A variety of life circumstances and dramatic plots in the works of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin are explained primarily by the fact that his own life was very “action-packed” and difficult. It seems that when, in a review of Kipling's story The Brave Mariners, he wrote about people who had gone through an "iron school of life, full of need, danger, grief and resentment," he recalled what he himself had experienced.
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on August 26, 1870 in the Penza province in the city of Narovchat. The father of the future writer Ivan Ivanovich Kuprin, a raznochinets (an intellectual who did not belong to the nobility), held the modest position of secretary of the justice of the peace. Mother, Lyubov Alexandrovna came from the nobility, but impoverished.
When the boy was not even a year old, his father died of cholera, leaving the family without a livelihood. The widow and her son were forced to settle in the Moscow Widow's House. Lyubov Alexandrovna really wanted her Sashenka to become an officer, and when he was 6 years old, his mother assigned him to the Razumovsky boarding school. He prepared the boys for admission to a secondary military educational institution.
Sasha stayed in this boarding house for about 4 years. In 1880, he began to study at the 2nd Moscow Military Gymnasium, which was later reorganized into a cadet corps. I must say that stick discipline reigned within the walls of the military gymnasium. The situation was aggravated by searches, espionage, supervision, mockery of the older pupils over the younger ones. All this environment coarsened and corrupted the soul. But Sasha Kuprin, being in this nightmare, managed to maintain spiritual health, which later became a charming feature of his work.
In 1888, Alexander completed his studies in the corps and entered the 3rd Military Alexander School, which trained infantry officers. In August 1890, he graduated from it and went to serve in the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment. After that, the service began in the deaf and godforsaken corners of the Podolsk province.
In the fall of 1894, Kuprin retired and moved to Kyiv. By this time, he had already written 4 published works: "The Last Debut", "In the Dark", "Moonlight Night", "Inquiry". In the same 1894, the young writer began to collaborate in the newspapers Kievskoye Slovo, Life and Art, and in early 1895 he became an employee of the Kievlyanin newspaper.
He wrote a number of essays and combined them into the book Kyiv Types. This work was published in 1896. The year 1897 became even more significant for the young writer, as the first collection of his stories, Miniatures, was published.
In 1896, Alexander Kuprin went on a trip to the factories and mines of the Donets Basin. Burning with the desire to thoroughly study real life, he gets a job at one of the factories as the head of accounting for the forge and carpentry workshop. In this new capacity for him, the future famous writer worked for several months. During this time, material was collected not only for a number of essays, but also for the story "Moloch".
In the second half of the 90s, Kuprin's life begins to resemble a kaleidoscope. He organizes an athletic society in Kyiv in 1896 and begins to actively engage in sports. In 1897, he got a job as a manager in an estate located in the Rivne district. Then he takes a great interest in prosthetics and works for some time as a dentist. In 1899, he joined a traveling theater group for several months.
In the same 1899, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin arrived in Yalta. In this city, a significant event in his life took place - a meeting with Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. After that, Kuprin visited Yalta in 1900 and 1901. Chekhov introduced him to many writers and publishers. Among them was V. S. Mirolyubov, the publisher of the St. Petersburg Journal for Everyone. Mirolyubov invited Alexander Ivanovich to the post of secretary of the journal. He agreed and in the fall of 1901 moved to St. Petersburg.
In the city on the Neva there was a meeting with Maxim Gorky. Kuprin wrote about this man in his letter to Chekhov in 1902: “I met Gorky. There is something severe, ascetic, preaching in it.” In 1903, the Gorky publishing house "Knowledge" published the first volume of Alexander Kuprin's stories.
In 1905, a very important event took place in the writer's creative life. Again, the publishing house "Knowledge" published his story "Duel". It was followed by other works: "Dreams", "Mechanical Justice", "Wedding", "River of Life", "Gambrinus", "Killer", "Delirium", "Resentment". All of them were a response to the first Russian revolution and expressed dreams of freedom.
Years of reaction followed the revolution. During this period, obscure philosophical and political views began to be clearly visible in the works of the classic. At the same time, he created works that have become worthy examples of Russian classical literature. Here you can name "Garnet Bracelet", "Holy Lies", "Pit", "Grunya", "Starlings", etc. In the same period, the idea of the novel "Junker" was born.
