GROMOV Mikhail Petrovich

GROMOV, Mikhail Petrovich (1927-1990), Russian literary critic and expert on creativity Chekhov.

Born in the old village Mechetinskaya trans-Don (Rostov region) April 14, 1927 in the family of an engineer. In 1937, lost his father, who was executed during Stalin's repressions, the mother also was arrested (in 1939 released). In 1942-1945 he lived in the evacuation near Sverdlovsk, was engaged in night school and worked in a factory as a fitter-lekalschikom.

In 1946-1951 he studied at the Rostov-on-Don University (now the Rostov State University) at the Faculty of Philology. After graduate school in the Rostov Pedagogical Institute (1951-1954, . Head of VA Zakrutkin) in 1954, defended his thesis "The formation of realism Leo Tolstoy (1847-1856) in the Saratov University (one of the opponents was Professor G. Oxman),
. In 1954-1964 he taught Russian and foreign literature in Novocherkassk and Taganrog Teacher Education Institutions. In 1964 he moved to Moscow, where he worked (part-time) at the Faculty of Philology of Moscow University and at the editorial department Polygraphic Institute (in 1967 adopted the staff assistant professor). In 1977, reserves Polygraphic Institute, continuing part-time reading in the MSU general courses on Russian literature of the first third of the 19. and conduct courses and workshops on Chekhov. Lectures Gromov, . masterpieces of sui generis, . held in overcrowded classrooms (in addition to the students visited them many specialists, philologists), . but the staff at the MSU Department of Russian Literature in 1977, he was not accepted (at the meeting of the Party Committee, the then dean of the Philology JF Volkov said, . that Gromov - the son of an enemy of the people and the purpose of his life - revenge for his father),
. In 1987 completed a teacher at MSU.

Diversely talented MP Gromov sooner felt his literary vocation. In 1948, studying in third year at university, he wrote a letter to Boris Pasternak, putting his poetic experiments. Unexpectedly for him the poet responded. Three letters of Pasternak Gromov (1948, 1949, 1957, published in 1992 in the 'Literary Gazette') helped the students find their way into literature and life.

As literary Gromov began with studies of creativity of Leo Tolstoy. His article "The first novel by Leo Tolstoy (the history of design)" (1956) was highly appreciated tolstovedami. But the main theme of literary works, the theme of his life, was his countryman, born in Taganrog, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. In the year of the century Chekhov (1960), Gromov gave a report on the genre of the play 'The Cherry Orchard' "on the anniversary of Chekhov's readings in Taganrog. Already in 1960 Gromov proposed new approaches in chehovedenii, . destroying the restructuring of Chekhov as the author humoresques, . gradually evolved towards 'serious' literature, . and showing, . that in the first play, "Fatherless" revealed a future world of Chekhov - heroes, . topics, . plot moves,
. At the same Gromov took an active part in the preparation of academic Complete Works of Chekhov (compilation of comments, painstaking work on dating).

In the article "Chekhov's narrative" as the art system (1974) Research shows that the analytical approach to the study of Chekhov's largely exhausted itself. Approaching the writer's work systematically, . He found, . that the narrative's works - more than 500 short stories and novels - 'merge with each other as elements of a complex artistic structure: a common theme, . 'general idea' is located outside of each of them separately and revealed a whole set of them ',
. This allowed Gromov identify 'image of the city' - 'aesthetic, . rather than topographic reality, . psychological space, . delineated several heavily accented details and reflected in the minds, . temperament, . the inner world of actors',
. The investigator was waiting for his publisher catalog residents of this 'city', and it turned out that in the narrative prose of Chekhov described or referred to more than eight thousand characters of all classes, ages and states. Study links between them makes it possible to identify 'features of the structural unity' Chekhovian narrative

. In his books, . generalizing the results of searching, . reflection on the texts of Chekhov, . Gromov, one of the first raised the issue of the ratio of scientific and artistic principles in Chekhov's world view, . talked about the tradition of Gogol and Dostoyevsky in his work,
. After the death of the literary scholar to continue publishing his books: in a series of 'Life of Famous People' - the work of "Chekhov" (1993), containing, inter alia, an excellent analysis of the Cherry Orchard, one of the most difficult to understand the plays of Chekhov. In 1995, the series 'literary monuments' came prepared thunderous tale Steppe: his article on the story bears a special mark of personal involvement that describes Chekhov (Gromov, a native of the places he traveled along the route the convoy with Yegorushka). In 1996 was published three-volume "Letters of Anton Chekhov", an introductory article and comments belong to the first volume Gromov. In many editions of Chekhov's heritage scattered his preface and commentary.

Literary skill, the great talents of Gromov evident in the work on the book by Yuri Oleshi "No Day Without a Line" (1965), collected from the piles of notes and unfinished fragments remaining after Oleshi. VB Shklovsky praised the work of Gromov, who was able to 'catch the vision of the book, to understand the sequence of parts and internal relations of images'.

By their hobbies Gromov also takes very exacting master. His work photographer published in magazines in Poland, Bulgaria, Sweden, USA, in 1960-1970-ies he was a member of the editorial board of the journal 'Soviet Photo'. Furniture, descended from his bench, would have done honor to an experienced cabinetmaker.

Died Gromov in Moscow on 22 August 1990.