The biography of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is the most important thing. Kuprin's last years

Alexander Kuprin as a writer, a person and a collection of legends about his turbulent life is a special love of the Russian reader, akin to the first youthful feeling for life. Ivan Bunin, who was jealous of his generation and rarely gave out praise, undoubtedly understood the inequality of everything written by Kuprin, nevertheless called him a writer by the grace of God.

And yet it seems that by his character Alexander Kuprin should have become not a writer, but rather one of his heroes - circus strongman, an aviator, the leader of the Balaklava fishermen, a horse thief, or perhaps he would have tamed his violent temper somewhere in a monastery (by the way, he made such an attempt). The cult of physical strength, a penchant for excitement, risk, and violence distinguished the young Kuprin. And later, he loved to measure his strength against life: at the age of forty-three he suddenly began to learn stylish swimming from the world record holder Romanenko, together with the first Russian pilot Sergei Utochkin he climbed the hot-air balloon, descended in a diving suit to the seabed, and flew with the famous fighter and aviator Ivan Zaikin on a Farman plane. However, the spark of God, apparently, cannot be extinguished.

Kuprin was born in the town of Narovchat Penza province August 26 (September 7), 1870. His father, a minor official, died of cholera when the boy was not even two years old. In the family left without funds, besides Alexander, there were two more children. The mother of the future writer Lyubov Alekseevna, nee Princess Kulunchakova, came from Tatar princes, and Kuprin loved to remember his Tatar blood There was even a time when he wore a skullcap. In the novel “Junkers”, he wrote about his autobiographical hero: “... the frenzied blood of the Tatar princes, the uncontrollable and indomitable ancestors on his mother’s side, pushing him to harsh and rash actions, distinguished him among the dozens of junkers.”

In 1874, Lyubov Alekseevna, a woman, according to her memoirs, “with a strong, unyielding character and high nobility,” decides to move to Moscow. There they settle in the common room of the Widow's House (described by Kuprin in the story “Holy Lie”). Two years later, due to extreme poverty, she sends her son to the Alexander Orphanage School for Children. For six-year-old Sasha, a period of existence in a barracks situation begins - seventeen years long.

In 1880 he entered the Cadet Corps. Here the boy, yearning for home and freedom, becomes close to teacher Tsukhanov (in the story “At the Turning Point” - Trukhanov), a writer who “remarkably artistically” read Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev to his students. The teenager Kuprin also begins to try his hand at literature - as a poet, of course; Who at this age has not at least once crumpled a piece of paper with the first poem! He is interested in the then fashionable poetry of Nadson. At the same time, Cadet Kuprin is already a convinced democrat: the “progressive” ideas of the time seeped even through the walls of a closed military school. He angrily denounces in rhymed form the “conservative publisher” M. N. Katkov and the Tsar himself Alexandra III, denounces the “vile, terrible thing” of the royal trial of Alexander Ulyanov and his accomplices who attempted to assassinate the monarch.

At the age of eighteen, Alexander Kuprin entered the Third Alexander Junker School in Moscow. According to the recollections of his classmate L.A. Limontov, he was no longer a “nondescript, small, clumsy cadet,” but a strong young man who valued the honor of his uniform most of all, a dexterous gymnast, a lover of dancing, who fell in love with every pretty partner.

His first appearance in print also dates back to the Junker period - on December 3, 1889, Kuprin’s story “The Last Debut” appeared in the magazine “Russian Satirical Leaflet”. This story really almost became the first and last literary debut of the cadet. Later he recalled how, having received a fee of ten rubles for a story (for him then huge amount), to celebrate, he bought his mother “goat boots”, and with the remaining ruble he rushed to the arena to prance on a horse (Kuprin was very fond of horses and considered this the “call of the ancestors”). A few days later, a magazine with his story caught the eye of one of the teachers, and cadet Kuprin was summoned to his superiors: “Kuprin, your story?” - "Yes sir!" - “To the punishment cell!” A future officer was not supposed to engage in such “frivolous” things. Like any debutant, he, of course, longed for compliments and in the punishment cell he read his story to a retired soldier, an old school guy. He listened carefully and said: “Nicely written, your honor! But you just can’t understand anything.” The story was really weak.

