Vasily Aksyonov

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Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov (Russian: Василий Павлович Аксёнов, born August 20, 1932 in Kazan) is a Russian novelist who began his career in the Soviet era. He is known in the West as the author of The Burn (Russian: "Ожог" - Ozhog, 1975) and the critically acclaimed Generations of Winter (Russian: "Московская сага", Moskovkaya saga, 1992), a family saga depicting three generations of the Gradov family in 1925–1953.

Vasily Aksyonov is a convinced anti-totalitarian. On the presentation of his newest novel, he stated: "If in this country one starts erecting Stalin statues again, I have to reject my native land. Nothing else remains."

His other novels are

  • Colleagues ("Коллеги" - Kollegi, 1960)
  • Star Ticket ("Звёздный билет" - Zvyozdny bilet, 1961)
  • Oranges from Morocco ("Апельсины из Марокко" - Apel'siny iz Marokko, 1963)
  • It's Time, My Friend, It's Time ("Пора, мой друг, пора" - Pora, moy drug, pora, 1964)
  • It's a Pity You Weren't with Us ("Жаль, что вас не было с нами" - Zhal', chto vas ne bylo s nami, 1965)
  • Overstocked Packaging Barrels ("Затоваренная бочкотара" - Zatovarennaya bochkotara, 1968)
  • In Search of a Genre ("В поисках жанра" - V poiskakh zhanra, 1972)
  • The Island of Crimea ("Остров Крым" - "Ostrov Krym", 1979)
  • In Search of Melancholy Baby ("В поисках грустного бэби" - V poiskakh grustnogo bebi, 1987)
  • Yolk of the Egg (written in English, 1989)
  • The New Sweet Style ("Новый сладостный стиль" - Novy sladostny stil', 1998)
  • Voltairian Men and Women ("Вольтерьянцы и вольтерьянки" - Volteryantsy i volteryanki, 2004 - won the Russian Booker Prize).

He is the son of Yevgenia Ginzburg. Until 2003, Aksyonov was a professor of Russian at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He has since retired in France.

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