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Alexander Melentievich Volkov short biography. Alexander Volkov

Adults love to keep pleasant memories from childhood. Someone remembers a carefree vacation, someone dreams of returning to school time. And we can say with confidence that for many, such memories were the hours spent reading the books of the writer Alexander Volkov, who gave the world the characters of The Wizard emerald city". This work has become a landmark for Russian children's literature, but the bibliography of Alexander Melentievich has many more worthy stories and short stories.

Childhood and youth

The future children's writer was born on June 14, 1891 in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk in the family of a retired sergeant major. Literary talent manifested itself in little Alexander from childhood: the boy composed with pleasure short stories and fairy tales, and as a teenager he even took up a novel. Already at the age of 12, Volkov became a graduate of the city school, adding his name to the lists of the best students.

Alexander Volkov in his youth with his sister Lyudmila and brother Mikhail

In 1907, Alexander entered the teacher's institute in the city of Tomsk and two years later he received a diploma that gave him the right to teach all school subjects, excluding the Law of God, which was part of the school curriculum at that time. Immediately after graduation, Volkov returned to his native Ust-Kamenogorsk and went to work at a school. Later, Alexander Melentievich taught mathematics in one of the villages near Novosibirsk, and in the 1920s he moved to Yaroslavl, where he combined work with studies, having simultaneously graduated from a pedagogical institute with a degree in mathematics.

Literature

Gradually, the children's passion for writing grew for Alexander Melentievich into the work of a lifetime. In 1916, the first works of Volkov were published, and a couple of years later, the repertoires of provincial theaters were replenished with plays by his authorship. However, serious recognition awaited the writer later, and it came thanks to the publication of the cycle of works "The Wizard of the Emerald City".

Initially, Volkov did not plan to start his own fairy tale, the story of the beloved Scarecrow and his friends began with the translation of the book by Lyman Frank Baum " The Amazing Wizard from Oz." Alexander Melentievich wanted to practice his English. However, the translation captured the writer so much that he first changed some storylines, and then supplemented them with his own fiction.

In 1939, the first fairy tale from this series appeared, called The Wizard of the Emerald City. He himself approved the printing of the manuscript, and it ended up on the bookshelves. The Scarecrow, Goodwin, the girl Ellie, Totoshka, the Brave Lion were loved by both children and adults, the book was literally dismantled into quotes. Now Volkov’s own creation was already being translated: the book was published on ten foreign languages and has been reprinted countless times.

Screen adaptation of the fairy tale by Alexander Volkov

In 1968, a television play based on the work of Alexander Melentievich was released, and in 1994, viewers saw a full-length adaptation of the adventures of their favorite characters. The main roles in this film were played by Katya Mikhailovskaya,.

25 years after the release of the first book, Alexander Volkov returned to the heroes of The Wizard of the Emerald City and continued the tale with a series of stories about future fate characters. This is how the works "Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers", "Seven Underground Kings", "The Fiery God of the Marrans", "Yellow Fog" and "The Secret of the Abandoned Castle" appeared.

The main characters, and the topics that the writer raised: sincere friendship, the victory of good over evil, the importance of mutual assistance and ingenuity. Another one distinguishing feature works of Alexander Melentievich - belief in the superiority of human knowledge over magic. Often the heroes of Volkov's books manage to overcome witchcraft with the help of technical inventions and ingenious inventions.

In addition, the writer's bibliography contains stories dedicated to talented inventors, scientists and discoverers. Such, for example, is the story “The Wonderful Ball”, which tells about Dmitry Rakitin, who, while in prison, invented the first in Russia balloon.

Interested in Alexander Volkov and history home country. In the work "The Trail of the Stern" the prose writer refers to the origins of shipbuilding and navigation, and in "The Captive of Constantinople" in art form examines the reigns. By his own admission, Alexander Melentievich wanted to interest children in the sciences, craving for knowledge and healthy curiosity about the structure of the world around him.

Among other things, Volkov continued to translate foreign literature into Russian. So, thanks to him, the works “Danube Pilot” and “The Extraordinary Adventures of the Barsak Expedition” were printed in Russian.

