Belyaev science fiction writer biography. Fiction Archive. “Forensic formalism” and dreams of travel: the childhood and youth of Alexander Belyaev

Belyaev Alexander Romanovich (1884-1942), writer.

Born on March 16, 1884 in Smolensk into the family of a priest. WITH early childhood Belyaev lived in a world created by his imagination. The boy thirsted for adventure, secrets and exploits.

His father sent him to study at a theological seminary, but his son went his own way. After graduating from the seminary, he entered the legal lyceum in Yaroslavl and at the same time studied violin at the Moscow Conservatory and studied journalism. Upon returning to Smolensk, he worked as a sworn attorney, was music critic and a theater reviewer in the newspaper “Smolensky Vestnik” (a few years later he became its editor-in-chief).

In 1913, Belyaev went on a trip to Europe. This trip gave a lot of impressions, which were later reflected in books: he flew on a seaplane, climbed mountains, descended into the craters of extinct volcanoes, and explored the life of the urban poor. Two years later, a misfortune happened: a serious illness - bone tuberculosis of the spine - confined Belyaev to bed for a long time. Deprived of the opportunity to move, he immersed himself in reading: he studied books on medicine, biology, history, technology, followed the latest achievements Sciences. Getting to my feet again for a long time was forced to wear a special corset, overcoming severe pain.

Since 1923, Belyaev lived in Moscow. His literary career began in 1925, when the World Pathfinder magazine published the story "The Head of Professor Dowell" (revised into a novel of the same name in 1937). His prose combines exciting fantasy plots with precise knowledge and insightful hypotheses. The main character of most works is science with sensational discoveries that can serve for the benefit of humanity or be used to its detriment, for selfish purposes.

Motifs of goodness, justice, humanism, and the responsibility of a scientist permeate Belyaev’s novels and stories (“Amphibian Man,” 1928; “Seller of the Air,” “Lord of the World,” both 1929; “Ariel,” “The Man Who Found His Face” ", both 1941, etc.).

Drawing pictures of the future, Belyaev made predictions that seemed unrealistic in those years: he described the transplantation of human organs, the use of wind energy, the extraction of water in the desert, artificial rain, gliding, all-metal airships, and talked about intra-atomic energy.

In the 30s, when the idea of ​​conquering outer space many were skeptical; Belyaev, on the pages of his novels, had already flown to the moon, performed interplanetary travel, launched rockets and scientific stations into space.

K. E. Tsiolkovsky, with whom Belyaev began to correspond, warmly supported the writer and enthusiastically read his space works (“Jump into Nothing,” 1933; “Airship,” 1934-1935).

Belyaev used different genres - from fairy tale before the pamphlet novel. He is recognized as one of the founders of modern Russian science fiction.

His life was not very cheerful - serious illness, lack of money, forced wanderings and tragic death under German occupation. And it is all the more surprising that this man was able to create such life-affirming books.

In 1901, Alexander graduated from the Smolensk Theological Seminary. But he did not want to become a priest and therefore entered the Demidov Lyceum in Yaroslavl.

After his father's death, he had to earn a living by painting, playing the violin and giving private lessons.

After graduating from the lyceum, he became a good lawyer and acquired his own clientele. His affairs were successful, he often visited abroad. But in 1914 he leaves everything and devotes himself to writing.

When he was 35 years old, he became seriously ill with tuberculous pleurisy. The treatment was unsuccessful - tuberculosis of the spine developed, complicated by paralysis of the legs. In search of specialists who could help him, Belyaev ended up in Yalta. There, in the hospital, he began to write poetry.

He was bedridden for six years, three of which were in a cast.

But he managed to recover and return to a full life. At first he lived in Yalta, worked as a teacher, criminal investigation inspector, then moved to Moscow and again took up law, continuing to write.

In the 1920s, he wrote such famous novels as “The Island of Lost Ships” and “The Amphibian Man.”

In 1928, he moved again, this time to Leningrad, and was already completely immersed in literary activity. Having become interested in the problems of the functioning of the psyche, he wrote the novels “The Head of Professor Dowell”, “Lord of the World”, “The Man Who Lost Face”.

Alexander Belyaev was called the “Russian Jules-Verne” for his ability to predict many events. In his books, the writer predicted not only the invention of scuba gear and the orbital station, but also his own demise.

Amphibious and scuba gear. Still from the film "Amphibian Man", 1961

When Alexander Belyaev, against the will of his parents, chose the profession of a lawyer, a woman who called herself a clairvoyant came to seek his protection.

“I warned two women about the possible imminent death of their husbands,” she said. “Now the inconsolable widows accuse me of deliberately killing them.” Alexander just grinned: “Predict it for me then.”

“Your life will be hard, but very bright. And you yourself will be able to look into the future” - this is how she answered the writer.

After this, Alexander agreed to take on the woman’s case, and she was acquitted at the trial.

But what was predicted did not take long to arrive. Belyaev was not a prophet, but he knew how to notice what ideas people had grown into modern society, on the verge of what new discoveries and achievements it is located.

