Tynianov, Yuri Nikolayevich (1895-1943): Eminent Formalist critic, noted also for his biographical novels (on Pushkin, Griboyedov, etc.).
Ту shier, Alexander Grigorievich (1908-?): Painter and sculptor. He taught art to Mrs. Mandelstam.
Uritski, Mikhail Solomonovich (1873-1918): Menshevik who joined the Bolsheviks in 1917 and became head of the Petrograd Cheka. His assassination on August 30, 1919 (by the young poet Kannengiesser), and the wounding of Lenin the same day unleashed the first massive Red Terror. The Petrograd Cheka immediately shot 512 hostages.
Vaginov, Konstantin Konstantinovich (1900-1934): A little-known poet of considerable distinction.
Vakhtangov, Evgeni Bagrationovich (1883-1922): Famous Moscow theater director.
Veresayev (Smidovich), Vikenti Vikentievich (1867-1945): Novelist and literary historian.
Verkhovski, Yuri Nikandrovich (1878-1956): Translator, poet and literary critic.
Vinogradov, Victor Vladimir ovich (1895-1969): Eminent linguist, professor at Moscow University and member of the Academy of Sciences.
Vishnevski, Vsevolod Vitalievich (1900-1951): Author of plays on Red
Army and Navy themes who became a sycophantic supporter of Stalin. His Unforgettable ipip (1949) considerably enhances Stalin's role in the Civil War (and was duly awarded a Stalin Prize). In 1933, in an article entitled "We Must Know the West," he called for better knowledge of such Western writers as James Joyce, whose Ulysses he extolled for its portrayal of the capitalist era.
Volpe, Caesar Samoilovich (1904-1941): Critic and editor.
Volpin, Mikhail Davidovich (1902- ): Poet and scenario writer. He collaborated with Erdman.
Voronski, Alexander Konstantinovich (1884-1943): Old Bolshevik who edited the major Soviet literary journal Krasnaya Nov (Red Virgin Soil), which in the 1920's was the main outlet for the "Fellow Travelers." As an advocate of rapprochement between "Fellow Travelers" and "Proletarians," Voronski came under heavy fire from Averbakh's RAPP, and in 1927 he was expelled from the Party (his place as editor of Krasnaya Nov being taken over by Fedor Raskolnikov). Voronski finally disappeared during the purges in 1937 and probably died in a labor camp in 1943.
Vyshinski, Andrei Yanuarievich (1883-1954): A Menshevik until 1920, he was professor of law during the 1920's and later became Rector of Moscow University. He was appointed Procurator General in 1935, and as such was the chief accuser of all the Old Bolsheviks (whom he denounced as "mad dogs") during the Moscow show trials. He replaced Molotov as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1949 and died in New York while representing the Soviet Union at the United Nations.
Wrangel, Baron Peter Nikolayevich (1878-1928): Russian general who succeeded Denikin as commander-in-chief of the White Army in the south of Russia.
Yagoda, Genrikh Grigorievich (1891-1938): Member of the Cheka from 1920, he became head of the NKVD (secret police) in 1934. He was replaced by Yezhov in 1936 and appointed Commissar of Communications. Arrested in 1937 after newspaper attacks on him, he was tried with Bukharin, Rykov and others in the last great show trial, and executed.
Yakhontov, Vladimir Nikolayevich (1899-1945): Prominent Soviet actor. Associated with the Moscow Art Theater, he was also known for his readings of literary works, and his one-man sketches. He committed suicide in 1945. Lilia Yakhontov was his wife.
Yakulov, Georgi Bogdanovich (1884-1928): Painter and set designer.
Yarkho, Boris Isaakovich: Linguist and translator.
Yashin (Popov), Alexander Yakovlevich (1913-1969): Poet and prose writer. Author of "The Levers" (Literary Moscow, vol. 2 [1956]).
Yazykov, Nikolai Mikhailovich (1803-1846): Poet.
Yenukidze, Abel Sofronovich (1877-1937): Old comrade of Stalin, secretary of the Central Executive Committee. Expelled from the Party in 1935, he was arrested, tried in secret and executed in 1937.
Yesenin, Sergei Alexandrovich (1895-1925): Popular lyric poet of peasant origin. He married Isadora Duncan in 1922 and traveled to western
Europe and America with her. After his initial acceptance of the October Revolution, he became disillusioned and came under increasing attack for his riotous behavior. In 1925 he hanged himself in a Leningrad hotel.
Yezhov, Nikolai Ivanovich (1894-1939?): Member of the Central Committee from 1934 and chief of the NKVD, 1936-38. Stalin's Great Purge reached its height under his direction of the NKVD, and he was then made the scapegoat for its "excesses." He was succeeded by Beria in 1938, and probably was executed in 1939, although there has never been any official information about his fate.
Yudina, Maria Veniaminova (1899- ): Eminent Soviet pianist and professor at the Moscow Conservatory.
Zadonski, Tikhon (1724-1783): Bishop, spiritual elder of the Zadonsk monastery, and author of religious works.
Zalka, Mate (1896-1937): A Hungarian who fought on the side of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War. A member of RAPP, he published a novel in the 1930's. He served with the rank of general in the Spanish civil war (under the name of Lukacz) and was killed at the front.
Zaslavski, David I. (1880-1965): Journalist. A notorious apologist for Stalinism, he made a vicious attack on Pasternak after he was awarded (and forced to renounce) the Nobel Prize in 1959.
Zenkevich, Mikhail (1891- ): Acmeist poet.
Zhdanov, Andrei Alexandrovich (1896-1948): Close associate of Stalin who acted as his lieutenant in cultural matters. At the First Congress of Soviet Writers in 1934, Zhdanov made a speech in which the doctrine of "socialist realism" was first promulgated as the official Party line in literature. In 1946 he denounced Akhmatova, Zoshchenko, Pasternak and others for attempting to "poison the minds" of Soviet youth by their decadent, apolitical and "vulgar" writings which had been published in the literary magazines Zvezda (Star) and Leningrad, By a special Party decree of August 14, 1946, Leningrad was closed and Zvezda was ordered to "correct" its editorial policy and not open its pages again to Akhmatova, Zoshchenko "and their like." The "Zhdanov Decree" on literature was followed by similar ones on music and the cinema.
Zhirmunski, Victor Maximovich (1889- ): Eminent literary scholar. Corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.
Zoshchenko, Mikhail Mikhailovich (1895-1958): Popular satirist. He was attacked in 1946 by Zhdanov for his "vulgar parody" of Soviet life and, together with Akhmatova, expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers.
Zubov, Count Valentin Platonovich (1884- ): Founder of the Institute of the History of Arts (1912), which continued as a school and a publisher of scholarly work until it was finally closed by the government in 1930. Count Zubov was imprisoned, but was released and allowed to emigrate to Paris in the 1920's.