(August 26, old style) 1870 in the city of Narovchat, Penza province, in the family of a minor official. The father died when his son was two years old.

In 1874 his mother, who came from ancient family Tatar princes Kulanchakov, moved to Moscow. From the age of five, due to his difficult financial situation, the boy was sent to the Moscow Razumovsky orphanage, famous for its harsh discipline.

In 1888, Alexander Kuprin graduated cadet corps, in 1890 - Alexander Military School with the rank of second lieutenant.

After graduating from college, he was enrolled in the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment and sent to serve in the city of Proskurov (now Khmelnitsky, Ukraine).

In 1893, Kuprin went to St. Petersburg to enter the Academy of the General Staff, but was not allowed to take the exams due to a scandal in Kiev, when in a barge restaurant on the Dnieper he threw overboard a tipsy bailiff who was insulting a waitress.

In 1894, Kuprin left military service. He traveled a lot in the south of Russia and Ukraine, tried himself in various fields of activity: he was a loader, storekeeper, forest walker, land surveyor, psalm-reader, proofreader, estate manager and even a dentist.

The writer's first story, "The Last Debut," was published in 1889 in the Moscow "Russian Satirical Sheet."

He described army life in the stories of 1890-1900 “From the Distant Past” (“Inquiry”), “Lilac Bush”, “Overnight”, “Night Shift”, “Army Ensign”, “Campaign”.

Kuprin's early essays were published in Kyiv in the collections "Kyiv Types" (1896) and "Miniatures" (1897). In 1896, the story “Moloch” was published, which brought the young author wide fame. This was followed by "Night Shift" (1899) and a number of other stories.

During these years, Kuprin met writers Ivan Bunin, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky.

In 1901, Kuprin settled in St. Petersburg. For some time he headed the fiction department of the Magazine for Everyone, then became an employee of the World of God magazine and the Znanie publishing house, which published the first two volumes of Kuprin’s works (1903, 1906).

Into history Russian literature Alexander Kuprin entered as the author of the stories and novels "Olesya" (1898), "Duel" (1905), "The Pit" (part 1 - 1909, part 2 - 1914-1915).

He is also known as a great master of storytelling. Among his works in this genre are “At the Circus”, “Swamp” (both 1902), “Coward”, “Horse Thieves” (both 1903), “Peaceful Life”, “Measles” (both 1904), “Staff Captain Rybnikov " (1906), "Gambrinus", "Emerald" (both 1907), "Shulamith" (1908), " Garnet bracelet"(1911), "Listrigons" (1907-1911), "Black Lightning" and "Anathema" (both 1913).

In 1912, Kuprin traveled through France and Italy, the impressions of which were reflected in the series of travel essays “Côte d'Azur”.

During this period, he actively mastered new, previously unknown types of activities - he climbed hot-air balloon, made a flight in an airplane (which almost ended tragically), and went underwater in a diving suit.

In 1917, Kuprin worked as editor of the newspaper Free Russia, published by the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party. From 1918 to 1919, the writer worked at the World Literature publishing house, created by Maxim Gorky.

After the arrival of white troops in Gatchina (St. Petersburg), where he lived since 1911, he edited the newspaper "Prinevsky Krai", published by Yudenich's headquarters.

In the fall of 1919, he emigrated with his family abroad, where he spent 17 years, mainly in Paris.

During the emigrant years, Kuprin published several collections of prose: “The Dome of St. Isaac of Dolmatsky”, “Elan”, “The Wheel of Time”, the novels “Zhaneta”, “Junker”.

Living in exile, the writer lived in poverty, suffering both from lack of demand and from isolation from his native soil.

In May 1937, Kuprin returned with his wife to Russia. By this time he was already seriously ill. Soviet newspapers published interviews with the writer and his journalistic essay “Native Moscow.”

On August 25, 1938, he died in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) from esophageal cancer. He was buried on the Literary Bridge of the Volkov Cemetery.

