In the 1970s Valentin Grigor'evich Rasputin became one of the best-known writers in the USSR, allied to the “village prose” movement. He is famous above all for four novellas (or povesti), written between 1967 and 1976. These explore the social, cultural and psychological effects of urbanisation on rural areas in his native Siberia, and the huge cost, in spiritual and moral terms, as he saw it, of the drive to modernise the country. In particular, the construction of the Bratsk hydro-electric power station in 1961 plays a major role in his characters' lives and environment. He is still active today both in his writing career and as a local activist, most notably in defending Lake Baikal from the depredations of industry; and both

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First published 21 July 2003

Citation: Gillespie, David. "Valentin Rasputin". The Literary Encyclopedia. 21 July 2003.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5424, accessed 9 February 2010.]