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 this, 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, short stories, and novellas were published: “Inquiry,” “On a Moonlit Night,” “In the Dark.”
Creativity flourishes
Four years later, Kuprin retired. After this, the writer travels a lot around Russia, trying himself in 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 real success to Alexander Ivanovich. 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 the Volkovsky cemetery in Leningrad, next to the grave
The works of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, as well as the life and work of this outstanding Russian prose writer, are of interest to many readers. He was born in one thousand eight hundred and seventy on the twenty-sixth of August in the city of Narovchat.
His father died of cholera almost immediately after his birth. After some time, Kuprin’s mother comes to Moscow. He places his daughters in government institutions there, and also takes care of the fate of his son. The role of mother in the upbringing and education of Alexander Ivanovich cannot be exaggerated.
Education of the future prose writer
In one thousand eight hundred and eighty, Alexander Kuprin entered a military gymnasium, which was later transformed into a cadet corps. Eight years later he graduated from this institution and continued to develop his career along the military line. He had no other option, since this was the one that allowed him to study at public expense.
And two years later he graduated from the Alexander Military School and received the rank of second lieutenant. This is a rather serious officer rank. And the time comes for independent service. In general, the Russian army was the main career path for many Russian writers. Just remember Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov or Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet.
Military career of the famous writer Alexander Kuprin
Those processes that took place at the turn of the century in the army later became the theme of many of Alexander Ivanovich’s works. In one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three, Kuprin makes an unsuccessful attempt to enter the General Staff Academy. There is a clear parallel here with his famous story “The Duel,” which will be mentioned a little later.
And a year later, Alexander Ivanovich retired, without losing touch with the army and without losing that array of life impressions that gave rise to many of his prosaic creations. While still an officer, he tried to write and after some time began to publish.
First attempts at creativity, or Several days in a punishment cell
The first published story by Alexander Ivanovich is called “The Last Debut.” And for this creation of his, Kuprin spent two days in a punishment cell, because officers were not supposed to speak in print.
The writer has been living an unsettled life for a long time. It's as if he has no destiny. He constantly wanders; for many years, Alexander Ivanovich has lived in the south, Ukraine or Little Russia, as they said then. He visits a huge number of cities.
Kuprin publishes a lot, and gradually journalism becomes his full-time occupation. He knew the Russian south like few other writers. At the same time, Alexander Ivanovich begins to publish his essays, which immediately attracted the attention of readers. The writer tried himself in many genres.
Gaining fame among readers
Of course, there are many known works that Kuprin created, works the list of which even an ordinary schoolchild knows. But the very first story that made Alexander Ivanovich famous was “Moloch”. It was published in one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six.
This work is based on real events. Kuprin visited Donbass as a correspondent and got acquainted with the work of the Russian-Belgian joint-stock company. Industrialization and the rise of production, everything that many public figures strived for, turned into inhuman working conditions. This is precisely the main idea of the story “Moloch”.
Alexander Kuprin. Works, the list of which is known to a wide range of readers
After some time, works are published that are known to almost every Russian reader today. These are “Garnet Bracelet”, “Elephant”, “Duel” and, of course, the story “Olesya”. This work was published in one thousand eight hundred and ninety-two in the newspaper "Kievlyanin". In it, Alexander Ivanovich very dramatically changes the subject of the image.
No longer factories and technical aesthetics, but Volyn forests, folk legends, pictures of nature and the customs of the local villagers. This is exactly what the author puts into the work “Olesya”. Kuprin wrote another work that has no equal.
The image of a girl from the forest who can understand the language of nature
The main character is a girl, a forest dweller. She seems to be a sorceress who can command the forces of the surrounding nature. And the girl’s ability to hear and feel her language conflicts with church and religious ideology. Olesya is condemned and blamed for many of the troubles that befall her neighbors.
And in this clash between a girl from the forest and peasants in the bosom of social life, which the work “Olesya” describes, Kuprin used a peculiar metaphor. It contains a very important contrast between natural life and modern civilization. And for Alexander Ivanovich this composition is very typical.
