Vera Fedorovna Panova
Vera Fedorovna Panova was a notable Russian writer born in March 1905 in Rostov-on-Don. She displayed her writing talent early, publishing her first poem at the age of ten. Panova pursued a career in journalism during and after World War I, adopting the pseudonym Vera Vel'tman, which allowed her to hone her craft as a correspondent and editor. She eventually became a member of the Writers' Union in 1946, where she served as secretary of the Leningrad branch.
Panova gained prominence in Soviet literature with her novels, notably winning the Stalin Prize for Literature three times for her works such as "Sputniki" and "Kruzhilikha." Her novel "Serezha" was particularly successful, later adapted into an award-winning film. Despite her achievements, Panova’s later work faced criticism for its pessimistic tone. In her final years, she penned her memoirs, which were published posthumously. Remarkably, upon her death on March 3, 1973, she requested a Russian Orthodox burial, a choice that influenced the public perception of her literary contributions.
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Subject Terms
Vera Fedorovna Panova
Writer
- Born: March 20, 1905
- Birthplace: Rostov-on-Don, Russia
- Died: March 3, 1973
- Place of death: Leningrad, Russia (now St. Petersburg, Russia)
Biography
Vera Fedorovna Panova was born in March, 1905 (sources vary on the exact date), in Rostov-on-Don, a bustling multicultural city in Russia. She was the daughter of Febor Ivanovich Panov, a bank worker who drowned when he was thirty, and Vera Leonidovna Ren’eri, who worked as an office clerk after her husband’s death. Her writing talent demonstrated itself at age eight, and one of her poems was printed without her knowledge in a children’s journal, Zadushevnoe slovo, when she was ten. She also wrote for the student journal Iunaia mysl’ in Rostov during the final years of World War I and continued her work as a journalist until the outbreak of World War II.
Working as a correspondent, essayist, editor, and story writer under the pseudonym Vera Vel’tman helped sharpen her writing skills. In Rostov, she attended meetings of the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers but did not become a member of an organized group until 1946, when she joined the Writers’ Union, serving as secretary of the Leningrad branch. While still a journalist, she also wrote several plays, including Il’ia Kosogor about pretevolutionary events in the countryside; V staroi Moskve, about prerevolutionary life in Moscow; and Devochki, which follows the lives of two sisters during World War II.
Panova married the journalist Boris Borisovich Vakhtim. When he was arrested in 1935, it is believed that she went to Leningrad and may have been detained as a refugee in Estonia for a short time. Her first novel, Sputniki (1946; The Train, 1948), won the Stalin Prize for Literature in 1947, securing her reputation in Soviet literature. Her second novel, Kruzhilikha (1948; The Factory, 1949), also won the Stalin Prize, and she received her third Stalin Prize in 1950 for the novel Iasnyi bereg.
Another novel, Vremena goda, iz letopisei goroda Enska:Roman (1954; Span of the Year, 1957), was criticized by Soviet critics for its pessimism. Serezha: Neskol’ko istorii iz zhizni ochen’ malen’kogo mal’chika (1955; Time Walked, 1957), was one of her most successful novels. She adapted it for a film released in1960 that won several awards, including an award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Ponova wrote her memoirs, O moei zhizni, knigakh i chitateliakh, a short time before she died, and the book was published posthumously in 1975. When she died on March 3, 1973, the literary world was surprised to learn that she had left instructions to have a Russian Orthodox burial, a request that excluded her from receiving appropriate public recognition of her contribution to Soviet literature.