Alexander is white. Andrey Bely - biography, information, personal life

Bely Andrey is a pseudonym. Real name - Bugaev Boris Nikolaevich, poet.
Born on October 14 (26 NS) in Moscow in the family of a professor at Moscow University. Received an excellent home education. He studied at the gymnasium of the prominent teacher L. Polivanov, where his extraordinary humanitarian talents were revealed, manifested in his studies in literature and philosophy. Among Russian classics, he especially appreciated N. Gogol and F. Dostoevsky. In 1903 he graduated from the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Mathematics of Moscow University. Along with studying the works of Charles Darwin and positivist philosophers, he was interested in theosophy and occultism, religious philosophy and poetry of Vl. Solovyov and the philosophical and poetic works of F. Nietzsche. At the same time, he “took religious issues seriously.”
He belonged to the symbolists of the “younger generation” (together with A. Blok, Vyacheslav Ivanov, S. Solovyov, Ellis). In 1904, the first collection of poems, “Gold in Azure,” was published, supplemented by a special section “Lyrical passages in prose.” A. Bely was one of the theorists of Russian symbolism of the “second wave”, the developer of a new aesthetic worldview. Developing the thesis about music as the dominant form of art and the need to subordinate others to it, he tried to create a literary work according to musical laws: these are his four “symphonies” - “Northern” (1901), “Dramatic”, “Return” (1902), " Cup of Blizzards" (1907), embodying the basic ideas of Russian religious, philosophical, theurgic symbolism. From the “symphonies” begins a direct line to the ornamental style of Bely’s first novel, “Silver Dove,” written a year later.
The revolution of 1905 - 07 forced A. Bely to turn to reality and aroused interest in social problems. In 1909, the collections “Ashes” and then “Urna” were published.
In 1912, together with his wife, the artist A. Turgeneva, he left for Europe, where he became interested in the mystical teachings of R. Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. In 1914 he settled in the anthroposophical center in Switzerland, and together with other followers of Steiner he took part in the construction of St. John's Temple. Here the war finds him, and only in 1916 does he return to Russia.
During these years, prose works occupied the main place in his work. Among them, the most famous is the novel "Petersburg" (1913 - 14, second edition - 1922). A. Bely was not hostile to the October Revolution, although he did not become its singer. In the post-revolutionary years, he taught classes on the theory of poetry with young writers at Proletkult, and published the journal “Notes of Dreamers.”
In the 1920s, the stories “Kotik Letaev” (1922), “The Baptized Chinese” (1927), and the historical epic “Moscow” were written.
A. Bely devoted the last years of his life to writing extensive memoirs that are of extremely great interest for history and literary criticism (“At the turn of two centuries,” 1930, “The beginning of the century. Memoirs,” 1933, “Between two revolutions,” 1934). On January 8, 1934 he died in Moscow.

Andrey Bely, 1924
Hood. A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva

Andrey Bely(1880-1934) – symbolist poet, writer. Real name is Boris Bugaev.

Andrei Bely was born in Moscow, on Arbat, in a house converted into an apartment building from an 18th-century mansion. Some of the apartments belonged to Moscow University, in which its teachers lived. One of the residents was the father of the future poet, professor of mathematics Nikolai Bugaev. Now the Andrei Bely Museum is open in a corner apartment on the second floor.

Boris Bugaev's childhood was marked by family scandals. In many ways, this determined his imbalance and fear of life, and affected his relationships with his fellow writers and life partners. In the second half of the 1900s. he formed two love triangles at once: Bely - Blok - Lyubov Mendeleeva and Bely - Bryusov - Nina Petrovskaya. Both fell apart not in his favor. The subsequent marriage with Anna Turgeneva actually ended in 1916, when Andrei Bely returned from Switzerland to Russia.

The tragic perception of reality led Andrei Bely to treat the revolution as a renewal of Russia. But when it happened, and he “huddled in the apartment of his friends, heating the stove with his manuscripts, starving and standing in lines,” he considered it best to leave for Germany in 1921. Emigration did not accept him, nor did Anna Turgeneva, who formally remained his wife, and two years later he returned. Andrei Bely did not become a Soviet writer. According to Bulgakov, he “all his life... wrote wild, broken nonsense. Recently he decided to turn his face to communism. But he turned extremely unsuccessfully.”

Andrei Bely: “I was left alone at the age of 4. And since then I haven’t stopped breaking down, even alone with myself. I still make grimaces in the mirror when I shave. After all, a grimace is the same mask. I’m always wearing a mask! Always!”

