A Kuprin short biography 24. A.I. Kuprin - a short biography. The psychological side of the works

A bright representative of realism, a charismatic personality and simply a famous Russian writer of the early 20th century - Alexander Kuprin. His biography is eventful, quite heavy and overflowing with an ocean of emotions, thanks to which the world has known his best creations. "Moloch", "Duel", "Pomegranate Bracelet" and many other works that have replenished the golden fund of world art.

The beginning of the way

Born on September 7, 1870 in the small town of Narovchat, Penza District. His father is a civil servant Ivan Kuprin, whose biography is very short, since he died when Sasha was only 2 years old. After which he stayed with his mother Lyubov Kuprina, who was a Tatar of princely blood. They suffered hunger, humiliation and deprivation, so his mother made the difficult decision to send Sasha to the department for young orphans at the Alexander Military School in 1876. A graduate of the military school, Alexander, graduated from it in the second half of the 80s.

In the early 90s, after graduating from a military school, he became an employee of the Dneprovsky infantry regiment No. 46. A successful military career remained in dreams, as Kuprin's alarming biography full of events and emotions tells. The summary of the biography says that Alexander did not manage to enter a higher military educational institution due to a scandal. And all because of his hot temper, under the influence of alcohol, he threw a police officer from the bridge into the water. Having reached the rank of lieutenant, in 1895 he retired.

Writer's temperament

A personality with incredibly bright colors, greedily absorbing impressions, a wanderer. He tried many crafts on himself: from laborer to dental technician. A very emotional and extraordinary person - Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose biography is full of bright events, which became the basis of many of his masterpieces.

His life was rather stormy, there were many rumors about him. An explosive temperament, excellent physical shape, he was drawn to try himself, which gave him invaluable life experience and strengthened his spirit. He was constantly striving towards adventure: he dived under water in special equipment, flew on an airplane (almost died due to a disaster), was the founder of a sports society, etc. During the war years, together with his wife, he equipped an infirmary in his own house.

He loved to get to know a person, his character and communicated with people of a wide variety of professions: specialists with a higher technical education, itinerant musicians, fishermen, card players, the poor, clergymen, entrepreneurs, etc. And in order to get to know a person better, to feel his life for himself, he was ready for the craziest adventure. A researcher whose spirit of adventurism simply went off scale is Alexander Kuprin, the biography of the writer only confirms this fact.

With great pleasure he worked as a journalist in many editorial offices, published articles, reports in periodicals. He often went on business trips, lived in the Moscow region, then in Ryazan, as well as in the Crimea (Balaklava district) and in the city of Gatchina, Leningrad region.

Revolutionary activity

He was not satisfied with the then social order and the prevailing injustice, and therefore how strong personality he wanted to somehow change the situation. However, despite his revolutionary sentiments, the writer had a negative attitude towards the October coup led by representatives of the Social Democrats (Bolsheviks). Vivid, eventful and full of various difficulties - this is Kuprin's Biography. Interesting facts from the biography say that Alexander Ivanovich nevertheless collaborated with the Bolsheviks and even wanted to publish a peasant edition called "Land", and therefore often saw the head of the Bolshevik government, V. I. Lenin. But soon he suddenly went over to the side of the "whites" (anti-Bolshevik movement). After they were defeated, Kuprin moved to Finland, and then to France, namely to its capital, where he stayed for a while.

In 1937 he took an active part in the press of the anti-Bolshevik movement, while continuing to write his works. Restless, filled with the struggle for justice and emotions, this was exactly the biography of Kuprin. The summary of the biography says that in the period from 1929 to 1933 such famous novels: "Wheel of Time", "Juncker", "Janet", and also published many articles and stories. Emigration had a negative effect on the writer, he was unclaimed, suffered deprivation and missed native land... In the second half of the 30s, believing the propaganda in the Soviet Union, he and his wife returned to Russia. The return was overshadowed by the fact that Alexander Ivanovich suffered from a very serious illness.

People's life through the eyes of Kuprin

Kuprin's literary activity is imbued with the classic manner of compassion for Russian writers for the people who are forced to live in poverty in a wretched environment of life. A strong-willed person with a strong desire for justice - Alexander Kuprin, whose biography says that he expressed his sympathy in creativity. For example, the novel "The Pit", written at the beginning of the 20th century, which tells about the hard life of a prostitute. And also the images of intellectuals suffering from hardships that they have to endure.

His favorite characters are just that - reflective, a little hysterical and very sentimental. For example, the story "Moloch", where the representative of such an image is Bobrov (engineer) - a very sensitive character, compassionate and worried about ordinary factory workers who work hard while the rich ride like cheese in butter with other people's money. Representatives of such images in the story "Duel" are Romashov and Nazansky, who are endowed with great physical strength, as opposed to a quivering and sensitive soul. Romashov was very annoyed by military activities, namely, vulgar officers and downtrodden soldiers. Probably no other writer condemned the military environment as much as Alexander Kuprin.

The writer was not one of the tearful, popular-worshiping writers, although his work was often approved by the famous critic-populist N.K. Mikhailovsky. His democratic attitude towards his characters was expressed not only in the description of their hard life. Alexander Kuprin's people from the people not only had a quivering soul, but he was strong-willed and could give a worthy rebuff at the right moment. The life of the people in Kuprin's work is a free, spontaneous and natural flow, and the characters have not only troubles and sorrows, but also joy and consolation (Listrigone series of stories). A man with a vulnerable soul and a realist is Kuprin, whose biography according to the dates says that this work took place in the period from 1907 to 1911.

His realism was also expressed in the fact that the author described not only good features of his characters, but he also did not hesitate to show their dark side (aggression, cruelty, rage). A striking example is the story "Gambrinus", where Kuprin described the Jewish pogrom in great detail. This work was written in 1907.

Perception of life through creativity

Kuprin is an idealist and romantic, which is reflected in his work: heroic deeds, sincerity, love, compassion, kindness. Most of his characters are emotional people, those who have fallen out of the ordinary life rut, they are in search of truth, freer and more complete existence, something beautiful ...