Personal life

Personal life has become both a happy and tragic page in Volkov's biography. With lover and future wife the writer met in his native Ust-Kamenogorsk. At the New Year's ball, the attention of young Alexander was attracted by the beautiful Kaleria Gubina, a dance and gymnastics teacher at the local gymnasium. The relationship of young people developed rapidly, and two months later the lovers got married.

Alexander Volkov with his wife and children

A year later, the first-born was born in the family of Alexander Melentievich. The boy was named Vivian. Unfortunately, at the age of 5, the child died due to dysentery. The second son of the writer also did not live long: little Romuald was only 2 years old when he became infected with croup and soon died.

These tragedies, which followed one after another, rallied Kaleria and Alexander. After some time, the couple found the strength and decided to have another child. Fortunately, the son, named Vivian, like the firstborn, was born healthy. And a few more years later, another boy was born to the writer and his wife, who received the name Romuald.

Death

IN last years life, the writer's health gradually weakened: age made itself felt. However, as Volkov admitted in an interview, he was happy. Children and adults bombarded Alexander Melentievich with letters of thanks and words of admiration. The prose writer kept these letters for years, at some point their number exceeded 10 thousand. Many asked Volkov to continue his favorite cycle of fairy tales, sent their own ideas and illustrations, and invited him to visit.

Alexander Volkov died on July 3, 1977. The writer was 86 years old. Alexander Melentievich rests at the Moscow Kuntsevo cemetery. On the new monument, erected on the grave of the prose writer in 2008, in addition to his photo, one can also see painted images of the heroes of The Wizard of the Emerald City.

After his death, books about the adventures of Ellie, Totoshka, Scarecrow and others fairytale heroes continued to be published, and the filmography based on the works of Volkov replenished. In addition, sequels to The Wizard of Oz written by other authors began to appear. So, from the pen of Yuri Kuznetsov, the story "Emerald Rain" appeared, and another writer, Sergei Sukhinov, gave children more than 20 books, creating the series "Emerald City".

In 1986, one of the streets of the prose writer's hometown was named after him.

Bibliography

1939 - "The Wizard of the Emerald City"
1940 - "Wonderful ball (First aeronaut)"
1942 - "Invisible Fighters"
1946 - "Aircraft at War"
1960 - Travelers to the Third Millennium
1963 - Urfin Deuce and his wooden soldiers
1963 - "The Adventures of Two Friends in the Country of the Past"
1964 - "Seven Underground Kings"
1968 - "The Fiery God of the Marrans"
1969 - "Prisoner of Tsargrad"
1970 - "Yellow Mist"
1976 - "The Secret of the Abandoned Castle"

July 3, 1977

Creativity of Alexander Volkov

"Yellow Mist" (1970)

Tale

"Two brothers" (1938-1961)

"Invisible Fighters" (1942)
"Planes at War" (1946)
"Stern Track" (1960)

Stories and essays

"Peti Ivanov's Journey to an Extraterrestrial Station"
"In the mountains of Altai"
"Lopatinsky Bay"
"On the Buzha River"
« Birthmark»
"Lucky day"
"Campfire"

Novels

"Architects" (1954)
"Wanderings" (1963). and the philosopher Giordano Bruno.

Non-fiction books

How to fish with a rod. Notes of a fisherman "(1953)
"Earth and Sky" (1957-1974)
"In Search of Truth" (1980)
"In Search of Destiny" (1924)

Poetry

"Nothing Makes Me Happy" (1917)
"Dreams" (1917)
"Red Army"
"The Ballad of a Soviet Pilot"
"Scouts"
"Young partisans"
"Motherland"

Songs

"Marching Komsomolskaya"
"Song of the Timurites"

Pieces for children's theater

"Eagle's Beak"
"In the dark corner"
"Village School"
"Tolya Pioneer"
"Fern flower"
« home teacher»
"Comrade from the center ( Modern auditor)»
« Trading house Schneerson & Co"

Radio plays (1941-1943)

"The leader goes to the front"
"Timurovtsy"
"Patriots"
"Deaf Night"
"Sweatshirt"

Historical essays

"Mathematics in military affairs"
"Glorious pages in the history of Russian artillery"

Translations

Jules Verne, "Danube Pilot"
Jules Verne, "The Extraordinary Adventures of the Barsac Expedition"

Alexander Volkov was born on July 14, 1891 in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. He received his mathematical education at the Tomsk State Pedagogical University, after graduating from which in 1910 he worked as a teacher in the village of Kolyvan, and then in Ust-Kamenogorsk, at the school where he began his education. In the 1920s he moved to Yaroslavl, where he worked as a school principal. In absentia he graduated from the mathematical faculty of the Yaroslavl Pedagogical Institute. He writes his first poems and plays on the eve of the revolution, but then he did not suspect that someday he would be engaged in literature professionally.

