Konstantin Fedin was born on February 24, 1892, in Saratov, Russia. His
father was a merchant in Saratov, his mother was a homemaker. Young
Fedin studied music and received a good private education. From
1901-1910 he studied at Commercial Academy in Saratov. In 1910 Fedin
wrote his first story strongly influenced by Nikolay Gogol. From 1911-1914 he
studied at the Moscow Commercial Institute. In 1913 he had his fist
publication in St. Petersburg magazine 'Novy Satirikon'.
In 1914 Fedin went to Nuremberg, Germany to study Commerce and German.
In August of 1914 he tried to escape from Germany during the First
World War, but was arrested in Dresden. After being captured he was
held prisoner of war in Germany with many other Russians until 1918.
After the Russian Revolution Fedin returned to Russia and joined the
winning side of Boshevik revolutionaries. He settled in Moscow and
worked in the Peple's Commissariate of Education. In 1919 he was
assigned to calvary, served in the Red Army during the Russian Civil
War, and was in action against the White Army of Yudenich at Petrograd
(St. Petersburg). From 1921-1924 Fedin served as editor of the
communist magazine 'Books and Revolution'. At that time he published
his first story, 'Sad' (The Orchard 1922).
In 1921 Fedin joined the literary group Serapionovy Bratya (The
Serapion Brothers). The group was initiated in February of 1921, by
Yevgeni Zamyatin who professed at his literary seminars with aspiring writers;
that: "true literature can be created only by madmen, hermits,
heretics, dreamers, rebels, and skeptics." They took their name from
the story of E.T.A.Hoffmann titled 'Serapion Brothers', about artistic
freedom. The group included writers Mikhail Zoshchenko, Lev Lunts, Viktor Shklovskiy,
Nikolai Tikhonov, Nikolai Nikitin, Mikhail Slonimsky, Vsevolod Ivanov, and Veniamin Kaverin. The group
was under patronage of critic and writer Yuri Tynyanov. They also attended
seminars of Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy. They lived in the famous artistic community known
as 'Dom Iskusstv' (House of Arts) in a former aristocratic palace on
the Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg. The writers of the group were
non-conformists and were in opposition to the official Soviet
literature. Their leader Yevgeni Zamyatin fearlessly criticized Soviet policy of
"Red Terror" and intimidation of intellectuals under the dictatorship
of Joseph Stalin.
Fedin was initially under pressure from official Soviet critics during
the ideological struggle of the 1920's and 1930's. Some writers of the
'Serapion brothers' group were under severe criticism and were censored
during the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. Fedin complied with the official
system and adopted the methods of "socialist realism" in his writings.
He eventually made an impressive political career, rising to Chairman
of the Soviet Writers' Union at the time of "Thaw" that was initiated
by Nikita Khrushchev. By that time Fedin became in many ways an ideological
opponent of his former "Serapion brothers" and friends. Fedin was
criticized by Veniamin Kaverin, because of his hard-line position on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and
other dissident writers.
His most important novels are: the autobiographical 'Goroda i gody'
(Cities and Years 1924), 'Bratya' (The Brothers 1928). After the Second
World War Fedin reviewed his position about the Russian Revolution and
published his epic in two books: 'Pervye radosti' (First Joys 1946) and
'Neobyknovennoe Leto' (No Ordinary Summer 1948). His novel 'Koster'
(The Bonfire 1961) concluded his trilogy about the Russian Revolution
and Civil War. Fedin also published several collections of poetry. His
books were translated in many languages and were adapted into feature
films and television series. In 1959 Konstantin Fedin was elected the
Chairman of the Soviet Writers' Union. In this capacity he denied
publication of 'Rakovy Korpus' (The Cancer Ward) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Fedin's
disagreement with Solzhenitsyn was never resolved. He held the post
until 1971, when he was elected the board member of the Writers' Union.
Fedin died on July 15, 1977, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in the
Novodevichi Convent Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.
