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Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on August 26 (September 7), 1870 in the city of Narovchat (Penza province) into a poor family of a minor official.

1871 was a difficult year in Kuprin’s biography - his father died, and the poor family moved to Moscow.

Training and the beginning of a creative path

At the age of six, Kuprin was sent to a class at the Moscow Orphan School, from which he left in 1880. After that, Alexander Ivanovich studied at the military academy, the Alexander Military School. The time of training is described in such works by Kuprin as: “At the Turning Point (Cadets)”, “Junkers”. “The Last Debut” is Kuprin’s first published story (1889).

From 1890 he was a second lieutenant in an infantry regiment. During the service, many essays, stories, stories were published: “Inquiry”, “ Moonlit night", "In the Dark".

Creativity flourishes

Four years later, Kuprin retired. After this, the writer travels a lot around Russia, tries his hand at different professions. At this time, Alexander Ivanovich met Ivan Bunin, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky.

Kuprin builds his stories of those times on life impressions gleaned during his travels.

Kuprin's short stories cover many topics: military, social, love. The story “The Duel” (1905) brought Alexander Ivanovich real success. Love in Kuprin’s work is most vividly described in the story “Olesya” (1898), which was his first major and one of his most beloved works, and the story of unrequited love, “The Garnet Bracelet” (1910).

Alexander Kuprin also loved to write stories for children. For children's reading he wrote the works “Elephant”, “Starlings”, “White Poodle” and many others.

Emigration and last years of life

For Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, life and creativity are inseparable. Not accepting the policy of war communism, the writer emigrated to France. Even after emigration, in the biography of Alexander Kuprin, the writer’s fervor does not subside; he writes novellas, short stories, many articles and essays. Despite this, Kuprin lives in material need and yearns for his homeland. Only 17 years later he returns to Russia. At the same time, the writer’s last essay was published - the work “Native Moscow”.

After a serious illness, Kuprin died on August 25, 1938. The writer was buried at Volkovsky cemetery in Leningrad, next to the grave of Ivan Turgenev.

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Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is a famous writer, a classic of Russian literature, whose most significant works are “Junkers”, “Duel”, “The 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 county town 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 large 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 enters Aleksandrovskoe 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 new government imposes a dictatorship on the country, completely disillusioned with it.

It is Kuprin who owns the derogatory name 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. Moreover, the writer did not find anything better than to look for a way out of difficult situation in a bottle. In the end the only solution was a 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 previous story “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 “Zhaneta”, as well as large number short stories, including philosophical parable about the beauty of “Blue Star”.

Personal life

The first wife of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was young Maria Davydova, 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 World War II, 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 had an alcohol addiction, plus old man I was quickly losing my 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 Literary Bridges 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 Russian writer and translator. He made a significant contribution to the fund of Russian literature. His works were particularly realistic, thanks to which he received recognition in various strata of society.

Brief biography of Kuprin

We present to your attention short biography Kuprina. It, like everything else, contains many interesting facts.

Childhood and parents

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on August 26, 1870 in the city of Narovchat, in the family of a simple official. When little Alexander was only one year old, his father, Ivan Ivanovich, died.

After the death of her husband, the mother of the future writer, Lyubov Alekseevna, decided to go to Moscow. It was in this city that Kuprin spent his childhood and youth.

Training and the beginning of a creative path

When to young Sasha turned 6 years old, he was sent to study at the Moscow Orphan School, from which he graduated in 1880.

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin

In 1887, Kuprin was enrolled in the Alexander Military School.

During this period of his biography, he had to face various difficulties, which he would later write about in the stories “At the Turning Point (Cadets)” and “Junkers”.

Alexander Ivanovich had good ability to write poetry, but they remained unpublished.

In 1890, the writer served in an infantry regiment with the rank of second lieutenant.

While in this rank, he writes such stories as “Inquiry”, “In the Dark”, “Night Shift” and “Hike”.

Creativity flourishes

In 1894, Kuprin decided to resign, being at that time already in the rank of lieutenant. Immediately after this, he begins to travel around, meeting different people and gaining new knowledge.

During this period, he manages to meet Maxim Gorky and.

Kuprin’s biography is interesting in that he immediately took all the impressions and experiences he received during his considerable travels as the basis for future works.

In 1905, the story “The Duel” was published, which received real recognition in society. In 1911, his most significant work, “The Garnet Bracelet,” appeared, which made Kuprin truly famous.

It should be noted that it was easy for him to write not only serious literature, but also children's stories.

Emigration

One of the most important moments in Kuprin's life became October Revolution. In a short biography it is difficult to describe all the writer’s experiences associated with this time.

Let us briefly note that he flatly refused to accept the ideology of war communism and the terror associated with it. Having assessed the current situation, Kuprin almost immediately decides to emigrate to France.

In a foreign land, he continues to write novels and short stories, as well as engage in translation activities. For Alexander Kuprin it was unthinkable to live without creativity, which is clearly visible throughout his biography.

Return to Russia

Over time, in addition to financial difficulties, Kuprin increasingly begins to feel nostalgia for his homeland. He manages to return back to Russia only after 17 years. Then he writes his last piece, which is called “Native Moscow”.

Last years of life and death

Soviet officials benefited from a famous writer returning to his homeland. They tried to create from him the image of a repentant writer who came from a foreign land to sing the praises of the happy.

