Born on July 14, 1891 in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk in the family of a military sergeant major and a dressmaker. In the old fortress, little Sasha Volkov knew all the nooks and crannies. In his memoirs, he wrote: “I remember standing at the gates of the fortress, and the long barracks building was decorated with garlands of colored paper lanterns, rockets were flying high into the sky and scattering multi-colored balls there, fiery wheels were spinning with a hiss...” - this is how A.M. remembered. Volkov celebrating the coronation of Nikolai Romanov in Ust-Kamenogorsk in October 1894. He learned to read at the age of three, but there were few books in his father’s house, and from the age of 8, Sasha began to masterfully bind neighbors’ books, while still having the opportunity to read them. Already at this age I read Mine Reed, Jules Verne and Dickens; Of the Russian writers I loved A. S. Pushkin, M. Yu. Lermontov, N. A. Nekrasov, I. S. Nikitin. In elementary school I studied only with excellent marks, moving from class to class only with awards. At the age of 6, Volkov was immediately accepted into the second grade of the city school, and at the age of 12 he graduated as the best student. In 1910, after a preparatory course, he entered the Tomsk Teachers' Institute, from which he graduated in 1910 with the right to teach in city and higher primary schools. Alexander Volkov began working as a teacher in the ancient Altai city of Kolyvan, and then in hometown Ust-Kamenogorsk, at the school where he began his education. There he independently mastered the German and French languages.
On the eve of the revolution, Volkov tries out his pen. His first poems “Nothing makes me happy” and “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 regime” intellectuals, did not immediately accept October Revolution. But an inexhaustible faith in a bright future captures him, and together with everyone else he participates in building a new life, teaches people and learns himself. He teaches at the pedagogical courses that are opening in Ust-Kamenogorsk, at the pedagogical college. At this time he wrote a number of plays for children's theater. His funny comedies and plays “Eagle Beak”, “In a Deaf Corner”, “Village School”, “Tolya the Pioneer”, “Fern Flower”, “Home Teacher”, “Comrade from the Center” (“Modern Inspector”) and “ Trading house Schneersohn and Co. great success performed on the stages of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Yaroslavl.
In the 20s, Volkov moved to Yaroslavl to become a school director. In parallel with this, he is taking exams as an external student 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 forty years old married man, father of two children. There, in seven months, he completed the entire five-year course of the Faculty of Mathematics, after which for twenty years he was a teacher of higher mathematics at the Moscow Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold. There he taught an elective course in literature for students, continued to expand his knowledge of literature, history, geography, astronomy, and was actively involved in translations.
This is where the most unexpected turn in the life of Alexander Melentyevich took place. It all started with the fact that he, a great expert foreign languages, I decided to learn English as well. As material for exercises, he was given L. Frank Baum's book " The Amazing Wizard from Oz." He read it, told it to his two sons, and decided to translate it. But in the end, the result was not a translation, but an arrangement of a book by an American author. The writer changed some things and added some things. For example, he came up with a meeting with a cannibal, a flood and other adventures. His dog Toto started talking, the girl began to be called Ellie, and the Sage from the Land of Oz acquired a name and title - the Great and Terrible Wizard Goodwin... Many other cute, funny, sometimes almost imperceptible changes appeared. And when the translation, or, more precisely, the retelling, was completed, it suddenly became clear that this was no longer quite Baum’s “The Sage.” The American fairy tale has become just a fairy tale. And her heroes spoke Russian as naturally and cheerfully as they had spoken English half a century before. Alexander Volkov worked on the manuscript for a year and entitled it “The Wizard Emerald City" with the subtitle "Reworkings of a fairy tale American writer Frank Baum." The manuscript was sent to the famous children's writer S. Ya. Marshak, who approved it and handed it over to the publishing house, strongly advising Volkov to take up literature professionally.
Black and white illustrations for the text were made by artist Nikolai Radlov. The book was published in a circulation of twenty-five thousand copies in 1939 and immediately won the sympathy of readers. At the end of the same year, its re-edition appeared, and soon it was included in the so-called “ school series", the circulation of which was 170 thousand copies. Since 1941, Volkov became a member of the Union of Writers of the USSR.