Another work by Kuprin that has become popular
Kuprin's work "The Duel" became one of the author's most famous creations. The action of the story is connected with the events of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four, when duels, or duels, as they were called in the past, were restored in the Russian army.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, with all the complexity of the attitude of the authorities and people towards duels, there was still some kind of knightly meaning, a guarantee of compliance with the norms of noble honor. And even then, many fights had a tragic and monstrous outcome. At the end of the nineteenth century, this decision looked like an anachronism. The Russian army was already completely different.
And there is one more circumstance that needs to be mentioned when talking about the story “The Duel”. It was published in nineteen hundred and five, when during the Russo-Japanese War the Russian army suffered one defeat after another.
This had a demoralizing effect on society. And in this context, the work “The Duel” caused fierce controversy in the press. Almost all of Kuprin’s works evoked a flurry of responses from both readers and critics. For example, the story “The Pit,” which dates back to a later period of the author’s work. She not only became famous, but also shocked many of Alexander Ivanovich’s contemporaries.
Later work of the popular prose writer
Kuprin's work "Garnet Bracelet" is a bright story about pure love. About how a simple employee named Zheltkov loved Princess Vera Nikolaevna, who was completely unattainable for him. He could not aspire to marriage or any other relationship with her.
However, suddenly after his death, Vera realizes that a real, genuine feeling passed her by, one that did not disappear in debauchery and did not dissolve in those terrible fault lines that separate people from each other, in social obstacles that do not allow different circles of society to communicate with each other and enter into into marriage. This bright story and many other works by Kuprin are read today with unflagging attention.
The work of a prose writer dedicated to children
Alexander Ivanovich writes a lot of stories for children. And these works by Kuprin are another side of the author’s talent, and they also need to be mentioned. He devoted most of his stories to animals. For example, “Emerald”, or Kuprin’s famous work “Elephant”. Alexander Ivanovich's children's stories are a wonderful, important part of his legacy.
And today we can say with confidence that the great Russian prose writer Alexander Kuprin has taken his rightful place in the history of Russian literature. His works are not just studied and read, they are loved by many readers and cause great delight and reverence.
A bright representative of realism, a charismatic personality and simply a famous Russian writer of the early 20th century is Alexander Kuprin. His biography is eventful, quite difficult and filled with an ocean of emotions, thanks to which the world came to know his best creations. “Moloch”, “Duel”, “Garnet Bracelet” and many other works that have replenished the golden fund of world art.
The beginning of the way
Born on September 7, 1870 in the small town of Narovchat, Penza District. His father is civil servant Ivan Kuprin, whose biography is very short, since he died when Sasha was only 2 years old. After which he stayed with his mother Lyubov Kuprina, who was a Tatar of princely blood. They suffered hunger, humiliation and deprivation, so his mother made the difficult decision to send Sasha to the department for young orphans at the Alexander Military School in 1876. A student of the military school, Alexander graduated from it in the second half of the 80s.
In the early 90s, after graduating from military school, he became an employee of the Dnieper Infantry Regiment No. 46. A successful military career remained a dream, as Kuprin’s disturbing, eventful and emotional biography tells. A brief summary of the biography states that Alexander was unable to enter a higher military educational institution due to a scandal. And all because of his hot temper, under the influence of alcohol, he threw a police officer from a bridge into the water. Having risen to the rank of lieutenant, he retired in 1895.
Writer's temperament
A personality with an incredibly bright color, greedily absorbing impressions, a wanderer. He tried many crafts: from laborer to dental technician. A very emotional and extraordinary person is Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose biography is filled with bright events, which became the basis of many of his masterpieces.
His life was quite stormy, there were many rumors about him. An explosive temperament, excellent physical shape, he was drawn to try himself, which gave him invaluable life experience and strengthened his spirit. He constantly strived for adventure: he dived underwater in special equipment, flew on an airplane (he almost died due to a disaster), was the founder of a sports society, etc. During the war years, together with his wife, he equipped an infirmary in his own house.
He loved to get to know a person, his character and communicated with people of a wide variety of professions: specialists with higher technical education, wandering musicians, fishermen, card players, the poor, clergy, entrepreneurs, etc. And in order to get to know a person better, to experience his life for himself, he was ready for the craziest adventure. A researcher whose spirit of adventurism was simply off the charts is Alexander Kuprin, the writer’s biography only confirms this fact.
