Works of Belyaev. Alexander Belyaev. The early years of the writer

Here is a one-volume edition of the most complete collection of works in the history of Russian literature by the famous science fiction writer - Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (1884-1942).
Let's make a reservation, however: complete is still conditional. The purpose of the publication is to return to the reader, first of all, all (as far as possible) of the writer’s literary texts - regardless of their literary quality.
The works are arranged in a conventionally chronological order. First come major works - novels and stories, then all the writer's stories, as well as two plays, articles and essays. In conclusion, the reader will be able to learn a lot of interesting things about the difficult life and amazing work of the writer from a memoir essay written by the daughter of Alexander Romanovich, Svetlana Alexandrovna Belyaeva.
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A. Belyaev is the only writer who has brought so many fantasies to life. Here, as an example, is a small literary and historical reference given in the collection “The Witches’ Castle” (Perm Book Publishing House, 1992). First comes the title of the story from the collection, then scientific idea, then whether it has been implemented.

"Neither life nor death"
Freezing people as a last resort against an incurable disease has been implemented.
suspended animation of live fish for transportation - carried out.
Airplane with automatic control- experimental specimens are made.
Replacement manual labor machines - implemented.
Passenger airships - implemented, but then stopped.

"Open Sesame"
Mechanical servant - implemented.
Household telecontrol - implemented.
Humanoid robots - prototypes have been created.

"Mr. Laughter"
Technology for obtaining music with specified emotional properties - experiments are underway.
Mechanical production of music - implemented using a computer. Sociology of laughter - accomplished.
Laughter technology - experiments are underway.

"Immortal World"
Ecological disaster is doable.
Disinfection with short waves - implemented.

"VTsBID"
Artificial irrigation has been implemented.
Artificial dispersal of clouds and fog has been accomplished.

"Storm"
The use of wind energy has been implemented.
Hydroelectric power stations on the Volga, Angara and Yenisei - implemented.
Hydraulic accumulator - implemented.

"The Earth is Burning"
A hydroelectric station on the Volga as a means of reclamation of arid lands has been implemented.
Plants for processing agricultural raw materials on collective farms have been implemented, but not completely.
Agricultural cities are feasible.
Power cables are feasible, but not widespread.
Electric tractors - implemented.
Air ionization is accomplished.
Biological pest control - implemented. Oil extraction from the bottom of the sea - implemented.
Floating drilling rigs - implemented.
Foam extinguishing of the fire has been completed.
Moscow-port - accomplished.

The book's nine stories contain approximately 52 science fiction ideas. Of these, 42 ideas have been implemented to date, although not to the stage of experimental samples. 10 ideas have been discarded or remain fantastic.
The writer's daughter Svetlana Aleksandrovna Belyaeva

At one time, the writer Alexander Belyaev preferred the financially unstable profession of a writer to the brilliant career of a lawyer. In his works, the science fiction writer predicted such scientific discoveries, such as the creation of artificial organs, the emergence of study systems earth's crust and the emergence of orbital space stations.

Throughout his life, Soviet criticism ridiculed his seemingly insane prophecies, not suspecting that in his novels, short stories and tales, the creator, who had a keen sense of the world, lifted the veil of secrecy, allowing readers to see the world of the coming future.

Childhood and youth

One of the founders of Soviet science fiction literature was born on March 16, 1884 in the hero city of Smolensk. In the Belyaev family, besides Alexander, there were two more children. His sister Nina died in childhood from sarcoma, and his brother Vasily, a student at the veterinary institute, drowned while boating.

The writer's parents were deeply religious people, often helping poor relatives and pilgrims, which is why there were always a lot of people in their house. Alexander grew up restless, loved all kinds of pranks and jokes. The boy was unbridled in his games and hobbies. The consequence of one of his pranks was a serious eye injury, which subsequently led to deterioration of vision.