Alexander Kuprin was married twice. In 1901, his first wife was Maria Davydova (Kuprina-Iordanskaya), the adopted daughter of the publisher of the magazine "World of God". She subsequently married the editor of the magazine " Modern world" (which replaced "The World of God"), publicist Nikolai Iordansky, and she herself worked in journalism. In 1960, her book of memoirs about Kuprin, "Years of Youth", was published.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is a famous writer, a classic of Russian literature, the most significant works which are “Junker”, “Duel”, “Pit”, “Garnet Bracelet” and “White Poodle”. Also high art are considered short stories Kuprin about Russian life, about emigration, about animals.

Alexander was born in the district town of Narovchat, which is located in the Penza region. But the writer spent his childhood and youth in Moscow. The fact is that Kuprin’s father, hereditary nobleman Ivan Ivanovich, died a year after his birth. Mother Lyubov Alekseevna, who also came from a noble family, had to move to Big City, where it was much easier for her to give her son upbringing and education.

Already at the age of 6, Kuprin was sent to the Moscow Razumovsky boarding school, which operated on the principle of an orphanage. After 4 years, Alexander was transferred to the Second Moscow Cadet Corps, after which the young man entered the Alexander Military School. Kuprin graduated with the rank of second lieutenant and served for exactly 4 years in the Dnieper Infantry Regiment.

After his resignation, the 24-year-old young man leaves for Kyiv, then to Odessa, Sevastopol and other cities Russian Empire. The problem was that Alexander did not have any civilian specialty. Only after meeting him does he manage to find permanent job: Kuprin goes to St. Petersburg and gets a job at the “Magazine for Everyone.” Later he would settle in Gatchina, where during the First World War he would maintain a military hospital at his own expense.

Alexander Kuprin enthusiastically accepted the abdication of the Tsar's power. After the arrival of the Bolsheviks, he even personally approached with a proposal to publish a special newspaper for the village “Zemlya”. But soon, seeing that the new government was imposing a dictatorship on the country, he became completely disillusioned with it.

It was Kuprin who came up with the derogatory name for the Soviet Union - “Sovdepiya”, which will become firmly established in the jargon. During civil war volunteered to join the White Army, and after a major defeat he went abroad - first to Finland and then to France.

By the early 30s, Kuprin was mired in debt and could not provide his family with even the most necessary things. In addition, the writer did not find anything better than to look for a way out of a difficult situation in a bottle. As a result, the only solution was to return to his homeland, which he personally supported in 1937.

Books

Alexander Kuprin began writing in his final years in the cadet corps, and his first attempts at writing were in the poetic genre. Unfortunately, the writer never published his poetry. And his first published story was “The Last Debut.” Later, his story “In the Dark” and a number of stories on military topics were published in magazines.

In general, Kuprin devotes a lot of space to the theme of the army, especially in early work. Suffice it to recall his famous autobiographical novel “Junkers” and the story that preceded it “At the Turning Point”, also published as “Cadets”.

The dawn of Alexander Ivanovich as a writer came at the beginning of the 20th century. They came out now later classics children's literature the story "White Poodle", memories of a trip to Odessa "Gambrinus" and, probably, his most popular work - the story "The Duel". At the same time, such creations as “Liquid Sun”, “Garnet Bracelet”, and stories about animals were released.

Separately, it is necessary to say about one of the most scandalous works of Russian literature of that period - the story “The Pit” about the life and destinies of Russian prostitutes. The book was mercilessly criticized, paradoxically, for “excessive naturalism and realism.” The first edition of "The Pit" was withdrawn from publication as pornographic.

In exile, Alexander Kuprin wrote a lot, almost all of his works were popular with readers. In France, he created four major works - “The Dome of St. Isaac of Dalmatia”, “The Wheel of Time”, “Junker” and “Zhanet”, as well as a large number of short stories, including the philosophical parable about beauty “Blue Star”.