After the Alexander School, Second Lieutenant Kuprin was sent to the Dnieper Infantry Regiment, which was stationed in Proskurov, Podolsk province. Four years of life “in an incredible wilderness, in one of the border southwestern towns. Eternal dirt, herds of pigs on the streets, huts smeared with clay and dung...” (“To Glory”), hours-long training of soldiers, gloomy officer revelries and vulgar romances with local “lionesses” made him think about the future, as he thought about the hero of his famous story “The Duel,” second lieutenant Romashov, who dreamed of military glory, but after the savagery of provincial army life, he decided to retire.

These years gave Kuprin knowledge of military life, the customs of the small-town intelligentsia, the customs of the Polesie village, and subsequently gave the reader such works as “Inquiry”, “Overnight”, “Night Shift”, “Wedding”, “Slavic Soul”, “Millionaire” , “Jew”, “Coward”, “Telegraphist”, “Olesya” and others.

At the end of 1893, Kuprin submitted his resignation and left for Kyiv. By that time he was the author of the story “In the Dark” and the story “ Moonlit night"(magazine "Russian Wealth"), written in the style of heartbreaking melodrama. He decides to take up literature seriously, but this “lady” does not fall into his hands so easily. According to him, he suddenly found himself in the position of a college girl who was taken at night into the wilds of the Olonets forests and abandoned without clothes, food or a compass; “...I had no knowledge, either scientific or everyday,” he writes in his “Autobiography.” In it, he gives a list of professions that he tried to master after taking off his military uniform: he was a reporter for Kiev newspapers, a manager during the construction of a house, he grew tobacco, served in a technical office, was a psalm-reader, played in the theater of the city of Sumy, studied dentistry, tried to get a haircut in monks, worked in a forge and carpentry workshop, unloaded watermelons, taught at a school for the blind, worked at the Yuzovsky steel mill (described in the story “Moloch”)...

This period ended with the publication of a small collection of essays, “Kyiv Types,” which can be considered Kuprin’s first literary “drill.” Over the next five years, he made a rather serious breakthrough as a writer: in 1896 he published the story “Moloch” in “Russian Wealth”, where the rebellious working class was shown on a large scale for the first time, he published the first collection of stories “Miniatures” (1897), which included “Dog happiness”, “Stoletnik”, “Breguet”, “Allez!” and others, followed by the story “Olesya” (1898), the story “Night Shift” (1899), the story “At the Turning Point” (“Cadets”; 1900).

In 1901, Kuprin came to St. Petersburg as a fairly famous writer. He was already familiar with Ivan Bunin, who immediately upon arrival introduced him to the house of Alexandra Arkadyevna Davydova, publisher of the popular literary magazine “World of God.” There were rumors about her in St. Petersburg that she locked writers who asked her for an advance in her office, gave them ink, a pen, paper, three bottles of beer, and released them only if they had a finished story, immediately giving them a fee. In this house, Kuprin found his first wife - the bright, Spanish Maria Karlovna Davydova, the adopted daughter of a publisher.

A capable student of her mother, she also had a firm hand in dealing with the writing brethren. At least during the seven years of their marriage - the time of Kuprin’s greatest and stormiest fame - she managed to keep him at his desk for quite long periods (even to the point of depriving him of breakfast, after which Alexander Ivanovich fell asleep). During her tenure, works were written that put Kuprin in the first rank of Russian writers: the stories “Swamp” (1902), “Horse Thieves” (1903), “White Poodle” (1904), the story “Duel” (1905), the stories “Staff Captain Rybnikov", "River of Life" (1906).

After the release of “The Duel,” written under the great ideological influence of the “petrel of the revolution” Gorky, Kuprin becomes an all-Russian celebrity. Attacks on the army, exaggeration of colors - downtrodden soldiers, ignorant, drunken officers - all this “appealed” to the tastes of the revolutionary-minded intelligentsia, who also defeated the Russian fleet in Russian-Japanese war I considered it a victory. This story, without a doubt, was written by the hand of a great master, but today it is perceived in a slightly different historical dimension.

