Nobel laureates in literature from Russia and the USSR. Nobel Prize in Literature laureate announced Poet Nobel Prize in Literature laureate

Only five Russian writers were awarded the prestigious international Nobel Prize. For three of them, this brought not only worldwide fame, but also widespread persecution, repression and expulsion. Only one of them was approved by the Soviet government, and its last owner was “forgiven” and invited to return to his homeland.

Nobel Prize- one of the most prestigious awards, which is awarded annually for outstanding scientific research, significant inventions and significant contributions to culture and the development of society. There is one comical, but not accidental story connected with its establishment. It is known that the founder of the prize, Alfred Nobel, is also famous for the fact that it was he who invented dynamite (pursuing, however, pacifist goals, since he believed that opponents armed to the teeth would understand the stupidity and senselessness of the war and stop the conflict). When his brother Ludwig Nobel died in 1888, and newspapers erroneously “buried” Alfred Nobel, calling him a “merchant of death,” the latter seriously wondered how society would remember him. As a result of these thoughts, Alfred Nobel changed his will in 1895. And it said the following:

“All my movable and immovable property must be converted by my executors into liquid assets, and the capital thus collected must be placed in a reliable bank. The income from the investments should belong to a fund, which will distribute them annually in the form of bonuses to those who, during the previous year, have brought the greatest benefit to humanity... The said interest must be divided into five equal parts, which are intended: one part - to the one who makes the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; the other - to the one who makes the most important discovery or improvement in the field of chemistry; the third - to the one who makes the most important discovery in the field of physiology or medicine; the fourth - to the one who creates the most outstanding literary work of an idealistic direction; fifth - to the one who will make the most significant contribution to the unity of nations, the abolition of slavery or the reduction of the strength of existing armies and the promotion of peaceful congresses ... It is my special desire that in the awarding of prizes the nationality of the candidates will not be taken into account ... ".

Medal awarded to a Nobel laureate

After conflicts with Nobel’s “deprived” relatives, the executors of his will - his secretary and lawyer - established the Nobel Foundation, whose responsibilities included organizing the presentation of bequeathed prizes. A separate institution was created to award each of the five prizes. So, Nobel Prize in literature came under the purview of the Swedish Academy. Since then, the Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded annually since 1901, except for 1914, 1918, 1935 and 1940-1943. It is interesting that upon delivery Nobel Prize Only the names of the laureates are announced; all other nominations are kept secret for 50 years.

Swedish Academy building

Despite the apparent disinterest Nobel Prize, dictated by the philanthropic instructions of Nobel himself, many “left” political forces still see obvious politicization and some Western cultural chauvinism in the awarding of the prize. It is difficult not to notice that the vast majority of Nobel laureates come from the USA and European countries (more than 700 laureates), while the number of laureates from the USSR and Russia is much smaller. Moreover, there is a point of view that the majority of Soviet laureates were awarded the prize only for criticism of the USSR.

Nevertheless, these five Russian writers are laureates Nobel Prize according to literature:

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin- laureate of 1933. The prize was awarded “for the strict mastery with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose.” Bunin received the prize while in exile.

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak- laureate of 1958. The prize was awarded “for significant achievements in modern lyric poetry, as well as for continuing the traditions of the great Russian epic novel.” This prize is associated with the anti-Soviet novel “Doctor Zhivago”, therefore, in conditions of severe persecution, Pasternak is forced to refuse it. The medal and diploma were awarded to the writer’s son Evgeniy only in 1988 (the writer died in 1960). It is interesting that in 1958 this was the seventh attempt to present Pasternak with the prestigious prize.

Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov- laureate of 1965. The prize was awarded “For the artistic strength and integrity of the epic about the Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia.” This award has a long history. Back in 1958, a delegation of the USSR Writers' Union that visited Sweden contrasted the European popularity of Pasternak with the international popularity of Sholokhov, and in a telegram to the Soviet ambassador in Sweden dated April 7, 1958 it was said:

“It would be desirable to make it clear to the Swedish public through cultural figures close to us that the Soviet Union would highly appreciate the award Nobel Prize Sholokhov... It is also important to make it clear that Pasternak as a writer is not recognized by Soviet writers and progressive writers of other countries.”

