B. L. Gorbatov

I was born in 1908 in Donbass on Petromaryevsky (nowadays Pervomaisk) the mine. It — in half a kilometer from Central Irmino mine where Stakhanov set up the record.

My childhood I on the mine spent, all youth — in Donbass. I was twelve years old when together with other boys we organized children's communistic group, the first in Ukraine (nowadays it is pioneers). I was not fourteen years old when I was admitted to Komsomol. I was nineteen years old when I was accepted the candidate for All-Union Communist Party (bolsheviks). Since 1930 I am party member. As well as hero of my book "My Generation", "I was never a non-party".

In the childhood I worked at the Kramatorsk plant in Donbass as the planer's pupil. But very much early was fond of literature. Became the worker correspondent. In May, 1922 in the provincial newspaper of Donbass "The all-Union stokehole" my first story "Full and Hungry" was published. I was invited to work in the newspaper. I became a journalist — and already for the rest of life.

In 1924 we organized the Union of proletarian writers of Donbass "Face". I worked in it. In 1925 was a delegate of the first All-Union congress of proletarian writers and it was chosen in board of VAPP.

In March, 1926 at the next congress I was elected one of secretaries of VAPP and moved to Moscow. At this time I wrote verses, they were published in the central newspapers and magazines. There had to be a book of my verses.

But fall of the same year I made two important for me decisions: I understood that I am not a poet, stopped writing verses and decided to return to Donbass. It were, really, wise decisions! In my opinion, they saved my creative life.

There I wrote my first book "Cell" — about Komsomol members of Donbass. Unexpectedly for me and publishing house this book made success, appeared ten editions. It was translated into German, and it burned on a Hitlerite fire in Berlin subsequently. The following my book "Our City" was cruelly scarified by our press — and this criticism was a lesson, useful to me.

In 1928 the Central Committee of All-Union Leninist Young Communist League sent me the representative of the Central Committee to the State publishing house. I moved to Moscow.

In 1930 my term came to be called up for military service.

As well as any Komsomol member, I dreamed to receive military preparation. It is useful! Also it was useful.

I served as a Red Army man in the Caucasus, on the Turkish border, in the 2nd Caucasian mountain regiment. Participated in a mountain campaign, was a member of regimental party bureau, edited the regimental newspaper and stazhirovat on the commander of a platoon. Then became the commander of a platoon.

Having demobilized from army, returned to Moscow and became the special correspondent of "Truth". Since then my life is forever connected with "Truth".

I did a bit of traveling over the country much. Was on new buildings, plants, mines. At me blew into the first, and then second blast furnace of Magnitogorsk, started up Dneproges, Solikamsk combine, the Makiivka blooming. I was at all steel works of the USSR, on sites, ore, salt, potash and gold mines. About all this I wrote sketches to "Truth". There were several books of my sketches: "Masters", "Komintern" etc. I lived nearly two years in the Urals.

In 1934 there was my new book "My Generation".

At this time I was fond of aircraft. As the commander of a stock left retraining in aircraft. There was then the assistant to the commander by political part in flight of light planes of a design Yakovlev along a route Moscow — Irkutsk — Moscow. For this flight of small cars record at that time I was awarded by the honourable weapon of Osoaviakhim.

Then departed with V. S. Molokov to the Arctic: Moscow — the lake of Dickson.

On the lake of Dickson I had to remain as Molokov had to take out patients. I wintered. About a year wintered what never regretted about. Fell in love with the Arctic.

In 1936, besides as a part of Molokov's crew, I participated in the Arctic flight through all Arctic. We flew by thirty thousand kilometers by the flying boat, visited all winterings, Kamchatka, Chukotka, the Commander Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk — and ended flight on the Moskva River where we were met by heads of party and government.

For this flight I was awarded the order "Honour Sign".

In 1937 continued to fly on the North. Was on the Lensky mines, in Siberia etc. As a result of this hobby for the North there was my book "Ordinary Arctic" — the most my dear book.

I want to emphasize here that life experience, savoir vivre are got not casual, "creative business trips". All life of the writer is continuous, daily supervision and studying. As for me — that I only behind a desk remember that I am a writer. I try to forget about it when I live among people, I want to live simply as people live, without thinking of how I will describe then this cloud or a small beard of this person, but involuntarily I remember both this cloud and this small beard. Unfortunately, I seldom write down something in a notebook, but all what was seen heard, recognized strongly is postponed in memory as if in granaries. And the these sincere granaries are fuller, the it is easier to write.

The huge service was served to me by my long work in the newspaper as the special correspondent. The newspaper gave me the chance to travel all over all our country, to meet many remarkable people and, the main thing, to meet them efficiently. For the Soviet journalist surely responsible, strict and business studying of material; the journalist as necessary meticulously penetrates into technology of business, he mistrustfully listens to any reports, he has to probe everything own hands if does not want to bring the edition and to deceive the readers. In my opinion, for the writer work in the newspaper is irreplaceable. In any case, personally I am obliged to the newspaper by everything that I know and I am able.

