Maxim Gorky: biography, personal life. Maxim Gorky, also known as Alexey Maksimovich Gorky (born Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov, Maksim Gorkij, Aleksej Maksimovich Peshkov) ()

Alexey Peshkov, better known as the writer Maxim Gorky, is a cult figure in Russian and Soviet literature. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize five times, was the most published Soviet author throughout the existence of the USSR and was considered on a par with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and the main creator of Russian literary art.

Alexey Peshkov - future Maxim Gorky | Pandia

He was born in the town of Kanavino, which at that time was located in the Nizhny Novgorod province, and is now one of the districts Nizhny Novgorod. His father Maxim Peshkov was a carpenter, and in last years life he managed a shipping company. Vasilievna’s mother died of consumption, so Alyosha Peshkova’s parents were replaced by her grandmother Akulina Ivanovna. From the age of 11, the boy was forced to start working: Maxim Gorky was a messenger at a store, a barman on a ship, an assistant to a baker and an icon painter. The biography of Maxim Gorky is reflected by him personally in the stories “Childhood”, “In People” and “My Universities”.

After an unsuccessful attempt to become a student at Kazan University and arrest due to connections with a Marxist circle, the future writer became a guard at railway. And at the age of 23, the young man set off to wander around the country and managed to reach the Caucasus on foot. It was during this journey that Maxim Gorky briefly wrote down his thoughts, which would later become the basis for his future works. By the way, the first stories of Maxim Gorky also began to be published around that time.

Having already become a famous writer, Alexey Peshkov leaves for the United States, then moves to Italy. This did not happen at all because of problems with the authorities, as some sources sometimes present, but because of changes in family life. Although abroad, Gorky continues to write revolutionary books. He returned to Russia in 1913, settled in St. Petersburg and began working for various publishing houses.

It is curious that, despite all his Marxist views, Peshkov perceived the October Revolution rather skeptically. After the Civil War, Maxim Gorky, who had some disagreements with the new government, again went abroad, but in 1932 he finally returned home.

Writer

The first published story by Maxim Gorky was the famous “Makar Chudra,” which was published in 1892. And the two-volume “Essays and Stories” brought fame to the writer. Interestingly, the circulation of these volumes was almost three times higher than what was usually accepted in those years. Of the most popular works of that period it is worth noting the stories “Old Woman Izergil”, “ Former people", "Chelkash", "Twenty six and one", as well as the poem "Song of the Falcon". Another poem, “Song of the Petrel,” has become a textbook. Maxim Gorky devoted a lot of time to children's literature. He wrote a number of fairy tales, for example, “Sparrow”, “Samovar”, “Tales of Italy”, published the first special children's magazine and organized holidays for children from poor families.

Very important for understanding the writer’s work are Maxim Gorky’s plays “At the Lower Depths,” “The Bourgeois” and “Yegor Bulychov and Others,” in which he reveals the playwright’s talent and shows how he sees the life around him. Big cultural significance for Russian literature they have the stories “Childhood” and “In People”, social novels“Mother” and “The Artamonov Case”. Last job Gorky’s epic novel “The Life of Klim Samgin” is considered, which has a second title “Forty Years”. The writer worked on this manuscript for 11 years, but never managed to finish it.

Personal life

The personal life of Maxim Gorky was quite stormy. He married for the first and officially only time at the age of 28. The young man met his wife Ekaterina Volzhina at the Samara Newspaper publishing house, where the girl worked as a proofreader. A year after the wedding, a son, Maxim, appeared in the family, and soon a daughter, Ekaterina, named after her mother. The writer was also raised by his godson Zinovy ​​Sverdlov, who later took the surname Peshkov.

But Gorky's love quickly disappeared. He began to feel burdened family life and their marriage to Ekaterina Volzhina turned into a parental union: they lived together solely because of the children. When little daughter Katya died unexpectedly, this tragic event became the impetus for the severance of family ties. However, Maxim Gorky and his wife remained friends until the end of their lives and maintained correspondence.

