Muratov, Igor Leontevich

Born July 15 (28), 1912, in Kharkov; died there Mar. 29, 1973. Soviet Ukrainian poet. Became member of the CPSU in 1940.

The son of an office worker, Muratov graduated from the department of philology of the University of Kharkov in 1939. He fought in the Great Patriotic War of 1941—45. His works were first published in 1931. Among Muratov’s works are poetry collections such as The Komsomol Operating Schedule (1933), The Bonfire (1940), The Twentieth Regiment (1941), The Bogatyri Are Marching On (1951), and My Love and Hatred (1960); the narrative poems in the lyrical pamphlet The Last Cloud (1959; Russian translation, 1960); and the romantic drama Neutral Zone (Russian translation, 1967). He also wrote the prose work The Bucovina Tale (1951; State Prize of the USSR, 1952) and the novellas There Was Once a Widow (1960; Russian translation, 1964), Wide-open Windows (1962; Russian translation, 1968), and Born With a Silver Spoon in His Mouth (1965; Russian translation, 1968). Muratov’s works reflected the lofty moral world of his contemporaries and their exploits in battle and in labor. He was awarded the Order of the October Revolution, two other orders, and various medals.