Contrary to this recommendation, Nobel Prize in 1958, it was nevertheless awarded to Pasternak, which resulted in severe disapproval from the Soviet government. But in 1964 from Nobel Prize Jean-Paul Sartre refused, explaining, among other things, his personal regret that Sholokhov was not awarded the prize. It was this gesture of Sartre that predetermined the choice of the laureate in 1965. Thus, Mikhail Sholokhov became the only Soviet writer who received Nobel Prize with the consent of the top leadership of the USSR.

Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn- laureate of 1970. The prize was awarded “for the moral strength with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature.” Only 7 years passed from the beginning of Solzhenitsyn’s career to the award of the prize - this is the only such case in the history of the Nobel Committee. Solzhenitsyn himself spoke about the political aspect of awarding him the prize, but the Nobel Committee denied this. However, after Solzhenitsyn received the prize, a propaganda campaign was organized against him in the USSR, and in 1971, an attempt was made to physically destroy him when he was injected with a toxic substance, after which the writer survived, but was ill for a long time.

Joseph Alexandrovich Brodsky- laureate of 1987. The prize was awarded “for comprehensive creativity, imbued with clarity of thought and passion of poetry.” Awarding the prize to Brodsky no longer caused such controversy as many other decisions of the Nobel Committee, since Brodsky by that time was known in many countries. In his first interview after he was awarded the prize, he himself said: “It was received by Russian literature, and it was received by an American citizen.” And even the weakened Soviet government, shaken by perestroika, began to establish contacts with the famous exile.

The Nobel Prize in Literature is an award for achievements in the field of literature, awarded annually by the Nobel Committee in Stockholm. Contents 1 Requirements for nominating candidates 2 List of laureates 2.1 1900s ... Wikipedia

Medal awarded to a Nobel Prize laureate The Nobel Prizes (Swedish: Nobelpriset, English: Nobel Prize) are one of the most prestigious international prizes, awarded annually for outstanding scientific research, revolutionary inventions or... ... Wikipedia

Medal of the USSR State Prize Laureate USSR State Prize (1966 1991) one of the most important awards in the USSR along with Leninskaya (1925 1935, 1957 1991). Established in 1966 as a successor to the Stalin Prize, awarded in 1941-1954; laureates... ...Wikipedia

Swedish Academy Building The Nobel Prize in Literature is an award for achievements in the field of literature, awarded annually by the Nobel Committee in Stockholm. Contents... Wikipedia

Medal of the USSR State Prize Laureate The USSR State Prize (1966 1991) is one of the most important prizes in the USSR along with the Lenin Prize (1925 1935, 1957 1991). Established in 1966 as a successor to the Stalin Prize, awarded in 1941-1954; laureates... ...Wikipedia

Medal of the USSR State Prize Laureate The USSR State Prize (1966 1991) is one of the most important prizes in the USSR along with the Lenin Prize (1925 1935, 1957 1991). Established in 1966 as a successor to the Stalin Prize, awarded in 1941-1954; laureates... ...Wikipedia

Medal of the USSR State Prize Laureate The USSR State Prize (1966 1991) is one of the most important prizes in the USSR along with the Lenin Prize (1925 1935, 1957 1991). Established in 1966 as a successor to the Stalin Prize, awarded in 1941-1954; laureates... ...Wikipedia

Books

• According to the will. Notes on the laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ilyukovich A.. The basis of the publication consists of biographical sketches about all laureates of the Nobel Prize in Literature over 90 years, from the moment it was first awarded in 1901 to 1991, supplemented by...

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded for the 107th time - the 2014 winner was the French writer and screenwriter Patrick Modiano. Thus, since 1901, 111 authors have already received the literature prize (four times the award was awarded to two writers at the same time).

Alfred Nobel bequeathed a prize for “the most outstanding literary work in ideal direction”, and not for circulation and popularity. But the concept of a “bestselling book” already existed at the beginning of the 20th century, and sales volumes can at least partially speak about the skill and literary significance of the writer.

RBC has compiled a conditional rating of Nobel laureates in literature based on the commercial success of their works. The source was data from the world's largest book retailer Barnes & Noble on the best-selling books of Nobel laureates.