Biography of Andrei Bely

• 1880. October 14 (26) - in Moscow, son Boris was born into the family of mathematician, Moscow State University professor Nikolai Vasilyevich Bugaev and his wife Alexandra Dmitrievna Bugaeva (nee Egorova).
• 1891. September - Boris Bugaev entered the Moscow private gymnasium L.I. Polivanova.
• 1895. End of the year - acquaintance with Sergei Solovyov, and soon with his uncle, philosopher Vladimir Solovyov.
• 1899. September - Boris Bugaev entered the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University.
• 1900. January-December – work on the “Northern Symphony” and a cycle of symbolist poems. Spring – passion for philosophical works and poetry of V.S. Solovyova.
• 1901. February – meeting with M.K. Morozova at a symphony concert, the beginning of “mysterial love” and anonymous correspondence. March-August – work on the “2nd Dramatic Symphony”. December – meeting V.Ya. Bryusov, D.S. Merezhkovsky and Z.N. Gippius.
• 1902. April – release of the “2nd Dramatic Symphony”. The first publication by Boris Bugaev, also for the first time signed under the pseudonym Andrey Bely. Autumn - Andrei Bely met S.P. Diaghilev and A.N. Benoit. Articles in the magazine "World of Art".
• 1903. January - beginning of correspondence with A. Blok. February-April – Andrei Bely’s debut in the almanac “Northern Flowers”. March – meeting K.D. Balmont, M.A. Voloshin, S.A. Sokolov (owner of the Grif publishing house). May – university diploma. May 29 – death of father Andrei Bely. Autumn - the Argonauts circle. The beginning of “mysterical love” for Nina Petrovskaya.
• 1904. January - Bely met Alexander Blok and his wife Lyubov Dmitrievna. March – release of Bely’s first collection of poems, “Gold in Azure”. Summer – admission to the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University.
• 1905. January 9 – Andrei Bely – witness of Bloody Sunday. February - upon returning to Moscow, a challenge to a duel from Bryusov. There was a reconciliation. April – personal acquaintance with M.K. Morozova, participation in meetings of the Religious and Philosophical Society named after Vladimir Solovyov held in her mansion. June - arrival in Shakhmatovo to Blok, written declaration of love to Lyubov Dmitrievna Blok. October 3 – participation in the funeral of N.E. Bauman. November – meeting Asya Turgeneva.
• 1906. February 26 – declaration of love to L.D. Block. Autumn - petition for expulsion from the university and departure to Europe.
• 1907. End of February - return to Moscow. August - Blok challenged Andrei Bely to a duel. During a personal meeting, the conflict was resolved.
• 1908. February - meeting with Asya Turgeneva. April – release of the collection “Blizzard Cup. Fourth Symphony”. December – a mystical rapprochement with the theosophist A.R. Mintslova.
• 1909. End of March - release of the collection of poems by Andrei Bely "Urna: Poems". April - the beginning of an affair with Asya Turgeneva. August-September - participation in the organization of the publishing house "Musaget".
• 1910. November 26 – departure with Asya Turgeneva on a trip abroad.
• 1911. April 22 - Andrei Bely returned to Russia.
• 1912. Departure of Andrei Bely with Asya Turgeneva to Europe. May – meeting with the head of the anthroposophical school, Rudolf Steiner. The decision to take the path of anthroposophical “discipleship.”
• 1913. March 11 – Andrei Bely and Asya Turgeneva return to Russia. August-December – Steiner lectures in Europe. Participation in the construction of the anthroposophical temple of the Goetheanum in Dornach (Switzerland).
