Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin. Born on August 26 (September 7), 1870 in Narovchat - died on August 25, 1938 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Russian writer, translator.

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First literary experience Kuprin had poems that remained unpublished.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, 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. At this time he translated Don Carlos. 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.

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.

Stories and novels by Alexander Kuprin:

1892 - “In the Dark”
1896 - “Moloch”
1897 - “Army Ensign”
1898 - “Olesya”
1900 - “At the Turning Point” (Cadets)
1905 - “Duel”
1907 - "Gambrinus"
1908 - “Shulamith”
1909-1915 - “The Pit”
1910 - “Garnet Bracelet”
1913 - “Liquid Sun”
1917 - “Star of Solomon”
1928 - “The Dome of St. Isaac of Dalmatia"
1929 - “The Wheel of Time”
1928-1932 - "Junkers"
1933 - “Zhaneta”

Stories by Alexander Kuprin:

1889 - “The Last Debut”
1892 - “Psyche”
1893 - “On a Moonlit Night”
1894 - “Inquiry”, “Slavic Soul”, “Lilac Bush”, “Unspoken Revision”, “To Glory”, “Madness”, “On the Road”, “Al-Issa”, “Forgotten Kiss”, “About That how Professor Leopardi gave me a voice"
1895 - “Sparrow”, “Toy”, “In the Menagerie”, “The Petitioner”, “Painting”, “The Terrible Minute”, “Meat”, “No Title”, “Overnight”, “Millionaire”, “Pirate”, “ Lolly”, “Holy Love”, “Curl”, “Agave”, “Life”
1896 - “Strange Case”, “Bonza”, “Horror”, “Natalya Davydovna”, “Demi-God”, “Blessed”, “Bed”, “Fairy Tale”, “Nag”, “Someone else’s Bread”, “Friends”, “ Marianna", "Dog's Happiness", "On the River"
1897 - “Stronger than Death”, “Enchantment”, “Caprice”, “Firstborn”, “Narcissus”, “Breguet”, “First Comer”, “Confusion”, “ Wonderful doctor", "Barbos and Zhulka", " Kindergarten", "Allez!"
1898 - “Loneliness”, “Wilderness”
1899 - “Night Shift”, “Lucky Card”, “In the Bowels of the Earth”
1900 - “Spirit of the Century”, “Dead Force”, “Taper”, “Executioner”
1901 - “Sentimental Novel”, “ Autumn flowers", "By order", "Hike", "At the Circus", "Silver Wolf"
1902 - “At rest”, “Swamp”
1903 - “Coward”, “Horse Thieves”, “How I Was an Actor”, “White Poodle”
1904 - “Evening Guest”, “Peaceful Life”, “Frenzy”, “Jew”, “Diamonds”, “Empty Dachas”, “White Nights”, “From the Street”
1905 - “Black Fog”, “Priest”, “Toast”, “Staff Captain Rybnikov”
1906 - “Art”, “Killer”, “River of Life”, “Happiness”, “Legend”, “Demir-Kaya”, “Resentment”
1907 - “Delirium”, “Emerald”, “Small fry”, “Elephant”, “Fairy Tales”, “Mechanical Justice”, “Giants”
1908 - “Seasickness”, “Wedding”, “Last Word”
1910 - “In a family way”, “Helen”, “In the cage of the beast”
1911 - “Telegraph Operator”, “Mistress of Traction”, “Royal Park”
1912 - “Weed”, “Black Lightning”
1913 - “Anathema”, “Elephant Walk”
1914 - “Holy Lie”
1917 - “Sashka and Yashka”, “Brave Fugitives”
1918 - “Piebald Horses”
1919 - “The Last of the Bourgeois”
1920 - “Lemon Peel”, “Fairy Tale”
1923 - “The One-Armed Commandant”, “Fate”
1924 - “Slap”
1925 - “Yu-yu”
1926 - “The Daughter of the Great Barnum”
1927 - “Blue Star”
1928 - “Inna”
1929 - “Paganini’s Violin”, “Olga Sur”
1933 - “Night Violet”
1934 - " The Last Knights", "Ralph"

Essays by Alexander Kuprin:

1897 - “Kyiv types”
1899 - “On the wood grouse”

1895-1897 - series of essays “Student Dragoon”
"Dnieper Sailor"
"Future Patty"
"False Witness"
"Chorister"
"Firefighter"
"The Landlady"
"Tramp"
"Thief"
"Artist"
"Arrows"
"Hare"
"Doctor"
"Prude"
"Beneficiary"
"Card supplier"

1900 - Travel pictures:
From Kyiv to Rostov-on-Don
From Rostov to Novorossiysk. Legend about the Circassians. Tunnels.