William Golding

Winner of the 1983 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For novels that, with the clarity of realistic narrative art, combined with the diversity and universality of myth, help to comprehend the existence of man in the modern world"

For almost forty years literary career English writer published 12 novels. Golding's novels Lord of the Flies and The Descendants are among the Nobel laureates' best-selling books according to Barnes & Noble. The first, released in 1954, brought him worldwide fame. In terms of the significance of the novel for the development of modern thought and literature, critics often compared it with Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.”

The best-selling book at Barnes & Noble is Lord of the Flies (1954).

Toni Morrison

Winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature

« A writer who brought to life an important aspect of American reality in her dreamy and poetic novels.”

American writer Toni Morrison was born in Ohio into a working-class family. She began pursuing creative writing while attending Howard University, where she studied English Language and Literature. Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye, was based on a story she wrote for a university poetry group. In 1975, her novel Sula was nominated for the US National Book Award.

Best selling book at Barnes & Noble - The Bluest Eye (1970)

John Steinbeck

Winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For his realistic and poetic gift, combined with gentle humor and keen social vision"

Among Steinbeck's most famous novels are The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and Of Mice and Men. All of them are included in the top dozen bestsellers according to the American store Barnes & Noble.

By 1962, Steinbeck had already been nominated for the prize eight times, and he himself believed that he did not deserve it. Critics in the United States greeted the award with hostility, believing that his later novels were much weaker than his subsequent ones. In 2013, when documents from the Swedish Academy were revealed (they had been kept secret for 50 years), it turned out that Steinbeck was a recognized classic American literature- awarded because he was “the best in bad company» candidates for that year's award.

The first edition of the novel “The Grapes of Wrath,” with a circulation of 50 thousand copies, was illustrated and cost $2.75. In 1939, the book became a bestseller. To date, the book has sold more than 75 million copies, and the first edition good condition costs more than $24 thousand.

Ernest Hemingway

Winner of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For the narrative mastery once again demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence it has had on modern style"

Hemingway became one of nine literary laureates to whom the Nobel Prize was awarded for a specific work (the story “The Old Man and the Sea”), and not for literary activity in general. In addition to the Nobel Prize, The Old Man and the Sea won the author a Pulitzer Prize in 1953. The story was first published in Life magazine in September 1952, and in just two days, 5.3 million copies of the magazine were purchased in the United States.

Interestingly, the Nobel Committee seriously considered awarding the prize to Hemingway in 1953, but then chose Winston Churchill, who wrote more than a dozen books of a historical and biographical nature during his life. One of the main reasons for not delaying the awarding of the former British Prime Minister was his venerable age (Churchill was 79 years old at that time).

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For novels and stories in which fantasy and reality combine to reflect the life and conflicts of an entire continent"

Márquez became the first Colombian to receive a prize from the Swedish Academy. His books, including Chronicle of a Death Proclaimed, Love in the Time of Cholera, and The Autumn of the Patriarch, outsold all books ever published in Spanish except the Bible. The novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” called by the Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda “the greatest creation in history.” Spanish after Cervantes' Don Quixote," has been translated into more than 25 languages ​​and has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide.

The best-selling book at Barnes & Noble is One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967).

Samuel Beckett

Winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For innovative works in prose and drama, in which the tragedy of modern man becomes his triumph"

A native of Ireland, Samuel Beckett is considered one of the most prominent representatives of modernism; Along with Eugene Ionescu, he founded the “theater of the absurd.” Beckett wrote in English and French, and his most famous work - the play "Waiting for Godot" - was written in French. The main characters of the play throughout the entire play are waiting for a certain Godot, meeting with whom can bring meaning to their meaningless existence. There is virtually no dynamics in the play, Godot never appears, and the viewer is left to interpret for himself what kind of image he is.

Beckett loved chess, attracted women, but led a secluded life. He agreed to accept the Nobel Prize only on the condition that he would not attend the presentation ceremony. Instead, his publisher, Jérôme Lindon, received the prize.

William Faulkner

Winner of the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For his significant and artistically unique contribution to the development of the modern American novel"

Faulkner initially refused to go to Stockholm to receive the prize, but his daughter persuaded him. When asked by US President John F. Kennedy to attend a dinner in honor of Nobel Prize winners, Faulkner, who said to himself “I am not a writer, but a farmer,” replied that he was “too old to travel so far for a dinner with strangers.”