The feeling of love, the fullness of life, this is what Kuprin's biography is saturated with, Interesting Facts from which they say that no one else could write about feelings as poetically. This is clearly reflected in the story "Garnet Bracelet", written in 1911. It is in this work that Alexander Ivanovich exalts true, pure, free, ideal love. He very accurately depicted the characters of various strata of society, described in detail and in all details the environment surrounding his characters, their way of life. It was for his sincerity that he often received reprimands from critics. Naturalism and aesthetics are the main features of Kuprin's work.

His stories about animals "Watchdog and Zhulka", "Emerald" deserve a place in the fund of world art of speech. A short biography of Kuprin says that he is one of the few writers who could feel the flow of nature this way, real life and it is so successful to reflect this in my works. A striking embodiment of this quality is the story "Olesya", written in 1898, where he describes a deviation from the ideal of natural life.

Such an organic perception of the world, healthy optimism are the main distinctive properties of his work, in which lyrics and romance harmoniously merge, the proportionality of the plot and compositional center, the drama of actions and truth.

Master of Literary Art

The virtuoso of the word is Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose biography says that he could very accurately and beautifully describe the landscape in a literary work. His external, visual and, one might say, olfactory perception of the world was simply excellent. I.A. Bunin and A.I. Kuprin often competed to determine the smell of different situations and phenomena in his masterpieces and not only ... In addition, the writer could display the true image of his characters very carefully to the smallest detail: appearance, disposition, communication style, etc. He found complexity and depth, even describing animals, and all because he loved to write on this topic.

A passionate life-lover, naturalist and realist, this was exactly what Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was. The short biography of the writer says that all his stories are based on real events, and therefore are unique: natural, vivid, without obsessive speculative constructions. He pondered the meaning of life, described true love, talked about hatred, volitional and heroic deeds. Emotions such as disappointment, despair, struggle with oneself, strengths and weaknesses of a person became the main ones in his works. These manifestations of existentialism were typical of his work and reflected the complex inner world of man at the turn of the century.

Transitional writer

He really is a representative of a transitional stage, which, undoubtedly, was reflected in his work. A striking type of the "off-road" era - Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, short biography which says that this time left an imprint on his psyche, and, accordingly, on the works of the author. His characters are in many ways reminiscent of the heroes of A.P. Chekhov, the only difference is that Kuprin's images are not so pessimistic. For example, technologist Bobrov from the story "Molokh", Kashintsev from "Zhidovka" and Serdyukov from the story "Swamp". The main characters of Chekhov are sensitive, conscientious, but at the same time broken, exhausted people who are lost in themselves and are disappointed in life. They are shocked by aggression, they are very compassionate, but they can no longer fight. Realizing their helplessness, they perceive the world only through the prism of cruelty, injustice and meaninglessness.

A short biography of Kuprin confirms that, despite the writer's gentleness and sensitivity, he was a strong-willed person who loves life, and therefore his characters are somewhat similar to him. They have a strong thirst for life, which they grasp very tightly and do not let go. They listen to both the heart and the mind. For example, drug addict Bobrov, who decided to kill himself, listened to the voice of reason and realized that he loved life too much to end everything once and for all. The same thirst for life lived in Serdyukov (a student from the work "Swamp"), who was very sympathetic to the forester and his family, who were dying of an infectious disease. He spent the night at their house and for this a short time I almost went crazy with pain, experience and compassion. And with the onset of morning, he seeks to quickly get out of this nightmare in order to see the sun. He seemed to run out of there in a fog, and when he finally ran up the hill, he just choked with an unexpected surge of happiness.

A passionate life-lover is Alexander Kuprin, whose biography says that the writer was very fond of happy endings. The end of the story sounds symbolic and solemn. It says that the fog was spreading at the guy's feet, about the clear blue sky, about the whisper of green branches, about the golden sun, whose rays "rang with jubilant triumph of victory." Which sounds like the victory of life over death.

Exaltation of life in the story "Duel"

This work is the true apotheosis of life. Kuprin, whose short biography and work are closely related, described in this story the cult of personality. The main characters (Nazansky and Romashev) - bright representatives individualism, they declared that the whole world would perish when they were gone. They sacredly believed in their beliefs, but were too weak in spirit to bring their idea to life. It is this disparity between the exaltation of their own personalities and the weakness of its owners that the author has caught.

A master of his craft, an excellent psychologist and realist, the writer Kuprin possessed just such qualities. The author's biography says that he wrote "The Duel" at a time when he was at the height of his fame. It was in this masterpiece that the best qualities of Alexander Ivanovich were combined: an excellent writer of everyday life, a psychologist and a lyricist. Military theme was close to the author, given his past, and therefore no effort was required for its development. The bright general background of the work does not overshadow the expressiveness of its main characters. Each character is incredibly interesting and is a link in the same chain, while not losing their individuality.

Kuprin, whose biography says that the story appeared during the years of the Russian-Japanese conflict, criticized the military environment to smithereens. The work describes the life of war, psychology, reflects the pre-revolutionary life of Russians.

In the story, as in life, an atmosphere of numbness and impoverishment, sadness and routine reigns. Feeling of absurdity, disorder and incomprehensibility of being. It was these feelings that overpowered Romashev and were familiar to the inhabitants of pre-revolutionary Russia. In order to drown out the ideological "impassability", Kuprin described in the "Duel" the licentious nature of the officers, their unfair and cruel attitude towards each other. And of course, the main vice of the military is alcoholism, which flourished among the Russian people.

Characters (edit)

You don't even need to draw up a plan for Kuprin's biography to understand that he is spiritually close to his heroes. These are very emotional, broken-down individuals who are compassionate, indignant because of the injustice and cruelty of life, but they cannot fix anything.

After the "Duel" there is a work called "The River of Life". In this story, completely different moods reign, many liberation processes have taken place. He is the embodiment of the finale of the drama of the intelligentsia, which the writer narrates. Kuprin, whose work and biography are closely connected, does not betray himself, the main character still a kind, sensitive intellectual. He is a representative of individualism, no, he is not indifferent, throwing himself into the whirlwind of events, realizes that a new life is not for him. And glorifying the joy of being, he nevertheless decides to leave life, since he believes that he does not deserve it, which he writes about in suicide note comrade.

