Yuli Daniel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yuli Markovich Daniel
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The bookcover of The Letters from Prison
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| Native name |
Юлий Маркович Даниэль
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| Born | November 15, 1925 Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | December 30, 1988 (aged 63) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Pen name | Nikolay Arzhak, Yu. Petrov |
| Nationality | Soviet |
| Spouse | Larisa Bogoraz, Irina Uvarova |
| Children | Alexander Daniel |
Yuli Markovich Daniel (Russian: Ю́лий Ма́ркович Даниэ́ль; born November 15, 1925 – died December 30, 1988) was a Russian writer. He is known for being a Soviet dissident, which means he spoke out against the Soviet government. He became famous during the Sinyavsky–Daniel trial in 1966.
Daniel wrote stories and poems that were critical of life in the Soviet Union. He used fake names, called pseudonyms, like Nikolay Arzhak and Yu. Petrov. He published his works in other countries, like in the West, to avoid government censorship. Daniel and his friend Andrei Sinyavsky were found guilty of "anti-Soviet agitation" in a special trial. They were the first Soviet writers to be punished just for their fictional stories. Daniel spent five years in a Gulag camp and prison.
Early Life and Secret Writing
Yuli Daniel was born in Moscow, Soviet Union, on November 15, 1925. His father, Mark Daniel, was a playwright. When he was 17, Daniel joined the army during World War II. He was badly hurt in his legs in 1944 and left the army. In 1950, he finished his studies at the Moscow Pedagogical Institute. After that, he worked as a schoolteacher in different cities.
Daniel also translated poems from many languages. Like his friend Andrei Sinyavsky, he wrote stories and short novels. These stories sometimes made fun of or criticized Soviet society. Because of strict censorship in the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) would not publish his works. Daniel and Sinyavsky secretly sent their writings out of the Soviet Union. This was called samizdat. They sent them to France to be published using their fake names. Daniel married Larisa Bogoraz, who later also became a well-known Soviet activist.
The Famous Trial
Daniel's book Moscow Speaking, published in 1959, caught the attention of the KGB. The KGB was the main secret police of the Soviet Union. They started looking into Daniel and Sinyavsky's critical works published abroad. Soon, they figured out who the writers really were. The KGB watched Daniel and Sinyavsky closely for several years.
In September 1965, Daniel and Sinyavsky were arrested. They were put on trial in the famous Sinyavsky-Daniel trial because of their writings published outside the country. The Soviet government could not charge them for publishing abroad or using fake names, as these were allowed by Soviet law. Instead, they were charged with "anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda." This meant they were accused of trying to turn people against the government.
Both writers said they were not guilty. This was very unusual for people on trial in the Soviet Union at that time. On February 14, 1966, Daniel was sentenced to five years of hard labor. Sinyavsky was sentenced to seven years.
In 1967, Andrei Sakharov, another famous Soviet activist, asked the head of the KGB to release Daniel. Sakharov was told that Daniel and Sinyavsky would be set free during a general pardon. However, this was not true, as the pardon did not apply to political prisoners. Daniel spent four years in a Gulag camp called Dubravlag and one year in Vladimir Prison.
Life After Prison
After his release, Daniel chose not to leave the Soviet Union. Many other Soviet activists did leave. He lived in Kaluga before moving back to Moscow.
Some historians believe that the trial of Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel started the modern Soviet activist movement. This movement eventually helped to end Communist rule.
Daniel and Sinyavsky did not plan to go against the Soviet Union. Daniel was worried about a leader becoming too powerful again, which inspired his story This is Moscow Speaking. Sinyavsky believed that socialism was a good idea, but that the methods used were sometimes wrong. Before Daniel died, another writer, Bulat Okudzhava, said that Daniel had secretly written some translations published under Okudzhava's name. This was because Daniel was on a list of writers banned from being published in the Soviet Union.
Daniel passed away on December 30, 1988. Sinyavsky and his wife came from France to attend his funeral. Daniel was buried in Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow, a common burial place for artists.
Family
Yuli Daniel's son, Alexander Daniel, is a mathematician. His grandson, Michael Daniel, is a linguist.
