What name is indicated in Andrei Bely’s passport? Secrets of history

Name: Andrey Bely (Boris Bugaev)

Age: 53 years old

Activity: writer, poet, critic, memoirist, poet

Marital status: was married

Andrey Bely: biography

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

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

Childhood and youth

A future star was born " silver age"in the late autumn of 1880 in the capital, in an intelligent family of native Muscovites. Boris Bugaev grew up and was brought up in an atmosphere of two opposing elements - mathematics and music, which was later surprisingly reflected in his poetry.

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

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

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

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

Literature

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Personal life

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

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

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

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

Death

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

Memory

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

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

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

Bibliography

Novels

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

Poetry

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

(real name - Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev)

(1880-1934) Russian prose writer, poet, critic, literary critic

The future famous symbolist was born into the family of Professor N. Bugaev, a famous mathematician, author of the original theory of evolutionary monatodology and chairman of the Moscow Mathematical Society. Bugaev's childhood years were spent in the everyday and intellectual atmosphere of professorial Moscow. She influenced not only his mental development, but also his subconscious. Later, in his novels and memoirs, he will create images of celebrities who were in the house in the form of caryatids, holders of a special system of the universe. Probably, thanks to his irrepressible energy, the father will receive in this hierarchy the honorary nickname of Hephaestus, the god of fire, mobile and changeable.

Mother cared only for herself and led a secular lifestyle. Her beauty is evidenced by the image of the young woman in the painting “Boyar Wedding” by K. Makovsky, for which she posed.

Each of the parents dreamed of making a future genius out of the boy: the father saw in him a successor of the work, the mother dreamed of all-round development, taught music and literacy. Bugaev later recalled that he was afraid to upset his mother with his misunderstanding and that made him even more stupid.

For the purpose of self-defense, he retreated into his inner world, which was largely influenced by the works of Mine Reid and Jules Verne. Later, children's fantasies and fears (Bugaev was often sick) would also become the content of his books. After all, he began to notice many things early. Duality will become his usual state, over time he will even give up his name.

Bugaev enters private gymnasium L. Polivanova. Many Russian figures passed through the hands of this teacher, an expert in Russian literature, the author of an original educational methodology; V. Bryusov studied there from symbolist circles close to Bugaev.

Childhood ends, the time comes to read Baudelaire, Verlaine, White, Hauptmann, Ibsen. The first attempts at writing date back to the autumn of 1895. As a poet, Bugaev was formed under the influence of French decadents and Russian philosophy.

In 1896, he met the family of M. Solovyov, brother of the philosopher V. Solovyov. They settled in the same house on the corner of Arbat and Denezhny Lane where the Bugaevs lived. Seryozha Solovyov becomes a friend and friend of the poet, and Solovyov’s wife introduces him to the works of the Impressionists and Vrubel. Bugaev is interested in the music of Grieg, Wagner, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Soloviev came up with a pseudonym for the aspiring writer - Andrei Bely. After all, out of respect for his father, Bugaev does not dare to publish under his own name and signs “natural science student.” At that time he was studying at the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University.

True, Andrei Bely also performed under other pseudonyms; at least twelve of them are known, among them Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Kunktator, Leonid Ledyanoy. Such scatteredness testified to the poet’s unstable state; he was still in the process of self-search.

Constancy was not a feature of White. He even composed his poems on the run, in the process of moving and moving. Andrei Bely did not perceive any text as final: when releasing reissues, he sometimes changed the text so much that it presented variations on the same theme. So, the poems from the collection “Ashes” were rewritten by him three times, for publications in 1923 and 1929. The last version was prepared for the collection “Calls of Time,” but it was not published due to the death of the poet.

The novel “Petersburg” exists in four editions, and in the first of them the rhythmic structure was determined by the amphibrachium, and in the second by the anapest. Such a structure required explanation. Not a single publisher accepted the novel "Masks" (1932) poetic form. Therefore, Bely had to give prefaces to his works, provide them with diagrams and drawings, and conduct special seminars on metrics.

Bely's first works were mostly not preserved; excerpts from others were later published in Northern Flowers and Golden Fleece.

Andrei Bely always dreamed of harmonizing exact sciences and music. He did not work in his specialty, but in his articles and theoretical and philosophical studies he even used mathematical calculations to build his theories.