Personal life

The first wife of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was young Maria Davydova, the daughter of the famous cellist Karl Davydov. The marriage lasted only five years, but during this time the couple had a daughter, Lydia. The fate of this girl was tragic - she died shortly after giving birth to her son at the age of 21.

The writer married his second wife Elizaveta Moritsovna in 1909, although they had been living together for two years by that time. They had two daughters - Ksenia, who later became an actress and model, and Zinaida, who died at three years old. complex shape pneumonia. The wife outlived Alexander Ivanovich by 4 years. She committed suicide during the siege of Leningrad, unable to withstand the constant bombing and endless hunger.

Since Kuprin’s only grandson Alexey Egorov died due to injuries received during the Second World War, the family famous writer was interrupted, and today its direct descendants do not exist.

Death

Alexander Kuprin returned to Russia with his health already in poor health. He was addicted to alcohol, plus the elderly man was quickly losing his sight. The writer hoped that in his homeland he would be able to return to labor activity, but my health did not allow this.

A year later, while watching a military parade on Red Square, Alexander Ivanovich contracted pneumonia, which was also aggravated by esophageal cancer. On August 25, 1938, the famous writer’s heart stopped forever.

Kuprin’s grave is located on the Literary Bridge of the Volkovsky Cemetery, not far from the burial place of another Russian classic -.

Bibliography

• 1892 - “In the Dark”
• 1898 - “Olesya”
• 1900 - “At the Turning Point” (“Cadets”)
• 1905 - “Duel”
• 1907 - "Gambrinus"
• 1910 - “Garnet Bracelet”
• 1913 - “Liquid Sun”
• 1915 - “The Pit”
• 1928 - “Junkers”
• 1933 - “Zhaneta”

Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich is one of the most prominent figures in Russian literature of the 1st half of the 20th century. He is the author of such famous works, like “Olesya”, “Garnet Bracelet”, “Moloch”, “Duel”, “Junkers”, “Cadets” and others. Alexander Ivanovich unusual, decent life. Fate was sometimes harsh to him. Both Alexander Kuprin’s childhood and adult years were marked by instability in various areas of life. He had to fight alone for financial independence, fame, recognition and the right to be called a writer. Kuprin went through many hardships. His childhood and youth were especially difficult. We will talk about all this in detail.

The origin of the future writer

Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich was born in 1870. His hometown- Narovchat. Today it is located in the House where Kuprin was born, which is currently a museum (its photo is presented below). Kuprin's parents were not wealthy. Ivan Ivanovich, the father of the future writer, belonged to a family of impoverished nobles. He served as a minor official and drank often. When Alexander was only in his second year, Ivan Ivanovich Kuprin died of cholera. The childhood of the future writer thus passed without a father. His only support was his mother, which is worth talking about separately.

Mother of Alexander Kuprin

Lyubov Alekseevna Kuprina (nee Kulunchakova), the boy’s mother, was forced to settle in widow's house city ​​of Moscow. It is from here that the first memories flow that Ivan Kuprin shared with us. His childhood is largely connected with the image of his mother. She played the role of a supreme being in the boy’s life and was the whole world for the future writer. Alexander Ivanovich recalled that this woman was strong-willed, strong, strict, similar to an eastern princess (the Kulunchaks belonged to an old family of Tatar princes). Even in the squalid surroundings of the Widow's House, she remained like this. During the day, Lyubov Alekseevna was strict, but in the evening she turned into a mysterious sorceress and told her son fairy tales, which she rewrote in her own way. These interesting stories Kuprin listened with pleasure. His childhood, which was very harsh, was brightened up by tales of distant lands and unknown creatures. While still being Ivanovich was faced with a sad reality. However, difficulties did not prevent such a talented person as Kuprin from realizing himself as a writer.