The theme of love and nature are those areas in which the optimistic mood of the writer is clearly expressed. Such a feeling as love, Kuprin considered a mysterious gift that is sent only to the elect. This attitude is reflected in the novel "The Pomegranate Bracelet", which is only Nazansky's passionate speech or Romashev's dramatic relationship with Shura. And Kuprin's stories about nature are simply mesmerizing, at first they may seem overly detailed and ornate, but then this multicolor begins to delight, as the realization comes that these are not standard turns of speech, but personal observations of the author. It becomes clear how he was captured by the process, how he absorbed the impressions that he later reflected in his work, and this is simply enchanting.

Kuprin's skill

A virtuoso of the pen, a man with excellent intuition and an ardent lover of life, this was exactly what Alexander Kuprin was. A short biography tells that he was an incredibly deep, harmonious and internally filled person. He subconsciously felt the secret meaning of things, could connect the reasons and understand the consequences. As an excellent psychologist, he had the ability to highlight the main thing in the text, which is why his works seemed ideal, from which nothing can be removed or added. These qualities are displayed in the "Evening Guest", "River of Life", "Duel".

Alexander Ivanovich did not add anything special to the sphere of literary techniques. However, in the later works of the author, such as "The River of Life", "Head-Captain Rybnikov" there is a sharp change in the direction of art, he is clearly drawn to impressionism. The stories become more dramatic and concise. Kuprin, whose biography is full of events, later again returns to realism. This refers to the novel-chronicle "The Pit", in which he describes the life of brothels, he does it in the usual manner, still natural and not hiding anything. Because of this, it periodically receives condemnation from critics. However, this did not stop him. He did not strive for the new, but he tried to improve and develop the old.

Outcomes

Biography of Kuprin (briefly about the main thing):

• Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich was born on September 7, 1870 in the town of Narovchat, Penza district in Russia.
• He died on August 25, 1938 at the age of 67 in St. Petersburg.
• The writer lived at the turn of the century, which was invariably reflected in his work. Survived the October Revolution.
• The direction of art is realism and impressionism. The main genres are the short story and the story.
• Since 1902 he was married to Maria Karlovna Davydova. And since 1907 - with Heinrich Elizaveta Moritsovna.
• Father - Kuprin Ivan Ivanovich. Mother - Lyubov Alekseevna Kuprina.
• He had two daughters - Xenia and Lydia.

The best sense of smell in Russia

Alexander Ivanovich was visiting Fyodor Chaliapin, who called him the most sensitive nose of Russia when visiting. The evening was attended by a perfumer from France, who decided to check it out, inviting Kuprin to name the main components of his new development. To the great surprise of everyone present, he coped with the task.

In addition, Kuprin had a strange habit: when meeting or meeting, he sniffed people. Many were offended by this, and some were delighted, they argued that thanks to this gift, he recognizes the nature of a person. Kuprin's only competitor was I. Bunin, they often organized competitions.

Tatar roots

Kuprin, like a real Tatar, was very hot-tempered, emotional and very proud of his origin. His mother is from a clan of Tatar princes. Alexander Ivanovich often dressed in Tatar attire: a robe and a colored skullcap. In this form, he loved to visit his friends, relax in restaurants. Moreover, in this vestment, he sat like a real khan and screwed up his eyes for greater resemblance.

Universal man

Alexander Ivanovich changed a large number of professions before he found his true calling. He tried his hand at boxing, teaching, fishing and acting. He worked in a circus as a wrestler, land surveyor, pilot, traveling musician, etc. Moreover, his main goal was not money, but invaluable life experience. Alexander Ivanovich stated that he would like to become an animal, a plant or a pregnant woman in order to experience all the delights of childbirth.

The beginning of writing

He received his first writing experience while still at a military school. It was the story "The Last Debut", the work was rather primitive, but nevertheless he decided to send it to the newspaper. This was reported to the leadership of the school, and Alexander was punished (two days in a punishment cell). He made a promise to himself never to write again. However, he did not keep his word, as he met the writer I. Bunin, who asked him to write a short story. Kuprin was broke at that time, and therefore agreed and bought himself groceries and shoes with the money he earned. It was this event that pushed him to serious work.

This is how he is, famous writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, a physically strong man with a gentle and vulnerable soul and with his own quirks. A great cheerleader and experimenter, compassionate and has a great desire for justice. Naturalist and realist Kuprin left behind a legacy of a large number of magnificent works that deserve the title of masterpieces.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin (1870-1938) was born in the town of Narovchat, Penza province, and from childhood he learned what the hardships of a poor, almost impoverished life, which became even more difficult after the death of his father, were. Kuprin's childhood was, in fact, bleak, because the mother he loved was left without a livelihood, she had to provide herself and her son at the cost of humiliation, the memory of which remained with the writer for life (in the story " River of life"Kuprin speaks with extraordinary bitterness about these childhood humiliations).

When Alexander Kuprin was ten years old, he (also with humiliation) managed to be assigned to the cadet corps, and in total he gave the army fourteen years, the most favorable for the formation of a personality, which passed in an atmosphere of drill and barracks "life" that little resembled a human. which will be described later in the story " At the breaking point (Cadets)"(1900) and in many other stories and novellas of the writer, including the story that glorified his name throughout Russia" Duel"(1905); the writer himself admitted that it was his thorough knowledge of army life that helped him create in" Duel "such a terrible in its persuasiveness picture of the degradation of the Russian officers and the Russian army, and the writer spoke of the hero of the story Romashov as follows:" He is my double. " ...

After leaving the army, Kuprin tries to earn his living in a variety of activities, but very soon he becomes a journalist and writer. Since 1896, his essays and stories began to appear in separate editions, the period up to 1901 was very fruitful for the writer, who created at that time such significant works as " Moloch" (1896), "Army ensign" (1897), "Olesya"(1898), in which the writer’s gravitation towards a realistic depiction of reality is clearly traced; these works are distinguished by high linguistic skill, in them the reader can see the writer’s humanistic position, his critical attitude to the negative aspects of reality.

At the beginning of the nine hundredth years, Kuprin's work takes on new features, a critical approach to reality is significantly enhanced in it, it acquires a pronounced social character, which fully reflects the features of this period in the development of Russian literature. In 1904-1906, the publishing house "Knowledge" published a collection of Kuprin's works in 2 volumes, and the publishing house "God's World" in the same years published a three-volume edition of the writer's works. But the real triumph, after which Kuprin's name became known to all reading Russia, was the appearance in 1905 of the story " Duel".

