Nikolai Ostrovsky
Encyclopedia
Nikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky (29 September 1904 – 22 December 1936) was a Soviet socialist realist writer, who published his works during the Stalin
era. He is best known for his renowned novel How the Steel Was Tempered
on the Russian Civil War
.
in the Volyn' governorate in Ukraine (Volhynia
), then part of the Russian Empire, into a Ukrainian working class family. He attended a parochial school until he was nine and was an honor student. In 1914, his family moved to the railroad town of Shepetivka
where Ostrovsky started working in the kitchens at the railroad station, a timber yard, then becoming a stoker
's mate and then an electrician at the local power station. In 1917, at the age of thirteen he became a Bolshevik
party activist. At the same period he contracted ankylosing spondylitis
which would later blind and paralyze him.
According to the official biography, when the Germans occupied the town in the spring of 1918, Ostrovsky ran errands for the local Bolshevik
underground. In July 1918 he joined the Komsomol
and the Red Army
in August. He served in the Kotovsky cavalry brigade. In 1920 he was reportedly wounded near Lviv
and contracted typhus. He returned to the army only to be wounded again and was demobilized on medical grounds. However, in the autobiography written by Ostrovsky himself, he does not mention that he had served in the Red Army.
In 1921, he began working in railway workshops of Kiev as an electrician
and as the secretary of the local Komsomol.
Suffering from rheumatism
and typhus
, in August 1922 he was sent to Berdyansk, a resort on the Sea of Azov
, for treatment. In October 1922 he was officially declared an invalid; however he continued working. In 1923 he was appointed Commissar
of the Red Army's Second Training Battalion and Komsomol secretary for Berezdov in western Ukraine. In January 1924 he went to Izyaslav as the head of Komsomol district committee and in August 1924 he joined the Communist Party. In 1925, with his health rapidly declining, he went to Kharkov
for medical treatment and in May 1926 he went to a sanatorium
in the Crimea. By December 1926 polyarthritis
deprived him of almost all mobility and be became virtually bedridden. In December 1927 Ostrovsky began a correspondence course at the Sverdlov Communist University in Moscow
that he completed it in June 1929. In August, he lost his vision.
Undaunted by his immobility and blindness, in 1930, he began work on first novel, How the Steel Was Tempered
, which became renowned and influential in the Communist world. He also wrote articles for newspapers and journals and spoke often on the radio. In April 1932 he became a member of the Moscow branch of the Association of Proletarian Writers
and in June 1934 he joined the Union of Soviet Writers
. On October 1, 1935, he was awarded the Order of Lenin
.
After suffering for years from paralysis, illness and blindness due to congenital ankylosing spondylitis as well as complications after the typhus, Ostrovsky died on 22 December 1936, aged 32. His death did not allow him to complete his second novel, Born of the Storm
on the Russian Civil War
in Ukraine
.
is considered one the most influential works of Communist literature. In Moscow
during the Communist period the Ostrovsky Museum and the Ostrovsky Humanitarian centre were built. They preserve his study and bedroom, while other exhibits include showcases of the achievements of disabled people like Nikolai Fenomenov and Ludmilla Rogova.
Joseph 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...
era. He is best known for his renowned novel How the Steel Was Tempered
How the Steel Was Tempered
How the Steel Was Tempered is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky during Joseph Stalin's era. Pavel Korchagin is the central character.- Analysis :...
on the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
.
Life
Ostrovsky was born in the village of Viliya (Russian: Вилия) near OstrohOstroh
Ostroh is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine, located on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the administrative center of the Ostroh Raion and is itself designated as a special administrative subordination within the oblast...
in the Volyn' governorate in Ukraine (Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
), then part of the Russian Empire, into a Ukrainian working class family. He attended a parochial school until he was nine and was an honor student. In 1914, his family moved to the railroad town of Shepetivka
Shepetivka
Shepetivka is a town located on the Huska River in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast of Western Ukraine. The city's population is 48,212 . Shepetivka is a town of oblast subordinance, and the administrative center of Shepetivka Raion .Shepetivka is an important railway junction with five intersecting...
where Ostrovsky started working in the kitchens at the railroad station, a timber yard, then becoming a stoker
Stoker
A stoker is "one who stokes".Stoker may also refer to:* A fireplace poker* Mechanical stoker - a coal-feeding device on a steam locomotive...