One of the first children's books historical theme The "Wonderful Ball" reveals a picture of life in Russia in the 18th century. Main character this story: the son of a merchant, Dmitry Rakitin, imprisoned forever in a fortress, where he invented the first balloon in Russia. The book "Trace of the stern" tells about the history of navigation from the distant primitive times to the legendary campaigns of the famous Viking Leif Eriksson.

The story of the beloved Scarecrow and his friends began with the translation of the book by Lyman Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Alexander Melentievich wanted to practice his English. However, the translation captured the writer so much that he first changed some of the storylines, and then supplemented them with his own fiction.

In 1939, the first fairy tale from this series appeared, called The Wizard of the Emerald City. The printing of the manuscript was approved by Samuil Marshak himself, and it ended up on the bookshelves. The Scarecrow, Goodwin, the girl Ellie, Totoshka, the Brave Lion and the Tin Woodman fell in love with both children and adults, the book was literally dismantled into quotes. Now Volkov's own creation was being translated: the book was published in a dozen foreign languages and reprinted countless times.

Deciding to seriously engage in literature, Volkov also wrote serious, adult books "Invisible Fighters", "Aircraft at War", large historical novels"Architects" and "Wanderings". During the war years, he created patriotic radio plays, songs were created based on his poems. But his young fans sent letters again and again asking him to write a sequel. And in the end the writer gave up. The author has written five more books about the adventures of Ellie and her friends. The last of them, "The Secret of the Abandoned Castle" shortly before his death in 1975.

Russian writer Alexander Melentievich Volkov dies July 3, 1977 in Moscow. He was buried at the Kuntsevsky cemetery of the capital.

Creativity of Alexander Volkov

Cycle "The Wizard of the Emerald City"

"The Wizard of the Emerald City" (1939)
"Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers" (1963)
"Seven Underground Kings" (1964)
"Fire God Marranos" (1968)
"Yellow Mist" (1970)
"The Secret of the Abandoned Castle" (1976, book version - 1982)

Tale

"Two brothers" (1938-1961)
"Wonderful ball (First aeronaut)" (1940)
"Invisible Fighters" (1942)
"Planes at War" (1946)
"Stern Track" (1960)
"Travelers to the Third Millennium" (1960)
"The Adventures of Two Friends in the Land of the Past" (1963)
"Prisoner of Constantinople" (1969)
"And Lena was stained with blood" (1975)

Years of life: from 07/14/1891 to 07/03/1977

Soviet writer playwright, translator.

Alexander Melentievich Volkov was born on July 14, 1891 in Ust-Kamenogorsk in the family of a military sergeant major and a dressmaker. The future writer was not even four years old when his father taught him to read and since then he has become an avid reader. At the age of 6, Volkov was immediately admitted to the second grade of the city school, and at the age of 12 he graduated as the best student. IN end of I World War II, he takes the final exams at the Semipalatinsk gymnasium, and then graduates from the Yaroslavl Pedagogical Institute. In 1910, after a preparatory course, he entered the Tomsk Teachers' Institute, from which he graduated in 1910 with the right to teach in urban and higher elementary schools. Alexander Volkov began working as a teacher in the ancient Altai city of Kolyvan, and then in hometown Ust-Kamenogorsk, in the school where he began his education. There he independently mastered German and French.

On the eve of the revolution, Volkov tries his pen. His first poems "Nothing pleases me", "Dreams" were published in 1917 in the newspaper "Siberian Light". In 1917 - early 1918, he was a member of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Soviet of Deputies and participated in the publication of the newspaper "Friend of the People". Volkov, like many "old-mode" intellectuals, did not immediately accept October revolution. But an inexhaustible faith in a bright future captures him, and together with everyone he participates in the construction of a new life, teaches people and learns himself. He teaches at pedagogical courses that are opening in Ust-Kamenogorsk, at a pedagogical college. At this time he wrote a number of plays for the children's theater. His funny comedies and plays "Eagle's Beak", "In a Deaf Corner", "Village School", "Tolya Pioneer", "Fern Flower", "Home Teacher", "Comrade from the Center" ("Modern Inspector") and " Trading house Shneerzon and Co” were performed with great success on the stages of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Yaroslavl.