He worked with great pleasure as a journalist in many editorial offices, published articles and reports in periodicals. He often went on business trips, lived in the Moscow region, then in the Ryazan region, as well as in the Crimea (Balaklava region) and in the city of Gatchina, Leningrad region.
Revolutionary activities
He was not satisfied with the then social order and the reigning injustice, and therefore, as a strong personality, he wanted to somehow change the situation. However, despite his revolutionary sentiments, the writer had a negative attitude towards the October revolution led by representatives of the Social Democrats (Bolsheviks). Bright, eventful and various difficulties - this is the Biography of Kuprin. Interesting facts from the biography say that Alexander Ivanovich nevertheless collaborated with the Bolsheviks and even wanted to publish a peasant publication called “Earth,” and therefore often saw the head of the Bolshevik government, V.I. Lenin. But soon he suddenly went over to the side of the “whites” (anti-Bolshevik movement). After they were defeated, Kuprin moved to Finland, and then to France, namely to its capital, where he stayed for some time.
In 1937, he took an active part in the press of the anti-Bolshevik movement, while continuing to write his works. Troubled, filled with the struggle for justice and emotions, this is exactly what Kuprin’s biography was. A brief summary of the biography states that in the period from 1929 to 1933 the following famous novels were written: “The Wheel of Time”, “Junker”, “Zhaneta”, and many articles and stories were published. Emigration had a negative effect on the writer; he was unclaimed, suffered hardships and missed his native land. In the second half of the 30s, believing the propaganda in the Soviet Union, he and his wife returned to Russia. The return was overshadowed by the fact that Alexander Ivanovich suffered from a very serious illness.
People's life through the eyes of Kuprin
Kuprin's literary activity is imbued with the classic manner of Russian writers of compassion for the people who are forced to live in poverty in a wretched living environment. A strong-willed personality with a strong desire for justice is Alexander Kuprin, whose biography says that he expressed his sympathy in his creativity. For example, the novel “The Pit,” written at the beginning of the 20th century, tells about the hard life of prostitutes. And also images of intellectuals suffering from the hardships they are forced to endure.
His favorite characters are just like that - reflective, a little hysterical and very sentimental. For example, the story “Moloch”, where the representative of this image is Bobrov (engineer) - a very sensitive character, compassionate and worried about ordinary factory workers who work hard while the rich ride like cheese in butter on other people’s money. Representatives of such images in the story “The Duel” are Romashov and Nazansky, who are endowed with great physical strength, as opposed to a tremulous and sensitive soul. Romashov was very irritated by military activities, namely vulgar officers and downtrodden soldiers. Probably no writer has condemned the military environment as much as Alexander Kuprin.
The writer was not one of the tearful, people-worshipping writers, although his works were often approved by the famous populist critic N.K. Mikhailovsky. His democratic attitude towards his characters was expressed not only in the description of their difficult lives. Alexander Kuprin’s man of the people not only had a trembling soul, but was also strong-willed and could give a worthy rebuff at the right moment. The life of the people in Kuprin’s works is a free, spontaneous and natural flow, and the characters have not only troubles and sorrows, but also joy and consolation (the cycle of stories “Listrigons”). A man with a vulnerable soul and a realist is Kuprin, whose biography according to the dates states that this work took place in the period from 1907 to 1911.
Its realism was also expressed in the fact that the author described not only the good traits of his characters, but also did not hesitate to show their dark side (aggression, cruelty, rage). A striking example is the story “Gambrinus,” where Kuprin described the Jewish pogrom in great detail. This work was written in 1907.
Perception of life through creativity
Kuprin is an idealist and romantic, which is reflected in his work: heroic deeds, sincerity, love, compassion, kindness. Most of his characters are emotional people, those who have fallen out of the usual rut of life, they are in search of truth, a freer and fuller existence, something beautiful...
The feeling of love, the fullness of life, is what permeates Kuprin’s biography, interesting facts from which indicate that no one else could write as poetically about feelings. This is clearly reflected in the story “The Garnet Bracelet,” written in 1911. It is in this work that Alexander Ivanovich exalts true, pure, free, ideal love. He very accurately depicted the characters of various layers of society, described in detail the situation surrounding his characters, their way of life. It was for his sincerity that he often received reprimands from critics. Naturalism and aesthetics are the main features of Kuprin’s work.
