Biography of A. I. Kuprin and chronological tables of creativity

Childhood and youth

Alexander Kuprin was born on August 26, 1870 in the small district town of Narovchat, located in the Penza province. His father belonged to the class of minor officials, and his mother was a representative of the ancient impoverished Tatar family of the Kulunchak princes. The head of the family died of cholera when little Sasha was two years old. The mother, in order not to die from hunger and instability, made the difficult decision to go to Moscow to the widow’s house on Kudrin.

At the age of five, the boy was sent to an educational institution for orphans. The Moscow Razumovsky boarding school, famous for its iron discipline and strict requirements for pupils, became the new home of Alexander for four long years, who suffered greatly from the official environment and isolation from his mother. It was during this period that he first tried himself in the poetic genre. Children's poems were sad and awkward, so the aspiring writer was very shy about them.

In 1880, Kuprin, having successfully passed the exams, entered the Moscow Military Gymnasium, which was soon transformed into a cadet corps. Later, the writer would reflect pictures of harsh barracks life, full of soulless formalism and cruel drills in the novel “Junker” and the story “At the Turning Point,” full of difficult memories of his youth, where he himself was the prototype of the main character Misha Bulanin.

Eight years later, Alexander stepped into the last stage of military education and went to the Third Alexander School, which trained infantry officers. It was during these years that the future prose writer decided to connect his life path with literature.

Chronological table of Kuprin's biography by dates before 1890.

Chronological table of Kuprin's life and work

1870 August 26 (September 7) - born in the village of Narovchat, Penza province, into the family of a minor official, a clerk in the office of the peace mediator.
End of 1873 - January 1874 - after the death of her husband (1871), Kuprin's mother Lyubov Alekseevna moves with her son to Moscow and settles in the Widow's House in Kudrin.

1876 , summer - L.A. Kuprina sends her son to the Razumovsky boarding school in Moscow.

1880 , August - Kuprin passed the entrance exam and became a student of the 2nd Moscow Military Gymnasium, transformed into the 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps.

1883-1887 - young Kuprin tries his hand at poetry, creating the poems “Fighter” (1885), the satirical “Ode to Katkov” (1886), “Dreams” (1887), etc.

1888 - after graduating from the 2nd Moscow Cadet Corps, Kuprin enters the Alexander Military School in Moscow.

1889 . December 3 – Kuprin’s first printed work, the story “The Last Debut,” appears in the Moscow magazine “Russian Satirical Leaflet” (No. 48).

1890 , summer - having successfully completed the Alexander Junker School, Kuprin receives a second lieutenant's chip and enlists in the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment, stationed in the Podolsk province.

1891-1894 - While in the regiment, he is engaged in literary work, writes and publishes the stories “Psyche”, “Moonlit Night”, “From the Distant Past”, “Unofficial Revision”, the story “In the Dark”.

1893 , August - takes exams for the Academy of the General Staff in St. Petersburg, but by order of the commander of the Kiev Military District, General Dragomirov, he is removed from taking the exams and returns to the regiment.

1894 , August - retires with the rank of lieutenant.

1894-1897 – work in Kyiv, changing professions, traveling around Russia, cooperation in the provincial press.

1894 , August - Kuprin’s story “From the Distant Past” (“Inquiry”) appears in issue No. 8 of the St. Petersburg magazine “Russian Wealth”.

1896 , March - publication of a small collection of essays “Kiev Types”.

1897 , May 29 - acquaintance with Bunin in Lustdorf (a summer cottage near Odessa).

1897 , October - publication of the first book of stories “Miniatures”, which included the stories “Dog Happiness”, “Century”, “Overnight”, “Breget”, “Allez!” and etc.

1896 , December - the story “Moloch” was published in the 12th book of the magazine “Russian Wealth”.

1898 – the story “Olesya” is published in the newspaper “Kievlyanin”.

1899 , February - the story “Night Shift” appears in No. 2 of the magazine “God’s World”.

1900 , February-March - the newspaper “Life and Art” publishes the story “At First” - later “At the Turning Point” (“Cadets”).

1901 , February 13 – meeting Chekhov in Odessa.

1901 , November - arrival in St. Petersburg, meeting with Maria Karlovna Davydova.

1902 , January - the story “In the Circus” is published in No. 1 of the magazine “God’s World”.

1902 , February 3 – Kuprin’s marriage to M.K. Davyda.

1902 , November - acquaintance with M. Gorky.

1902 , December - the story “Swamp” appears in issue No. 12 of the magazine “God’s World”.

