Nikolay Oleynikov facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nikolay Makarovich Oleynikov
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| Born | 5 August 1898 Kamenskaya, Russian Empire |
| Died | 24 November 1937 (aged 39) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Occupation | Editor, poet and playwright |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Period | avante-garde |
Nikolay Makarovich Oleynikov (Russian: Никола́й Мака́рович Оле́йников; 5 August 1898 – 24 November 1937) was a Russian editor, poet, and playwright. He was known for his unique writing style, which was sometimes called "avant-garde." Sadly, he faced serious trouble because his writings were seen as going against the government at the time. His life ended tragically in 1937. During his career, he also used several pen names, like Makar Svirepy and Nikolai Makarov.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Nikolay Oleynikov was born in a village called Kamenskaya. His family were Cossacks, who were known for being good horsemen and soldiers.
He finished his studies at Donetsk College. In 1916, he went to the Kamensky Teachers' College. In December 1917, he joined the Red Guards. Then, in March 1918, he became part of the Red Army. He fought in the Russian Civil War.
In 1920, he joined the Russian Communist Party. He started working for the Red Cossack newspaper. Later, he moved to Bakhmut and became an important person at the Russian Steamshop newspaper. In 1925, he helped create a literary magazine called Zaboi (which means Mine Face) in Bakhmut, working with writers Mikhail Slonimsky and Evgeny Shvarts.
Career in Leningrad
In 1925, Oleynikov moved to Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). He got a job at the famous Pravda newspaper. He also worked as an editor for a magazine called New Robinson, which was started by Samuil Marshak.
From 1926 to 1928, he was very busy with magazines in Leningrad. He even helped create radio shows for children. In 1928, he became an editor for the Children's Department of the State Publishing House, working on the children's magazine Monthly Journal. He also wrote for another children's magazine called Hedgehog.
Between 1926 and 1937, Oleynikov was involved in staging children's plays. He worked with famous people like Dmitri Shostakovich and Schwartz. Some of the plays he helped with include Wake Lena (1934) and Helen and Grapes (1935). He also wrote funny, but sometimes thoughtful, poems like "The Carp" and "The Beetle." In early 1937, he became the editor of Cricket, another children's magazine.
The OBERIU Group and Secret Writings
During his time in Leningrad, Nikolay Oleynikov became friends with a group of avant-garde writers called OBERIU. These writers often published their works in children's magazines. Some of them were Daniil Kharms, Alexander Vvedensky, and Nikolai Zabolotsky.
While he was officially writing for the government, Oleynikov also started writing his own poems in private. These poems were often ironic and made fun of or questioned the ideas of the Soviet government. Some of his early poems from this time are now lost. But some that survived include "Head" (1926), "Gluttony" (1932), and "In the Art Gallery" (1936).
Only three of these poems were published during his lifetime. In 1934, he published "Service Science," "The Fly," and "Praise to Inventors" in a journal. These poems were quickly seen as going against the government's ideas. Because of this, he decided not to publish any more of his private poems.
On July 3, 1937, Nikolay Oleynikov was arrested. He was accused of being against the government. After several months, he was sentenced to death and sadly passed away on November 24, 1937. He was buried at a place called Levashovskaya wasteland. His family was later given a false death certificate that said he died of fever in 1942.
His Legacy and Later Publications
Even though his work was often light and funny, Nikolay Oleynikov is seen as one of the deepest and most thoughtful of the Russian avant-garde poets.
Years later, in 1957, the Soviet government recognized that he had been treated unfairly. This process was called "rehabilitation." After 1964, more of Oleynikov's poems were published in the USSR. The first full collection of his poetry was finally published in 1989. In 2006, some of his poems were translated into English and published in the US.
In 1997, a Ukrainian composer named Alexey Kolomiytsev created a rock opera called Vivisection. It was based on Oleynikov's poems about animals.
Works
Here are some of his published works:
- First Council, 1926
- Battle Days, 1927, 1991
- Tanks and sleigh, 1928
- Poetry in the journal Thirty Days, 1934
- Two poems "Cockroach," "Change name" in the almanac Poetry Day, Leningrad, 1966
- Problems of Literature, 1969, 1970
- Poetry, Bremen, 1975
- Ironic poems, New York, 1982
- Change of name, 1988
- Abyss of passions, 1990
- For a fly ..., 1990
- Poems and Poems, 2000
- Vulcan and Venus, 2004
- Circle of smart guys, 2008
