Writer Belyaev's works. Complete works in one volume

Nelly KRAVKLIS, writer and local historian, Mikhail LEVITIN, member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, local historian.

The expression “The book is the source of knowledge” can well be called the motto of the science fiction writer Alexander Romanovich Belyaev. He carried his love of reading, the desire to learn new things, exploring new spaces, new areas of science throughout his life.

In those years when this photograph was taken, young Sasha Belyaev was attracted to distant countries, travel and adventures - everything that had nothing to do with everyday reality.

“A charming man with a wide range of interests and an inexhaustible sense of humor,” recalls V.V. Bylinskaya, who knew him in those years, “Alexander Belyaev united a circle of Smolensk youth around himself and became the center of this small society.

Memorial plaque, installed on the building where the editorial office of Smolensky Vestnik was located.

“In his youth, my father loved to dress fashionably,” recalls the writer’s daughter Svetlana Aleksandrovna, “if not to say, even with panache...”

2009 marked the 125th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Romanovich Belyaev Soviet science fiction writer, one of the founders of science fiction literature, who has earned worldwide recognition. A lot has been written about Belyaev, but the years of his life in the city of Smolensk, where he was born and raised, are not fully reflected, and moreover, the texts repeat errors that we correct using archival materials.

Alexander Belyaev was born on March 16 (new style) 1884 in a house on Bolshaya Odigitrievskaya Street (now Dokuchaev Street) in the family of the priest of the Odigitrievskaya Church, Roman Petrovich Belyaev, and his wife Nadezhda Vasilyevna. In total, the family had three children: Vasily, Alexander and Nina.

The plot of land, according to the memoirs of local historian A.N. Troitsky, consisted of a very picturesque garden descending along a steep slope into a ravine leading to the cathedral.

Alexander's parents were deeply religious people. And Sasha’s interests from the very early childhood lay on a completely different plane: he was fascinated by travel, extraordinary adventures inspired by reading his beloved Jules Verne.

“My brother and I,” recalled Alexander Romanovich, decided to go traveling to the center of the Earth. We moved tables, chairs, beds, covered them with blankets and sheets, stocked up on an oil lantern and delved into the mysterious bowels of the Earth. And immediately the prosaic tables and chairs disappeared. We saw only caves and abysses, rocks and underground waterfalls as the wonderful pictures depicted them: creepy and at the same time somehow cozy. And my heart sank from this sweet horror.

Later Wells came with the nightmares of the “Struggle of the Worlds.” This world was no longer so comfortable...”

It is not difficult to imagine how the boy’s imagination was excited by the event that happened on July 6, 1893: in the Lopatinsky Garden, a hot air balloon with a gymnast sitting on a trapeze rose to a height of one kilometer, after which she jumped off the trapeze. The spectators gasped in horror. But a parachute opened above the gymnast, and the girl landed safely.

The sight shocked Sasha so much that he immediately decided to experience the feeling of flying and jumped from the roof with an umbrella in his hands, then on a parachute made from a sheet. Both attempts brought very sensitive bruises. But Alexander Belyaev still managed to make his dream come true: his last novel Ariel is about a man who can fly like a bird.

But the time for carefree hobbies is over. By the will of his father, the boy was sent to a religious school. Publications about the writer report that he entered there at the age of six. But that's not true.

“Smolensk Diocesan Gazette” annually published official information about students religious school and seminaries. And in No. 13 for 1895 there is a “List of students of the theological school, compiled by the school board after one-year tests at the end of the 1894/1895 academic year and approved by His Eminence on July 5, 1895 under No. 251.” Among the first grade students: “Yakov Alekseev, Dmitry Almazov, Alexander Belyaev, Nikolai Vysotsky...” At the end of the list it is indicated that these students are transferred to the second grade of the school. Thus, Alexander Belyaev was 11 years old in 1895. Therefore, he entered at the age of 10.

The school was located near the Avraamievsky Monastery, not far from the Belyaev estate, about five minutes' walk at a leisurely pace.

Classes were easy for him. The same statements (No. 12 for 1898) provide a list of fourth grade students: “First category: Pavel Dyakonov, Alexander Belyaev, Nikolai Lebedev, Yakov Alekseev<...>graduated full course college and were awarded transfer to the first class of the seminary.”

This is when Alexander Belyaev becomes a seminarian - at the age of 14, and not at the age of 11, as indicated in the well-established biographical information for collected works of his works and in many other publications about the writer.

Connoisseur local region local historian SM. Yakovlev wrote: “The Smolensk Theological Seminary existed for 190 years. It was founded in 1728 by the former rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, Bishop Gideon Vishnevsky... “a most learned man of great severity,” classes were taught by highly educated teachers invited from Kyiv. Studying Latin, Ancient Greek and Polish languages was mandatory.

At the seminary, Belyaev was famous not only for his success in his studies, but also for his “speeches at evenings - reading poems.”

In the first years of its existence, the Smolensk Seminary hosted spectacular performances of spiritual content (mysteries) for city residents in order to strengthen the viewer’s moral and religious principles, loyalty to Orthodoxy and the throne. Alexander Belyaev is their constant participant.

In the prefaces to several collections, biographers claim that Belyaev graduated from the seminary in 1901. This is another inaccuracy. “Diocesan Gazette” (Nos. 11-12 for 1904) provides alphabetical list graduates: among them - Belyaev Alexander.

