Bunin's biography is briefly the most important. Famous collections and works of Ivan Alekseevich Bunin

In this article we will briefly tell you about the biography of the great writer.

The famous Russian writer Ivan Alekseevich Bunin was born on October 10, 1870 in Voronezh, where his parents moved three years before his birth.

The reason for the family’s change of residence was the studies of the older brothers, Yuli and Evgeniy. But as soon as the capable and gifted Yuli graduated from the gymnasium with a gold medal, and Evgeni, for whom science was difficult, dropped out, the family immediately left for their estate on the Butyrki farm in Yeletsky district.

In this wilderness took place sad childhood little Vanya. Soon he had two sisters: Masha and Alexandra. Sashenka died very young, and Ivan peered into the night sky for a long time to guess on which star her soul settled. One of summer days It almost ended tragically for Ivan and his grown-up sister Masha: the children tasted poisonous henbane, but the nanny promptly gave them hot milk to drink.

Ivan's life in the village was mainly filled with games with the village boys and studies under the guidance of his father's friend Nikolai Osipovich, who lived with them. Sometimes he was thrown from one extreme to another: either he began to intensively deceive everyone, then he studied the lives of saints and prayed earnestly, then he killed a rook with a crippled wing with his father’s dagger.

Bunin felt the poetic gift in himself at the age of eight, and then he wrote his first poem.

Gymnasium years

At the age of 11, Ivan Bunin entered the Yeletsk gymnasium, which was located 30 miles from his native Butyrki. Entrance exams They amazed him with their ease: all he had to do was talk about the Hamilikites, recite a verse, correctly write “snow is white, but not tasty” and multiply two-digit numbers. The young high school student hoped that further studies would be just as easy.

Back to top school year A uniform was sewn and an apartment was found to live in the house of the tradesman Byakin, with payment of 15 rubles per month. After living in the village, it was difficult to get used to the strict order that reigned in rented housing. The owner of the house kept his children strictly, and the second tenant Yegor even pulled their ears for any offense or poor study.

During all his years of study, high school student Bunin had to live in several houses, and during this time his parents moved from Butyrki to the more civilized Ozerki.

Paradoxically, the future Nobel Prize laureate’s studies did not go well. In the third grade of the gymnasium, he was retained for the second year, and in the middle of the fourth he dropped out of school altogether. Subsequently, he greatly regretted this rash act. The role of teacher had to be taken on by the brilliantly educated brother Yuli, who taught Ivan, who had escaped from the gymnasium. foreign languages and other sciences. The brother was in Ozerki under three-year house arrest as a participant in the revolutionary movement.

In 1887, Ivan Bunin decided to send the fruits of his creativity to the Rodina magazine. The first published poem was “Over the grave of S.Ya. Nadson” (February 1887), the second was “The Village Beggar” (May 1887). The collection of poems “Poems” was published in 1891, followed by other collections, the awarding of the Pushkin Prize and the title of honorary academician of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.

Independent life

In 1889 Ivan left parents' house and rushed towards a great and difficult fate. Having escaped from the wilderness of the village, the first thing he did was go to his brother Yuli in Kharkov, visited Yalta and Sevastopol, and in the fall he began work at the Orlovsky Vestnik.

In 1891, Bunin, who had not completed his studies at the gymnasium and did not have any benefits, had to go to serve in the army. To avoid conscription, the writer, on the advice of a friend, ate practically nothing and slept little for a month before undergoing the medical examination. As a result, he looked so haggard that he received a blue ticket.

In the Orlovsky Vestnik, Ivan met a pretty and educated girl, Varvara Pashchenko, who acted as a proofreader and was his age. Since Varvara’s father did not approve of their relationship, the young lovers went to live in Poltava for a while. The writer made an official proposal to his beloved girl, but the entire Pashenko family was against this marriage, as they considered the potential groom to be a beggar and a tramp.

In 1894, Varvara suddenly left common-law husband, leaving only goodbye note. All three Bunin brothers rushed after the fugitive to Yelets, but the girl’s relatives refused to reveal her new address. This separation was so painful for Ivan that he was even going to commit suicide. Varvara Vladimirovna not only abandoned the aspiring writer, with whom she lived for three years in a civil marriage, but also very soon married his friend from her youth, Arseny Bibikov.

