Donchenko, Oles Vasilevich

Born Aug. 6 (19), 1902, in Bol’shie Sorochintsy, in what is now Poltava Oblast; died Apr. 12, 1954, in the city of Lubny. Ukrainian Soviet writer.

Donchenko began publishing in 1918. He is the author of two collections of poetry, The Red Easter Egg (1926) and Outskirts (1928), many dramatic works, and numerous stories, novellas, and novels. Most of Donchenko’s works are devoted to the problems of raising children and young people. His novels Stellar Fortress (1933; Russian translation, 1934) and The Gold Medal (1949; Russian translation, 1955) and the novellas School Above the Sea (1937; Russian translation, 1940) and Lukiia (1939; Russian translation, 1963) achieved wide recognition. Many of Donchenko’s works have been translated into the languages of the peoples of the USSR.