The Russian writer Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky, whose biography ended in February 1997 in Paris, is today not only not forgotten, but continues to be one of the key figures in Russian literature. His name is constantly mentioned in heated socio-political discussions that erupt between representatives of various literary groups. Therefore, it will not be superfluous to recall this extraordinary person 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. It is a well-known fact that it is the cultural and intellectual environment that has a decisive influence on the formation of a creative personality.
It was in this habitat that the future famous writer Sinyavsky Andrei Donatovich was formed. The family strongly supported the desire for knowledge in the young man. Andrei showed particular interest in philology and the study of foreign languages. But his education was interrupted by the outbreak of war. Since the fall of 1941, his family lived in evacuation in Syzran. Where, after graduating from high school, Andrei Sinyavsky was drafted into the army. He entered the philological faculty of Moscow State University in 1945, after the Victory. After his graduation, he conducted scientific activities 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 work
The writer Andrei Sinyavsky began his journey into great literature with critical articles, literary studies, and biographies of twentieth-century Russian classics. His work in this area has been recognized by the reading public. The young writer enjoyed well-deserved authority both in the circles of Moscow bohemia and far beyond its borders. Ahead were wonderful prospects and the prosperous existence of the Soviet literary functionary.
Nevertheless, the writer Andrei Sinyavsky, whose biography was quite successful, was preparing to make a sharp turn in his life. He hardly guessed what shocks awaited him ahead.
Abram Terz
At a certain stage of his work, the writer faced a seemingly insoluble problem - the inability to speak and write the truth about the surrounding reality and his attitude towards it. No one would ever read or hear what Sinyavsky Andrei Donatovich intended to say in Russian literature. His books simply could not be published in the Soviet Union. But a way out was found. Under a false name, he could say everything that he considered necessary. And publish their works outside their home country. Andrei Sinyavsky borrowed his pseudonym from the character of the Odessa thieves song. It described the adventures of a petty swindler of Jewish nationality. So he became Abram Terz.
In the early sixties in the West, the story “Lyubimov” was published, the story “The Court is coming” and the acutely journalistic article “What is socialist realism?”, Famously mocking the official principles of Soviet literature. In the writer's homeland, few people suspected that the author of these works was Andrei Siniavsky. 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 government did not forgive such attacks on their foundations. In September 1965, the writer was arrested by the KGB. They took him to Nikitsky Boulevard at a trolleybus stop. Thus, Andrei Sinyavsky, whose biography until that moment did not make such sharp turns, became a political prisoner. In the same case, the writer Julius Daniel, who also published his books in the West under a pseudonym, was arrested. The Sinyavsky-Daniel process has become very significant in the history of the development of social thought.
In the Soviet Union, writers were tried for works of art. It was very much like a medieval witch hunt.
Social movement in defense of Sinyavsky and Daniel
The trial of writers, culminating in a seven-year sentence, caused a great public outcry in the Soviet Union and beyond. The positive thing was that many inside the country stood up for the convicts. And this happened despite the unbridled official propaganda. For the authorities that organized the prosecution of Sinyavsky and Daniel, this turned out to be an unpleasant surprise. People collected signatures for appeals in defense of writers and even went to demonstrations in central Moscow. This position required a fair amount of courage. Writers' advocates could easily go after them. But the movement in defense of the convicted has spread all over the world. In many European capitals and across the ocean, protests were held in front of Soviet diplomatic missions.
Captive
Conclusion Andrei Sinyavsky served Mordovia in 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 work. Behind the barbed wire, Andrei Sinyavsky has written a number of books - “Voice from the Choir”, “Walks with Pushkin”, “In the Shadow of Gogol”. The author did not even have confidence that what he had created in conclusion would reach his will, to the reader.
Under pressure from international public opinion, the writer was released from prison before the end of his sentence. In June 1971 he was released.
Emigration
In 1973, a new professor from Russia, Andrei Sinyavsky, appeared at the famous Paris University at the Sorbonne. The biography of the writer continued in exile. He was invited to teaching in France shortly after his release from prison. But the writer was not going to limit himself to the professorship alone. Andrei Sinyavsky, whose books managed to find a response with a wide range of readers, for the first time in his life found himself in a situation where he could publish everything that he considered necessary. Without regard to censorship. First of all, what was written back in the Soviet Union comes out.
Including in custody. In particular, "Walking with Pushkin." This is one of the most scandalous books authored by Andrey Sinyavsky. The writer’s wife, Maria Rozanova, is to some extent its co-author. Andrei Sinyavsky composed this book in prison and sent it to her in private correspondence due to barbed wire. In separate chapters.
Andrey Sinyavsky, "An Open Letter to Solzhenitsyn"
With some surprise, Sinyavsky discovered that the same passions were in full swing in the literature abroad as in Moscow. 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 Sorbonne was sharply negative. A special dislike was caused by Abram Tertz's book "Walks with Pushkin". Most critics were interested in who was Andrei Sinyavsky by nationality. And Abram Terz did not disappoint this audience, speaking with a sharp rebuke to his opponents. In his famous Open Letter to Solzhenitsyn, he accused the famous compatriot of imposing new authoritarianism and intolerance of alternative opinions. And with a fair amount of sarcasm, he informed 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, access for Abram Tertz to emigrant periodicals was permanently closed. The writer Andrei Sinyavsky was forced to think about the foundation of his own magazine.
