Andrei Sinyavsky
| Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Sinyavsky in Amsterdam, 29 November 1975
|
|
| Native name | Андрей Донатович Синявский |
| Born |
October 8, 1925 Moscow, Russian SFSR |
| Died | February 25, 1997 (aged 71) Paris |
| Pen name | Abram Tertz |
| Occupation | literature, publishing the Russian-language almanac Sintaksis |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Alma mater | Moscow State University |
| Spouse | Maria Rozanova |
| Children | Iegor Gran |
|
|
|
| Signature |  |
Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky (Russian: Андре́й Дона́тович Синя́вский, 8 October 1925 in Moscow – 25 February 1997 in Paris) was a Russian writer, dissident, political prisoner, emigrant, Professor of Sorbonne University, magazine founder and publisher. He frequently wrote under the pseudonym Абрам Терц (Abram Tertz).
During a time of extreme censorship in the Soviet Union, Sinyavsky published his novels in the West under a pseudonym. The historical Abram Tertz was a Jewish gangster from Russia's past, Sinyavsky himself was not Jewish; his father, Donat Sinyavsky, was a Russian nobleman from Syzran, who turned Social Revolutionary and was arrested (after the revolution) several times as an "enemy of the people". During his last stay in jail Donat Sinyavsky became ill and after his release, developed mental illness. Andrei Sinyavsky described his father's experiences in the novel Goodnight! Sinyavsky's mother was of a Russian peasant background.
A protégé of Boris Pasternak, Sinyavsky described the realities of Soviet life in short fiction stories. In 1965, he was arrested, along with fellow-writer and friend Yuli Daniel, and tried in the infamous Sinyavsky-Daniel show trial. On 14 February 1966, Sinyavsky was sentenced to seven years on charges of "anti-Soviet activity" for the opinions of his fictional characters.
The affair was accompanied by harsh propaganda campaigns in the Soviet media and was perceived as a sign of demise of the Khrushchev Thaw.
As historian Fred Coleman writes, "Historians now have no difficulty pinpointing the birth of the modern Soviet dissident movement. It began in February 1966 with the trial of Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel, two Russian writers who ridiculed the Communist regime in satires smuggled abroad and published under pen names... Little did they realize at the time that they were starting a movement that would help end Communist rule."
...
Wikipedia