One of his first novels-predictions was the famous “Amphibian Man”

where the writer foresaw the invention of an artificial lung and scuba tank with an open breathing system on compressed air, invented in 1943 by Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

By the way, the novel itself was largely biographical. As a child, Alexander had a dream in which he and his brother Vasily were crawling through a long dark tunnel. Somewhere ahead there was a light, but the brother could no longer move on. Overcoming himself, Alexander was able to get out, but without Vasily. Soon his brother drowned while boating.

In the novel, Belyaev describes how Ichthyander, getting out into the vast expanses of the ocean, had to swim through a tunnel. He swam along it, “overcoming the cold oncoming current. It pushes off from the bottom, floats up... The end of the tunnel is near. Now Ichthyander can once again give himself up to the current - it will carry him far into the open ocean.”

Poster for the film "The Air Seller", 1967

When Alexander Belyaev was forced as a result poor health to go to Crimea for treatment, on the train he met people who had suffered as a result of a technological accident at a Kuzbass enterprise. This is how the idea of ​​the “Air Seller” was born.

In his work, Belyaev warns of an impending environmental disaster, where environment will be so polluted by gases and industrial emissions that clean air will turn into a commodity that will not be available to everyone. Is it worth reminding that today, due to poor ecology, there is a constant danger of oncology walking around the world, and life expectancy is major cities is rapidly declining.

Under these conditions, states are even forced to go to international agreements, an example of which is the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Orbital station

“The KETS Star” was written in 1936 under the influence of the writer’s correspondence with Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky.

As a matter of fact, KETS are the initials of the Soviet scientist. The entire novel is built on Tsiolkovsky’s ideas: the possibility of launching an orbital station, people going into outer space, traveling to the moon.

The two dreamers were far ahead of their time - the first real orbital station, Salyut, appeared in space only in 1973.

In the book “Lord of the World” (1926), Belyaev “invented” a device for transmitting thoughts at a distance on the principle of radio waves, which made it possible to instill a thought in a stranger at a distance - essentially a psychotropic weapon.

In addition, in his book he predicted the emergence of unmanned aircraft, the first successful tests of which took place in Great Britain only in the 1930s.

In his novel “The Man Who Lost Face” (1929), the author presents to the reader the problem of changing the human body and the subsequent problems associated with it.

As a matter of fact, the novel predicts modern advances plastic surgery, and the ethical problems that invariably follow.

According to the plot, the state governor turns into a black man and, as a result, experiences all the features of racial discrimination. Somewhat reminiscent of the fate of the King of Pop Michael Jackson, who changed his skin color to escape prejudice against black people.

Still from the film "The Testament of Professor Dowell", 1984

In his new work "Island of Lost Ships" Belyaev was the first to note the mystery of the now famous Bermuda Triangle, the anomaly of which was first publicly announced by the Associated Press agency, calling this area the “devil's sea.”

Let's say somewhere, for example, in the area of ​​​​Bermuda, there is a certain special zone. The nearby Sargasso Sea with its abundance of algae has always made local navigation difficult; ships left here after shipwrecks could easily accumulate in its waters.

The year 1940 comes. Many in the country have gloomy premonitions that terrible war. At Belyaev's special sensations- old illnesses make themselves felt, the writer has a presentiment - he will not survive this war.

He remembers his childhood dream and writes a novel about Ariel, a man who could fly. He himself would like to soar above the bustle of everyday life. Ariel, like Amphibian Man, is biographical.

This work is a prediction of one’s own death. He wanted to fly away from this world like Ariel. And so it happened.

The writer died on January 6, 1942 from hunger in occupied Pushkin Leningrad region. The writer Belyaev was buried in a common grave along with many others. The location of his grave is unknown. Therefore, a memorial stele at the Kazan cemetery in the city of Pushkin was installed on the supposed grave of Belyaev in 1968. He had two daughters - Lyudmila (1924 - 1930) and Svetlana (born in 1929).

After his death, his wife and daughter Svetlana were captured by the Germans.

Upon returning from there, they found the writer’s glasses, to which was attached a note addressed to Belyaev’s wife: “Don’t look for my traces on this earth,” her husband wrote. - I'm waiting for you in heaven. Yours, Ariel."

In 1984, when the centenary of the birth of the famous science fiction writer was celebrated, the idea was expressed to establish a memorial prize in honor of Alexander Belyaev. It was first awarded in 1990.

Used materials:

http://www.liveinternet.ru/users/3331706/post317337318/

http://blog42.ws/aleksandr-belyaev/

He was born in Smolensk, into a family Orthodox priest. There were two more children in the family: sister Nina died in childhood from sarcoma; brother Vasily, a student at the veterinary institute, drowned while boating.

The father wanted to see his son as a successor to his work and sent him to the Smolensk Theological Seminary in 1895. In 1901, Alexander graduated from it, but did not become a priest; on the contrary, he left there as a convinced atheist. In defiance of his father, he entered the Demidov Legal Lyceum in Yaroslavl. Soon after his father's death, he had to earn extra money: Alexander gave lessons, painted scenery for the theater, and played the violin in the circus orchestra.

