Creator underground

On February 5, in St. Petersburg, the writer Boris Ivanov, one of the most significant figures in the Leningrad Unsignly Culture, the creator of the Samizdat watch , was one of the founders of the literary prize Andrei Belo, the author of the Samizdat, the author of the History of the Leningrad Unpredated Literature: 1950–1980, and 1950–1980, and the literary Encyclopedia projects. "Samizdat of Leningrad" and the three -volume series "Collection: St. Petersburg prose (Leningrad period), 1960-1980". In addition, Boris Ivanov stood at the origins of the club-81-unification of unofficial writers, who for the first time in many years managed to take a step from the underground to the ordinary reader.

Boris Ivanov lived in a small apartment on Vasilyevsky Island, the only luxury of which was the view from the window - to the tops of old trees and step roofs of the old city. His appearance never knitted with the romantic image of the writer - he rather seemed a typical Soviet servant with an unchanged portfolio in his hands, forming a dissonance with his bohemian brothers on Per. He performed with long circumstances at different conferences and seminars - he was interested in everything that concerned the so -called “second culture”, whose devoted minister and chronicler he remained all his life.

Meanwhile, his own career began very far from any underground: he was born in 1928 in Leningrad, survived the terrible blockade winter of 1941-42, graduated from a craft school, worked as a turner, a brown master in a geological party. But after the army he entered the Faculty of Journalism of the University of Leningrad, was published in small newspapers, student and factory multiples, his first book, a collection of stories "The door remains open", was published in 1965. But already in 1968, the calm course of life ended-Boris Ivanov was fired from work and expelled from the party: he signed a collective letter against the trial of Alexander Ginzburg, Yuri Galanskov and other human rights activists. It is clear that after this step the path to journalism was closed - I had to go to sailors, and then master the classic professions of unrecognized writers - the operator of the boiler room and the watchman.

In the memory of many people, Boris Ivanov remained primarily as the organizer of the unquestioned literary process - his name is firmly connected with the magazine "Clock" and the Prize Andrei Bely, founded by the editorship of this magazine, that is, the same Boris Ivanov, along with Viktor Krivulin, Arkady Dragoshenko, Boris Ostanin. But the literary critic Nikita Eliseev insists on the self -worth Boris Ivanov precisely as a writer.

He is the real creator of the Leningrad underground

- It was a very big writer. I read his samizdat novel “Brows” - one of the best stories about “Sixtys”, he is the author of beautiful blockade stories written, no matter how scary to say, “on live material”, because he was a blocked boy and saw it all with his own eyes. And I also consider his story about the war one of the best in this genre, for example, “Goodbye, comrades”, a story about a pilot who died during a ram. And besides, he was a wonderful organizer. At one time, I was in the jury of Andrei Bely and could observe his stunning organizational abilities, calmness, wisdom, the ability to find a way out of any conflict situation. He is the real creator of the Leningrad underground, who would not last so much without these magazines, without a club-81-all these were the brainchild of Boris Ivanovich Ivanov. And he was absolutely disinterested: developing such a violent activity, he continued to live in a real hole on the upper floor of the old house without an elevator, it was necessary to rise to him, as uphill. In general, he was a man of different talents. In his house there were two paintings that he himself drew: he himself learned to primer the canvas, learned to work with oil paints, and the paintings turned out to be very good - a landscape and a genre scene. At the same time, he had a classic image of an old worker with a smoked mustache, large callouses, wise leisurely speech - a good image of bad Soviet films. And he really was a good person, which is far from always combined with a good writer and a good organizer. He had caution, courage, and at the same time he was a real diplomat. Especially against the backdrop of today's events, today's so -called journalists, parties, all those who shamelessly preach aggression, Boris Ivanovich Ivanov is a daredevil and a hero.

For many years, Boris Ivanov was friends with the philosopher, philologist, writer Boris Roginsky , with him he wrote "The History of the Leningrad Unsignly Literature: 1950-1980".

He had caution, courage, and at the same time he was a real diplomat

- I remember when he wrote his story about the pilot “Goodbye, comrades”, he had a book on airplane building on his table, he studied it in detail, it was important for him that everything was accurate in his lead - it was very charming, this rarely happens. His attitude to the history of unquestioned literature was really very trembling. He said that after us no one would do this, so it is important that all this is written, discussed, remained in the Annals. Although young people who were interested in this issue appeared around, but he was convinced that no one needed it. I always appreciated him more as a writer, and he himself treated his writer's activity not with the same attention as the activities of collective, organizational, this was the most important for him. I remember that somehow we and my schoolchildren went to the Akhmatova Museum, he read excerpts from his “White City”, and we talked about the blockade. Children remembered this forever, it was very cool. Boris Ivanovich was a man with whom you feel reliably, whether it concerned some literary events or a trip to visit him-it was calm. There are fewer such people, this is really a huge loss.