Boris Zhitkov
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Boris Zhitkov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 11 [O.S. August 30] 1882[1] |
| Died | 19 October 1938 (aged 56)[1] |
| Occupation | Novelist, short story writer, playwright |
| Notable work | Viktor Vavich |
Boris Stepanovich Zhitkov (Russian: Бори́с Степа́нович Житко́в; 11 September [O.S. 30 August] 1882 – 19 October 1938) was a writer from the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, mainly known as the author of children's books and the novel Viktor Vavich about the 1905 Russian Revolution.
Zhitkov was born in Novgorod; his father worked as a mathematics teacher and his mother was a pianist. His works include numerous books in which he, in a figurative form, described various professions. His books are based on his rich experience as a sailor and then ship captain, scientist, traveler and explorer. He also worked as a navigator, an ichthyologist, a metal worker, a shipbuilding engineer, a teacher of physics and drafting, and a technical college headmaster. Zhitkov personally participated in the 1905 Russian Revolution.[1]
In 1924 Zhitkov started to be published and soon became a professional writer. He is best known for the children's travel book What I Saw (Russian: Что я видел) about the summer vacation adventures of a curious little boy nicknamed Pochemuchka (Russian: Почемучка, a new word coined by Zhitkov from Почему, meaning Why?). Zhitkov was a close friend of Korney Chukovsky, who wrote in his diary entry for 28 December 1931:
Zhitkov is all upset about the self-flagellation going on among critics at the Writers' Union. He says that at the meeting where Eikhenbaum was asked to practice self-criticism, Eikhenbaum responded, "Self-criticism should be practiced before one writes, not after." [...] Zhitkov's interpretation of the now famous meeting runs as follows: "We're all just so many sons of bitches, so let's pull down our pants and let ourselves be whipped."[2]
Zhitkov's historical novel about the 1905 Revolution, Viktor Vavich (Russian: Виктор Вавич), published posthumously in 1941,[1] was immediately destroyed and republished in 1999 only thanks to Lydia Chukovskaya having saved a copy; Boris Pasternak called it "the best thing that has ever been written about 1905; it's a shame that nobody knows this book."[3]
Zhitkov also featured as a character in Samuil Marshak's children's poem "Post" from 1927. The poem was adapted for screen in a 1964 animated film, where Zhitkov was voiced by actor Erast Garin.
On July 10, 1939, Pravda, the newspaper of the Communist Party, ran a feature on him in which his book What I saw was very much praised.[4]
