Andrei Siniavsky Biography

Dictionary of Literary Biography on Andrei Siniavsky

Andrei Siniavsky, one of the most complex and controversial Russian literary and cultural figures of the latter half of the twentieth century, first came to prominence in the late 1950s as a liberal voice during the period of the Thaw, following Joseph Stalin's death in 1953. In 1966, however, Siniavsky achieved a much greater notoriety both within the Soviet Union and abroad: he was placed on trial by the authorities for writing literary works that had been smuggled out of the country and published beyond the bounds of Soviet censorship under the pseudonym Abram Tertz. Despite protests by prominent Soviet intellectuals--protests that many viewed as the beginning of the Soviet dissident movement--Siniavsky and his codefendant, Iulii Markovich Daniel', were convicted of anti-Soviet activity and sentenced to terms in labor camps. While imprisoned, Siniavsky wrote (as Tertz) his most controversial work, Progulki s Pushkinym (1975; translated as Strolls with Pushkin, 1993), in the form of letters that he sent from the labor camps to his wife, Mar'ia Vasil'evna Rozanova.

Read the rest of this Biography with our Andrei Siniavsky Access Pass.