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Alfred I.
Kurella

Russia • 1895−1975

(alias — V. Ziegler, V. Rubig, A. Bernard) (born 2.5.1895, Brzeg, Poland), German writer, translator, literary critic, public figure (GDR). A member of the KPD since 1918. Member of the Central Committee of the SED (1957). Member of the German Academy of arts, where from 1962 headed the section of literature and language. Actively participated in the activities of the Communist youth international, "Union of proletarian revolutionary writers of Germany" (1928). in 1932-34, the Secretary headed by A. Barbusse and R. Rolland "International Committee against fascism and war." In 1934-54 lived in the USSR, was Deputy chief editor of the newspaper, the organ of the Committee "Free Germany" (1943-45) Translated the works of the Russian revolutionary Democrats V. G. Belinsky, D. I. Herzen, N. G. Chernyshevsky, etc., Franz. writers, as well as T. G. Shevchenko, N. Hikmet etc. In the novel, "Acts of Gronau" (1954) shows the emptiness of people who are bound with fascism; the novel "a Pawn in the great game" (publ. 1961) reflection on the fate of the German intelligentsia in the years of fascism. Kurella Alfred is the author of numerous literary works (the collections of "Man as Creator of himself", 1958, "Mixture", 1961, etc.) who have made a significant contribution to the development of the principles of socialist realism; the socio-political and historical-philosophical works ("Mussolini, without a mask", 1931, "East and West", 1948 "Dimitrov against göring", 1964), the book "the Way to leninu" (1967), which put the same film (1970). One of the founders and Director of the Leipzig Literature Institute. I. R. Becher (1955). Member of the people's chamber of the GDR.

Vol.: Lettres de Lénine a sa famille, présentées par Henri Barbusse. Avec la collaboration de A. Kurella, P., 1936; Dimitroff contra Göring, V., 1964; Der ganze Mensch, B., 1969; in Russian. lane — the Story of the Communist Youth international. A brief outline, M. — L., 1927; His and others, Moscow, 1970.

(S. V. Rozhnovskiy)

outstanding international public and political figure, writer, citizen of Germany and the Soviet Union made a significant contribution to the study and development of tourist Caucasus. Born in Germany in 1895 in the gymnasium (Bonn) addicted to mountain Hiking, organized Amateur youth organization “Migratory birds”. In these campaigns not only overcome the mountain passes and makes the ascent to the top, and were studied rural life, customs, songs.

In 1913 he enrolled in art school, having released his first book - a collection of folk songs. In 1914, with the outbreak of the First World war, sent to the Western front but was seriously wounded and discharged.

With supporters in Bavaria, he creates a group “Free socialist youth” in 1918 joins the Communist party of Germany. After the defeat of the Bavarian Republic goes underground, and in 1919 with a special order placed in Moscow. That happened in Russia gave a powerful impetus to the development of philosophy, as he told in his book “On the way to Lenin”, published in Moscow in 1979 In 1919 Corella A. - member of the Central Committee of Komsomol, and in the same year in Berlin at the Congress of the Communist youth international, he was elected Secretary-RICKY Kim.

1924-1926 he is the Director of the party school in France, all these years, does not interrupt relations with the Soviet Union, cooperating with the Committee on Affairs of arts of Russia, “Komsomolskaya Pravda”, lectured in Berlin and at the Institute of red professors in Moscow. The big resonance was caused by his lecture “Realism and impressionism”.

While on vacation in Kislovodsk, Kurella coming up to this mountain of Italy, France and Germany, attempted the ascent of Elbrus and, fascinated by the Caucasus, is related to the end of his days.

In the early 1930-ies Corella in Paris was the Executive Secretary of the “world Committee against war,” founded by A. Barbusse, R. Rolland, Gorky, etc.

In 1935 A. Kurella focuses on the literary work (senior researcher, all-Union library of foreign languages in Moscow) and working on his books “Gromadske case” and “a Pawn in the great game,” published after the war in the GDR, and the last one in the USSR. He made translations into German of epic works of the Armenian “David of Sasun” and Kyrgyzstan's “Manas”, under his editorship published a two-volume Shevchenko, in which many of the poems were translated by Corelli. He became a member of the Union of Soviet writers.

During the great Patriotic war Corella runs in the Seventh Department of the GPU of the red army, and as Deputy editor of the newspaper “Free Germany”, directs all his energy on explaining to the Germans the evils of course Hitler.

Since 1934 A. Kurella spends every summer traveling through the mountains of the Caucasus: Georgia, Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Abkhazia. In these trips he discovers what I always wanted, a unique, isolated from the world, mountain ranges of the beautiful village Pskhu, located in an extensive wooded valley on the southern slope of the Main Caucasian ridge in the middle of the gorge of the Bzyb river.

After the war, A. Kurella together with his family moved to Pskhu, buys a house and lives a reclusive farm life: vegetable garden, garden, bees, trekking through the pass in Sukhumi to buy useful things and products. However, he uses every opportunity to explore the area. He lives among a wonderful nature, among good men, dreamed always. He wrote the article in German, “Dream of Pskhu”. It's amazing how he manages to be natural and at the highest political Olympus, and among the peasants, hermits living in the wild. The silence, the isolation, the beauty of the surroundings, the friendliness of the villagers contributed to the success. In Pskhu he translates into German Belinsky, Herzen, Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov.

In 1949 A. Kurella returned to Moscow. Fluent in German and Russian Italian and French, it translates the prose poems of Turgenev, the stories of Maxim Gorky, N. Hikmet, L. Aragon, Nizami and Navoi. Many of his translations are recognized in the German reference.

With the opening of the Moscow city club of tourists (1949) A. Kurella continuing their research trips, becoming a leading consultant on the Caucasus. Many Moscow tourists were fortunate enough to receive his inspired support of a deep knowledge of the Caucasus recommendations. An indelible impression of the magnitude of his personality and the breadth of approaches to the possibilities of travel, human sincerity and simplicity.

Considering the increasing demand of tourists to clear information for travel, A. Kurella creates on the basis of topographic maps unique album routes in the Western Caucasus, passed by him for 25 years, with specific lines of routes. There are several dozens of routes from Elbrus to the Black sea. This album was the first guide to the numerous tourist groups of Moscow club tourists. On the recommendations of Corelli sports group perform a series of pervoprokhodtsy.

In 1954 he moved to the GDR. There, in 1958, was elected to the Central Committee of the SED and candidate member of the Politburo. Since 1963 he is the Deputy President of the Academy of arts of the GDR, member of the people's chamber, Pen, etc. Already in Germany, he published the photo album “our Beautiful Caucasus”. Despite numerous business trips around the world, he remains faithful to the mountains.

In 1961 A. Kurella, who was 66 years old, passed from Arkhyz in Pskhu year-old daughter, which was carried in a special backpack. The last campaign in the Caucasus he made in 1972 at the Chegem gorge.

All my life, despite the huge employment and creative activity in politics, art, literature, A. Corella remained in love with the Caucasus, asked to send him all the new guides, corresponded with those who expand the scope of his research.

In 1975 in Germany was widely celebrated the 80th anniversary of A. Corelli, and in his anniversary speech, he noted that the important place occupied by the Caucasus in his life, regretted that he had not been in Tusheti. He died in Berlin on 12 June 1975.

Mountain travel A. Corelli will always be an interesting example for many generations of tourists. It is named after a pass through the Main Caucasian ridge from Kizgich river valley (basin of the river Zelenchuk Arkhyz) to the source of R. chalta that he went through and described first.

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