1901 - “Tsaritsyn Fire”
1904 - "In Memory of Chekhov"
1905 - “Events in Sevastopol”; "Dreams"
1908 - “A Little Bit of Finland”
1907-1911 - series of essays “Listrigons”
1909 - “Don’t touch our tongue.” About Russian-speaking Jewish writers.
1921 - “Lenin. Instant Photography"

The variety of life circumstances and dramatic plots in the works of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin are explained primarily by the fact that his own life was very “action-packed” and difficult. It seems that when, in his review of Kipling’s story “The Bold Mariners,” he wrote about people who had gone through “the iron school of life, full of need, danger, grief and resentment,” he recalled what he himself had experienced.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on August 26, 1870 in the Penza province in the city of Narovchat. The father of the future writer, Ivan Ivanovich Kuprin, a commoner (an intellectual who did not belong to the nobility) held the modest position of secretary of a justice of the peace. Mother, Lyubov Alexandrovna, came from nobles, but impoverished ones.

When the boy was not even a year old, his father died of cholera, leaving the family without a livelihood. The widow and her son were forced to settle in Moscow widow's house. Lyubov Alexandrovna really wanted her Sashenka to become an officer, and when he was 6 years old, his mother sent him to the Razumovsky boarding school. He prepared the boys for admission to a secondary military educational institution.

Sasha stayed in this boarding house for about 4 years. In 1880, he began studying at the 2nd Moscow Military Gymnasium, which was later reorganized into a cadet corps. It must be said that discipline with sticks reigned within the walls of the military gymnasium. The situation was aggravated by searches, espionage, supervision, and bullying of older students towards younger ones. This whole situation coarsened and corrupted the soul. But Sasha Kuprin, while in this nightmare, managed to maintain spiritual health, which later became a charming feature of his work.

In 1888, Alexander completed his studies in the corps and entered the 3rd Military Alexander School, which trained infantry officers. In August 1890, he graduated from it and went to serve in the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment. After this, the service began in remote and godforsaken corners of the Podolsk province.

In the fall of 1894, Kuprin retired and moved to Kyiv. By this time, he had already written 4 published works: “The Last Debut”, “In the Dark”, “On a Moonlit Night”, “Inquiry”. In the same 1894, the young writer began to collaborate in the newspapers “Kievskoye Slovo”, “Life and Art”, and at the beginning of 1895 he became an employee of the newspaper “Kievlyanin”.

He wrote a number of essays and combined them into the book “Kyiv Types”. This work was published in 1896. The year 1897 became even more significant for the young writer, as the first collection of his stories, “Miniatures,” was published.

In 1896, Alexander Kuprin went on a trip to the factories and mines of the Donetsk basin. Burning with desire to thoroughly study real life, he gets a job at one of the factories as head of accounting for the forge and carpentry workshop. The future famous writer worked in this new capacity for several months. During this time, material was collected not only for a number of essays, but also for the story “Moloch”.

In the second half of the 90s, Kuprin’s life began to resemble a kaleidoscope. He organized an athletic society in Kyiv in 1896 and began to actively engage in sports. In 1897, he became a manager of an estate located in Rivne district. Then he became interested in dental prosthetics and worked for some time as a dentist. In 1899 it adjoins the wandering theater group for several months.

In the same 1899, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin arrived in Yalta. A significant event in his life took place in this city - a meeting with Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. After this, Kuprin visited Yalta in both 1900 and 1901. Chekhov introduced him to many writers and publishers. Among them was V. S. Mirolyubov, publisher of the St. Petersburg “Magazine for Everyone.” Mirolyubov invited Alexander Ivanovich to the position of secretary of the magazine. He agreed and in the fall of 1901 he moved to St. Petersburg.