During the February Revolution Alexander Ivanovich lived in Gatchina. He warmly welcomed the abdication of the sovereign and the transfer of power to the Provisional Government. But the October Revolution was perceived negatively. He published articles in bourgeois newspapers that were published until the middle of 1918, in which he questioned the reorganization of society on socialist lines. But gradually the tone of his articles began to change.
In the second half of 1918, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin spoke with respect about the activities of the Bolshevik Party. In one of the articles, he even called the Bolsheviks people of "crystal purity." But apparently this man was characterized by doubts and hesitations. When Yudenich's troops occupied Gatchina in October 1919, the writer supported the new government, and then, together with the White Guard units, left Gatchina, fleeing from the advancing Red Army.
At first, he moved to Finland, and in 1920 he moved to France. For 17 years, the author of "Olesya" and "Duel" spent in a foreign land, living most of the time in Paris. It was a difficult but fruitful period. From the pen of the Russian classic came such collections of prose as “The Dome of St. Isaac Dolmatsky", "Wheel of Time", "Elan", as well as the novels "Janeta", "Junker".
Living abroad, Alexander Ivanovich had little idea of what was happening at home. He heard about the greatest achievements of Soviet power, about great construction projects, about universal equality and fraternity. All this aroused great interest in the soul of the classic. And every year he was more and more drawn to Russia.
In August 1936, the Plenipotentiary of the USSR in France, V.P. Potemkin, asked Stalin to allow Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin to come to the USSR. This issue was considered at the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and decided to allow the writer Kuprin to enter the country of the Soviets. On May 31, 1937, the great Russian classic returned to his homeland in the city of his youth - Moscow.
However, he came to Russia seriously ill. Alexander Ivanovich was weak, unable to work and could not write. In the summer of 1937, the newspaper Izvestia published an article entitled “Moscow is dear”. Under it was the signature of A. I. Kuprin. The article was laudatory, and each of its lines breathed admiration for socialist achievements. However, it is assumed that the article was written by another person, a Moscow journalist assigned to the writer.
On the night of August 25, 1938, Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin died at the age of 67. The cause of death was cancer of the esophagus. The classic was buried in the city of Leningrad at the "Literary bridges" of the Volkovsky cemetery, not far from Turgenev's grave. This is how the talented Russian writer ended his life, embodying in his works the best traditions of Russian literature of the 19th century..
Many literary critics believe that Alexander Kuprin never became a "great writer", but readers do not agree with them - Kuprin remains one of the most widely read and republished Russian authors today. A man of difficult fate, he tried many professions: he was a fisherman, a circus wrestler, a land surveyor, a firefighter, a military man, a fisherman, an organ grinder, an actor and even a dentist. We want to tell our readers about the main passions in the life of this wonderful writer.
Passion one - Maria Davydova
For the first time, Alexander Kuprin married at the age of 32 a 20-year-old daughter
the well-known publisher of the magazine "The World of God" and the late director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory Masha Davydova. She was witty, bright, noisy and always claimed the first roles. Kuprin adored his young wife passionately, treated her literary taste with trepidation and always listened to her opinion. Maria, in turn, did everything possible to curb her husband's violent temper and make him a salon writer. But noisy taverns were closer to him.
Maria struggled with the disorganization and restlessness of her husband with rather harsh methods. Because of the spree, Kuprin could not finish his story “Duel”, then his wife forced him to rent an apartment, escorting him out of the house. He could visit his wife and daughter only if he brought new pages of the manuscript. But somehow Kuprin brought the old chapter. Maria was offended by the deceit and declared that now she would take the pages of the manuscript only through the door ajar on the chain.
In May 1905, the story was finally published. This work brought Kuprin not only all-Russian, but also world fame. But the family was not happier. The spouses then diverged, then converged, and as a result they became strangers and parted peacefully.
Passion Two - Elizabeth Heinrich
Lisa Heinrich was born in Orenburg in the family of the Hungarian Moritz Heinrich Rotoni, who married a Siberian woman. She lived for several years in the Kuprin family and, for a rather modest remuneration, helped with the housework and nursed their daughter. But Kuprin drew attention to her a few years later at a fashionable party where the future famous actor Kachalov shone.
Kuprin confessed his love to Lisa, and in order not to destroy the family, she left the Kuprins' house and got a job in a hospital. However, this did not save the family, in which discord already reigned. Kuprin left home and began to live in the Palais Royal Hotel, and then bought a house in Gatchina on an installment plan, where he lived with Liza for eight years of complete serenity.