• 1914. March 23 – registration of the civil marriage of Andrei Bely and Asya Turgeneva in Bern.
• 1915. January-June - Andrei Bely wrote the book “Rudolf Steiner and Goethe in the worldview of our time.” February-August – work on the construction of the Goetheanum. October – the beginning of work on the novel “Kotik Letaev”.
• 1916. January-August – work on the construction of the Goetheanum. August 18 – September 3 – Andrei Bely’s return to Russia due to conscription. Asya Turgeneva remained in Dornach. September – three-month deferment from military service.
• 1917. January - two-month deferment from military service. February 28 – revolution in Petrograd. March 9 – Andrei Bely returns to Moscow. December – rapprochement with K.N. Vasilyeva.
• 1918. October-December - service in the Moscow Proletkult and in the Theater Department of the People's Commissariat of Education.
• 1919. August - Andrei Bely leaves Proletkult.
• 1920. December - as a result of an accident, Andrei Bely was injured, requiring three months of treatment in hospitals.
• 1921. May 25 – last meeting with A. Blok at the Spartak Hotel in Petrograd. August 7 – death of Alexander Blok. August 11 - Andrei Bely began writing memoirs about Blok. October 17 – meeting at the All-Russian Writers' Union dedicated to seeing off A. Bely abroad. October 20 – Bely left for Berlin. End of November – meeting with Asya Turgeneva and R. Steiner.
• 1922. April - breakup with Asya Turgeneva. Release of the collection "Star". September – article by Andrei Bely “Maxim Gorky”. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary." September 20 - Andrei Bely's mother, Alexandra Dmitrievna Bugaeva, died in Moscow.
• 1923. January – arrival in Berlin of K.N. Vasilyeva. February-March - collaboration in the magazine "Conversation", published in Berlin under the editorship of Maxim Gorky. October 26 – Andrei Bely returns to Moscow.
• 1924. June-September - vacation with K.N. Vasilyeva in Koktebel with Maximilian Voloshin. Last meeting with Bryusov.
• 1925. End of March - Andrei Bely and K.N. Vasiliev settled in the village of Kuchino near Moscow. The end of August - on one of his visits to Moscow, Andrei Bely was hit by a tram.
• 1927. April - early July - vacation with K.N. Vasilyeva in Georgia.
• 1928. March 17-26 – essay “Why I became a symbolist and why I did not stop being one at all phases of my ideological and artistic development.” May-August – vacation with K.N. Vasilyeva in Armenia and Georgia.
• 1929. February-April – work on the memoirs “At the turn of two centuries”. April-August – vacation with K.N. Vasilyeva in the Caucasus.
• 1930. January – release of memoirs “At the turn of two centuries”. June-September – vacation in Crimea, in Sudak. Last meeting in Koktebel with M. Voloshin.
• 1931. April 9 – moving with K.N. Vasilyeva for permanent residence in Detskoe Selo. May 30 – arrest of K.N. Vasilyeva. July 3 – release of K.N. Vasilyeva. July 18 – registration of marriage of Andrei Bely with K.N. Vasilyeva (from now on - Bugaeva). August 31 – letter from I.V. Stalin. December 30 – departure to Moscow.
• 1933. January – publication of the novel “Masks”. February 11 and 27 – evenings of Andrei Bely at the Polytechnic Museum. July 15 – Andrei Bely received sunstroke in Koktebel. August – return to Moscow and treatment. November – the release of the memoirs “The Beginning of the Century” with a devastating foreword by L.B. Kameneva. December 8 – Andrei Bely in the hospital. December 29 – diagnosis: cerebral hemorrhage.
• 1934. January 8 - Andrei Bely died in the presence of his wife and doctors. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Poems by Andrei Bely