This work was published when all thinking Russia was painfully looking for an answer to the question: "Why great country suffered such a humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War? "And, perhaps, the most convincing answer to it was given by Kuprin: the morale of the Russian army was such that it could not fulfill the role of" defender of the Fatherland ", on the contrary, all social problems in the army , all the "ulcers of Russian life" were to the extreme exacerbated, the very foundations of army life, the army environment itself led to the destruction of the human personality, unable to preserve human dignity and degrading under the influence of the mind-numbing mind and leading to the loss of the human form of a senseless struggle for existence. In a duel, Kuprin, with merciless truthfulness, portrayed Russian officers who had forgotten about their mission and immersed in drunkenness, debauchery, intrigue, bullied soldiers and reptiles in front of their superiors, ready to do anything to achieve “success in life.” The “white crow” in this environment is cruel and at the same time cowardly predators look like second lieutenant Romashov, the protagonist of the story, human k, retaining in his soul the concepts of honor and duty, but weak, unable to take an active life position, trying to "survive", to preserve himself and his ideals. Romashov's collision with reality ends tragically for the hero: he dies in an absurd, senseless "duel" supposedly designed to preserve the honor of Lieutenant Nikolayev, who is preparing for his next admission to the academy, whose wife, Shurochka, using the fact that Romashov is in love with her, actually sends him to death, demanding that he not apologize, but must shoot himself in a duel ...

After the publication of "The Duel," Kuprin's position in literature became so strong that each of his new works was perceived by readers as a phenomenon, as a new creation of a major master of realistic literature, about which it was impossible not to speak. And I must say that the stories " Gambrinus" (1906), "Emerald"(1907), story" Shulamith"(1908), story" Garnet bracelet"(1910, first published in 1911) became events in the literature of the nine hundred years. In them, a significant place is occupied by the psychological study of the inner world of heroes, and in" Izumrude"Kuprin with amazing subtlety recreates the inner world of a living being, seemingly devoid of a soul, but, following Tolstoy, he manages to" humanize "the hero, evoking sympathy from the reader. Shulamith", here, according to the author," a lot of bright passion, naked body and other things were conceived, "but the result was one of the most poetic works of true love in Russian literature, in which the Bible as a source is used quite freely, the author focuses on not how others trample the heroine's love, but how much brighter and cleaner a person's life becomes, which includes this great feeling, equalizing the king and a mere mortal, making each of them humanly tall and happy.

A special place in this period of Kuprin's work was occupied by the story " Gambrinus", one of the most famous works of Kuprin, in which the writer denounces the inhumanity of the so-called" saviors of the fatherland ", but does so on the basis of a deep psychological analysis of the image of the main character - the musician Sashka, in which the age-old grief of the Jewish people, forced to survive in conditions when it is most difficult to preserve not life, but human dignity. for example, Leo Tolstoy, who highly appreciated this work.

"Bomb" that detonated Russian society, became Kuprin's story " Pit", the publication of which was completed in the spring of 1915. Perhaps, like no other work of the writer, his words, spoken by him in 1905 in one of the interviews (recall, it was the" era "of the Duel "):" I personally love the truth, naked, banging on the head, as they say, on the tinsel. Then I find that the writer should not turn away from anything. Whether it smells bad or dirty - go and watch ... ". The world depicted by the writer in The Pit is disgusting in itself, but it is also disgusting because it corrupts the human soul, turns a person into a semi-animal, unable to feel anything but primitive instincts that provide only physiological survival with complete oblivion of morality ... "Girls" who make a living by selling their bodies, "clients" who come to brothels not just to "buy a girl", but also to satisfy the most unbridled lust, to abuse the human body and human soul, mistresses and " housekeepers ", squeezing all the juices out of their" girls ", monstrously exploiting (a huge number of" clients "whom they must" serve ") - all this is deeply disgusting, it is depicted by Kuprin on the verge of naturalism, sometimes he even crosses this line, then these naturalistic pictures evoke the real horror of the reader. However, the writer does not "relish" the depiction of vices, he remains faithful to the truth of life, the main thing for him is to show what is happening to the human soul. In the clearly autobiographical image of the journalist Platonov, Kuprin asserts the need for a human, moral, humane attitude towards those who, due to various circumstances, have ended up in the "pit", but his humanism has nothing to do with the "beautiful-minded" impulses of the same Likhonin, who, at first glance, , wanting to "save the fallen girl", in fact causes her only new suffering, because he humiliates her, forcing her to return to the same brothel from which he took her, to go through the tortures to which the "apostate" sadistic housekeeper is subjected. True, the ending of the story, when the "pit" burns down after a wild rebellion of the enraged "priestesses of love", could be optimistic, but the trade in the female body has become too firmly rooted in the life of the City, and those who were expelled from the "pit" "dispersed to big city, dissipated in him, "and their new life was" as miserable and absurd "as life in the" pit "... Kuprin's story evoked a wide variety of responses, including negative ones, but the writer believed that he had managed attention of society to one of the most, in his opinion, important problems of our time - the position of women in society - having done this on the basis of material that is unable to leave anyone indifferent.

Kuprin, like most Russian writers, met the February revolution of 1917 sympathetically, but after the October events, the writer's situation became difficult, he had to correlate the idea of ​​the need to free the people with its practical implementation, so to speak, "the theory and practice of Bolshevism", which very much at odds with each other; moreover, the humanist writer could not justify the violence with the help of which the transformation of reality took place. The writer contrasts the modernity with the events of the 1905 revolution (story " Caterpillar", 1905), in which he sees the heroes as true revolutionaries - and the story is based on actual events, witnessed and participated by Kuprin himself; the attitude of the writer to the past can be seen in the story" Tsar's clerk"(1919), in which he talks with admiration about a person who belonged to the" past ", but personified high moral qualities in the popular understanding of their meaning.

Until recently it was written in the literature about Kuprin that during the Civil War he collaborated with the white movement, allegedly because "the White Guard generals ... managed to persuade the writer to edit the headquarters newspaper" Prinevsky Krai "in the fall of 1919. In fact, in reality It was very difficult to force Kuprin to do what he did not want to do, so it is obvious that his position reflected his understanding of the events taking place in the country. who found himself in emigration and then “regained his sight”, realizing that “the Soviet government relies on the support of a multi-million-strong working people.” In fact, everything was far from so simple, Kuprin's fate in emigration is one of the countless tragedies that ended the events Civil war in Russia.

