Vladimir Nabokov is a Russian and American writer, poet, playwright, translator and literary critic. His works are still used in performances and films.
Interestingly, Nabokov was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 4 times in a row. Alexander Solzhenitsyn even wrote a letter to the committee so that the writer would be nominated for the prestigious award for the fifth time, but this did not yield any results.
There are many interesting facts in Nabokov’s biography, and we will tell you about all of this right now.
So, here is a short biography of Vladimir Nabokov .
Writer Vladimir Nabokov
Biography of Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born on April 10, 1899 in St. Petersburg. He grew up in a wealthy noble family.
His father, Vladimir Dmitrievich, was a famous Russian lawyer and politician. Mother, Elena Ivanovna, was the daughter of a gold miner who owned a huge fortune.
In addition to Vladimir, 2 more boys and 2 girls were born into the Nabokov family.
Childhood and youth
The childhood of the future writer passed in a warm and carefree atmosphere. The family lived in a large three-story house, furnished with expensive furniture.
In the summer, little Volodya and his parents repeatedly went on vacation abroad.
8-year-old Volodya Nabokov, 1907
An interesting fact is that all members of the family spoke three languages: French, English and Russian. Nabokov's parents paid serious attention to their children's education, encouraging them to read a lot of books.
In addition to literature, Vladimir liked to play tennis and football, as well as ride a bicycle.
Childhood and youth
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg in 1899. His parents belonged to a wealthy noble family. My father was a lawyer, served in the State Duma and was a member of the Cadets Party. Mother - Elena Ivanovna Rukavishnikova was the daughter of a wealthy gold miner. The family had four children who, having received an excellent education at home, spoke excellent French, English and Russian.
As a child, Vladimir was not only interested in studying languages, but also studied painting. He was given private lessons by Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, who was known for being a former teacher of the artist Marc Chagall. Nabokov was fond of chess and tennis, he spent a lot of time in his parents' library, which contained more than 10,000 different books. At the age of seven, Vladimir became interested in entomology - the science of butterflies. Subsequently, he carried this passion throughout his life, was professionally engaged in this business, and even discovered several new, previously undescribed species.
As a child, Vladimir was interested in:
- studied beetles and butterflies;
- taught foreign languages;
- loved literature.
As soon as Vladimir turned 11 years old, his parents sent the boy and his brother Victor to the Tenishev School, which had just opened in St. Petersburg. This is an ambiguous stage in the life of the future great writer; at this time he was often accused of arrogance and panache.
However, according to his recollections, he was an ordinary boy who had previously spent his entire life under his parents’ wing, almost never communicating with his peers. That is why he had difficulty making friends, preferring to be alone.
At the school in 1914, Vladimir wrote his first poem, followed by dozens of other works . At the same time, Nabokov’s uncle dies, who left his nephew the Rozhdestveno estate and a multimillion-dollar fortune. Vladimir immediately decided to use the money he received to publish his first collection of poetry, which included 68 works. However, Nabokov subsequently spoke extremely negatively about his early work, and spoke of the book he published as mediocre and exceptionally bad.
Education
The first educational institution in the biography of Vladimir Nabokov was the Tenishev School, where Osip Mandelstam once studied (see interesting facts about Mandelstam).
Nabokov's favorite subject, after literature, was entomology, as he liked to observe insects and study their vital functions.
Later, the young man even began collecting butterflies, which he caught with a net on the street. It is interesting that in his works he often mentioned these amazing creatures.
While still a student at the school, Vladimir Nabokov published a collection of Poems, which became the first in his biography. It contained about 70 poems.
It is worth noting that the Russian literature teacher criticized the student’s work and advised Vladimir to do something else. However, despite harsh criticism, the future writer still continued to write poetry.
Vladimir Nabokov in his youth
On the eve of the October Revolution of 1917, the Nabokov family decided to move to Crimea because they sensed impending changes.
It was there that the poet was able to achieve success in the writing field. His works were published in various newspapers and were also used for theatrical productions.
In 1918, the almanac “Two Paths” was published from the pen of Vladimir Nabokov, co-authored with the little-known poet Andrei Balashov.
He soon became interested in the metric theory of Andrei Bely, who, along with Valery Bryusov, was a leading figure in Russian symbolism and modernism. Later Nabokov would try to apply this theory in his own works.
Emigration
When the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, came to power in the newly formed USSR, the Nabokov family had to leave Russia and go to Berlin, which at that time had many Russian emigrants.
