''Battle at West'' *''By the Walls of Leningrad'' *''Sea Spread Wide'' *''We, Russian People''

Sources

* Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 1173. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Vishnevskiy, Vsevolod 1900 births 1951 deaths 20th-century Russian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian male writers Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Cross of St. George Recipients of the Medal of St. George Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Russian male screenwriters Socialist realism writers Russian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Russian memoirists Russian military personnel of World War I 20th-century Russian screenwriters Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male writers Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters Soviet war correspondents Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Writers from Saint Petersburg Soviet Navy officers