Valery Vladimirovich Medvedev (at birth - Valery Ivanovich Marinin) Soviet Russian writer and actor. Author of books for children. Valery Marinin in 1940 entered the directing department of the State Institute of Theater Arts named after A. V. Lunacharsky, but the Great Patriotic War interrupted his studies. After demobilization he graduated from GITIS in 1952 and worked in the Moscow theater named after Mossovet, acted in films. He came to children's literature in 1957, his first book in the fantasy genre was the story-tale "Barankin, be a man!" (1962). Subsequently, this very popular story was translated into almost 30 languages ​​and awarded a diploma of the international competition named after H.-H. Andersen. A cartoon, a play and even an operetta were created based on her motives. In 1983, the book "Fantasies of Barankin" was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR named after N. K. Krupskaya.