Finding himself after leaving Finland in France, Kuprin faced a problem: whether to keep his "literary face", or to adapt to the new conditions of life, requiring well-known diplomatic efforts, the ability, in the words of Mayakovsky, "to stand on the throat of his own song." If we recall that the strong side of Kuprin's work, its reliable basis was initially a thorough knowledge of life, the ability to see, thanks to this, the poetic beginning in the most seemingly rough and primitive environment, then it will become clear that in emigration this life basis ceased to be soil, on which could grow a truly worthy work of a writer: the life of his native country, its people turned out to be too far from the life that the Russian literary (and, probably, not only literary) emigration lived ... it was difficult to come to terms with the fact that his works are published in a print run of 1,500 copies (" New stories and stories", 1927, Paris). However, it must be said that during the period of emigration Kuprin published several books:" Dome of St. Isaac of Dalmatsky"(1928, Riga)," Elan"(1929, Belgrade)," Wheel of Time"(1930, Paris)," Juncker"(1933, Paris)," Janet"(1934, Paris). Basically, they contained works in which the writer refers to Russian history different periods, including the very recent past, they are imbued with nostalgia for the past life.

The return of Kuprin to the Soviet Union was a political action, the writer found himself in an extremely constrained financial situation, in fact, this was the only way out for him. A noisy campaign was organized about the return of Kuprin: he was exposed as a man who flees from the "horrors of emigration" to the country of "victorious socialism", thereby proving the advantage of the latter in the freedom of creativity and the ability to appreciate genuine talents in literature. But the time when the writer returned was not the most humane in the history of the USSR in relation to the same writers. Kuprin arrived in Moscow on May 31, 1937, namely, in the 37th and 38th years, there was a peak of terror in relation to both the people and writers ...

At home, Alexander Kuprin lived a few more than a year: he died on August 28, 1938 in the Golitsin Writers' Rest House, where, in fact, he was under the unobtrusive attention of the "competent authorities". All this time, the name of the writer was used for propaganda purposes, meetings with "readers" were organized for him, but under the guise of Red Army men who praised Kuprin's works, NKVD agents dressed in army uniforms took part in these meetings ...

In the history of Russian literature, Alexander Kuprin, whose biography we examined, entered as one of the largest realist writers of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, whose work is distinguished by the deepest knowledge of the "seamy side of life" and the ability to see the moral principle in all, even the most ugly, life manifestations , the subtlest "" lyricist in prose ", praising love and the ennobling influence that this feeling has on a person and his attitude to life and himself.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin- Russian writer of the early 20th century, who left a noticeable mark in literature. Throughout his life, he combined literary creation with military service and travel, was an excellent observer of human nature and left behind stories, novellas and essays, performed in the genre of realism.

Early stages of life

Alexander Ivanovich was born in 1870 to a noble family, but his father died very early, and therefore the boy's growing up was difficult. Together with his mother, the boy moved from the Penza region to Moscow, where he was sent to a military gymnasium. This determined his life - in the following years he was somehow connected with military service.

In 1887, he entered to study as an officer, after another three years he finished his studies and went to an infantry regiment, stationed in the Podolsk province, as a second lieutenant. The year before, the press published the first story of the novice writer - "The Last Debut". And for four years of service, Alexander Ivanovich sent to print several more works - "In the Dark", "Inquiry", "Moonlit Night".

Most fruitful period and recent years

After retirement, the writer moved to live in Kiev, and then traveled around Russia for a long time, continuing to collect experience for the next works and periodically publishing stories and stories in literary magazines. In the early 1900s, he became closely acquainted with Chekhov, Bunin and moved to the northern capital. The most famous works of the writer - "Pomegranate Bracelet", "Pit", "Duel" and others - were published between 1900 and 1915.

At the beginning of the First World War, Kuprin was again called up for service and sent to the northern border, but he was quickly demobilized due to poor health. The revolution of 1917, Alexander Ivanovich perceived ambiguously - he reacted positively to the abdication of the tsar, but was against the Bolshevik regime and was more inclined towards the ideology of the Socialist-Revolutionaries. Therefore, in 1918, like many others, he went into French emigration - but still returned to his homeland a year later to help the strengthened White Guard movement. When the counter-revolution was finally defeated, Alexander Ivanovich returned to Paris, where he lived quietly for many years and published new works.

In 1937, he returned to the Union at the invitation of the government, as he greatly yearned for his abandoned homeland. However, a year later he died of incurable esophageal cancer and was buried in St. Petersburg.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin survived many different events, whose life and work are filled with the drama of the events that have taken place in the world. His works are always popular with both ordinary readers and professionals. Many of Kuprin's stories represent a standard literary genre, for example, "Headquarters Captain Rybnikov". For all time, such pearls from the treasury of Russian literature as "Garnet Bracelet", "Sulamith", "Olesya", "Listrigones," Juncker "will remain popular. the country has truly nationwide recognition.

Childhood and youth

Was born future writer in August 1880 in a small town in the Penza province. His father is a petty official; he died when his son was barely a year old. The mother could not raise little Alexander to his feet, because she did not have enough funds, and sent the boy to an orphan school.

The Alexander School in Moscow left not only bleak memories. Here adolescence and adolescence passed, the first youthful hobbies, literary experiences appeared, and the main thing that Alexander Kuprin acquired at the school was friends.

Moscow was beautiful with its patriarchal morals, its own myths, filled with small-town pride (the capital infringed on its rights!), With its local celebrities, eccentrics. The appearance of the city was solid and unlike any other.

The beginning of writing

Studies gave Kuprin a fairly complete education: languages ​​- Russian, French, German. Physics, mathematics, history, geography and literature (literature). The latter became a refuge for him for life. It was here, at the school, that his first story was written - "The Last Debut", which was published fervently in the "Russian Satirical Bulletin".

Kuprin was incredibly happy, although he served time for this act in a punishment cell (publications without the knowledge of the head of the school were prohibited, but young Kuprin did not know this, so he was punished for ignorance of the internal service).