Belyaev was an enthusiastic person. From an early age he was attracted to the illusory world of sounds. It is known for certain that the writer learned to play the violin and piano without anyone’s help. There were days when Sasha, skipping breakfast and afternoon tea, selflessly played music in his room, ignoring the events happening around him.

The list of hobbies also included photography and learning the basics acting. The Belyaevs' home theater toured not only around the city, but also around its environs. Once, during the visit of the capital’s troupe to Smolensk, the writer replaced a sick artist and played in his place in a couple of performances. After the resounding success, he was offered to stay in the troupe, but for some unknown reason he refused.

Despite the craving for creative self-realization, by the decision of the head of the family, Alexander was sent to study at a theological seminary, from which he graduated in 1901. The young man refused to continue his religious education and, cherishing the dream of becoming a lawyer, entered the Demidov Lyceum in Yaroslavl. After the death of the father, the family's funds were limited. Alexander took on any job to pay for his studies. Until release from educational institution He managed to work as a tutor, a theater decorator, and even a circus violinist.

After graduating from the Demidov Lyceum, Belyaev received the position of private attorney in Smolensk. Having established itself as good specialist, Alexander Romanovich acquired a regular clientele. Stable income allowed him to furnish his apartment, acquire an expensive collection of paintings, collect a library, and also travel around Europe. It is known that the writer was especially inspired by the beauty of France, Italy and Venice.

Literature

In 1914, Belyaev left jurisprudence and devoted himself to theater and literature. This year he made his debut not only as a theater director, participating in the production of the opera “The Sleeping Princess,” but also published his first art book(before this there were reports, reviews, notes) - a children's play-fairy tale in four acts “Grandma Moira”.

In 1923, the writer moved to Moscow. During the Moscow period, Belyaev published his fascinating works in the genre of fiction in magazines and separate books: “The Island of Lost Ships”, “ Last Man from Atlantis", "Struggle in the Air", "Amphibian Man" and "The Head of Professor Dowell".

In the last novel, the conflict is based on the personal experience of a man, encased in plaster and paralyzed, having no control over his body and living as if without a torso, with only one living head. During the Leningrad period, the writer wrote the works “Leap into Nothing”, “Lord of the World”, “Underwater Farmers” and “The Wonderful Eye”, as well as the play “Alchemists”.

In 1937, Belyaev was no longer published. There was nothing left to live on. He went to Murmansk, where he got a job as an accountant on a fishing boat. Depression became his muse, and the cornered creator wrote a novel about his unfulfilled dreams, giving it the name "Ariel". In the book, published in 1941, experiments with levitation are carried out on the main character and, in the course of successful experiments, he gains the ability to fly.

Personal life

The writer met his first wife, Anna Ivanovna Stankevich, while still studying at the Lyceum. True, this union was short-lived. A couple of months after the wedding, a person who had not had enough fun cheated on her husband with his friend. It is worth noting that, despite the betrayal, after the divorce, the former lovers kept in touch.

It was Anna who introduced the science fiction writer to his second wife, a student at the Moscow Higher Women’s Courses Vera Vasilyevna Prytkova. For a long time the young people communicated by correspondence, and after a personal meeting, following the lead of the emotions raging inside, they legitimized their relationship. It is known that the love fuse for the new chosen one of the author of the novel “The Air Seller” did not last long. After Vera learned about her husband’s illness, their amorous story was put to rest.

In 1915, fate dealt Belyaev a cruel blow, which forever disrupted the usual course of life and broke it into two parts. The writer fell ill with bone tuberculosis of the vertebrae, complicated by paralysis of the legs. The search for qualified medical personnel led the writer’s mother, Nadezhda Vasilievna, to Yalta, where she transported her son. The doctors who dressed the body of the 31-year-old science fiction writer in a plaster corset did not give any guarantees, stating that Alexander could remain crippled for life.