In the city on the Neva there was a meeting with Maxim Gorky. Kuprin wrote about this man in his letter to Chekhov in 1902: “I met Gorky. There is something stern, ascetic, and preaching about him.” In 1903, the Gorky publishing house “Znanie” published the first volume of stories by Alexander Kuprin.

In 1905 something very happened an important event V creative life writer. Again, his story “The Duel” was published by the Znanie publishing house. It was followed by other works: “Dreams”, “Mechanical Justice”, “Wedding”, “River of Life”, “Gambrinus”, “Killer”, “Delusion”, “Resentment”. All of them were a response to the first Russian revolution and expressed dreams of freedom.

The revolution was followed by years of reaction. During this period, unclear philosophical and Political Views. At the same time, he created works that became worthy examples of Russian classical literature. Here you can name “Garnet Bracelet”, “Holy Lie”, “The Pit”, “Grunya”, “Starlings”, etc. During the same period, the idea of ​​the novel “Junker” was born.

During the February Revolution, Alexander Ivanovich lived in Gatchina. He warmly welcomed the abdication of the sovereign and the transfer of power to the Provisional Government. But he perceived the October Revolution negatively. He published articles in bourgeois newspapers published until mid-1918 in which he questioned the reorganization of society on socialist principles. But gradually the tone of his articles began to change.

In the second half of 1918, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin already spoke with respect about the activities of the Bolshevik Party. In one of his articles, he even called the Bolsheviks people of “crystal purity.” But apparently this man was characterized by doubts and hesitations. When Yudenich's troops occupied Gatchina in October 1919, the writer supported the new government, and then, together with the White Guard units, left Gatchina, fleeing the advancing Red Army.

He first moved to Finland, and in 1920 he moved to France. The author of “Olesya” and “The Duel” spent 17 years in a foreign land, living most of the time in Paris. It was a difficult but fruitful period. From the pen of the Russian classic came such collections of prose as “The Dome of St. Isaac Dolmatsky”, “The Wheel of Time”, “Elan”, as well as the novels “Zhaneta”, “Junker”.

Living abroad, Alexander Ivanovich had little idea of ​​what was happening in his homeland. He heard about greatest achievements Soviet power, about great construction projects, about universal equality and brotherhood. All this aroused great interest in the classic’s soul. And every year he was drawn more and more to Russia.

In August 1936, the USSR Plenipotentiary Representative in France V.P. Potemkin asked Stalin to allow Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin to come to the USSR. This issue was considered by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and it was decided to allow the writer Kuprin to enter the country of the Soviets. On May 31, 1937, the great Russian classic returned to his homeland in the city of his youth - Moscow.

However, he came to Russia seriously ill. Alexander Ivanovich was weak, incapacitated and could not write. In the summer of 1937, an article “Moscow is native” appeared in the Izvestia newspaper. Under it was the signature of A.I. Kuprin. The article was laudatory, and every line of it breathed admiration for socialist achievements. However, it is assumed that the article was written by another person, a Moscow journalist assigned to the writer.

On the night of August 25, 1938, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin died at the age of 67. The cause of death was esophageal cancer. The classic was buried in the city of Leningrad on the “Literary Bridge” of the Volkovsky Cemetery, not far from Turgenev’s grave. This is how I finished my life path a talented Russian writer who embodied in his works the best traditions Russian literature of the 19th century century.

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 the Civil War, he 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”

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is a famous realist writer whose works resonated in the hearts of readers. His work was distinguished by the fact that he sought not only to accurately reflect events, but most of all by the fact that Kuprina inner world the person was interested in much more than just a reliable description. A brief biography of Kuprin will be described below: childhood, youth, creative activity.

The writer's childhood

Kuprin's childhood could not be called carefree. The writer was born on August 26, 1870 in the Penza province. Kuprin's parents were: hereditary nobleman I. I. Kuprin, who held the position of official, and L. A. Kulunchakova, who came from a family of Tatar princes. The writer was always proud of his origins on his mother’s side, and Tatar features were visible in his appearance.

A year later, Alexander Ivanovich’s father died, and the writer’s mother was left with two daughters and a young son in her arms without any financial support. Then the proud Lyubov Alekseevna had to humiliate herself in front of senior officials in order to place her daughters in a government boarding school. She herself, taking her son with her, moved to Moscow and got a job in the Widow's House, in which future writer lived with her for two years.