Kuprin passes the most powerful test - fame. “It was time,” Bunin recalled, “when the publishers of newspapers, magazines and collections on reckless cars chased him around... restaurants, where he spent days and nights with his casual and regular drinking companions, and humiliatedly begged him to take a thousand, two thousands of rubles in advance for the mere promise not to forget them on occasion with his mercy, and he, heavyset, large-faced, just squinted, was silent and suddenly abruptly said in such an ominous whisper: “Get to hell this very minute!” - what? timid people it was as if they immediately fell through the ground.” Dirty taverns and expensive restaurants, poor tramps and polished snobs of St. Petersburg bohemia, gypsy singers and races, finally, an important general, thrown into a pool with sterlet... - the whole set of “Russian recipes” for the treatment of melancholy, which for some reason always noisy glory pours out, he was tried (how can one not recall the phrase of Shakespeare’s hero: “What is the melancholy of a great-spirited man expressed in? That he wants to drink”).

By this time, the marriage with Maria Karlovna had apparently exhausted itself, and Kuprin, unable to live by inertia, with youthful ardor fell in love with his daughter Lydia’s teacher, the small, fragile Lisa Heinrich. She was an orphan and had already experienced her own bitter story: she had been a nurse in the Russian-Japanese War and returned from there not only with medals, but also with broken hearted. When Kuprin, without delay, declared his love to her, she immediately left their house, not wanting to be the cause of family discord. Following her, Kuprin also left home, renting a room at the Palais Royal hotel in St. Petersburg.

For several weeks he has been rushing around the city in search of poor Lisa and, of course, acquires a sympathetic company... When his great friend and admirer of talent, Professor of St. Petersburg University Fyodor Dmitrievich Batyushkov, realized that there would be no end to these madnesses, he found Lisa in a small hospital, where she got a job as a nurse. What was he talking to her about? Maybe that she should save the pride of Russian literature... It is unknown. Only Elizaveta Moritsovna’s heart trembled and she agreed to immediately go to Kuprin; however, with one firm condition: Alexander Ivanovich must undergo treatment. In the spring of 1907, the two of them went to the Finnish sanatorium “Helsingfors”. This great passion for the little woman became the reason for the creation of the wonderful story “Shulamith” (1907) - the Russian “Song of Songs”. In 1908, their daughter Ksenia was born, who would later write the memoirs “Kuprin is my father.”

From 1907 to 1914, Kuprin created such significant works as the stories “Gambrinus” (1907), “ Garnet bracelet"(1910), the cycle of stories "Listrigons" (1907-1911), in 1912 he began work on the novel "The Pit". When it came out, critics saw in it an exposure of another social evil in Russia - prostitution, while Kuprin considered paid “priestesses of love” to be victims of social temperament from time immemorial.

By this time he had already dispersed political views with Gorky, moved away from revolutionary democracy. Kuprin called the war of 1914 fair and liberating, for which he was accused of “official patriotism.” A large photograph of him appeared in the St. Petersburg newspaper “Nov” with the caption: “A. I. Kuprin, drafted into the active army.” However, he did not go to the front - he was sent to Finland to train recruits. In 1915, he was declared unfit for military service due to health reasons, and he returned home to Gatchina, where his family lived at that time.

After the seventeenth year, Kuprin, despite several attempts, did not find a common language with the new government (although, under the patronage of Gorky, he even met with Lenin, but he did not see in him a “clear ideological position”) and left Gatchina along with Yudenich’s retreating army. In 1920, the Kuprins ended up in Paris.

After the revolution, about 150 thousand emigrants from Russia settled in France. Paris became the Russian literary capital - Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Zinaida Gippius, Ivan Bunin and Alexey Tolstoy, Ivan Shmelev and Alexey Remizov, Nadezhda Teffi and Sasha Cherny, and many other famous writers lived here. All kinds of Russian societies were formed, newspapers and magazines were published... There was even this joke: two Russians meet on a Parisian boulevard. “Well, how do you like life here?” - “It’s okay, you can live, there’s just one problem: there are too many French.”