Belyaev's strong will did not allow him to lose heart. Despite the torment he experienced and unclear prospects, he did not give up, continuing to write poetry, which was often published in the local newspaper. The creator also engaged in self-education (studied foreign languages, medicine, biology, history) and read a lot (I gave preference to creativity, and).

As a result, the master of the pen defeated the disease, and the disease subsided for a while. During the six years that the science fiction writer was bedridden, the country changed beyond recognition. After Alexander Romanovich firmly stood on his feet, the writer, with his characteristic natural energy, became involved in the creative process. Within a couple of months, he managed to work as a teacher in orphanage, and a librarian, and even a criminal investigation inspector.

In Yalta, the creator met his third wife, Margarita Konstantinovna Magnushevskaya, who became his faithful companion life and an irreplaceable assistant. Together with her, Belyaev moved to Moscow in 1923. There he got a job at the People's Commissariat of Posts and Telegraphs, and in free time was engaged in writing.

On March 15, 1925, his wife gave birth to his daughter Lyudmila, who died at the age of 6 from meningitis. The second heiress, Svetlana, was born in 1929 and, despite the illness inherited from the head of the family, managed to realize herself in life.

Death

Weakened by illness, swollen from hunger and cold, Alexander Romanovich died on the night of January 5-6, 1942. Margarita Konstantinovna, two weeks after her husband’s death, managed to draw up documents, get a coffin and take his body to the crypt located at the Kazan cemetery. There, the remains of the famous science fiction writer, along with dozens of others, were waiting in line for burial, which was scheduled for March.

In February, the Germans took the writer’s wife and daughter captive to Poland. When they returned to their native land, former neighbor gave his wife the writer's glasses that miraculously survived. On the bow Margarita found a tightly wrapped piece of paper on which was written:

“Don’t look for my traces on this earth. I'm waiting for you in heaven. Yours, Ariel."

To this day, biographers have never found the writer’s burial place. It is known that the marble stele at the Kazan cemetery was installed by the widow of the author of the novel “Leap into Nothing”. The muse of Alexander Romanovich, having discovered on the site the grave of a friend who died on the same day as her lover, placed a symbolic monument next to it, which depicts an open book and a quill pen.

Belyaev was called the domestic Jules Verne, but, despite all the flattery of such a comparison, he was and remains a distinctive, original writer, by and large, unlike anyone else, for which he has remained loved by many generations of readers for decades.

Bibliography

• 1913 - “Ascent of Vesuvius”
• 1926 - “Lord of the World”
• 1926 - “Island of Lost Ships”
• 1926 – “Neither life nor death”
• 1928 - “Amphibian Man”
• 1928 – “Eternal Bread”
• 1933 – “Leap into Nothing”
• 1934 – “Airship”
• 1937 – “The Head of Professor Dowell”
• 1938 – “Horned Mammoth”
• 1939 – “The Witches’ Castle”
• 1939 – “Under the Arctic Sky”
• 1940 – “The Man Who Found His Face”
• 1941 – “Ariel”
• 1967 – “I see everything, I hear everything, I know everything”

Alexander Romanovich Belyaev(March 4 (16), 1884 - January 6, 1942) - Soviet science fiction writer, one of the founders of Soviet science fiction literature. Among his most famous novels are: “The Head of Professor Dowell”, “The Amphibian Man”, “Ariel”, “The Star of KEC” and many others. He is sometimes called the Russian "Jules Verne".

Born on March 4 (16 NS) in Smolensk in the family of a priest. Since childhood, I read a lot and was fond of adventure literature, especially Jules Verne. Subsequently, he flew airplanes of one of the first designs and made gliders himself.

In 1901 he graduated from theological seminary, but did not become a priest; on the contrary, he left there as a convinced atheist. He loved painting, music, theater, played in amateur performances, took up photography, and studied technology.

He entered the legal lyceum in Yaroslavl and at the same time studied violin at the conservatory. To earn money for his studies, he played in a circus orchestra, painted theatrical scenery, and studied journalism. In 1906, after graduating from the Lyceum, he returned to Smolensk and worked as a lawyer. Acted as music critic, theater reviewer in the Smolensky Vestnik newspaper.

