Yuri Olesha: Ashgabat diary of the Russian writer
Yuri Karlovich Olesha is an outstanding Russian writer, poet and playwright. He presented to the world the fairy tale “Three Fat Men”, which adults and children go on reading, the novel “Envy”, the book of memoirs “Not a day without a line” and many other wonderful works that have become classics of Russian literature.
But today I would like to recall the Ashgabat period from the life of Yuri Karlovich. Having been evacuated to the capital of Turkmenistan during the Great Patriotic War, Olesha worked at the Turkmen radio, translated local authors: Durdy Haldurdy, Kara Seytliyev, Haji Ismailov. He even tried to write a play about Turkmen life with Kara Seytliev, but, unfortunately, this literary work was not completed.
But the story by Yuri Olesha “Turkmen” came out. This is a story about a family in which one of the brothers fell at the front, fighting with fascists. The writer kept diaries and records about the Ashgabat period, which tell how much he was imbued with the way of life of the Turkmen people, became very close to them.
“I am at home in Turkmenistan. Although I’ve never been here before, and the mountains, desert, colorful clothes of people, and irrigation canals with fallen leaves were discoveries for me, although I see all this for the first time, I’m still at home here”.
From the Ashgabat diary of Yuri Olesha
Olesha enthusiastically described his meetings and communication with people in Turkmenistan. It was wartime, and the Russians, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Turkmens and representatives of other nations of the multinational country fought shoulder to shoulder in the fields of the vast Soviet state. To listen to the latest news reports, Yuri Karlovich used to come to the Ashgabat Square, where a loudspeaker was broadcasting. Once, after such a walk, returning to the caravanserai room, which became his home in the Turkmen land, Olesha wrote:
“The Gold Star of Hero is on the chest of Kurban Durdy, the same as on the chest of his Russian brother. Now the Turkmen people’s hero is a brother to the Russian hero. They fight side by side, and their exploits merge into one glory”.
Yuri Olesha lived in Ashgabat until the end of the war, and not a single his day passed without new records. He worked on a manuscript of memories and thoughts that he read to friends. The book, which initially was titled “What I saw on earth”, was renamed in favor of the main principle of Olesha “Not a day without a line”. It was published after the author’s death.
Yuri-aga – that was how blind poet-storyteller Ata Salyh called him, who once meeting Olesha, had hugged him and remarked: “This Russian writer is a wizard; magic comes from him”.
Yuri Karlovich himself believed that after years, descendants, discovering the pages of history, will find many interesting things for themselves: “The images of heroes will crowd before the imagination of future generations. The Turkmen name will flash among Russian names”.
The poem of Kara Seytliyev translated by Yuri Olesha is one of such discoveries:
I happen in my dream
Take off into the clouds at once
Over the silver Caucasus
And over the blue Volga
But always with the soul and eyes
I am seeking: where is Ashgabat?
Ashgabat! Ashgabat!
My garden, Ashgabat!