1903 , November - the story “Horse Thieves” is published in issue I of “Russian Wealth”.

1904 , beginning of the year - the magazine “Young Reader” publishes the story “White Poodle”.

1903 , January 3 – birth of daughter Lydia.

1905 – the story “The Duel” is published in book 6 of the collections of the “Knowledge” partnership.

1905 , November - Kuprin witnesses the uprising on the cruiser “Ochakov” and publishes the essay “Events in Sevastopol” (St. Petersburg newspaper “Our Life”, 1905, December 1 (14), denouncing the punitive forces.

1906 , January - the story “Staff Captain Rybnikov” is published in No. 1 of the magazine “God’s World”.

1906 , August - the story “River of Life” appears in issue No. 8 of the magazine “God’s World.”

1907 - Kuprin marries Elizaveta Moritsovna Heinrich for his second marriage. February – the story “Gambrinus” is published in the magazine “Modern World”. August-September - work on the story “Emerald” (published in the 3rd book of the anthology “Rosehip” for 1907). autumn - work on the story “Sulamith” (published in the first collection of the anthology “Earth” for 1908).

1907-1911 - writes a series of stories “Listrigons”, which are completely included in the 5th volume. Full collection Op. Publishing House of the A. F. Marx Partnership.

1908 – birth of daughter Ksenia.

1908-1915 – work on the novel “The Pit” (first part – collection “Earth”, 1909, book 3; 1914 – book 15; 1915 – book 16.)

1910 , autumn - the story “The Garnet Bracelet” was written in Odessa (published in the book of the 6th almanac “Earth” for 1911).

1912 , end of the year - publication of the story “Liquid Sun” (almanac “Harvest”, issue IV).

1914 , November 13 - Lieutenant Kuprin goes to Finland to train recruits.

1917 , February-March - together with the critic P. Nilsky, edits the Socialist Revolutionary newspaper “Free Russia”.

1917 - in the 20th book of the collection “Earth” the story “Every Desire” (“Star of Solomon”) is published.

1918 , July 8 - the article “At the Grave” appears in the newspaper “Era” - in memory of the prominent Bolshevik M. M. Volodarsky, killed by the Socialist Revolutionaries.

1918 , December 26 - Kuprina is received in the Kremlin, in Moscow by V.I. Lenin in connection with the plan to publish the all-peasant newspaper “Earth”.

1919 , October 16 – Yudenich’s occupation of Gatchina, Kuprin’s mobilization into the White Army.

1920 , July 4 – arrival with his wife and daughter in Paris.[1]

1927 – publication of the collection “New Tales and Stories” (Paris).

1928-1930 – collections of prose “The Dome of St. Isaac of Dalmatia”, “Elan”, “Wheel of Time”.

1932 - the novel “Zhaneta” is published in the Parisian magazine “Modern Notes” (No. 51 and 53), a separate edition in 1933.

1928-1933 – the Parisian newspaper “Renaissance” publishes chapters of the novel “Junker” (separate publication – Paris, “Renaissance”, 1933).

1937 , May 29 - Kuprin and his wife left Paris for Moscow.

1937 , May 3 – arrival in Moscow.

1938 , August 25 - death of A.I. Kuprin in Leningrad.

Source: Mikhailov O.N. Kuprin. The life of wonderful people. - Moscow: Young Guard, 1981 – p.270.

1. In 1920, circumstances developed in such a way that Kuprin’s further stay in Finland became difficult. “It is not my will that fate itself fills the sails of our ship with wind and drives it to Europe. The newspaper will run out soon. I have a Finnish passport until June 1, and after this period they will allow me to live only with homeopathic doses. There are three roads: Berlin, Paris and Prague... But I, an illiterate Russian knight, can’t understand it well, I turn my head and scratch my head,” he wrote to Repin. Bunin’s letter from Paris played a decisive role in the choice, and in July 1920 Kuprin and his family moved to Paris. Kuprin also tried to restore Gatchina life in France. Again, he didn’t want to live in the city, but when the family rented a dacha, it turned out that even nature did not please him: “The alien situation, the alien land and the alien plants on it began to cause my father a bitter longing for distant Russia. Nothing was nice to him. Even the smells of earth and flowers. He said that lilacs smell like kerosene. Very soon he stopped digging in the flowerbeds and beds (Kuprina K.A. Kuprin is my father. P. 133) When it became clear that a new Gatchina would not work out, the Kuprins returned to Paris and settled for ten years on Montmorency Boulevard, not far from Boulogne forests. These places are described in the novel “Zhaneta - Princess of Four Streets” (1932) - one of the few works by Kuprin dedicated to the life of the Russian emigration. In Paris, Kuprin became friends with K.D. Balmont. Despite all the differences in their creative worlds, humanly they had something in common: a certain adventurousness of character, a love of adventure, “spontaneity.” (return)