Later he was enrolled in the state account of the Moscow Guardianship Council in an orphan school. Kuprin's childhood there was joyless, full of sorrow and reflections on the fact that they are trying to suppress a person's sense of self-worth. After this school, Alexander entered a military gymnasium, which was later transformed into a cadet corps. These were the prerequisites for the development of an officer's career.

The writer's youth

Kuprin’s childhood was not simple, and his studies in cadet corps It wasn’t easy either. But it was then that he first had a desire to engage in literature and he began to write his first poems. Of course, the strict living conditions of the cadets and military drill tempered the character of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin and strengthened his will. Later his memories of childhood and youth will be reflected in the works “Cadets”, “Brave Fugitives”, “Junkers”. It’s not for nothing that the writer always emphasized that his works are largely autobiographical.

Kuprin's military youth began with his admission to the Moscow Alexander Military School, after which he received the rank of second lieutenant. Then he went to serve in an infantry regiment and visited small provincial towns. Kuprin not only performed his official duties, but also studied all aspects army life. Constant drill, injustice, cruelty - all this was reflected in his stories, such as, for example, “The Lilac Bush”, “Hike”, the story “The Last Duel”, thanks to which he gained all-Russian fame.

Beginning of a literary career

His entry into the ranks of writers dates back to 1889, when his story “The Last Debut” was published. Kuprin later said that when he left military service, the most difficult thing for him was that he had no knowledge. Therefore, Alexander Ivanovich began to thoroughly study life and read books.

The future famous Russian writer Kuprin began to travel throughout the country and tried himself in many professions. But he did this not because he could not decide on his future type of activity, but because he was interested in it. Kuprin wanted to thoroughly study the life and everyday life of people, their characters, in order to reflect these observations in his stories.

In addition to the fact that the writer studied life, he took his first steps in the literary field - he published articles, wrote feuilletons, and essays. A significant event in his life was his collaboration with the authoritative magazine "Russian Wealth". It was there that “In the Dark” and “Inquiry” were published in the period from 1893 to 1895. During the same period, Kuprin met I. A. Bunin, A. P. Chekhov and M. Gorky.

In 1896, Kuprin’s first book, “Kyiv Types,” a collection of his essays, was published, and the story “Moloch” was published. A year later, a collection of short stories, “Miniatures,” was published, which Kuprin presented to Chekhov.

About the story "Moloch"

Kuprin's stories were distinguished by the fact that the central place was given not to politics, but to the emotional experiences of the characters. But this does not mean that the writer was not concerned about the plight of the ordinary population. The story “Moloch,” which brought the young writer fame, tells of difficult, even disastrous, working conditions for workers at a large steel mill.

It is no coincidence that the work received this name: the writer compares this enterprise with the pagan god, Moloch, who requires constant human sacrifice. Exacerbation social conflict(the rebellion of workers against the bosses) was not the main thing in the work. Kuprin was more interested in how the modern bourgeoisie can have a detrimental influence on a person. Already in this work one can notice the writer’s interest in a person’s personality, his experiences, and thoughts. Kuprin wanted to show the reader how a person feels when faced with social injustice.

A Tale of Love - "Olesya"

Not fewer works was written about love. Love occupied a special place in Kuprin’s work. He always wrote about her touchingly and reverently. His heroes are people who are capable of experiencing, experiencing sincere feelings. One of these stories is “Olesya,” written in 1898.

All created images have a poetic character, especially the image main character Olesya. The work talks about tragic love between the girl and the narrator, Ivan Timofeevich, an aspiring writer. He came to the wilderness, to Polesie, to get acquainted with the way of life of inhabitants unknown to him, their legends and traditions.

Olesya turned out to be a Polesie witch, but she has nothing in common with the usual image of such women. In her, beauty is combined with inner strength, nobility, a little naivety, but at the same time, a strong will and a little bit of authority are felt in her. And her fortune telling is not connected with cards or other forces, but with the fact that she immediately recognizes the character of Ivan Timofeevich.

The love between the characters is sincere, all-consuming, noble. After all, Olesya does not agree to marry him, because she considers herself no equal to him. The story ends sadly: Ivan did not manage to see Olesya a second time, and he only had red beads as a memory of her. And all other works on a love theme are distinguished by the same purity, sincerity and nobility.

