Tragic Fate of First Soviet Science Fiction Novelist Vivien Itin

Many consider the first science fiction novels in the USSR to be Alexei Tolstoy«s »Aelita« (1923), Vladimir Obruchev»s «The Land of Sannikov» (1924), and Alexander Belyaev«s »Professor Dowell«s Head» (1925). But few know that before them, a writer from Ufa presented to the world «The Land of Gonguri», which did not gain great fame but was noted by contemporaries, including Maxim Gorky himself.

In «The Land of Gonguri», the author created his version of a utopia, and made the main character a revolutionary who, finding himself captive, discovered the gift of time travel and saw what the world was and could become. Awaiting execution, he learns more and more, but comes to disappointing conclusions about humanity. The fate of the author turned out to be no less sad. Why he was shot and the book almost fell into obscurity — in the material by UFA1.RU.

«The Land of Gonguri» was written by Vivien Itin, born in 1894 into the family of a then-famous lawyer in Ufa. At various times, Azary Itin was a member of the City Duma, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Commercial School, and a member of the audit commission of the local Red Cross society.

His son was also destined for a great future. After finishing school, Vivien went to St. Petersburg, where he received higher education, but his main occupation became writing poetry. There he met the poetess and one of the heroines of the 1917 revolution, Larisa Reisner.

Reisner passed Itin«s story »The Discovery of Riel« to Gorky, then an influential writer, which he later reworked into the novella »The Land of Gonguri«. The work pleased the famous writer, but it was not published in time: the magazine where Gorky worked closed, and the manuscript was lost.

With Larisa Reisner, Itin had to part because the people«s commissariat where he was listed was transferred to Moscow. Vivien had to travel a lot around the country and fight as part of partisan detachments. When he found himself in Kansk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, where he worked as an editor for a local newspaper, he was sent a copy of the manuscript of that very »Discovery of Riel«.

Itin reworked, expanded the story, and published it in a small print run — only about 800 copies. One of the copies the author sent to Gorky, but he considered the original version more interesting — for the final version, he scolded Vivien but noted that he had obvious talent and abilities.

Subsequently, «The Land of Gonguri» was repeatedly reprinted. Itin also wrote a poetry collection «Sun of the Heart», an anti-war novella «Urambo», and a story about aviators «Kaan-Kerede».

The writer was one of those who publicly condemned the execution of Nikolai Gumilyov, calling what happened a deep tragedy for the whole country.

In 1938, Vivien himself was arrested. He then worked as an editor for a magazine in Novosibirsk, which at that time was still called Novo-Nikolaevsk. By the way, the modern name of the city, according to one version, was proposed by Itin himself. The charge was very serious — espionage for Japan.

Itin was sentenced to death and shot. Only 18 years later, the writer was rehabilitated «due to lack of evidence of a crime.» His burial place remains unknown.

Another sad fact: Gonguri is the name of one of the heroines of the novel. In her honor, one of the writer«s daughters was named, but she died soon after birth. Later, he had a son named Sun. He also died in infancy.

Besides, Itin had two daughters: Larisa from his first marriage and Natalya from his second. Both lived and are buried in Novosibirsk.