First publications

In the closed institution, the character of the future prose writer with an extraordinary style of writing was not only tempered, but also deep concepts about the honor of the uniform, justice and morality were formed. Among teachers, Kuprin always singled out literature teacher M.I. Tsukhanov. Despite alcohol abuse, the teacher was able to instill in his students a taste for Pushkin’s style and a love for Russian classics in general. Alexander recalled these lessons: “the most desperate lazy people, notorious loafers, listened to his reading as if enchanted, afraid to move and miss a single word.”

The first publication in print belongs to this biographical stage - the poem “Dreams”, created under the influence of the 1887 trial of Narodnaya Volya and the execution of the instigators of the conspiracy against imperial power and the assassination attempt on Nicholas II. Among the hanged leaders of the terrorist group was V.I. Lenin’s brother Alexander Ulyanov. Kuprin assured that the poetic work was dedicated specifically to him; later this fact would influence his acquaintance with the leader of the Bolshevik movement, when the writer would be passionate about socialist ideas and ardently support the February Revolution.

In 1889, the cadet tried the power of the pen in the magazine “Russian Satirical Leaflet”, publishing his first prose - the story “The Last Debut”, which brought reader recognition. After completing his studies, Alexander Ivanovich served for four years in the Dnepropetrovsk infantry regiment, stationed in the Podolsk province. The monotonous life according to the calendar and mortal boredom forced him to turn to creativity again, he began to send essays to St. Petersburg magazines. For the period 1890-1894. came out:

• The story "In the Dark".
• Story "Moonlit Night".
• Essay “From the Distant Past.”

After a fight with a policeman (a police officer), Second Lieutenant Kuprin asks for his resignation and in 1894 leaves for Kyiv, where he discovers that he has no civilian profession and no idea how to live outside the military garrison. From this moment on, the period of wandering and job search begins in the writer’s biography. Among the professions that he tried to master are:

• Loader.
• Surveyor.
• Office worker.
• Singer in the choir.
• Dentist.

Six years of unsettlement and searching for something to do gave me a wealth of experience, which later formed the basis for many works.

Revolution and war

In the 1890s. A.I. Kuprin was engaged in reporting, collaborated with various publications, publishing short stories and notes in them. The prose writer reflected in detail the impressions of hard work in terrible conditions at the Donetsk steel plant in the story “Moloch,” which made the public shudder. I. A. Bunin drew attention to the new talent, offering him his first writing job in the St. Petersburg “Magazine for Everyone.”

The creative heyday of Alexander Ivanovich occurred in 1901-1913. At this time, the main works were created that established his place in literature. Immersed in cultural life, he met A.P. Chekhov and M. Gorky, they supported the young author. Kuprin starts a family and works hard. The most famous works of this period were the stories “Swamp” and “White Poodle”, as well as the autobiographical story “The Duel”.

In November 1905, Kuprin witnessed the brutal suppression of the Ochakov uprising. He sincerely sympathized with and helped the rebels, wrote a detailed essay “Events in Sevastopol”, because of which he came under investigation, but was acquitted. His passion for politics quickly passed, the prose writer lost faith in the ideas of the revolution after the failure of the 1905 speeches. At the same time, he was also disappointed in his wife.

The period from 1906 to 1913 was marked by productive work on stories and collected works, for the first three volumes of which Kuprin was decided to be awarded the Pushkin Prize in 1912. In 1907, the prose writer married Elizaveta Heinrich.

During the First World War, the Kuprin family organized a military hospital in their house. At the same time, work began on the novel “The Pit,” a scandalous work about the life of prostitutes, banned by censorship.

The work of A. I. Kuprin is brief. Chronological table .

Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich biography of the writer

A short biography of the famous Russian writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin should be known to everyone from school. The life and work of this man is interesting for the younger generation.

Let's see what the biography of the writer who lived at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries is, how his work developed and what influenced it. Let's look at the most famous works and get acquainted with interesting facts from life. Let's see the portrait of Alexander Ivanovich through the eyes of the people around him.

Kuprin Alexander Ivanovich - Russian writer and translator

Years of life and death - 1870.09.07 - 1938.08.25. The writer lived for 67 years.