However, the internal memos of the competent authorities record that Kuprin is weak, ill, incapacitated and, practically, unable to write anything.

By the way, this is why information appeared that “Native Moscow” belongs not to Kuprin himself, but to the journalist assigned to him, N.K. Verzhbitsky.

On August 25, 1938, Alexander Kuprin died of esophageal cancer. He was buried in Leningrad at the Volkovsky cemetery, next to the great writer.

• When Kuprin was not yet famous, he managed to master many different professions. He worked in a circus, was an artist, teacher, land surveyor and journalist. In total, he mastered more than 20 different professions.
• The writer's first wife, Maria Karlovna, really did not like the unrest and disorganization in Kuprin's work. For example, having caught him sleeping at work, she deprived him of breakfast. And when he didn't write necessary chapters for some story, his wife refused to let him into the house. How can one not remember the American scientist who was under pressure from his wife!
• Kuprin loved to dress in national Tatar attire and walk the streets like that. On his mother's side he had Tatar roots, which he was always proud of.
• Kuprin personally communicated with Lenin. He suggested to the leader that he create a newspaper for villagers called "Earth".
• In 2014, the television series “Kuprin” was filmed, telling about the life of the writer.
• According to the recollections of his contemporaries, Kuprin was truly a very kind person who was not indifferent to the destinies of others.
• Many are named after Kuprin settlements, streets and libraries.

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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 violent temper husband 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 an 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 in 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 a poem to the guests own composition:
I have a dad
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. Financial situation things were very difficult for the spouses. 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 thing major work, written in emigration - the novel "Junker", in which the "absurd, sweet country" appears before us so bright, cleared of everything unimportant, secondary...

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin

(1870 - 1938)

Born on August 27, 1870 in the small town of Narovchat, in the Penza province, in the family of a minor official. The writer did not know his father, because he died a year after the birth of his son, from cholera. His mother came from the ancient princely family of the Kulanchakovs. After her husband's death, she moved to a widow's house in Moscow. Only thanks to this, Kuprin’s childhood years were spent close to his mother, whom he, by the way, literally idolized. And there really was something to admire.

His mother had a strong, even somewhat tyrannical character. She was a proud princess, had excellent taste and keen powers of observation. Unfortunately, financial difficulties forced her to give up young writer to the Moscow Razumovsky boarding school (orphanage) when he was 6 years old.

After graduating from the boarding school, he entered the Second Moscow Military Gymnasium, which was later renamed the Cadet Corps. After graduation, Kuprin continued his education at the Third Alexander Junker School in Moscow. All this during the 1880-90s. The writer reflected his military youth in the story “At the Turning Point (Cadets)” and in the novel “Junkers”. He left school with the rank of second lieutenant.

Already, while at school, Kuprin felt a craving for literature; his first attempts were poems that remained unpublished. The first work of Alexander Kuprin that the world saw was the story “The Last Debut”, published in the magazine “Russian Satirical List” in 1889. The story turned out to be not very successful, and Kuprin himself did not take the writing activity.

After graduating from college in 1890, the writer was enrolled in an infantry regiment. Served for four years. Military career gave a lot of material for Kuprin’s writing. After retirement in 1994, he moved to Kyiv. The writer did not have a regular profession and was still very young. He traveled a lot around the country, held different positions and tried many professions. This was reflected in his work.

In the 1890s he published the essay “Yuzovsky Plant” and the story “Moloch”, stories “ Backwoods", "Werewolf", the stories "Olesya" and "Kat" (Army Ensign).

During these years, Kuprin met Bunin, Chekhov and Gorky. In 1901 he moved to St. Petersburg, began working as a secretary of the “Magazine for Everyone,” married M. Davydova, and had a daughter, Lydia. Kuprin's stories appeared in St. Petersburg magazines: “Swamp” (1902); "Horse Thieves" (1903); "White Poodle" (1904). In 1905, his most significant work was published - the story "The Duel", which had great success. The writer’s performances with the reading of individual chapters of “The Duel” became an event cultural life capitals. His works of this time were very well-behaved: the essay “Events in Sevastopol” (1905), the stories “Staff Captain Rybnikov” (1906), “River of Life”, “Gambrinus” (1907). In 1907, he married his second wife, sister of mercy E. Heinrich, and had a daughter, Ksenia.

Kuprin's work in the years between the two revolutions resisted the decadent mood of those years: the cycle of essays "Listrigons" (1907 - 11), stories about animals, the stories "Shulamith", "Pomegranate Bracelet" (1911). His prose became a notable phenomenon of Russian literature at the beginning of the century.

Kuprin did not accept the revolution, his relationship with M. Gorky cooled. The writer's creativity was constantly hampered by financial troubles and family troubles. In 1907, Kuprin again took up journalism to pay off his debts and support his family.

In the fall of 1919, while in Gatchina, cut off from Petrograd by Yudenich's troops, he emigrated abroad. The seventeen years that the writer spent in Paris did not bear much literary fruit. Constant material need and homesickness led him to the decision to return to Russia. In the spring of 1937, the seriously ill Kuprin returned to his homeland, warmly received by his admirers. Published the essay “Native Moscow”. However, new creative plans was not destined to come true. Died on the night of August 25, 1938 after serious illness(tongue cancer).

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