Babel, Isaak

Babel, Isaak (Emmanuilovich)

(born July 13, 1894, Odessa, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died Jan. 27, 1940, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian short-story writer. Born Jewish in Ukraine, Babel grew up in an atmosphere of persecution that is reflected in his stories. Maksim Gorky encouraged him to travel abroad to expand his horizons. Out of his experience as a soldier in the war with Poland came the stories in Red Cavalry (1926). His Odessa Tales (1931) include realistic and humorous sketches of the Jewish ghetto outside Odessa. Initially well regarded in the Soviet Union, in the late 1930s Babel's writing was found incompatible with official literary doctrine. He was arrested in 1939 and later executed. He is one of Russia's greatest writers of short stories.