After graduating (in 1906) from the Demidov Lyceum, A. Belyaev received the position of private attorney in Smolensk and soon gained fame as a good lawyer. He gained a regular clientele. His material opportunities also increased: he was able to rent and furnish a good apartment, acquire a good collection of paintings, collect large library. Having finished any business, he went to travel abroad: he visited France, Italy, and visited Venice.

In 1914 he left law for the sake of literature and theater.

At the age of thirty-five, A. Belyaev fell ill with tuberculous pleurisy. The treatment was unsuccessful - tuberculosis of the spine developed, complicated by paralysis of the legs. A serious illness confined him to bed for six years, three of which he spent in a cast. His young wife left him, saying that she didn’t get married to take care of her sick husband. In search of specialists who could help him, A. Belyaev, with his mother and old nanny, ended up in Yalta. There, in the hospital, he began to write poetry. Not giving in to despair, he is engaged in self-education: he studies foreign languages, medicine, biology, history, technology, and reads a lot (Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky). Having defeated the disease, in 1922 he returned to a full life and began to work. At first A. Belyaev became a teacher in orphanage, then he was given the position of criminal investigation inspector - he organized a photo laboratory there, and later had to go to the library. Life in Yalta was very difficult, and A. Belyaev, with the help of friends, moved with his family to Moscow (1923), where he got a job as a legal adviser. There he began serious literary activity. He publishes science fiction stories and novellas in the magazines “Around the World”, “Knowledge is Power”, “World Pathfinder”, earning the title of “Soviet Jules Verne”. In 1925, he published the story “The Head of Professor Dowell,” which Belyaev himself called an autobiographical story: he wanted to tell “what a head without a body can experience.”

A. Belyaev lived in Moscow until 1928; During this time, he wrote “The Island of Lost Ships”, “The Last Man from Atlantis”, “Amphibian Man”, “Struggle on the Air”, and published a collection of short stories. The author wrote not only under his own name, but also under the pseudonyms A. Rom and Arbel.

In 1928, A. Belyaev and his family moved to Leningrad and from then on he was exclusively engaged in literature, professionally. This is how “Lord of the World”, “Underwater Farmers”, “The Wonderful Eye”, stories from the series “The Inventions of Professor Wagner” appeared. They were published mainly in Moscow publishing houses. However, soon the disease made itself felt again, and I had to move from rainy Leningrad to sunny Kyiv.

The year 1930 turned out to be a very difficult year for the writer: his six-year-old daughter died of meningitis, his second daughter fell ill with rickets, and soon his own illness(spondylitis). As a result, in 1931 the family returned to Leningrad.

In September 1931, A. Belyaev handed over the manuscript of his novel “The Earth is Burning” to the editors of the Leningrad magazine “Around the World”.

In 1932, he lives in Murmansk (source: newspaper “Evening Murmansk” dated 10/10/2014). In 1934, he met with Herbert Wells, who arrived in Leningrad. In 1935, Belyaev became a permanent contributor to the magazine “Around the World”. At the beginning of 1938, after eleven years of intensive cooperation, Belyaev left the magazine “Around the World”. In 1938 he published the article “Cinderella” about the plight of contemporary fiction.

Shortly before the war, the writer underwent another operation, so he refused the offer to evacuate when the war began. The city of Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoe Selo, a suburb of Leningrad), where he lived in last years A. Belyaev with his family was occupied. In January 1942, the writer died of hunger. He was buried in a mass grave along with other residents of the city. From Osipova’s book “Diaries and Letters”: “The writer Belyaev, who wrote science fiction novels like “Amphibian Man,” froze from hunger in his room. “Frozen from hunger” is an absolutely accurate expression. People are so weak from hunger that they are unable to get up and fetch firewood. He was found completely frozen..."

The surviving wife of the writer and daughter Svetlana were taken prisoner by the Germans and were kept in various camps for displaced persons in Poland and Austria until liberation by the Red Army in May 1945. After the end of the war, the wife and daughter of Alexander Romanovich, like many other citizens of the USSR who found themselves in German captivity, were exiled to Western Siberia. They spent 11 years in exile. The daughter did not marry.

The burial place of Alexander Belyaev is not known for certain. The memorial stele at the Kazan cemetery in the city of Pushkin was installed only on the supposed grave.

Alexander Romanovich Belyaev(March 16, 1884 - January 6, 1942) - Russian science fiction writer, one of the founders of Soviet science fiction literature. Among his most famous novels are: “The Head of Professor Dowell”, “Amphibian Man”, “Ariel”, “KEC Star” and many others (in total more than 70 science fiction works, including 13 novels). For his significant contribution to Russian science fiction and visionary ideas, Belyaev is called the “Russian Jules Verne.”

The future writer was born in Smolensk, in the family of an Orthodox priest. There were two more children in the family: sister Nina died in childhood from sarcoma; brother Vasily, a student at the veterinary institute, drowned while boating.