In the 1920s, Volkov moved to Yaroslavl as a school principal. In parallel with this, he externally takes exams at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Pedagogical Institute. In 1929, Alexander Volkov moved to Moscow, where he worked as the head of the educational department of the workers' faculty. By the time he entered the Moscow State University, he was already a forty-year-old married man, the father of two children. There, in seven months, he completed the entire five-year course of the Faculty of Mathematics, after which he was a teacher of higher mathematics at the Moscow Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold for twenty years. In the same place, he led an elective in literature for students, continued to replenish his knowledge of literature, history, geography, astronomy, and was actively engaged in translations.

Later, in his thirties, Alexander Melent'evich brilliantly graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics of Moscow University in just 7 months. And soon he becomes a teacher of higher mathematics in one of the Moscow universities. And here the most unexpected turn in the life of Alexander Melentievich takes place. It all started with the fact that he, a great connoisseur of foreign languages, decided to learn English. And for practice I tried to translate a fairy tale American writer Frank Baum "The Wise Man of Oz" He liked the book. He began to retell it to his two sons. At the same time, altering something, adding something. The girl was named Ellie. Totoshka, once in the Magic Land, spoke. And the Wise Man of Oz acquired a name and title - the Great and Terrible Wizard Goodwin ... There were many other cute, funny, sometimes almost imperceptible changes. And when the translation or, more precisely, the retelling was completed, it suddenly became clear that this was not quite Baum's "Sage". The American fairy tale has become just a fairy tale. And her characters spoke Russian as naturally and cheerfully as they spoke English half a century before.

Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak, having become acquainted with the manuscript of The Wizard, and then with the translator, strongly advised him to take up literature professionally. Volkov listened to the advice. The Magician was published in 1939.

The incredible success of the Volkov cycle, which made the author modern classic children's literature, largely delayed the "penetration" of the domestic market original works F. Baum; nevertheless, with the exception of the first story, Volkov's cycle is the fruit of his independent fantasy.

In addition to works for children, Volkov is the author of other works. were very popular in the country historical works Alexander Melentievich - “Two Brothers”, “Architects”, “Wanderings”, “Prisoner of Tsargrad”, collection “Following the Stern”, dedicated to history navigation, primitive times, the death of Atlantis and the discovery of America by the Vikings.

In addition, Alexander Volkov published several popular science books about nature, fishing, history of science. The most popular of them - "Earth and Sky" (1957), introducing children to the world of geography and astronomy, has withstood multiple reprints.

Volkov translated Jules Verne (“The Extraordinary Adventures of the Barsak Expedition” and “The Danube Pilot”), he wrote the fantastic novels “The Adventure of Two Friends in the Country of the Past” (1963, pamphlet), “Travelers in the Third Millennium” (1960), short stories and essays “Petya Ivanov’s Journey to an Extraterrestrial Station”, “In the Altai Mountains”, “Lapatinsky Bay”, “On the Buzha River”, “Birthmark”, “A Good Day”, “At the Campfire”, the story “And Lena was stained with blood” ( 1975, unpublished?), and many other works.

As a child, there were few books in his father's house, and from the age of 8, Sasha began to masterfully bind the neighbor's books, while having the opportunity to read them.

As a child I read Mine Reed, Jules Verne and Dickens; from Russian writers, he loved A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Nikitin.

