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[COUNT ALEXEI TOLSTOY DURING WWII] Chto my zashchishchaem [i.e. What We Defend]

Tolstoy, A.

Item #2772

Tashkent: Sovetskii pisatel’, 1942. 120, [4] pp. 17x13 cm. In original illustrated wrappers. Very good, spine slightly chipped, light soiling of covers, stains on inner margin of t.p., few minor stains on some pages.

Wartime edition. The edition was accepted for print on April 8, 1942.

This collection includes 20 articles that were written in 1941–1942. Primarily, the texts were published in major periodicals: “Pravda” [Truth] and “Krasnaia zvezda” [Red Star]. The lead piece “What We Defend” was the earliest of his works that appeared during the war (June 27, 1941).

Count Alexei Tolstoy (1883–1945) welcomed the February Revolution but rejected the October Revolution. In 1919, Tolstoy with his family had emigrated first to Constantinople, then to Paris and Berlin. Although emigration was a difficult period in his life, he produced some of his most significant works during those years, including “Aelita” – a novel published in both Berlin and Moscow in 1923. The same year Alexei Tolstoy came back to Russia. “Aelita” became so popular in the USSR that Ya. Protazanov directed a silent film adaptation in 1924.
Despite his initial reaction to the Reds, the writer found his place in Soviet literary life. A former emigrant and titled nobleman, he managed not only to overcome all the barriers of the new regime but also to become a favorite and darling of the Soviet authorities—the Stalin Prizes and the writer's prosperous life, which differed little in comfort from his pre-revolutionary existence, serve as undeniable proof of his special status in the USSR.

In November 1942, Tolstoy was appointed a member of the Extraordinary State Commission, established to investigate atrocities committed on Soviet territory by the German invaders and their allies. In December 1943, Tolstoy was one of a contingent of Soviet and foreign journalists who were sent to Kharkiv to cover the first war crimes trial.

During the war, Alexei Tolstoy wrote around 60 journalistic pieces (essays, articles, appeals, and sketches about heroes and military operations), from the very first days of the war until his death in late winter 1945.

Not found in Worldcat.

Price: $450.00