About
Isaac Babel was a Russian writer and journalist born in Odessa to a Jewish family. He studied commerce in Kiev before meeting Maxim Gorky in 1916, who published his first stories. As a war correspondent during the Polish-Soviet War, he drew on this experience for his collection Red Cavalry (1926), which brought him fame. His Odessa Tales (1924) depict the Jewish underworld of his native city. Arrested by the NKVD in 1939, he was executed in 1940. Rehabilitated in 1954, his work was rediscovered posthumously.
* 1894-07-13 — † 1940-01-27
Major works
- Red Cavalry (1926)short story collection
- Odessa Tales (1924)short story collection
- Sunset (1928)play
- Mariya (1935)play
- Jewish Luck (1925)screenplay
Key milestones
- 1916Met Maxim Gorky in Petrograd, who published his first two stories.
- 1920War correspondent with the First Cavalry Army during the Polish-Soviet War.
- 1939Arrested by the NKVD on May 15 on fabricated charges of terrorism and espionage.
Themes
violence and revolutionJewish identitylife in Odessawar and moralitymarginality
Sources: britannica.com · yivoencyclopedia.org · oxfordreference.com