At first, while the illusion of his homeland being taken away with him still persisted, Kuprin tried to write, but his gift gradually faded away, like his once powerful health; more and more often he complained that he could not work here, because he was accustomed to “writing off” his heroes from life . “They are a wonderful people,” Kuprin said about the French, “but they don’t speak Russian, and in the shop and in the pub - everywhere it’s not our way... Which means this is what it is - you’ll live, you’ll live, and you’ll stop writing.”

His most significant work of the emigrant period is the autobiographical novel “Junker” (1928-1933).

He became more and more quiet, sentimental - unusual for his acquaintances. Sometimes, however, the hot Kuprin blood still made itself felt. One day, the writer and friends were returning from a country restaurant by taxi, and they started talking about literature. The poet Ladinsky called “The Duel” his best work. Kuprin insisted that the best of everything he wrote was “The Garnet Bracelet”: it contains the lofty, precious feelings of people. Ladinsky called this story implausible. Kuprin became furious: “The Garnet Bracelet is true!” and challenged Ladinsky to a duel. WITH with great difficulty managed to dissuade him by driving around the city all night, as Lydia Arsenyeva recalled (“Far Shores.” M.: “Respublika”, 1994).

Apparently, Kuprin really had something very personal connected with the “Garnet Bracelet”. At the end of his life, he himself began to resemble his hero - the aged Zheltkov. “Seven years of hopeless and polite love” Zheltkov wrote unrequited letters to Princess Vera Nikolaevna. The aged Kuprin was often seen in a Parisian bistro, where he sat alone with a bottle of wine and wrote Love letters to an unfamiliar woman. The magazine “Ogonyok” (1958, No. 6) published a poem by the writer, possibly composed at that time. There are these lines:

And no one in the world will know
That for years, every hour and moment,
It languishes and suffers from love
Polite, attentive old man.

Before leaving for Russia in 1937, he recognized few people, and they hardly recognized him. Bunin writes in his “Memoirs”: “... I once met him on the street and gasped inwardly: there was no trace left of the former Kuprin! He walked with small, pitiful steps, trudged so thin and weak that it seemed that the first gust of wind would blow him off his feet...”

When his wife took Kuprin to Soviet Russia, the Russian emigration did not condemn him, understanding that he was going there to die (although such things were perceived painfully in the emigrant environment; they said, for example, that Alexei Tolstoy simply fled to the “Sovdepia” from debts and creditors). For the Soviet government it was politics. A note appeared in the Pravda newspaper on June 1, 1937: “On May 31, the famous Russian pre-revolutionary writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, who returned from emigration to his homeland, arrived in Moscow. At the Belorussky railway station, A.I. Kuprin was met by representatives of the literary community and the Soviet press.”

Kuprin was settled in a rest home for writers near Moscow. One sunny summer day, Baltic sailors came to visit him. Alexander Ivanovich was carried out in a chair onto the lawn, where the sailors sang for him in chorus, came up, shook his hand, said that they had read his “Duel”, thanked him... Kuprin was silent and suddenly began to cry loudly (from the memoirs of N. D. Teleshov “Notes of a Writer ").

He died on August 25, 1938 in Leningrad. In his last years as an emigrant, he often said that one should die in Russia, at home, like an animal that goes to die in its den. I would like to think that he passed away calmed and reconciled.

In literature, the name of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin is associated with an important transitional stage at the turn of two centuries. Not the least role in this was played by the historical breakdown in the political and social life of Russia. This factor undoubtedly had the strongest influence on the writer’s work. A.I. Kuprin is a man of unusual destiny and strong character. Almost all of his works are based on real events. An ardent fighter for justice, he sharply, boldly and at the same time lyrically created his masterpieces, which were included in the golden fund of Russian literature.

Kuprin was born in 1870 in the town of Narovchat, Penza province. His father, a small landowner, died suddenly when the future writer was only a year old. Left with his mother and two sisters, he grew up enduring hunger and all kinds of hardships. Experiencing serious financial difficulties associated with the death of her husband, the mother placed her daughters in a government boarding school, and together with little Sasha moved to Moscow.