After separating from his wife, Maxim Gorky, with the help of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, met the Moscow Art Theater actress Maria Andreeva, who became his de facto wife for the next 16 years. It was because of her work that the writer left for America and Italy. From her previous relationship, the actress had a daughter, Ekaterina, and a son, Andrei, who were raised by Maxim Peshkov-Gorky. But after the revolution, Andreeva became interested in party work and began to pay less attention to her family, so in 1919 this relationship came to an end.

Gorky himself put an end to it, declaring that he was leaving for Maria Budberg, a former baroness and part-time his secretary. The writer lived with this woman for 13 years. The marriage, like the previous one, was unregistered. Last wife Maxima Gorky was 24 years younger than him, and all his acquaintances were aware that she was “having affairs” on the side. One of Gorky's wife's lovers was an English science fiction writer H.G. Wells, to whom she left immediately after the death of her actual spouse. There is a huge possibility that Maria Budberg, who had a reputation as an adventurer and clearly collaborated with the NKVD, could be a double agent and also work for British intelligence.

Death

After his final return to his homeland in 1932, Maxim Gorky worked in newspaper and magazine publishing houses, created a series of books “History of Factories and Works”, “Poet’s Library”, “History civil war", organizes and conducts the First All-Union Congress Soviet writers. After unexpected death the writer wilted from his son's pneumonia. During his next visit to Maxim’s grave, he caught a bad cold. Gorky had a fever for three weeks, which led to his death on June 18, 1936. The body of the Soviet writer was cremated, and the ashes were placed in the Kremlin wall on Red Square. But first, Maxim Gorky’s brain was extracted and transferred to the Research Institute for further study.

Later, the question was raised several times that legendary writer and his son could have been poisoned. By this case passed by People's Commissar Genrikh Yagoda, who was the lover of Maxim Peshkov's wife. They also suspected involvement and even. During the repressions and the consideration of the famous “Doctors’ Case,” three doctors were blamed, including the death of Maxim Gorky.

Books by Maxim Gorky

• 1899 - Foma Gordeev
• 1902 - At the bottom
• 1906 - Mother
• 1908 - The life of an unnecessary person
• 1914 - Childhood
• 1916 - In People
• 1923 - My universities
• 1925 - Artamonov case
• 1931 - Egor Bulychov and others
• 1936 - Life of Klim Samgin

Alexey Peshkov, better known under the pseudonym Maxim Gorky, is one of the most influential and famous writers THE USSR.

He managed to walk all the way to the Caucasus. During his travels, Gorky received a lot of impressions, which in the future will be reflected in his biography in general, and his work in particular.

Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov

The real name of Maxim Gorky is Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov. The pseudonym “Maxim Gorky,” by which most readers know him, first appeared on September 12, 1892 in the Tiflis newspaper “Caucasus” in the caption to the story “Makar Chudra.”

An interesting fact is that Gorky had another pseudonym with which he sometimes signed his works: Yehudiel Chlamida.

Abroad

Having gained a certain fame, Gorky travels to America, and after that to Italy. His moves have nothing to do with politics, but are dictated solely by family circumstances.

To be fair, it must be said that Gorky’s entire biography is permeated with constant trips abroad.

Only towards the end of his life did he stop traveling constantly.

While traveling, Gorky actively wrote books of a revolutionary nature. In 1913 he returned to Russian Empire and settled in St. Petersburg, working in various publishing houses.

It is interesting that although the writer himself had Marxist views, by the Great October revolution he was quite skeptical.

After the end of the civil war, Peshkov again went abroad due to disagreements with the new government. Only in 1932 did he finally and irrevocably return to his homeland.

Creation

In 1892, Maxim Gorky published his famous story “Makar Chudra”. However, his two-volume collection “Essays and Stories” brought him real fame.

It is curious that the circulation of his works was three times higher than the circulation of other writers. From his pen, one after another, the stories “Old Woman Izergil”, “Twenty-Six and One”, “Former People”, as well as the poems “Song of the Petrel” and “Song of the Falcon” came out.

In addition to serious stories, Maxim Gorky also wrote works for children. He owns many fairy tales. The most famous among them are “Samovar”, “Tales of Italy”, “Sparrow” and many others.

As a result, Maria lived with him for 16 years, although their marriage was not officially registered. The busy schedule of the sought-after actress forced Gorky to travel to Italy and the United States of America several times.