It is known from numerous sources that the Russian writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born in the Penza province in the town of Narovchat, and died in the USSR, in Leningrad.

Briefly about the biography of A. I. Kuprin

Let's try to understand the biography of the writer. All facts are presented in chronological order.

Father and mother

Little is known about the father.
His name was Ivan Ivanovich, he was a hereditary nobleman, he died of cholera when the boy was less than a year old. Ivan Ivanovich’s wife, Lyubov Alekseevna Kulunchakova, the mother of the future writer, raised three children alone. She was of Tatar origin, and her parents were landowners of a noble family.

Before the birth of the future writer, the family already had children: two daughters and two sons, although the latter died in infancy. Therefore, the Kuprin family was looking forward to the birth of Alexander.

For the writer, his mother was the smartest and strongest person, which influenced his future fate.

Childhood

As already mentioned, Kuprin’s father died a few months after the birth of the heir.

After this, little Alexander and his mother moved to Moscow, where he spent his childhood.

At the age of 6, Lyubov Alekseevna sends her son to the Moscow Alexander Orphanage Institute for Children (popularly called “Razumovsky”), where he receives all the skills necessary in life.

Education

After boarding school, in 1880, Alexander Ivanovich entered the Moscow Military Gymnasium. And then he continues to study military craft at the Alexander Military School.

The beginning of creativity

He begins to write his first works in his youth: he tries out his pen in completely different directions: from poetry to prose on various topics). It was during this period that he wrote a series of works on military topics.

Heyday

The peak of this writer’s creativity comes during the war times of the first quarter of the 20th century. The most famous essays, stories and poems were written during these years. Emigration abroad after 1919 had a particular influence on the style.

Personal life

It is known that the writer had two officially registered marriages:

1. The first wife, Davydova Maria Karlovna, gave birth to the writer’s daughter Lydia, who was destined to have two unhappy marriages and die nine months after the birth of her only son Alexei. The boy was raised by his father. As an adult, he took part in the war of 1941 - 1945, was shell-shocked, and later died from heart disease, which was a consequence of the shell-shock.
2. The second wife, Heinrich Elizaveta Moritsovna, gave birth to Alexander Ivanovich two girls. The eldest, Ksenia, worked as a model and actress. She left behind the memories “Kuprin is my father.” She had no children. The youngest, Zinaida, died at the age of three from pneumonia. During the First World War, Elizaveta Moritsovna worked as a nurse and died of starvation during the siege of Leningrad.

Apparently, Kuprin did not leave any direct descendants behind him.

Emigration

The writer and his family were forced to leave for Gatchina, where he continued to publish in several newspapers.

The works reflect all the pain of the people suffering from coups and revolutions.

Here he begins to write the story “The Garnet Bracelet.”

In addition, the writer tries himself in various professions.

Homecoming

A general vote approved the entry of Alexander Ivanovich into the country in 1936. Stalin, and the entire system, were not against this. The writer himself talked about the reason for returning to his homeland in his essays: the main thing that guided him was longing for the fatherland and material difficulties.

The last years of the writer's life

The last two years of his life were difficult, since Kuprin suffered from a serious illness, which is why he actually died in August 1938. Next to the cemetery where the writer is buried, there is a museum built in his honor.

Interesting facts from the biography of Kuprin

A few more interesting facts:

1. The writer's surname comes from the name of the Kupra River, and the name from the Tatar Alle (allez).
2. During his life, Kuprin tried all possible professions. Adventurism is a character trait that threw him into various inexplicable actions. But he never wanted to write; he called his popularity a “random event.”
3. Tatar blood played a special role in his life. Although he was shy with women, he could treat members of his own sex like the great Tatar Khan. Many people assessed him as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
4. He had a well-developed sense of smell. Therefore, for some period of time he made a living from his ability to distinguish the subtle nuances of aroma.
5. In addition, the writer had various hobbies. True, interest in the new business quickly flared up and quickly faded.
6. In the writer’s homeland, in the village. Narovchat, Penza region, a house museum has been opened, which is the only one in the world. The first monument in the Russian Federation was also installed there, the opening of which was attended by the writer’s daughter Ksenia.

The most famous works of Alexander Kuprin

Popular works are the following creations presented in the table.

The writer's first works were poems that remained unpublished. The first story, “The Last Debut,” was published in 1889, when Alexander Ivanovich was 19 years old.

In addition, various stories and poems by this writer are known. In total, during his short life he wrote more than 200 different works on different topics, while remaining a romantic. Many of this author's works are classics that everyone needs to know!