ANS biography

The biography of A.N. Strugatsky


A. N. Strugatsky (1925 - 1991) - russian Sci-Fi writer. Wrote in the co-authorship with his brother B.N. Strugatsky.

Arkadij Natanovitch Strugatsky was born on August 28, 1925 in city Batumi subsequently lived in Sankt Petersburg (former Leningrad). His father was an art expert, and his mother - a teacher.

With the beginning of Great Domestic War (this is how that part of the WWII, after the german attack on the USSR (from 1941 and until 1945) is called in Russia) Arkadij has worked on construction of strenghtenings, later - in a grenade workshop. At the end of January 1942 he, together with his father, was evacuated from Leningrad, that was blockated by the germans. His survival can be called for a real miracle - he was the only one of the whole carriage who survived. In Vologda Arkadij has buried his father. Later he appeared in city Tchkalov (nowadays Orenburg). In city Tashla (near Orenburg) he worked on a milk selection station, there he has also joined the Army. Studied in the military artillery college in Aktjubinsk.

Before the graduation, in the spring 1943, he was recalled to Moscow, to the Military institute of foreign languages, from which he graduated in 1949 on speciality "interpreter from English and Japanese languages". Later he worked as a teacher in a school of the military interpreters in Kansk, then he served as a divisional interpreter in the Far East. Demobilized in 1955 and moved to Moscow. There he started to work in "Essay Magazin", later as an editor in two Publishing Housese - Detgiz and Gospolitizdat.

Since 1955 he was systematically overtaken by literary activity, though he started to write stories and to translate foreign authors yet in Army. For the first time his works was published in 1956 (novel "Bikini Ashes", in the co-authorship with L.S. Petrov). After that he addressed his creativity to Sci-Fi literature. Almost all his works were written in the co-authorship with his brother, Boris Natanovitch Strugatsky. In 1958 their first books ("From the Outside", "Spontaneous Reflex " and some others), and soon after that, in 1959, their first big novel "The Country of Crimson Clouds" were published. In total was published 25 novels, not to mention stories, scripts, play and essay (The first ever complete issue of collected works of brothers Strugatsky was published by a Moscow publishing house "Text" in early 90's).

A.N. Strugatsky was also the composer of some collections of the soviet and foreign Sci-Fi ("On June the 31-th", "Science Fiction , issue 2", 1965). He has also edited some Sci-Fi books, like "Crew of Mekong" by E. Voykunovsky and I. Lukodjanov, "Steps into the Unknown" by S. Gansovky, some issues of the Sci-Fi collection "The World of adventures". A.N. Strugatsky has also been translating works of japanese and american Sci-Fi writes to Russian (K.Abe, A.Norton, A.Asimov, H.Klement and some others), and works of the medieval japanise literature ("Legend about Esitsune", "Peony lantern" etc.). Together with his brother participated in writing scripts to a number of Sci-Fi movies - "Stalker" (director A.Tarkovsky), "A Case with a Murder" (director G.Kromanov), "Days of Eclipse" (director A.Sokurov), "Hard to be God" (director Peter Fleischmann (Germany).
He has also been member of editor-comissions of some collections and periodical editions - "The World of adventures", "Library of the Modern Sci-Fi", "Knowledge- Power", and since 1985 - "Ural pathfinder". Has also lead Methodical Council on work with CSFL (Clubs of Sci-Fi Lovers) at an USSR's community of bibliophiles, was the member of USSR's Council of CSFL's, and in later became its chairman.

A number of times he was elected to a number of elective posts in the prose section of Moscow branch of the Organization of Writers of RSFSR, Council of Sci-Fi and Adventure Literature in the same organization, Council on Sci-Fi and Adventure literature of the Organisation of the Writers of USSR.

Arkadij Natanovitch Strugatsky died on October the 12, 1991.

Written by Y. Fleishman


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