Childhood spent in the Widow's House

Alexander Kuprin's childhood was spent far from the comfort of noble estates, dinner parties, his father's libraries, where he could sneak quietly at night, Christmas gifts, which he so delightfully looked for under the tree at dawn. But he knew well the drabness of orphans’ rooms, the meager gifts given out on holidays, the smell of government clothes and slaps from teachers, which they did not skimp on. Of course, his personality was left imprinted early childhood His subsequent years were marked by new difficulties. We should briefly talk about them.

Kuprin's military drill childhood

For children of his position there were not many options for their future fate. One of them is a military career. Lyubov Alekseevna, taking care of her child, decided to make her son a military man. Alexander Ivanovich soon had to part with his mother. A dull military drill period began in his life, which continued Kuprin’s childhood. His biography from this time is marked by the fact that he spent several years in government institutions in Moscow. First there was the Razumovsky orphanage, after a while - the Moscow Cadet Corps, and then the Alexander Military School. Kuprin hated each of these temporary shelters in his own way. The future writer was equally irritated by the stupidity of his superiors, the institutional environment, spoiled peers, the narrow-mindedness of educators and teachers, the “cult of the fist,” the same uniform for everyone and public flogging.

This was how difficult Kuprin’s childhood was. It is important for children to have loved one, and in this sense, Alexander Ivanovich was lucky - he was supported by a loving mother. She died in 1910.

Kuprin goes to Kyiv

Alexander Kuprin, after graduating from college, spent another 4 years in military service. He retired at the first opportunity (in 1894). Lieutenant Kuprin took off his military uniform forever. He decided to move to Kyiv.

The real test for the future writer was Big city. Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich spent his entire life in government institutions, so he was not adapted to independent life. On this occasion, he later ironized that in Kyiv it was like a “Smolyanka institute” who was taken into the wilds of the forests at night and left without a compass, food and clothing. It was not easy for such a great writer as Alexander Kuprin at this time. Interesting Facts about him during his stay in Kyiv are also connected with what Alexander had to do in order to earn his living.

How Kuprin made a living

In order to survive, Alexander took on almost any business. In a short time he tried himself as a shag seller, a construction foreman, a carpenter, an office worker, a factory worker, a blacksmith's assistant, and a psalm-reader. At one time, Alexander Ivanovich even seriously thought about entering a monastery. Kuprin’s difficult childhood, briefly described above, probably forever left a mark on the soul of the future writer, who youth I had to face harsh reality. Therefore, his desire to retire to a monastery is understandable. However, Alexander Ivanovich was destined for a different fate. He soon found himself in the literary field.

Important literary and life experience became a reporter in Kyiv newspapers. Alexander Ivanovich wrote about everything - about politics, murders, social problems. He also had to fill out entertainment columns and write cheap, melodramatic stories, which, by the way, enjoyed considerable success among the unsophisticated reader.

First serious works

Little by little, serious works began to emerge from Kuprin’s pen. The story "Inquiry" (another title is "From the Distant Past") was published in 1894. Then the collection “Kyiv Types” appeared, in which Alexander Kuprin included his essays. His work from this period is marked by many other works. After some time, a collection of stories called "Miniatures" was published. The story "Moloch", published in 1996, made a name for the aspiring writer. His fame was strengthened by the subsequent works “Olesya” and “Cadets”.

Moving to St. Petersburg

In this city a new one began for Alexander Ivanovich, bright life with many meetings, acquaintances, carousings and creative achievements. Contemporaries recalled that Kuprin loved to have a good walk. In particular, Andrei Sedykh, a Russian writer, noted that in his youth he lived wildly, was often drunk and at that time became scary. Alexander Ivanovich could do reckless things and sometimes even cruel ones. And Nadezhda Teffi, a writer, recalls that he was a very complex person, by no means the kind-hearted and simpleton that he might seem at first glance.