"Duel"

The work that brought fame to the writer and occupied an important place in Kuprin’s work was “The Duel.” It was published in May 1905, already at the end Russo-Japanese War. A.I. Kuprin wrote the whole truth of army morals using the example of one regiment located in a provincial town. Central theme The work is the formation of personality, its spiritual awakening using the example of the hero Romashov.

The “duel” can also be explained as a personal battle between the writer and the stultifying everyday life tsarist army who destroy all the best that is in a person. This work has become one of the most famous, despite the fact that the ending is tragic. The ending of the work reflects the realities that existed at that time in the tsarist army.

Psychological side of works

In the stories, Kuprin appears as an expert psychological analysis precisely because he always sought to understand what motivates a person, what feelings control him. In 1905, the writer went to Balaklava and from there traveled to Sevastopol to take notes on the events that took place on the mutinous cruiser Ochakov.

After the publication of his essay "Events in Sevastopol", he was expelled from the city and forbidden to come there. During his stay there, Kuprin creates the story "The Listriginovs", where the main characters are simple fishermen. The writer describes their hard work and character, which were close in spirit to the writer himself.

In the story "Staff Captain Rybnikov" the writer's psychological talent is fully revealed. A journalist wages a hidden struggle with a secret agent of Japanese intelligence. And not for the purpose of exposing him, but in order to understand what a person feels, what motivates him, what kind of internal struggle is happening in him. This story was highly appreciated by readers and critics.

Love theme

Works on a love theme occupied a special place in the work of writers. But this feeling was not passionate and all-consuming; rather, he described selfless, selfless, faithful love. Among the most famous works are "Shulamith" and "Garnet Bracelet".

It is this kind of selfless, perhaps even sacrificial love that is perceived by the heroes as the highest happiness. That is, a person’s spiritual strength lies in the fact that one must be able to put the happiness of another person above one’s own well-being. Only such love can bring true joy and interest in life.

Writer's personal life

A.I. Kuprin was married twice. His first wife was Maria Davydova, the daughter of a famous cellist. But the marriage lasted only 5 years, but during this time they had a daughter, Lydia. Kuprin’s second wife was Elizaveta Moritsovna-Heinrich, whom he married in 1909, although before this event they had already lived together for two years. They had two girls - Ksenia (in the future - a famous model and artist) and Zinaida (who died at the age of three.) The wife outlived Kuprin by 4 years and committed suicide during the siege of Leningrad.

Emigration

The writer took part in the war of 1914, but due to illness he had to return to Gatchina, where he made a hospital for wounded soldiers from his house. Kuprin was waiting for the February Revolution, but, like the majority, he did not accept the methods that the Bolsheviks used to assert their power.

After the White Army was defeated, the Kuprin family went to Estonia, then to Finland. In 1920 he came to Paris at the invitation of I. A. Bunin. The years spent during emigration were fruitful. The works he wrote were popular with the public. But, despite this, Kuprin became increasingly homesick for Russia, and in 1936 the writer decided to return to his homeland.

The last years of the writer's life

Just as Kuprin’s childhood was not easy, so last years his life was not easy. His return to the USSR in 1937 caused a lot of noise. On May 31, 1937, he was met by a solemn procession, which included famous writers and admirers of his work. Already at that time, Kuprin had serious health problems, but he hoped that in his homeland he would be able to regain his strength and continue to study literary activity. But on August 25, 1938, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin passed away.

A.I. Kuprin was not just a writer who talked about various events. He studied human nature and sought to understand the character of every person he met. Therefore, reading his stories, readers empathize with the characters, feel sad and rejoice with them. Creativity of A.I. Kuprin occupies a special place in Russian literature.

Many literary critics They believe that Alexander Kuprin never became a “great writer,” but readers do not agree with them - Kuprin remains one of the most read and republished Russian authors today. A man of difficult fate, he tried many professions: he was a fisherman, a circus wrestler, a land surveyor, a fireman, a military man, a fisherman, an organ grinder, an actor and even a dentist. We want to tell our readers about the main passions in the life of this wonderful writer.