Elizaveta Moritsovna was modest, accommodating, and, unlike Kuprin's first wife, she did not claim the first roles. Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, Ivan Bunin's wife, recalled one episode when her husband and Kuprin once dropped in for a short while at the Palais Royal, where they "caught Elizaveta Moritsovna on the landing ... on the third floor. She was in a home wide dress (Lisa was expecting a baby at that time )". Throwing her a few words, Kuprin with the guests went on a hike through the night dens. This lasted not an hour or two, and all this time the pregnant woman stood waiting on the landing.
Sometimes the Kuprins parted for a short time: Elizaveta Moritsovna, denying herself everything and carving out the necessary amount of money from the meager family budget, sent her missus to the south to rest. Kuprin was traveling alone - there was not enough money for his wife's vacation. True, having lived with Elizaveta Moritsovna for 22 years, he wrote to her: “There is no one better than you, no beast, no bird, no man!”
Passion three - alcohol
Kuprin certainly loved women, but he also had a truly pernicious passion - alcohol. He was already a well-known writer, and newspapers were full of stories about his drunken antics: the writer poured hot coffee over someone, threw him out of the window, threw him into a pool with sterlet, stuck a fork in someone’s stomach, painted his head with oil paint, set fire to a dress, drank in a restaurant, inviting the entire male choir of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra; then for three days he disappeared with the gypsies, and then he brought home a drunken priest-defiant. 
Those who knew Kurin said that one glass of vodka was enough for him to run into a quarrel with everyone he met. There were even epigrams about Kuprin: “If the truth is in wine, how many truths are there in Kuprin” and “Vodka is uncorked, splashing in the decanter. Should I call Kuprin for this reason?
Once, his 4-year-old daughter from his first marriage read a poem of his own composition to the guests:
I have a father,
I have a mother.
Dad drinks a lot of vodka
His mother beats him for this ...
And Ksenia Kuprina, his daughter from his second marriage, as an adult, recalled: “Father went to Petersburg regularly, but sometimes he got stuck there for weeks, falling under the influence of literary and artistic bohemia. Mother selflessly fought against the bad environment of her father, protected his peace, snatched him out of bad companies, drove some literary "bugs" out of the house. But too many powerful, contradictory vital forces roamed in the father at that time. Even a small amount of alcohol turned the kindest Kuprin into a violent, mischievous person, with furious outbursts of anger.
Passion Four - Russia
In 1920, after the end of the First World War and the defeat of the Whites in the Civil War, Kuprin left Russia. He lived in France for 20 years, but was never able to adapt in a foreign country. The financial situation of the spouses was very difficult. The earnings of Kuprin himself were of an accidental nature, and the commercial enterprises of Elizaveta Moritsovna did not work out. She translated the famous works of Kuprin into French, and it was increasingly difficult for him to write new ones. He was constantly oppressed by longing for Russia. The only major work written in exile is the novel "Junker", in which the "absurd, sweet country" appears before us so bright, cleared of everything unimportant, secondary ...
"Writer of Balaklava fishermen,
Friend of silence, comfort, sea, villager,
Shady Gatchina homeowner,
He is sweet to us with the simplicity of his heartfelt words…”
From a poem by Igor Severyanin in memory of Kuprin
"But quiet from heaven
He looks down on us all...
He is with us.
We are together
In Paradise Lost...
From a poem by Tatyana Perova in memory of Kuprin
Biography
The small town of Proskurov in the Podolsk province, where the young lieutenant Alexander Kuprin was serving, was full of melancholy and boredom. In order to somehow embellish dull everyday life, Kuprin goes headlong into cards, revels and love affairs. Nothing and no one can curb his hot temper ... no one, except for his first love - a timid orphan girl, definitely the most charming in the whole province. Kuprin is ready to start a wild life and even get married, but there is one “but”: they agree to give the girl for him only if Alexander graduates from the Academy of the General Staff. Well, the young man packs his bags and goes to St. Petersburg to take exams. True, he fails to reach his destination safely. In Kyiv, Kuprin meets friends and goes with them to a floating restaurant. There, the guys quarrel on such a scale that they attract the attention of a police officer. He makes a remark to a noisy company, for which he is immediately thrown out the window. Such behavior is not in line with the rank of a future officer: Kuprin is forbidden to enter the Academy. Now one can only dream of a military career and the hand of a beloved, and life, meanwhile, goes on.