During the war, Alexander Volkov wrote the books “Invisible Fighters” (1942, about mathematics in artillery and aviation) and “Planes at War” (1946). The creation of these works is closely connected with Kazakhstan: from November 1941 to October 1943, the writer lived and worked in Alma-Ata. Here he wrote a series of radio plays on a military-patriotic theme: “Counselor Goes to the Front”, “Timurovites”, “Patriots”, “Dead of Night”, “Sweatshirt” and others, historical essays: “Mathematics in military affairs”, “Glorious pages in the history of Russian artillery”, poems: “Red Army”, “Ballad of the Soviet pilot”, “Scouts”, “Young partisans”, “Motherland”, songs: “Marching Komsomol” , "Song of Timur's men". He wrote a lot for newspapers and radio, some of the songs he wrote were set to music by composers D. Gershfeld and O. Sandler.
In 1959, Alexander Melentyevich Volkov met the aspiring artist Leonid Vladimirsky, and “The Wizard of the Emerald City” was published with new illustrations, which were later recognized as classics. The book fell into the hands of the post-war generation in the early 60s, already in a revised form, and since then it has been constantly republished, enjoying constant success. And young readers again set off on a journey along the road paved with yellow brick...
The creative collaboration between Volkov and Vladimirsky turned out to be long-lasting and very fruitful. Working side by side for twenty years, they practically became co-authors of books - sequels to The Wizard. L. Vladimirsky became the “court artist” of the Emerald City, created by Volkov. He illustrated all five Wizard sequels.
The incredible success of Volkov's cycle, which made the author modern classic children's literature, largely delayed the “penetration” of F. Baum’s original works into the domestic market, despite the fact that subsequent books were no longer directly connected with F. Baum, only sometimes they contained partial borrowings and alterations.
"The Wizard of the Emerald City" caused a large flow of letters to the author from his young readers. The children persistently demanded that the writer continue the fairy tale about the adventures of the kind little girl Ellie and her faithful friends - the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the funny dog Totoshka. Volkov responded to letters of similar content with the books “Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers” and “Seven Underground Kings.” But reader letters continued to come with requests to continue the story. Alexander Melentyevich was forced to answer his “pushy” readers: “Many guys ask me to write more fairy tales about Ellie and her friends. I will answer this: there will be no more fairy tales about Ellie...” And the flow of letters with persistent requests to continue the fairy tales did not decrease. AND good wizard heeded the requests of his young fans. He wrote three more fairy tales - “The Fire God of the Marrans”, “The Yellow Fog” and “The Secret of the Abandoned Castle”. All six fairy tales about the Emerald City have been translated into many languages of the world with a total circulation of several tens of millions of copies.
Based on “The Wizard of the Emerald City,” the writer in 1940 wrote a play of the same name, which was staged in puppet theaters Moscow, Leningrad, and other cities. In the sixties, A. M. Volkov created a version of the play for theaters young viewer. In 1968 and subsequent years, according to a new script, “The Wizard of the Emerald City” was staged by numerous theaters across the country. The play “Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers” was performed in puppet theaters under the titles “Oorfene Deuce”, “The Defeated Oorfene Deuce” and “Heart, Mind and Courage”. In 1973, the Ekran association produced a ten-episode puppet film based on A. M. Volkov’s fairy tales “The Wizard of the Emerald City,” “Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers” and “Seven Underground Kings,” which was shown several times on All-Union Television. Even earlier, the Moscow Filmstrip Studio created filmstrips based on the fairy tales “The Wizard of the Emerald City” and “Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers.”
In the publication of A. M. Volkov’s second book “The Wonderful Ball”, which the author in its original versions called “The First Aeronaut”, Anton Semenovich Makarenko took a large part, who had just moved to live in Moscow, where he completely devoted himself to scientific and literary work. "Wonderful ball" - historical novel about the first Russian aeronaut. The impetus for its writing was a short story with a tragic ending, found by the author in an ancient chronicle. Others were no less popular in the country. historical works Alexander Melentyevich Volkov - “Two Brothers”, “Architects”, “Wanderings”, “The Tsargrad Captive”, the collection “The Wake of the Stern” (1960), dedicated to the history of 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 gone through multiple reprints.
Volkov was involved in translations of Jules Verne (“ Extraordinary Adventures expeditions of Barsak" and "Danube Pilot"), he wrote the fantastic stories "The Adventure of Two Friends in the Land of the Past" (1963, pamphlet), "Travelers in the Third Millennium" (1960), stories and essays "Petya Ivanov's Journey to an Extraterrestrial Station" , “In the Altai Mountains”, “Lopatinsky Bay”, “On the Buzhe River”, “ Birthmark", "A Lucky Day", "By the Fire", the story "And Lena was stained with blood..." (1973), and many other works.
