Writer Andrei Sinyavsky: biography, creativity and author's books

Russian writer Sinyavsky Andrey Donatovich, whose biography ended in February 1997 in Paris, today not only is not forgotten, but continues to be one of the key figures of the literature of the Russian diaspora. His name is constantly mentioned in the sharp social and political discussions that erupt between representatives of various literary groups. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to recall this extraordinary man and think about what thoughts and ideas he wanted to convey to his descendants.

From the biography of the writer

The future writer Andrei Sinyavsky was born in 1925 in Moscow. His childhood passed in an intelligent family of noble origin. The ancestors of the writer occupied a prominent position in the Russian Empire, but were also noted for their participation in revolutionary events. The well-known fact is that it is the cultural and intellectual environment that has a decisive influence on the formation of the creative personality. It was in such an environment that the future well-known writer Sinyavsky Andrey Donatovich was formed. The family strongly supported the young man's desire for knowledge. Andrei showed special interest in philology and the study of foreign languages. But his education was interrupted by the outbreak of war. Since autumn 1941, his family lived in evacuation in Syzran. Whence after the termination of high school Andrey Sinyavsky has been called up in operating army. He entered the philological faculty of Moscow State University in 1945, after the Victory. After his graduation, he conducted scientific work at the Institute of World Literature, and also taught at the journalism department of Moscow State University and at the Moscow Art Theater School.

Literary Creativity

His path to great literature writer Andrei Sinyavsky began with critical articles, literary studies and biographies of the classics of Russian literature of the twentieth century. His work in this field was recognized by the reading public. The young man of letters enjoyed a well-deserved reputation both in the circles of Moscow's bohemia, and far beyond its borders. Ahead were the remarkable prospects and the successful existence of the Soviet literary functionary. Nevertheless, the writer Andrei Sinyavsky, whose biography was developing quite successfully, was preparing to make a sharp turn in his life. He hardly suspected himself of what shocks await him ahead.

Abram Tertz

At a certain stage of his work the writer ran into a seemingly unsolvable problem - the impossibility of speaking and writing the truth about the surrounding reality and his attitude towards it. No one would ever have read or heard what Sinyavsky Andrey Donatovich intended to say in Russian literature. His books simply could not be published in the Soviet Union. But the way out was found. Under a false name, he could say whatever he saw fit. And publish their works outside their native country. His nickname Andrei Sinyavsky borrowed from the character of the Odessa criminal song. It described the adventures of a petty rogue of Jewish nationality. So he became Abram Tertz. In the early sixties, the novel "Lyubimov" was published in the West, the story "The Court Is Going" and the sharply publicistic article "What is Socialist Realism?", Dashingly mocked the official principles of Soviet literature. In the homeland of the writer, few guessed that the author of these works is Sinyavsky Andrei Donatovich. His books came out with the name of Abram Tertz on the title page. Sinyavsky was one of the first to succeed in deceiving Soviet censorship.

Process

Only now the Soviet authorities did not forgive such encroachments on their foundations. In September 1965, the writer was arrested by the KGB. They took him on Nikitsky Boulevard on a trolleybus stop. Thus, Andrei Sinyavsky, whose biography until this moment did not commit such sharp turns, became a political prisoner. In the same case, the writer Julius Daniel was also arrested, who also published his books under a pseudonym in the West. The Sinyavsky-Daniel process has become very significant in the history of the development of social thought. In the Soviet Union, writers were judged for their works of art. It was very much like a medieval witch hunt.

Social movement in defense of Sinyavsky and Daniel

The trial of writers, which ended with a seven-year sentence, caused great public reaction in the Soviet Union and beyond. The positive thing was that many people stood up for the condemned in the country. And it happened in spite of unbridled official propaganda. For the authorities, who organized the prosecution of Sinyavsky and Daniel, this was an unpleasant surprise. People collected signatures under appeals in defense of writers and even went to demonstrations in the center of Moscow. This position required considerable courage. Defenders of writers could easily follow them. But the movement in defense of convicts was spreading all over the world. In many European capitals and overseas, protests were held in front of Soviet diplomatic missions.

Captive

Conclusion Andrei Sinyavsky was serving Mordovia, in the Dubrovlag. According to the directive from Moscow, it was used only in the most difficult jobs. At the same time, the writer did not leave literary creativity. Behind the barbed wire Andrei Sinyavsky wrote a number of books - "The Voice of the Chorus," "Walks with Pushkin," "In the Shadow of Gogol." The author did not even have the confidence that he created in prison would reach the will, to the reader. Under the pressure of international public opinion, the writer was released from prison before the end of the term. In June 1971, he was released.

Emigration

In 1973, a new professor from Russia, Andrei Sinyavsky, appeared at the famous University of Paris at the Sorbonne. The biography of the writer continued in emigration. He was invited to work in France shortly after his release from prison. But only the professor's department, the writer was not going to be limited. Andrei Sinyavsky, whose books managed to find response from a wide range of readers, for the first time in his life was in a situation where he could publish everything he saw fit. Without regard to censorship. First of all, what has already been written in the Soviet Union comes to light.

Including in custody. In particular, "Walks with Pushkin". This is one of the most scandalous books, authored by Sinyavsky Andrey Donatovich. Wife of the writer, Maria Rozanova, to some extent is its co-author. This book, Andrei Sinyavsky composed in prison and sent to her in private correspondence because of barbed wire. For individual chapters.

Andrei Sinyavsky, "Open Letter to Solzhenitsyn"

With some surprise, Sinyavsky found that in the literary countries, the same passions are boiling in Moscow as well. Russian emigration was far from unity. Relatively speaking, it was divided into two camps - liberals and patriots. And the reaction of the patriotic side to the literary and journalistic articles of the new professor of the Sorbonne was sharply negative. Special dislike was caused by Abram Tertz's book "Walks with Pushkin". Most of all critics were interested in who, by nationality, Andrei Sinyavsky. And Abram Tertz did not disappoint this audience, having acted with sharp rebuke to the opponents. In his famous "Open Letter to Solzhenitsyn," he accused the famous compatriot of implanting new authoritarianism and intolerance of alternative opinions. And with a fair amount of sarcasm he brought to the attention of the addressee that he himself was to blame for the troubles of the Russian people, and not some mythical Jews and other dark forces. After this controversy, the access for Abram Tertz to the emigrant periodicals was forever closed. The writer Andrei Sinyavsky was forced to think about the foundation of his own magazine.

"Syntax"

Such a publication was created. For many years, the "Syntax" magazine has become one of the centers of the intellectual and spiritual attraction of Russian emigration. It was published in Paris by Andrei Sinyavsky and Maria Rozanova. The magazine covered a wide range of topics from public, political and literary life. The publication was open to people with different points of view. It also published materials from the Soviet Union. "Syntax" led a continuous controversy with another popular in emigrant circles publication - "Continent" Vladimir Maksimov.