Evgenii Vladimirovich Kharitonov
Evgenii Vladimirovich Kharitonov was a notable Russian writer and artist born in Novosibirsk in 1941. Raised primarily by his mother, a doctor, Kharitonov pursued acting at the prestigious All-Union State College of Cinematography in Moscow, graduating in 1964. His career spanned teaching, acting, and stage direction, and he contributed to experimental theater through his company, The School of Non-Traditional Stage Behavior. Kharitonov's literary works often explored themes of homosexuality and were influenced by notable figures like Fyodor Dostoevsky. However, his openly gay writing was suppressed in the Soviet Union, leading to a challenging career marked by police harassment, which some believe contributed to his early death in 1981.
Despite his struggles, Kharitonov's work gained posthumous recognition, particularly after the fall of the Soviet Union, when his writings were published and celebrated by a group of gay writers. His most significant works include the short story "Dukhovka" and the collection "Under House Arrest," which showcased innovative narrative styles and complex themes. Kharitonov's prose has had a lasting impact on contemporary Russian literature, although his openly sexual themes remain divisive among readers. His legacy continues to resonate, highlighting both the artistic expression and the social challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Soviet-era Russia.
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Subject Terms
Evgenii Vladimirovich Kharitonov
Writer
- Born: 1941
- Birthplace: Novosibirsk, Russia
- Died: June 29, 1981
- Place of death: Moscow, U.S.S.R. (now in Russia)
Biography
Evgenii Vladimirovich Kharitonov was born in Novosibirsk, Russia, in 1941, during World War II. His mother, Kseniia Ivanovna, was a doctor and the person who primarily raised him. After completing his high school education, Kharitonov moved to Moscow in 1958 to study acting at the All-Union State College of Cinematography (VGIK), one of the leading Soviet film schools. He graduated in1964, remaining in Moscow to follow a career of teaching, acting, and stage direction. He completed a doctoral thesis, “Pantomime in the Instruction of Cinema Acting,” in 1972.
Although his writing was never openly published in the Soviet Union, Kharitonov was able to maintain a reasonably successful career. He wrote and produced a pantomime for deaf and mute actors and in the 1970’s, and studied speech defects at a university where he also taught part-time. He ran an experimental theater company, The School of Non-Traditional Stage Behavior, and from 1976 choreographed the pop music group Last Chance. In 1980, he participated in an independent writers’ group, The Fiction Writers’ Club, which sought unofficial publication of experimental writing. This brought him to the attention of the Soviet secret police; police harassment is thought to have hastened his death from a heart attack in 1981.
The Soviet authorities refused to publish Kharitonov’s openly gay writing, as homosexuality was entirely banned by Soviet law. Not until the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990’s could a group of gay writers collect, edit, and publish Kharitonov’s work, claiming for him the status of a classic Russian gay writer. His prose style also influenced other Russian writers greatly, even though some writers find his openly sexual literature unpalatable.
Although he had started writing poetry in the 1960’s, his first original work was the short story “Dukhovka,” written in 1969. Drawing on Fyodor Dostoevski’s Notes from the Underground, it tells of a man’s pursuit of a beautiful boy in a breathless, obsessive style, where the narrator becomes the wounded hero in pursuit of unattainable beauty. There is a strong Platonic and idealistic note to Kharatinov’s homosexuality, even religious at times, though very physical in its descriptions. It strikes a very different note from contemporary Western gay writing. Other short stories include “Alyosha Seryozha” and “A., R., and I,” both translated and published in the West in 1998.
His principal work is Pod domashnim arestom (1993; Under House Arrest, 1998), a collection of prose and poetic texts written between 1968 and 1981. He uses note form, multiple narrators, and strange typography and paragraph and page layout. Some of its tone seems anti-Semitic. He tried to publish this book outside of the Soviet Union, without success, and he died carrying the manuscript. His gay manifesto, “Listovka,” published in Slezy na tsvetakh (1993), is also important and is available in various anthologies of modern Russian literature and on the Web, as are some of his short stories.