Poem "In the Fields" Andrei Bely wrote in 1904.

Poem "Memory" Andrei Bely wrote in St. Petersburg in September 1908.

Poem "I forgot everything" Andrei Bely wrote in March 1906.

Poem "July Day" Andrei Bely wrote in 1920.

Poem "Magician" Andrei Bely wrote in 1903 Addressed to Valery Bryusov.

Poem "Alone" Andrei Bely wrote in December 1900. Dedicated to Sergei Lvovich Kobylinsky.

Poem "Ashes. Russia. Despair" Andrei Bely wrote in July 1908. Dedicated to 3.N. Gippius.

Poem "Russia" Andrei Bely wrote in December 1916.

Like many other contemporary Russian writers, Andrei Bely became famous under a pseudonym. His real name is Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev. [Cm. also see the article Andrei Bely - life and works.] He was born in Moscow in 1880 - the same year as Blok. His father, Professor Bugaev (Professor Letaev in his son's works), was an outstanding mathematician, correspondent of Weierstrass and Poincare, dean of the faculty of Moscow University. His son inherited from him an interest in the most difficult mathematical problems to understand.

He studied at the private gymnasium of L. I. Polivanov, one of the best teachers in Russia at that time, who instilled in him a deep interest in Russian poets. In his youth, Bely met with the great philosopher Vladimir Solovyov and early became an expert in his mystical teachings. Bely became close to Solovyov’s nephew, the poet Sergei. Both of them were imbued with an ecstatic expectation of the apocalypse; they quite realistically and concretely believed that the first years of the new, 20th century would bring a new revelation - the revelation of the Female Hypostasis, Sophia, and that her coming would completely change and transform life. These expectations increased even more when friends learned about Blok's visions and poetry.

Russian poets of the twentieth century. Andrey Bely

At this time, Andrei Bely studied at Moscow University, which took him eight years: he received a diploma in philosophy and mathematics. Despite his brilliant abilities, the professors looked askance at him because of his “decadent” writings - some did not even shake hands with him at his father’s funeral. The first of the "decadent" writings (prose) appeared in 1902 under the annoying title Symphony (Second dramatic). Several exceptionally subtle critics (M. S. Solovyov - Sergei’s father, Bryusov and Merezhkovsky with Gippius) immediately recognized something completely new and promising here. This almost mature work gives a complete picture of both Bely's humor and his amazing gift for writing musically organized prose. But critics reacted to this “symphony” and what followed with indignation and anger, and for several years Bely replaced Bryusov (who was beginning to be recognized) as the main target of attacks on the “decadents.” He was called an obscene clown, whose antics desecrated the sacred field of literature. The attitude of the critics is understandable: almost all of Bely’s works undoubtedly contain an element of tomfoolery. Behind Second Symphony followed First (Northern, heroic, 1904), Third (Return, 1905) and Fourth (Blizzard Cup, 1908), as well as a collection of poems Gold in azure(1904) - and everyone received the same reception.

In 1905, Bely (like most Symbolists) was captured by the wave revolution, which he tried to combine with Solovyov’s mysticism. But the degeneration of the revolution into criminal anarchy caused Bely to become depressed, as did Blok, and he lost faith in his mystical ideals. Depression poured out in two collections of poetry that appeared in 1909: realistic - Ash, where he picks up the Nekrasov tradition, and Urn, where he talks about his wanderings through an abstract desert neo-Kantian metaphysics. But Bely’s despair is devoid of Blok’s gloomy and tragic bitterness, and the reader inevitably takes it less seriously, especially since Bely himself constantly distracts him with his humorous courbettes.

All this time, Bely wrote volume after volume of prose: he wrote brilliant, but fantastic and impressionistic critical articles, in which he explained writers from the point of view of his mystical symbolism; wrote expositions of his metaphysical theories. Symbolists highly valued him, but he was almost unknown to the general public. In 1909 he published his first novel - Silver Dove. This remarkable work, which was soon to have a huge influence on Russian prose, initially went almost unnoticed. In 1910, Bely read a number of reports at the St. Petersburg “Poetic Academy” on Russian prosody - a date from which the very existence of Russian prosody as a branch of science can be counted.

In 1911, he married a girl who bore the poetic name Asya Turgeneva and was indeed a relative of the famous writer. The following year, the young couple met the famous German “anthroposophist” Rudolf Steiner. Steiner's "anthroposophy" is a crudely concretized and detailed elaboration of the symbolist worldview, which considers the human microcosm to be parallel in every detail to the universal macrocosm. Bely and his wife were fascinated by Steiner and lived for four years in his magical establishment in Dornach, near Basel (“Goetheanum”). They took part in the construction of the Johanneum, which was to be built only by Steiner adherents, without the intervention of the unenlightened, i.e. professional builders. During this time, Bely published his second novel Petersburg(1913) and wrote Kotika Letaeva, which was published in 1917. When it broke out World War I, he took a pacifist position. In 1916 he had to return to Russia for military service. But the revolution saved him from being sent to the front. Like Blok, he came under the influence Ivanov-Razumnik and his Scythian"Revolutionary messianism. Bolsheviks Bely welcomed it as a liberating and destructive storm that would destroy the decrepit “humanistic” European civilization. In his (very weak) poem Christ is risen(1918) he, even more persistently than Blok, identifies Bolshevism with Christianity.

Like Blok, Bely very soon lost faith in this identity, but, unlike Blok, he did not fall into dull prostration. On the contrary, it was precisely in the worst years of Bolshevism (1918–1921) that he developed a vigorous activity, inspired by the belief in the great mystical revival of Russia, growing in spite of the Bolsheviks. It seemed to him that in Russia, before his eyes, a new “culture of eternity” was emerging, which would replace the humanistic civilization of Europe. And indeed, during these terrible years of famine, deprivation and terror, an amazing flowering of mystical and spiritualistic creativity took place in Russia. White became the center of this fermentation. He founded the “Wolfila” (Free Philosophical Association), where the most burning problems of mystical metaphysics in their practical aspect were freely, sincerely and originally discussed. He published Notes of a Dreamer(1919-1922), a non-periodical magazine, a mixture that contains almost all the best that was published during these difficult two years. He taught versification to proletarian poets and gave lectures with incredible energy almost every day.