The philosophy of V. Solovyov and F. Nietzsche becomes a support for Bely. He openly states that he relied on their conclusions to construct his own system of views related to the mystical transformation of existence and knowledge of the mystery of existence.

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by Bely’s work on the “Symphonies”. They represent new uniform, lyrical rhythmic prose, where various storylines flow according to the laws of musical composition in the form of separate leitmotifs.

As the author wrote, it was important for him to convey the spiritual consonance of the surrounding world in all its sides, parts and manifestations. But he is still developing his own style; bookish impressions are still strong in the first symphony. The “Third Symphony” is interesting for its prophetic pathos.

Andrei Bely constantly expanded his circle of literary acquaintances, he learned a lot from V. Bryusov, and Merezhkovsky-Gippius’s entourage had a certain influence on the poet. He published the articles “Forms of Art” (1902) and “Symbolism as a World Understanding” (1904) that were significant for creativity in their religious and philosophical journal “New Way”.

Bely believed that he was an adept of a new art, true symbolism. His views were shared by like-minded people, mainly students of Moscow University, who called themselves Argonauts.

After meeting with A. Blok in 1903, it became clear to them that both poets were developing in the same direction. True, Andrei Bely himself admitted that at that time he was inferior to Blok in literary skill. The relationship of friendship and enmity will be reflected in the correspondence, which is an invaluable monument to the history of the development of symbolism as a literary movement.

The year 1904 brought disappointments, Andrei Bely left the Argonaut circle and started a controversy with Bryusov. The subject of the attacks was that Bryusov became a friend for the lover abandoned by Andrei Bely. In his relationship with N. Piotrovskaya, Bely hoped to find astral love, but they developed into a trivial romance. Then he breaks up with her. Both poets reflect their impressions in poetry; Bryusov makes Bely the hero of his novel “Fire Angel.”

A new streak of creativity begins with collaboration in the leading symbolist magazine “Scales”, where Bely publishes his articles, notes, and reviews. Gradually he becomes a leading theorist of symbolism.

For some time (in 1906-1909), Andrei Bely believed that he was in love with Blok’s wife L. Mendeleeva. But rather, he paid tribute to the general sentiments, because many believed that Mendeleeva would become the earthly personification of the Eternal Femininity, substantiated by V. Solovyov and realized by Blok in poetry. Later, Bely reflected his experiences, inspired by unrequited love and disappointments in his youthful dreams, in the collection “Urna” (1909), the story “The Bush”, in the image of the angel Peri in the novel “Petersburg” (1916), as well as in his memoirs.

Andrei Bely was one of those people who were easily influenced by others and were carried away by many things at the same time. He easily changed his tone in his relationships with others, moving from friendship to hatred and vice versa. It is known that Bely repeatedly provoked others into duels, but they were not allowed by his loved ones.

Bely's literary life ran parallel to his university studies. Having graduated from the natural sciences department in 1903 with a first-degree diploma, in the fall of 1905 Andrei Bely entered the historical and philosophical department. But he soon leaves him without finishing. Now he completely focuses on literary creativity.

Shklovsky believed that from Bely’s “Symphonies” a new prose emerged, no longer associated with a traditional plot, but with the splitting of the narrative whole, where individual components have meaning, but not the whole. Of course, his followers also used the brilliant semantic game that Bely started in almost every one of his works. One of the critics noted that the poet’s fractional world was, as it were, captured by the faceted vision of insects.

Bely's revolutionary sentiments were probably reflected in a change in the plot orientation of his works. In 1904-1908 he created a book of poems “Ashes”, where he shows his attitude to the theme of his homeland. It is curious that again Bely and Blok think alike; they turn to the traditions of N. Nekrasov, thinking about where Russia will go.

Andrey Bely writes:

The vast army stretched out:

In the spaces of the mystery of space.

Russia, where should I run?

From hunger, pestilence and drunkenness? ("Rus").

Some critics believe that although Bely is pessimistic and does not see the future, in artistic mastery - rhythmic variety, verbal ingenuity, sound richness - he surpasses Blok, who clearly outlined the possible revival of Russia.

In the novel “Silver Dove” (1910), Andrei Bely continues the historical and philosophical line of contrasting East and West. He follows the traditions of Gogol, ethnographically accurately depicting scenes of witchcraft and erotic-mystical passions.