Kuprin’s mother, Lyubov Alekseevna, was a proud woman, as she was a descendant of a noble Tatar family, as well as a native Muscovite. But she had to make a difficult decision for herself - to send her son to be raised in an orphan school.

Kuprin's childhood years, spent within the boarding school walls, were joyless, and internal state always seemed depressed. He felt out of place, felt bitterness from the constant oppression of his personality. After all, taking into account his mother’s origins, of which the boy was always very proud, the future writer, as he grew older and became an emotional, active and charismatic person.

Youth and education

After graduating from the orphan school, Kuprin entered a military gymnasium, which was later transformed into a cadet corps.

This event largely influenced the future fate of Alexander Ivanovich and, first of all, his work. After all, it was from the beginning of his studies at the gymnasium that he first discovered his interest in writing, and the image of Second Lieutenant Romashov from the famous story “The Duel” is the prototype of the author himself.

Service in an infantry regiment allowed Kuprin to visit many remote cities and provinces of Russia, study military affairs, the basics of army discipline and drill. The topic of officer everyday life has taken a strong position in many works of art the author, which subsequently caused controversial debates in society.

It would seem that, military career- the fate of Alexander Ivanovich. But his rebellious nature did not allow this to happen. By the way, service was completely alien to him. There is a version that Kuprin, while under the influence of alcohol, threw a police officer from the bridge into the water. In connection with this incident, he soon resigned and left military affairs forever.

History of success

After leaving the service, Kuprin experienced an urgent need to obtain comprehensive knowledge. Therefore, he began to actively travel around Russia, meet people, and learn a lot of new and useful things from communicating with them. At the same time, Alexander Ivanovich sought to try his hand at different professions. He gained experience in the field of surveyors, circus performers, fishermen, even pilots. However, one of the flights almost ended in tragedy: as a result of the plane crash, Kuprin almost died.

He also worked with interest as a journalist in various printed publications, wrote notes, essays, articles. The spirit of an adventurer allowed him to successfully develop everything he started. He was open to everything new and absorbed what was happening around him like a sponge. Kuprin was a researcher by nature: he greedily studied human nature, wanted to experience all the facets of interpersonal communication for himself. Therefore, in time military service, faced with obvious officer licentiousness, hazing and humiliation of human dignity, the creator in a damning manner formed the basis for writing his most famous works, such as “The Duel”, “Junkers”, “At the Turning Point (Cadets)”.

The writer built the plots of all his works based solely on personal experience and the memories he received during his service and travels around Russia. Openness, simplicity, sincerity in the presentation of thoughts, as well as the reliability of the description of characters’ images became the key to the author’s success in the literary path.

Creation

Kuprin longed for his people with all his soul, and his explosive and honest character, due to his mother’s Tatar origin, would not allow him to distort in writing those facts about the lives of people that he personally witnessed.

However, Alexander Ivanovich did not condemn all of his characters, even bringing their dark sides to the surface. Being a humanist and a desperate fighter for justice, Kuprin figuratively demonstrated this feature of his in the work “The Pit”. It tells about the life of the inhabitants brothels. But the writer does not focus on the heroines as fallen women, on the contrary, he invites readers to understand the prerequisites for their fall, the torment of their hearts and souls, and invites them to discern in each libertine, first of all, a person.

More than one of Kuprin’s works is imbued with the theme of love. The most striking of them is the story ““. In it, as in “The Pit,” there is the image of a narrator, an explicit or implicit participant in the events described. But the narrator in Oles is one of the two main characters. This is a story about noble love, partly the heroine considers herself unworthy of it, whom everyone takes for a witch. However, the girl has nothing in common with her. On the contrary, her image embodies all possible feminine virtues. The ending of the story cannot be called happy, because the heroes are not reunited in their sincere impulse, but are forced to lose each other. But happiness for them lies in the fact that in their lives they had the opportunity to experience the power of all-consuming mutual love.

Of course, the story “The Duel” deserves special attention as a reflection of all the horrors of army morals that reigned then in Tsarist Russia. This is a clear confirmation of the features of realism in Kuprin’s work. Perhaps that is why the story caused a storm negative reviews critics and the public. Romashov's hero, in the same rank of second lieutenant as Kuprin himself, who once retired, like the author, appears before readers in the light of an extraordinary personality, whose psychological growth we have the opportunity to observe from page to page. This book brought wide fame to its creator and rightfully occupies one of the central places in his bibliography.