After this, Bunin left his service as an extra in Poltava and went to conquer St. Petersburg and Moscow. There he met literary titans Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov, and began a friendship with young Kuprin, who resembled a big child. After the drama he experienced, due to his internal unstable state, Bunin could not stay in one place for a long time; he constantly moved from city to city or visited his parents in Ozerki. For quite short period Over time he visited Kremenchug, Gurzuf, Yalta, Ekaterinoslav.

In 1898, the passionate travel lover found himself in Odessa, where he married the daughter of the editor of the Southern Review, the beautiful Greek Anna Tsakni. Especially deep feelings The spouses did not feel good for each other, so they separated two years later. In 1905 they Small child died of scarlet fever.

In 1906, Ivan Bunin again visited Moscow. On literary evening there was an acquaintance of the writer gaining fame with a very beautiful girl with magical crystal eyes. Vera Muromtseva was the niece of a member of the State Duma and spoke several languages: French, English, Italian, German.

The life together of the writer and Vera Nikolaevna, who was far from literature, began in the spring of 1907, and the wedding ceremony was performed only in 1922 in France. Together they traveled to many countries: Egypt, Italy, Turkey, Romania, Palestine, and even visited the island of Ceylon.

Bunin's life in Grasse (France)

After the revolution of 1917, the couple emigrated to France, where they settled in the small resort town of Grasse at the Belvedere villa.

Here, under the southern sun, from the pen of Bunin came such wonderful works, like “The Life of Arsenyev”, “Dark Alleys”, “Mitya’s Love”. His literary works received high praise from his contemporaries - in 1933 he was awarded Nobel Prize, to receive which he went to Stockholm with his beloved women - his wife Vera Nikolaevna and his beloved Galina Kuznetsova.

The aspiring writer Kuznetsova settled in the Belvedere villa back in 1927, and Vera Nikolaevna graciously accepted late love husband, turning a blind eye to the gossip that arose both in Grasse and beyond.

Every year the situation became more tense. The composition of the villa's inhabitants was replenished with the young writer Leonid Zurov, who, in turn, felt sympathy for Vera Nikolaevna. To top it all off, Galina became interested in the singer Margarita Stepun and left the Bunins’ house in 1934. With her treacherous act, she struck directly at the writer’s heart. But be that as it may, the friends again lived with the Bunins in 1941-1942, and in 1949 they left for America.

Having crossed the eighty-year mark, Bunin began to get sick often, but did not stop working. So he met his death hour - with a pen in hand, dedicating last days life to the creation of a literary portrait of Anton Chekhov. Died famous writer November 8, 1953 and found peace not in native land, but within foreign boundaries.

His fate was difficult. Ivan Alekseevich was a creative person who was not at all alien to patriotism.

Because of the revolutions of 1917, he, like thousands of other Russian people, lost their homeland, and they began another one, Difficult life in exile.

The writer was born in early October 1870, in Voronezh. He spent his childhood in the Yelets district of the Oryol province of the Russian Empire. He had noble origin, but unfortunately, his family was in a difficult financial situation and soon went bankrupt.

He began receiving his education at the Yelets Gymnasium, but due to lack of money he was unable to complete it. I had to continue my studies at home. Big role Bunin's older brother, Yuli, played a role in his training.

In 1889, Ivan Bunin began working in various periodicals. While publishing in the Oryol Bulletin, Bunin meets Varya Pashchenko. The girl made a strong impression on him and sank into the poet’s soul.

Two years later, the couple began their life together; they wanted to get married, but her parents were against it. At the same time, Bunin's first collection of poems was published. In 1892, he and Pashchenko left for Poltava, where they worked together as statisticians in the local government.

In 1895, great changes took place in the life of Ivan Alekseevich. Varya Paschenko left him and started living with his friend Bibikov. This was a heavy blow for Bunin. Leaving his service in the government, he leaves Poltava and goes to Moscow. In Moscow he met the best writers of his time - Tolstoy. He quickly got comfortable in Moscow. His circle of acquaintances and friends grew. Ivan Alekseevich talked with the best minds - famous artists, composers.

In the first year of the 20th century, Bunin published the story “ Antonov apples" This work brought him wide fame. Today “Antonov Apples” is a classic, a work that is included in the required school curriculum. In 1901, he published a collection of poems, “Falling Leaves.” For his literary works, the author was awarded the Pushkin Prize. And in 1909, Ivan Alekseevich became a member of the Academy of Sciences.