Bibliography

Cycle Wizard of the Emerald City
The basis of the first book was the book of the American children's writer Lyman Frank Baum The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
(1939)
(1963)
(1964)
(1968)
(1970)
(1975, published 1982)

Non-fiction books
How to fish with a rod. Angler's Notes (1953)
Earth and Sky (1972)
In Search of Truth (1980)

Poetry
Nothing Makes Me Happy (1917)
Dreams (1917)
Red Army
Ballad about a Soviet pilot
Scouts
Young partisans
motherland

Songs
Camping Komsomol
Song of the Timurovites

Plays for children's theater
eagle beak
In a dark corner
village school
Tolya-pioneer
Fern flower
home teacher
Comrade from the center (Modern auditor)
Trading House Schneerson & Co.

radio plays (1941-1943)
The leader goes to the front
Timurovtsy
Patriots
Dead of night
Sweatshirt

Historical essays
Mathematics in military affairs
Glorious pages on the history of Russian artillery

Translations
Jules Verne, Danube Pilot
Jules Verne, The Extraordinary Adventures of the Barsac Expedition

Screen adaptations of works, theatrical performances

The Wizard of Oz:
1974 - puppet cartoon(10 episodes), based on Volkov's fairy tales "The Wizard of the Emerald City", "Urfin Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers" and "Seven Underground Kings".
1994 - Film directed by Arsenov. The film has a stellar cast of actors: Innocent and Innocent Jr., Pavlov, Varley, Shcherbakov, Kabo, Nosik.

Ust-Kamenogorsk is a small provincial town. There, in the ancient fortress, where the peasant Melenty Volkov served as a soldier, his first-born son, Alexander, was born.
The boy was not even four years old when his father taught him to read. Since then, Sanya has become an avid book reader. At the age of six, he was accepted immediately into the second grade of the city school. And at twelve he graduated as his best student. A few years later, Sasha - no, now Alexander Melentievich - taught at the same Ust-Kamenogorsk school, where he had previously sat at his desk.
In less than twenty years - a respected city dweller. What else does a peasant's son need? Much…
At the end of World War I, already called up for military service, he externally passed the final exams at the Semipalatinsk gymnasium. Later, the Yaroslavl Pedagogical Institute remained behind him. And in his fifties, this restless man entered and brilliantly graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics of Moscow University. And in just seven months! And soon he taught higher mathematics in one of the Moscow universities.
It was here that the most unexpected turn in the life of Alexander Melentyevich Volkov took place.
It all started with the fact that he, a great connoisseur of foreign languages, decided to learn more and English. And for practice, I tried to translate the tale of the American writer Frank Baum "The Wise Man of Oz". He liked the book. Very. So he began to retell it to his sons. At the same time, altering something, adding something. The girl was named Ellie. Totoshka, once in the Magic Land, spoke. And the Wise Man from the Land of Oz acquired the name and title - the Great and Terrible Wizard Goodwin ... There were many other cute, funny, sometimes almost imperceptible changes. And the book seemed to become more spacious and lighter. And when the translation or, more precisely, the retelling was completed, it suddenly became clear that this was not quite Baum's "Sage". The American fairy tale has become just a fairy tale. And her characters spoke Russian just as naturally and cheerfully (maybe even a little more cheerfully), as they spoke English half a century before.
Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak soon got acquainted with the manuscript new fairy tale, and then with the author-translator. And he strongly advised him to take up literature professionally. Volkov listened to the advice.
In 1939, The Wizard of the Emerald City was published by Detizdat. And the story of Baum's "The Wise Man" was repeated: in the same year the book was published in the second, and in early 1941 - in the third edition.
During the war, the tale, of course, was somewhat forgotten. And only at the end of the 1950s, when the artist Leonid Vladimirsky made new drawings for The Magician, it was published again. And the young readers again set off on a journey along the road paved with yellow bricks. And letters began to flock to the author - tens, hundreds, thousands. With one single request: to continue the fairy tale! And Volkov himself could not resist the magic of Baumov and, to some extent, his imagination, and wrote a whole series of books about Magic country, completely original.
But Volkov the writer is not only a storyteller, although his historical and popular science books are not so widely known. It's a pity. With them, believe me, it is worth getting to know better.

Irina Kazyulkina

WORKS OF A.M. VOLKOV

COMPLETE WORKS / Khudozh. Y. Solovyov. - St. Petersburg: Neva; M.: OLMA-Press, 2003. - 639 p.: ill.
The publishers feigned some innocence in naming this huge volume « full assembly essays" A.M.Volkova. In fact, only the fairy-tale epic about the Magic Land was included in the book. Probably, someone will be glad to find all six under one cover fairy tales about the adventures of Ellie and Annie, but such joy will become available only to people endowed with remarkable strength. Ordinary child it will be very difficult to cope with a weighty volume.