The newspaper taught me to talk to people both heart-to-heart and "in essence". I, for example, never talked to the person, holding before myself a notebook. From experience I know that, having noticed a notebook, your future hero involuntarily and from the best motives will begin to tell you not that is actually. He will embellish "slightly", prisochinyat, he speaks already not simply, and for the press, for literature.

"закромо´в" I consider filling process as the first and, maybe, the most important process in the writer's life.

But here the new book is conceived. It seems that your granaries are rather full in order that to write it. Now only — sit down to a table and roll! Whether studying of life stops now? Certainly, no. On the contrary, right now it becomes the most active, creative, conscious. Now not just you live, now you look for. You look for people who are necessary to you. You look for it is comprehended, exactingly, captiously …

Of stories of writers about prototypes of the heroes there can sometimes be a representation that the writer was just lucky: happily met the interesting person and wrote about him. But would not meet — and would not be in literature of this hero.

But these happy meetings, as a rule, happen at those writers who actively look for and well know what they look for. The writer — not the gold digger of old type dreaming of "farta", of a nugget which suddenly by itself is given you in hands. The writer is similar rather to the miner-drifter who makes the way to new layers, perfectly knowing where and as they lie.

To find and see new in life, a lot of things are necessary to know about this life. Here, as it is represented to me, "the law of expanded reproduction" works. To me one old man, the writer who those days when Magnitogorsk was under construction, arrived there is remembered, wandered about streets with a notebook in hands, stopped people, it was presented to them and asked: Whether "You can tell me something that I could use in a fictional form?" What people could tell it? What he could ask them on? It arrived to Magnitogorsk, as to hunting as on a gold scattering and, certainly, left with anything. And "nuggets" really lay everywhere, but he could not see them.

I want to emphasize especially need of active, intelligent, business studying of life. Process of considering of future book is unusually important process. Actually, during this period also decides: the book will turn out or it will not turn out. Here also you begin to stir the granaries. You begin to select precious, important, necessary. You begin in the brain — to organize, build future book of chaos of impressions and images as the house from construction material.

Often at us, speaking about skill of the writer, mean mainly work on the word, on image, on an epithet, precisely all skill of the writer consists in writing the good phrase. Meanwhile the stage of creation of the book to a desk, in my opinion, is a stage much more decisive. At this time it is necessary to bring into clarity of idea and thought which you want to tell the reader first of all; it is necessary to put in order that you in life saw because material huge and it is easy to sink in it. And here I stand up for the plan. I know that our classics never without plan worked.

I am not afraid to use — at this stage — the word "scheme". Yes, it is necessary to construct the scheme, the drawing of future book. To arrange people, to find out their relationship. To define their destinies. Because, in my opinion, there is nothing more interestingly in the book, than destiny of the person hero. And these destinies — in the writer's hands. How it is possible to write about the person, without knowing him? First of all it is necessary to get at itself "human resources department". It is necessary to know everything about each of the heroes, since when he was born and that with him was before it came to pages of the book, and finishing what with it will be then after it left the book.

Abundance of heroes is characteristic of modern works. But about everyone — about each person appearing on pages of the book — the author is obliged to know everything. It is not important whether all this will enter the novel or not. And the nobility — it is necessary! Then one tag the phrase it will be possible to characterize the person, and there will be people, but not characters, books, but not the staff list.

It is impossible to neglect also accuracy concerning action time … Let's remember, the narration at classics as usual began: "In the warm June evening 1858 …" — etc. From their books always clearly, when and where there is an action. And presently, when not that year, and is unique every day, is not similar on previous, it is especially important. I know it from own bitter experience. Failure of my play "Law of Wintering" in many respects was explained by what I is any "shifted time", and the lie, falseness turned out: what was possible in the Arctic of 1935 when I was there became already impossible in the Arctic of 1941 … Life stepped forward.

In general accuracy in everything is a law for the writer. Those from us who works on industrial subjects need especially to know, and it is good, meticulously to know equipment, technology, production. The person of work cannot be shown without it.

I happened to be present at discussion of the play of one young playwright somehow. All amicably criticized the play. In it two steelmakers were brought. One — "conservative", another — "innovator", but both of them were equally pale and uninteresting. Then we asked the author that he told us not "artly", and by the own words, simply that is wanted by the innovator and against what the conservative argues, and suddenly it became clear that the author himself not only does not know it, and and in general about martin business has vague concept. Whether it is worth being surprised after that that the play did not appear?

The writer has to know to a subtlety technology of business, even not in order that to describe it and that to understand everything and to see, and having seen — to find in it figurative, that is human and poetic. Nobody demands from the writer that he described all these screws and bolts — he writes not the price list, but he has to know all these bolts and screws, otherwise for it and the car will be only iron chaos, and the person — the creator of the car — will remain unclear. I will tell besides from experience. Only studying technical literature, textbooks of mining, talking to masters and happening in mines, I could write those pages in the book "Donbass" which I love. Also there are in this book several inaccuracies for which I painfully redden: means, studied not everything how it is necessary!. I will correct them in the first edition. And again I will go to Donbass — to look, observe, study …

It is a lot of, the writer has to know much! Besides the main thing, the main for the sake of what the book is written, he has to know also the mass of minor. I mean "the second plan" in the book.