But his books are about Fairyland tirelessly reprinted in large editions, delighting new generations of young readers... In our country, this cycle became so popular that in the 90s its sequels began to be created. This was started by Yuri Kuznetsov, who decided to continue the epic and wrote a new story - “Emerald Rain” (1992). Children's writer Sergei Sukhinov, since 1997, has published more than 20 books in the “Emerald City” series. In 1996, Leonid Vladimirsky, an illustrator of books by A. Volkov and A. Tolstoy, connected his two favorite characters in the book “Pinocchio in the Emerald City.”
§ Biography
Born on June 14, 1891 in Ust-Kamenogorsk in a military fortress, in the family of retired sergeant major Melenty Mikhailovich Volkov. At the age of 12, he graduated as the first student from the Ust-Kamenogorsk City School, 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 working as a teacher in his hometown, and in 1910 (by specialty - mathematician) he worked as a teacher in the Altai city of Kolyvan. In the 1920s he moved to Yaroslavl, where he worked as a school director. Graduated in absentia from the Faculty of Mathematics 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 the exams as an external student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. Since 1931, for twenty years since its founding, he has been a teacher, then an associate professor in the department of higher mathematics at the Moscow Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold.
Volkov was encyclopedic educated person, knew literature and history well, and spoke foreign languages.
At the age of 24, Volkov met a gymnastics and dance teacher at the gymnasium, Kaleria Gubina, at a New Year’s ball in Ust-Kamenogorsk. Two months later they got married and a year later they had a son, Vivian (died at five years old from dysentery), and three years later another son, Romuald (died at two years old 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. Began publishing in 1916. In the 1920s, his plays were performed on the stages of several provincial theaters. At the end of the 1930s he entered great literature. Member of the Writers' Union since 1941. Total circulation His works, published in many languages of the world, exceeded twenty-five million copies.
Many of Volkov's works are dedicated to outstanding personalities of the 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 and special scientific works, so he combines a fascinating plot and emotional presentation with scientific and authenticity.
One of the first children's books on historical topic“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 was imprisoned forever in the fortress, where he invented the first in Russia balloon. The book "The Wake of the Stern" tells the history of navigation from primitive times to the legendary voyages of the Viking Leif Eriksson.
Volkov liked to develop topics related to national history, not only ancient, but also modern. In the story “The Captive of Constantinople” 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 dear to the author Soviet era.
Volkov was also involved in popularizing science for schoolchildren. He published a number of entertaining stories on geography and astronomy, combining them into the collection “Earth and Sky.” The popular science book “In Search of Truth” was dedicated to the history of science, and another book was dedicated to fishing.
¶ Cycle “The Wizard of the Emerald City”
As a rule, the name Volkov is known today only from this cycle. The first book in the series was based on the book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by American children's writer Lyman Frank Baum. Volkov undertook to translate this book in order to practice studying in English. However, during the translation process, he changed some events and added new adventures of the heroes. The manuscript of the revised 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 writing stories about the girl Ellie and her friends Scarecrow, Lion, 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 classical fairy-tale characters(wizards, talking animals), and used traditional motifs (flying shoes, royal family immersed in a magical sleep, animated wooden figures, etc.).
The plots of the cycle develop themes of moral self-improvement, the power of friendship, which can create real miracles, love for the homeland, and the collective struggle for freedom and justice. Although the main actions of the cycle take place in the Magic Land, the heroes find a way out difficult situations not so much due to some kind of magical help, but rather due to one’s own knowledge, intelligence, ingenuity, and mutual assistance.
The writer had faith in the omnipotence of man-made technology, so his heroes usually defeated witchcraft with the help of various technical inventions (a gun designed by Charlie Black, a mechanical drill, the super robot Tilly-Willy).
In the 1950s, the book appeared with drawings by L. Vladimirsky, who also made illustrations for other stories in the series.