According to Barnes & Noble, Faulkner's best-selling book is his novel As I Lay Dying. “The Sound and the Fury,” which the author himself considered his most successful work, did not have commercial success for a long time. In the 16 years after its publication (in 1929), the novel sold only three thousand copies. However, at the time of receiving the Nobel Prize, The Sound and the Fury was already considered a classic of American literature.

In 2012, the British publishing house The Folio Society released Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, where the text of the novel is printed in 14 colors, as the author himself wanted (so that the reader could see different time planes). The publisher's recommended price for such a copy is $375, but the circulation was limited to only 1,480 copies, and a thousand of them were already pre-ordered at the time of the book's release. At the moment, you can buy a limited edition of “The Sound and the Fury” on eBay for 115 thousand rubles.

Doris Lessing

Winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For his insight into women's experiences with skepticism, passion and visionary power"

British poet and writer Doris Lessing became the oldest laureate literary prize Swedish Academy, in 2007 she was 88 years old. Lessing also became the eleventh woman to win this prize (out of thirteen).

Lessing was not popular among the masses literary critics, since her works were often devoted to pressing social issues (in particular, she was called a propagandist of Sufism). However, The Times magazine places Lessing fifth on its list of the "50 greatest British authors since 1945".

The most popular book at Barnes & Noble is Lessing's 1962 novel The Golden Notebook. Some commentators rank it among the classics of feminist fiction. Lessing herself categorically disagreed with this label.

Albert Camus

Winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature

"For his enormous contribution to literature, highlighting the importance of human conscience"

French essayist, journalist and writer of Algerian origin Albert Camus called "the conscience of the West." One of his most popular works, the novel “The Outsider,” was published in 1942, and sales began in the United States in 1946. English translation, and in just a few years more than 3.5 million copies were sold.

When presenting the prize to the writer, member of the Swedish Academy Anders Exterling said that “Camus’s philosophical views were born in an acute contradiction between the acceptance of earthly existence and the awareness of the reality of death.” Despite Camus's frequent association with the philosophy of existentialism, he himself denied his involvement in this movement. In a speech in Stockholm, he said his work was built on the desire to "avoid outright lies and resist oppression."

Alice Munro

Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature

The prize was awarded with the wording “ to the master modern genre short story"

Canadian short story writer Alice Munro has been writing short stories since she was a teenager, but her first collection (Dance of the Happy Shadows) was published only in 1968, when Munro was already 37. In 1971, the writer published a collection of interconnected stories, Lives of Girls and Women, which was praised by critics as a “novel of education” (Bildungsroman). Among others literary works- collections “Who are you, exactly?” (1978), “The Moons of Jupiter” (1982), “The Fugitive” (2004), “Too Much Happiness” (2009). The 2001 collection “The Hate Me, the Hate Friendship, the Courtship, the Love, the Marriage” served as the basis for the Canadian feature film Away from Her directed by Sarah Polley.

Critics have called Munro "the Canadian Chekhov" for his narrative style, characterized by clarity and psychological realism.

The best selling book at Barnes & Noble is “ Dear Life"(2012).

Dedicated to the great Russian writers.

From October 21 to November 21, 2015, the Library and Information Complex invites you to an exhibition dedicated to the works of Nobel laureates in literature from Russia and the USSR.

A Belarusian writer received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2015. The award was awarded to Svetlana Alexievich with the following wording: “For her polyphonic creativity - a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” At the exhibition we also presented works by Svetlana Alexandrovna.

The exhibition can be viewed at the address: Leningradsky Prospekt, 49, 1st floor, room. 100.

The prizes, established by the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, are considered the most honorable in the world. They are awarded annually (since 1901) for outstanding work in the field of medicine or physiology, physics, chemistry, literary works, for his contribution to strengthening peace and economics (since 1969).

The Nobel Prize in Literature is an award for achievements in the field of literature, awarded annually by the Nobel Committee in Stockholm on December 10. According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, the following persons can nominate candidates: members of the Swedish Academy, other academies, institutes and societies with similar tasks and goals; university professors of literary history and linguistics; Nobel Prize laureates in literature; chairmen of authors' unions representing literary creativity in the respective countries.