In 1906, Bunin met Vera Muromtseva. In 1907 they set off on a trip to the East. He visited Egypt, Syria and Palestine. This journey gave him a lot of impressions and emotions, which were later reflected in his work. In 1910, Bunin also traveled around Europe. After returning, he will write the works “Sukhodol”, the story “Brothers”

In 1915, two collections of Bunin’s stories were published - “The Cup of Life” and “The Master from San Francisco”. Two years later, the revolution will come, he will accept it with pain in his heart. The events of 1917 were reflected in the writer’s work; he wrote “ Damned days" A year later, Ivan Alekseevich will leave for Odessa, in transit through which he will go into exile, to France. Bunin was very worried about leaving his native land forever.

In exile, he continues to create, but his work has undergone changes. Among his works written outside his homeland, such as: “Mitya’s Love”, “ Sunstroke", "Dark Alleys" - collections of stories, a novel - "The Life of Arsenyev". In 1933 it happened significant event in his life - awarded the Nobel Prize. Ivan Alekseevich became the first Russian writer to receive such a high award.

Ivan Bunin ended his life in poverty and was constantly ill. The Great Russian writer died in 1953. After Bunin's death, in 1955 his book was published in the USA. last book"About Chekhov."

The famous Russian writer and poet, Nobel Prize laureate in literature, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin (October 10 (22), 1870 - November 8, 1953) was born in Voronezh, in a poor noble family.

The writer’s father is Alexey Nikolaevich Bunin, was a landowner and came from an ancient, but already greatly impoverished noble family.

Family

Alexey Nikolaevich did not receive a serious education, but he loved to read and instilled this love in his children. In 1856, he married his distant relative Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Chubarova. Nine children were born into the family, five of whom died in early age.

Childhood and early years

A few years before the birth of Ivan Alekseevich, the family moved to the city so that the older children Yuli and Evgeniy could study at the gymnasium. In 1874, the family returned to the family estate in the Butyrki farm of Yeletsk district, where Bunin spent his childhood. By this time Ivan's older brothers They have already graduated from high school, and Yuliy won a gold medal.

At first, Ivan studied at home, and in 1881 he entered the Yelets Gymnasium. However, things did not work out with my studies. Mathematics was especially difficult. Having completed a four-year gymnasium course in five years, future writer went home for the Christmas holidays. He never returned to the gymnasium.

Bunin did not receive a good systematic education, but his older brother Yuli helped out, studying with whom Ivan completed the entire gymnasium course, with the exception, however, of mathematics, which the writer recalled with horror all his life. Noticing this, Julius wisely excluded the ill-fated item from the program.

The beginning of serious studies in literature also dates back to this period. Ivan wrote poetry while still studying at the gymnasium, and at the same time he wrote his first novel, which was unanimously rejected by all editors and publishing houses. But the passion for literature did not go away, and soon the first publication took place. In the February issue of the magazine “Rodina” for 1887, the poem “Over the grave of S. Ya. Nadson” was published. This date was now considered significant. Passion to literary creativity completely captured Bunin.

In January 1889, having received the approval of his parents, Ivan Alekseevich began an independent life. Despite his youth, he was already a fully formed person with a clear understanding of his life path. At this time, Bunin receives an offer to take the position of assistant editor in the newspaper “ Oryol Bulletin" He accepts this offer, having previously made a trip to Crimea.

In 1891, his first collection of poems was published in Orel. The collection's circulation was only 1,250 copies and was sent out free of charge to subscribers of the Orlovsky Vestnik. There, in Orel, Ivan met his future common-law wife, Varvara Pashchenko, who worked as a proofreader for the newspaper. Varvara's father was against marriage, because financial position Ivan Alekseevich was very unenviable.

In an effort to start a family, Bunin left Orel and moved to Poltava. With the support of his brother Julius, he got a job in the provincial government, and Varvara soon arrived there too. However, family life did not work out. In 1994, Varvara broke off their relationship and left Poltava, marrying the writer and actor Arseny Bibikov. By general opinion , the reason was simple - the rich Bibikov compared favorably with Bunin, who was constantly suffering from a lack of funds. Ivan Alekseevich took the breakup very hard.