At this time in his biography, the young man enters Cambridge University and successfully graduates. Having received his diploma, he begins to work as an English teacher and also engage in translation activities.
Nabokov's works
In 1926, Nabokov presented his first novel, Mashenka, which addressed the problem of love. It should be noted that he sent his work to Ivan Bunin, whom he considered his mentor.
He wanted to hear the opinion of the famous Russian writer about his book, but he never received an answer from the classic.
Vladimir Nabokov in America
After this, Vladimir Vladimirovich continues to write novels and publish them in the publication “Modern Notes”. An interesting fact is that he was originally published under the pseudonym “Sirin”.
When Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in the mid-30s, Nabokov again had to change his place of residence. As a result, he moves from Germany to France, and from there to the USA.
During the biography period 1940-1958. he teaches at American universities.
The students listened to his lectures with great interest, since he had not only deep knowledge, but also the ability to beautifully present any information.
Having become a writer, Vladimir Nabokov formed his own style of writing.
He described in detail the character and emotions of the characters, and also tried to complete the plot with some unpredictable outcome. Anton Chekhov and Fyodor Dostoevsky worked in a similar manner.
In 1955, one of the most famous novels in Nabokov’s biography, Lolita, was published. It intertwined philosophy and skillfully veiled eroticism.
Nabokov described the love of an adult man for a teenage girl, speaking about complex things in simple words.
The book turned out to be so successful that the author decided to translate it into Russian. Interestingly, in some countries the novel was banned because censors considered its plot pornographic.
Some biographers of Nabokov believe that he was left without the Nobel Prize precisely because of his Lolita. However, based on this book, 2 films were made, which were very popular among the audience.
Personal life of Vladimir Nabokov
The master of literature was a success with the fair half of humanity. At the age of 16, he was overtaken by a passion for Valentina Shulgina, a neighbor in the country. He dedicated his first poetic lines to her.
Vladimir Nabokov was successful with women
In emigration, he had many love affairs, twice they ended in engagement - with Marina Schreiber and with Svetlana Sievert. And he married (and lived in marriage for 52 years) Vera Evseevna Slonim, an intelligent and educated daughter of a timber merchant, born in the city on the Neva.
Vladimir Nabokov and Vera Slonim in their youth
She was absolutely devoted to him and convinced of his genius. In 1934 she gave her husband an heir, Dmitry.
Nabokov with his wife and son
In the late 1930s, the writer lost his head in love with the unusually sensual beauty Irina Guadanini, a poetess who made a living by training and grooming poodles. The wife found out about the infidelity and let him go. However, the family was too dear to him. He broke up with his mistress, and his wife even tried to relieve him of guilt, assuring him that this story had revived their feelings.
Vladimir Nabokov lived in marriage with Vera Slonim until the end of his days
Personal life
From a young age, Vladimir Nabokov repeatedly had love affairs with girls. In 1922, at the age of 23, he began dating Svetlana Sievert, after which he proposed to her.
However, Svetlana's parents were against her marrying Nabokov, since he did not have a permanent job.
After 3 years, he married a Jewish woman, Vera Slonim, who was an educated and intelligent girl. In this marriage they had a boy, Dmitry (1934), who in the future became an opera singer and translator.
Vladimir Nabokov and Vera Solonim
It is interesting that Vera, just like Nabokov himself, loved butterflies. That is why she repeatedly caught them together with her husband, sharing his hobby.
Vladimir Nabokov was interested in chess and was a very strong player. Later, he even published a book with many interesting chess problems.
The writer Nabokov himself spoke about himself like this:
I am an American writer, born in Russia, educated in England, where I studied French literature before moving to Germany for fifteen years.
And further:
My head speaks English, my heart speaks Russian, and my ear speaks French.
Childhood
Vladimir Nabokov was born in the northern capital of Russia, St. Petersburg. This event in the family of Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov and Elena Ivanovna Nabokova (Rukavishnikov) occurred on April 22 (April 10), 1899.
The Nabokovs belonged to a wealthy old noble family. The father of the future writer was a lawyer, a member of the State Duma from the Cadets Party, and later worked in the Provisional Government. Vladimir's mother came from a wealthy family of gold miners.
All four of the Nabokovs' children - the eldest Vladimir, Sergei, Olga and Elena - received an excellent home education and spoke three languages fluently (Russian, English and French). The writer himself has said more than once that he was initially taught English, and only then his native language.
