After his discharge in 1945 Astafyev settled for a while in his wife's parents' house in Chusovoy, then went to Krasnoyarsk, doing various jobs such as locksmith and smelter.
In 1950 he started contributing to the Tchusovsky Rabochy (The Tchusovoy Worker) newspaper which in February 1951 published his debut short story "A Civil Man" (Grazhdansky tchelovek), which two years later was reprinted by the Perm-based Zvesda newspaper.
In 1954 Astafyev was for the first time published by a Moscow magazine (short story "Splinter", in Smena).
In 1955 he left the newspaper and started working upon his first novel Snows are Melting (Tayut Snega) which was published in 1958, as was his first book of short stories Warm Rain (Tyoply Dozhd), dedicated mostly to the experience of Russian soldiers and civilians during the German-Soviet War.
Also in the late 1950s Astafyev joined the regional Perm radio.
Working there provided relatively good wages but involved too much blatant propaganda. "
I decided to quit after 1,5 years, feeling that otherwise I'd just stop respecting myself altogether," he remembered.
On 1 October 1958 Astafyev became the member of the RSFSR Union of Writers.

In 1959, Astafyev enrolled in the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow; he became friends with Sergey Vikulov, Yevgeny Nosov and a group of Vologda authors.
One of several short novels of this period, The Old Oak ("Starodub", 1960), became Astafyev's first European publication: translated into Czech, in 1963 it was published in Prague.
After 1962 Astafyev became a professional writer, his wife Maria helping out as a typist.

In 1969 Astafyev and his family moved to the city of Vologda where most of his literary friends lived.
Several major books – Notches (Zatesi), Mountain Pass, The Last Respect (book 1), Shepherd and His Wife followed in the early 1970s and won Astafyev (now the Order of the Red Banner of Labour two-times chevalier) the RSFSR State Maxim Gorky Prize in December 1975.
A year later Nash Sovremennik published "The Tsar Fish", one of his most famous short stories (which gave the title to the compilation).
His debut play The Bird-Cherry Tree was premiered at the Moscow Yermolova theatre, also in 1976.
On 19 October 1978, for the Tsar-Fish book Astafyev received the USSR State Prize.

In 1981 the first edition of The Complete Astafyev in 4 volumes came out.
By this time the author bought himself a house in his native Ovsyanka and moved his family to Krasnoyarsk.
The first TV documentary (shot by director M.Litvyakov) "Viktor Astafyev" was shown in 1983.
By 1984 four films based on his work came out, including Falling Stars by Igor Talankin and Arkady Sirenko's Born Twice, the latter featuring Astafyev as a scriptwriter.
Great resonance had his novel Sad Detective (1986), as well as a set of 1987 short stories, including controversial "The Catching of Cudgeons in Georgia".
In 1988–1989 Astavyev visited France (where his Sad Detective was published), Bulgaria (to oversee his 1966 short novel The Theft being screened) and Greece and took part in the 1989 Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union.
The epic novel The Cursed and the Slain (Proklyaty i Ubity, books 1 and 2, 1992–1993) brought Astafyev The State Prize of the Russian Federation in May 1996.
The same month Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited Ovsyanka to meet Astafyev.
In 1998 the 15-volumes Krasnoyarsk edition of The Complete Astafyev came out.

Astafyev's last years were not happy ones.
In 2000 he suffered a stroke.
Not long before his death Astafyev wrote his last words: "I entered a world that was kind and open and I loved it wholeheartedly.
I leave a world that is alien, evil and vile and I have nothing to say to all of you by way of farewells."
Viktor Astafyev died on 29 November 2001, in Krasnoyarsk.
He was buried in his native Ovsyanka.
After his discharge in 1945 Astafyev settled for a while in his wife's parents' house in Chusovoy, then went to Krasnoyarsk, doing various jobs such as locksmith and smelter. In 1950 he started contributing to the Tchusovsky Rabochy (The Tchusovoy Worker) newspaper which in February 1951 published his debut short story "A Civil Man" (Grazhdansky tchelovek), which two years later was reprinted by the Perm-based Zvesda newspaper. In 1954 Astafyev was for the first time published by a Moscow magazine (short story "Splinter", in Smena). In 1955 he left the newspaper and started working upon his first novel Snows are Melting (Tayut Snega) which was published in 1958, as was his first book of short stories Warm Rain (Tyoply Dozhd), dedicated mostly to the experience of Russian soldiers and civilians during the German-Soviet War. Also in the late 1950s Astafyev joined the regional Perm radio. Working there provided relatively good wages but involved too much blatant propaganda. "I decided to quit after 1,5 years, feeling that otherwise I'd just stop respecting myself altogether," he remembered. On 1 October 1958 Astafyev became the member of the RSFSR Union of Writers.
In 1959, Astafyev enrolled in the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow; he became friends with Sergey Vikulov, Yevgeny Nosov and a group of Vologda authors. One of several short novels of this period, The Old Oak ("Starodub", 1960), became Astafyev's first European publication: translated into Czech, in 1963 it was published in Prague. After 1962 Astafyev became a professional writer, his wife Maria helping out as a typist.
In 1969 Astafyev and his family moved to the city of Vologda where most of his literary friends lived. Several major books – Notches (Zatesi), Mountain Pass, The Last Respect (book 1), Shepherd and His Wife followed in the early 1970s and won Astafyev (now the Order of the Red Banner of Labour two-times chevalier) the RSFSR State Maxim Gorky Prize in December 1975. A year later Nash Sovremennik published "The Tsar Fish", one of his most famous short stories (which gave the title to the compilation). His debut play The Bird-Cherry Tree was premiered at the Moscow Yermolova theatre, also in 1976. On 19 October 1978, for the Tsar-Fish book Astafyev received the USSR State Prize.
In 1981 the first edition of The Complete Astafyev in 4 volumes came out. By this time the author bought himself a house in his native Ovsyanka and moved his family to Krasnoyarsk. The first TV documentary (shot by director M.Litvyakov) "Viktor Astafyev" was shown in 1983. By 1984 four films based on his work came out, including Falling Stars by Igor Talankin and Arkady Sirenko's Born Twice, the latter featuring Astafyev as a scriptwriter. Great resonance had his novel Sad Detective (1986), as well as a set of 1987 short stories, including controversial "The Catching of Cudgeons in Georgia". In 1988–1989 Astavyev visited France (where his Sad Detective was published), Bulgaria (to oversee his 1966 short novel The Theft being screened) and Greece and took part in the 1989 Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union. The epic novel The Cursed and the Slain (Proklyaty i Ubity, books 1 and 2, 1992–1993) brought Astafyev The State Prize of the Russian Federation in May 1996. The same month Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited Ovsyanka to meet Astafyev. In 1998 the 15-volumes Krasnoyarsk edition of The Complete Astafyev came out.
Astafyev's last years were not happy ones. In 2000 he suffered a stroke. Not long before his death Astafyev wrote his last words: "I entered a world that was kind and open and I loved it wholeheartedly. I leave a world that is alien, evil and vile and I have nothing to say to all of you by way of farewells." Viktor Astafyev died on 29 November 2001, in Krasnoyarsk. He was buried in his native Ovsyanka.
Viktor Astafyev