After graduating from the seminary, contrary to the wishes of his father, who saw his son as his successor, Alexander entered the Demidovsky Legal Lyceum in Yaroslavl (established in 1809 as a school on the initiative and at the expense of P. G. Demidov with a three-year period of study, this educational institution reorganized in 1833, first into a lyceum with the same period of study, and in 1868 into a four-year legal lyceum with university rights). At the same time, Alexander received musical education violin class.

The unexpected death of his father in 1905 left the family without a livelihood. To get money to pay for his studies, Alexander gave lessons, painted scenery for the theater, and played the violin in the Truzzi Circus orchestra. But grief does not come with one thing: brother Vasily drowned in the Dnieper, and then sister Ninochka died. Alexander remained the only protector and support of his mother, so after graduating from the lyceum (1908) he returned to Smolensk.

It is known that in 1909 he worked as an assistant to a sworn attorney. But Alexander Romanovich’s creative nature required an outlet, and he becomes active participant Smolensk Society of Amateurs fine arts, where he gave lectures, then - a member of the board of the Smolensk Public Entertainment Club and a member of the board of the Symphonic Society. During the summer months, theater troupes usually toured Smolensk, most often Basmanova. Belyaev writes reviews in the Smolensky Vestnik for almost every performance staged in the Lopatinsky Garden, and also acts as a music critic. Signed under the pseudonym "B-la-f". They published “Smolensk feuilletons” on the topic of the day.

Anyone who has read his works knows how keenly the writer responded to injustice. This quality manifested itself in the first years independent life and became the reason that in 1909 Alexander Belyaev found himself under police surveillance. The information is in the gendarme file “Diary of external surveillance, reports on the Smolensk organization of the Socialist Revolutionary Party.” The Belyaev case began on December 30, 1908. The report of Colonel N. G. Ivanenko for November 10, 1909 presents a list of persons who belonged to the local organization, led by a certain Karelin. This list also contains the surname of Alexander Romanovich Belyaev: “...assistant attorney at law, 32 years old (in fact, he was 25 years old. - Author’s note), nickname “Live” (given in connection with his character. - Approx. auto.)". The report states that the suspects' premises were searched on November 2, 1909. “Alive” appears in the secret police diary until the end of its recording (January 19, 1910).

We managed to find in the Smolensky Vestnik (for the same years) reports about several trials conducted by A. Belyaev as an assistant sworn attorney. But one of them - dated October 23, 1909 - is of particular interest, since Belyaev spoke in the trial of the leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. And on December 25, as reported in the newspaper, “... V. Karelin, who was arrested a month ago, was released from the Smolensk prison.” I think this can be considered proof of how successfully Alexander Romanovich conducted the defense. In 1911, Belyaev won a major court case against timber merchant Skundin, for which he received a significant fee. He set aside this amount for his long-planned trip to Europe. True, it was possible to make the trip only two years later, as evidenced by the “Report on foreign passports issued since March 1, 1913 by the Smolensk Governor”: “... to the hereditary honorary citizen, assistant attorney at law Alexander Romanovich Belyaev for No. 57.”

In his autobiography about the purposes of this trip, the writer writes: “I studied history, art, went to Italy to study the Renaissance. I’ve been to Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the south of France.” The trip became an invaluable source from which the writer drew the impressions he needed until the end of his days. After all, most of his novels take place “abroad.” And the first trip turned out to be the only one.

Belyaev is not an idle tourist, but an inquisitive tester. IN curriculum vitae Confirmation of this is given in the 9-volume collected works of the writer: “In 1913, there were not so many daredevils who flew on Bleriot and Farman airplanes - “bookcases” and “coffins”, as they were called then. However, Belyaev is in Italy, in Ventimiglia, flying in a seaplane.”

Here is an excerpt from the description of this flight: “The sea beneath us is going lower and lower. The houses surrounding the bay appear not white, but red, because from above we only see red roofs. The surf stretches like a white thread near the shore. Here is Cape Martin. The aviator waves his hand, we look in that direction, and the coast of the Riviera unfolds before us, as in a panorama.”

Belyaev would then convey his feelings, in particular, in the story “The Man Who Doesn’t Sleep”: “Some kind of river appeared in the distance. The city lies on the high coastal hills. On the right bank, the city was surrounded by the ancient battlements of the Kremlin with high towers. A huge five-domed cathedral reigned over the entire city. “Dnieper!.. Smolensk!.. The airplane flew over the forest and smoothly landed on a good airfield.”

During a trip to Italy, Belyaev climbed Vesuvius and published an essay about the ascent in the Smolensky Bulletin. In these notes one can already feel the confident pen of not only a talented journalist, but also a future brilliant writer: “Suddenly, bushes began to appear, and we found ourselves in front of a whole sea of ​​black frozen lava. The horses snored, shuffled their feet, and they decided to step onto the lava, as if it were water. Finally, nervously, with jumps, the horses climbed onto the lava and walked at a walk. The lava rustled and broke off under the horses' feet. The sun was setting. Below, the bay was already covered with a bluish haze. There came a short, gentle evening. On the mountain, the sun snatched several houses from the encroaching darkness, and they stood as if heated by the internal fire of the crater. The proximity of the peak had an effect... Vesuvius is a symbol, the god of southern Italy. Only here, sitting on this black lava, under which a deadly fire is seething somewhere below, does it become clear the deification of the forces of nature reigning over the little man, just as defenseless, despite all the conquests of culture, as he was thousands of years ago in blooming Pompeii."