THE WIZARD OF THE EMERALD CITY / Art. L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST: Pushkinskaya b-ka, 2004. - 287 p.: ill. - (Extracurricular reading).
URFIN JUS AND HIS WOODEN SOLDIERS / Khudozh. L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2002. - 207 p.: ill.
SEVEN UNDERGROUND KINGS: Fairy tale. story / Art. L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2002. - 190 p.: ill.
FIRE GOD MARRAN: Fairy tale. story / Art. L.Vladimirsky.- M.: AST: Astrel, 2003. - 196 p.: ill.
YELLOW MIST: Fairy tale. story / Art. L. Vladimirsky. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2001. - 222 p.: ill.
THE MYSTERY OF THE ABANDONED CASTLE / Khudozh. L. Vladimirsky. - M.: Dom, 1992. - 183 p.: ill.
Who is already familiar with Ellie, Totoshka, Scarecrow, Lumberjack and Cowardly Lion, he will certainly want to know what happened to them next. And if you don't know them yet, get to know them! Otherwise, you will never get to the Magic Land and you will not see the Emerald City.

Illustrations by Leonid Viktorovich Vladimirsky for A.M. Volkov's fairy tale epic have long become classics, but there are editions of The Wizard of the Emerald City designed by other artists. Here are a few of them:

THE WIZARD OF THE EMERALD CITY / Art. V. Chizhikov. - M.: Astrel: ONIKS, 2000. - 191 p.: ill. - (Favorite book).
THE WIZARD OF THE EMERALD CITY / Art. E.Vasiliev. - M.: ROSMEN, 2000. - 143 p.: ill.
THE WIZARD OF THE EMERALD CITY / Art. O. Gorbushin. - M.: Samovar, 1998. - 175 p.: ill.
THE WIZARD OF THE EMERALD CITY / Fig. N. Shchelkanova. - St. Petersburg: Lyceum, 1992. - 158 p.: ill.

* * *

IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH. - M.: Det. lit., 1987. - 154 p.: ill. - (Bible series).
The heroes of this book are Aristotle, Nicolaus Copernicus, Giordano Bruno, Johannes Kepler, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. And many others, whose names are forever included in the history of astronomy.

TWO BROTHERS: Roman. - M.: Century: Intern. book, 1995. - 382 p.: ill. - (Historical adventure novels for youth).
This story happened in Russia during the reign of Peter the Great. There lived then two brothers - Ilya and Yegor Markov, the children of a poor archer's widow. They had different characters, and therefore the fates turned out differently ...

EARTH AND SKY: Entertaining stories in geography and astronomy / Fig. B. Kyshtymova. - M.: Det. lit., 1974. - 208 p.: ill.

WANDERING; WONDERFUL BALL: East. novels. - M.: Century: Intern. book, 1995. - 525 p.: ill. - (Historical adventure series for youth).
"Wandering"
A book about the childhood and youth of the great Italian philosopher and astronomer Giordano Bruno.

"Wonderful ball"
They took the merchant's son Dmitry Rakitin to the fortress, and he will have to spend his whole life in prison. Yes, he is not such a person to put up with this. It is impossible to escape from the fortress. So, right, you can fly away? ..

FOLLOW THE Stern. - M.: Det. lit., 1972. - 208 p.: ill.
The history of navigation from primitive times to the legendary campaigns of the brave Viking Leif Erickson.

TSARGRAD BRIDE; ARCHITECTS. - M.: Century: Intern. book, 1995. - 528 p.: ill. - (Historical adventure series for youth).
"Tsargrad Bride"
The Pechenegs kidnapped Olga, the wife of the blacksmith Stoyun, took her away and sold her into slavery in the distant city of Tsargrad. How to find and save the prisoner? ..

"Architects"
The famous St. Basil's Cathedral stands on Red Square in Moscow. This novel is dedicated to the Russian craftsmen who built it back in the 16th century.

Irina Kazyulkina

LITERATURE ABOUT THE LIFE AND WORK OF A.M.VOLKOV

Volkov A.M. Tale of life // Aloud to myself. - M.: Det. lit., 1978. - S. 61-78.

