Vladislav Titov

Who was Vladislav Titov?

Vladislav Andreevich Titov was a Soviet socialist realist writer. At the age of 26 he lost both arms in a coal mine accident. He became a novelist, writing with a pen held by his teeth, and produced several novels, the most famous being Defying death.

Titov was born into a wheat farmer's family in Voronezh Oblast. After serving in the Soviet Army, he completed a course at the College of Mines in Voroshilovgrad and started working at one of the new coal mines of Donets Basin. In 1960 he became involved in a serious accident. A loaded coal carriage derailed, hit a high-voltage cable, and short-circuited it. The resulting fire ran along the cable to the power transformer and would have caused an explosion, burying alive the entire shift of miners. Hoping to save his co-workers, Titov rushed to the transformer and managed to shut it down, but by doing so he exposed himself to high voltage. Doctors saved his life and an injured leg, but both his arms had to be amputated up to the shoulders.

After a long recovery period, Titov became a writer, scribbling on paper with a pen held by his teeth. His first novel, Defying Death, is autobiographical in nature and focuses on the mental problems a healthy young man develops after a serious accident. Physical pain, an inability to find employment, and the sense of being a burden to people put him on the verge of suicide. He manages not only to recover his mental balance but also begins to help others cope with their psychological problems.