Abstract
Vladimir Voinovich is a young Russian prose writer who first made a name for himself in 1963 with his long story ‘We live here’, published in the Soviet literary magazine, Novy Mir. Since then he has published sparingly (notably the stories ‘1 want to be honest’ and ‘Two friends’), but has added considerably to his reputation with each new work. Since 1966, however, when he protested against the trial of Sinyavsky and Daniel, he has been in increasing difficulties with the authorities, and in February 1974 he was expelled from the Writers’ Union and deprived of all literary work.
In this interview, given in Moscow, he describes his career and the way in which he made the transition from a loyal and innocent writer to ‘dissident’. We also print his letter to Boris Pankin, the head of the Soviet Copyright Agency, in October 1973, and his letter to the Writers’ Union on learning of his impending expulsion. (N.B. A part of this interview was published in German in Die Zeit, 17 January 1975.)