And in the crater of the fire-breathing giant “... everything was filled with acrid, suffocating steam. It either lay along the black, uneven edges of the vent, corroded by moisture and ash, or flew up in a white ball, as if from a giant chimney of a steam locomotive. And at that moment, somewhere deep below, the darkness was illuminated, as if by the distant glow of a fire...”

The writing talent of Alexander Romanovich is manifested not only in descriptions natural phenomena, he also understands people with their contradictions: “ Amazing people these Italians! They know how to combine sloppiness with a deep understanding of beauty, greed with kindness, petty passions with a truly great impulse of the soul.”

Everything he saw, refracted through the prism of his perception, the writer will later reflect in his works.

It can probably be argued that the trip helped him finally decide on his final choice of profession. In 1913-1915, having left the bar, Alexander Romanovich worked in the editorial office of the Smolensky Vestnik newspaper, first as a secretary, then as an editor. Today, a memorial plaque is installed on the building where the editorial office was located.

Only his craving for the theater remained unrealized so far. Since childhood, he organized home performances, in which he was an artist, a screenwriter, and a director, playing any role, even women’s. Transformed instantly. They quickly learned about Belyaev’s theater and began inviting friends to perform. In 1913, Belyaev, together with the beautiful Smolensk cellist Yu. N. Saburova, staged the fairy tale opera “The Sleeping Princess”. The Smolensky Vestnik (February 10, 1913) noted that the noisy big success the performance “was created by tireless energy, loving relationship and the subtle understanding of the leaders Yu. N. Saburova and A. R. Belyaev, who took upon themselves a grandiose, if you think about it, task - to stage an opera, even for children, using only the resources of an educational institution.”

A resident of Smolensk, SM, writes about this side of Alexander Romanovich’s creative nature in his memoirs. Yakovlev: “The charming image of A. R. Belyaev sank into my soul from the time when he helped us - students of the N. P. Evnevich gymnasium - to stage, together with the students of the women's gymnasium E. G. Sheshatka, at one of our student evenings the wonderful fantastic fairy tale play "Three years, three days, three minutes." Taking the plot core of the fairy tale as a basis, A. R. Belyaev, as a stage director, managed to creatively refine it, enrich it with many interesting introductory scenes, color it with bright colors, saturate it with music and singing. His imagination knew no bounds! He organically “integrated” into the fabric of the fairy tale the witty remarks, dialogues, crowd scenes, choral and choreographic numbers he invented<...>His data was excellent. He had good looks high culture speech, great musicality, bright temperament and amazing art reincarnation. He had a particularly strong talent for mimicry, which is easy to judge from the numerous mask photographs of him preserved by the writer’s daughter, Svetlana Alexandrovna, which unusually accurately and expressively convey the range of various states of the human psyche - indifference, curiosity, suspicion, fear, horror, bewilderment. , tenderness, delight, sadness, etc.”

Alexander Romanovich’s first literary work, the play “Grandma Moira,” appeared in 1914 in the Moscow magazine for children “Protalinka.”

While visiting Moscow (which beckoned and attracted him), Belyaev met with Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky and even passed his acting tests.

So far he has succeeded in everything. The future promised success in his endeavors. But the tragic year 1915 came for A. Belyaev. The young man was struck by a serious illness: spinal tuberculosis. His wife leaves him. Doctors recommend changing the climate, his mother and nanny transport him to Yalta. Alexander Belyaev was bedridden for six years, three of which were in a plaster corset.

What were they? terrible years! October Revolution, Civil War, devastation... Belyaev is saved only by reading a lot, especially translated fantastic literature; studies literature on medicine, biology, history; interested in new discoveries and scientific achievements; masters foreign languages.

Only in 1922 did his condition improve somewhat. Of course, the love and care of Margarita Konstantinovna Magnushevskaya, who became his second wife, helped. They got married in 1922 before the Nativity Fast, and on May 22, 1923 they registered their marriage at the registry office. After marriage, “...I had to,” Belyaev recalled, “enter the criminal investigation office, and according to the staff I am a junior policeman. I am a photographer who takes pictures of criminals, I am a lecturer who teaches courses on criminal and administrative law and a “private” legal adviser. Despite all this, we have to starve.”

A year later, Alexander Romanovich's long-time dream comes true - he and his wife move to Moscow. Helped Lucky case: in Yalta he met his old Smolensk acquaintance, Nina Yakovlevna Filippova, who invited Belyaev to go to Moscow, giving him two rooms in her large, spacious apartment. After the Filippovs moved to Leningrad, the Belyaevs had to vacate this apartment and live in a damp room in a semi-basement on Lyalin Lane. On March 15, 1924, a daughter, Lyudmila, was born into the Belyaev family.

During these years, Alexander Romanovich worked at the People's Commissariat of Postal and Telegraph as a planner, and after some time as a legal adviser at the People's Commissariat for Education. And in the evenings he studies literature.

1925 Belyaev is 41 years old. His story “The Head of Professor Dowell” was published on the pages of the World Pathfinder magazine. It's a story, not a novel. The science fiction writer's first attempt at writing. And the beginning of a new one, creative life Alexander Romanovich Belyaev. In the article “About my works” Belyaev will later say: “I can report that the work “The Head of Professor Dowell” is a work to a large extent... autobiographical. The disease once put me in a plaster bed for three and a half years. This period of illness was accompanied by paralysis of the lower half of the body. And although I controlled my hands, my life during these years was reduced to the life of a “head without a body,” which I did not feel at all - complete anesthesia. That’s when I changed my mind and experienced everything that a “head without a body” can experience.”