Having no civilian profession, Kuprin wanders around the south of Russia, testing himself as a fisherman, circus wrestler, bailiff, actor, journalist, excavator, psalmist, hunter ... The motto of Kuprin's life actually becomes the words of one of the heroes he created from the story "The Pit" : “By God, I would like to become a horse, a plant or a fish for a few days, or to be a woman and experience childbirth; I would like to live an inner life and see the world through the eyes of every person I meet.” In a word, Alexander gets to know life in all its manifestations, not forgetting, by the way, about literary activity. True, Kuprin does not stay long at the pen, but works only according to his mood, from time to time. However, the creative vocation of the writer is aggravated with the move to St. Petersburg and acquaintance with the local bohemia - Bunin, Chaliapin, Averchenko.
Here, in St. Petersburg, Kuprin meets his first wife, Maria Davydova. True, they did not succeed in a happy union: Davydova deeply appreciated her husband's talent, but she could hardly endure his drunken antics, which often went beyond what was permitted. Although the creative career of Kuprin, marriage only benefited. In particular, his best story "The Duel" would hardly have been able to see the light of day without pressure from Davydova.
The second marriage of Kuprin was much more successful. With a new love - Elizabeth Heinrich - Kuprin met before he received a divorce from Davydova. However, in the person of his second wife, Alexander Ivanovich finds true love and a faithful life partner. Only now is he realizing the delights of quiet family happiness: a cozy five-room house, children's laughter, gardening in summer, skiing in winter ... Kuprin ties up with drinking and brawls, writes a lot and, it would seem, now nothing can prevent his happiness. But a war breaks out in the world, and then the October Revolution, which force the Kuprins to leave their cozy family nest and go in search of happiness to distant Paris.
The Kuprins lived in France for seventeen long years and, in the end, homesickness took its toll. Alexander Ivanovich, already a gray-haired old man and, obviously, anticipating an imminent death, once declared that he was ready to go to Moscow even on foot. In the meantime, his health was seriously deteriorating. “Elizaveta Moritsovna Kuprina took her sick old husband home. She was exhausted, looking for means to save him from hopeless poverty ... Everyone respected, beloved by everyone without exception, the most famous Russian writer could no longer work, because he was very, very sick, and everyone knew about it, ”the Russian poetess Teffi will write later . A year after returning to Russia, the writer died. The cause of Kuprin's death was acute pneumonia caught while watching the parade on Red Square. "Kulunchakovskaya Tatar blood" has cooled down forever. The death of Kuprin was reported by TASS and a number of popular newspapers. The funeral of Alexander Kuprin took place at the Literary bridges of the Volkovsky cemetery in St. Petersburg. Kuprin's grave is located near the resting places of Turgenev, Mamin-Sibiryak and Garin-Mikhailovsky.
life line
September 7, 1870 Date of birth of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin.
1876 Young Alexander is placed in the Moscow Razumovsky orphanage.
1880 Kuprin enters the Second Moscow Cadet Corps.
1887 The young man is enrolled in the Alexander Military School.
1889 The first story of the writer - "The Last Debut" - is born.
1890 Alexander Kuprin, with the rank of second lieutenant, was released into the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment.
1894 Kuprin resigns and moves to Kyiv.
1901 The writer moves to St. Petersburg and gets the position of secretary in the "Journal for All".
1902 Alexander Kuprin marries Maria Davydova.
1905 The release of the most significant work of Kuprin - the story "Duel".
1909 Kuprin receives a divorce from Davydova and marries Elizaveta Heinrich.
1919 The writer and his wife emigrate to Paris.
1937 At the invitation of the USSR government, Kuprin and his wife return to their homeland.
August 25, 1938 Date of Kuprin's death.
August 27, 1938 Date of Kuprin's funeral.
Memorable places
1. The city of Narovchat, where Alexander Kuprin was born.
2. Alexander Military School (now the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation), where Alexander spent his military youth.
