Anatoly Dneprov

Anatoli Dneprow ( Russian Анатолий Днепров , Ukrainian Анатолій Дніпров Anatoly Dniprow , actually Russian Анатолий Петрович Мицкевич Anatoly Petrovich Mickiewicz , Ukrainian Анатолій Петрович Міцкевич Anatoly Petrowytsch Mizkewytsch ; born on 17th November 1919 in Dnipropetrovsk , Ukraine , died in 1975 in Moscow ) was a Russian Science -Fiction author and physicist of Ukrainian descent.

Life

Dneprov studied physics and graduated from Lomonosov University in Moscow in 1941 . After the German invasion of the Soviet Union , Dneprov worked in various functions in the Russian army, including in North Africa and Italy. When the German Wehrmacht surrendered in Berlin-Karlshorst on May 9, 1945, he was translator for the Russian commander, Marshal Zhukov . After the war he worked as a scientist at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR , where he also carried out arms research.

His first science fiction story Korablekruschenije ("Shipwreck") appeared in 1958 when he was almost 40 years old. In the same year, his most famous story, Kraby idut po ostrowu ("Island of Crabs"), was published. Crab-like automatons capable of self-replication are deployed on an uninhabited island . After a short time, the only material available to the machines for reproduction is other machines, which is why a merciless war between the metal crabs begins. The newly built machines are not identical, however, but show slight modifications, which sets off a kind of mechanical evolution . The scientists observing the experiment also aim at these. They hope to have some kind of perfect war crab as a result. The hope is disappointed, however, because in the end only a huge, heavily armored and almost immobile cancer colossus remains.

The story was the template for the Czechoslovak short film Krabi from 1976 (director: Václav Mergl), which was also shown on German television.

With the appearance of the short story collection Urawnenija Maxwella ("Maxwell's equations") in 1960, Dneprov was considered one of the most important and innovative science fiction authors in Russian literature, but was largely forgotten in the following decades. He is recognized as one of the first to address cybernetics and information technology with the associated problems and risks in science fiction.

His pseudonym is derived from his hometown (Russian Dnepropetrowsk ).

bibliography

Short stories

• Кораблекрушение ( Korablekruschenije , 1958)
• Крабы идут по острову ( Kraby idut po ostrowu , 1958).
  • English: Island of the Crabs . In: Science Fiction 1: Scientific-fantastic stories from Russia , Piper, 1963. Also in: Wulf Bergner (Hrsg.): Insel der Krebse , Heyne SF&F # 3470, 1975, ISBN 3-453-30373-3 .
  • Crabs attack . In: Lothar Grünewald (Ed.): Flight to Alpha Eridani , Vlg.Culture and Progress, 1970.
  • The island of the crabs . In: Darko Suvin (Hrsg.): Other worlds, other seas , Goldmann Science Fiction of the chef selection, 1972, ISBN 3-442-30258-7 .
• Суэма ( Suema , 1958)
  • German: Svema . In: The heart of the snake , publishing house for foreign language literature (science and fantasy), 1961.
• Диверсант с "Юпитера" (1959)
  • German: Der Diversant . In: Rob Day's Fantastic Machine and Other Strange Stories , Piper, 1963.
• Машина "ЭС", модель N 1 ( Maschina "ES", model N 1 , 1959)
  • German: Machine "Er", Model No. 1 . In: Science Fiction 1: Scientific-fantastic stories from Russia , Vlg. Culture and progress, 1962.
  • ER machine model no. I . In: Klaus Walther (Ed.): Martians , Das Neue Berlin, 1975.
• Уравнение Максвелла ( Urawnenije Maxwella , 1960)
• Мир, в котором я исчез ( Mir, w kotorom ja istsches , 1961)
  • German: The second life . (Translated from English). In: Mirra Ginsburg (ed.): Out in space and other Russian SF stories. Heyne SF&F # 3216, 1978.
• Пурпурная мумия ( Purpurnaja mumija , 1961)
• Подвиг ( Podwig , 1962)
• Формула бессмертия ( Formula bessmertija , 1962)
• Когда задают вопросы… ( Kogda sadaiut woprossy… , 1963)
• Интервью с регулировщиком Уличного Движения ( Interwju s regulirowschtschikom Ulitschnowo Dwischenija , 1964)
  • German: Interview with a traffic post . In: Bank robbery at midnight , Vlg. Culture and Progress, 1969. Also in: Index J-81 works for Mr. Faustus , Volk und Welt, 1971.
  • Conversation with a traffic cop . In: Darko Suvin (Hrsg.): Other worlds, other seas , Goldmann Science Fiction of the chef selection, 1972, ISBN 3-442-30258-7 .
• Случайный выстрел ( Slutschainy wystrel , 1964)
• Ферма "Станлю" ( Ferma "Stanlju" , 1964)
  • German: The STA-MEN farm . In: Darko Suvin (Hrsg.): Other worlds, other seas , Goldmann Science Fiction of the chef selection, 1972, ISBN 3-442-30258-7 .
• Otchłań (1970, Polish)

Collections

• Уравнения Максвелла ( Urawnenija Maxwella , 1960)
• Мир, в котором я исчез ( Mir, w kotorom ja istsches ; 1962)
• Формула бессмертия ( Formula bessmertija , 1963, further edition 1972)
• Пурпурная мумия ( Purpurnaja mumija , 1965)
• Пророки ( Proroki , 1971)

literature

• Hans Joachim Alpers , Werner Fuchs , Ronald M. Hahn : Reclam's science fiction guide. Reclam, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-15-010312-6 , p. 132.

Web links

• Anatoli Dneprow in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (English)
• Anatoly Dneprov in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Literature by and about Anatoly Dneprov in the catalog of the German National Library
• Short biography (Russian), accessed January 8, 2018.