Literary environment

In January 1995, Ivan Alekseevich visited St. Petersburg for the first time. During the few days spent in the capital, Bunin met the poet K. Balmont, the writer D. Grigorovich, and other famous writers. Despite the fact that Ivan Alekseevich was only a beginning poet, in literary St. Petersburg he met with a favorable reception.

Meetings continued in Moscow and then in other cities. L. Tolstoy, V. Bryusov, A. Chekhov did not refuse to communicate with the young poet.

At the same time, he met and became close to A.I. Kuprin. They were the same age and maintained friendly relations throughout their lives. Entering literary environment It was easy for Bunin, which was largely facilitated by his personal qualities. He was young, full of energy and one of those who easily got along with people.

A few years later the writer became a member literary circle"Wednesday". Gathering on Wednesdays, the circle members discussed the works they had written in an informal setting. The participants, in particular, were M. Gorky, L. Andreev, V. Veresaev, A. Kuprin, A. Serafimovich. Everyone had funny nicknames. Ivan's name was “Zhivoderka”- for thinness and special irony.

First marriage

Distinctive feature Bunin's character was a reluctance to live in one place for a long time. While in Odessa, Ivan Alekseevich met the editor of the Southern Review publication N. Tsakni and in September 1998 married his daughter Anna. The marriage was unsuccessful and soon broke up.

Confession

For quite a long time, critics remained indifferent to the work of the aspiring writer. Neither his first collection of poems, published in Orel, nor his second book, published in St. Petersburg in 1997, made an impression on them. The reviews were condescending, but nothing more. Against the background of such figures as M. Gorky or L. Andreev, Bunin was simply invisible at first.

The first success came somewhat unexpectedly to Bunin the translator. Writers welcomed the translation of “The Song of Hiawatha” by the American poet G. Longfellow.

Until now, this translation into Russian, made by Ivan Alekseevich in 1896, is considered unsurpassed.

In 1903, the translation of “The Song of Hiawatha,” together with the collection of poems “Falling Leaves,” which was published by the Scorpion publishing house two years earlier, was submitted for the Pushkin Prize, the most prestigious literary award in Russia. As a result, Ivan Alekseevich was awarded half the prize (500 rubles), the second part of the prize was received by the translator P. Weinberg.

In 1909 to Bunin for the third and fourth volumes collection of works was awarded the Pushkin Prize for the second time. This time together with A. Kuprin. By this time, Ivan Alekseevich had already become famous writer, and was soon chosen as an honorary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

Second marriage

On November 4, 1906 in Moscow, at a literary evening in the apartment of the writer B. Zaitsev, Ivan Alekseevich met Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, who became the writer’s second wife. Despite the fact that Vera Muromtseva (1881 - 1961) was completely far from the literary-bohemian environment in which Bunin constantly found himself, the marriage turned out to be strong. Anna Tsakni did not give consent to the marriage and their relationship was officially legalized only in 1922.

Before the revolution, Bunin and Muromtseva traveled a lot. They visited Europe, visited Egypt, Palestine, Ceylon, and their travel impressions served as the themes of some stories written by Ivan Alekseevich. Bunin's talent was recognized and fame came. However, the writer's mood was gloomy, alarming premonitions oppressed him.

Damned days

The revolution found Bunin in Moscow. Ivan Alekseevich categorically did not accept Soviet power. “Cursed Days” was the name of the writer’s book, written on the basis of diary entries of that time. On May 21, 1918, Bunin and Muromtseva left Moscow and went to Odessa, where the writer worked in local publications. As contemporaries recalled, in Odessa Bunin was constantly in a depressed state.

On January 24, 1920, Bunin and Muromtseva, boarding the French steamship Sparta, left Russia. Forever.

In exile

A few months later the writer appeared in Paris. The years of Bunin's life in Russia are over. Bunin's life began in exile.

At first, the writer worked little. Only in 1924 did Bunin’s works written in exile begin to be published. The story “Mitya’s love”, the novel “The Life of Arsenyev”, new stories evoked wide responses in emigrant publications.

In winter, the Bunins lived in Paris, in the summer they went to the Alpes-Maritimes, to Grasse, where they rented the Belvedere villa. When the war began, they moved to Villa Jeannette, and in 1946 they returned to Paris.

