[1][2][3] Eduard Volodarsky was born in Kharkov (today's Kharkiv, Ukraine) to a Russian mother and a Jewish father[4][5] who had recently graduated from a technical university.
The story touched a controversial theme of a Nazi collaborator who wanted to join Soviet partisans and was put to the test.
[6] Described as "deforming the image of the heroic time, of Soviet people who stood up to fight German fascists on the occupied territories", it was banned for 15 years and released only in 1986.
[10] Same happened to My Friend Ivan Lapshin which was shelved for three years and then awarded the Vasilyev Brothers State Prize of the RSFSR.
Full of symbolism and innovative filming techniques, it quickly turned into a cult classic, bolstering the career of the young director.
Staged by Oleg Yefremov at the Moscow Art Theatre, it drew a full house for 10 years straight and was eventually adapted into a movie.
[5] In the interview that preceded the premiere Volodarsky described Grossman as a "rotten writer who didn't love the country he lived in" and stated that he read the novel only after signing the contract.
He also self-identified as a monarchist and a White movement supporter while criticizing democracy and anti-communists, Soviet dissidents in particular for being "enemies of their own country... lying too much".