Udmurt writers are not as well known in our country as Russian ones. But even among them there are outstanding personalities, whose work is worth paying close attention to. We will talk about the most prominent Udmurt authors in this article.
Mitrea Cedar
One of the most famous Udmurt writers is the poet and prose writer Mitre Kedra. He was born in 1892, participated in the First World War.
His literary work began when he served in Blagoveshchensk in the Far East. He wrote a lot about the life and fate of the Udmurt people, the development of the national language.
Among his most famous works is the poetic tragedy "Ash-Terek", which is dedicated to the hero from Udmurt folklore. The young man decides to commit a crime in order to become the leader of his people and achieve the heart of his beloved girl. But when he realizes that he has committed treason, he commits suicide by throwing himself from a cliff.
The work "Idna Batyr" describes the history of the struggle of the Udmurts for power. This time the main character is a pagan priest who pushes the Udmurt leader to a bloody war. Only when the old leader manages to uncover the plot does the play end with the reconciliation of the two peoples. Like the previous work, it is mainly based on folklore.
The Heavy Yoke was the first historical novel written by a Udmurt writer. It tells about the past and the fate of this people, when the Udmurts became part of the Moscow state, experienced religious and national persecution. The work has a lot of ethnographic material. The main character becomes a young hunter Dangyr, who lives with his mother.
The writer died in 1949 at the age of 57.
Arkash Bagai
Udmurt writer Arkash Bagay was born in 1904. He came from peasants, graduated from a teacher training college in Izhevsk and went to a teacher to fight illiteracy.
In 1930 he graduated from Moscow State University, returned to Udmurtia to work in a book publishing house, and was admitted to the Union of Writers of the USSR. His real name is Arkady Klabukov. He came up with his pseudonym in 1926, when his first book, Cockroaches, was published. Under it, it was printed until the end of the 50s.
Thanks to Bagay, one can get acquainted with the verses of Udmurt writers. He wrote mainly for children, his works have withstood many reprints, and some have become textbooks.
Among his most famous works are collections of short stories "Your Little Friend" and "On the Roof", the novels "Motley" and "Oak of Mozha", the poem "Gusyat and Maxi".
In 1984, the writer died at the age of 80.
Mikhail Petrov
The Udmurt writer Mikhail Petrov was born in 1905. His work was devoted to the Red Army, collectivization and life in a simple Soviet village.
Like many Udmurt writers and poets, he paid increased attention to the poetic and oral creativity of his people. Petrov grew up in a poor Udmurt family, from childhood he was faced with the arbitrariness of the tsarist authorities in relation to the Udmurts, poverty and grief. When the Soviet regime triumphed, he actively participated in the transformation of villages and supported socialism.
Later he graduated from the party school and joined the party. His most famous novel is called "Old Multan." Its key theme is the idea of friendship between workers of various nationalities. Among Soviet critics, it was believed that Petrov was able to express the socio-economic relations that existed in those years, the tragedy of the stratification of the peasantry, the tragedy of their position, and the absence of moral values among representatives of the tsarist authorities.
Petrov died in 1955 at the age of 50.
Philip Alexandrov
The verses of Udmurt writers in the Udmurt language can be found in the legacy of Philip Alexandrov. He was born in 1907. He graduated from the Pedagogical College, and then the Pedagogical University.
He was engaged in the eradication of illiteracy, taught in elementary grades. During the Great Patriotic War he went missing. It is believed that he died in February 1943.
He began to write in 1926. Known collections of his poems "Budon" and "Be Heroes", which in literal translation from Udmurt means "Growth" and "Growing Heroes", respectively. In them, he expressed the joy that children experience, achieving their first success in work. Some of his poems in the future became popular songs.
Philip Kedrov
The biography of the Udmurt writer Philip Kedrov should start with the fact that he was born in 1909 in a poor family of peasants. His parents died early.
He himself entered the pedagogical college, participated in a literary circle. In the 30s he was drafted into the Red Army, he served in Ukraine, and after being demobilized, he began to work as a teacher. In 1936 he was accepted into the union of Soviet writers.
During the Great Patriotic War he was shell-shocked, was surrounded, but managed to get out and fought along with the partisans. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star.
He published his first poems back in 1927. At first, his works were intended only for children. In the 30s, Kedrov’s work was imbued with the spirit of the times, the poet praised the construction of a new life, comparing it with the old world. The play "Red Banner" dedicated to the spread of fascism in Germany. During the war, his work acquired new strength.
The most famous work is considered the story "Katya", dedicated to class stratification in the pre-revolutionary village in Udmurtia. In it, he creates the image of the Udmurt, which opposes the oppressors of the people. The story formed the basis of the first Udmurt opera, called "Natal".
Kedrov died in the war. In 1944, he came under mortar fire, but managed to get along with the detachment to the enemy’s trenches, inflicting significant damage on the opponents. In a decisive battle died on the battlefield.
Stepan Shirobokov
The Udmurt poet and writer Stepan Shirobokov was born in 1912. Like many of his colleagues, he grew up in a poor peasant family. He worked at school, received a higher education at the natural-geographical faculty at the Izhevsk Institute.
He participated in the Soviet-Finnish and World War II. Professionally engaged in literature only in 1955.
Shirobokov - author of poems, songs, prose works. Poems about the war of the Udmurt writer are especially soulful, as he keenly felt what he was writing about. In 1945, his famous collection "On the Battlefield" was released, and a year later - the poem "Two Brothers".
In total, the poet released ten poetry collections, the most popular of which were Let the Nightingales Sing, Captive Speaks, Long-Time Dreams, Seeing Off, Golden Autumn, Could Not Forget.
In the late 50s, he began to try himself in drama. Created more than 10 plays and comedies for the theater. The play "The Wolf Has Its Own Path" was successfully staged, based on the motif of his eponymous work.
He died in 1983.
Ignatius Gavrilov
The writer Ignatius Gavrilov was born in 1912. His most famous creation was the play "The Vala River Noises", which was dedicated to the process of collectivization in the Udmurt village.
He specialized in drama, in the early 1930s he was even the artistic director of the newly founded Udmurt National Theater, and in 1948 became its director.
In 1973 he died after a long illness.
Ulfat Badretdinov
The writer Ulfat Batretdinov was born in 1957. From childhood, he wrote stories and articles for newspapers.
Over time, his works began to be published in the magazines Murzilka, Misha, and Luch. Some of his stories were translated into Russian, Tatar and other languages. About ten works by Badretdinov are included in textbooks on Udmurt literature.
Now the writer is 61 years old.