Galina Tolstova
chief specialist of Krasnoyarsk museum of local lore
Petrov Petr Polikarpovitch is à well known Siberian writer, the poet-guerrilla, the self-educated writer person, the author of novels about Civil war in Siberia.
He is native of Petrovskoe village of Kansk’s district (now its Partizanskoe village) (he was born in 1892). He was the participant of revolutionary events in Siberia, the member of Central Committee in Soviet of worker’s, solder’s, farmer’s and Cossack’s deputies in Siberia. During Civil war he was at war in Kravchenko's and Shetinkin’s guerrilla army and in March 1919 he was selected by chairman of United Soviet of Stepno-Badzejskoy guerrilla republic, and was also a member of 5-th Soviet Army propaganda department. In September 1919, the propaganda department in Minusinsk started to publish the newspaper “Soha I molot” (The wooden plough and the hammer). Petrov P. was selected as the editor of this newspaper. The circulation of the newspaper reached 500 copies. The guerrilla poet Ragozin Timofey took the active part in publishing of newspaper. There was many articles wrote by the editor Petrov P.
Petrov P. has been directed to Tomsk University under the order of command of the army in 1920. Soon he moved to Krasnoyarsk and entered to the Institute of National education and finished study in May 1923.
He was attracted with the literature. After finishing institute, he worked as instructor of Yenisei co-operators Soviet in Krasnoyarsk for some years and worked as chief of Krasnoyarsk Children House of Workers of the River Transport. At that time he married a young teacher, Alexandra Antonovna Lepinskaya, who became a very dear person for him. In 1925 Petrov together with his wife set off for the journey at the places of the guerilla fights. Perhaps it was during this journey that he grasped the plan of creation of poem about the guerillas. At this time the writer-beginner worked at a little historical-documentary story "Forrest Winds". It was his first experience at the literature. At the same time with the creation of the poem "Guerillas" Petrov worked on the essay about Stepnoi-Badjey Republic. The poem published in Novosibirsk magazine "The Siberian lights" (1927, ¹ 6) was received enthusiastically by members of the guerilla movement. It was published in separate edition at Novosibirsk book-publishing house in 1928. The success of the poem "Guerillas" made the writer closely go in for literary work. He worked at his old plot of story about gold miners of Siberia, with whom he had met during guerilla raids. Often he was a witness of the desolation and devastation, that had taken place at golden mines during the Revolution and Civil War.
"In 1924 I was sent to an official journey to the South Yenisei golden mines to organize a co-operative. The new taiga surroundings made me interested in. I made an attempt to write a narrative - a little story was made" (Petrov "Rapid Notes"). The story became a novel "Borel" after it had been reworked, its creation was over to 1927. For the first time "Borel" was published in 1928 in "The Siberian lights", the single edition of it took place in 1931 at Moscow publishing house "Federation".
P.Petrov is a self-taught writer. There were no literators in his circle, he had no any senior teachers. "I write and become embarrassed at my spirit. I have nobody to get an advice" he wrote with bitterness.
The writer worked at the novel "Podsada", but the novel didn't satisfy the author and was left as manuscript. A piece of novel "Blood on the paved streets" was published as single essay. Later many of those were rewrite and became parts of the book of chosen works "Steep passes" and of the novel "Spring Flood".
In 1929 Petrov’s family moved to Irkutsk. Peter Polikarpovitch read lections at educational institutions, worked at The East Siberian book-publishing house, later at the additional committee of magazines "Future Siberia" and "The New Siberia". In 1931 in the first issue of just organized magazine "Future Siberia" his small story about battles in December 1917 in Irkutsk "Blood on the paved streets'' was published, then story "Sayans make noise", book "Steep passes", chronicle-novel "Spring Flood" were published. The subject of Civil War takes one of the main places in his work. The story "Sayans make noise" and the novel "Borel" got the admition of Maxim Gorky.