The scenario lawfully does not demand such abundance of details as the novel. And it is clear. It is not necessary to describe in detail appearance of the hero — there will be a living actor. It is not necessary to write a landscape — there will be an operator. There will be live nature. There will be a director, artists, etc., etc. The cinema has many graphic means.

At the writer when he writes the novel, only one weapon — the word. The word it has to depict both the hero, and nature, and life which goes there, on "the second plan". Whether yes this second plan is necessary in general? It is necessary it is necessary. Not for the sake of ornament, gardening of the book, let it pass, And in order that the reader saw in our book not the composition of the author according to the ruled scheme, and life. Life with all its paints, smells, modulations, details. For this purpose both the landscape is necessary, and descriptions are necessary, and all this mass of details which as though solves nothing in the book, and actually and creates that charm of facts of life which so submits us in Sholokhov, Fadeyev, Fedin, Katayev's novels.

And to the writer when he is able to write it and knows life, it is easier to work. For me, for example, it is painfully difficult to compose "scenes in an office", meetings, chamber episodes. I understand that it is necessary "to deck" these scenes. Here also you begin: "he smiled", or "having grinned, he told", or "having shifted shaggy eyebrows, he spoke" … Most it is boring to write!. And all because that I zrimo did not imagine either this office, or a conference hall where there is a hot, interesting discussion; I did not describe a table on which my hero could lean, did not write a window in which he would look, did not give life behind this window …

Here I speak already, as you can see, about direct work of the writer behind a desk. It is the most joyful and most difficult stage of the birth of the book. It is a harvest season literary. Here decides whether your plans ripened whether there will be enough puny strength to fill the drawing with live and hot blood.

We were taught more than once by our great masters: work on the work more, remake, rewrite!. And it is gold words. There is nothing more joyfully how to work, work, work on the book!. To remake, rewrite, see how on your eyes ripens and the child gets prettier yours. Creativity process — the most expensive in our work.

In the summer of 1938 I was called on courses of commanders of a stock. I ended courses with honors and was certified to a position of the commander of a battalion.

Since then I am strong connected with army. Soon I was called again, already in my regiment (the 229th shooting) where I consistently was the chief of a staff of a battalion, replaced the battalion commander and, at last, with the assistant to the chief of a staff of a regiment on investigation. In this quality I participated in 1939 in a campaign to the Western Belarus.

Then in the same 1939 it was thrown on the Finnish front. Participated in fights on the Karelian Isthmus. Had imprudence to write article to the army newspaper, and immediately by Puarm's order it was returned in "a primitive state", in the newspaper. After the end of the Finnish campaign all of us, writers, deactivated PUR.

When Patriotic war began, I was appointed in the front newspaper of the Southern front. From the first to the last day wars was a war correspondent. This way briefly can be described so: from Chernovits to Tuapse — on the East, and from Tuapse to Berlin — on the West. During this time I wrote "Letters to the companion", "Stories about soldier's soul", "Alexey Kulikov, the fighter", etc.

So it happened that I had to be at war in Donbass, much at home.

As a result of it there was my book "Unsubdued". I wrote it very quickly and therefore there was it "crude". I regret that could not make everything that wanted. But it left in time, I am happy also with it. Its circulation already passed for one million copies. It is translated and published in twenty three countries of the world.

For this book to me the Stalin award of the second degree was awarded (for 1943 — 1944).

I ended war in Berlin. I was present at capture of the Reichstag, was at that meeting where capitulation of Germany was signed, saw dead Goebbels, etc., etc. But about it did not manage to write yet. During war it is awarded the order Patriotic war of the I degree, an award of the Red Star, medals for Odessa, the Caucasus, Warsaw, Berlin. In total I have nine government awards.

After war edition of "Truth" sent me to the Balkans. I visited Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. From Czechoslovakia I according to the decision of All-Union Communist Party (bolsheviks) of the Central Committee was called and sent to Japan. I stayed in Japan three and a half months. Visited also Philippines. About it wrote several sketches to "Truth".

Except the listed above books, wrote still plays "Youth of Fathers", "Law of Wintering" and scenarios for movies "It Was in Donbass", "Unsubdued", "Court of the People".

In the fall of 1946 after the historical decision of the Central Committee of All-Union Communist Party (bolsheviks) on magazines, at replacement of the leadership of the Writers' Union, I was elected the secretary of party group of presidium of the PROGRAM STATUS WORD and the member of the secretariat of the Writers' Union. It was elected the deputy of the Supreme Council of RSFSR.

For the scenario "Donetsk Miners" to me the Stalin award II of degree for 1951 was awarded (together with Alekseev Vladimir Abramovich).

Source: Boris Leontyevich Gorbatov. Collected works in four volumes. Volume 1. M. "Truth", 1988



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• Gorbatov Boris Leontyevich
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