Unlike laureates of other prizes (for example, physics and chemistry), the decision to award the Nobel Prize in Literature is made by members of the Swedish Academy. The Swedish Academy unites 18 Swedish figures. The Academy includes historians, linguists, writers and one lawyer. They are known in society as "Eighteen". Membership in the academy is for life. After the death of one of the members, the academicians elect a new academician by secret vote. The Academy selects a Nobel Committee from among its members. It is he who deals with the issue of awarding the prize.

Nobel laureates on literature from Russia and the USSR :

• I. A. Bunin(1933 "For the strict skill with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose")
• B.L. Parsnip(1958 "For significant achievements in modern lyric poetry, as well as for continuing the traditions of the great Russian epic novel")
• M. A. Sholokhov(1965 “For the artistic strength and honesty with which he depicted the historical era in the life of the Russian people in his Don epic”)
• A. I. Solzhenitsyn(1970 "For the moral strength with which he followed the immutable traditions of Russian literature")
• I. A. Brodsky(1987 "For comprehensive creativity, imbued with clarity of thought and passion of poetry")

Russian literature laureates are people with different, sometimes opposing, views. I. A. Bunin and A. I. Solzhenitsyn are staunch opponents of Soviet power, and M. A. Sholokhov, on the contrary, is a communist. However, the main thing they have in common is their undoubted talent, for which they were awarded Nobel Prizes.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin is a famous Russian writer and poet, an outstanding master of realistic prose, an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In 1920, Bunin emigrated to France.

The most difficult thing for a writer in exile is to remain himself. It happens that, having left his homeland due to the need to make dubious compromises, he is again forced to kill his spirit in order to survive. Fortunately, Bunin escaped this fate. Despite any trials, Bunin always remained true to himself.

In 1922, Ivan Alekseevich’s wife, Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, wrote in her diary that Romain Rolland nominated Bunin for the Nobel Prize. From then on, Ivan Alekseevich lived with hopes that someday he would be awarded this prize. 1933 On November 10, all newspapers in Paris came out with large headlines: “Bunin - Nobel laureate.” Every Russian in Paris, even the loader at the Renault plant, who had never read Bunin, took this as a personal holiday. Because my compatriot turned out to be the best, the most talented! In the Parisian taverns and restaurants that evening there were Russians, who sometimes drank for “one of their own” with their last pennies.

On the day the prize was awarded, November 9, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin watched the “cheerful stupidity” “Baby” in the cinema. Suddenly the darkness of the hall was cut through by a narrow beam of a flashlight. They were looking for Bunin. He was called by telephone from Stockholm.

“And immediately my whole old life ends. I go home quite quickly, but without feeling anything other than regret that I was not able to watch the film. But no. I can’t help but believe: the whole house is glowing with lights. And my heart squeezes with some kind of sadness ... Some kind of turning point in my life,” recalled I. A. Bunin.

Exciting days in Sweden. IN concert hall in the presence of the king, after the report of the writer, member of the Swedish Academy Peter Hallström on the work of Bunin, he was presented with a folder with a Nobel diploma, a medal and a check for 715 thousand French francs.

When presenting the award, Bunin noted that the Swedish Academy acted very bravely by awarding the emigrant writer. Among the contenders for this year’s prize was another Russian writer, M. Gorky, however, largely thanks to the publication of the book “The Life of Arsenyev” by that time, the scales nevertheless tipped in the direction of Ivan Alekseevich.

Returning to France, Bunin feels rich and, sparing no expense, distributes “benefits” to emigrants and donates funds to support various societies. Finally, on the advice of well-wishers, he invests the remaining amount in a “win-win business” and is left with nothing.

Bunin’s friend, poet and prose writer Zinaida Shakhovskaya, in her memoir book “Reflection,” noted: “With skill and a small amount of practicality, the prize should have been enough to last. But the Bunins did not buy either an apartment or a villa...”

Unlike M. Gorky, A. I. Kuprin, A. N. Tolstoy, Ivan Alekseevich did not return to Russia, despite the admonitions of the Moscow “messengers”. I never came to my homeland, not even as a tourist.