His stories about animals “Barbos and Zhulka” and “Emerald” fully deserve a place in the collection of world art of words. A short biography of Kuprin says that he is one of the few writers who could so feel the flow of natural, real life and so successfully display it in their works. A striking embodiment of this quality is the story “Olesya,” written in 1898, where he describes the deviation from the ideal of natural existence.
Such an organic worldview, healthy optimism are the main distinctive properties of his work, in which lyricism and romance, proportionality of the plot and compositional center, dramatic action and truth harmoniously merge.
Master of Literary Arts
A virtuoso of words is Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose biography says that he could very accurately and beautifully describe the landscape in a literary work. His external, visual and, one might say, olfactory perception of the world was simply excellent. I.A. Bunin and A.I. Kuprin often competed to determine the smell of different situations and phenomena in their masterpieces and not only... In addition, the writer could display the true image of his characters very carefully down to the smallest detail: appearance, disposition, communication style, etc. He found complexity and depth, even when describing animals, and all because he really loved writing on this topic.
A passionate lover of life, a naturalist and a realist, this is exactly what Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was. The writer’s brief biography states that all his stories are based on real events and are therefore unique: natural, vivid, without obsessive speculative constructions. He thought about the meaning of life, described true love, talked about hatred, strong-willed and heroic deeds. Emotions such as disappointment, despair, struggle with oneself, the strengths and weaknesses of a person became the main ones in his works. These manifestations of existentialism were typical of his work and reflected the complex inner world of man at the turn of the century.
Writer in transition
He truly is a representative of the transitional stage, which undoubtedly affected his work. A striking type of the “off-road” era is Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose brief biography suggests that this time left an imprint on his psyche, and, accordingly, on the author’s works. His characters are in many ways reminiscent of the heroes of A.P. Chekhov, the only difference is that Kuprin’s images are not so pessimistic. For example, technologist Bobrov from the story “Moloch”, Kashintsev from “Zhidovka” and Serdyukov from the story “Swamp”. Chekhov's main characters are sensitive, conscientious, but at the same time broken, exhausted people who are lost in themselves and disillusioned with life. They are shocked by aggression, they are very compassionate, but they can no longer fight. Realizing their helplessness, they perceive the world only through the prism of cruelty, injustice and meaninglessness.
A short biography of Kuprin confirms that, despite the gentleness and sensitivity of the writer, he was a strong-willed person who loved life, and therefore his heroes are somewhat similar to him. They have a strong thirst for life, which they grasp very tightly and do not let go. They listen to both the heart and the mind. For example, drug addict Bobrov, who decided to kill himself, listened to the voice of reason and realized that he loved life too much to end everything once and for all. The same thirst for life lived in Serdyukov (the student from the work “Swamp”), who was very sympathetic to the forester and his family, dying of an infectious disease. He spent the night at their house and during this short time he almost went crazy from pain, anxiety and compassion. And when morning comes, he strives to quickly get out of this nightmare in order to see the sun. It was as if he was running from there in a fog, and when he finally ran up the hill, he simply choked on an unexpected surge of happiness.
Passionate lover of life - Alexander Kuprin, whose biography suggests that the writer was very fond of happy endings. The ending of the story sounds symbolic and solemn. It says that the fog was spreading at the guy’s feet, about the clear blue sky, about the whisper of green branches, about the golden sun, the rays of which “ringed with the jubilant triumph of victory.” Which sounds like the victory of life over death.
The exaltation of life in the story “The Duel”
This work is the true apotheosis of life. Kuprin, whose short biography and work are closely related, described the cult of personality in this story. The main characters (Nazansky and Romashev) are bright representatives of individualism; they declared that the whole world would perish when they were gone. They firmly believed in their beliefs, but were too weak in spirit to bring their idea to life. It was this disproportion between the exaltation of one’s own personalities and the weakness of its owners that the author caught.
A master of his craft, an excellent psychologist and realist, these are precisely the qualities the writer Kuprin possessed. The author’s biography says that he wrote “The Duel” at a time when he was at the peak of his fame. It was in this masterpiece that the best qualities of Alexander Ivanovich were combined: an excellent writer of everyday life, a psychologist and a lyricist. The military theme was close to the author, given his background, and therefore no effort was required to develop it. The bright general background of the work does not overshadow the expressiveness of its main characters. Each character is incredibly interesting and is a link in the same chain, without losing their individuality.