The father wanted to see his son as a successor to his work and sent him to a theological school in 1894. After graduating in 1898, Alexander was transferred to the Smolensk Theological Seminary. He graduated from it in 1904, but did not become a priest; on the contrary, he left there as a convinced atheist. In defiance of his father, he entered the Demidov Legal Lyceum in Yaroslavl. Soon after his father’s death, he had to earn extra money: Alexander gave lessons, painted scenery for the theater, played the violin in a circus orchestra, and published in city newspapers as a music critic.

After graduating (in 1908) from the Demidov Lyceum, A. Belyaev received the position of private attorney in Smolensk and soon gained fame as a good lawyer. He gained a regular clientele. His material opportunities also increased: he was able to rent and furnish a good apartment, acquire a good collection of paintings, and collect a large library. In 1913, he traveled abroad: he visited France, Italy, and visited Venice.

In 1914 he left law for the sake of literature and theater.

At the age of 35, A. Belyaev fell ill with tuberculous pleurisy. The treatment was unsuccessful - tuberculosis of the spine developed, complicated by paralysis of the legs. A serious illness confined him to bed for six years, three of which he spent in a cast. His young wife left him, saying that she didn’t get married to take care of her sick husband. In search of specialists who could help him, A. Belyaev, with his mother and old nanny, ended up in Yalta. There, in the hospital, he began to write poetry. Not giving in to despair, he is engaged in self-education: he studies foreign languages, medicine, biology, history, technology, and reads a lot (Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky). Having defeated the disease, in 1922 he returned to a full life and began to work. In the same year he married Margarita Konstantinovna Magnushevskaya.
At first, A. Belyaev became a teacher in an orphanage, then he was given the position of criminal investigation inspector, where he organized a photo laboratory, and later he had to go to the library. Life in Yalta was very difficult, and A. Belyaev (with the help of a friend) in 1923 moved with his family to Moscow, where he got a job as a legal adviser. There he begins serious literary activity. He publishes science fiction stories and novellas in the magazines “Around the World”, “Knowledge is Power”, “World Pathfinder”.
In 1924, he published a story in the newspaper Gudok. "Professor Dowell's Head", which Belyaev himself called autobiographical history, explaining: “The disease once put me in a plaster bed for three and a half years. This period of illness was accompanied by paralysis of the lower half of the body. And although I controlled my hands, my life during these years was reduced to the life of a “head without a body,” which I did not feel at all - complete anesthesia ... ".

A. Belyaev lived in Moscow until 1928; During this time, he wrote the novels “The Island of Lost Ships”, “The Last Man from Atlantis”, “Amphibian Man”, “Struggle on the Air”, and published a collection of short stories. The author wrote not only under his own name, but also under pseudonyms A. Rom And Arbel.

In 1928, A. Belyaev and his family moved to Leningrad and from then on became a professional writer. "Lord of the World" novels were written, "Underwater Farmers", "Wonderful Eye", stories from the series "The Inventions of Professor Wagner". They were published mainly in Moscow publishing houses. However, soon the disease made itself felt again, and I had to move from rainy Leningrad to sunny Kyiv. However, in Kyiv publishing houses accepted manuscripts only in Ukrainian, and Belyaev moved to Moscow again.

The year 1930 turned out to be a very difficult year for the writer: his six-year-old daughter Lyudmila died of meningitis, his second daughter Svetlana fell ill with rickets, and soon his own illness (spondylitis) worsened. As a result, in 1931 the family returned to Leningrad.

In September 1931, A. Belyaev handed over the manuscript of his novel “The Earth is Burning” to the editors of the Leningrad magazine “Around the World”.

In 1932 he lives in Murmansk. In 1934, he met with Herbert Wells, who arrived in Leningrad. In 1935, Belyaev became a permanent contributor to the magazine “Around the World”.
At the beginning of 1938, after eleven years of intensive cooperation, Belyaev left the magazine “Around the World”. In 1938 he published an article "Cinderella" about the plight of contemporary fiction.

Shortly before the war, the writer underwent another operation, so when the war began, he refused the offer to evacuate. The city of Pushkin (formerly Tsarskoe Selo, a suburb of Leningrad), where A. Belyaev lived with his family in recent years, was occupied by the Nazis.
On January 6, 1942, at the 58th year of his life, Alexander Romanovich Belyaev died of hunger. He was buried in a mass grave along with other residents of the city. “The writer Belyaev, who wrote science fiction novels like “Amphibian Man,” froze from hunger in his room. “Frozen from hunger” is an absolutely accurate expression. People are so weak from hunger that they are unable to get up and fetch firewood. He was found completely frozen...".

Alexander Belyaev had two daughters: Lyudmila (March 15, 1924 - March 19, 1930) and Svetlana. The surviving wife of the writer and daughter Svetlana were taken prisoner by the Germans and were kept in various camps for displaced persons in Poland and Austria until liberation by the Red Army in May 1945. After the end of the war they were exiled to Western Siberia. They spent 11 years in exile. The daughter did not marry.

The writer's burial place is not known with certainty. A memorial stele at the Kazan cemetery in the city of Pushkin was installed on the grave of his wife, who was buried there in 1982.

Residence addresses

• St. Dokuchaeva, 4. - Smolensk, Memorable place where stood the house in which the science fiction writer was born.
• 10.26.1936 - 07.1941 - Leningrad - House of Writers - Detskoe Selo, Proletarskaya street, 6.