Kuprin did not support the revolution in Russia, even though at first he met Lenin quite often. Ultimately, the writer emigrated to France, where he continued his literary work. In particular, Alexander Ivanovich loved to write for children. Some of his stories (“White Poodle”, ““, “Starlings”) undoubtedly deserve the attention of the target audience.

Personal life

Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was married twice. The writer's first wife was Maria Davydova, the daughter of a famous cellist. The marriage produced a daughter, Lydia, who later died during childbirth. Kuprin's only grandson, who was born, died from wounds received during the Second World War.

The second time the writer married Elizaveta Heinrich, with whom he lived until the end of his days. The marriage produced two daughters, Zinaida and Ksenia. But the first one died in early childhood from pneumonia, and the second became a famous actress. However, there was no continuation of the Kuprin family, and today he has no direct descendants.

Kuprin's second wife survived him by only four years and, unable to withstand the ordeal of hunger during the siege of Leningrad, committed suicide.

1. Kuprin was proud of his Tatar origin, so he often put on a national caftan and skullcap, going out to people in such attire and going to visit people.
2. Partly thanks to his acquaintance with I. A. Bunin, Kuprin became a writer. Bunin once approached him with a request to write a note on a topic that interested him, which marked the beginning literary activity Alexander Ivanovich.
3. The author was famous for his sense of smell. Once, while visiting Fyodor Chaliapin, he shocked everyone present, eclipsing the invited perfumer with his unique flair, unmistakably recognizing all the components of the new fragrance. Sometimes, when meeting new people, Alexander Ivanovich sniffed them, thereby putting everyone in an awkward position. They said that this helped him better understand the essence of the person in front of him.
4. Throughout his life, Kuprin changed about twenty professions.
5. After meeting A.P. Chekhov in Odessa, the writer went at his invitation to St. Petersburg to work in a famous magazine. Since then, the author acquired a reputation as a rowdy and drunkard, as he often took part in entertainment events in a new environment.
6. The first wife, Maria Davydova, tried to eradicate some of the disorganization inherent in Alexander Ivanovich. If he fell asleep while working, she deprived him of breakfast, or forbade him to enter the house unless new chapters of the work he was working on at that time were ready.
7. The first monument to A.I. Kuprin was erected only in 2009 in Balaklava in Crimea. This is due to the fact that in 1905, during the Ochakov uprising of sailors, the writer helped them hide, thereby saving their lives.
8. There were legends about the writer's drunkenness. In particular, the wits repeated famous saying: “If truth is in wine, how many truths are there in Kuprin?”

Death

The writer returned from emigration to the USSR in 1937, but with poor health. He had hopes that a second wind would open in his homeland, he would improve his condition and be able to write again. At that time, Kuprin's vision was rapidly deteriorating.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

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 a short biography of Kuprin. 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 young Sasha was 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 The October Revolution became the life of Kuprin. 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 is increasingly beginning 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 that the leader 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 settlements, streets and libraries are named after Kuprin.

If you liked Kuprin’s short biography, share it on social networks.

If you generally like biographies, subscribe to the site website any in a convenient way. It's always interesting with us!

1. Years of study.
2. Resignation, beginning of literary activity.
3. Emigration and return to homeland.

A. I. Kuprin was born in 1870 in county town Narovchat of the Penza province in the family of a minor official, secretary of the world congress. His father Ivan Ivanovich Kuprin died of cholera in August 1871. Almost three years later, the widow Lyubov Alekseevna moved with three children to Moscow, sent her daughters to closed educational establishments, Alexander lived with his mother until he was six years old in Kudrinskoye widow's house. For the next four years, Kuprin studied at the Razumovsky orphanage, where in 1877 he began writing poetry. The story “Brave Fugitives” (1917) is about this period of his life.