Kuprin explained that creative activity took a lot of energy and strength from him. For every success, as well as for failure, I had to pay with my health, nerves, and my own soul. But gossips they saw only unsightly tinsel, and then there were invariably rumors that Alexander Ivanovich was a reveler, a rowdy and a drunkard.

New works

No matter how Kuprin splashed out his ardor, he always returned to his desk after another drinking session. During the wild period of his life in St. Petersburg, Alexander Ivanovich wrote his now iconic story “The Duel.” His stories “Swamp”, “Shulamith”, “Staff Captain Rybnikov”, “River of Life”, “Gambrinus” belong to the same period. After some time, already in Odessa, he completed the “Garnet Bracelet” and also began creating the “Listrigons” cycle.

Personal life of Kuprin

In the capital, he met his first wife, Davydova Maria Karlovna. From her Kuprin had a daughter, Lydia. Maria Davydova gave the world a book called “Years of Youth.” After some time, their marriage broke up. Alexander Kuprin married 5 years later to Heinrich Elizaveta Moritsovna. He lived with this woman until his death. Kuprin has two daughters from his second marriage. The first is Zinaida, who died early from pneumonia. The second daughter, Ksenia, became a famous Soviet actress and model.

Moving to Gatchina

Kuprin, tired of the busy life in the capital, left St. Petersburg in 1911. He moved to Gatchina ( small town, located 8 km from the capital). Here, in his “green” house, he settled with his family. In Gatchina, everything is conducive to creativity - the silence of a dacha town, a shady garden with poplars, a spacious terrace. This city today is closely associated with the name of Kuprin. There is a library and a street named after him, as well as a monument dedicated to him.

Emigration to Paris

However, sedate happiness came to an end in 1919. At first, Kuprin was mobilized into the army on the side of the whites, and a year later the whole family emigrated to Paris. Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin will return to his homeland only after 18 years, already at an advanced age.

IN different time The reasons for the writer's emigration were interpreted differently. As Soviet biographers claimed, he was almost forcibly taken out by the White Guards and for many subsequent years, until his return, he languished in a foreign land. Ill-wishers sought to prick him, presenting him as a traitor who exchanged his homeland and talent for foreign benefits.

Return to homeland and death of the writer

If you believe numerous memoirs, letters, diaries, which became available to the public a little later, then Kuprin objectively did not accept the revolution and the established government. He called her familiarly "scoop."

When he returned home as a broken old man, he was driven through the streets to demonstrate the achievements of the USSR. Alexander Ivanovich said that the Bolsheviks - wonderful people. One thing is unclear - where they get so much money from.

Nevertheless, Kuprin did not regret returning to his homeland. For him, Paris was a beautiful city, but alien. Kuprin died on August 25, 1938. He died of esophageal cancer. The next day, a crowd of thousands surrounded the Writers' House in St. Petersburg. Both famous colleagues of Alexander Ivanovich and loyal fans of his work came. They all gathered to send to last way Kuprina.

The childhood of the writer A.I. Kuprin, unlike the youth of many other literary figures of that time, was very difficult. However, it was largely thanks to all these difficulties he experienced that he found himself in creativity. Kuprin, whose childhood and youth were spent in poverty, acquired both material well-being and fame. Today we get acquainted with his work back in our school years.

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

"But quietly from heaven
He is looking at us all...
He is with us.
We are together
In "paradise lost"..."
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 plunges headlong into cards, carousing 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 entire province. Kuprin is ready to give up the wild life and even get married, but there is one “but”: they agree to give the girl to him only if Alexander graduates from the Academy of the General Staff. Well, the young man packs his bags and goes to St. Petersburg to take his exams. True, he fails to reach his destination safely. In Kyiv, 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 supervisor. He makes a remark to the noisy company, for which he is immediately thrown out the window. Such behavior by a future officer is not according to his rank: Kuprin is prohibited from entering the Academy. Now one can only dream about a military career and the hand of one’s beloved, but life, meanwhile, goes on.