- "The Wizard of Oz" (1939)
- "Oorfene Deuce and his wooden soldiers" (1963)
- "Seven Underground Kings" (1964)
- "The Fire God of the Marrans" (1968)
- "Yellow Fog" (1970)
- "The Mystery of the Abandoned Castle" (1976, book version - 1982)
¶ Stories
- "Two Brothers" (1938-1961)
- "The Wonderful Ball (The First Balloonist)" (1940)
- "The Invisible Fighters" (1942)
- "Planes at War" (1946)
- "Way as Stern" (1960)
- "Travelers into 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
- "Petya Ivanov's journey to an extraterrestrial station"
- "In the Altai Mountains"
- "Lapatin Bay"
- "On the Buzhe River"
- "Birthmark"
- "Lucky day"
- "Campfire"
¶ Novels
- "Architects" (1954)
- Volkov A. M. Architects: A Novel / Afterword: Doctor of Historical Sciences A. A. Zimin; Drawings by I. Godin. - Reprint. - M.: Children's literature, 1986. - 384 p. - (Library series). - 100,000 copies. (Abstract: Novel from Russian history XVI century about the construction of a miracle of Russian architecture, a 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.
¶ Popular science books
- “How to catch fish with a fishing 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 the Soviet Pilot"
- "Scouts"
- "Young Partisans"
- "Motherland"
¶ Songs
- "Marching Komsomolskaya"
- "Song of the Timurites"
¶ Plays for children's theater
- "Eagle Beak"
- "In a remote corner"
- "Village School"
- "Tolya the Pioneer"
- "Fern flower"
- "Home Teacher"
- “Comrade from the center (Modern auditor)”
- "Trading house Shneersohn and Co"
¶ Radio plays (1941-1943)
- "The counselor goes to the front"
- "Timurovites"
- "Patriots"
- "Dead of Night"
- "Sweatshirt"
¶ Historical essays
- "Mathematics in Military Affairs"
- “Glorious pages in the history of Russian artillery”
¶ Translations
- Jules Verne, "The Danube Pilot"
- Jules Verne, " Extraordinary Adventures Barsak's expedition"
§ Perpetuation of memory
In 1986, the newly built street of Ust-Kamenogorsk on the left bank of the Irtysh was named after A. M. Volkov.
Alexander Melentyevich Volkov born July 14, 1891 in Ust-Kamenogorsk. 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 accepted into the second grade of the city school and at the age of 12 he graduated as the best student. At the end World War I war, he takes final exams at the Semipalatinsk gymnasium, and then graduates from Yaroslavl pedagogical institute. And already in his fifties, Alexander Melentyevich entered and brilliantly graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics of Moscow University in just 7 months. And soon he becomes a teacher of higher mathematics at one of the Moscow universities. And here the most unexpected turn in the life of Alexander Melentyevich takes place.
It all started with the fact that he, a great connoisseur of foreign languages, decided to study English. And for practice, I tried to translate the fairy tale of the American writer Frank Baum “The Wise Man from the Land of Oz.” He liked the book. He began to retell it to his two sons. At the same time, redoing something, adding something. The girl began to be called Ellie. Totoshka, having found himself in the Magic Land, spoke. And the Sage from the Land of Oz acquired a name and title - the Great and Terrible Wizard Goodwin... Many other cute, funny, sometimes almost imperceptible changes appeared. And when the translation, or, more precisely, the retelling, was completed, it suddenly became clear that this was no longer quite Baum’s “The Sage.” The American fairy tale has become just a fairy tale. And her heroes spoke Russian as naturally and cheerfully as they had spoken English half a century before.
Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak soon became acquainted with the manuscript of “The Wizard,” and then with the translator, and strongly advised him to take up literature professionally. Volkov heeded the advice. "The Wizard" was published in 1939. "The Wizard of the Emerald City" came into the hands of our generation only in the early 60s, already in a revised form, with wonderful pictures artist L. Vladimirsky. Since then, it has been republished almost every year and enjoys continued success. And young readers again set off on a journey along the road paved with yellow brick...
The incredible success of Volkov’s cycle, which made the author a modern classic of children’s literature, largely delayed the “penetration” of F. Baum’s original works into the domestic market; nevertheless, with the exception of the first story, Volkov’s cycle is the fruit of his independent imagination.
Volkov also has other works: the collection “The Wake of the Stern” (1960), dedicated to the history of navigation, about primitive times, about the death of Atlantis and the discovery of America by the Vikings; story "The Adventures of Two Friends in the Country of the Past" (1963). Volkov is also known as a translator (in particular, works by J. Verne).