After graduating from the boarding school, he enters the Moscow Military Gymnasium (cadet corps). He studies in cadet corps eight years, there he writes lyrical and comic poems, translates from French and German. This period of life is reflected in the story “At the Turning Point” (“Cadets”) (1900). Enters the Alexander Military School, graduating as a second lieutenant in 1890. In 1889, the magazine “Russian Satirical List” published Kuprin’s first story, “The Last Debut.” The author considered the story a failure. For the publication, Kuprin received two days in a punishment cell - the cadets were forbidden to speak in the press. This is described in the novel “Junker” (1928-1932) and in the story “Printing Ink” (1929).

Service in the Dnieper infantry regiment in 1890-1894 was Kuprin’s preparation for a military career, but due to his violent temper when drunk, he was not accepted into the General Staff Academy (the strongman Kuprin threw a policeman into the water).

The lieutenant resigned. His life was stormy, he had the opportunity to try himself in the most different areas, from wanderer to mover and dentist. He was an inveterate adventurer and explorer - he went underwater as a diver, flew an airplane, and created an athletic society. He based many of his life experiences as the basis for his works. The years of service were reflected in the military stories “Inquiry” (1894), “The Lilac Bush” (1894), “Night Shift” (1899), “Hike” (1901), “Overnight” (1895), in the story “Duel” (1904 -1905), the story “The Wedding” (1908).

In 1892, Kuprin began work on the story “In the Dark.” In 1893, the manuscript was transferred to the editors of “Russian Wealth,” an almanac published by V. G. Korolenko, N. K. Mikhailovsky, I. F. Annensky. The story was published in the summer, and already at the end of autumn the story “On a Moonlit Night” was published in the same almanac.

IN early works Kuprin can see how his skill grew. There is less and less imitation, a tendency to psychological analysis. Army-themed stories are distinguished by sympathy for the common man and a keen social orientation. Feuilletons and essays rich colors depict the life of a big city.

After his resignation, Kuprin moved to Kyiv and worked in newspapers. The Kiev period was a fruitful time in Kuprin’s life. He gets acquainted with the life of the townspeople and tells the most interesting things in the collection “Kyiv Types”. These essays appeared at the end of 1895 in the newspaper “Kyiv Slovo”, and in next year are published as a separate book. Kuprin works as an accountant at a steel mill in the Donbass, writes the story “Moloch”, the story “ Wonderful doctor", the book "Miniatures: Essays and Stories", wanders, meets I. A. Bunin. In 1898, he lived with the family of his sister and brother-in-law, a forester, in the Ryazan province. In these wonderful places he began work on the story “Olesya”. Residents of Polesie forests, such as rich inland and external beauty Olesya, continue to interest Kuprin later as an object for depiction - in the story “Horse Thieves” he draws the image of the horse thief Buzyga, a strong, brave hero. In these works, Kuprin creates his “ideal of a natural man.”

In 1899, the story “Night Shift” was published. Kuprin continues to collaborate in newspapers in Kyiv and Rostov-on-Don, and in 1900 he publishes the first version of the story “Cadets” in the Kyiv newspaper “Life and Art”. He leaves for Odessa and Yalta, where he meets Chekhov and works on the story “At the Circus.” In the fall he leaves again for the Ryazan province, taking on a contract to measure six hundred acres of peasant forest. Returning to Moscow, in the same year he joined N.D. Teleshov’s literary circle “Sreda” and met L.N. Andreev and F.I. Chaliapin.

At the end of the year, Kuprin moved to St. Petersburg to head the fiction department at the Magazine for Everyone. Introduced by I. A. Bunin to the publisher of the magazine “World of God” A. Davydova, he publishes there the story “In the Circus”. The story is imbued with the mood of the death of all that is beautiful. Kuprin reconsiders the “ideal of the natural man.” Man is beautiful by nature, capable of inspiring an artist, but in life beauty is belittled, therefore it evokes a feeling of regret, Kuprin believes. Chekhov assessed the story in this way: “Bunin’s “In Autumn” was made with a constrained, tense hand, in any case, Kuprin’s “At the Circus” is much more higher. “At the Circus” is a free, naive, talented work, and, moreover, written, undoubtedly, knowledgeable person" He also informed Kuprin that L.N. Tolstoy also read the work, and he liked it. Changes occur in Kuprin's family life - he marries M. Davydova, his daughter Lydia is born. Now he is a co-editor of the magazine together with A. I. Bogdanovich and F. D. Batyushkov. He is introduced to L.N. Tolstoy, M. Gorky. In 1903, the story “Swamp” appeared in print, and the first volume of works was published.

