Leonid Tsypkin
Encyclopedia
Leonid Borisovich Tsypkin (Леонид Борисович Цыпкин) (March 20, 1926 — March 20, 1982) was a Soviet writer and medical doctor, best known for his book Summer in Baden-Baden
.
, Soviet Union
(now the capital of Belarus
), to Russia
n-Jewish parents, "both of whom were medical specialists." "At the start of Stalin's Great Terror, in 1934, Tsypkin's father, Boris, an orthopaedic surgeon, was arrested on trumped-up charges, but was later released after a suicide attempt in which he broke his back." "Two of Boris Tsypkin's sisters and a brother were also arrested, and were murdered by Stalin's NKVD."
His family suffered further during the German invasion
(Wehrmacht
) in 1941. "Boris Tsypkin's mother, another of his sisters and two nephews, perished in the ghetto." "Thanks to the intervention of his friend, Boris Tsypkin was miraculously saved though with minor injuries. With the help of a farmer who was his patient Boris Tsypkin escaped from Minsk
with his wife and eleven-year-old son Leonid."
's anti-Semitic movement. In 1957 they got the permission to live in Moscow
.
While practicing medicine, Tsypkin "considered abandoning medicine to become a writer [and in] his early years he had produced some poetry and fiction, but in 1969, after winning a Doctor of Science degree, he was granted a salary increase, which freed him from part-time work and thus allowed him to get down to writing in earnest." "Over the following decade he wrote sketches and stories, and two autobiographical novellas, none of which was published in his lifetime."
After his son and daughter-in-law emigrated to America in 1977, Tsypkin was demoted to the post of junior medical researcher. He and his family were denied permission to leave
the Soviet Union on two occasions, in 1979 and 1981. Tsypkin died at the age of 56 of a heart attack in Moscow.
Summer in Baden-Baden is a fictional account of Fjodor Dostoyevsky
's stay in Germany with his wife Anna. Depictions of the Dostoyevskys' honeymoon and streaks of Fjodor's gambling mania are intercut with scenes of Fjodor's earlier life in a stream-of-consciousness style. Tsypkin knew virtually everything about Dostoyevsky, but although the details in the novel are correct, it is a work of fiction, not a biographical statement. Tsypkin writes long sentences, somewhat reminiscent of José Saramago
's style.
Summer in Baden-Baden
Summer in Baden-Baden is a book by a Soviet Jewish writer Leonid Tsypkin. It was written in the period from 1977 to 1981, but published in 2001 nearly 20 years after his death.-External links:*...
.
Early life
Tsypkin was born in MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(now the capital of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
), to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-Jewish parents, "both of whom were medical specialists." "At the start of Stalin's Great Terror, in 1934, Tsypkin's father, Boris, an orthopaedic surgeon, was arrested on trumped-up charges, but was later released after a suicide attempt in which he broke his back." "Two of Boris Tsypkin's sisters and a brother were also arrested, and were murdered by Stalin's NKVD."
His family suffered further during the German invasion
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
) in 1941. "Boris Tsypkin's mother, another of his sisters and two nephews, perished in the ghetto." "Thanks to the intervention of his friend, Boris Tsypkin was miraculously saved though with minor injuries. With the help of a farmer who was his patient Boris Tsypkin escaped from Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
with his wife and eleven-year-old son Leonid."
Career
"When the war was over Leonid returned with his parents to Minsk, where Leonid graduated from medical school in 1947; despite Stalin's policies of anti-Semitism, Tsypkin became a noted researcher in polio and cancer, and published more than 100 papers in scientific journals in Russia and abroad." But in 1950 the family once again went to exile because of Joseph StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's anti-Semitic movement. In 1957 they got the permission to live in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
While practicing medicine, Tsypkin "considered abandoning medicine to become a writer [and in] his early years he had produced some poetry and fiction, but in 1969, after winning a Doctor of Science degree, he was granted a salary increase, which freed him from part-time work and thus allowed him to get down to writing in earnest." "Over the following decade he wrote sketches and stories, and two autobiographical novellas, none of which was published in his lifetime."
After his son and daughter-in-law emigrated to America in 1977, Tsypkin was demoted to the post of junior medical researcher. He and his family were denied permission to leave
Refusenik
Refusenik originally referred to citizens of the former Soviet Union who were refused permission to emigrate.Refusenik or refusnik may also refer to:*An Israeli conscientious objector, see Refusal to serve in the Israeli military...
the Soviet Union on two occasions, in 1979 and 1981. Tsypkin died at the age of 56 of a heart attack in Moscow.
Summer in Baden-Baden is a fictional account of Fjodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
's stay in Germany with his wife Anna. Depictions of the Dostoyevskys' honeymoon and streaks of Fjodor's gambling mania are intercut with scenes of Fjodor's earlier life in a stream-of-consciousness style. Tsypkin knew virtually everything about Dostoyevsky, but although the details in the novel are correct, it is a work of fiction, not a biographical statement. Tsypkin writes long sentences, somewhat reminiscent of José Saramago
José Saramago
José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE was a Nobel-laureate Portuguese novelist, poet, playwright and journalist. His works, some of which can be seen as allegories, commonly present subversive perspectives on historic events, emphasizing the human factor. Harold Bloom has described Saramago as "a...
's style.