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890-1960) was born in Moscow into a family famous artist Leonid Osipovich Pasternak. Mother, Rosalia Isidorovna, was a talented pianist. Maybe that’s why, as a child, the future poet dreamed of becoming a composer and even studied music with Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin. However, the love of poetry won out. B. L. Pasternak's fame was brought by his poetry, and his bitter trials by "Doctor Zhivago", a novel about the fate of the Russian intelligentsia.

The editors of the literary magazine, to which Pasternak offered the manuscript, considered the work anti-Soviet and refused to publish it. Then the writer transferred the novel abroad, to Italy, where it was published in 1957. The very fact of publication in the West was sharply condemned by Soviet creative colleagues, and Pasternak was expelled from the Writers' Union. However, it was Doctor Zhivago that made Boris Pasternak a Nobel laureate. The writer was nominated for the Nobel Prize starting in 1946, but was awarded it only in 1958, after the release of the novel. The conclusion of the Nobel Committee says: "... for significant achievements both in modern lyric poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic tradition."

At home, the award of such an honorary prize to an “anti-Soviet novel” aroused the indignation of the authorities, and under the threat of deportation from the country, the writer was forced to refuse the award. Only 30 years later, his son, Evgeniy Borisovich Pasternak, received a diploma and a Nobel laureate medal for his father.

The fate of another Nobel laureate, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn, is no less dramatic. He was born in 1918 in Kislovodsk, and his childhood and youth were spent in Novocherkassk and Rostov-on-Don. After graduating from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Rostov University, A.I. Solzhenitsyn taught and at the same time studied by correspondence at the Literary Institute in Moscow. When did the Great Patriotic War, the future writer went to the front.

Shortly before the end of the war, Solzhenitsyn was arrested. The reason for the arrest was critical remarks against Stalin, found by military censorship in Solzhenitsyn's letters. He was released after Stalin's death (1953). In 1962 the magazine " New world"published his first story - “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,” which tells about the life of prisoners in the camp. Literary magazines refused to publish most of the subsequent works. There was only one explanation: anti-Soviet orientation. However, the writer did not give up and sent the manuscripts abroad, where they were published. Alexander Isaevich was not limited literary activity- he fought for the freedom of political prisoners in the USSR, and sharply criticized the Soviet system.

The literary works and political position of A. I. Solzhenitsyn were well known abroad, and in 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize. The writer did not go to Stockholm for the award ceremony: he was not allowed to leave the country. Representatives of the Nobel Committee, who wanted to present the prize to the laureate at home, were not allowed into the USSR.

In 1974, A.I. Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the country. First he lived in Switzerland, then moved to the USA, where, with a significant delay, he was awarded the Nobel Prize. Such works as “In the First Circle”, “The Gulag Archipelago”, “August 1914”, “Cancer Ward” were published in the West. In 1994, A. Solzhenitsyn returned to his homeland, traveling across all of Russia, from Vladivostok to Moscow.

The fate of Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, the only Russian Nobel Prize laureate in literature, who was supported, turned out differently government bodies. M. A. Sholokhov (1905-1980) was born in the south of Russia, on the Don - in the center of the Russian Cossacks. He later described his small homeland - the village of Kruzhilin in the village of Vyoshenskaya - in many works. Sholokhov graduated from only four classes of the gymnasium. He actively participated in the events of the civil war, led a food detachment that took away the so-called surplus grain from rich Cossacks.

Already in his youth, the future writer felt an inclination to literary creativity. In 1922, Sholokhov came to Moscow, and in 1923 he began publishing his first stories in newspapers and magazines. In 1926, the collections “Don Stories” and “Azure Steppe” were published. Work on "Quiet Don" - a novel about the life of the Don Cossacks in the era of the Great Turning Point (World War I, revolutions and civil war) - began in 1925. In 1928, the first part of the novel was published, and Sholokhov completed it in the 30s. " Quiet Don"became the pinnacle of the writer's creativity, and in 1965 he was awarded the Nobel Prize "for the artistic strength and completeness with which he epic work about the Don reflected a historical phase in the life of the Russian people." "Quiet Don" has been translated in 45 countries around the world into several dozen languages.