"Cordially recollections of Alexey Maximovich about my book «Borel» were something impossible for me. I couldn't imagine more willing judge. Gorky gave me wings, made me believe in myself, and made me want to work. It was as if a new path of my life had begun after that" (P.Petrov "Recollections" magazine "The Siberian Lights" 1968, ¹ 3)
In 1934 Petrov's novel "Gold" was published. V. Shishkov made a good reference upon the novel in letters to Petrov. In the same year the writer took part in I Congress of writers of USSR, where he got acquaintance with Gorky. They had corresponded before but met each other only in 1934. By the advice of Gorky Peter Polikarpovich stayed in Moscow, began co-operating with the magazine "Kolkhoznik", where another Siberian writer V.Zazubrin also worked at the same time. Petrovs came back to Irkutsk, the writer began to work on the novel "Spring Flood". It was the last big work of Petrov, published during his life. "Spring Flood" is an autobiographical book in a great part. It embraced much of something that had been gone through, thought through and seen through by the writer during Civil war.
“All the works of Petrov about Civil war have precise actual basis, and are notable for realistic reliableness in recreation of revolutionary events, historical exactness of its performance. Strict documentaryness, close connection with historical facts becomes special features of the writer's style. Petrov supposed, that ''the writer can and ought to write only about something that has matured in his mind, that has been risen by him internally, that has been decided by him necessary to be said". (S.I. Gimpel Revolutionary Siberia in the work of P.P.Petrov, magazine "Yenisei", 1981, ¹ 5, p 59-63).
For ten years of work in literature P.P.Petrov has worked out a poem, 4 big novels, 5 stories (named earlier), narratives, essays, notes and memoirs. Novels "Vetosh" and "Podsada", story about guerilla movement "Memory Rock", first chapters of the second part of "Spring Flood" remain unpublished in archives.
On 9 of April of 1937 P.P.Petrov was arrested as a member of counter-revolutional organization. Absurd accusions, terrible interrogations, inquiry seemed incredible to him. "The psychology of the inquiry is to accuse me more serious, force me to accept things I have no idea of. No any aquitive reason is put into record and my strength is weaking, memory is sinking into darkness, life will is going away. Now they want me to disclose counter-revolution organization and I don’t even know it. And my grown dim mind comes to terrible things: I try to think this organization out, but then comes my real mind and I curse my sick fantasy, the day I was born. And that's me, who bore rifle for exactly 7 years to strengthen Soviet authority, who wrote several books for the same purpose, of which M. Gorky spoke well not once" (P.P.Petrov)
He writes in letter to his wife and daughter: "My dear Shura snd Lanochka! I am still alive. And remember, I am not guilty at all. Lie, meanness, slender want to make an enemy of me. But I will die honest. Take care of yourself and Lanyusia. Kiss, V. daddy. Remember, that I always loved you two more than anything in the world. Let Lanyusia be proud for her father. Petr. 16.07.1939"
In august 1939 he wrote next letter to the chief of UNKVD: "I am staying imprisoned 29-th month, I am kept according to first category, in single ward. I am just surprised by the strength of my mind. I don't understand for who and for what it is necessary to keep me here for almost three years in such conditions unbearable for human, cruel inaction, condemning me on slow decaying, pushing to the last fatal step?"
Repeated addresses of wife Alexandra Antonovna to governmental bodies with the request for analysis were left without any respond.
On 17 of April of 1940 Special Committee of NKVD USSR sentenced Petrov without seeing to 8 years imprisonment in reformatory working camp. He was sent to Kolima to mine of Vodopianov, where he worked as miner, in spite of bad health. In 1941 a group escape from the mine was made, and there were P.P.Petrov among that group. He was captured on 26-th day after escape on 161 kilometer of Tenkin road and was put back to camp. On 23 of October of 1941 writer P.P.Petrov was shot down after the sentence of Military tribunal court. Before his death he wrote:
"I don’t plough the field I began
And didn't pick up the desired fruit..."
His wife Alexandra Antonovna with daughter Svetlana continued to wait him for long years and didn't know about his death.
The sentence of Special Committee of 17.04.1940 was cancelled by Zabaicalsky district's Military tribunal court and case of P.P.Petrov was stop because of an absence of corpus delicti.