After the war, Bunin was officially offered Soviet citizenship and the opportunity to live in the USSR, but he did not accept these offers.

Nobel Prize

The idea of ​​nominating Bunin for the Nobel Prize belonged to the writer M. Aldanov. It was expressed back in 1922, but was implemented only in 1933. IN Nobel speech Bunin especially noted that for the first time this prize was awarded to an exiled writer. In total the writer received three literary awards:

  • Pushkin Prize in 1903
  • Pushkin Prize in 1909
  • Nobel Prize in 1933

The prizes brought Bunin fame and glory, but did not bring him wealth; the writer was a surprisingly impractical person.

Works

short biography Bunin cannot, of course, cover all aspects of his work. Here are some of the most famous works of Ivan Alexandrovich:

  • novel “The Life of Arsenyev”
  • story “Mitya’s Love”
  • story “Village”
  • story “Mr. from San Francisco”
  • story “Easy Breathing”
  • diary entries“Cursed days”

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin died in Paris on November 8, 1953 and was buried in the Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery.


Ivan Alekseevich Bunin was born on October 22, 1870 in Voronezh into a noble family. He spent his childhood and youth on an impoverished estate in the Oryol province.

He spent his early childhood on a small family estate (the Butyrki farm in Yeletsky district, Oryol province). At the age of ten he was sent to the Yeletsk gymnasium, where he studied for four and a half years, was expelled (for non-payment of tuition fees) and returned to the village. The future writer did not receive a systematic education, which he regretted all his life. True, the elder brother Yuli, who graduated from the university with flying colors, went through the entire gymnasium course with Vanya. They studied languages, psychology, philosophy, social and natural sciences. It was Julius who provided big influence on the formation of Bunin’s tastes and views.

An aristocrat in spirit, Bunin did not share his brother’s passion for political radicalism. Julius, sensing the literary abilities of his younger brother, introduced him to Russian classical literature, advised me to write it myself. Bunin read Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov with enthusiasm, and at the age of 16 he began to write poetry himself. In May 1887, the magazine "Rodina" published the poem "Beggar" by sixteen-year-old Vanya Bunin. From that time on, his more or less constant literary activity began, in which there was a place for both poetry and prose.

Started in 1889 independent life- with a change of professions, with work in both provincial and metropolitan periodicals. While collaborating with the editors of the newspaper "Orlovsky Vestnik", the young writer met the newspaper's proofreader, Varvara Vladimirovna Pashchenko, who married him in 1891. The young couple, who lived unmarried (Pashchenko's parents were against the marriage), subsequently moved to Poltava (1892) and began to serve as statisticians in the provincial government. In 1891, Bunin's first collection of poems, still very imitative, was published.

The year 1895 became a turning point in the writer’s fate. After Pashchenko got along with Bunin’s friend A.I. Bibikov, the writer left his service and moved to Moscow, where his literary acquaintances took place with L.N. Tolstoy, whose personality and philosophy had a strong influence on Bunin, with A.P. Chekhov, M. Gorky, N.D. Teleshov.

Since 1895, Bunin has lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Literary recognition came to the writer after the publication of such stories as “On the Farm”, “News from the Motherland” and “At the End of the World”, dedicated to the famine of 1891, the cholera epidemic of 1892, the resettlement of peasants to Siberia, as well as impoverishment and the decline of the small landed nobility. Bunin called his first collection of stories “At the End of the World” (1897). In 1898, Bunin published the poetry collection “Under open air”, as well as Longfellow’s translation of “The Song of Hiawatha”, which received very high praise and was awarded the Pushkin Prize of the first degree.

In 1898 (some sources indicate 1896) he married Anna Nikolaevna Tsakni, a Greek woman, the daughter of the revolutionary and emigrant N.P. Tsakni. Family life again it was unsuccessful and in 1900 the couple divorced, and in 1905 their son Nikolai died.

November 4, 1906 at personal life Bunin, an event occurred that had an important influence on his work. While in Moscow, he meets Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, the niece of the same S.A. Muromtsev, who was the chairman of the First State Duma. And in April 1907, the writer and Muromtseva went together on their “first long journey,” visiting Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. This journey not only marked the beginning of their life together, but also gave birth to a whole cycle of Bunin’s stories “Shadow of the Bird” (1907 - 1911), in which he wrote about the “luminous countries” of the East, their ancient history and amazing culture.