Creation

A. Belyaev was an enthusiastic person. From an early age he was attracted to music: he independently learned to play the violin and piano, and loved to play music for hours. Another “fun” was photography (there was a photograph he took “ human head on a platter in blue tones"). It is known that A. Belyaev studied the Esperanto language. Since childhood, I read a lot and was fond of adventure literature. Alexander grew up restless, loved all kinds of pranks and jokes; the result of one of his pranks was an eye injury with subsequent deterioration of vision. The young man also dreamed of flying: he tried to take off with brooms tied to his hands, jumped from the roof with an umbrella, and eventually took off in a small airplane.

One day, during another attempt to take off, he fell from the roof of the barn and crashed - significantly injuring his back. This injury affected his entire later life. In the mid-1920s, Belyaev suffered from constant pain in his injured back and was even paralyzed for months.

Even while studying at the Lyceum, A. Belyaev showed himself to be a theatergoer. Under his leadership, in 1913, students of male and female gymnasiums acted out the fairy tale “Three Years, Three Days, Three Minutes” with crowd scenes, choral and ballet numbers. In the same year, A. R. Belyaev and cellist Yu. N. Saburova staged Grigoriev’s opera-fairy tale “The Sleeping Princess.” He himself could act as a playwright, director, and actor. The Belyaevs' home theater in Smolensk was widely known and toured not only around the city, but also in its environs. Once, during the visit of the capital’s troupe to Smolensk under the direction of Stanislavsky, A. Belyaev managed to replace a sick artist and act in several performances instead.

The writer was keenly interested in the question of the human psyche: the functioning of the brain, its connection with the body, with the life of the soul and spirit. Can the brain think outside the body? Is a brain transplant possible? What consequences can anabiosis and its widespread use have? Are there limits to the possibility of suggestion? And genetic engineering? Novels are dedicated to trying to solve these problems. "Professor Dowell's Head", "Lord of the world", "The Man Who Lost Face", stories "The Man Who Doesn't Sleep", "Hoyti-Toyti".

In his science fiction novels, Alexander Belyaev anticipated the emergence of a huge number of inventions and scientific ideas:

• V "Zvezda KETS" depicts a prototype of modern orbital stations,
• V "Amphibian Man" And "To the Head of Professor Dowell" the wonders of transplantology are shown,
• V "Eternal Bread"- achievements of modern biochemistry and genetics.

A kind of continuation of these reflections were novels-hypotheses that place a person in different environments existence: ocean ( "Amphibian Man") and air ( "Ariel").

His last novel"Ariel", written in 1941, echoes famous novel A. Green "The Shining World". The heroes of both works are endowed with the ability to fly without additional devices. The image of the young man Ariel is an undoubted achievement of the writer, in which the author’s faith in a person overcoming gravity was objectively realized.

Memory

In 1990, the section of scientific, artistic and science fiction literature of the Leningrad writers' organization of the Union of Writers of the USSR established literary prize named after Alexander Belyaev, awarded for scientific, artistic and science fiction works.

In addition to biographical literature, one of the television films in the series “Geniuses and Villains of the Past Era” of the television company “Civilization” is dedicated to Alexander Belyaev.

Curious facts

Both the biography and the work of Belyaev, after several decades of Soviet “canonization” (and rather poor coverage), became the subject of conflicting judgments. Yes, famous Russian critic and the science fiction historian Vsevolod Revich (including in the book “Crossroads of Utopias”) gave Belyaev’s work a sharply negative assessment, reproaching the author for the poor elaboration of the actual fantastic elements and the socio-moralistic message of the works, for opportunistic ruthlessness towards “class enemies” and “sadism” "in relation to the heroes on whom physiological experiments were carried out. Literary critic Boris Myagkov, in turn, believed that Vs. Revich, for example, did not understand the deliberately parodic nature of the stories about Professor Wagner(“The Man Who Doesn’t Sleep” and others).

According to Soviet legislation, which was in force until October 1, 1964, Belyaev’s works entered the public domain 15 years after the author’s death. After the collapse of the USSR, copyright legislation in Russia changed, and the term of copyright protection first increased to 50, and from 2004 to 70 years, after the death of the author. In addition, the Law of the Russian Federation “On Copyright and Related Rights” increased these terms by four years for authors who worked during the Great Patriotic War or those who participated in it. Currently, copyright issues are regulated by Part 4 of the Civil Code, as well as Federal law Russian Federation dated December 18, 2006 No. 231-FZ “On the entry into force of part four of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation,” which limits the application of the Civil Code in some cases (see Article 6): “ The terms of protection of rights provided for in Articles 1281, 1318, 1327 and 1331 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation apply in cases where the fifty-year validity period of copyright or related rights has not expired by January 1, 1993».