The First Passion - Maria Davydova

For the first time, Alexander Kuprin married his 20-year-old daughter at the age of 32.
the famous publisher of the magazine "World of God" and the late director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Masha Davydova. She was witty, bright, noisy and always claimed the first roles. Kuprin adored his young wife passionately, was in awe of her literary taste and always listened to her opinion. Maria, in turn, did everything possible to curb her husband’s violent temper and make him a salon writer. But noisy taverns were closer to him.

Maria fought with her husband’s disorganization and restlessness using rather harsh methods. Because of his drinking spree, Kuprin could not finish finishing his story “The Duel,” then his wife forced him to rent an apartment, sending him out of the house. He could visit his wife and daughter only if he brought new pages of the manuscript. But somehow Kuprin brought an old chapter. Maria was offended by the deception and stated that from now on she would only take the pages of the manuscript through the door that was ajar with a chain.

In May 1905, the story was finally published. This work brought Kuprin not only all-Russian, but also world fame. But the family did not become happier. The couple sometimes separated, then came together, and as a result they became strangers and separated peacefully.

Second Passion - Elizaveta Heinrich

Lisa Heinrich was born in Orenburg into the family of a Hungarian, Moritz Heinrich Rotoni, who married a Siberian woman. She lived with the Kuprin family for several years and, for a fairly modest remuneration, helped with the housework and nursed their daughter. But Kuprin drew attention to her a few years later at a fashion party where the future famous actor Kachalov.

Kuprin confessed his love to Lisa, and she, in order not to destroy the family, left the Kuprins’ house and got a job at a hospital. However, this did not save the family, in which discord already reigned. Kuprin left home and began living at the Palais Royal hotel, and then bought a house in Gatchina in installments, where he lived with Lisa for eight years full of serenity.

Elizaveta Moritsovna was modest, flexible and, unlike Kuprin’s first wife, did not aspire to the first roles. Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, the wife of Ivan Bunin, recalled one episode when her husband and Kuprin once stopped briefly at the Palais Royal, where “they found Elizaveta Moritsovna on the landing... of the third floor. She was in a wide house dress (Liza was expecting a child at that time )". Having said a few words to her, Kuprin and the guests went on a hike through the night hangouts. This did not last an hour or two, and all this time the pregnant woman stood waiting on the landing.

Sometimes the Kuprins separated for a short time: Elizaveta Moritsovna, denying herself everything and carving out the required amount of money from the meager family budget, sent her husband to the south to rest. Kuprin was traveling alone - there was not enough money for his wife’s vacation. True, after living with Elizaveta Moritsovna for 22 years, he wrote to her: “There is no one better than you, no beast, no bird, no man!”

The third passion is alcohol

Those who knew Kurin said that one glass of vodka was enough for him to run into a quarrel with everyone he met. There were even epigrams about Kuprin: “If truth is in wine, how many truths are there in Kuprin” and “Vodka is uncorked, splashing in the decanter. Should I call Kuprin for this reason?

Once his 4-year-old daughter from his first marriage read to the guests a poem of her own composition:
I have a father,
I have a mother.
Dad drinks a lot of vodka
His mother beats him for this...

And Ksenia Kuprina, his daughter from his second marriage, as an adult, recalled: “Father traveled to St. Petersburg regularly, but sometimes he was stuck there for weeks, falling under the influence of literary and artistic bohemia. Mother selflessly fought against her father’s bad environment, protected his peace, pulled him out of bad companies, and kicked some literary “bugs” out of the house. But there are too many powerful contradictory vitality then fermented within my father. Even a small amount of alcohol turned the kindest Kuprin into a violent, mischievous person, with furious outbursts of anger.”

The Fourth Passion - Russia

In 1920, after the end of the First World War and the defeat, the whites civil war, Kuprin leaves Russia. He lived in France for 20 years, but was never able to adapt to a foreign country. The financial situation of the spouses was very difficult. Kuprin’s own earnings were random, and Elizaveta Moritsovna’s commercial enterprises were not successful. She translated into French famous works Kuprin, but it was becoming more and more difficult for him to write new ones. He was constantly oppressed by longing for Russia. The only major work written in emigration is the novel “Junker”, in which the “absurd, sweet country” appears before us so bright, cleared of everything unimportant, secondary...