Belyaev’s professional literary activity began with the publication of the story. He collaborates with the magazines “World Pathfinder”, “Around the World”, “Knowledge is Power”, “Struggle of Worlds”, publishes new science fiction works: “Island of Lost Ships”, “Lord of the World”, “ Last Man from Atlantis." He signs not only with his last name, but also with pseudonyms - A. Rom and Arbel.

Margarita Konstantinovna tirelessly types out his new works on an old Remington typewriter. The Belyaevs' life is getting better. They bought a piano. In the evenings they play music. They visit theaters and museums. We made new friends.

The year 1928 became significant in Belyaev’s work: the novel “Amphibian Man” was published. The chapters of the new work were published in the magazine “Around the World”. The success was extraordinary! Issues of magazines were snapped up instantly. Suffice it to say that the circulation of Around the World increased from 200,000 to 250,000 copies. In the same year, 1928, the novel was published twice as a separate book, and a year later a third edition appeared. The popularity of the novel exceeded all expectations. Critics explained the secret of its success by saying that it was “a universal novel that combined science fiction, adventure, social themes and melodrama.” The book was translated and published in many languages. Belyaev became famous! (Shot in 1961, after the death of the writer, the film of the same name was also a stunning success. It was watched by 65.5 million viewers - a record at that time!)

In December 1928, Belyaev left Moscow and moved to Leningrad. The apartment on Mozhaiskogo Street was furnished with taste. “On occasion,” recalls Svetlana Aleksandrovna Belyaeva, “my parents bought wonderful antique furniture - an office, in it there was a Swedish desk, a comfortable reclining chair, a large plush sofa, a piano and shelves with books and magazines.”

Alexander Romanovich writes a lot and enthusiastically. His fiction is not far-fetched, but is based on a scientific basis. The writer follows the news of science and technology. His knowledge is encyclopedically diverse, and he easily navigates in new directions.

It would seem that life is going well. But... Belyaev falls ill with pneumonia. Doctors advise changing the climate. And the family moves to Kyiv, where his childhood friend Nikolai Pavlovich Vygotsky lives. Kyiv has a favorable climate, life is cheaper, but... publishing houses only accept manuscripts in Ukrainian! The writer is forced to make another move to Moscow.

Here the family suffered grief: on March 19, daughter Lyudmila died of meningitis, and Alexander Romanovich experienced an exacerbation of spinal tuberculosis. Bed again. And as a response to forced immobility, interest in the problems of space exploration is growing. Alexander Romanovich studies the works of Tsiolkovsky, and the science fiction writer’s imagination pictures a flight to the Moon, interplanetary travel, and the discovery of new worlds. “Airship” is dedicated to this topic. After reading it, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky noted in his review: “The story... is wittyly written and scientific enough for imagination.” Belyaev also sent the story “Leap into Nothing” - about a journey to Venus - to Tsiolkovsky, and the scientist wrote a preface to it. Their correspondence continued until Tsiolkovsky passed away. The writer dedicated his novel “KETS Star” (1936) to the memory of Konstantin Eduardovich.

In October 1931, the Belyaevs moved again - to Leningrad, where they lived until 1938. In recent years, the writer was ill and almost never got out of bed. And in the summer of 1938 they exchanged their living space in Leningrad for a five-room apartment in Pushkin.

Alexander Romanovich almost never leaves home. But writers, readers and admirers come to him, pioneers gather every week - he leads a drama club.

Here the Patriotic War finds him. Belyaev died in the occupied city on January 6, 1942. At the Kazan cemetery in Pushkin, above his grave there is a white obelisk with the inscription “Belyaev Alexander Romanovich”, below is an open book with quill pen. On the pages of the book it is written: “Science Fiction Writer.”

Belyaev created 17 novels, dozens of short stories and a huge number of essays. And this is in 16 years literary work! His fascinating works imbued with faith in the unlimited possibilities of the human mind and faith in justice.

Reflecting on the tasks of a science fiction writer, Alexander Romanovich wrote: “A writer working in the field of science fiction must himself be so scientifically educated that he can not only understand what the scientist is working on, but also on this basis foresee consequences and possibilities that are sometimes still unclear and to the scientist himself." He himself was just such a science fiction writer.

It is believed, and not without reason, that Alexander Romanovich Belyaev has three lives: one - from birth until the publication of the story “The Head of Professor Dowell”, the second - from this first story until the day of the writer’s death, the third - the most long life in his books.

The magazine “Science and Life” became the laureate of the 2009 Alexander Belyaev Literary Prize in the category “The magazine - for the most interesting activity during the year preceding the award." The prize was awarded “for fidelity to the traditions of domestic popular science and fiction literature and journalism.”

The idea to establish a memorial prize in honor of Alexander Belyaev arose in 1984, when the centenary of the birth of the famous science fiction writer was celebrated, who wrote not only the science fiction novels “Amphibian Man”, “Ariel”, “The Head of Professor Dowell”, but also scientific -popular works. However, it was first awarded in 1990, and in the early years it was awarded for literary works in the science fiction genre. In 2002, the status of the prize was revised, and now it is given exclusively for works of popular science and scientific-art (educational) literature.