In 2008, the Terra publishing house entered into an agreement with Belyaev’s heir (daughter Svetlana) to publish his works. Following this, Terra filed a lawsuit against the publishing houses AST-Moscow and Astrel (both are part of the AST publishing group), which published Belyaev after Terra concluded the agreement. The Moscow Arbitration Court satisfied the claim for more than 7.5 billion rubles and banned the Astrel publishing house. distribute illegally published copies of A. Belyaev’s works" The appellate instance overturned the decision of the first instance regarding the recovery of compensation and state duty costs. The cassation court overturned the judicial acts of the lower authorities and completely rejected the claim, considering the works of A. Belyaev to have passed into the public domain since 01/01/1993. and are currently not subject to protection.

Meanwhile, the Krasnodar Regional Court recognized Belyaev’s works as being in the public domain.

On October 4, 2011, the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation decided to change the decisions of lower courts: A. Belyaev’s property rights are subject to protection at least until January 1, 2017. The courts will now have to re-examine the case as it has been remanded for retrial.

Novels

• "Professor Dowell's Head" ( 1 (story): “Gudok”, 1924; "World Pathfinder", 1925, No. 3-4; "Workers' Newspaper", 1925, June 16-21, 24-26; "Professor Dowell's Head". M.-L.: ZiF, 1926; 2 (story). “Around the World”, 1937, No. 6-10, 12; 3 (novel). “Smena” (gaz., Leningrad), 1937, 1-6, 8-9, 11, 14-18, 24, 28 February, 1, 3-6, 9-11 March; dept. ed. - L.-M, “Sov. writer", 1938) - film made
• “Island of Lost Ships” (“World Pathfinder”, 1926, No. 3-4; 1927, No. 5-6; departmental edition - M., “ZiF”, 1927) - film produced
• “The Last Man from Atlantis” (“World Pathfinder”, 1926, No. 5-8; departmental edition - M., “ZiF”, 1927)
• “Lord of the World” (“Gudok”, 1926, 19-24, 26-31 Oct., 2-6, 10-14, 16-18 Nov.; departmental ed. - Leningrad, “Krasnaya Gazeta”, 1929)
• “Struggle on the Air” (“Life and Communication Technology”, 1927, No. 1-9, under the title “Radiopolis”; departmental edition - M.-L., “Young Guard”, 1928)
• “Amphibian Man” (“Around the World”, 1928, No. 1-6, 11-13; departmental edition - M., “ZiF”, 1928) - film produced
• “Air Seller” (“Around the World”, 1929, No. 4-13) - film directed
• “The Man Who Lost Face” (“Around the World”, 1929, No. 19-25)
• “Underwater farmers” (“Around the World”, 1930, No. 9-23)
• “Leap into Nothing” (departmental ed. - L.-M., “Young Guard”, 1933)
• “Airship” (“Around the World”, 1934, No. 10-12, 1935, No. 1-6)
• “The Wonderful Eye” (department ed. - K.: Molodyiy Bilshovik, 1935, in Ukrainian; translation by I. Vasiliev - Selected science fiction works in 2 volumes. M., “Young Guard”, 1956. T. 1)
• “Star of KETS” (“Around the World”, 1936, No. 2-11; departmental edition - M.-L.: Detizdat, 1940)
• “Heavenly Guest” (“Lenin Sparks”, 1937, Dec. 17-27; 1938, Jan. 4-29, 9, Feb. 27, March 3-27, Apr. 3-21, May 5-27, 3- June 21, July 3)
• “Under the Sky of the Arctic” (“Into the Battle for Equipment!”, 1938, No. 4-7, 9-12; 1939, No. 1-2, 4; previously an excerpt entitled “Prisoners of Fire” - “Around the World”, 1936 , No. 1; excerpt entitled “Underground City” - “Around the World”, 1937, No. 9)
• “Laboratory Dublve” (“Around the World”, 1938, No. 7-9, 11-12; “Bolshevik Word”, 1939, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 26, 28 Jan., 4, 8, 10, 15, 21 February, 4, 6 March [publication not completed])
• “The Man Who Found His Face” (departmental ed. - Leningrad, “Soviet Writer”, 1940)
• “Ariel” (department ed. - Leningrad, “Soviet Writer”, 1941) - film produced

Stories

• “Eternal Bread” (“Struggle on the Air.” M.-L., “Young Guard”, 1928)
• “Golden Mountain” (“Struggle of the Worlds” (L.), 1929, No. 2)
• “The Earth is Burning” (“Around the World”, 1931, No. 30-36)
• “The Witches’ Castle” (“Young Collective Farmer”, 1939, No. 5-7)

