Background
Ostrovskii, Nikolai was born on September 29, 1904 in the village of Vilia near Rovno (Western Ukraine). Son of a worker.
Ostrovskii, Nikolai was born on September 29, 1904 in the village of Vilia near Rovno (Western Ukraine). Son of a worker.
As a teenager, volunteered to fight for the Reds during the Civil War, 1919. A year later, severely wounded while serving in the Red cavalry under Kotovskii. Komsomol official in the Ukraine, 1923-1924.
From 1927, bedridden. Became paralyzed and blind, 1928. In this state, wrote his autobiographical novel Как Zakalialas' Sta/' (How Steel Was Tempered), 1932-1934, about the participation of youth in the class struggle and the Civil War.
This novel was proclaimed one of the greatest achievements of socialist realism,and its hero, Pavka Korchagin, became the main Stalinist hero to be emulated by Soviet youth. Much praise was heaped upon the author and his work which, without ever having gained genuine popularity, was obligatory study material in Soviet schools until 1987.