During this period, in addition to many small works, he wrote Notes from an eccentric, The crime of Nikolai Letaev(continuation Kotika Letaeva), a great poem First date And Memories of Blok. Together with Blok and Gorky (who did not write anything at that time and therefore did not count), he was the largest figure in Russian literature - and much more influential than those two. When the book trade revived (1922), the first thing publishers did was print Bely. That same year he left for Berlin, where he became the same center among emigrant writers as he had been in Russia. But his ecstatic, restless spirit did not allow him to remain abroad. In 1923, Andrei Bely returned to Russia, because only there did he feel contact with the messianic revival of Russian culture that he eagerly awaited.

Portrait of Andrei Bely. Artist K. Petrov-Vodkin, 1932

However, all his attempts to establish living contact with Soviet culture turned out to be hopeless. Communist ideologists did not recognize Andrei Bely. While still in Berlin, he broke up with Asya Turgeneva, and upon returning to the USSR he cohabited with Anna Vasilyeva, whom he officially married in 1931. The writer was in her arms and died on January 8, 1934 in Moscow after several strokes.

Andrei Bely (1880–1934) - Russian writer, poet, prose writer, publicist, critic, memoirist. He was not immediately recognized by critics and readers and was called an “obscene clown” for his peculiar humor, but he would later be recognized as one of the most extraordinary and influential symbolists of the Silver Age. Let's take a look at the most interesting facts from the life of Andrei Bely.

1. The real name of the writer is Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev. The pseudonym “Andrey Bely” was suggested by his teacher and mentor M.S. Solovyov. White color symbolizes purity, height of thoughts and tranquility. B. Bugaev also used other pseudonyms: A., Alpha, Bykov, V., Gamma, Delta and others.
2. The future writer was born into the family of a professor at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University and the first Moscow beauty. The relationship between the boy’s parents was complex and largely influenced the formation of his personality, as each tried to instill in his son his own values: his father was interested in science, his mother was a love of art and music.

   

3. Bely had an extraordinary appearance, many considered him handsome, but Andrei’s gaze was more than once described as “crazy.” Contemporaries highlighted not only the writer’s unusual appearance, but also his habits.

   

4. As a teenager, Andrei met the Solovyov family, which subsequently greatly influenced the career of the future writer. At the suggestion of the Solovyovs, he begins to become interested in literature, the latest art, and philosophy. Thanks to M.S. Solovyov, Bely's work was published.

   

5. Bely was a diligent student and loved to study. Andrey had excellent mathematics abilities; was successful in both exact and humanitarian disciplines, which allowed him to graduate with honors from the famous gymnasium named after L.I. Polivanova.

   

6. In 1903, at the insistence of his father, the future writer completed his studies at the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University, and in 1904 he entered the historical and philological department, where he dropped out of his studies due to going abroad.

   

7. In 1901, Bely released his first literary work in the “symphony” genre (the second dramatic symphony). The unusual creation caused bewilderment and criticism among readers, but fellow symbolists were able to appreciate it.

   

8. Bely initiated an acquaintance with Alexander Blok. The writers shared their experiences for a long time and soon became very close. However, later both friends become involved in a “love triangle” and as a result they go their separate ways. Bely called his almost twenty-year relationship with Blok “friendship and enmity.”

   

9. For several years Andrei was in love with A. Blok’s wife Lyubov Mendeleeva. Their romance lasted 2 years. Blok was a lover of establishments; because of his wife, she suffered and found solace in Bely’s company. Blok knew about these relationships, but did not show much interest in them. Ultimately, Mendeleeva broke off relations with Bely, which dealt him a severe blow. Later, the writer would dedicate many of his works to Lyuba.

   

10. A break with his lover almost drove the writer to suicide. However, on the morning when he was about to take his own life, an invitation to see him from Mendeleeva instilled a glimmer of hope in his broken heart.

