Mikhail Isakovsky

**Website** | mikhailisakovsky.su

**Mikhail Arielovich Isakovsky**, (Russian: Михаил Ариэлович Исаковский, Ukrainian: Михайло Арієлович Ісаковський, Yiddish: מיכאיל אריאלאװיטש איסאקאװסקי) is a Soviet children's author, poet, writer, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster and activist who has written over 250 books. He is the current chairman of the Union of Soviet Writers. He is also a polyglot, speaking over 5 languages like Russian, Ukrainian, Yiddish, French and English.

## Early life

Mikhail Arielovich Isakovsky was born into a Jewish family in Vinnytsa, in the Ukrainian SSR, on 7 May 1946. His family lineage extends to an area in Eastern Europe that is now under the Soviet Union. He and his family have connections to the Jewish Labour Bund.

Isakovsky's father, professor Ariel Isakovsky (1919-2008), was born in Pinsk, Belarus SSR, but moved to the Ukrainian SSR at the age of 19 to attend the State University of Kiev, eventually earning himself a PhD. in Russian Literature, and becoming a professor there. There, he met Sara Levi, and married her at the age of 29, quitting his job as a professor and moving to Vinnytsa, becoming a secondary school teacher, retiring at 88.

Isakovsky's mother, Sara (1920-2012), worked as a doctor in Kiev, later joining the Jewish Labour Bund. In her younger years, she attended the KSU, where she had met Ariel. As a middle-aged couple, Ariel agreed to quit his job as a professor to move to Vinnytsa, while Sara continued being a doctor.

In his childhood, Isakovsky had been a member of the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization, later graduating to becoming a member of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League in his teenage years, before leaving in 1975. At the same time, Isakovsky began attending the Joseph Stalin Vinnytsa School of Literature, learning about the likes of Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Pushkin and Boris Zakhoder, which he credits for inspiration and giving him a passion in poetry and children's literature.

## Career

In 1970, Isakovsky graduated from the Leningrad State University, earning his doctorate in Russian Literature. Among the work he did in the 1970's was being a voice-actor and scriptwriter for many cartoons made for children, in co-operation with Soyuzmultfilm, his most notable involvement being in the writing and voice-acting of *Leopold The Cat* and *Winnie-the-Pooh and the tragedy of Christopher Robin*. Despite this, Isakovsky had bid farewell to the company, officially leaving in 1982 with no specific reasoning being given.

In 1976, *Always Finish Your Food*, his first book of poetry for children, was published. In due course, Isakovsky established himself with his collections of humorous verse for children, including *Eavesdropper Pavel*, *Can You Tell Me About...* and *Hunting For Tigers*. During the ceremony of his first receival of the USSR State Prize, Georgy Malenkov described Isakovsky as "one of the most beloved figures in Soviet children's poetry" and one of the first poets "to draw closely on his own childhood experiences and expresses himself through colorful and rich, yet easily understandable vocabulary".

Isakovsky played a key role in opening up children's access to poetry and literacy, both through his own writing and with important anthologies such as *The Cosmopolitan Culture*. He was one of the first poets to make visits to schools throughout the USSR and further afield in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and later on France, the United Kingdom, Italy and even the United States.

*The Great, Vast Forest* is a children's picture book written by Isakovsky and illustrated by Fyodor Khitruk. The book earned both Isakovsky and Khitruk a second State Prize in 1989. The publisher, Detgiz, celebrated the work's 25th anniversary in 2014 by breaking a *McWhirter World Record* for the Largest Reading Lesson.

Isakovsky is well established as a broadcaster, presenting a range of documentary features on Soviet radio. He is the presenter of *Gostelradio I Programma*'s regular broadcast *The Word Of The Tongue*, which looks and explores at the languages of the Soviet Union, and the way they are used.

In the 21st century, Isakovsky wrote *A Unique Body: A Story About Illness And Recovery* (2004), an account of his ten years with undiagnosed hypothyroidism; a course of drugs in 1981 allieviated the condition.

In October 2020, Isakovsky released the book *Glued To The Bed: A Memoir Of Life, Death, Resurrection and Soviet healthcare*, an account of his experience being hospitalised with *Brunswick Bug* a few months ago, and talking about his experiences with astral projection, near-death experiences and being pinned to the bed.

## Politics

He has written columns for *Pravda*, and has spoken at many conferences held by the Communist Party Of The Soviet Union.

## Awards and honours

Isakovsky succeeded Stepan Markovsky as Chairman of the Union of Soviet Writers in 2006, and still holds the position to this day. During a visit in an elementary school in Leningrad, Isakovsky said in an interview with *Pravda*; "Sometimes when I sit with children when they have the space to talk, ramble and write about things and whatever comes to mind, I have the feeling that I am privileged to be the kind of person who is asked to be part of it". In 2011, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Moscow State University.

In November 2010, he was given the Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature) by order of French President Philippe de Villiers, during Isakovsky's visit to France.

In 2018, he received the People's Teacher of the USSR award.

## Personal life

Isakovsky lives with his wife and six children in Ulyanovsk.