About Vasily Belov
Vasily Ivanovich Belov (Russian: Васи́лий Ива́нович Бело́в; 23 October 1932 – 4 December 2012) was a Soviet and Russian writer, poet and dramatist, who published more than sixty books which sold (as of 1998) seven million copies. A prominent member of the influential 1970s–1980s derevenschiki movement, Belov's best known novels include Business as Usual (Привычное дело, 1966), Eves (Кануны, 1972–1987), The Best is Yet to Come (Всё впереди, 1986) and The Year of a Major Breakdown (Год великого перелома, 1989–1994). Vasily Belov was a harsh critic of the Soviet rural policies (particularly collectivization), which he felt were dominated by the cosmopolitan doctrines aiming at repressing the Russian national identity. Even detractors, though, praised Vasily Belov's tough stance on ecological issues and his activities aimed at restoration of the old Russian historic sites and churches. A great admirer of Ivan Ilyin and his legacy, Belov financed the publication of the first Complete Ilyin collection and wrote a preface for it. Vasily Belov, the USSR State Prize (1981) and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (2003) laureate, was also a recipient of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1982), the Order of Lenin (1984), the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class (2003) and the Order of Honour (2003). In 1961 Vasily Belov's first book of poetry My Small Forest Village was published, along with the Village Berdyaika novella, his debut in prose. In the early 1980s he became one of the leading figures in the Soviet Writers Union and the Russian Federation Writers Union's first secretary. A prominent member of the influential 1970s–1980s derevenschiki movement, Belov's best known novels include Business as Usual, Eves, The Best is Yet to Come and The Year of a Major Breakdown.
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