Stories

• “Neither life nor death” (“World Pathfinder”, 1926, No. 5-6)
• “Ideophone” (“World Pathfinder”, 1926, No. 6, signature: A. Rom)
• "White Savage" (World Pathfinder, 1926, No. 7)
• "Hunt for Ursa Major"(Around the World, 1927, No. 4)
• “Sesame, open!!!” (“The World Pathfinder”, 1928, No. 4, signature: A. Rom; “Around the World”, 1928, No. 49, under the title. "Electric Servant", caption: A. Rome)
• “Death's Head” (“Around the World”, 1928, No. 17-22)
• “Ancestor Instinct” (“On Land and Sea”, 1929, No. 1-2)
• “Doomsday” (“Around the World”, 1929, No. 1-4,7)
• “Keep to the West!” (“Knowledge is power”, 1929, No. 11)
• “Is it easy to be cancer?” (“Around the World”, 1929, No. 13, signature: A. Rom)
• “Lapel remedy” (“Around the World”, 1929, No. 27)
• “In the pipe” (“Around the World”, 1929, No. 33, signature: A. Rom)
• “The Imperishable World” (“Knowledge is power”, 1930, No. 2)
• "City of the Winner" (World Pathfinder, 1930, No. 4)
• “VTsBID” (“Knowledge is power”, 1930, No. 6-7)
• “Green Symphony” (“Around the World”, 1930, No. 22-24)
• “On the pillars of air” (“Struggle of the Worlds”, 1931, No. 1)
• “Sunny Horses” (“Nature and People”, 1931, No. 19-20, signature: Arbel)
• “Correspondence Engineer” (“Revolution and Nature”, 1931, No. 2 (21))
• “Kite” (“Knowledge is power”, 1931, No. 2)
• “Storm” (“Revolution and Nature”, 1931, No. 3-5)
• “Stronger than God” (“Nature and People”, 1931, No. 10, signature: Arbel)
• “Devil's Swamp” (“Knowledge is power”, 1931, No. 15)
• “Extraordinary Incidents” (“Hedgehog”, 1933, No. 9-11)
• “Record flight” (“Hedgehog”, 1933, No. 10)
• “Meeting the New Year, 1954” (“Hedgehog”, 1933, No. 12)
• “Blind Flight” (“Ural Pathfinder” [Sverdlovsk], 1935, No. 1; pp. 27-34)
• “The Lost Island” (“Young Proletarian”, 1935, No. 12)
• "Mr. Laughter" (Around the World, 1937, No. 5)
• “Invisible Light” (“Around the World”, 1938, No. 1, signature: A. Romanovich)
• “Horned Mammoth” (“Around the World”, 1938, No. 3)
• “Anatomical Groom” (“Bolshevik Word”, 1940, February 12; “Leningrad”, 1940, No. 6)
• Professor Wagner's inventions
  • “The Man Who Doesn’t Sleep” (“The Head of Professor Dowell.” M., “ZiF”, 1926)
  • “Guest from the Bookcase” (“The Head of Professor Dowell.” M., “ZiF”, 1926)
  • “Above the Abyss” (“Around the World”, 1927, No. 2, under the title “Above the Black Abyss”; “Struggle on the Air”. M.-L., “Young Guard”, 1928)
  • “Created Legends and Apocrypha”: 1. The Incident of the Horse, 2. About Fleas, 3. Thermo Man (“World Pathfinder”, 1929, No. 4)
  • “Devil's Mill” (“World Pathfinder”, 1929, No. 9)
  • "Amba" ("World Pathfinder", 1929, No. 10)
  • "Hoyti-Toyti" ("World Pathfinder", 1930, No. 1-2)
  • “Flying carpet” (“Knowledge is power”, 1936, No. 12)

2014 marks the 130th anniversary of the birth of the famous Russian writer Alexander Romanovich Belyaev. This outstanding creator is one of the founders of the genre of science fiction literature in the Soviet Union. Even in our time, it seems simply incredible that a person in his works can depict events that will happen several decades later.

The early years of the writer

So, who is Alexander Belyaev? The biography of this person is simple and unique in its own way. But unlike the millions of copies of the author’s works, not much has been written about his life.

Alexander Belyaev was born on March 4, 1884 in the city of Smolensk. In the family of an Orthodox priest, from childhood the boy was taught to love music, photography, and developed an interest in reading adventure novels and studying foreign languages.

Having graduated from theological seminary at the insistence of his father, the young man chooses the path to law, in which he has good success.

First steps in literature

While earning decent money in the legal field, Alexander Belyaev began to become more interested in works of art, travel and theater. He is also actively involved in directing and dramaturgy. In 1914, his debut play “Grandma Moira” was published in the Moscow children's magazine Protalinka.

An insidious disease

In 1919, tuberculous pleurisy suspended the young man’s plans and actions. Alexander Belyaev struggled with this disease for more than six years. The writer tried his best to eradicate this infection within himself. Due to unsuccessful treatment, it developed which led to paralysis of the legs. As a result, of the six years spent in bed, the patient spent three years in a cast. The indifference of the young wife further undermined the writer's morale. During this period, this is no longer the carefree, cheerful and cheerful Alexander Belyaev. His biography is full of tragic life moments. In 1930, his six-year-old daughter Lyuda died, and his second daughter Svetlana fell ill with rickets. Against the backdrop of these events, the illness tormenting Belyaev is also worsening.

Throughout his life, battling his illness, this man found strength and immersed himself in the study of literature, history, foreign languages ​​and medicine.

Long-awaited success

In 1925, while living in Moscow, the aspiring writer published the story “The Head of Professor Dowell” in Rabochaya Gazeta. And from that moment on, the works of Alexander Belyaev were published en masse in the then famous magazines “World Pathfinder”, “Knowledge is Power” and “Around the World”.