3. The city of Proskurov (now Khmelnitsky), where Kuprin served his military service.
4. House on Podol in Kyiv, where Alexander Kuprin lived in 1894-1896.
5. Restaurant "Vena" in St. Petersburg (now the mini-hotel "Old Vienna"), where Kuprin liked to spend time.
6. The city of Gatchina, where Alexander Kuprin lived with his wife Elizabeth Heinrich and children.
7. The city of Paris, where the Kuprins lived in 1919-1937.
8. Monument to Kuprin in Balaklava.
9. The house of Kuprin's sister in Kolomna, where Alexander Ivanovich often visited.
10. Literary bridges at the Volkovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, where Kuprin is buried.
Episodes of life
In 1905, Alexander Kuprin witnessed the suppression of the Sevastopol uprising. The flaming cruiser "Ochakov" was shot from guns, and sailors fleeing by swimming were mercilessly showered with lead hail. On that mournful day, Kuprin managed to help several sailors who miraculously reached the shore. The writer got them civilian clothes and even diverted the attention of the police so that they could freely get out of the danger zone.
Once, having received a large advance, Alexander Ivanovich began to drink heavily. In a drunken stupor, he dragged a dubious company of drinking companions into the house where his family lived, and, in fact, the fun continued. Kuprin's wife endured revelry for a long time, but a flaming match dropped on her dress was the last straw. In a fit of rage, Davydova broke a decanter of water on her husband's head. The husband did not bear the insult. He left the house, scribbling on a piece of paper: “It's all over between us. We won't see each other again."
Covenant
“Language is the history of the people. Language is the way of civilization and culture. Therefore, the study and preservation of the Russian language is not an idle occupation with nothing to do, but an urgent need.
Documentary film "Kuprin's Ruby Bracelet" from the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Culture"
condolences
"Kuprin is a bright, healthy talent."
Maxim Gorky, writer
“By the scope of his talent, by his living language, Kuprin graduated not only from the “literary conservatory”, but also from several literary academies.”
Konstantin Paustovsky, writer
“He was a romantic. He was the captain of juvenile novels, a sea wolf with a naso-warmer in his teeth, a frequenter of port taverns. He felt brave and strong, coarse in appearance and poetically tender in spirit.
Taffy, poetess
Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich is one of the most prominent figures in Russian literature of the 1st half of the 20th century. He is the author of such well-known works as "Olesya", "Garnet Bracelet", "Moloch", "Duel", "Junkers", "Cadets" and others. Alexander Ivanovich had an unusual, worthy life. Fate was sometimes harsh on him. Both the childhood of Alexander Kuprin and his mature years were marked by instability in various spheres of life. He had to fight alone for material independence, fame, recognition and the right to be called a writer. Kuprin went through many hardships. His childhood and youth were especially difficult. We will talk about all this in detail.
The origin of the future writer
Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich was born in 1870. His hometown is Narovchat. Today it is located in the House where Kuprin was born, is currently a museum (his photo is presented below). Kuprin's parents were not wealthy. Ivan Ivanovich, the father of the future writer, belonged to the family of impoverished nobles. He served as a minor official and often drank. When Alexander was only in his second year, Ivan Ivanovich Kuprin died of cholera. The childhood of the future writer, thus, passed without a father. His only support was his mother, which is worth talking about separately.
Mother of Alexander Kuprin
Lyubov Alekseevna Kuprina (nee - Kulunchakova), the boy's mother, was forced to settle in the Widow's House of the city of Moscow. It is from here that the first memories that Ivan Kuprin shared with us flow. His childhood is largely connected with the image of his mother. She played the role of a higher being in the boy's life, was the whole world for the future writer. Alexander Ivanovich recalled that this woman was strong-willed, strong, strict, similar to an eastern princess (the Kulunchakovs belonged to an old family of Tatar princes). Even in the squalid conditions of the Widow's House, she remained so. During the day, Lyubov Alekseevna was strict, but in the evening she turned into a mysterious fortune teller and told her son fairy tales, which she altered in her own way. Kuprin listened to these interesting stories with pleasure. His childhood, very harsh, was brightened up by tales of distant lands and unknown creatures. While still Ivanovich faced a sad reality. However, the difficulties did not prevent such a talented person as Kuprin from being realized as a writer.
Childhood spent in the Widow's House
Alexander Kuprin's childhood passed away from the comfort of noble estates, dinner parties, his father's libraries, where one could sneak secretly at night, Christmas gifts that are so intoxicating to look for under the tree at dawn. On the other hand, he was well aware of the dullness of the orphan's rooms, the meager gifts given out on holidays, the smell of official clothes, and the slaps from the educators, which they did not skimp on. Undoubtedly, the early childhood of his later years, marked by new difficulties, left an imprint on his personality. We should briefly talk about them.