Finally, the novice writer was released from the school in the first category and was assigned to serve on the southwestern border of Russia, remote provincial towns of this kind were brilliantly described by him in the story "Duel" and the story "Wedding".

Service at the borders of the country

The service at the border became the material for the excellent, painstakingly endured works, such as "Inquiry", "Accommodation" and others. However, the writer was thinking seriously about a professional literary activity... It was necessary to acquire sufficient experience for this, so it was published in provincial newspapers, and the story "Vpotmakh" was accepted into the magazine "Russian wealth".

In 1890 Kuprin, whose life and work, it seemed, would be covered with moss in the backwoods, suddenly met Chekhov and Gorky. Both masters played a huge role in the fate of Kuprin. Naturally, Alexander valued them extremely highly, and even more - their opinion, and Chekhov almost idolized.

main topic

Not even one of the main, but the most main topic, which the writer Alexander Kuprin used throughout his life, is love. The heroes from the pages of his prose directly shine with this feeling, revealing themselves in their best manifestations, always light, always tragic, with very rare exceptions (for example, "Lilac Bush" - this amazingly beautiful story is, in terms of the power of impression, equal to "Gifts of the Magi" by O. Henry, everything ends well there, except for the feeling of shame of the hero-officer for his little deception). For all real writers, like Alexander Kuprin, biography helps to create.

"Olesya"

The first fairly large and very significant work appears in 1898. This is the story "Olesya" - sad, without the slightest melodramatic, light, romantic. The heroine's natural world is spiritual harmony as opposed to a person from a big and cruel city. Olesya's naturalness, inner freedom, simplicity attracted the protagonist faster than a piece of metal with a magnet.

Faint-hearted kindness turned out to be stronger than spiritual wealth, almost killing a pure and strong girl. The framework of social and cultural life is capable of changing even such a natural person as Olesya, but this is something Kuprin did not allow. Even a high feeling of love cannot revive those spiritual qualities that civilization destroyed. Therefore, the meaning of this excellent story is high, because the life of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin taught him to see both the light and the shadow that obscures it everywhere.

"Garnet bracelet"

In the most everyday reality, the writer seeks and finds people whose obsession with high feelings can rise above the prose of life, even in dreams. Referring to the description of the "little man", Alexander Kuprin, whose books are read avidly, truly works wonders. It turns out that Kuprin's "little" person is characterized by a refined, all-embracing love, hopeless and touching. It is a miracle, a wonderful gift. Even dying, love revives to life, conquering death. And music, music that regenerates the soul. It sounds in every line, moving from cold contemplation to a quivering feeling of the world.

Truly inevitably tragic. The chastity of the heroes has a creative, creative power. This is how the heroes appear before the readers, as Kuprin saw, whose life and work paint them for us in a cruel world trying to break a fragile soul. At the same time, there is almost always a certain underestimation of himself by the hero, disbelief in the right to own the woman whom his whole essence desires. Nevertheless, the complexity of the situations and the drama in the ending do not leave the reader feeling despondent, the heroes brought before the reader by Alexander Kuprin, his entire books are the very love of life, the very optimism. A bright feeling after reading does not leave the reader for a long time.

"White poodle"

This story, published in 1903, about an elderly organ-grinder, the boy Seryozha and their faithful dog, the poodle Artaud, was named by the writer - "White Poodle". Alexander Kuprin, as often happened, copied the plot from nature. Guests often came to his dacha - artists, just passing people, pilgrims, and the Kuprin family welcomed everyone, fed them with dinner and gave them tea. One day an old man with a barrel organ, a small acrobat and a white learned dog appeared among the guests. It was they who told the writer about what happened to them.

A rich lady insisted on selling a poodle for her little, spoiled and capricious son, the artists, of course, refused. The lady got angry and hired a man to steal the dog. And Seryozha risked his life freeing his beloved Artoshka. This story seemed to Kuprin interesting topics that the story easily included two of his favorite themes - social inequality and disinterested friendship, love for animals, caring for them. So often, instead of a writer, a biography works, as Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin himself said.

"Duel"

During his service as a second lieutenant in the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment, Alexander Kuprin conceived and suffered a "Duel". The city of Proskurov, in which the service was held, is easily recognizable in this story. After retiring, the writer set about organizing his scattered notes. When the story was ready, it was highly appreciated by Maxim Gorky, who called it magnificent and must make an indelible impression on all thinking and honest officers.

Likewise, A. V. Lunacharsky dedicated an article to the "Duel" in the magazine "Pravda" in the fall of 1905, where he welcomed such a subject and this style of writing in every possible way, saying about the wonderful pages of Kuprin's story, which are an eloquent appeal to the army, and every officer will certainly hear your own voice of unspoken honor.

Some scenes of the "Duel" Paustovsky called the best in Russian literature. But there were also opposite assessments. Not all army men agreed with the reality revealed by Alexander Kuprin (life and work clearly say that he did not write a word of lie). However, Lieutenant General Geisman accused the writer of libel, hatred of the army and even an attempt on the state system.

This is one of the most significant works Kuprin about the history of the conflict between the young lieutenant Romashov and the senior officer. Morals, drills, vulgarity of officer society - Kuprin confronted the whole background of the life of the provincial regiment with a young romantic worldview and - again! - real, all-forgiving and all-embracing, sacrificial love.

The first edition of the story was published with a dedication to Maxim Gorky, since all the most violent and most daring in the story determined his influence. But Chekhov did not like the story, and its romantic mood - especially, with which Kuprin was very puzzled and upset.

In the fall of this year, the writer spent in Balaklava, in the Crimea, where he read Nazansky's monologue from "The Duel" at a charity evening. Balaklava is a city of military men, and there were a lot of them in the hall at that moment. A huge scandal broke out, which helped to extinguish the sailor, Lieutenant P. P. Schmidt, who a month later headed the writer saw with his own eyes the ruthless reprisal of the government troops against the rebels and described these events, sending correspondence to St. Petersburg, to the newspaper "New Life". For this Kuprin was exiled from Balaklava at forty-eight hours. But the writer managed to save several sailors from "Ochakov" from pursuit. Later, wonderful stories were written about this uprising: "The Caterpillar", "The Giants", the wonderful "Gambrinus".

