Vasily Shukshin is a Russian writer who lived in the twentieth century. He was a man of difficult fate. Shukshin was born in 1929 in the small village of Srostki (Altai Territory). It was a difficult time. In childhood, the future writer lost his father. He was repressed. Stepfather died in the war. Shukshin studied at a technical college, worked as a mechanic in various cities of the Soviet Union. He served in the army. So his first post-war years passed.
Way to Vocation
The future writer completed secondary education only in the early 50s. He never finished a car college. Shukshin received a certificate in his native village. In Srostki, Vasily Makarovich worked as a teacher and was even the principal of the school.
How did it happen that after several years spent in his native village, Shukshin went to Moscow to enter VGIK? What thoughts tormented him in these years? Shukshin will later describe the feelings that stirred the soul in his famous village stories. With the proceeds from the sale of the cow, the future actor and director left for the capital. He followed the call of the heart.
First creative achievements
Feeling a literary gift, Shukshin submits documents to the script faculty, but enters the director's. The famous Mikhail Romm, the author of the films “Nine Days of One Year” and “Ordinary Fascism” became his teacher. It was this venerable director who advised the young Shukshin to publish his stories. Literary success did not come immediately. Only in the early 60s some works were published.
The first directorial work went unnoticed, but Vasily Makarovich quickly gained recognition as an actor. Shukshin’s work began with an episode in the film Quiet Flows the Don. Two years later, the actor starred in his first leading role. He was invited by the outstanding director Marlene Hutsiev (the film "Two Fedor"). Shukshin's acting career has developed successfully. Directors often turned to him with job offers. About twice a year, films with the actor’s participation were released in the Soviet Union.
Cinema and literature
Shukshin's directorial work officially begins in the 60s. Vasily Makarovich gets a job at the Gorky film studio. Shukshin is considered a promising writer. Vasily Makarovich made his first film based on his own stories. The film “Such a guy lives” received good reviews from the public and critics. This cheerful comedy was awarded the prizes of festivals in Leningrad and Venice.
The next ten years, the work of Shukshin as a director was not particularly productive. His film about the uprising of Stepan Razin was rejected by the State Committee for Cinematography. However, this time has not passed without a trace. Vasily Makarovich made two films and published a collection of short stories "Rural People". In addition, during these ten years he married twice and became the father of three daughters.
Personal life
Shukshin's first marriage was unsuccessful. His wife, Maria Shumskaya, was a fellow writer. They registered a marriage in Srostki, but returned from the registry office separately, since then they have lived separately, he is in the capital, she is in the village.
The personal life of the writer was difficult. In Moscow, he was addicted to alcohol. Because of this addiction, the writer’s second marriage with Victoria Sofronova broke up. In this family, the first child of Shukshin was born - a girl. In the third marriage with actress Lidia Fedoseeva, Vasily Makarovich had two daughters - Maria and Olga.
The main characters are people from the village
Shukshin's literary work is connected with the Soviet village and its inhabitants. The heroes of his stories surprised readers and critics with their strangeness. Characters books Vasily Makarovich can not be called uniquely positive or negative. They are capable of both good and bad. Heroes of Shukshin are impulsive, impulsive. They often commit illogical actions. These people are independent and deeply unhappy. They commit rash acts with grave consequences because their souls are trampled upon by treason, betrayal and injustice.
The life and work of Shukshin are interconnected. The writer is a native of the village. He knew the prototypes of his heroes firsthand. Often, the characters of Shukshin’s stories cannot understand what is happening to them. Why are they unhappy? And they themselves cannot explain and justify their actions. It is all about the human soul. She knows how to live right. Such an intuitive understanding is in conflict with the reality of the unclear fate of a village fool, a drunkard or a former prisoner.
Temple as a symbol
Shukshin's stories often mention the church. She acts as an exalted symbol of purity and morality. And, as a rule, it is destroyed. In the work “Master”, the village drunkard Semka the joiner tries to save the local church. But all his attempts fail. And in the essay “Strong Man”, the hero destroys the temple in order to obtain bricks for the construction of the crib. The moral fall is narrated by the life and work of Shukshin.
Attention to everyday life
The stories of Vasily Makarovich were often criticized by critics for being a writer. This means that, in their opinion, Shukshin paid too much attention to peasant everyday life. It would seem that there is every reason for such accusations. The writer depicts in detail the plain life of his heroes, but this technique is artistically justified. Village people are not used to pondering their fate in philosophical terms. They just live, work, eat and sleep, do everyday routine. And only a restless soul makes itself felt from time to time. The heroes of Shukshin often themselves do not understand the causes of suffering, and therefore react to them sharply and violently.
Different compositions - one issue
The variety of folk characters in the works of Shukshin is clearly manifested in the story "And in the morning they woke up." This is one of the most famous works of the writer. In the work, the author tells of the morning awakening of people who were in the detoxification center. Everyone remembers yesterday and tells the audience his story. Among them are people from all walks of life: a plumber, a tractor driver, a former prisoner, and even a professor.
The central place in Shukshin’s work is occupied by the novel “I Came to Give You Freedom”. This work is dedicated to a historical event - a peasant uprising led by Stepan Razin. The hero of the novel is somewhat reminiscent of eccentrics from the village stories of the writer. Stepan Razin is an equally strong, independent, troubled man with a keen sense of justice.
Characteristic Features
Vasily Shukshin, whose biography and work is studied in many schools and universities, wrote mainly in the genre of the story. Most of his works demonstrate a similar problematics. The writer does not idealize his characters. As a rule, the villagers in his stories are far from samples of elevated character and purity of thoughts. The author rarely explains the actions of heroes. In each of Shukshin's stories there is a life situation, standard or unique.
The work of Vasily Shukshin is very diverse. However, all his characters are somewhat similar. Their common feature is unrealization. It manifests itself in different ways. In the story “Cut off” the village peasant Gleb Kapustin loves to humiliate fellow villagers who have achieved success. He is a smart and erudite person. However, he does not find useful use of his qualities when working at a rural sawmill. Hence, dissatisfaction. Gleb does not drink, does not bedokurit. He finds an original way out to his wounded pride, humiliating people who are more fortunate in life than him.
The life and work of Vasily Shukshin reflect the throwing of his heroes. Kolya Paratova (the story “The husband’s wife escorted to Paris”) is humiliated by Valentin’s wife. She constantly reproaches that he, having no profession, earns little. Kolya intuitively feels the way out and seeks to return to the village. After all, the city has different values, not everything is measured in money. But the child holds. Kolya begins to drink, threatens his wife with reprisal. Finding himself in a dead end in life, he commits suicide.
Central cinematographic work
Vasily Shukshin, whose biography and work attract the attention of all art lovers, went down in the history of Russian literature. He made not many films. His directorial work is directly related to literary work. The central cinematographic work is Viburnum Red.
This film tells the story of Yegor Prokudin. A thief recidivist, he recently released from prison. Egor goes to the village to visit Lyuba. He met her in absentia, through prison correspondence. It so happened that in the village Yegor found not only love, friendship and work to his liking. For the first time in his life, he understood what it means to live rightly, according to God's laws. But the past does not let Yegor go. Companions find him. Prokudin refuses to return to his former life. For this they kill him.
In many works of Shukshin there is a motive of the village as salvation. It is in it that Yegor Prokudin finds happiness. Kolya Paratov is tearing into the village from the story “The husband’s wife escorted to Paris”. In villages, people are closer to nature. Modern consumer society has not yet touched their souls. But the village is only a symbol of lost happiness. Rural residents suffer the same internal problems as the townspeople. This was told to us by the great Russian writer Vasily Makarovich Shukshin.