Born on March 4 (16 NS) in Smolensk in the family of a priest. Since childhood, I read a lot and was fond of adventure literature, especially Jules Verne. Subsequently, he flew airplanes of one of the first designs and made gliders himself.

In 1901 he graduated from theological seminary, but did not become a priest; on the contrary, he left there as a convinced atheist. He loved painting, music, theater, played in amateur performances, took up photography, and studied technology.

He entered the legal lyceum in Yaroslavl and at the same time studied violin at the conservatory. To earn money for his studies, he played in a circus orchestra and painted theater scenery, was engaged in journalism. In 1906, after graduating from the Lyceum, he returned to Smolensk and worked as a lawyer. Acted as music critic, theater reviewer in the Smolensky Vestnik newspaper.

He never stopped dreaming of distant countries and, having saved money, in 1913 he traveled to Italy, France, and Switzerland. He retained the impressions from this trip for the rest of his life. Returning to Smolensk, he worked at the Smolensky Vestnik, and a year later became the editor of this publication. A serious illness - bone tuberculosis - confined him to bed for six years, three of which he was in a cast. Not giving in to despair, he is engaged in self-education: he studies foreign languages, medicine, biology, history, technology, and reads a lot. Having overcome the disease, in 1922 he returned to a full life, serving as an inspector for juvenile affairs. On the advice of doctors, he lives in Yalta, works as a teacher in orphanage.

In 1923 he moved to Moscow and began serious literary activity. He publishes science fiction stories and novellas in the magazines “Around the World”, “Knowledge is Power”, “World Pathfinder”, earning the title of “Soviet Jules Verne”. In 1925 he published the story “The Head of Professor Dowell,” which Belyaev himself called an autobiographical story: he wanted to tell “what a head without a body can experience.”

In the 1920s, such famous works as “The Island of Lost Ships,” “Amphibian Man,” “Above the Abyss,” and “Struggle on the Air” were published. He writes essays about great Russian scientists - Lomonosov, Mendeleev, Pavlov, Tsiolkovsky.

In 1931 he moved to Leningrad, continuing to work hard. He was especially interested in the problems of space exploration and the ocean depths. In 1934, after reading Belyaev’s novel “Airship,” Tsiolkovsky wrote: “... wittily written and scientific enough for fantasy. Let me express my pleasure to Comrade Belyaev.”

In 1933 the book “Leap into Nothing” was published, 1935 - “The Second Moon”. In the 1930s, “KETS Star”, “Wonderful Eye”, “Under the Arctic Sky” were written.

He spent the last years of his life near Leningrad, in the city of Pushkin. I met War in the hospital.

On January 6, 1942, Belyaev died of starvation in occupied Pushkin.
Books:

No series

Witches Castle

(Heroic fantasy)

Star KEC

(Heroic fantasy)

Alexander Belyaev was called the “Russian Jules-Verne” for his ability to predict many events.

In his books, Alexander predicted not only the invention of scuba gear and the orbital station, but also his own death...

When Alexander Belyaev, against the will of his parents, chose the profession of a lawyer, a woman who called herself a clairvoyant came to seek his protection. “I warned two women about the possible imminent death of their husbands,” she said. “And now the inconsolable widows accuse me of deliberately killing them.” Alexander just grinned: “Then predict for me,” said the writer.

“Your life will be hard, but very bright. And you yourself will be able to look into the future,” she said. After this, Alexander agreed to take on the woman’s case, and she was acquitted at the trial. But what was predicted did not take long to arrive. Belyaev was not a prophet, but he knew how to notice what ideas people had grown into modern society, on the verge of what new discoveries and achievements it is located.

One of his first novels of predictions was the famous “Amphibian Man,” where the writer foresaw the invention of an artificial lung and scuba gear with open system compressed air breathing, invented in 1943 by Jacques-Yves Cousteau. By the way, the novel itself was largely biographical.

Still from the film “Amphibian Man” (1961)

As a child, Alexander had a dream in which he and his brother Vasily were crawling through a long dark tunnel. Somewhere ahead there was a light, but the brother could no longer move on. Overcoming himself, Alexander was able to get out, but without Vasily. Soon, his brother drowned while boating.

In the novel, Belyaev describes how Ichthyander, getting out into the vast expanses of the ocean, had to swim through a tunnel. He swam along it, “overcoming the cold oncoming current. It pushes off from the bottom, floats up... The end of the tunnel is near. Now Ichthyander can again give himself up to the current - it will carry him far into the open ocean.”

Air pollution

When Alexander Belyaev was forced, due to poor health, to go to Crimea for treatment, on the train he met people who had suffered as a result of a technological accident at a Kuzbass enterprise. This is how the idea of ​​the “Air Seller” was born.

In his work, Belyaev warns of an impending environmental disaster, where environment will be so polluted with gases and industrial emissions that clean air will turn into a commodity that will not be available to everyone.

Is it worth reminding that today, due to poor ecology, there is a constant danger of oncology walking around the world, and life expectancy is major cities is rapidly declining. Under these conditions, states are even forced to enter into international agreements, an example of which is the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Orbital station

“The KETS Star” was written in 1936 under the influence of the writer’s correspondence with Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky. As a matter of fact, KETS are the initials of the Soviet scientist. The entire novel is built on Tsiolkovsky’s ideas - the possibility of launching an orbital station, people going into open space, trip to the moon.

After the release of the book, which was published by the magazine “Around the World,” Tsiolkovsky wrote an enthusiastic review of it. The two dreamers were far ahead of their time - after all, the first real orbital station, Salyut, appeared in space only in 1973.

