Biography
Childhood
Vasily Shukshin was born on July 25, 1929 in the village of Srostki (Altai Territory). Vasily’s childhood was not cloudless. His father was shot during collectivization and the education of his son and his little sister fell entirely on his mother's shoulders. They lived poorly until mother soon married a second time and changed her surname to Kuksina. Since then it has become easier to live, as another breadwinner has appeared in the family.
In 1943, Vasily Shukshin graduated from school where he studied for seven years. Then he goes to Biysk and enters the automotive college.
Youth
Vasily Shukshin never graduated from college after studying there for only two and a half years. He returns to his native village, where he works at the place of residence on the collective farm. And in 1947-1949 he left the village and worked as a mechanic in different cities: Kaluga and Vladimir.
The war did not go past Vasily, and already in 1949 he was called up for service in the Navy. Vasily served as a sailor and radio operator in the Baltic and Black Sea Fleet, and it was during his service that he became interested in literature. A little later, Vasily begins to write his stories, feeling a vocation for creativity.
In 1953, stomach disease suddenly made itself felt. It turned out that Vasily had an ulcer. The commission recognized him incapable of continuing his further service, and Vasily was sent to the reserve.
Adulthood
After being fired from the service, Vasily returned to his native village, where he takes exams in order to obtain a certificate of maturity. Then he begins to work as a teacher of the Russian language, and a little later he becomes the principal of the school. But Vasily does not seduce the life of a simple person in his native village. He felt that he could conquer the capital and was capable of more.
That is why he goes to Moscow to enter VGIK in 1954. He entered the scriptwriting department, but then moved to the directing department. In 1960, he graduated with success. While studying, they also first published Shukshin’s short story “Two on a Cart” in the magazine “Change”.
Career
Actor
The beginning of the career of Vasily Shukshin began as an actor during his studies. In 1956, he received a cameo role in the film "Quiet Flows the Don", and after he was waiting for the main role in the film "Two Fedor" in 1958.
Producer
But already in 1963, Shukshin began working as a director at the Central House of Youth. Already in 1964, his first film was released, which Shukshin made based on his own story. The film was called "Such a guy lives." The film received good reviews and was warmly received by the audience.
Writer
Vasily Shukshin did not stop writing stories, and so in 1963, two stories were published in the New World magazine: Class Driver and Grinka Malyugin. In the same year, his first book, Rural People, was published.
His stories were marked by the realism and sensuality of the main characters. It felt like the writer lived the feelings of the heroes and saw them with his eyes. In 1973, the collection of short stories “Characters” was published, and his play “Energetic People” was staged in the theater.
The peak of the director's career
1973-1974, Vasily Shukshin made the film "Red Guelder-rose", which brought him the VKF award. In those same years, the shooting of the films “They Fought for the Homeland” and “The Danube” begins, but unfortunately, Vasily Shukshin never made these films until the end.He died of myocardial infarction.
Personal life
In 1955, Vasily Shukshin first married his fellow villager Maria Ivanovna. They met Maria in their youth, but relations between them began years later. Maria worked as a teacher in a school, where Shukshin later began to work. But unfortunately, this marriage was unsuccessful.
Maria was frightened by the uncertainty of moving to Moscow, so the girl stayed in the village to wait for her husband back. But he never returned. Only in 1957 did he write her a letter requesting a divorce, which he was refused. As a result, Shukshin was able to get rid of the burdening marriage by losing his passport.
In 1963, he converged with Victoria Sofronova, daughter of the writer Anatoly Sofronov. A girl, Katerina Shukshina, was born in their union in 1965.
But already in 1964, Vasily began to communicate with the young actress Lidia Alexandrovna, who played the main role in his film "Such a guy lives." Soon, communication becomes a novel, and since 1965 they have been living in a civil marriage. The marriage was not long. Lydia decided to leave, because Vasily abused alcohol and constantly cheated on her.
Since 1966, Vasily meets Lydia Fedoseyev. He darted between two Lydia for a long time, not knowing which one to stay with, but in the end he chose the latter and they had two daughters in a civil marriage - Maria and Olga.
Death
Even during his service in the Navy, Vasily began to have problems with his stomach. The medical board discovered a stomach ulcer in him and found it incapable of continuing further service.
As noted by Vasily, such problems occurred due to excessive alcohol consumption. Closer to a mature life, Vasily got into alcohol, but from time to time he broke down, as a result of which the disease only worsened.
During the filming of the film “Red Viburnum,” the seizures were so strong that Vasily could not move away from them for several days. And during the filming of his latest films, he was especially tormented by the stomach, which caused myocardial infarction, as a result of which he died. He was buried on Monday, October 7, in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery, section 1, row 3.
Filmography
- Quiet Don
- Two Fedor
- From Swan reported
- When the trees were big
- What is the sea like?
- If you want to be happy
- I beg the words
- They fought for their homeland
- Such a guy lives
- Your son and brother
- Weird people
- Stove benches
- Red viburnum
Bibliography
- Countrymen
- Lubavins
- Far away
- Such a guy lives
- Characters