It is interesting that before meeting Gorky, Andreeva already had children: a son and a daughter. As a rule, the writer was involved in their upbringing.

Immediately after the revolution, Maria Andreeva became seriously interested in party activities. Because of this, she practically stopped paying attention to her husband and children.

As a result, in 1919, relations between them suffered a crushing fiasco.

Gorky openly told Andreeva that he was leaving for his secretary, Maria Budberg, with whom he would live for 13 years, and also in a “civil marriage.”

The writer's friends and relatives were aware that this secretary had whirlwind romances on the side. In principle, this is understandable, because she was 24 years younger than her husband.

So, one of her lovers was the famous English writer- H.G. Wells. After Gorky's death, Andreeva immediately moved in with Wells.

There is an opinion that Maria Budberg, who had a reputation as an adventurer and collaborated with the NKVD, could well have been a double agent (like), working for both Soviet and British intelligence.

Death of Gorky

The last years of his life, Maxim Gorky worked in a variety of publishing houses. Everyone considered it an honor to publish such a famous and popular writer, whose authority was indisputable.

In 1934, Gorky held the First All-Union Congress of Soviet Writers, and gave the main report at it. His biography and literary activity are considered the standard for young talents.

In the same year, Gorky acted as co-editor of the book “The White Sea-Baltic Canal named after Stalin.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn described this work as “the first book in Russian literature glorifying slave labor.”

When Gorky’s beloved son unexpectedly died, the writer’s health took a sharp turn. During his next visit to the grave of the deceased, he caught a serious cold.

For 3 weeks he was tormented by a fever, due to which he died on June 18, 1936. It was decided to cremate the body of the great proletarian writer and place the ashes in the Kremlin wall on Red Square. An interesting fact is that before cremation, Gorky’s brain was removed for scientific research.

The mystery of death

In more later years Increasingly, the question began to be raised that Gorky was deliberately poisoned. Among the suspects was People's Commissar Genrikh Yagoda, who was in love and had a relationship with Gorky's wife.

Leon Trotsky and . During the period of repression and the sensational “Doctors' Case,” three doctors were accused of Gorky's death.

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Russian writer, prose writer, playwright Maksim Gorky(Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov) was born in 1868. Despite the fame of the writer, Gorky’s biography, especially in childhood, is full of uncertainties. His father, Maxim Savvatievich Peshkov (1840-1871), came from the bourgeoisie of the Perm province. Gorky’s grandfather, Savvaty Peshkov, was a man of tough character: he rose to the rank of officer, but for cruel treatment of his subordinates he was demoted and exiled to Siberia. His attitude towards his son Maxim was no better, which is why he ran away from home several times. At the age of 17, he left home forever - after that, the son and father did not see each other again. Maxim Peshkov was talented, creative person. He learned the craft of cabinet-making, settled in Nizhny Novgorod and began working as a carpenter at the shipping company of I. S. Kolchin. Here he married Varvara Vasilyevna Kashirina (1842-1879), who came from a family of Nizhny Novgorod merchants. Only the mother of the bride, Akulina Ivanovna, gave consent to the marriage, but the father, Vasily Vasilyevich Kashirin, did not give consent, but then reconciled. In the spring of 1871, Maxim Peshkov left with his family for Astrakhan, where he began working as manager of the Astrakhan office of the Kolchin Shipping Company. In the summer of 1871, Maxim Savvatievich, while nursing Alyosha, who was sick with cholera, became infected himself and died. Varvara Vasilievna with her son and mother returned to Nizhny Novgorod to her father’s house.

