The fate of Vasily Makarovich Shukshin (1929–1974) encompassed all the jacks and failures of the Russian twentieth century. The son of an Alтай peasant who was executed on a false charge, he managed — thanks to his enormous natural talent and extraordinary will — to rise to the very top of Soviet public life without losing his innate sense of national roots. A peasant, a worker, an intellectual, an actor, a director, a writer, a Russian fighter — Shukshin charmed Russia, became its demanding defender and a harsh advocate before the authorities, all while remaining incredibly secretive, a “coded” person. How did Shukshin become Shukshin? What childhood did he have, and how did his mysterious youth unfold? How did his relationship with power, the Church, and the literary and film circles develop? How did his personal life influence his work? What did he see as the past, present, and future of Russia?
Finally, what did he manage to do and what did he fail to do? Alexei Varlamov, a well-known prose writer and historian of literature, based on letters, working notes, archival documents, and memoir evidence, made an attempt to “decode” his hero — and the reader now has the opportunity to meet Vasily Shukshin again.