Drones

In the book “Lord of the World” (1926), Belyaev “invented” a device for transmitting thoughts over a distance on the principle of radio waves, which made it possible to instill a thought in a stranger at a distance - essentially a psychotropic weapon. In addition, in his book he predicted the emergence of unmanned aircraft; the first successful tests took place in Great Britain only in the 30s of the 20th century.

Plastic

In his novel “The Man Who Lost Face” (1929), the author presents the reader with the problem of change human body and related subsequent problems. As a matter of fact, the novel predicts modern advances plastic surgery, and the ethical problems that invariably follow.

According to the plot, the state governor turns into a black man and, as a result, experiences all the features of racial discrimination. It is somewhat reminiscent of the fate of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, who changed his skin color to escape prejudice against black people.

Secret Bermuda Triangle

After the triumph of the novel “The Head of Professor Dowell,” at one of the meetings, journalists bombarded the writer with questions: “Who lives at the bottom of the ocean? Is there life on other planets? Do the Flying Dutchmen really exist? Not finding an answer to this question for himself, Belyaev delves into its study and begins to figure out...

Let's say somewhere, for example, in the area of ​​​​Bermuda, there is a certain special zone. The nearby Sargasso Sea with its abundance of algae has always made local navigation difficult; ships left here after shipwrecks could easily accumulate in its waters. This is how the plot of the novel “The Island of Lost Ships” begins.

In his new work, Belyaev became the first to point out the mystery of the now famous Bermuda Triangle, the anomaly of which was first publicly announced by the Associated Press, calling this area “the devil’s sea.”

Last prediction

The year 1940 comes. Many people in the country have gloomy premonitions that a terrible war is coming. And Belyaev special sensations- old illnesses make themselves felt, the writer has a presentiment - he will not survive this war. And he remembers his childhood dream, writes a novel about Ariel - a man who could fly. He himself would like to soar above the bustle of everyday life. Ariel, like Amphibian Man, is biographical. This work is a prediction of one’s own death. He wanted to fly away from this world like Ariel.

And so it happened. The writer died in 1943 from hunger in besieged Leningrad. The writer Belyaev was buried in a common grave along with many others. After this, Belyaev’s wife and daughter were captured by the Germans, and then in exile in Altai.

Upon returning from there, they found the writer’s glasses, to which was attached a note addressed to Belyaev’s wife:

“Do not look for my traces on this earth,” her husband wrote. - I'm waiting for you in heaven. Your Ariel...

Alexander Belyaev

Alexander Belyaev

Birthday: March 16, 1884. Place of Birth: Smolensk, Russia
Date of death: January 6, 1942 (57 years old)
A place of death: Pushkin, Russia
Citizenship: Russia

Biography

Alexander Romanovich Belyaev- Soviet science fiction writer, one of the founders of Soviet science fiction literature. His books are devoted to the problems of science and technology of the future. Among famous works: “The Head of Professor Dowell”, “Amphibian Man”, “Ariel”, “KETS Star” (KETS are the initials of Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky) and many others (in total more than 70 science fiction works, including 13 novels).

He was born in Smolensk, into a family Orthodox priest. There were two more children in the family: sister Nina died in childhood from sarcoma; brother Vasily, a student at the veterinary institute, drowned while boating.

The father wanted to see his son as a successor to his work and sent him to a theological seminary in 1895. In 1901, Alexander graduated from theological seminary, but did not become a priest; on the contrary, he left there as a convinced atheist. In defiance of his father, he entered the Demidov Legal Lyceum in Yaroslavl. Soon after his father's death, he had to earn extra money: Alexander gave lessons, painted scenery for the theater, and played the violin in the circus orchestra.

After graduating (in 1906) from the Demidov Lyceum, A. Belyaev received the position of private attorney in Smolensk and soon gained fame as a good lawyer. He gained a regular clientele. His material opportunities also increased: he was able to rent and furnish a good apartment, acquire a good collection of paintings, and collect a large library. Having finished any business, he went to travel abroad; visited France, Italy, visited Venice.

In 1914 he left law for the sake of literature and theater.

At the age of thirty-five, A. Belyaev fell ill with tuberculous pleurisy. The treatment was unsuccessful - tuberculosis of the spine developed, complicated by paralysis of the legs. A serious illness for 6 years, three of which he was in a cast, confined him to bed. His young wife left him, saying that she didn’t get married to take care of her sick husband. In search of specialists who could help him, A. Belyaev, with his mother and old nanny, ended up in Yalta. There, in the hospital, he began to write poetry. Not giving in to despair, he is engaged in self-education: he studies foreign languages, medicine, biology, history, technology, and reads a lot (Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky). Having defeated the disease, in 1922 he returned to a full life and began to work. At first, A. Belyaev became a teacher in an orphanage, then he was given the position of criminal investigation inspector - he organized a photo laboratory there, and later he had to go to the library. Life in Yalta was very difficult, and A. Belyaev, with the help of friends, moved with his family to Moscow (1923) and got a job as a legal consultant. There he begins serious literary activity. He publishes science fiction stories and novellas in the magazines “Around the World”, “Knowledge is Power”, “World Pathfinder”, earning the title of “Soviet Jules Verne”. In 1925 he published the story “The Head of Professor Dowell,” which Belyaev himself called an autobiographical story: he wanted to tell “what a head without a body can experience.”