Kuprin's military drill childhood
For the children of his position, there were not many options for their future fate. One of them is a military career. Lyubov Alekseevna, taking care of her child, decided to make a military man out of her son. Alexander Ivanovich soon had to part with his mother. A dull military drill period began in his life, which continued Kuprin's childhood. His biography of this time is marked by the fact that he spent several years in state institutions in the city of Moscow. First there was the Razumovsky orphanage, after a while - the Moscow Cadet Corps, and then the Alexander Military School. Kuprin, in his own way, hated each of these temporary shelters. Equally strongly, the future writer was annoyed by the stupidity of the authorities, the official situation, spoiled peers, the narrow-mindedness of educators and teachers, the "cult of the fist", the same uniform for everyone and public flogging.
Kuprin's childhood was so difficult. It is important for children to have a loved one, and in this sense, Alexander Ivanovich was lucky - he was supported by a loving mother. She died in 1910.
Kuprin goes to Kyiv
Kuprin Alexander, after graduating from college, spent another 4 years in military service. He retired at the first opportunity (in 1894). Lieutenant Kuprin took off his military uniform forever. He decided to move to Kyiv.
The real test for the future writer was the big city. Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich spent his entire life in government institutions, so he was not adapted to independent living. On this occasion, he later ironically said that in Kyiv there was like a "smolyanka institute" who was taken into the jungle of forests at night and left without a compass, food and clothing. It was not easy at that time for such a great writer as Alexander Kuprin. Interesting facts about him during his stay in Kyiv are also connected with what Alexander had to do in order to earn his living.
How Kuprin made a living
In order to survive, Alexander undertook almost any business. In a short time he tried himself as a seller of shag, a foreman at a construction site, a carpenter, an employee in an office, a factory worker, an assistant to a blacksmith, a psalmist. At one time, Alexander Ivanovich even seriously thought about going to a monastery. The difficult childhood of Kuprin, briefly described above, probably forever left a mark on the soul of the future writer, who had to face harsh reality from a young age. Therefore, his desire to retire to the monastery is quite understandable. However, Alexander Ivanovich was destined for a different fate. Soon he found himself in the literary field.
An important literary and life experience was the service as a reporter in the newspapers of Kyiv. Alexander Ivanovich wrote about everything - about politics, murders, social problems. He also had to fill in entertaining columns, write cheap melodramatic stories, which, by the way, enjoyed considerable success with the unsophisticated reader.
The first serious works
Little by little, serious works began to come out from under the pen of Kuprin. The story "Inquiry" (its other name is "From the distant past") was published in 1894. Then the collection "Kyiv types" appeared, in which Alexander Kuprin placed his essays. His work of this period is marked by many other works. After some time, a collection of short stories called "Miniatures" was published. The story "Moloch", published in 1996, made a name for the beginning writer. His fame was strengthened by the works "Olesya" and "The Cadets" that followed.
Moving to Petersburg
In this city, a new, vibrant life began for Alexander Ivanovich with many meetings, acquaintances, revels and creative achievements. Contemporaries recalled that Kuprin liked to take a good walk. In particular, Andrey Sedykh, a Russian writer, noted that in his youth he lived violently, was often drunk and at that time became terrible. Alexander Ivanovich could do reckless things and sometimes even cruel ones. And Nadezhda Teffi, a writer, recalls that he was a very complex person, by no means a kind-hearted and simpleton, as it might seem at first glance.
Kuprin explained that creative activity took a lot of energy and strength from him. For every success, as well as for failure, one had to pay with health, nerves, and one's own soul. But evil tongues saw only unsightly tinsel, and then there were invariably rumors that Alexander Ivanovich was a reveler, rowdy and drunkard.
New works
No matter how Kuprin splashed out his ardor, he always returned to his desk after another drunkenness. Alexander Ivanovich during the turbulent period of his life in St. Petersburg wrote his cult story "Duel". His stories "Swamp", "Shulamith", "Staff Captain Rybnikov", "River of Life", "Gambrinus" belong to the same period. After some time, already in Odessa, he completed the "Garnet Bracelet", and also set about creating the "Listrigons" cycle.