During his stay in Moscow, the young talent creates many magnificent novels - “Amphibian Man”, “The Last Man from Atlantis”, “Island of Lost Ships” and “Struggle on the Air”.

At the same time, Belyaev is published in the unusual newspaper “Gudok”, in which people like M.A. also left their mark. Bulgakov, E.P. Petrov, I.A. Ilf, V.P. Kataev,

Later, after moving to Leningrad, he published the books “The Wonderful Eye”, “Underwater Farmers”, “Lord of the World”, as well as the stories “The Inventions of Professor Wagner”, which Soviet citizens read with rapture.

The last days of the prose writer's life

The Belyaev family lived in the suburbs of Leningrad, the city of Pushkin, and found themselves under occupation. The weakened body could not withstand the terrible hunger. In January 1942, Alexander Belyaev passed away. After some time, the writer’s relatives were deported to Poland.

Before today It remains a mystery where Alexander Belyaev was buried, short biography which is filled with man’s constant struggle for life. And yet, in honor of the talented prose writer, a memorial stele was erected in Pushkin at the Kazan cemetery.

The novel “Ariel” is Belyaev’s last creation; it was published by the “Modern Writer” publishing house shortly before the author’s death.

"Life after death

More than 70 years have passed since the Russian science fiction writer passed away, but his memory lives on in his works to this day. At one time, the work of Alexander Belyaev was subjected to strict criticism, and sometimes he heard mocking reviews. However, the science fiction writer’s ideas, which previously seemed ridiculous and scientifically impossible, eventually convinced even the most inveterate skeptics of the opposite.

Many films have been made based on the novels of the prose writer. Thus, since 1961, eight films have been filmed, some of them are part of the classics of Soviet cinema - “The Amphibian Man”, “The Testament of Professor Dowell”, “The Island of Lost Ships” and “The Air Seller”.

The story of Ichthyander

Perhaps the most famous work A.R. Belyaev’s novel “Amphibian Man,” which was written in 1927. It was he, along with “The Head of Professor Dowell,” that H.G. Wells highly appreciated.

Belyaev was inspired to create “Amphibian Man” by, firstly, memories of reading the novel “Iktaner and Moisette” by the French writer Jean de la Hire, and secondly, a newspaper article about the trial taking place in Argentina in the case of a doctor who conducted various experiments over people and animals. Today, it is practically impossible to establish the name of the newspaper and the details of the process. But this once again proves that, when creating his science fiction works, Alexander Belyaev tried to rely on real life facts and events.

In 1962, directors V. Chebotarev and G. Kazansky filmed “Amphibian Man.”

"The Last Man from Atlantis"

One of the author’s very first works, “The Last Man from Atlantis,” did not go unnoticed in Soviet and world literature. In 1927, it was included in Belyaev’s first author’s collection along with “The Island of Lost Ships.” From 1928 to 1956, the work was forgotten, and only since 1957 it was republished several times in the territory of the Soviet Union.

The idea of ​​​​searching for the disappeared Atlantean civilization dawned on Belyaev after reading an article in the French newspaper Le Figaro. Its content was such that in Paris there was a society for the study of Atlantis. At the beginning of the twentieth century, such associations were quite common; they enjoyed increased interest among the population. The insightful Alexander Belyaev decided to take advantage of this. The science fiction writer used the note as a prologue to “ To the last man from Atlantis." The work consists of two parts and is perceived by the reader quite simply and excitingly. The material for writing the novel was drawn from the book by Roger Devigne “The Vanished Continent. Atlantis, the sixth part of the world."

Prophecies of a science fiction writer

When comparing the predictions of science fiction representatives, it is important to note that scientific ideas books by Soviet writer Alexander Belyaev were sold at 99 percent.

So, main idea novel "The Head of Professor Dowell" became the possibility of reviving the human body after death. Several years after the publication of this work, Sergei Bryukhonenko, the great Soviet physiologist, carried out similar experiments. A widespread achievement in medicine today - surgical restoration of the lens of the eye - was also foreseen by Alexander Belyaev more than fifty years ago.

The novel "Amphibian Man" became prophetic in scientific developments technologies for prolonged human stay under water. Thus, in 1943, the French scientist Jacques-Yves Cousteau patented the first scuba gear, thereby proving that Ichthyander is not such an unattainable image.

Successful tests of the first in the thirties of the twentieth century in Great Britain, as well as the creation psychotropic weapons- all this was described by the science fiction writer in the book “Lord of the World” back in 1926.

The novel “The Man Who Lost Face” tells the story of the successful development of plastic surgery and the ethical problems that arose in connection with this. In the story, the state governor transforms into a black man, taking upon himself all the burdens of racial discrimination. Here we can draw a certain parallel in the destinies of the mentioned hero and the famous American singer Michael Jackson, who, fleeing unjust persecution, underwent a considerable number of operations to change the color of his skin.

All my creative life Belyaev struggled with the disease. Deprived of physical capabilities, he tried to reward the heroes of books unusual abilities: communicate without words, fly like birds, swim like fish. But infecting the reader with interest in life, in something new - isn’t this the true talent of a writer?