Gorky's grandfather, Vasily Vasilyevich Kashirin, was a barge hauler in his youth, then became rich and became the owner of a dyeing workshop. At one time, he was the foreman of the dyeing shop, and was elected as a member of the Nizhny Novgorod Duma. In addition to Gorky’s grandfather, his two sons lived in the house with their families. Better times passed for the Kashirin family - due to factory production, the business was in decline. In addition, the Kashirin family was not friendly. They lived as if in war, and Alyosha Peshkov was only a burden there. Gorky believed that his mother did not love him, considering him the culprit of misfortunes, and therefore moved away from him. She began to arrange her personal life and remarried. Only the grandmother, Akulina Ivanovna, treated Alyosha with kindness. She replaced his mother and supported her grandson as best she could. It was his grandmother who gave him love for folk songs and fairy tales. The grandfather, despite his complex character, taught the boy to read and write at the age of six using church books. In 1877-1879, Alyosha Peshkov successfully studied at the Nizhny Novgorod Slobodsk Kanavinsky Primary School. In August 1879, his mother died of consumption. By that time, the grandfather was completely broke and sent his 11-year-old grandson “to the people.”

“In People” Alexey Peshkov changed many occupations: he worked as a “boy” in shoe store, a boatman on a steamship, was in service, caught birds, was a salesman in an icon shop, a student in an icon-painting workshop, an extra in the theater at the Nizhny Novgorod fair, a foreman repairing fair buildings, etc. While working on the steamship “Dobry”, Alexey Peshkov’s boss was the cook is retired guards non-commissioned officer Mikhail Smury, who noticed the boy’s curiosity and awakened in him a love of reading. Books in many ways saved Alexei Peshkov from an evil, unjust world and helped him understand a lot. Despite early hardships and suffering, he managed to maintain his love of life. Subsequently, M. Gorky wrote: “I did not expect outside help and did not hope for a happy occasion... I realized very early that a person is created by his resistance to the environment.”

In 1884, Alexey Peshkov went to enter Kazan University. He returned to Nizhny Novgorod in 1889 and lived here intermittently until 1904. In 1913-1914, M. Gorky wrote the autobiographical story “Childhood.”

In Nizhny Novgorod there is A. M. Gorky’s Museum of Childhood “Kashirin’s House”. Alyosha Peshkov began living in this house at the end of August 1871, after arriving with his mother from Astrakhan. In the spring of 1872, Gorky’s grandfather divided the property between his sons, and the house remained with his son Yakov. Vasily Vasilyevich himself, with his wife Akulina Ivanovna and grandson Alyosha, moved to live in another house. The Museum of Childhood of A. M. Gorky reproduces the original furnishings of the Kashirin family home.

The biography of Maxim Gorky is set out in his works: “Childhood”, “In People”, “My Universities”, or rather, the beginning of his life. Maxim Gorky is the pseudonym of the outstanding Russian writer and playwright Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov. In his creative biography there was another pseudonym: Yehudiel Chlamida.

The nugget of talent has been awarded five times Nobel Prize on literature. He is usually called a proletarian, revolutionary writer for his struggle against autocracy. The biography of Maxim Gorky was not easy. This will be discussed in this article.

Maxim Gorky was born in 1868. His biography began in Nizhny Novgorod. His maternal grandfather, Kashirin, was a demoted officer due to harsh treatment of his subordinates. After returning from exile, he became a tradesman and ran a dyeing workshop. His daughter married a carpenter and left with her husband for Astrakhan. There they had two children.

The eldest of them, Alyosha, fell ill with cholera at the age of four. Since the mother was pregnant with her second child, the father took care of the sick child and became infected from him. He soon died, and the boy recovered. Out of anxiety, the mother gave birth ahead of schedule. She decided to return to parents' house. On the way, her youngest child died.

They settled in her father's house in Nizhny Novgorod. Now there is a museum there - Kashirin’s house. The furnishings and furniture of those years have been preserved, even the rods with which the grandfather flogged Alyosha. He had a tough, hot-tempered character and could whip anyone in his anger, even his little grandson.

Maxim Gorky was educated at home. His mother taught him to read, and his grandfather taught him to read and write in church. Despite his temper, my grandfather was a very pious man. He often visited church and took his grandson there, usually against his will, by force. This is how a negative attitude towards religion arose in little Alyosha, as well as a spirit of resistance, which would later develop into a revolutionary trend in his works.

One day a boy took revenge on his grandfather by cutting up his favorite “Lives of the Saints” with scissors. For which, of course, he received it properly.

Maxim did not attend parish school for long. But due to illness he was forced to stop studying there. Maxim Gorky also studied at the Sloboda school for two years. That, perhaps, is all his education is. All his life he wrote with errors, which were then corrected by his wife, a proofreader by profession.