    

11. The writer was married twice. His first wife was Anna Alekseevna (Asya) Turgeneva. The union was not happy for long, and in 1918 the couple separated. Claudia Nikolaevna Vasilyeva became Bely’s second wife. The couple developed a friendly and trusting relationship.

    

12. Lived in Europe for many years, worked for the Gorky magazine “Conversation” in Berlin, and also worked on his works.

    

13. In 1912, Andrei met Rudolf Steiner and subsequently lived for 4 years at his residence in Switzerland with his wife Asya. There he took part in the construction of the temple under the leadership of Steiner, which was carried out by non-professional builders.

    

14. Andrei Bely died at the age of 54 from a stroke and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

    

15. The apartment on Arbat, where the writer lived until he was 26, now houses a memorial museum, dedicated to the life and work of Andrei Bely. Museum address: Moscow, st. Arbat 55.

    

Name: Andrey Bely (Boris Bugaev)

Age: 53 years old

Activity: writer, poet, critic, memoirist, poet

Family status: was married

Andrey Bely: biography

Poet, prominent representative of Russian symbolism, prose writer, literary critic and philosopher Andrei Bely is the son of an amazing cultural era called the “Silver Age”. The author, little known to his contemporaries, is interesting for his inventions and discoveries, which largely determined the appearance of literature at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Seeing a certain split in the world around him, the writer and philosopher Bely concluded that the source of social upheaval lies in the confrontation between two ideological elements - East and West. Connoisseurs of his work are confident that Andrei Bely, better than all his contemporaries, depicted such a complex phenomenon as a turning point.

Childhood and youth

The future star of the “Silver Age” was born in the late autumn of 1880 in the capital, into an intelligent family of native Muscovites. Boris Bugaev grew up and was brought up in an atmosphere of two opposing elements - mathematics and music, which was later surprisingly reflected in his poetry.

Mom, Alexandra Egorova, introduced her son to the world of music and instilled in him a love for the works of brilliant composers from Russia and Europe. Father is a famous mathematician, worked as a dean of Moscow University. Nikolai Bugaev anticipated many of the ideas of the “cosmists” and founded a mathematical school.

In 1891, Boris Bugaev became a student at the private gymnasium of L. I. Polivanov, where he studied until 1899. At the gymnasium, Bugaev Jr. became interested in the Buddhist religion and the secrets of the occult. Of the writers and philosophers, his interest was attracted by creativity, and. The standards of poetry for the young man were poems, and.

Within the walls of the men's gymnasium on Prechistenka, the future symbolist poet became friends with Sergei Solovyov. The creative pseudonym “Andrei Bely” appeared thanks to Sergei’s father: the Solovyovs’ house became the second home for the writer. Sergei’s brother, the philosopher Vladimir Solovyov, influenced the formation of Andrei Bely’s worldview.

After graduating from the Polivanovskaya gymnasium, Andrei Bely became a student at Moscow University, where his father taught. Nikolai Bugaev insisted that his son choose the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. After graduation, Bely became a university student for the second time in 1904 and began studying history and philology, but after 2 years he left the university and went to Europe.

Literature

In 1901, Andrei Bely, a university student, published his first work. “Symphony (2nd, dramatic)” demonstrated to poetry connoisseurs the birth of the literary “symphony” genre, the creator of which Andrei Bely is rightfully considered. In the early 1900s, “Northern Symphony (1st, heroic)”, “Return” and “Blizzard Cup” were released. These poetic works are an amazing synthesis of words and music; they are called rhythmic prose.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Andrei Bely met the Moscow symbolists, who were grouped around the publishing houses “Grif” and “Scorpion”. Then the Muscovite came under the influence of St. Petersburg poets and writers Dmitry Merezhkovsky and the publishers of the magazine “New Way”, writing several philosophical articles.

At the beginning of 1903, Andrei Bely became friends in absentia: the writers corresponded. A personal acquaintance, which developed into a dramatic friendship or enmity, took place the following year. In the same year, the mystic poet and like-minded people organized the “Argonauts” circle. In 1904, the first collection of poetry, “Gold in Azure,” was published, which included the poem “The Sun.”

At the beginning of 1905, Andrei Bely came to Merezhkovsky and Gippius in St. Petersburg and saw the first revolutionary events, which he received enthusiastically, but remained aloof from what was happening. At the end of autumn and beginning of winter 1906, the writer lived in Munich, then moved to Paris, where he remained until 1907. In 1907, Andrei Bely returned to Moscow, where he worked for the magazine “Libra” and collaborated with the publication “Golden Fleece”.

