Vasili Pavlovich Aksyonov was born on August 20, 1932 in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia; where his father lived before his imprisonment. Aksyonov's parents spent many years in prisons and exile under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Aksyonov spent part of his childhood in Siberian exile in Magadan with his mother Yevgeniya Ginsburg, an exiled dissident. Aksyonov spent several years of his boyhood in a state home. He graduated from the 1st Leningrad Medical Institute in 1956 and was sent to work as a Medical Doctor in the Northern region of Russia.The "Thaw" initiated by Nikita Khrushchev allowed Aksyonov to have his first short stories published in the magazine 'Yunost' (Youth) in 1956 under the editor 'Valentin Kataev' . His "Kollegi" (Colleagues 1960) and "Zvezdny Bilet" (Star Ticket 1961) became extremely popular and were made into eponymous films. "Pora, moy drug, pora" (It's Time, My Friend, It's Time 1963), "Apelsiny is Marokko" (Oranges from Marocco 1964), and "Zatovarennaya Bochkotara" (Surplussed Barrelware 1965) became part of the language of youth. Aksyonov's generation was labeled by Soviet propaganda as "Stilyagi" (Fashionable ones) for their festive and stylish way of life; the opposite of the officially controlled Soviet gloom. Literary critic Stanislav Rassadin coined the term "Shestidesyatniki" (People of the 60s) which embraced 'Bella Akhmadulina', Joseph Brodsky, Yevgeni Yevtushenko, Andrei Voznesensky and others, who emerged during the "Thaw" of 1956-1964.The dismissal of Nikita Khrushchev was followed by restrictions in all aspects of Soviet life, where KGB, censorship and official critics were acting as one. Aksyonov fell under suspicion and surveillance by the KGB. His last official publication was "V Poiskah Zhanra" (In Search of a Genre 1972). His "Ozhog" (The Burn 1975) dealing with repressions under Joseph Stalin and "Ostrov Krym" (The Island of Crimea 1978) were banned with a personal warning in a face-to-face meeting with two secret service agents. In 1979 Aksyonov organized and published an almanac of prose and poetry titled "Metropol" which was immediately banned. "Metropol" included works by Bella Akhmadulina, Fazil Iskander, and other dissident writers of his generation. Official repressions and threats against Aksyonov forced his expatriation in 1980.Aksyonov continued writing and published his works in both English and Russian in the USA. He also was a professor of literature in Washington D.C. for 24 years until his retirement. His script about Soviet life under Joseph Stalin was made into a TV series _Moscow Saga_ (2004). He was awarded the Open Russia Booker Prize for 2004. His new novel "Moskva-kva-kva" (2006) is published in the Moscow magazine 'Oktyabr'. Aksyonov is now living in his Moscow apartment with his wife Maya Zmeul and has a second home in Biarriz, France.
|