A. Belyaev lived in Moscow until 1928; During this time he wrote “The Island of Lost Ships”, “The Last Man from Atlantis”, “Amphibian Man”, “Struggle on the Air”, and published a collection of short stories. The author wrote not only under his own name, but also under the pseudonyms A. Rom and Arbel.

In 1928, A. Belyaev and his family moved to Leningrad, and from then on he was exclusively engaged in literature, professionally. This is how “Lord of the World”, “Underwater Farmers”, “The Wonderful Eye”, stories from the series “The Inventions of Professor Wagner” appeared. They were published mainly in Moscow publishing houses. However, soon the illness made itself felt again, and I had to move from rainy Leningrad to sunny Kyiv.

The year 1930 turned out to be a very difficult year for the writer: his six-year-old daughter died of meningitis, his second daughter fell ill with rickets, and soon his own illness (spondylitis) worsened. As a result, in 1931 the family returned to Leningrad.

In September 1931, A. Belyaev handed over the manuscript of his novel “The Earth is Burning” to the editors of the Leningrad magazine “Around the World”

In 1934 he met with Herbert Wells, who arrived in Leningrad.

In 1935 Belyaev became permanent employee magazine "Around the World".

At the beginning of 1938, after eleven years of intensive cooperation, Belyaev left the magazine “Around the World”.

Shortly before the war, the writer underwent another operation, so he refused the offer to evacuate when the war began. The city of Pushkin (a suburb of Leningrad), where A. Belyaev lived with his family in recent years, was occupied. In January 1942, the writer died of hunger. The writer's surviving wife and daughter were deported by the Germans to Poland.

The place of his burial is not known with certainty. And the memorial stele at the Kazan cemetery in the city of Pushkin was installed only on the supposed grave.

Creation

A. Belyaev was an enthusiastic person. WITH early years he was attracted to music: he independently learned to play the violin and piano, and loved to play music for hours. Another “fun” was photography (there was a photograph he took of a “human head on a platter in blue tones"). Since childhood, I read a lot and was fond of adventure literature, especially Jules Verne. Alexander grew up restless, loved all kinds of pranks and jokes; the result of one of his pranks was an eye injury with further damage to vision. The young man also dreamed of flying: he tried to take off with brooms tied to his hands, jumped from the roof with an umbrella, and eventually took off in a small airplane. However, while trying to take off, he received an injury that affected his entire life. later life. One day he fell from the roof of a barn and significantly injured his back. In the mid-20s, Belyaev suffered from constant pain in his injured back and was even paralyzed for months.

Even while studying at the Lyceum, A. Belyaev showed himself to be a theatergoer. Under his leadership, in 1913, students of male and female gymnasiums acted out the fairy tale “Three years, three days, three minutes” with crowd scenes, choral and ballet numbers. In the same year, A. R. Belyaev and cellist Yu. N. Saburova staged Grigoriev’s opera-fairy tale “The Sleeping Princess.” He himself could act as a playwright, director, and actor. Home theater Belyaev in Smolensk was widely known, toured not only around the city, but also in its environs. Once, during the visit of the capital’s troupe to Smolensk under the direction of Stanislavsky, A. Belyaev managed to replace a sick artist and act in several performances instead.

The writer was keenly interested in the question of the human psyche: the functioning of the brain, its connection with the body, with the life of the soul and spirit. Can the brain think outside the body? Is a brain transplant possible? What consequences can anabiosis and its widespread use have? Are there limits to the possibility of suggestion? What about genetic engineering? The novels “The Head of Professor Dowell”, “Lord of the World”, “The Man Who Lost Face”, the story “The Man Who Doesn’t Sleep”, “Hoyti-Toyti” are devoted to an attempt to solve these problems.

In his science fiction novels Alexander Belyaev anticipated the appearance huge amount inventions and scientific ideas: the “KEC Star” depicts the prototype of modern orbital stations, “Amphibian Man” and “The Head of Professor Dowell” show the wonders of transplantology, “Eternal Bread” shows the achievements of modern biochemistry and genetics. A kind of continuation of these reflections were novels-hypotheses that place a person in different environments existence: ocean (“Amphibian Man”), air (“Ariel”).

His last novel in 1941 - "Ariel" - echoes famous novel A. Green "The Shining World". The heroes of both novels are endowed with the ability to fly without additional accessories. The image of Ariel is the writer’s achievement, in which the author’s faith in a person overcoming “gravity” was objectively realized.

Memory

In 1990, the section of scientific, artistic and science fiction literature of the Leningrad writers' organization of the Union of Writers of the USSR established literary prize named after Alexander Belyaev, awarded for scientific, artistic and popular science works.

Here is a one-volume edition of the most complete in history Russian literature collected works of the famous science fiction writer - Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (1884-1942).
Let's make a reservation, however: complete is still conditional. The purpose of the publication is to return everything to the reader first and foremost (as far as possible) literary texts writer - regardless of their literary quality.
The works are arranged in a conditional manner chronological order. First come major works - novels and stories, then all the writer's stories, as well as two plays, articles and essays. In conclusion, the reader will be able to learn a lot of interesting things about difficult life and amazing creativity writer from a memoir essay written by the daughter of Alexander Romanovich - Svetlana Alexandrovna Belyaeva.
* * *
A. Belyaev is the only writer who has brought so many fantasies to life. Here, as an example, is a small literary and historical reference given in the collection “The Witches’ Castle” (Perm Book Publishing House, 1992). First comes the title of the story from the collection, then the scientific idea, then whether it has been implemented.

