The name of Vladislav Krapivin stands for a whole epoch in Russian literature. Every new book of this prolific author is an event for his admirers, both children and grown up children.

‘Childhood is like a fairy tale that can be told every time in a new way. The essence always remains: the happiness of discovering the world, the joy of friendship and the feeling of the bright blue sky’. These words by Vladislav Krapivin give a key to his creations. His romantic true-life fairy tales go on attracting one generation of children after another.

However, the readers have long perceived that Vladislav Krapivin is not just a children’s author. Already his first short-stories reveal that though his heroes are children, he is writing not only for children, that he is writing (just like Astrid Lindgren, Alan Alexander Milne, and Pamela Lyndon Travers) for all those who forever keep alive a part of childhood in their souls. The stories tell not only about adventures and games of kids, but about most essential things, such as perceiving the world and getting the better of oneself. Just like the thing with Tolkien, the reader of Krapivin’s books finds oneself in a parallel reality, where protagonists are striving for justice and a better world.

‘I have always believed that the real world we are abiding in is much richer, broader, and more multidimensional than the three-dimensional space we are used to living our humdrum life in under the constant burden of our worries… I did not aim at creating other worlds – it just helps me to brighter reveal the nature of my characters and get a deeper insight to philosophical issues of being.’ – says Krapivin in an interview.

‘Like many other authors I have never put such a goal as merely to reflect reality. I have always wanted to show LIFE AS IT SHOULD BE and attempted to explain the readers the way to it. I’ve taken the material of the reality but scrubbed it off everyday shells and drugs, leaving the core of human relations.’

Vladislav Petrovich Krapivin was born in Tyumen city on 14 October, 1938 in a family of teachers. Since 1956 he has lived in Yekaterinburg. In 1961 he graduated from the faculty of Journalism at the Urals State University. He started writing as a child and made a publishing debut when yet at the university. On October 17, 1959 his short-story ‘The 8th Star’ was issued in the city newspaper ‘Vecherny Sverdlovsk’. His first book was published in 1962.

In 1961 Krapivin founded a children’s organization called Caravel, where kids and teens found that brighter life their Commodore (as they nicknamed Krapivin) wrote about, with yacht voyages, fencing, hiking, adventures, self-cultivation and friendship. The Caravel motives are often met in books by Krapivin and there was time when his fame of Commodore was on a par with his popularity as a writer. Vladislav collects gramophone records and old adventure books, he is fond of numismatics and traveling by car with his friends.

The most complete selected works by Vladislav Petrovich consists of 30 volumes. Though since the time of this edition about five more volumes have grown up, the author says.

At present there are over 150 editions of Krapivin’s books in different languages. His works are included in the ‘Golden Library of Selected Works for Children and Youth’, ‘Library of Adventures and Science Fiction’, ‘Library of World Literature for Children’, the Japanese 26-volumed series ‘Selected Works for Teenagers’ (in which Krapivin takes two volumes). His books were not once republished in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Germany, Japan, and Hungary and were translated into English, Spanish, Persian, and other languages. Some of Krapivin’s books have screen versions. The film A Lullaby for the Brother after his script got several awards, though the author himself doesn’t find it very well turned. Krapivin is a laureate of numerous literature rewards.

‘I do not want to be just an honorable pensioner, I do not want to idle my life away, and I am still able and eager to write. I am attempting to fill in the holes and breaches in modern children’s literature. I still believe that positive changes in life can come only when relations will be based not on profit, but on sincerity. One should appreciate lives of all people, not only one’s own.’ – the Writer says in an interview.

Site of Vladislav Krapivin: www.rusf.ru/vk