Writer's family

Kuprin's first wife was Maria Karlovna Davydova, whom he married in 1902 and received a divorce in 1909. She was a highly educated lady, daughter of a famous cellist and magazine publisher. The next marriage she became the wife of a prominent statesman Nikolai Iordansky-Negorev. Maria Karlovna left a book of memoirs about Kuprin - "The Years of Youth".

They also have a joint daughter, Lydia Aleksandrovna Kuprina, who died early, in 1924, giving the writer a grandson of Alexei. Alexander Ivanovich and his grandson left no other offspring, the Kuprin family was interrupted.

The second wife, his muse and guardian angel, is Elizaveta Moritsevna Geynrikh, who married the writer in 1909. She was the daughter of a photographer and sister of an actress. Elizaveta Moritsevna worked all her life, which was not typical for that time, she was a sister of mercy. I could not survive the blockade of Leningrad.

They had a daughter, Ksenia Alexandrovna, a beautiful and clever girl, a favorite not only of the whole family, but also of people who communicated with her at least a little. She worked at the Fashion House of the famous Paul Poiret at that time, was a model and actress. In 1958 she returned from France to the USSR. She also wrote her memoirs "Kuprin is my father". Played at the Moscow Pushkin Theater. One-year-old Xenia had a sister, Zinaida, but in 1912 she died of pneumonia.

Pre-war, war and post-war years

Throughout 1909, Kuprin worked hard - writing a story that was risky for our times. The writer decided to show from the inside the life of a brothel somewhere in the province. He called the story "The Pit". It took a long time to write. In the same year, he was awarded the Pushkin Prize, as well as Ivan Bunin. This was already an official recognition from the Academy of Sciences.

In 1911 Kuprin had to sell the publishing rights to the Complete Works. Having received from the publisher one hundred thousand rubles in royalties, already in 1915 the writer wrote that he was mired in debt. Then the story "Pomegranate Bracelet" was published, which Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich so reverently wrote, the stories "The Telegraphist" and "Holy Lies" - delicate, lyrical, sad works. They clearly showed that the author's soul was not mired in wealth, that he was still ready to sympathize, love and condole.

In 1914 Kuprin volunteered for the war, again a lieutenant. He served in Finland, but not for long: he was declared unfit for service for health reasons. He returned home, and the hospital was at home: Elizaveta Moritsevna and daughter Ksenia were nursing the wounded ... So the years of the war passed. The revolution of 1917 Kuprin did not understand and did not accept. He did not like Lenin. After the rout white movement in 1920 the Kuprins left Russia.

Kuprin's twenty years of life in France showed how difficult it is for a Russian to adapt abroad. There were no earnings. The most famous works of the writer were translated into French, but new ones were not written. Business ventures all the more failed. The main thing was that melancholy ate my soul. Gone are youth, health, strength, hope ... This nostalgia permeates through and through the only major work written by Alexander Ivanovich far from Russia - the novel "Juncker". It turned out to be almost documentary memories of a military school, warm, sad, but with the same kind and gentle Kuprin humor. He really, really wanted to return to his homeland.

Home!

Too late Kuprin's dream of returning to Russia came true. The terminally ill writer returned home to die. The meeting was incredibly warm - they loved him so much that almost all of Moscow decided to see him. Alexander Ivanovich's joy was immeasurable. Eyewitnesses testify that he often cried, he was touched by everything: the children, the very smell of his homeland, and especially the attention and love of those around him. The writer, despite his illness, published: an essay about the capital "Native Moscow", then memories of Gorky (with huge reservations, since Kuprin did not like Gorky in exile for his support and complicity with the "regime of horror and slavery").

In 1937, the Kuprins moved to Leningrad and settled there, surrounded by care and attention. In June 1938, we visited our dear Gatchina, where the lilac once bloomed so magnificently. They both abandoned their old dacha and seventy thousand compensation for it, and settled with a familiar widow of the famous architect. Kuprin walked in a beautiful garden, enjoying peace and quiet joy.

Nevertheless, the disease intensified, the diagnosis was terrible - esophageal cancer. In Leningrad, after returning from Gatchina, the council decided to operate on Kuprin. Temporarily he felt better, but the doctors warned that, in principle, there was nothing to hope for. Kuprin was dying. In recent days, he has had everything that is possible - the best doctors, excellent care. But even such an extension of life cannot be forever.

Eternal life

Literary scholars, critics, memoirists have written a living portrait of a remarkable, truly Russian writer who continued the best classical traditions of the brilliant follower of Leo Tolstoy. Alexander Kuprin, whose quotes have been in circulation for a century, wrote more than a hundred works of various genres. He was truthful, sincere, with a great deal of life specifics in every word, he wrote only about what he himself had experienced, seen, felt.

Kuprin addressed the widest audience, his reader does not depend on gender and age, everyone will find his own cherished in his lines. Humanism, persistent love of life, plastic, vivid descriptions, exceptionally rich language help Kuprin's works to remain among the most widely read to this day. His works have been filmed, staged and translated into many languages ​​of the world.

“The writer of the Balaklava fishermen,
Friend of silence, comfort, sea, villager,
Shady Gatchina homeowner,
He is dear to us by the simplicity of heartfelt words ... "
From a poem by Igor Severyanin in memory of Kuprin

"But quietly from heaven
He looks at us all ...
He is with us.
We are together
In the "lost paradise" ... "
From a poem by Tatyana Perova in memory of Kuprin

Biography

The small town of Proskurov in the Podolsk province, where the young lieutenant Alexander Kuprin was serving, was full of melancholy and boredom. In order to somehow embellish the dull everyday life, Kuprin goes headlong into cards, revelry and love affairs. Nothing and no one can curb his hot temper ... no one except his first love - a timid orphan girl, definitely the most charming in the whole province. Kuprin is ready to give up a wild life and even get married, but there is one "but": they agree to give up the girl for him only if Alexander graduates from the Academy of the General Staff. Well, the young man is packing his bags and going to St. Petersburg to take exams. True, he fails to reach his destination safely. In Kiev, Kuprin meets friends and goes with them to a floating restaurant. There, the guys quarrel on such a scale that they attract the attention of the police overseer. He makes a remark to a noisy company, for which he immediately turns out to be thrown out the window. This behavior of the future officer is not by rank: Kuprin is forbidden to enter the Academy. Now you can only dream about a military career and about the hand of your beloved, but life, meanwhile, goes on.

