ABOUT THE AUTHOR • PERSONAL FILE
Pavel Vasilyevich Kulagin
Writer and creator of the As It Must Be universe. A director, actor and musician from Petrozavodsk carrying the same world across literature, stage, film and original music.
Everything unfolds exactly as it must.
Early years
Pavel grew up reserved but unwilling to accept humiliation. In his final school years he became more open, gathered friends and organized his first shoots. He called a childhood toy Jack; years later the novel's central character received that name.
A path toward literature
He disliked mandatory school reading yet wrote excellent argumentative essays. A Game of Thrones became the first novel he read with real enthusiasm; its viewpoints and political intrigue later influenced his POV structure.
Education and experience
Pavel graduated from the Karelian College of Culture and Arts in 2023. Work in food service, sales, administration and events gave him firsthand insight into hierarchies, pressure and manipulation.
Film, stage and music
Pavel began making videos and short films with friends in 2016–2017, often combining directing, screenwriting, acting, shooting and editing. After his student and early creative work, he continued making amateur shorts with his team, carrying his directing and acting practice forward. An unrelated team film won the Petrozavodsk State University Golden Log Grand Prix in 2019.
The name Esaul appeared in 2019, official music releases began in 2020, and in 2025 Pavel independently organized Esaul Show 26, continuing to combine music, stage work and directing in his own projects.
Today Pavel also hosts weddings, corporate events, anniversaries and other celebrations across Karelia. He sees this not as work separate from creativity, but as another form of stagecraft: live audience interaction, improvisation, control of the program's rhythm and real-time event direction.
2023 / STAGE
The novel came alive on stage
On 14 April 2023 Pavel presented a 43-minute production: he wrote it, assembled the team, directed it, played Jack and performed two songs.
More about the production→MEMORIA
Family and memory
Losing both parents while young shaped Pavel's understanding of loneliness, pain and resilience. His older brother Alexander and sister Ekaterina remained close.
Vasily Gennadyevich Kulagin1 May 1961 — 5 May 2015
Elena Viktorovna Vorobyova1 May 1967 — 18 August 2018