Begak B.A. Once upon a time there was a boy // Begak B.A. True fairy tale. - M.: Det. lit., 1989. - S. 63-72.
Begak B.A. About the author of this book // Volkov A.M. Architects. - M.: Det. lit., 1986. - S. 3-6.
Volkov Alexander Melentievich (1891-1977) // Kuznetsova N.I., Meshcheryakova M.I., Arzamastseva I.N. Children's writers. - M.: Ballas: S-Info, 1995. - S. 31-33.
Volkov Alexander Melentievich (1891-1977) // Stories about the authors of your books. - M.: Megatron, 1997. - S. 61-65.
Kuleshov E.V. Volkov Alexander Melentievich (1891-1977) // Essays on children's writers. - M.: Ballas, 1999. - S. 37-38.
Nevinskaya I.N. Volkov Alexander Melentievich (1891-1977) // Russian children's writers of the XX century. - M.: Flinta: Science, 1997. - S. 99-101.
Rozanov A. A boy from a long village // Volkov A.M. The Wizard of Oz; Oorfene Deuce and his wooden soldiers. - Kemerovo: Prince. publishing house, 1989. - S. 360-364.
Rozanov A.S. A teacher from our city // Rozanov A.S. First Russian boys. - Alma-Ata: Zhalyn, 1988. - S. 96-107.
Petrovsky M. Truth and Illusions of Oz // Petrovsky M. Books of our childhood. - M.: Book, 1986. - S. 221-273.
Rakhtanov I. Wizard-scientist // Rakhtanov I. Stories from memory. - M.: Det. lit., 1971 - S. 32-55.
Tokmakova I.P. About the author and his books // Volkov A.M. Two brothers. - M.: Det. lit., 1981. - S. 5-8.
Tubelskaya G.N. Volkov Alexander Melentievich (1891-1977) // Tubelskaya G.N. Children's writers of Russia. - M.: Shk. b-ka, 2002. - S. 52-54.

I.K.

SCREENSING OF A.M. VOLKOV’S WORKS

- FEATURE FILM -

The Wizard of Oz. Scene. V. Korostyleva. Dir. P. Arsenov. Comp. E. Krylatov. Russia, 1994. Cast: Katya Mikhailovskaya, V. Nevinny, V. Pavlov, N. Varley, E. Gerasimov, B. Shcherbakov, O. Kabo and others.

- CARTOON -

Wizard of the Emerald City. In 10 ser. Dir. K. Malyantovich, Y. Kalisher, Y. Trofimov, L. Aristov and others. USSR, 1973-1974.

§ Biography

Born on June 14, 1891 in Ust-Kamenogorsk in a military fortress, in the family of a retired sergeant major Melenty Mikhailovich Volkov. At the age of 12 he graduated from the Ust-Kamenogorsk city school as the first student, where he later began his teaching career.

In 1907 he entered the Tomsk Teachers' Institute, after which (in 1909) he received a diploma with the right to teach all subjects. school curriculum except the law of God.

He began to work as a teacher in his hometown, in 1910 (mathematician by profession) worked as a teacher in the Altai city of Kolyvan. In the 1920s he moved to Yaroslavl, where he worked as a school principal. In absentia he graduated from the mathematical faculty of the Yaroslavl Pedagogical Institute.

In 1929 he moved to Moscow, where he worked as the head of the educational department of the workers' faculty. In seven months I completed the course and passed external exams at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. Since 1931, for twenty years since its foundation, he was a lecturer, then an associate professor of the department of higher mathematics at the Moscow Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold.

Volkov was an encyclopedically educated person, he knew literature, history well, and knew foreign languages.

At the age of 24, Volkov met at a New Year's ball in Ust-Kamenogorsk with a teacher of gymnastics and dance at the gymnasium, Kaleria Gubina. Two months later they got married and a year later they had a son, Vivian (he died at five from dysentery), and three years later another - Romuald (died at two from croup). However, a few years later, Alexander and Kaleria again had two sons in turn, and they gave them the same names.

§ Creation

Volkov began writing his first novel at the age of twelve. He began to print in 1916. In the 1920s, his plays were shown on the stages of several provincial theaters. In the late 1930s he entered into great literature. Member of the Writers' Union since 1941. The total circulation of his works, published in many languages of the world, exceeded twenty-five million copies.

Many of Volkov's works are devoted to outstanding personalities past - scientists, builders, discoverers, philosophers. In his novels and stories, the writer most often turned to history.