At the end of the first decade of the 1900s, the writer presented fans with collections of poems “Ashes” and “Urna”. The first included the poem “Rus”. The next decade was marked by the release of the novels “Silver Dove” and “Petersburg”.

In October 1916, the creative biography of Andrei Bely was enriched with the new novel “Kotik Letaev”. The writer perceived the outbreak of the First World War as a tragedy for Russia. In the summer of the same year, the writer was called up for military service, but in September he was given a deferment. Andrei Bely lived either in the Moscow region or in Tsarskoe Selo near Petrograd.

In the February Revolution, Bely saw salvation, reflecting the vision of what was happening in the poem “Christ is Risen” and the collection of poems “Star”. After the end of the revolution, Andrei Bely worked in Soviet institutions. He was a lecturer and teacher, taught classes to aspiring writers at Proletkult, and became the publisher of the journal Notes of a Dreamer.

Disappointment with the actions of the new government pushed Andrei Bely to emigrate. In 1921, the writer and philosopher left for Berlin, where he lived and worked for 3 years. At the end of 1923, Bely returned to his homeland and lived in Russia until his last days.

The prose writer wrote the novels “Moscow Eccentric”, “Moscow Under Attack” and “Masks”, published memoirs about Blok and a trilogy about revolutionary events (the novel “Between Two Revolutions” was published posthumously). Andrei Bely did not establish contact with the authorities until the end of his life, which is why the work of the brightest representative of the Symbolists and the “Silver Age” was appreciated only at the end of the twentieth century.

Personal life

The love triangles of Andrei Bely with symbolist poets Valery Bryusov and Alexander Blok and their wives are reflected in his work. Bryusov described Bely’s affair with his wife Nina Petrovskaya in “Fire Angel.” In 1905, Petrovskaya shot her lover, and he dedicated the lines of the poem “To Friends” to her.

The painful relationship with Blok’s wife, Lyubov Mendeleeva, inspired Andrei Bely to create the novel “Petersburg”. The lovers met in a rented apartment, but in the end Mendeleeva preferred her husband, which she announced to Bely, demanding not to come to their house. Despair pushed the poet to go abroad.

Returning from Europe to Russia in the spring of 1909, Andrei Bely met Anna Turgeneva, the niece of the classic. In the winter of 1910, his beloved accompanied the writer on a trip. The couple traveled to North Africa and the Middle East. In the spring of 1914, Bely and Turgeneva got married in Bern, but 2 years later the writer returned to his homeland. After 5 years, he came to Germany to join his wife, but the relationship dried up. A divorce followed.

In the fall of 1923, Andrei Bely met a woman with whom he lived the rest of his life. Claudia Vasilyeva, or Klodya, as Andrei Bely called his beloved, agreed to the marriage proposal in the summer of 1931.

Death

Andrei Bely died in Claudie's arms on January 8, 1934 from paralysis of the respiratory tract. The poet was buried at the Moscow Novodevichy cemetery. Klavdia Vasilyeva researched the work of the famous symbolist, writing a book of memoirs about him.

Memory

A number of authoritative researchers and literary critics claim that without studying the creative heritage of Andrei Bely, it is impossible to evaluate the aesthetic phenomenon of poetry of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Therefore, contemporaries interested in Russian poetry will certainly get acquainted with the work of the theorist of symbolism and anthroposophical mysticism.

Bely’s poems “Motherland”, “Despair”, “From the Car Window” and “Meditation” are the most famous and beloved by connoisseurs of “Silver Age” poetry. They are often quoted by contemporaries when speaking about symbolist poets.

Until the age of 26, Andrei Bely lived in a house on Arbat. In the apartment where the symbolist theorist spent his childhood and youth, after his death a museum was founded. I visited the Bugaevs' house.

Bibliography

Novels

• "Silver Dove. A story in 7 chapters"
• "Petersburg"
• "Kitten Letaev"
• "Baptized Chinese"
• "Moscow eccentric"
• "Moscow is under attack"
• “Masks. Novel"

Poetry

• "Gold in Azure"
• "Ash. Poetry"
• "Urn. Poems"
• "Christ is risen. Poem"
• “First date. Poem"
• "Star. New poems"
• "The Queen and the Knights. Fairy tales"
• "Star. New poems"
• "After the Separation"
• “Glossolalia. Poem about sound"
• "Poems about Russia"