Alexander Belyaev is one of those who laid the foundations of fiction as a genre in the USSR. It was not in vain that he was called the "Soviet Jules Verne"; during his life he created more than seventy science fiction works (including seventeen novels). Among the most significant works are “The Head of Professor Dowell”, “Ariel”, “Air Seller”, “Amphibian Man”.
Life before the start of a science fiction career
Alexander Romanovich Belyaev was born in 1884 in the provincial Smolensk, in the family of an ordinary priest. Since childhood, Alexander had many diverse hobbies, but it was fundamentally important for his father that his son continue his work. Therefore, in 1895, Sasha entered the theological school, from where, after a few years, he was transferred to the seminary. This education gave completely unexpected results: the young man became an ardent atheist.
Then, despite the father’s objections, the future science fiction writer went to study at the Demidov Lyceum as a lawyer. Upon graduation, he was able to work as a private attorney. This made it possible for Belyaev to rent a decent apartment, put together a wonderful personal library, and travel to Europe.
But in 1914, Alexander left the work of a lawyer for the sake of the theater. This year, he tried himself as a theater director, in addition, his first play, "Moira Grandmother, " was published.
And in 1915, fate dealt him a terrible blow: Belyaev developed bone tuberculosis, which was also complicated by paralysis. This disease for a long six years turned him off from an active life and confined him to bed. The wife Vera Prytkova did not want to look after the writer and left him.
These six difficult years, Belyaev stubbornly struggled with the disease. As a result, he managed to restore health. In 1922, Alexander (he was then in the Crimea) returned to work and married again. The name of the new lover is Margarita Magnushevskaya.
Key works and place of death
Then Belyaev, hoping to pursue a career as a writer, goes to Moscow. And already in 1924, the novel “The Head of Professor Dowell” was published on the pages of the Gudok newspaper. In the same "Moscow" period, the brilliant novel Amphibian Man was also created. Thanks to the successful film adaptation of this work in the early sixties, the name and surname of the science fiction writer became known to everyone.
In 1928, Alexander left Moscow and until 1932 repeatedly changed his place of residence - Leningrad, Kiev, cold Murmansk, again Leningrad
.And six years later, for a number of reasons, the writer and his family moved to the city of Pushkin.
In the thirties, the novels “The CEC Star” (about Tsiolkovsky), “The Wonderful Eye”, “Leap into Nothing” came out from under the pen of a science fiction writer. And the last major creation of Belyaev - the novel "Ariel" - was released in 1941. This novel is about a man who has the gift of levitation.
In the summer of 1941, when the war began, Alexander Romanovich was already in very poor condition - he got out of bed, only to wash and eat. In September, the city was occupied by the Nazis, and a few months later (according to the most common version - in January 1942), a science fiction writer died of cold and exhaustion. Information about how Alexander Belyaev lived in his last days and where he was buried, is actually not available today.