Alyosha’s mother remarried and moved in with her husband, taking her son with her. But his relationship with his stepfather did not work out. One day Alyosha saw him beating his mother. The boy attacked his stepfather and beat him. After that I had to run away to my grandfather, which was, of course, not the best option.

For a long time, Alyosha’s school of life was the street where he got the nickname “Bashlyk”. For some time he stole firewood to heat the house, food, and looked for rags in a landfill. After his classmates complained to the teacher that it was impossible to sit next to him because of the bad smell emanating from him, Maxim Gorky was offended and no longer came to school. He never received secondary education.

Youth years

Soon Alexei’s mother fell ill with Czech fever and died. Left orphaned, Alyosha was forced to earn his living. By that time my grandfather was completely broke. Gorky himself writes well about this time: “...my grandfather told me:

- Well, Lexey, you are not a medal, there is no place for you on my neck, but go join the people...

And I went among the people." This is how the story “Childhood” ends. The adult, independent period of the biography of Maxim Gorky begins. And he was only eleven years old then!

Alexey worked in different places: in a shop as a helper, as a cook, on a ship as a cook, in an icon-painting workshop as an apprentice.

When he was sixteen years old, he decided to try to enter Kazan University. But, to his great regret, he was refused. Firstly, low-income people were not accepted there, and secondly, he didn’t even have a certificate.

Then Alexey went to work at the pier. There he met revolutionary-minded youth, began to attend their circles, and read Marxist literature.

When the young man worked in a bakery, he met the populist Derenkov. He sent income from the sale of products to support the popular movement.

In 1987, Alexei’s grandmother and grandfather died. He loved his grandmother very much, who often protected him from his grandfather’s outbursts of anger and told him fairy tales. At her grave in Nizhny Novgorod, a monument was erected depicting her telling a fairy tale to her beloved grandson Alyosha.

The young man was very worried about her death. He developed depression, during which he attempted suicide. Alexei shot himself in the chest with a gun. But the watchman managed to call medical help. The unfortunate man was taken to the hospital, where he was urgently operated on. He lived, but the consequences of this wound would cause him lifelong lung disease.

Later, in the hospital, Alexey made another suicide attempt. He drank poison from a medical vessel. They managed to pump him out again, washing his stomach. Here psychiatrists had to examine the young man. Many were found mental disorders, which were later rejected. For attempting suicide, Alexei was excommunicated from church communion for four years.

In 1988, Alexey, together with other revolutionaries, left for Krasnovidovo to conduct revolutionary propaganda. He joins Fedoseev's circle, for which he is arrested. From that moment on, the police begin to follow him. At that time he was a farm laborer, worked as a watchman at the station, then moved to the Caspian Sea, where he began working among other fishermen.

In 1989, he wrote a petition in verse with the aim of transferring him to Borisoglebsk. Then he worked at the Krutaya station. Here Alexey first fell in love with the daughter of the station chief. His feeling was so strong that he decided to propose marriage. He, of course, was refused. But he remembered the girl all his life.

Alexey was fascinated by the ideas of Leo Tolstoy. He even went to see him in Yasnaya Polyana. But the writer’s wife ordered the walker to be driven away.

The beginning of a creative career

In 1989, Maxim Gorky met the writer Korolenko and took the risk of showing him his work. The beginning of his creative biography was very unsuccessful. The writer criticized his “Song of the Old Oak”. But the young man did not despair and continued to write.

This year Peshkov goes to prison for participating in the revolutionary youth movement. Coming out of captivity, he decides to go on a journey through Mother Rus'. He visited the Volga region, Crimea, the Caucasus, Ukraine (where he was hospitalized). I traveled what is now called “hitchhiking” - on passing convoys, walked a lot, climbed into empty freight cars. The young romantic liked such a free life. The opportunity to see the world and feel the happiness of freedom - all this is easily the basis of the works of a beginning writer.

Then the manuscript “Makara Chudra” was born. In Georgia, Peshkov met the revolutionary Kalyuzhny. He published this work in the newspaper. Then the pseudonym Maxim Gorky was born. Maxim - in honor of his father, and Gorky - because bitterness was constantly present in his biography.

