Ilya Varshavsky (December 14, 1908, Kiev - July 4, 1974, Leningrad) – Russian science fiction writer.
Background
Ilya Varshavsky was born in Kiev on December 14, 1908. As a young man he wanted to become an actor and tried to enter the Actors Studio, but Failed in the exam. Then he entered the Naval College in Leningrad, where he graduated with the title "merchant fleet engineer". Several years he served in the Navy. In 1929, co-authored with journalist Nikolai Slepnev and older brother Dmitri wrote a book of essays "Around the world without a ticket" (under the pseudonym Nikolai Aldim). Before the war he worked as an engineer at a factory "Русский дизель"(Russian diesel). He wasn't called to the army during World War II due to an injury received in childhood. In the autumn of 1941 he was evacuated to the Altai, where he remained until 1949. When he returned to Leningrad, he again entered the "Russian diesel", where he worked for another twenty years. Died in 1974.
Career
In his own words, could not stand science fiction and began to write after a dispute with his son about it.
In 1962 he published the first science fiction story, and then began a career of science fiction writer. He was the first director of the Leningrad Seminar of Young Fiction Writers (in 1972 he was replaced by Boris Strugatsky). He conducted a popular science program "Molecular cafe" at the Leningrad television. His work is marked by diversity: parody and stylization, social pamphlets and problematic psychological novels.
"Roby", the first science fiction story of Varshavsky was published in 1962 in the journal "Science and Life". The first novel "Molecular cafe" appeared in 1964. During the Varshavsky's life only five collections of short stories came out.
His works were highly valued by colleagues in science fiction such as Strugatsky brothers and Stanislaw Lem.