The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin ("Жизнь и необычайные приключения солдата Ивана Чонкина", 1969-1975) and its sequels, Pretender to the Throne: The Further Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin ("Претендент на престол", 1979), and Displaced Person ("Перемещённое лицо", 2007), constitute the magnum opus of a Soviet dissident writer Vladimir Voinovich.
The first book is set in the Red Army during World War II, satirically exposing the daily absurdities of the totalitarian Soviet regime. It was rejected by Novy Mir, circulated by samizdat, and first printed by an emigre magazine in West Germany, allegedly without author's consent, after which Voinovich was banned from publishing his books in the Soviet Union.
Ivan Chonkin, a combination of a Russian folk hero Ivan the Fool and the "Good Soldier" Švejk, is now a widely known figure in Russian popular culture.
Read more about The Life And Extraordinary Adventures Of Private Ivan Chonkin: Book 1: Plot Summary, Film
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