Vladislav Krapivin: a bright Russian children's writer

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

It is terribly disappointing, although perhaps symbolic, that one of the brightest Russian children's writers left us on Knowledge Day. Gone teacher, mentor and a real Commander - a symbol and helmsman for the boys and girls of a huge country. Izvestia testifies: for most of those who read his books in childhood, the heroes of Vladislav Krapivin have become reliable friends and companions for life.

Krapivinskoe know-how

Vladislav Krapivin's ability to compose unusual stories was discovered at school, and his studies at the Ural University at the Faculty of Journalism and all subsequent journalistic work filigree sharpened his author's handwriting - bright, figurative, direct, meticulous in details and plot construction, leading to conclusions that each does it himself. Krapivin did not make any discounts for the young age of the reader.

Among his favorite writers, he invariably named Konstantin Paustovsky, and learned the nuances of children's prose in the literary section under the leadership of Lev Kassil. In 1962, his first book, The Orion Voyage, was published, then there was membership in the USSR Writers' Union, in the editorial board of magazines - Ural Pathfinder, where he began his journey, and the all-Union favorite of the Pioneer.

Krapivin did not keep a strict account of what he wrote. Many of his works were filmed, but they did not become masterpieces of children's cinema. Maybe because, behind the fascinating plot twists, the directors could not keep the main thing - a trusting, rhythmic and rich language. Real Krapivinsky know-how.

It can be said for sure that each of the admirers of Vladislav Petrovich's work has his own Krapivin.

The thing is that the real situations that Seryozha Kakhovsky gets into with the guys from the Espada squad ("Boy with a Sword") and Yura "Zhurka" Zhuravlev ("Crane and Lightning") are strikingly different from those that happen in " Dovecote in a Yellow Glade "or" Deep in the Great Crystal ".

But they are all one. As well as the amazing "Frigate" Ringing "- about the construction of sailing ships and the intricacies of shipbuilding, called a reference novel.

The most outstanding, truly generational novel by Krapivin was The Boy with the Sword, the first in the Espada Sails trilogy. The protagonist Seryozha Kakhovsky is an uncompromising fighter against injustice, who does not allow a choice between honor and dishonor even in the most difficult situations. He lives in the world of adults, but if this world suddenly goes to war against him and tramples on his own invented high principles, Seryozha is invariably ready to fight back.

Lev Pirogov, publisher of the children's magazine "Luchik"

I grew up with his books. A piece of life fell off. Hurt. Everything seems to go away. All the best, bright, honest, kind - in the past. But you know what? We recently spoke on the phone, and I asked: "Vladislav Petrovich, have the children changed a lot in fifty years?" And he said: "Yes, they have not changed at all!" This simple answer gave me strength then and it helps me now. Nothing goes away if you hold it, don't let it go. He worked all his life, gave all his life to us, then to our children. And we also have to: when it's hard, work saves. And while we work, he is alive.

However, on his routes there are many more real, decent, sincere and honest people - journalist Aleksey Ivanov, counselor Oleg Moskovkin, riders from the Rosa station, from which everything starts. It is they who form the character of Seryozha, and therefore their listing is so important.

The stunning Espada musketeer-pioneer squad, described in The Boy with the Sword, became the object of white envy of hundreds of thousands of boys and girls of the USSR and the prototype of the children's squad “Caravel”, which was headed by Vladislav Krapivin himself.

Go ahead, "Caravel"

Are there many children's writers in the world who have become for their readers not only creators of entertaining works, but also commanders - wise and literate? Except for Arkady Gaidar, perhaps, no one can be named offhand.

The path of Krapivin and his "Caravels", in which a whole spectrum of skills and qualities were surprisingly instilled - from the skills of the sea to human decency - is a unique phenomenon. How many guys have passed through this detachment over many decades, only the logbooks will tell you, and they are fat and there are many of them.

Surprisingly, living in socialist realities, Krapivin managed to confidently lead his books-ships past stupid ideological dogmas. He, like no one else, found the necessary plots and words, thanks to which the boys and girls were discovered truly deep and valuable - the concepts of dignity, honor, mutual assistance, the shoulder of a friend, the romance of bonfires, campaigns and the right songs.

Krapivin will return to "The Boy with the Sword" years later, continuing the cycle with the books "The Bronze Boy" and "The Red Banner of Stubbornness." Heroes and times have changed, but not ideals. In 2014, Krapivin was awarded the Presidential Prize in Literature and Art for works for children and youth.

And it so happened that just at this time his beloved Sevastopol again became a truly Russian city. Of course, there were those who immediately reproached Krapivin with sincere joy, to which he replied: “Guys, what can I say? This is my second homeland.

I do not get involved in politics, but I am happy that Sevastopol has become a part of our country again. When I found out that he was ours again, I poured a glass of cognac, turned on the recording of the song "Legendary Sevastopol", called my Sevastopol sailing friends and said: “Guys, it happened after all. We survived!"

Yuri Polyakov, writer and playwright

Vladislav Krapivin is one of the brightest representatives of the remarkable phenomenon of Soviet literature. His books are loved, read, published. This is a special gift, because it is impossible to impose any story or fairy tale on a child if they are not composed according to the verbal laws of his perception of the world. And the Krapivinsky books - "The Boy with the Sword", "The Musketeer and the Fairy", "The Shadow of the Caravel", "The Scarlet Feathers of Arrows" are such.

I think it was very difficult for him to observe the collapse and disappearance of the phenomenon of children's literature, which was actively engaged in by the Soviet state. But, thank God, he lived to see the day when the Russian authorities again drew attention to her and the award "For achievements in art for children and youth" was established. He became its first laureate. Vladislav Krapivin managed to do a lot for children's literature. He will remain a classic of the Soviet and post-Soviet years also because he devoted a lot of time to preparing his shift - he was looking for talented writing guys, for more than half a century he led his own studio, which gave them a creative start in life.

If we talk about his predecessors and contemporaries, then these are Arkady Gaidar, Lev Kassil, Viktor Dragunsky, Anatoly Aleksin, Vladimir Zheleznikov, Evgeny Veltistov - an advanced detachment that has won the minds, hearts and, most importantly, the souls of several generations without any fight. Will someone replace them?

Having fantasized in the manner of Krapivin, one can imagine it this way: some boys-girls of the mid - end of the 21st century, having played something exciting, stumble upon Krapivin's books in an abandoned library or in the attic. And despite the fact that literature already has a gaseous system for transmitting information, after a while they become children's writers.

So what? In many of Vladislav Krapivin's books, the real and the fantastic intersect in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish between them. The main thing is that there are readers for the writers of Krapivin's level. And so that the song from “The Boy with the Sword” sounded again: “Do not believe when they tell you / That we have lowered our flag. / Crews clench / Into a tight, stubborn fist. / To get up for us on a dead anchor / It's not time yet. / Heavy handles swing at the hip …"

Commander Krapivin died, but his books and millions of readers who were brought up on them remained. Therefore, the usual "Farewell, Master" is more appropriate here to replace the "Salute, Commander". Thank you for your our books!