His works began to be readily published in newspapers and magazines. Soon everyone was talking about the new talent. By that time he had already settled down and got married.

Splash of fame

In 1998, two volumes of the writer’s works were published. They brought him not only great glory, but also trouble. Gorky was arrested for revolutionary views and put in a castle in the capital of Georgia.

After his release, the writer settled in St. Petersburg. There they were created by him best works: “Song about the Petrel”, “At the Bottom”, “Philistines”, “Three” and others. In 1902 he was elected honorary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. The emperor himself highly appreciated the writer’s work, despite his struggle with the autocracy. His sharp, direct language, courage, freedom, and the genius of thought present in his works could not leave anyone indifferent. The talent was obvious.

During that period, Gorky continued to take part in the revolutionary movement, attended circles, and distributed Marxist literature. As if the lessons of past arrests had no effect on him. Such courage simply infuriated the police.

Now famous writer already communicated freely with the idol of his youth, Leo Tolstoy. They talked for a long time in Yasnaya Polyana. He also met other writers: Kuprin, Bunin and others.

In 1902, Gorky and his family, which already had two children, moved to Nizhny Novgorod. He rents a spacious house in the city center. Now there is a museum there. This apartment was a haven for creative people that time. Such famous people as Chekhov, Tolstoy, Stanislavsky, Andreev, Bunin, Repin and, of course, his friend Fyodor Chaliapin gathered there and communicated for a long time, exchanging new works. He played the piano and sang pieces of music.

Here he finished “At the Bottom”, wrote “Mother”, “Man”, “Summer Residents”. He was good not only in prose, but also in poetry. But some of them, for example “The Song of the Storm Petrel,” are, as you know, written in blank verse. The revolutionary, proud spirit, the call to fight are present in almost all of his works.

Last years

In 1904, Gorky joined the RSDLP, next year met Lenin. The writer is arrested again and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. But soon, under public pressure, he was released. In 1906, Gorky was forced to leave the country and became a political emigrant.

He lived first in the USA. Then, due to a serious illness (tuberculosis) that tormented him for a long time, he settled in Italy. Everywhere he carried out revolutionary propaganda. Concerned authorities recommended that he settle on the island of Capri, where he lived for about seven years.

On the roof of the editorial office of the Izvestia newspaper

Many Russian writers and revolutionaries visited him here. Once a week, a seminar for aspiring writers was even held in his villa.

Here Gorky wrote his Tales of Italy. In 12, he went to Paris, where he talked with Lenin.

In 13, Gorky returned to Russia. He settled in St. Petersburg for five years. Relatives and acquaintances found refuge in his spacious house. One day a woman named Maria Budberg brought him papers to sign and fainted from hunger. Gorky fed her and left her in his house. She would later become his mistress.

With writer Romain Rolland

Gorky, who led an active revolutionary activity, oddly enough, reacted negatively to the October coup in the country. He was struck by the cruelty of the revolution and interceded for the arrested whites. After the assassination attempt on Lenin, Gorky sent him a sympathetic telegram.

In 21, Gorky left his homeland again. According to one version, the reason for this was deteriorating health, according to another, disagreement with politics in the country.

In 1928, the writer was invited to the USSR. He traveled around the country for five weeks, then returned back to Italy. And in 1933 he came to his homeland, where he lived until his death.

In the last years of his life, he created the book “The Life of Klim Samgin,” which is striking in its philosophy of life.

In 1934, Gorky held the First Congress of the USSR Writers' Union.

In recent years he lived in Crimea. In 1936, Gorky visited his sick grandchildren in Moscow. Apparently he got infected from them or caught a cold on the way. But his health condition deteriorated sharply. The writer fell ill, it was clear that he would not recover.

Stalin visited the dying Gorky. The writer died on June 18. At the autopsy it turned out that his lungs were in terrible condition.

The writer's coffin was carried by Molotov and Stalin. Both of Gorky's wives followed the coffin. The city of Nizhny Novgorod, where the writer was born, bore his name from 1932 until 1990.

Personal life

Gorky always possessed enviable masculine strength, according to surviving information, despite his chronic illness.