In Crimea, the writer makes the first drafts of the story “The Duel”, but destroys the manuscript. Based on his impressions of a meeting with a traveling circus, he writes the story “White Poodle.” At the beginning of 1904, Kuprin resigned from editorship of the magazine. Kuprin's story "Peaceful Life" was published. He leaves for Odessa, then to Balaklava.

Kuprin was far from revolutionary movement, but the approach of the revolution was reflected in his work - it acquired a critical, revealing beginning. The essay “Frenzy” (1904), which expresses Kuprin’s ideological position, satirically depicts the “masters of life”; the joy of the idle public is depicted in contrast among the quiet, lyrical southern night. The stories "Measles", "The Good Society" and "The Priest" depict the conflict between the "good society" and the democratic intelligentsia. In reality, “good society” turns out to be mired in fraud; these are rotten people with imaginary virtue and ostentatious nobility.

Kuprin works for a long time on the manuscript of the “duel”, reads excerpts to Gorky and receives his approval, but during the search the gendarmes seized part of the manuscript. When it was published, the story brought fame to the author and caused great resonance in criticism. The writer observes with his own eyes the uprising on the cruiser "Ochakov", for this he travels every day from Balaklava to Sevastopol. He witnessed the shooting of the cruiser and sheltered the surviving sailors. The St. Petersburg newspaper “Our Life” publishes Kuprin’s essay “Events in Sevastopol.” In December, Kuprin was expelled from Balaklava and banned from living there in the future. He dedicated a series of essays “Listrigons” (1907-1911) to this city. In 1906, the second volume of Kuprin's stories was published. In the magazine “World of God” there is a story “Staff Captain Rybnikov.” Kuprin said that he considered “The Duel” to be his first real work, and “Staff Captain Rybnikov” as his best.

In 1907, the writer divorced and married E. Heinrich, and in this marriage a daughter, Ksenia, was born. Kuprin writes “Emerald” and “Shulamith”, publishes another volume of stories. In 1909 he received Pushkin Prize. During this time, he created “River of Life”, “The Pit”, “Gambrinus”, “Garnet Bracelet”, “Liquid Sun” (science fiction with dystopian elements).

In 1918, Kuprin criticized the new times and was arrested. After his release, he leaves for Helsinki and then to Paris, where he actively publishes. But this does not help the family live in prosperity. In 1924, he was offered to return, and only thirteen years later did the seriously ill writer come to Moscow, and then to Leningrad and Gatchina. Kuprin's esophageal disease worsens and in August 1938 he dies.

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. The summary of the biography states that Alexander failed to enter higher education. military educational institution because of the 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. Very emotional and extraordinary person- 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. Explosive temperament, excellent physical shape, he was drawn to try himself, which gave him invaluable life experience and strengthened the 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 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. The summary of the biography states that in the period from 1929 to 1933 the following famous novels: “The Wheel of Time”, “Junker”, “Zhaneta”, and many articles and stories have been 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. Romashova was very annoying 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 them 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 nature, real life and it’s so successful to display this in your 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

Virtuoso of the word - Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, whose biography says that he could very accurately and beautifully describe the landscape in 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 identify the smell different situations and phenomena in his 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 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”. Main characters Chekhov's works 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 writer’s gentleness and sensitivity, he was a strong-willed person, loving 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 pure 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) - prominent representatives 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 new life 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 suicide note 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 secret meaning 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 much to the sphere of literary techniques. However, in later works author, such as “River of Life”, “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 finding my 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 words, as he met the writer I. Bunin, who asked him to write 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.

That's how he is famous writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, a physically strong man with a tender and vulnerable soul and his own quirks. A great lover of life and experimenter, compassionate and with a great desire for justice. Naturalist and realist Kuprin left a large legacy magnificent works, which fully deserve the title of masterpieces.