Kuprin, whose biography says that the story appeared during the Russian-Japanese conflict, criticized the military environment to the nines. The work describes military life, psychology, and reflects the pre-revolutionary life of Russians.
In the story, as in life, an atmosphere of deadness and impoverishment, sadness and routine reigns. A feeling of absurdity, disorder and incomprehensibility of existence. It was these feelings that overwhelmed Romashev and were familiar to the inhabitants of pre-revolutionary Russia. In order to drown out the ideological “impossibility”, Kuprin described in “The Duel” the dissolute morality of the officers, their unfair and cruel attitude towards each other. And of course, the main vice of the military is alcoholism, which flourished among the Russian people.
Characters
You don’t even need to draw up a plan for Kuprin’s biography to understand that he is spiritually close to his heroes. These are very emotional, broken individuals who sympathize, are indignant at the injustice and cruelty of life, but cannot fix anything.
After the “Duel,” a work appears called “River of Life.” In this story, completely different moods reign; many liberation processes took place. He is the embodiment of the finale of the drama of the intelligentsia, which the writer narrates. Kuprin, whose work and biography are closely connected, does not betray himself; the main character is still a kind, sensitive intellectual. He is a representative of individualism, no, he is not indifferent, having thrown himself into the whirlwind of events, he understands that a new life is not for him. And glorifying the joy of being, he still decides to die, because he believes that he does not deserve it, which he writes about in his suicide note to his comrade.
The theme of love and nature are those areas in which the writer’s optimistic moods are clearly expressed. Kuprin considered such a feeling as love to be a mysterious gift that is sent only to a select few. This attitude is reflected in the novel “The Garnet Bracelet,” just like Nazansky’s passionate speech or Romashev’s dramatic relationship with Shura. And Kuprin’s narratives about nature are simply fascinating; at first they may seem overly detailed and ornate, but then this multicoloredness begins to delight, as the realization comes that these are not standard turns of phrase, but the personal observations of the author. It becomes clear how he was captivated by the process, how he absorbed impressions, which he later reflected in his work, and it is simply enchanting.
Kuprin's mastery
A virtuoso of the pen, a man with excellent intuition and an ardent lover of life, this is exactly what Alexander Kuprin was. A brief biography tells that he was an incredibly deep, harmonious and internally filled person. He subconsciously felt the secret meaning of things, could connect causes and understand consequences. As an excellent psychologist, he had the ability to highlight the main thing in a text, which is why his works seemed ideal, from which nothing could be removed or added. These qualities are displayed in “The Evening Guest”, “River of Life”, “Duel”.
Alexander Ivanovich did not add anything special to the sphere of literary techniques. However, in the author’s later works, such as “River of Life” and “Staff Captain Rybnikov,” there is a sharp change in the direction of art; he is clearly drawn to impressionism. Stories become more dramatic and concise. Kuprin, whose biography is eventful, later returns to realism. This refers to the chronicle novel “The Pit”, in which he describes the life of brothels, he does this in the usual manner, everything is just as natural and without hiding anything. Because of this, it periodically receives condemnation from critics. However, this did not stop him. He did not strive for something new, but tried to improve and develop the old.
Results
Biography of Kuprin (briefly about the main things):
- Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich was born on September 7, 1870 in the town of Narovchat, Penza District in Russia.
- He died on August 25, 1938 at the age of 67 in St. Petersburg.
- The writer lived at the turn of the century, which invariably affected his work. Survived the October Revolution.
- The direction of art is realism and impressionism. The main genres are short story and story.
- Since 1902 he lived in marriage with Davydova Maria Karlovna. And since 1907 - with Heinrich Elizaveta Moritsovna.
- Father - Kuprin Ivan Ivanovich. Mother - Kuprina Lyubov Alekseevna.
- He had two daughters - Ksenia and Lydia.
The best sense of smell in Russia
Alexander Ivanovich was visiting Fyodor Chaliapin, who called him the most sensitive nose in Russia when visiting. A perfumer from France was present at the evening and decided to test this by asking Kuprin to name the main components of his new development. To the great surprise of everyone present, he completed the task.