By the time he received the Nobel Prize, Joseph Brodsky’s bibliography included six collections of poems, the poem “Gorbunov and Gorchakov”, the play “Marble”, many essays (written mainly in English). However, in the USSR, from where the poet was expelled in 1972, his works were distributed mainly in samizdat, and he received the prize while already a citizen of the United States of America.

A spiritual connection with his homeland was important to him. He kept Boris Pasternak's tie as a relic and even wanted to wear it to the Nobel Prize ceremony, but protocol rules did not allow it. Nevertheless, Brodsky still came with Pasternak’s tie in his pocket. After perestroika, Brodsky was invited to Russia more than once, but he never came to his homeland, which rejected him. “You can’t step into the same river twice, even if it’s the Neva,” he said.

From Brodsky’s Nobel Lecture: “A person with taste, particularly literary taste, is less susceptible to repetition and rhythmic incantations inherent in any form of political demagoguery. The point is not so much that virtue is no guarantee of a masterpiece as that evil, especially political evil, is always a poor stylist. The richer the aesthetic experience of an individual, the firmer his taste, the clearer his moral choice, the freer he is - although perhaps not happier. It is in this applied rather than platonic sense that one should understand Dostoevsky’s remark that “beauty will save the world,” or Matthew Arnold’s statement that “poetry will save us.” The world probably won’t be able to be saved, but an individual can always be saved.”

During the entire period of the Nobel Prize, Russian writers were awarded 5 times. The Nobel Prize laureates were 5 Russian writers and one Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, the author of the following works: “ War does not have a woman's face», « Zinc boys"and other works written in Russian. The wording for the award was: “ For the polyphonic sound of her prose and the perpetuation of suffering and courage»

2.2. Boris Pasternak- Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958. Awarded " for outstanding services in modern lyric poetry and in the field of great Russian prose» . For Pasternak himself, the prize brought nothing but problems and a campaign under the slogan “ I haven’t read it, but I condemn it!" The writer was forced to refuse the prize under threat of expulsion from the country. The Swedish Academy recognized Pasternak's refusal of the prize as forced and in 1989 awarded a diploma and medal to his son.

Nobel Prize I was lost, like an animal in a pen. Somewhere there are people, freedom, light, And behind me there is the sound of a chase, I can’t go outside. Dark forest and the shore of a pond, Spruce felled log. The path is cut off from everywhere. Whatever happens, it doesn't matter. What kind of dirty trick have I done? Am I a murderer and a villain? I made the whole world cry over the beauty of my land. But even so, almost at the grave, I believe the time will come - The power of meanness and malice will be overcome by the spirit of good.
B. Pasternak

2.3. Mikhail Sholokhov. The Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded in 1965. The award was presented to " for the artistic power and integrity of the epic about the Don Cossacks at a turning point for Russia». In his speech during the award ceremony, Sholokhov said that his goal was " extol the nation of workers, builders and heroes».

2.4. Alexander Solzhenitsyn– laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1970 « for the moral strength gleaned from the tradition of great Russian literature». Government Soviet Union considered the decision of the Nobel Committee " politically hostile", and Solzhenitsyn, fearing that after his trip he would not be able to return to his homeland, accepted the award, but was not present at the award ceremony.

2.5. Joseph Brodsky- Laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1987. Prize awarded « for his multifaceted creativity, marked by sharpness of thought and deep poetry». In 1972, he was forced to emigrate from the USSR and lived in the USA.

2.6. In 2015, the prize was sensationally received by a Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich. She wrote such works as “War Doesn’t Have a Woman’s Face”, “Zinc Boys”, “Enchanted by Death”, “Chernobyl Prayer”, “Second Hand Time” and others. Quite rare for recent years an event when a prize was given to a person who writes in Russian.

3. Nobel Prize nominees

The Nobel Prize in Literature is the most prestigious award, which has been awarded annually by the Nobel Foundation for achievements in the field of literature since 1901. A writer who has been awarded the prize appears in the eyes of millions of people as an incomparable talent or genius who, with his creativity, managed to win the hearts of readers from all over the world.

However, there are a number famous writers, whom the Nobel Prize for various reasons passed over, but they were no less worthy of it than their fellow laureates, and sometimes even more. Who are they?

Half a century later, the Nobel Committee reveals its secrets, so today we know not only who received awards in the first half of the 20th century, but also who did not receive them, remaining among the nominees.