The writer's first unofficial marriage was with midwife Olga Kamenskaya. Her mother, also a midwife, delivered the baby to Peshkov’s mother. It seemed interesting to him that his mother-in-law helped bring him into the world. But they did not live long with Olga. Gorky left her after she fell asleep while the author was reading “The Old Woman Izergil.”

In 1996, Alexey married Ekaterina Volzhina. She was the only official wife of the writer. They had two children: Ekaterina and Maxim. Katya died soon after. The son died two years before Gorky.

In 1903, he became involved with actress Maria Andreeva, who left her husband and two children for his sake. He lived with her until his death. Moreover, there was never a divorce from Gorky’s first wife.

If you ask: “What do you think about the work of Alexei Gorky?”, then few people will be able to answer this question. And not because these people don’t read, but because not everyone knows and remembers that this is the well-known writer Maxim Gorky. And if you decide to complicate the task even more, then ask about the works of Alexey Peshkov. Only a few here will remember what it is real name Alexei Gorky. He was not just a writer, but also an active one. As you already understand, we will talk about a truly national writer - Maxim Gorky.

Childhood and adolescence

Years of life of Gorky (Peshkov) Alexei Maksimovich - 1868-1936. They came at an important time historical era. The biography of Alexei Gorky is rich in events, starting from his childhood. The writer's hometown is Nizhny Novgorod. His father, a manager of a shipping company, died when the boy was only 3 years old. After the death of her husband, Alyosha's mother remarried. She died when he was 11 years old. Further education little Alexey grandfather was doing.

As an 11-year-old boy, the future writer was already “going public” - earning his own bread. He worked in all sorts of jobs: he was a baker, he worked as a delivery boy in a store, and as a dishwasher in a cafeteria. Unlike the stern grandfather, the grandmother was a kind and believing woman and an excellent storyteller. It was she who instilled in Maxim Gorky a love of reading.

In 1887, the writer attempted suicide, which he associated with difficult experiences caused by the news of his grandmother’s death. Fortunately, he survived - the bullet did not hit his heart, but damaged his lungs, which caused problems with the functioning of the respiratory system.

The life of the future writer was not easy, and he, unable to bear it, ran away from home. The boy wandered around the country a lot, saw the whole truth of life, but miraculously was able to maintain faith in the ideal Man. He will describe his childhood years, life in his grandfather’s house in “Childhood” - the first part of his autobiographical trilogy.

In 1884, Alexei Gorky tries to enter Kazan University, but due to his financial situation he learns that this is impossible. During this period, the future writer begins to gravitate towards the romantic philosophy, according to which the ideal Man is not similar to the real Man. Then he became acquainted with Marxist theory and became a supporter of new ideas.

The appearance of a pseudonym

In 1888, the writer was arrested for a short period of time for connections with the Marxist circle of N. Fedoseev. In 1891, he decided to start traveling around Russia and was eventually able to reach the Caucasus. Alexey Maksimovich was constantly engaged in self-education, saving and expanding his knowledge in different areas. He agreed to any job and carefully preserved all his impressions; they later appeared in his very first stories. He subsequently called this period “My Universities.”

In 1892, Gorky returned to his native place and took his first steps in the literary field as a writer in several provincial publications. For the first time his pseudonym "Gorky" appeared in the same year in the newspaper "Tiflis", which published his story "Makar Chudra".

The pseudonym was not chosen by chance: it hinted at the “bitter” Russian life and that the writer would write only the truth, no matter how bitter it may be. Maxim Gorky saw life common people and with his character, he could not help but notice the injustice that was on the part of the rich classes.

Early creativity and success

Alexey Gorky was actively involved in propaganda, for which he was under constant police control. With the help of V. Korolenko, in 1895 his story “Chelkash” was published in the largest Russian magazine. Next, “Old Woman Izergil” and “Song of the Falcon” were published. They were not special from a literary point of view, but they successfully coincided with new political views.

In 1898, his collection “Essays and Stories” was published, which was an extraordinary success, and Maxim Gorky received all-Russian recognition. Although his stories were not highly artistic, they depicted the life of the common people, starting from the very bottom, which brought Alexei Peshkov recognition as the only writer who writes about the lower class. At that time, he was no less popular than L.N. Tolstoy and A.P. Chekhov.