"Neither life nor death"
Freezing people as a last resort incurable disease- accomplished.
suspended animation of live fish for transportation - carried out.
Automatically controlled aircraft - experimental copies are being made.
Replacement manual labor machines - implemented.
Passenger airships - implemented, but then stopped.

"Open Sesame"
Mechanical servant - implemented.
Household telecontrol - implemented.
Humanoid robots - prototypes have been created.

"Mr. Laughter"
Technology for obtaining music with specified emotional properties - experiments are underway.
Mechanical production of music - implemented using a computer. Sociology of laughter - accomplished.
Laughter technology - experiments are underway.

"Immortal World"
Ecological catastrophy- feasible.
Disinfection with short waves - implemented.

"VTsBID"
Artificial irrigation has been implemented.
Artificial dispersal of clouds and fog has been accomplished.

"Storm"
The use of wind energy has been implemented.
Hydroelectric power stations on the Volga, Angara and Yenisei - implemented.
Hydraulic accumulator - implemented.

"The Earth is Burning"
A hydroelectric station on the Volga as a means of reclamation of arid lands has been implemented.
Plants for processing agricultural raw materials on collective farms have been implemented, but not completely.
Agricultural cities are feasible.
Power cables are feasible, but not widespread.
Electric tractors - implemented.
Air ionization is accomplished.
Biological pest control - implemented. Oil extraction from the bottom of the sea - implemented.
Floating drilling rigs - implemented.
Foam extinguishing of the fire has been completed.
Moscow-port - accomplished.

The book's nine stories contain approximately 52 science fiction ideas. Of these, 42 ideas have been implemented to date, although not to the stage of experimental samples. 10 ideas have been discarded or remain fantastic.
The writer's daughter Svetlana Aleksandrovna Belyaeva

Alexander Romanovich Belyaev - Russian writer, one of the founders of the genre of science fiction literature in the USSR.

Alexander Belyaev was born on March 4, 1884 in Smolensk in the family of an Orthodox priest. Since childhood, the boy was interested in music, photography, foreign languages ​​and adventure novels. The father wanted to see his son become a clergyman, but after graduating from theological seminary in 1901, Alexander decided to choose a different path for himself. The young man entered the Demidov Legal Lyceum in Yaroslavl, upon graduation he began legal practice and quickly gained a reputation good specialist. He gained regular clients and money, which was spent on works of art, books and travel.

As a lyceum student, Alexander Belyaev was seriously interested in theater and tried himself as an actor, director, and playwright. The young man’s passion for literature did not leave him: in 1914, the author made his debut in the Moscow magazine for children “Protalinka”, where his fairy tale play"Grandma Moira."

The plans of the aspiring writer were interrupted by illness: in 1919, tuberculous pleurisy for six years for long years chained him to bed. The illness bothered the author for the rest of his life, but there was no time to despair: he devoted all his time to studying foreign languages, medicine, history, technology, literature.

1922 was a successful year for Alexander: the illness temporarily subsided and, most importantly, the writer married the woman of his life, Margarita, who gave him a daughter, Lyudmila, three years later. From Yalta, where treatment took place, the Belyaev family moved to Moscow. In 1925, Rabochaya Gazeta published Alexander Belyaev’s story “The Head of Professor Dowell.” From that moment on, the prose writer’s science-fiction stories and short stories began to appear in the magazines “Around the World,” “World Pathfinder,” and “Knowledge is Power.” Over the several years he lived in Moscow, the science fiction writer created many famous works: “The Island of Lost Ships,” “Amphibian Man,” “Struggle on the Air,” “The Last Man from Atlantis.”

In 1928, the prose writer and his family moved to Leningrad. At this time, the books “Lord of the World”, “Underwater Farmers”, “The Wonderful Eye”, and stories from the series “The Inventions of Professor Wagner” were written. In 1930, the family suffered grief: six-year-old Lyudmila died of meningitis. Due to severe mental trauma, Alexander’s poor health worsened even further.

The writer found solace in work: in the thirties he actively collaborated with the magazine Around the World, where he was first published famous novel Belyaev "The Earth is Burning". However, the genre of fiction became less and less in demand, and after eleven years of fruitful work, the author decided to leave the magazine.

With the outbreak of the war, the city of Pushkin - a suburb of Leningrad, where the writer lived with his relatives - found himself under occupation. Due to the operation Alexander was unable to evacuate, his family decided to stay with him. In January 1942, the writer Alexander Belyaev died of hunger. The prose writer's wife and daughter were later deported to Poland.

The exact burial place of the prose writer is still unknown. A memorial stele in honor of Alexander Belyaev at the Kazan cemetery in the city of Pushkin was installed only at the supposed grave. The last work The author became the novel "Ariel", published by the publishing house "Modern Writer" a year before his death.

Despite the fact that it has passed since the birth of the talented science fiction writer more than a century, his works continue to be published, films are made based on the novels: since 1961, eight film adaptations of Alexander Belyaev’s works have been released. Adventure films “The Amphibian Man”, “The Testament of Professor Dowell”, “The Air Seller”, “The Island of Lost Ships” became classics of Soviet cinema. Limited by illness all his life, the author endowed his characters with superpowers: the ability to swim like a fish, fly like a bird, and communicate without words. Belyaev’s books teach kindness and courage, infecting with their all-encompassing thirst for knowledge.