First time among the literary nominees Nobel“Russians” dates back to 1901 - then Leo Tolstoy was nominated for the award among other nominees, but he did not become the winner of the prestigious award for several more years. Leo Tolstoy would be present in the nominations every year until 1906, and the only reason why the author " War and Peace"did not become the first Russian laureate" Nobel”, became his own decisive refusal of the award, as well as a request not to award it.

M. Gorky was nominated in 1918, 1923, 1928, 1930, 1933 (5 times)

Konstantin Balmont was nominated in 1923,

Dmitry Merezhkovsky -1914, 1915, 1930, 1931 – 1937 (10 times)

Shmelev – 1928, 1932

Mark Aldanov – 1934, 1938, 1939, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 – 1956,1957 (12 times)

Leonid Leonov -1949,1950.

Konstantin Paustovsky -1965, 1967

And how many geniuses of Russian literature were not even declared among the nominees Bulgakov, Akhmatova, Tsvetaeva, Mandelstam, Yevgeny Yevtushenko... Everyone can continue this brilliant series with the names of their favorite writers and poets.

Why were Russian writers and poets so rarely among the laureates?

It is no secret that the prize is often awarded for political reasons. , says Philip Nobel, a descendant of Alfred Nobel. - But there is another important reason. In 1896, Alfred left a condition in his will: the capital of the Nobel Foundation must be invested in shares of strong companies that provide good profits. In the 20-30s of the last century, the fund's money was invested primarily in American corporations. Since then, the Nobel Committee and the United States have had very close ties.”

Anna Akhmatova may have received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1966, but she... died on March 5, 1966, so her name was not later considered. According to the rules of the Swedish Academy, the Nobel Prize can only be awarded to living writers. The prize was received only by those writers who quarreled with the Soviet regime: Joseph Brodsky, Ivan Bunin, Boris Pasternak, Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

The Swedish Academy of Sciences did not favor Russian literature: at the beginning of the twentieth century it rejected L.N. Tolstoy and did not notice the brilliant A.P. Chekhov, passed by no less significant writers and poets of the twentieth century: M. Gorky, V. Mayakovsky, M. Bulgakov and others. It should also be noted that I. Bunin, like later other Nobel laureates (B. Pasternak, A. Solzhenitsyn , I. Brodsky) was in a state of acute conflict with the Soviet regime.

Be that as it may, great writers and poets, Nobel Prize laureates, whose creative path was thorny, with their brilliant creations they built a pedestal for themselves. The personality of these great sons of Russia is enormous not only in the Russian, but also in the world literary process. And they will remain in people’s memory as long as humanity lives and creates.

« Exploded Heart»… This is how you can characterize state of mind our compatriot writers who became Nobel Prize laureates. They are our pride! And our pain and shame for what was done to I.A. Bunin and B.L. Pasternak, A.I. Solzhenitsyn and I.A. Brodsky by the official authorities, for their forced loneliness and exile. In St. Petersburg there is a monument to Nobel on Petrovskaya Embankment. True, this monument is a sculptural composition “ Exploded tree».

Fantasy about Nobel. There is no need to dream about the Nobel, After all, it is awarded by chance, And someone, alien to the highest standards, Keeps joyless secrets. I have not been to distant Sweden, As in the dreams of snow-covered Nepal, And Brodsky wanders around Venice And silently looks into the canals. He was an outcast who did not know love, slept in a hurry and ate unsweetened, but, having changed the plus for the minus, he married an aristocrat.

Sitting in Venetian bars and having conversations with counts, He mixed cognac with resentment, Antiquity with the Internet age. Rhymes were born from the surf, I had the strength to write them down. But what about poetry? They are empty, Nobel came out of the grave again. I asked: - Let the genius be Brodsky. Let him shine in a pair of tails, But Paustovsky lived somewhere, Not Sholokhov in a pair of cognac. Zabolotsky lived, fell into the abyss, and was resurrected, and became great. Once upon a time Simonov lived, gray-haired and sober, counting the Tashkent ditches. Well, what about Tvardovsky? Nice buddy, that's the one who molds the lines so well! Where are you looking, Uncle Nobel? Mendel.