- (1891 1977), Russian writer. A mathematician by training. He is best known as the author of a series of fairy tales for children: “The Wizard of the Emerald City” (1939, based on the book by the American children’s writer F. Baum “The Wise Man from Oz”), “Urfin ... encyclopedic Dictionary
- (1891 1977) Russian writer. A mathematician by training. He is best known as the author of a series of fairy tales for children: The Wizard of the Emerald City (1939, based on the book by the American children's writer F. Baum The Wise Man of Oz), Oorfene Deuce... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (1891 1977). Rus. owls prose writer, playwright, translator, more famous work. det. lit ry. Genus. in Ust-Kamenogorsk, began publishing in 1916. SP. V.'s fame was brought by his free reworking famous novel F. Bauma "Amazing... ... Large biographical encyclopedia
Alexander Melentyevich Volkov Date of birth: July 14, 1891 Place of birth: Ust-Kamenogorsk, Russian empire Date of death: July 3, 1977 Place of death: Moscow, RSFSR Citizenship: USSR Occupation: writer ... Wikipedia
Volkov, Alexander Melentievich- (1891 1977) writer. Author of a series of fairy tales for children: The Wizard of the Emerald City (1939, based on the book by American children's writer F. Baum The Wise Man of Oz), Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers (1963), The Seven Underground... ... Pedagogical terminological dictionary
Wikipedia has articles about other people with the surname Volkov. Volkov, Alexander: Volkov, Alexander Alexandrovich: Volkov, Alexander Alexandrovich (lieutenant general) (1779 1833) lieutenant general, chief of the 2nd (Moscow) district of the Corps... ... Wikipedia
Volkov is a surname formed as a patronymic from the non-church male personal name Volk. In Rus', such a nickname was often given in order to protect a person from predators. According to ancient beliefs, whoever received the name of the corresponding animal or element entered with them ... Wikipedia
- ... Wikipedia
Volkov: Wiktionary has an article “Volkov” ... Wikipedia
Books
- Constantinople captive
- Captive of Constantinople, Volkov Alexander Melentievich. Alexander Volkov recreates life with historical accuracy Ancient Rus' XI century, when the Pecheneg raids terrified the inhabitants of Chertory. Leaving in its wake burnt houses, destruction and...
Volkov Alexander Melentievich
Performed:
student of group 2B
Ustyantseva Ksenia
In the small town of Ust-Kamenogorsk,
In the old fortress, where the peasant Melenty Volkov served as a soldier, his first-born Alexander was born on July 14, 1891.
At that time, he independently mastered the German and French languages. At the end of the First World War, already called up for military service
He passed the final exams at the Semipalatinsk gymnasium as an external student. Later, the Yaroslavl Pedagogical Institute remained behind him.
The fairy tale "Oorfene Deuce and his wooden soldiers" is a continuation of A. Volkov's fairy tale "The Wizard of the Emerald City".
It tells how the evil carpenter Oorfene Deuce made wooden soldiers and conquered the Magic Land. Ellie and her uncle, sailor Charlie Black, rushed to the rescue of its inhabitants.
The fairy tale "Seven Underground Kings" continues the story of the adventures of the girl Ellie and her friends in the Magic Land. This time, friends find themselves in the kingdom of underground miners and become participants in new amazing adventures.
The fairy tale "Yellow Fog" continues the story about the amazing events taking place in the Magic Land, where the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Brave Lion live and where their little friends find themselves again.
The fairy tale “The Mystery of the Abandoned Castle” is a continuation of the books “The Wizard of the Emerald City”, “Urfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers”, “Seven Underground Kings”, “The Fire God of the Marrans”, “Yellow Fog” and completes the series of books by A.M. Volkov about the Magic Land .
Volkov has other works:
the collection “The Wake of the Stern” (1960), dedicated to the history of navigation, about primitive times, about the death of Atlantis and the discovery of America by the Vikings; story "The Adventures of Two Friends in the Country of the Past" (1963). Volkov is also known as a translator.
A permanent exhibition of the storyteller's books and letters has been prepared here.
The museum is located in the old university building, where Alexander Melentyevich once studied.
Awards
For selfless work in war and peacetime for the benefit of Soviet children's literature A.M. Volkov was awarded government awards:
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1953),
- medals "For Valiant Labor" in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945",
- “For valiant work in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V.I. Lenin",
as well as professional awards.