In addition, Kuprin had a strange habit: when meeting or meeting, he sniffed people. Many were offended by this, and some were delighted, they argued that thanks to this gift he recognized human nature. Kuprin's only competitor was I. Bunin, they often organized competitions.
Tatar roots
Kuprin, like a real Tatar, was very hot-tempered, emotional and very proud of his origin. His mother is from a family of Tatar princes. Alexander Ivanovich often dressed in Tatar attire: a robe and a colored skullcap. In this form, he loved to visit his friends and relax in restaurants. Moreover, in this vestment he sat down like a real khan and squinted his eyes for greater resemblance.
Universal Man
Alexander Ivanovich changed a large number of professions before he found his true calling. He tried his hand at boxing, teaching, fishing and acting. He worked in the circus as a wrestler, land surveyor, pilot, traveling musician, etc. Moreover, his main goal was not money, but invaluable life experience. Alexander Ivanovich stated that he would like to become an animal, a plant or a pregnant woman in order to experience all the delights of childbirth.
Beginning of writing activity
He received his first writing experience at a military school. It was the story “The Last Debut”, the work was quite primitive, but still he decided to send it to the newspaper. This was reported to the school management, and Alexander was punished (two days in a punishment cell). He promised himself to never write again. However, he did not keep his word, as he met the writer I. Bunin, who asked him to write a short story. Kuprin was broke at the time, so he agreed and used the money he earned to buy food and shoes. It was this event that pushed him to serious work.
This is him, the famous writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, a physically strong man with a tender and vulnerable soul and with his own quirks. A great lover of life and experimenter, compassionate and with a great desire for justice. Naturalist and realist Kuprin left a legacy of a large number of magnificent works that fully deserve the title of masterpieces.
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born August 26 (September 7), 1870 in the city of Narovchat, Penza province. From the nobles. Kuprin's father is a collegiate registrar; mother is from the ancient family of Tatar princes Kulunchakov.
Lost his father early; was brought up in the Moscow Razumovsky boarding school for orphans. In 1888. A. Kuprin graduated from the cadet corps, in 1890– Alexander Military School (both in Moscow); served as an infantry officer. After retiring with the rank of lieutenant in 1894 changed a number of professions: he worked as a land surveyor, a forest surveyor, an estate manager, a prompter in a provincial acting troupe, etc. For many years he collaborated in newspapers in Kyiv, Rostov-on-Don, Odessa, and Zhitomir.
The first publication is the story “The Last Debut” ( 1889 ). Story "Inquiry" ( 1894 ) opened a series of war stories and stories by Kuprin (“The Lilac Bush”, 1894 ; "Overnight" 1895 ; "Army ensign", "Breguet", both - 1897 ; etc.), reflecting the writer’s impressions of military service. Kuprin's trips around Southern Ukraine provided material for the story "Moloch" ( 1896 ), in the center of which is the theme of industrial civilization, which depersonalizes man; the juxtaposition of the smelting furnace with a pagan deity demanding human sacrifices is intended to warn of the dangers of worshiping technological progress. A. Kuprin’s story “Olesya” ( 1898 ) - about the dramatic love of a savage girl who grew up in the wilderness and an aspiring writer who came from the city. The hero of Kuprin's early works is a man with a subtle mental organization, who cannot withstand the collision with the social reality of the 1890s and the test of great feeling. Among other works of this period: “Polesie stories” “In the wilderness” ( 1898 ), "On the wood grouse" ( 1899 ), "Werewolf" ( 1901 ). In 1897. Kuprin's first book, “Miniatures,” was published. In the same year, Kuprin met I. Bunin, in 1900– with A. Chekhov; since 1901 participated in Teleshov’s “environments” - a Moscow literary circle that united writers of a realistic direction. In 1901 A. Kuprin moved to St. Petersburg; collaborated in the influential magazines “Russian Wealth” and “World of God”. In 1902 met M. Gorky; was published in a series of collections initiated by him by the publishing company “Znanie”, here in 1903 The first volume of Kuprin's stories was published. The story “The Duel” brought wide popularity to Kuprin ( 1905 ), where the unsightly picture of army life with drill and half-conscious cruelty reigning in it is accompanied by reflections on the absurdity of the existing world order. The publication of the story coincided with the defeat of the Russian fleet in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905., which contributed to its public resonance. The story was translated into foreign languages and opened the name of the writer to European readers.