's mate and then an electrician at the local power station. In 1917, at the age of thirteen he became a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
party activist. At the same period he contracted ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis , previously known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev syndrome, and Marie-Strümpell disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures...
which would later blind and paralyze him.
According to the official biography, when the Germans occupied the town in the spring of 1918, Ostrovsky ran errands for the local Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
underground. In July 1918 he joined the Komsomol
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
and the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in August. He served in the Kotovsky cavalry brigade. In 1920 he was reportedly wounded near Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and contracted typhus. He returned to the army only to be wounded again and was demobilized on medical grounds. However, in the autobiography written by Ostrovsky himself, he does not mention that he had served in the Red Army.
In 1921, he began working in railway workshops of Kiev as an electrician
Electrician
An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...
and as the secretary of the local Komsomol.
Suffering from rheumatism
Rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the joints and connective tissue. The study of, and therapeutic interventions in, such disorders is called rheumatology.-Terminology:...
and typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
, in August 1922 he was sent to Berdyansk, a resort on the Sea of Azov
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...
, for treatment. In October 1922 he was officially declared an invalid; however he continued working. In 1923 he was appointed Commissar
Commissar
Commissar is the English transliteration of an official title used in Russia from the time of Peter the Great.The title was used during the Provisional Government for regional heads of administration, but it is mostly associated with a number of Cheka and military functions in Bolshevik and Soviet...
of the Red Army's Second Training Battalion and Komsomol secretary for Berezdov in western Ukraine. In January 1924 he went to Izyaslav as the head of Komsomol district committee and in August 1924 he joined the Communist Party. In 1925, with his health rapidly declining, he went to Kharkov
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
for medical treatment and in May 1926 he went to a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
in the Crimea. By December 1926 polyarthritis
Polyarthritis
Polyarthritis is any type of arthritis which involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It is usually associated with autoimmune conditions.Polyarthritis may be experienced at any age and is not gender specific.-Causes:...
deprived him of almost all mobility and be became virtually bedridden. In December 1927 Ostrovsky began a correspondence course at the Sverdlov Communist University 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...
that he completed it in June 1929. In August, he lost his vision.
Undaunted by his immobility and blindness, in 1930, he began work on first novel, How the Steel Was Tempered
How the Steel Was Tempered
How the Steel Was Tempered is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky during Joseph Stalin's era. Pavel Korchagin is the central character.- Analysis :...
, which became renowned and influential in the Communist world. He also wrote articles for newspapers and journals and spoke often on the radio. In April 1932 he became a member of the Moscow branch of the Association of Proletarian Writers
Russian Association of Proletarian Writers
The Russian Association of Proletarian Writers, also known under its transliterated abbreviation RAPP was an official creative union in the Soviet Union established in January 1925....
and in June 1934 he joined the Union of Soviet Writers
USSR Union of Writers
The USSR Union of Writers, or Union of Soviet Writers was a creative union of professional writers in the USSR. It was founded in 1932 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party after disbanding a number of other writers' organizations: RAPP, Proletkult, and VOAPP.The aim of...
. On October 1, 1935, he was awarded the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
.
After suffering for years from paralysis, illness and blindness due to congenital ankylosing spondylitis as well as complications after the typhus, Ostrovsky died on 22 December 1936, aged 32. His death did not allow him to complete his second novel, Born of the Storm
Born of the Storm
Born of the Storm is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky during Stalin's era. The novel, begun in January 1924 and concerning the Ukrainian–Soviet War, remains unfinished due to Ostrovsky's death in December 1936....
on the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Legacy
His novel How the Steel Was TemperedHow the Steel Was Tempered
How the Steel Was Tempered is a socialist realist novel written by Nikolai Ostrovsky during Joseph Stalin's era. Pavel Korchagin is the central character.- Analysis :...
is considered one the most influential works of Communist literature. 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...
during the Communist period the Ostrovsky Museum and the Ostrovsky Humanitarian centre were built. They preserve his study and bedroom, while other exhibits include showcases of the achievements of disabled people like Nikolai Fenomenov and Ludmilla Rogova.