The characters of detective novels of Julian Semenov will be added to the Presidential Library stock

Shortly before the 85th anniversary of the famous Russian Soviet writer, screenwriter and columnist Julian Semenov the Presidential Library began a large-scale digitization of materials related to his work. These are the books, scripts, articles, copies of the “Sovershenno Sekretno” (that means, “strictly confidential”) newspaper, the founder of which was Julian Semenov, and others. Received materials are courtesy of St. Petersburg State Theatre Library and the Cultural Foundation of Julian Semenov. Overall the first electronic national library is going to digitize more than 200 materials.

For a great many Julian Semenov went down in history as the author of detective novels. Children and adults in the Soviet Union read his books about spies. The release of “Seventeen Instants of Spring” TV series, telling about undercover agent the Soviet intelligence (starring Vyacheslav Tikhonov) in the upper echelons of power of Nazi Germany, has significantly increased the number of fans of this genre. After digitizing the Presidential Library will feature in open access the script of the play of the same name, written by Julian Semenov.

Also, the script of another famous novel of Semenov will be represented in the fund of the Presidential Library. We are talking about the book, “TASS Is Authorized to Announce” It tells the story of confrontation between the intelligence agencies of two powers, in the center of which are KGB general Konstantin Konstantinov and his deputy assistant Colonel Vitaly Slavin. One of the main roles in the serial film also played Vyacheslav Tikhonov. The success of that movie has exceeded all expectations. Interlocutor of Julian Semenov during an interview with “Literaturnaya Rossia” (Literary Russia) newspaper dated August 31, 1984, compared it with the reaction to the release of “The Seventeen Moments of Spring”: “In the hours of broadcasting the new series the streets, the cinemas and supermarkets were noticeably emptying out.”

The first national electronic library will present in pen access the electronic copies of the action novel about journalistic investigation entitled “The Reporter” and a script of TV serial feature film “The Confrontation.” Detective novel tells about the essential work of the Soviet militia associated with a disclosure and a capture of a dangerous criminal. Julian Semenov completed with this work the trilogy about Colonel Vladislav Kostenko, which also included “Petrovka, 38” and “Ogareva, 6.”

Among the early works of Julian Semenov is a collected works entitled “Gone to Return: the short stories and a novel.” It consists of several cycles of “Trans-Baikal” stories and the short story “A Morning is Born at Night.” Its electronic copy can also be seen in the Presidential Library fund. As well as rare and therefore very valuable material for the novel “The Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the proletariat”: chapters of the novel, archival documents, personal letters, etc.

The creativity Julian Semenov is multifaceted and doesn’t limited with the prose. His articles and reviews have appeared regularly on the pages of “Izvestia”, “Moskovskaya Pravda”, “Sovetskaya Kultura” (Soviet Culture) and many other periodicals. They will also be digitized at the Presidential Library and presented in open access.

There will also be digitized issues of the newspaper “Sovershenno Sekretno,” which comes out since 1989. Juliana Semenov is its founder. The newspaper went down in history of national journalism as the first independent non-state mass media during the Soviet era.

The first in Russia national electronic library pays great attention to the creative life and works of Russian writers. It should be noted that on October 7 an exhibition, which will tells a wider audience about Julian Semenov as a participant and chronicler of the dramatic events of the twentieth century, the heroes of his novels and their real-world counterparts - politicians, diplomats, spies, detectives, journalists, will open at the Presidential Library. The materials for the exhibition are courtesy of the Cultural Foundation of Julian Semenov, the Mosfilm Cinema Concern, the Lenfilm Film Studios, Film Studios named after M. Gorky and other partners.