In the period from 1904 to 1907, the plays “The Bourgeois”, “At the Depths”, “Children of the Sun”, “Summer Residents” were written. His most early works did not have any social orientation, but the characters had their own types and a special attitude to life, which the readers really liked.

Revolutionary activities

The writer Alexei Gorky was an ardent supporter of Marxist social democracy and in 1901 wrote “Song of the Petrel,” which called for revolution. For open propaganda of revolutionary actions, he was arrested and expelled from Nizhny Novgorod. In 1902, Gorky met Lenin, and in the same year his election to membership in the Imperial Academy in the category of belles-lettres was cancelled.

The writer was also an excellent organizer: from 1901 he was the head of the Znanie publishing house, which published best writers that period. He supported the revolutionary movement not only spiritually, but also financially. The writer's apartment was used as a headquarters for revolutionaries before important events. Lenin even performed at his apartment in St. Petersburg. Afterwards, in 1905, Maxim Gorky, due to fears of arrest, decided to leave Russia for a while.

Life abroad

Alexey Gorky went to Finland and from there - to Western Europe and the USA, where he collected funds for the Bolshevik struggle. At the very beginning, he was greeted there friendly: the writer made acquaintance with Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain. It is published in America famous novel"Mother". However, later Americans began to resent his political actions.

Between 1906 and 1907, Gorky lived on the island of Capri, from where he continued to support the Bolsheviks. At the same time, he creates a special theory of “god-building.” The point was that moral and cultural values much more important than political ones. This theory formed the basis of the novel "Confession". Although Lenin rejected these beliefs, the writer continued to adhere to them.

Return to Russia

In 1913, Alexey Maksimovich returned to his homeland. During the First World War, he lost faith in the power of Man. In 1917, his relations with the revolutionaries deteriorated, he became disillusioned with the leaders of the revolution.

Gorky understands that all his attempts to save the intelligentsia do not meet with a response from the Bolsheviks. But then in 1918 he recognized his beliefs as erroneous and returned to the Bolsheviks. In 1921, despite a personal meeting with Lenin, he failed to save his friend, the poet Nikolai Gumilyov, from execution. After this he leaves Bolshevik Russia.

Repeated emigration

Due to the intensification of attacks of tuberculosis and according to Lenin, Alexey Maksimovich leaves Russia for Italy, to the city of Sorrento. There he completes his autobiographical trilogy. The author was in exile until 1928, but continued to maintain contacts with the Soviet Union.

He does not give up writing, but writes in accordance with new literary trends. Far from his homeland, he wrote the novel “The Artamonov Case” and short stories. An extensive work, “The Life of Klim Samgin,” was begun, which the writer did not have time to finish. In connection with Lenin's death, Gorky writes a book of memoirs about the leader.

Return to homeland and last years of life

Alexey Gorky visited several times Soviet Union, but did not stay there. In 1928, during a trip around the country, he was shown the “ceremonial” side of life. The delighted writer wrote essays about the Soviet Union.

In 1931, at the personal invitation of Stalin, he returned to the USSR forever. Alexey Maksimovich continues to write, but in his works he praises the image of Stalin and the entire leadership, without mentioning numerous repressions. Of course, this state of affairs did not suit the writer, but at that time statements that contradicted the authorities were not tolerated.

In 1934, Gorky’s son died, and on June 18, 1936, under circumstances that were not fully understood, Maxim Gorky died. IN last way people's writer accompanied by the entire leadership of the country. The urn with his ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall.

Features of the work of Maxim Gorky

His work is unique in that it was during the period of the collapse of capitalism that he was able to very clearly convey the state of society through description ordinary people. After all, no one before him had described in such detail the life of the lower strata of society. It was this undisguised truth of the life of the working class that won him the people's love.

His faith in man can be traced in his early works; he believed that man can make a revolution with the help of his spiritual life. Maxim Gorky managed to combine the bitter truth with faith in moral values. And it was this combination that made his works special, his characters memorable, and made Gorky himself a writer of workers.