In the 1900s - first half of the 1910s. The most significant works of A. Kuprin were published: the story “At the Turning Point (Cadets)” ( 1900 ), "Pit" ( 1909-1915 ); stories “Swamp”, “At the Circus” (both 1902 ), "Coward", "Horse Thieves" (both 1903 ), "Peaceful Life", "White Poodle" (both 1904 ), "Staff Captain Rybnikov", "River of Life" (both 1906 ), "Gambrinus", "Emerald" ( 1907 ), "Anathema" ( 1913 ); a series of essays about fishermen of Balaklava - “Listrigons” ( 1907-1911 ). Admiration for strength and heroism, a keen sense of the beauty and joy of existence prompt Kuprin to search for a new image - an integral and creative nature. The story “Shulamith” is dedicated to the theme of love ( 1908 ; based on the biblical Song of Songs) and “Garnet Bracelet” ( 1911 ) is a touching story about the unrequited and selfless love of a small telegraph operator for the wife of a high-ranking official. Kuprin also tried his hand at science fiction: the hero of the story “Liquid Sun” ( 1913 ) is a brilliant scientist who gained access to a source of super-powerful energy, but hides his invention for fear that it will be used to create deadly weapons.
In 1911 Kuprin moved to Gatchina. In 1912 and 1914 traveled to France and Italy. With the outbreak of the First World War he returned to the army, but the following year he was demobilized for health reasons. After the February Revolution 1917 edited the Socialist-Revolutionary newspaper “Free Russia”, and collaborated with the publishing house “World Literature” for several months. After the October Revolution 1917, which he did not accept, returned to journalism. In one of the articles, Kuprin spoke out against the execution of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, for which he was arrested and briefly imprisoned ( 1918 ). The writer's attempts to cooperate with the new government did not produce the desired results. Having joined in October 1919 to the troops of N.N. Yudenich, Kuprin reached Yamburg (from 1922 Kingisepp), from there through Finland to Paris (1920 ). In exile they created: the autobiographical story “The Dome of St. Isaac of Dalmatia" ( 1928 ), the story “Zhaneta. Princess of Four Streets" ( 1932 ; separate edition – 1934 ), a number of nostalgic stories about pre-revolutionary Russia (“The One-Armed Comedian”, 1923 ; "Emperor's Shadow" 1928 ; "Tsar's guest from Narovchat" 1933 ) etc. The works of the emigrant period are characterized by idealistic images of monarchical Russia and patriarchal Moscow. Among other works: the story “The Star of Solomon” ( 1917 ), story "The Golden Rooster" ( 1923 ), series of essays “Kyiv types” ( 1895-1898 ), “Blessed South”, “Paris at Home” (both 1927 ), literary portraits, stories for children, feuilletons. In 1937 Kuprin returned to the USSR.
Kuprin’s works provide a broad panorama of Russian life, covering almost all layers of society 1890-1910s.; the traditions of everyday life prose of the second half of the 19th century are combined with elements of symbolism. A number of works embodied the writer’s attraction to romantic plots and heroic images. A. Kuprin's prose is distinguished by its figurativeness, authenticity in the depiction of characters, richness in everyday details, and colorful language that includes argotisms.
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is a famous writer, a classic of Russian literature, whose most significant works are “The Junkers”, “The Duel”, “The Pit”, “The Garnet Bracelet” and “The White Poodle”. Kuprin’s short stories about Russian life, emigration, and animals are also considered high art.
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. Lyubov Alekseevna’s mother, who also came from a noble family, had to move to a 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 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 of the Russian Empire. The problem was that Alexander did not have any civilian specialty. Only after meeting him does he manage to find a 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 his early works. 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. He published the story “The White Poodle,” which later became a classic of children’s literature, his memoirs about his 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 a large number of short stories, including the philosophical parable about beauty “The 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 from a complex form of 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, Alexei Egorov, died due to injuries received during World War II, the line of the famous writer was interrupted, and today his 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 he would be able to return to work in his homeland, but his 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”