Formally, the plot is subordinated to the story of the hero Daryalsky, who falls into the hands of sectarian pigeons. In fact, Bely endlessly varies the themes and motifs of the work, achieving division of the novel into separate components. The language of the work is rhythmic, like Gogol’s early stories; in places it is indistinct and melodious. This is how Andrei Bely reflected the confused state of his heroes.

Later it became clear that he opened the neo-Gogol era in Russian prose, becoming the creator of a new literary form - musical-rhythmic prose.

In the 10s, Asya Turgeneva entered Bely’s life. She perceived their relationship primarily as friendly, but Bely believed in more, so the trips they made together later included in his novels as memories that were significant to him.

Beginning in 1912, the poet traveled around Europe, during his travels he met anthroposophists and their teacher Steiner. In 1915-1916 in Dornach, Bely took part in the construction of St. John's Church. He returned to Russia in 1916 due to military conscription. Asya remains in Europe.

The pre-revolutionary decade was marked by the release best work Bely - the novel “Petersburg”, in which he characterized the collapse of the consciousness of his hero - the intellectual N. Ableukhov. The leading motives are the theme of the city of Peter as the personification of a powerful destructive force and the problem of the revolutionary whirlwind that burst into Russia.

The story of a Russian intellectual in time of troubles is a kind of generalization of the ideological searches that were once carried out by Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. In turn, with his riddles, hidden references, allusions and reminiscences, Bely influenced representatives of Russian ornamentalism, and fascinated E. Zamyatin, B. Pilnyak, V. Nabokov with his searches.

Around the mid-1990s, Bely consistently created a personal biography; he intended to call it the epic “My Life.” In the preface to the story “Kotik Letaev”, published in 1922, Andrei Bely calls himself a psychologist-paleontologist. He even remembers the shape of the clouds that floated by. different years above his father's estate "Silver Well". Therefore, he openly declares that his memory captures the smallest life impressions. They become the content of the book, starting with intrauterine memories. In the story “The Baptized Chinese,” the second part of the epic, the poet will talk about a more mature period of life.

“Notes of an Eccentric” (1922) becomes a kind of continuation of the epic; the writer formulates his task as follows: the purpose of this diary is “to tear off the mask from oneself as a writer; and tell about yourself, a man who was once forever shocked. . . My life gradually became writing material for me.”

Returning to Moscow, Andrei Bely became a messenger of a new culture. She was revolutionary in spirit, but not in social aspirations. In his lectures and articles (“Revolution and Culture”), Bely calls for a rebellion against forms. He writes a lot, although the instability of everyday life led to illness. But still, the poet finds the strength to publish what he had previously written.

Having recovered from his illness, he goes abroad for two years. In Berlin, a decisive explanation and a final break with Asya Turgeneva takes place. Steiner avoids a meeting with Bely, who calls himself Russia's ambassador for anthroposophy, and their relationship also comes to an end. At the same time, the Berlin two-year period became a record time for Bely in the publication of his works: seven reprints and nine new publications were published.

The writer latently conceived a plan for memoirs, which were partially lost during the move, but were restored in the early thirties. The idea of ​​“Memories of Blok” was realized in 1922-1923.

Another direction of creativity is associated with the creation of the novel “Moscow”. It was released in two parts - “Moscow eccentric” and “Moscow under attack.”

The last decade turned out to be the most dramatic for Bely. His companion, K. Vasilyeva (Bugaeva), was arrested along with other figures of the anthroposophical movement. The poet writes a pathetic appeal addressed to I. Stalin. Claudia returns home.

She was not only a friend, but also Bely’s personal secretary. Perhaps that is why he managed to create a grandiose work - the memoir trilogy “At the Turn of the Century” (1931), “The Beginning of the Century” (1933), “Between Two Revolutions”, in which he recreated the time that was later called the “Silver Age”.

Bely again manages to demonstrate stylistic innovation; he conducts a lively conversation with the reader, recording interesting details of the life of that time. Of course, some characteristics seem grotesque, the characters are depicted in satirical colors. Andrei Bely is trying to find agreement with the authorities of that time, but is still assessed negatively in the press. True, L. Trotsky’s devastating article noted the poet’s amazing gift for constructing his own Universe.

In parallel, starting from the end of 1928, Bely returned to his works on the rhythm of Russian verse (“Rhythm as Dialectics” and “The Bronze Horseman”, 1929), and completed his reflections on Gogol’s prose (“Gogol’s Mastery”, 1934).

