Жизнь на грани выживания. Заметки о творчестве Юрия Рытхэу(Life on the Edge of Extinction. Notes on the Literary Work of Yuri Rytkheu)

Abstract

The Chukotian writer Yuri Rytkheu, born in 1930, is the author of a large number of books, all of them dealing with the hard life of the small indi- genous people to which he belongs. The last century has seen two im- portant turning-points in this people's history: the establishment of Soviet power and its fall. Neither event has lead to an improvement of the situ- ation. The never-ending hardships continue, as does the struggle for life, disillusion, and the conviction that there is no-one to rely on but yourself, your own strength.

The literary works of Rytkheu can be divided into three periods: 1. the fifties and sixties; 2. the seventies and eighties; and 3. the nineties. The first period comprises early works written in the Chukotian language, and also some autobiographical works. Several of his best-known books are from the second period. Works from the last period have a retrospective character.