Lev Danilkin

{{short description|Soviet writer, journalist and literary critic}}

{{family name hatnote|Aleksandrovich|Danilkin|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

{{Infobox writer

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| name = Lev Danilkin

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| image = Лев_Данилкин_2018.jpg

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| native_name = Лев Данилкин

| native_name_lang = ru

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|12|01|df=y}}

| birth_place = Vinnytsia, Ukrainian SSR, USSR

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| occupation = Writer, translator, journalist, literary critic

| language = Russian

| nationality =

| citizenship = Russia

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| alma_mater = Moscow State University

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Lev Aleksandrovich Danilkin ({{lang-rus|Лев Александрович Данилкин|p=ˈlʲef ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ dɐˈnʲilkʲɪn}}; born 1 December 1974) is a Russian writer and literary critic. He won the Big Book literary prize in 2017.

Education

Lev Danilkin was born into a family of literary teachers. He studied in middle schools in Odintsovo, Moscow Oblast, and in Moscow, and graduated in 1998 from the graduate school of philology of the Moscow State University.{{cite web |last1=Кириенков |first1=Игорь |title=Писатель Лев Данилкин — о лучших русских книгах XXI века, встрече с Пелевиным и гениальности Лимонова |url=https://esquire.ru/letters/77722-pisatel-lev-danilkin-o-luchshih-russkih-knigah-xxi-veka-vstreche-s-pelevinym-i-genialnosti-limonova/#part5 |publisher=Esquire |access-date=4 February 2021 |language=ru |date=3 January 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Бойко |first1=Михаил |title=Вивисектор русской хтони |url=https://www.ng.ru/person/2008-04-24/2_danilkin.html |publisher=Независимая газета |access-date=4 February 2021 |language=ru |date=24 April 2008}}

Career

In 1999–2000, Danilkin worked as the chief editor of the Russian edition of Playboy magazine.{{cite web

|author=Zhuravleva, O.

|language = ru

|url = https://www.m24.ru/shows3/10/111709 |title ="Личный подход": Лев Данилкин

|trans-title= 'Personal Approach': Leo Danilkin

|publisher = Moscow 24 TV Channel

|date = 2017-02-28

|accessdate = 2022-11-30}} For 15 years he led the column "Books with Lev Danilkin" in Afisha magazine.{{cite web

|language = ru

|url = http://www.bigbook.ru/win/2007/danilkin.php|title =Results

|publisher = Big Book Award

|accessdate = 2022-11-30}}

By the time he departed from Afisha in 2014, Danilkin had already written several biographies, including Man With an Egg: The Life and Views of Alexander Prokhanov about controversial writer Alexander Prokhanov, a book that was a finalist for the 2008 National Bestseller and Big Book awards. He also wrote a life of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin for the ZhZL ({{langx|ru|link=no|ЖЗЛ — Жизнь Замечательных Людей}}) series.{{cite web |title=Lev Danilkin |url=https://readrussia.org/writers/writer/lev-danilkin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208121330/https://readrussia.org/writers/writer/lev-danilkin |url-status=usurped |archive-date=8 February 2021 |website=Read Russia |access-date=4 February 2021 |language=en}}{{cite web

|language = en

|url = https://www.deccanherald.com/international/yuri-gagarin-a-symbol-of-russian-success-973412.html

|title =Yuri Gagarin: A symbol of Russian success

|publisher = Deccan Herald

|date = 2021-04-12

|accessdate = 2022-11-16}}

Danilkin's greatest subject is Lenin, and his 2017 book Lenin. Pantocrator of Dust Motes became one of the central literary events surrounding the centenary of the October Revolution in Russia.{{cite web |title=Lev Danilkin presents: Lenin: The Pantocrator of Sun Dust |url=https://www.newhollandsp.ru/en/events/education/danilkin-lenin/ |publisher=New Holland |access-date=4 February 2021 |language=en |date=25 July 2017}} That year it won both the Big Book and Book of the Year awards.{{cite web |last1=Скорондаева |first1=Анастасия |title=Лев Данилкин стал лауреатом премии "Большая книга" |url=https://rg.ru/2017/12/12/lev-danilkin-stal-laureatom-premii-bolshaia-kniga.html |publisher=Российская Газета |access-date=4 February 2021 |language=ru |date=12 December 2017}}{{cite web |title=Лев Данилкин получил премию «Книга года» |url=https://gorky.media/news/lev-danilkin-poluchil-premiyu-kniga-goda/ |website=Горький |access-date=4 February 2021 |language=ru |date=6 September 2017}}

By peers and colleagues, Danilkin is praised as 'the leading critic in Russia'.{{cite web

|author=Vladimirsky, V.

|language = ru

|url = https://spbvedomosti.ru/news/culture/chelovek_kotoryy_chital_nbsp_vse/ |title =Человек, который читал все

|publisher = Vedomosti Sankt-Petersburg

|date = 2016-09-21

|accessdate = 2022-11-30}}{{cite web

|author=Walsh, M.

|language = en

|url = https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/get-ready-for-war-and-peace-in-space-kn9d2b99wsr |title =Get ready for War and Peace in space

|publisher = The Times UK

|date = 2011-04-09

|access-date = 2022-12-01}} Some consider him more talented than the people he writes about.{{cite web

|author=Shavlovsky, K.

|language = ru

|url = https://seance.ru/articles/volobuev/|title =Ложь и видео

|trans-title=Lies and Videos

|publisher = Seans

|date = 2010-11-17

|accessdate = 2022-11-30}}

In 2021, Danilkin was honoured with the award Свети Стефан Штиљановић at the Serbian festival Ћирилица.{{cite web

|author=Mechanin, R.