He never stopped dreaming of distant countries and, having saved money, in 1913 he traveled to Italy, France, and Switzerland. He retained the impressions from this trip for the rest of his life. Returning to Smolensk, he worked at the Smolensky Vestnik, and a year later became the editor of this publication. A serious illness - bone tuberculosis - confined him to bed for six years, three of which he was in a cast. Not giving in to despair, he is engaged in self-education: he studies foreign languages, medicine, biology, history, technology, and reads a lot. Having overcome the disease, in 1922 he returned to a full life, serving as an inspector for juvenile affairs. On the advice of doctors, he lives in Yalta, works as a teacher in an orphanage.

In 1923 he moved to Moscow and 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.”

In the 1920s these came out famous works, like “Island of Lost Ships”, “Amphibian Man”, “Above the Abyss”, “Struggle in the Air”. He writes essays about great Russian scientists - Lomonosov, Mendeleev, Pavlov, Tsiolkovsky.

In 1931 he moved to Leningrad, continuing to work hard. He was especially interested in the problems of space exploration and ocean depths. In 1934, after reading Belyaev’s novel “Airship,” Tsiolkovsky wrote: “... wittily written and scientific enough for fantasy. Let me express my pleasure to Comrade Belyaev.”

In 1933 the book “Leap into Nothing” was published, 1935 - “The Second Moon”. In the 1930s, “KETS Star”, “Wonderful Eye”, “Under the Arctic Sky” were written.

He spent the last years of his life near Leningrad, in the city of Pushkin. I met War in the hospital.

BELYAEV ALEXANDER ROMANOVICH (1884 - 1942)

A. Belyaev was born in Smolensk, into the family of a priest, in which an atmosphere of extreme piety reigned. The parents were deeply religious people, inclined to provide charity to poor relatives and pilgrims, which is why there were always a lot of people in the house. There were two more children in the family: sister Nina died in childhood from sarcoma; brother Vasily, while a student at the veterinary institute, drowned while boating. As a child, Alexander grew up restless, loved all kinds of pranks and jokes; The result of one of his pranks was a serious eye injury with further damage to vision. The boy was unbridled in his games and hobbies, so his parents tried to teach him order and a serious attitude to business.

At the request of his father, Alexander was sent to study at a theological seminary, which he graduated from in 1901, but the young man refused to continue his religious education and entered the Demidov Lyceum in Yaroslavl, intending to become a lawyer. Soon the father died, the family’s funds were limited, and there was not enough money for education. I had to look for an opportunity to earn money - Alexander gave lessons, painted scenery for the theater, and played the violin in the circus orchestra.

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 could selflessly play music for hours. Another “fun” was photography, and in the most eccentric version - taking “horror photographs” (that’s how the picture he took existed “ human head on a platter in blue tones"). 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.

A significant part of life young man turned out to be connected with the theater, which he loved since childhood. He himself could act as a playwright, a director, and an 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 success was complete, K. Stanislavsky even invited A. Belyaev to stay in the troupe, but for an unknown reason he refused.

Mystical coincidences played a certain role in the life of A. Belyaev. One incident turned out to be tragic: once, while visiting his uncle, the future writer, in the company of relatives, went for a boat ride. Only brother Vasya did not go with them. Before getting into the boat, Alexander grabbed a piece of clay from both of them, from which he began to sculpt a head - random features turned out to be extremely similar to the face of his brother who remained on the shore, but the expression on his face turned out to be somehow frozen, lifeless. Out of frustration, Alexander threw the cast into the water, and at the same moment felt uneasy. He hurried ashore, claiming that something had happened to Vasya. The others returned with him. At the house, a tearful aunt said that Vasya had drowned, and as it turned out, this happened precisely at the moment when the cast was thrown into the water. What happened made a strange and terrible impression on everyone.