Before working on such a book, he carefully and comprehensively studied the era, got acquainted with documents, special scientific works, so he combines a fascinating plot and emotional presentation with scientific accuracy and reliability.

One of the first children's books on a historical theme, The Wonderful Ball, reveals a picture of life in Russia in the 18th century. The protagonist of this story, the son of a merchant, Dmitry Rakitin, was imprisoned forever in a fortress, where he invented the first balloon in Russia. The book "Trace of the stern" tells about the history of navigation from primitive times to the legendary campaigns of the Viking Leif Eriksson.

Volkov liked to develop topics related to national history, and not only ancient, but also modern. In the story “Prisoner of Tsargrad” the author spoke about the times of the great reign of Yaroslav the Wise, in “Two Brothers” - about the reign of Peter I, and in “Journey to the Third Millennium” - about the construction of the Volga-Don Canal in the author’s native Soviet era.

Volkov was also engaged in the popularization of science for schoolchildren. He published a number of entertaining stories on geography and astronomy, combining them into the collection "Earth and Sky". The history of science was devoted to the popular science book "In Search of Truth", another book - to fishing.

¶ Cycle "The Wizard of the Emerald City"

As a rule, Volkov's name is known today only from this cycle. The first book in the series was based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by American children's writer Lyman Frank Baum. Volkov undertook to translate this book in order to practice learning in English. However, during the translation process, he changed some events and added new adventures for the heroes. The manuscript of the processed fairy tale was approved by S. Ya. Marshak. In 1939, the story "The Wizard of the Emerald City" acquired the status of an independent work, it was translated into 13 languages and went through 46 reprints.

In 1963, almost 25 years later, Volkov again began to write stories about the girl Ellie and her friends the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Woodman and other inhabitants of the Magic Land. The author created a whole series of stories in which he combined reality and fantasy. Volkov used techniques characteristic of literary fairy tale. For example, in the cycle you can see the “two worlds” traditional for this genre, the confrontation between good and evil, and he also filled the narrative with classic fairy tale characters(wizards talking animals), and used traditional motifs(flying shoes, the royal family immersed in a magical dream, animated wooden figures, and so on).

In the plots of the cycle, the themes of moral self-improvement, the power of friendship that can work real miracles, love for the motherland, and the collective struggle for freedom and justice are developed. Although the main actions of the cycle take place in the Magic Land, the heroes find a way out of difficult situations not so much due to some kind of magical help, but due to their own knowledge, ingenuity, ingenuity, mutual assistance.

The writer had a belief in the omnipotence of man-made technology, so his heroes usually defeated witchcraft with the help of various technical inventions (a cannon designed by Charlie Black, a mechanical drill, a Tilly-Willie superrobot).

In the 1950s, the book received drawings by L. Vladimirsky, who also made illustrations for other stories in the cycle.

"The Wizard of the Emerald City" (1939)
"Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers" (1963)
"Seven Underground Kings" (1964)
"Fire God Marranos" (1968)
"Yellow Mist" (1970)
"The Secret of the Abandoned Castle" (1976, book version - 1982)

¶ Tale

"Two brothers" (1938-1961)
"Wonderful ball (First aeronaut)" (1940)
"Invisible Fighters" (1942)
"Planes at War" (1946)
"Stern Track" (1960)
"Travelers to the Third Millennium" (1960)
"The Adventures of Two Friends in the Land of the Past" (1963)
"Prisoner of Constantinople" (1969)
"And Lena was stained with blood" (1975)

¶ Stories and essays

"Peti Ivanov's Journey to an Extraterrestrial Station"
"In the mountains of Altai"
"Lapatinsky Bay"
"On the Buzha River"
"Birthmark"
"Lucky day"
"Campfire"

¶ Novels

"Architects" (1954)
Volkov A. M. Architects: Novel / Afterword: doctor historical sciences A. A. Zimin; Drawings by I. Godin. - Reissue. - M.: Children's literature, 1986. - 384 p. - (Library series). - 100,000 copies. (Abstract: A novel from Russian history of the 16th century about the construction of a miracle of Russian architecture, magnificent historical monument- St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow).
In the novel Wanderings (1963), the author spoke about the childhood and youth of the Italian astronomer and philosopher Giordano Bruno.