In December 1911, in Capri, the writer finished autobiographical story“Sukhodol”, which, being published in “Bulletin of Europe” in April 1912, was a huge success among readers and critics. On October 27-29 of the same year, the entire Russian public solemnly celebrated the 25th anniversary literary activity I.A. Bunin, and in 1915 in the St. Petersburg publishing house A.F. Marx left him full meeting works in six volumes. In 1912-1914. Bunin took an intimate part in the work of the “Book Publishing House of Writers in Moscow”, and collections of his works were published in this publishing house one after another - “John Rydalets: stories and poems of 1912-1913.” (1913), "The Cup of Life: Stories of 1913-1914." (1915), "Mr. from San Francisco: Works 1915-1916." (1916).

First World War brought Bunin “great emotional disappointment.” But it was during this senseless world massacre that the poet and writer especially acutely felt the meaning of the word, not so much journalistic as poetic. In January 1916 alone, he wrote fifteen poems: “Svyatogor and Ilya”, “A Land without History”, “Eve”, “The day will come - I will disappear...” and others. In them, the author fearfully awaits the collapse of the great Russian power. Bunin reacted sharply negatively to the revolutions of 1917 (February and October). Pathetic figures of the leaders of the Provisional Government, as he believed Great master, were only capable of leading Russia to the abyss. His diary was dedicated to this period - the pamphlet "Cursed Days", first published in Berlin (Collected works, 1935).

In 1920, Bunin and his wife emigrated, settling in Paris and then moving to Grasse, a small town in the south of France. You can read about this period of their life (until 1941) in Galina Kuznetsova’s talented book “The Grasse Diary”. A young writer, a student of Bunin, she lived in their house from 1927 to 1942, becoming Ivan Alekseevich’s last very strong passion. Vera Nikolaevna, infinitely devoted to him, made this, perhaps the greatest sacrifice in her life, understanding the emotional needs of the writer (“For a poet, being in love is even more important than traveling,” Gumilyov used to say).

In exile, Bunin creates his own best works: “Mitya’s Love” (1924), “Sunstroke” (1925), “The Case of Cornet Elagin” (1925) and, finally, “The Life of Arsenyev” (1927-1929, 1933). These works became a new word both in Bunin’s work and in Russian literature in general. And according to K. G. Paustovsky, “The Life of Arsenyev” is not only the pinnacle work of Russian literature, but also “one of the most remarkable phenomena of world literature.”
In 1933, Bunin was awarded the Nobel Prize, as he believed, primarily for “The Life of Arsenyev.” When Bunin came to Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize, people in Sweden already recognized him by sight. Bunin's photographs could be seen in every newspaper, in store windows, and on cinema screens.

With the outbreak of World War II, in 1939, the Bunins settled in the south of France, in Grasse, at the Villa Jeannette, where they spent the entire war. The writer closely followed events in Russia, refusing any form of cooperation with the Nazi occupation authorities. He experienced the defeats of the Red Army on the eastern front very painfully, and then sincerely rejoiced at its victories.

In 1945, Bunin returned to Paris again. Bunin repeatedly expressed his desire to return to his homeland, the decree of the Soviet government in 1946 “On the restoration of USSR citizenship to subjects of the former Russian Empire... "called a "magnanimous measure." However, Zhdanov's decree on the magazines "Zvezda" and "Leningrad" (1946), which trampled A. Akhmatova and M. Zoshchenko, forever turned the writer away from his intention to return to his homeland.

Although Bunin's work received wide international recognition, his life in a foreign land was not easy. Latest collection The stories "Dark Alleys", written during the dark days of the Nazi occupation of France, went unnoticed. Until the end of his life he had to defend his favorite book from the “Pharisees.” In 1952, he wrote to F.A. Stepun, the author of one of the reviews of Bunin's works: “It’s a pity that you wrote that in “Dark Alleys” there is some excess of consideration of female charms... What an “excess” there is! I gave only a thousandth part of how men of all tribes and peoples “examine” women everywhere, always from their tenth year age and up to 90 years."