After graduating from the Demidov Lyceum, A. Belyaev received the position of a 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; visited France, Italy, visited Venice.

At the age of thirty-five, A. Belyaev fell ill with pleurisy. The treatment was unsuccessful - paralysis of the legs and tuberculosis of the spine developed. The disease was very difficult. 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, his mother and old nanny ended up in Yalta. There in the hospital he began to write poetry. Gradually there was some improvement.

To live, it was necessary to work. At first, A. Belyaev became a teacher in an orphanage, then he was given the position of criminal investigation inspector - he organized a photo laboratory there, and later he 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 and got a job as a legal consultant. In his free time, he tried to study literature - as a result, his first story, “The Head of Professor Dowell” (1925), began to be published in the newspaper “Gudok” with a sequel. The story was later accepted by World Pathfinder magazine. The publication entailed the establishment of close ties, and then cooperation with the magazines “World Pathfinder” and “Around the World”. 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 illness made itself felt again, and I had to move from rainy Leningrad to sunny Kyiv. Living conditions in Kyiv turned out to be better, but obstacles arose for creativity - manuscripts there were accepted only in Ukrainian, so they had to be sent to Moscow or Leningrad.

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: ignorance Ukrainian language made life in Kyiv unbearable. Constant everyday troubles prevented him from writing, and yet A. Belyaev created during these years the play “Alchemists...” and the novel “Leap into Nothing.”

Besides everyday problems and health problems, big problems arose with the publication of works: editors mercilessly abridged and remade them. At that time, a particularly important topic in literature was considered technical progress. To please this, the story “KETS Star,” according to the recollections of the writer’s daughter, “was so shortened that it turned... into a technical reference book.” Only much later was it possible to restore and then enlarge the original author's text.

A. Belyaev’s work is to a certain extent uneven: his early works are more interesting than his later ones; ethical questions often turn out to be more entertaining than the most original scientific and technical hypotheses, and romantic pathos is more attractive than a detective plot. 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? The novels “The Head of Professor Dowell”, “Lord of the World”, “The Man Who Lost Face”, the story “The Man Who Doesn’t Sleep”, “Hoiti-Toiti” are devoted to an attempt to solve these problems. A kind of continuation of these reflections were novels-hypotheses that place a person in different environments existence: ocean ("Amphibian Man"), air ("Ariel"). Behind all these works is the passionate desire of a disabled writer to challenge the physical limitations of the boundless human spirit, a hymn to unlimited freedom and the hope that such freedom makes a person better, more moral, more noble.

“Groundless fantasies that distract from the urgent tasks of socialist construction” were sharply criticized by the authorities, which in the late period of creativity forced A. Belyaev to create works in which the main thing is a list of inventions, discoveries, technical achievements and the glorification of the communist future (“Underground farmers", "Under the Arctic Sky", "Wonderful Eye", etc.). Artistically, these works are of little interest. It is no coincidence that the writer’s true testament was his last novel in 1941 - "Ariel". It echoes famous novel A. Green's "The Shining World", in some ways continuing it and, at the same time, refuting it. The hero of the novel is endowed with the ability to fly without any scientific justification for this talent on the part of the author. The image of Ariel is the best achievement of the writer, in which the author’s faith in the unlimited creative possibilities of man was objectively realized. At the end of his life, A. Belyaev refused the technical and social problems and fully surrendered to what had always attracted him: the romantic description of a person overcoming “gravity.”

Shortly before the war, the writer underwent another operation, so he refused the offer to evacuate when the war began. The city of Pushkin (a suburb of Leningrad), where he lived in last years A. Belyaev and his family were occupied. In January 1942, the writer died of hunger. The surviving wife and daughter of the writer were taken by the Germans to Poland.

Bibliography:

Belyaeva S. A star twinkles outside the window... - in the collection Fantastica-84. // M.: Mol.guard, 1984, p.312-347