Kuprin's personal life
In the capital, he met his first wife, Davydova Maria Karlovna. From her, Kuprin had a daughter, Lydia. Maria Davydova gave the world a book called "Years of Youth". After some time, their marriage broke up. Alexander Kuprin married 5 years later Heinrich Elizaveta Moritsovna. He lived with this woman until his death. Kuprin has two daughters from his second marriage. The first is Zinaida, who died early, having contracted pneumonia. The second daughter, Ksenia, became a famous Soviet actress and model.
Moving to Gatchina
Kuprin, tired of the busy life of the capital, left St. Petersburg in 1911. He moved to Gatchina (a small town located 8 km from the capital). Here, in his "green" house, he settled with his family. In Gatchina, everything is conducive to creativity - the silence of a summer cottage, a shady garden with poplars, a spacious terrace. This city today is closely connected with the name of Kuprin. There is a library and a street named after him, as well as a monument dedicated to him.
Emigration to Paris
However, the sedate happiness came to an end in 1919. First, Kuprin was drafted into the army on the side of the whites, and a year later the whole family emigrated to Paris. Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin will return to his homeland only after 18 years, already at an advanced age.
At different times, the reasons for the writer's emigration were interpreted differently. According to Soviet biographers, he was almost forcibly taken out by the White Guards and all subsequent long years, until his return, languished in a foreign land. The ill-wishers sought to stab him, exposing him as a traitor who exchanged his homeland and talent for foreign benefits.
Homecoming and death of the writer
If you believe the numerous memoirs, letters, diaries that became available to the public a little later, then Kuprin objectively did not accept the revolution and the established power. He called her familiarly "scoop".
When he returned to his homeland already a broken old man, he was taken through the streets to demonstrate the achievements of the USSR. Alexander Ivanovich said that the Bolsheviks are wonderful people. One thing is not clear - where they have so much money.
Nevertheless, Kuprin did not regret returning to his homeland. For him, Paris was a beautiful city, but a stranger. Kuprin died on August 25, 1938. He died of cancer of the esophagus. The next day, a crowd of thousands surrounded the House of Writers in St. Petersburg. The famous colleagues of Alexander Ivanovich, as well as loyal admirers of his work, also came. All of them gathered in order to send Kuprin on his last journey.
The childhood of the writer A. I. Kuprin, unlike the young years of many other literary figures of that time, was very difficult. However, in many respects it was thanks to all these experienced difficulties that he found himself in creativity. Kuprin, whose childhood and youth were spent in poverty, acquired both material well-being and fame. Today we get acquainted with his work in school years.
Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on August 26 (September 7), 1870 in the city of Narovchat (Penza province) in a poor family of a petty official.
1871 was a difficult year in Kuprin's biography - his father died, and the impoverished family moved to Moscow.
Education and the beginning of a creative path
At the age of six, Kuprin was sent to the class of the Moscow Orphan School, from which he left in 1880. After that, Alexander Ivanovich studied at the military academy, the Alexander Military School. The training time is described in such works by Kuprin as: “At the Turning Point (Cadets)”, “Junkers”. "The Last Debut" - the first published story of Kuprin (1889).
Since 1890 he was a second lieutenant in an infantry regiment. During the service, many essays, stories, novels were published: "Inquiry", "Moonlight Night", "In the Dark".
The heyday of creativity
Four years later, Kuprin retired. After that, the writer travels a lot around Russia, trying himself in different professions. During this time Alexander Ivanovich met Ivan Bunin, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky.
Kuprin builds his stories of those times on life impressions gleaned during his travels.
Kuprin's short stories cover many topics: military, social, love. The story "Duel" (1905) brought Alexander Ivanovich real success. Love in Kuprin's work is most vividly described in the story "Olesya" (1898), which was the first major and one of his most beloved works, and the story of unrequited love - "Garnet Bracelet" (1910).
Alexander Kuprin also liked to write stories for children. For children's reading, he wrote the works "Elephant", "Starlings", "White Poodle" and many others.
Emigration and the last years of life
For Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin, life and work are inseparable. Not accepting the policy of war communism, the writer emigrates to France. Even after emigration in the biography of Alexander Kuprin, the writer's ardor does not subside, he writes novels, short stories, many articles and essays. Despite this, Kuprin lives in material need and yearns for his homeland. Only 17 years later he returns to Russia. At the same time, the last essay of the writer is published - the work "Moscow dear".
After a serious illness, Kuprin died on August 25, 1938. The writer was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery in Leningrad, next to the grave