Having no civilian profession, Kuprin wanders around the south of Russia, testing himself in the role of a fisherman, circus fighter, bailiff, actor, journalist, digger, psalm reader, hunter ... : “By God, I would like to become a horse, plant or fish for a few days, or be a woman and experience childbirth; I would like to live an inner life and see the world through the eyes of every person I meet. " In a word, Alexander learns life in all its manifestations, not forgetting, by the way, about literary activity. True, Kuprin does not sit for a long time at the pen, but works only according to his mood, from time to time. However, the writer's creative vocation intensifies with the move to St. Petersburg and the acquaintance with the local bohemian - Bunin, Shalyapin, Averchenko.

Here, in St. Petersburg, Kuprin meets with his first wife Maria Davydova. True, they did not succeed in a happy union: Davydova deeply appreciated her husband's talent, but she could hardly tolerate his drunken antics, which often went beyond what was permitted. Although Kuprin's creative career, marriage only benefited. In particular, his best story "Duel" without pressure from Davydova could hardly see the light of day.

Kuprin's second marriage turned out to be much more successful. With a new love - Elizabeth Geynrikh - Kuprin got along before he got a divorce from Davydova. However, in the person of his second wife, Alexander Ivanovich finds true love and a faithful companion in life. Only now does he realize the charms of quiet family happiness: a cozy five-room house, children's laughter, gardening in summer, skiing in winter ... Kuprin gives up drinking and fights, writes a lot and, it would seem, now nothing can hinder his happiness. But a war flares up in the world, and then the October Revolution, which force the Kuprins to leave their cozy family nest and go in search of happiness to distant Paris.

The Kuprins lived in France for seventeen long years and, in the end, homesickness took its toll. Alexander Ivanovich, already a gray-haired old man and obviously anticipating an imminent death, once declared that he was ready to go to Moscow even on foot. Meanwhile, his health was in earnest. “Elizaveta Moritsovna Kuprina took her sick old husband home. She was exhausted, looking for means to save him from hopeless poverty ... Everyone respected, beloved by all, without exception, the most famous Russian writer could no longer work, because he was very, very sick, and everyone knew about it, "the Russian poetess Teffi will write later ... A year after returning to Russia, the writer died. Kuprin's cause of death was acute pneumonia, caught while watching the parade on Red Square. "Kulunchak Tatar blood" has cooled forever. The death of Kuprin was reported by TASS and a number of popular newspapers. The funeral of Alexander Kuprin took place at the Literatorskie Mostki of the Volkovsky cemetery in St. Petersburg. Kuprin's grave is located near the resting places of Turgenev, Mamin-Sibiryak and Garin-Mikhailovsky.

Life line

September 7, 1870 Date of birth of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin.
1876 ​​g. Young Alexander is placed in the Moscow Razumovsky orphanage.
1880 g. Kuprin entered the Second Moscow Cadet Corps.
1887 g. The young man is enrolled in the Alexander military school.
1889 g. The writer's first story, "The Last Debut", is born.
1890 g. Alexander Kuprin, with the rank of second lieutenant, was released into the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment.
1894 g. Kuprin resigns and moves to Kiev.
1901 g. The writer moved to St. Petersburg and received the post of secretary in the "Journal for All".
1902 g. Alexander Kuprin marries Maria Davydova.
1905 g. The most significant work Kuprin - the story "Duel".
1909 g. Kuprin receives a divorce from Davydova and marries Elizabeth Geynrikh.
1919 g. The writer and his wife emigrate to Paris.
1937 g. At the invitation of the government of the USSR, Kuprin and his wife returned to their homeland.
August 25, 1938 Date of death of Kuprin.
August 27, 1938 Date of Kuprin's funeral.

Memorable places

1. The city of Narovchat, where Alexander Kuprin was born.
2. The Aleksandrovskoe Military School (now the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces), where Alexander spent his military youth.
3. The city of Proskurov (now Khmelnitsky), where Kuprin served his military service.
4. House on Podol in Kiev, where Alexander Kuprin lived in 1894-1896.
5. Restaurant "Vienna" in St. Petersburg (now a mini-hotel "Old Vienna"), where Kuprin loved to spend time.
6. The city of Gatchina, where Alexander Kuprin lived with his wife Elizabeth Geynrikh and children.
7. The city of Paris, where the Kuprins lived in 1919-1937.
8. Monument to Kuprin in Balaklava.
9. House of Kuprin's sister in Kolomna, where Alexander Ivanovich often visited.
10. Literatorskie mostki on Volkovskoe cemetery Petersburg, where Kuprin is buried.

Episodes of life

In 1905, Alexander Kuprin witnessed the suppression of the Sevastopol uprising. The flaming cruiser "Ochakov" was fired upon from guns, and the sailors fleeing by swimming were mercilessly showered with leaden hail. On that mournful day, Kuprin managed to help several sailors who miraculously reached the coast. The writer obtained civilian suits for them and even distracted the attention of the police so that they could freely get out of the danger zone.

Once, having received a large advance, Alexander Ivanovich drank hard. In a drunken stupor, he dragged a dubious company of drinking companions into the house where his family lived, and, in fact, the fun continued. Kuprin's wife endured the revelry for a long time, but the flaming match dropped on her dress was the last straw. In a fit of fury, Davydova smashed the decanter of water on her husband's head. The spouse could not stand the offense. He left the house, scribbling on a piece of paper: “It's all over between us. We will not see each other again. "

Covenant

“Language is the history of a people. Language is the path of civilization and culture. That is why the study and preservation of the Russian language is not an idle occupation with nothing to do, but an urgent need. "

Documentary film "Kuprin's Ruby Bracelet" from State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company "Culture"

Condolences

"Kuprin is a bright, healthy talent."
Maxim Gorky, writer

"By the scope of his talent, by his living language, Kuprin graduated not only from the 'literary conservatory', but also from several literary academies."
Konstantin Paustovsky, writer

“He was a romantic. He was the captain of youthful novels, a sea wolf with a tube-nasheater in his teeth, a frequenter of port taverns. He felt brave and strong, rude in appearance and poetically tender in spirit. "
Teffi, poet