Victor Vavich

The outstanding novel by Boris Zhitkov (1882–1938) — an extraordinary writer of the first half of the 20th century, close to the circle of OBERIU and unjustly remembered by generations as the author of children's tales about maritime adventures.

His novel "Victor Vavich" — the only major work by Zhitkov written for adults — was noticed as early as the 1930s, but was published in its entirety only decades after the author's death. A densely populated narrative about the 1905 revolution, about love and betrayal, about friendship and family, about courage and cowardice, "Victor Vavich" — one of the main novels written in Russian in the first half of the 20th century — remains unread to this day.

To understand the significance and greatness of this captivating text, the preface written for this edition by literary scholar Valery Sazhin will help.