Background
KNYAZEV, Vasiliy was born on January 18, 1887 in Tyumen’. Son of a merchant.
KNYAZEV, Vasiliy was born on January 18, 1887 in Tyumen’. Son of a merchant.
1905 first work published in satirical leaflets and journals. Wrote revol songs and ballads, but was mainly a satirist and author of fables, parodies, fairy tales and topical folk ballads. His verse appeared in Zvezda and Pravda.
Wrote satire exposing the evils of the time: collection Satiricheskiye pesni (Satirical Songs) (1910) and Dvunogiye bez per’yev (Two-Legged Without Feathers) (1914). Collected proverbs and topical folk ballads, book Zhizn’ molodoy derevni. Chastushki-korotushki South.-Peterburgskoy gubernii (The Life of Young Villagers.
Folk Ballads of Saint Saint St. Petersburg Province) (1913). Used folklore genres in his verse, id est (that is) facetious sayings, intoned verse, and songs as in the cycle Podpitershchina (Around and About Saint Saint St. Petersburg) (1915). After 1917 October Revol contributed to Krasnaya zvezda.
Such verse as "Alarum of the Red Bell Ringer,” ’’Songs of the Red Poet," "Fcuillctons of Sofronov’s Grandson from Velikiye Luki,” ’Talks with Grandfather Neftd,” etc, appeared almost daily in Krasnaya zvezda-, during the defense of Petrograd Knyazev joined the Red Guards, went with a mobile propaganda unit to the front and worked for Boyevaya pravda. Verse from the collections Krasnoye Yevangeliye (The Red Gospel) (1918), Krasnyye zuony i pesni (Red Chimes and Songs) (1918), Pesni Krasnogo zvonarya (Songs of the Red Bell Ringer) (1919) and O chyom pel kolokol (What the Bell Sang) (1920) were set to music ("Song of the Commune”: "Never, Never, Never! Never Will Communards Be Slaves..” (1919], etc) and translated into for languages. 1924 published anthology Kaplya krovi Il'icha (A Drop of Il’ich’s Blood).
In 1920's and 1930's contributed to periodicals, published collections of new topical folk ballads and worked on Poslovichnaya entiklopediya (An Encyclopedia of Proverbs), part of which he published in the anthologies Rus’ (1924) and Kniga poslovits (A Book of Proverbs) (1930). 1934, under pseudonym Ivan Sedykh, published novel Dedy (Grandfathers) about the life of Siberian merchants. Arrested by State Security organs.