At the end of his life, Bunin wrote a number of more stories, as well as the extremely caustic “Memoirs” (1950), in which Soviet culture is subject to harsh criticism. A year after the appearance of this book, Bunin was elected the first honorary member of the Pen Club. representing writers in exile. IN last years Bunin also began work on his memoirs about Chekhov, which he planned to write back in 1904, immediately after the death of his friend. However literary portrait Chekhov remained unfinished.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin died on the night of November 8, 1953 in the arms of his wife in terrible poverty. In his memoirs, Bunin wrote: “I was born too late. If I had been born earlier, my writing memories would not have been like this. I would not have had to survive... 1905, then the First World War, followed by the 17th year and its continuation, Lenin , Stalin, Hitler... How not to envy our forefather Noah! Only one flood befell him..." Bunin was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery near Paris, in a crypt, in a zinc coffin.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin (1870-1953), Russian prose writer, poet, translator.

Ivan Bunin was born on October 22, 1870 in the city of Voronezh into a well-born but impoverished noble family. Ivan Alekseevich Bunin spent his childhood years partly on an ancestral estate near Yelets (now in the Lipetsk region), and partly in Voronezh.

Absorbing songs and legends from his parents and the courtyards like a sponge, he early discovered his artistic abilities and rare impressionability. Having entered the Yelets gymnasium in 1881, Bunin was forced to leave it in 1886: he did not have enough money to pay for his studies. He took the course at the gymnasium, and then partly at the university, at home under the guidance of his older brother, member of the People’s Will, Julius.

Ivan Bunin published his first collection of poems in 1891, and five years later he published his first translation of the poem “The Song of Hiawatha” by the American romantic poet G. Longfellow, this translation, together with the later collection of poems “Falling Leaves” (1901 .), brought to Ivan Bunin in 1903. Pushkin Prize St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

In 1909, Bunin was elected an honorary academician and received the second Pushkin Prize. IN late XIX century, he increasingly appears with his stories, at first similar to pictorial sketches. Over time, Ivan Bunin becomes more and more noticeable both as a prose writer and as a poet.

Wide popular recognition came to the writer with the publication of his story “The Village” (1910), which showed modern rural life. The destruction of ancient foundations and patriarchal life is depicted in the story with a harshness that was rare at that time. The very end of the story, where the writer describes the wedding as a funeral, takes on a symbolic meaning. Immediately after the release of "The Village", based on family legends, Ivan Bunin wrote the story “Sukhodol” in 1911. Here the degeneration of the Russian nobility was depicted with unprecedented majestic gloom.

Ivan Bunin himself always lived in anticipation of an impending catastrophe in Russia. He clearly felt the inevitability of a new historical break. This feeling can be seen in stories from the 1910s. "John the Weeper" (1913), "Easy Breathing" (1916), "The Grammar of Love", "The Man from San Francisco" (both 1915), "Chang's Dreams" (1918).

Ivan Bunin met the events of the revolution with great hostility, capturing “this bloody madness” in his diary, later published in exile under the title “Cursed Days” (1918, published in 1925).

Together with his wife Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva in January 1920, the writer from Odessa sailed to Constantinople. Since then, Bunin moved to Europe and lived in France, mainly in the cities of Paris and Grasse. In emigration, Bunin was spoken of as the first among modern Russian writers.

Contemporaries perceived it as live classics his story “Mitya’s Love” (1925), books of stories “Sunstroke” (1927) and “God’s Tree” (1931). In the 30s Ivan Bunin began to appear short stories, where the writer showed his exceptional ability to compress meaning, a huge amount of material into just one or two rich pages, and sometimes in several lines.

In Paris in 1930, the novel “The Life of Arsenyev” was published with an obvious autobiographical “lining”.
In 1933, Ivan Alekseevich Bunin was awarded the Nobel Prize. This event became significant, behind which stood essentially the fact of recognition of the literature of emigration.

During the Second World War 1939-1945, Bunin lived in Grasse, eagerly followed military events, lived in poverty, often hid Jews from the Gestapo in his house, and was very happy about the victories Soviet troops. At this time, Ivan Bunin wrote stories about love (they were included in the 1943 book “ Dark alleys"), the writer himself considered them the best of everything he created.

The writer’s post-war “warm-up” to Soviet power was short-lived, but it managed to put him at odds with many long-time friends. Ivan Bunin spent his last years in poverty, while working on a book about his literary teacher Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

Ivan Alekseevich died on November 8, 1953 in Paris, and was buried in the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.