Having no civilian profession, Kuprin wanders around the south of Russia, testing himself as a fisherman, circus wrestler, bailiff, actor, journalist, digger, psalm-reader, hunter... The motto of Kuprin’s life actually becomes the words of one of the characters he created from the story “The Pit”: “By God, I would like to become a horse, a plant or a fish for a few days, or be a woman and experience childbirth; I would like to live inner life and see the world through the eyes of every person I meet.” In a word, Alexander experiences life in all its manifestations, not forgetting, by the way, about literary activity. True, Kuprin does not spend a long time at his pen, but works only according to his mood, from time to time. However, the writer’s creative vocation intensifies with his move to St. Petersburg and his acquaintance with the local bohemia - Bunin, Chaliapin, Averchenko.

Kuprin's second marriage turned out to be much more successful. WITH new love- Elizaveta Heinrich - Kuprin got together before he received a divorce from Davydova. However, in the person of his second wife, Alexander Ivanovich finds true love and a faithful life partner. Only now does he realize the delights of quiet family happiness: cozy home for five rooms, children's laughter, gardening in the summer, skiing in the winter... Kuprin gives up drinking and debauchery, writes a lot and, it would seem, now nothing can prevent his happiness. But war breaks out in the world, and then 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 his imminent death, once declared that he was ready to go to Moscow, even on foot. Meanwhile, his health was seriously deteriorating. “Elizaveta Moritsovna Kuprina took her sick old husband home. She was exhausted, looking for ways to save him from hopeless poverty... The most respected, beloved, famous Russian writer could no longer work because he was very, very sick, and everyone knew about it,” the Russian poetess Teffi would later write. . A year after returning to Russia, the writer died. The cause of Kuprin's death was acute pneumonia, contracted while watching the parade on Red Square. “Kulunchakovskaya Tatar blood” has cooled forever. Kuprin's death was reported by TASS and a number of popular newspapers. The funeral of Alexander Kuprin took place on the Literary Bridge 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 Young Alexander is placed in the Moscow Razumovsky orphanage.
1880 Kuprin enters the Second Moscow Cadet Corps.
1887 The young man is enrolled in the Alexander Military School.
1889 The writer's first story, “The Last Debut,” appears.
1890 Alexander Kuprin was released into the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment with the rank of second lieutenant.
1894 Kuprin resigns and moves to Kyiv.
1901 The writer moves to St. Petersburg and receives the position of secretary at the “Magazine for Everyone.”
1902 Alexander Kuprin marries Maria Davydova.
1905 The output is the most significant work Kuprin - the story “The Duel”.
1909 Kuprin receives a divorce from Davydova and marries Elizaveta Heinrich.
1919 The writer and his wife emigrate to Paris.
1937 At the invitation of the USSR government, Kuprin and his wife return 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. Alexander Military School (now the General Staff of the Russian 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 Kyiv, where Alexander Kuprin lived in 1894-1896.
5. Restaurant “Vena” in St. Petersburg (now the mini-hotel “Old Vienna”), where Kuprin liked to spend time.
6. The city of Gatchina, where Alexander Kuprin lived with his wife Elizaveta Heinrich and children.
7. The city of Paris, where the Kuprins lived in 1919-1937.
8. Monument to Kuprin in Balaklava.
9. Kuprin’s sister’s house in Kolomna, where Alexander Ivanovich often visited.
10. Literary bridges at the Volkovsky cemetery in St. Petersburg, where Kuprin is buried.

Episodes of life

In 1905, Alexander Kuprin witnessed the suppression of the Sevastopol uprising. The burning cruiser "Ochakov" was shot from guns, and the sailors fleeing by swimming were mercilessly showered with lead hail. On that sad day, Kuprin managed to help several sailors who miraculously reached the shore. The writer got them civilian clothes and even diverted the attention of the police so that they could freely get out of the danger zone.

