Viktor Gusev

Born Jan. 17 (30), 1909, in Moscow; died there Jan. 23, 1944. Soviet Russian poet and playwright.

Gusev published the verse anthologies The March of Things (1929), The Heroes Ride to the Kolkhoz (1931), The Word of the Brigade Leader (1932), and Sons of Dictatorship (1934); their basic theme is the enthusiasm of labor. He wrote the popular songs “Meadowland” and “Across the Kama River.” His verse play Glory (1936) vividly presents the problems of socialist ethics. The comedy Springtime in Moscow (1941) is dedicated to student youth. Gusev also wrote the play Rybakov’s Son (staged in 1953, revised by V. V. Vinnikov); the comedies Friendship (1938), The Moscow Woman (1942), and Your Song (1942); the drama Sons of Three Rivers (1944); and the screenplays The Swineherd and the Shepherd (1941; State Prize of the USSR, 1942) and At Six P.M. After the War (1944; State Prize of the USSR, 1946). Gusev’s works are characterized by a combination of civic spirit with lyricism and humor and by the rhythms and intonation of natural speech.