One day, having received a large advance, Alexander Ivanovich began to drink heavily. In a drunken stupor, he dragged a dubious group of drinking buddies into the house where his family lived, and, in fact, the fun continued. Kuprin's wife endured the revelry for a long time, but a flaming match dropped on her dress was the last straw. In a fit of fury, Davydova broke a carafe of water on her husband’s head. The husband could not bear the insult. He left the house, scribbling on a piece of paper: “It’s all over between us. We won't see each other again."

Covenant

“Language is the history of a people. Language is the path of civilization and culture. Therefore, studying and preserving the Russian language is not an idle activity because there is nothing to do, but an urgent necessity.”

Documentary film “Kuprin’s Ruby Bracelet” from State Television 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 nose-warmer in his teeth, and a regular at the port taverns. He felt brave and strong, rough in appearance and poetically tender in spirit.”
Teffi, poetess

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on August 26 (September 7), 1870 in the district town of Narovchat (now Penza region) in the family of an official, hereditary nobleman Ivan Ivanovich Kuprin (1834-1871), who died a year after the birth of his son. Mother, Lyubov Alekseevna (1838-1910), née Kulunchakova, came from a family of Tatar princes (a noblewoman, she did not have a princely title). After the death of her husband, she moved to Moscow, where the future writer spent his childhood and adolescence. At the age of six, the boy was sent to the Moscow Razumovsky boarding school (orphanage), from where he left in 1880. In the same year he entered the Second Moscow Cadet Corps.

In 1887 he was graduated from the Alexander Military School. Subsequently, he described his “military youth” in the stories “At the Turning Point (Cadets)” and in the novel “Junkers”.

First literary experience Kuprin had poems that remained unpublished. The first work to see the light was the story “The Last Debut” (1889).

In 1890, Kuprin, with the rank of second lieutenant, was released into the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment, stationed in the Podolsk province (in Proskurov). The life of an officer, which he led for four years, provided rich material for his future works.

In 1893-1894, the St. Petersburg magazine “Russian Wealth” published his story “In the Dark,” the stories “Moonlit Night” and “Inquiry.” Kuprin has several stories on an army theme: “Overnight” (1897), “Night Shift” (1899), “Hike”.

In 1894, Lieutenant Kuprin retired and moved to Kyiv, without any civilian profession. In the following years, he traveled a lot around Russia, trying many professions, greedily absorbing life experiences that became the basis of his future works.

During these years, Kuprin met I. A. Bunin, A. P. Chekhov and M. Gorky. In 1901 he moved to St. Petersburg and began working as secretary of the “Magazine for Everyone.” Kuprin's stories appeared in St. Petersburg magazines: “Swamp” (1902), “Horse Thieves” (1903), “White Poodle” (1903).

In 1905, his most significant work was published - the story “The Duel”, which was a great success. The writer’s performances with the reading of individual chapters of “The Duel” became an event cultural life capital Cities. His other works of this time: the stories “Staff Captain Rybnikov” (1906), “River of Life”, “Gambrinus” (1907), the essay “Events in Sevastopol” (1905). In 1906, he was a candidate for deputy of the State Duma of the first convocation from the St. Petersburg province.

Kuprin’s work in the years between the two revolutions resisted the decadent mood of those years: the cycle of essays “Listrigons” (1907-1911), stories about animals, the stories “Shulamith” (1908), “Garnet Bracelet” (1911), fantastic story"Liquid Sun" (1912). His prose has become a notable phenomenon of Russian literature. In 1911 he settled in Gatchina with his family.

After the outbreak of World War I, he opened a military hospital in his house and campaigned in newspapers for citizens to take out war loans. In November 1914, he was mobilized into the army and sent to Finland as commander of an infantry company. Demobilized in July 1915 for health reasons.

In 1915, Kuprin completed work on the story “The Pit,” in which he talks about the life of prostitutes in Russian brothels. The story was condemned for being, according to critics, excessive naturalism. Nuravkin’s publishing house, which published Kuprin’s “The Pit” in the German edition, was brought to justice by the prosecutor’s office “for distributing pornographic publications.”

The abdication of Nicholas II was met in Helsingfors, where he was undergoing treatment, and received it with enthusiasm. After returning to Gatchina, he was the editor of the newspapers “Free Russia”, “Liberty”, “Petrogradsky Listok”, and sympathized with the Socialist Revolutionaries. After the Bolsheviks seized power, the writer did not accept the policy of war communism and the terror associated with it. In 1918, I went to Lenin with a proposal to publish a newspaper for the village - “Earth”. He worked at the World Literature publishing house, founded by M. Gorky. At this time, he translated “Don Carlos” by F. Schiller. He was arrested, spent three days in prison, was released and added to the list of hostages.

On October 16, 1919, with the arrival of the Whites in Gatchina, he entered the North-Western Army with the rank of lieutenant and was appointed editor of the army newspaper “Prinevsky Krai,” headed by General P. N. Krasnov.

After the defeat of the North-Western Army, he went to Revel, and from there in December 1919 to Helsinki, where he stayed until July 1920, after which he went to Paris.

The seventeen years that the writer spent in Paris, contrary to the opinion of Soviet literary criticism, were a fruitful period.

According to the version of Soviet literary criticism, Kuprin, who was almost forcibly mobilized by the whites and ended up in exile due to a misunderstanding, did not write anything worthwhile abroad.

Truly freed from military service due to health reasons, fifty-year-old Kuprin volunteered for the White Army; he wrote about the officers of the North-Western Army: “In officers Only people of excessively high fighting qualities got along. In this army it was impossible to hear such definitions about an officer as brave, courageous, courageous, heroic, and so on. There were two definitions: “a good officer” or, occasionally, “yes, if in hand.” Seeing his duty in the fight against the Bolsheviks, he was proud of serving in this army; if he could, he would go into formation, into position. As an expensive relic in exile, he kept the field shoulder straps of a lieutenant and a three-color sleeve corner sewn by Elizaveta Moritsevna. After the defeat, having already been in prison and as a hostage, he saved himself and his family from terror. The writer did not accept dictatorship as a form of power; he called Soviet Russia the Council of Deputies.

During the years of emigration, Kuprin wrote three long stories, many short stories, articles and essays. His prose brightened noticeably. If “The Duel” reduces the image of a noble tsarist officer almost to the level of a modern officer, then “Junkers” are filled with the spirit of the Russian army, invincible and immortal. “I would like,” said Kuprin, “for the past that is gone forever, our schools, our cadets, our life, customs, traditions to remain at least on paper and not disappear not only from the world, but even from the memory of people. “Junker” is my testament to Russian youth.”

By 1930, the Kuprin family was impoverished and mired in debt. His literary fees were meager, and alcoholism plagued his years in Paris. From 1932, his vision steadily deteriorated, and his handwriting became significantly worse. Returning to the Soviet Union became the only solution for material and psychological problems Kuprina. At the end of 1936, he finally decided to apply for a visa. In 1937, at the invitation of the USSR government, he returned to his homeland. Kuprin’s return to the Soviet Union was preceded by an appeal from the USSR Plenipotentiary Representative in France V.P. Potemkin on August 7, 1936 with a corresponding proposal to J.V. Stalin (who gave the preliminary “go-ahead”), and on October 12, 1936 - with a letter to the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs N. I. Ezhov. Yezhov sent Potemkin’s note to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which on October 23, 1936 decided: “to allow the writer A. I. Kuprin to enter the USSR” (voted “for” by I. V. Stalin, V. M. Molotov, V. Y. Chubar and A. A. Andreev; K. E. Voroshilov abstained).

He died on the night of August 25, 1938 from esophageal cancer. He was buried in Leningrad on the Literary Bridge of the Volkovsky Cemetery next to the grave of I. S. Turgenev.