Bely's death was unexpected; he died of a brain spasm after sunstroke. Probably the brain disease was not recognized in time.

(1880 - 1934)

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

Real name - Bugaev Boris Nikolaevich (born in 1880 - died in 1934). Writer, poet, philologist, philosopher, one of the leading representatives of Russian symbolism, literary theorist.

The birth of a new century has always been perceived by many as an exceptional phenomenon, marking the end of the historical cycle and the beginning new era. It was 1900 that became the year of birth of Andrei Bely, a remarkable symbolist poet of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, whose work expressed a feeling of a total crisis of life and the world order. His contemporary, the philosopher F. Stepun, wrote: “Bely’s work is the only embodiment of the non-existence of the “turn of two centuries” in terms of strength and originality; sooner than in any other soul, the building of the 19th century collapsed in Bely’s soul and the outlines of the 20th century became foggy.”

Andrei Bely (Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev) was born on October 14 (26), 1880 in Moscow, in a house on the corner of Arbat Street and Denezhny Lane (now Arbat, 55). A significant part of his dramatic and eventful life passed there.

His father, Nikolai Vasilyevich Bugaev, was an outstanding mathematician and Leibnizian philosopher. From 1886 to 1891, Bugaev Sr. served as dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University. He became the founder of the Moscow mathematical school, which, under his leadership, anticipated many of the ideas of Tsiolkovsky and other Russian theorists space flights. N.V. Bugaev was known to wide European circles for his scientific works, and to Moscow students for his phenomenal absent-mindedness and eccentricities, about which jokes circulated among students. For dozens of years, first-graders studied using an arithmetic textbook compiled by Bugaev Sr. He liked to repeat: “I hope that Borya will look like his mother, and his mind will look like me.” Behind these words spoken in jest was a family drama. The mathematics professor was very ugly. Once one of Andrei Bely’s acquaintances, not knowing his father by sight, said: “Look, what a man! You don’t know who this monkey is?..”

But Boris Bugaev’s mother was unusually pretty. In the painting by K.E. Makovsky's "Boyar Wedding" with Alexandra Dmitrievna painted the bride. The boy's mother was much younger than her famous husband and loved social life. The spouses were not suitable for each other either in intelligence or level of interests. The situation was the most ordinary: a sloppy, ugly husband, always busy with mathematics, and a beautiful, flirtatious wife. It is no wonder that there was discord in their relationship. And the family was rocked day by day by quarrels and scandals over every, even the smallest, occasion. Little Borya more than once witnessed a showdown between his parents. Not only the boy’s nerves, but also his consciousness were forever affected by the “family storms of life,” as he wrote in his novels, becoming a famous writer. Consequences family drama left an indelible impression, having a profound influence on the formation of Boris’s character and for his entire future life.

He was afraid of his father and secretly hated him, but he pitied and admired his mother. Later, having matured, the boy felt respect for his father, revealing for himself the depth of his knowledge; and love for the mother coexisted in the wounded soul of the child with an unflattering opinion of her intelligence. Boris learned to combine incompatible things, because everything that was accepted by his mother was not accepted by his father and vice versa. This later brought him notoriety as a two-faced man. According to A. Bely, he was “torn apart” by his parents: his father wanted to make him his successor, and his mother fought against this intention with music and poetry - “I was a bone of contention. I went into myself early.”

Borya grew up in a hothouse “female” atmosphere. Everyone spoiled him: his mother, his aunt, his governess. The boy was nervous and capricious, but he studied well and was drawn to knowledge. He received an excellent education at home: he read poems by Goethe and Heine in the original, loved fairy tales by Andersen and Afanasyev, and listened to the music of Beethoven and Chopin with his mother.

The boy entered the famous private gymnasium L.I. Polivanov, one of the best in Moscow. The director of the gymnasium remained an object of worship for Bori Bugaev throughout his life. Polivanov's lessons awakened a love for languages ​​and literature in the young high school student. Boris became interested in Ibsen and the French and Belgian modernists. Already in the gymnasium, Bugaev’s literary talent clearly manifested itself: the boy began to write for the class magazine.

At the end of 1895 - beginning of 1896, the young man became close to M.S.’s family. Solovyov, his wife and son. In 1901, the young poet read his first poems and “symphonies” (rhythmic poetry) with them. The pen test turned out to be successful. It was decided that a new poet had been born. The young man called Solovyov himself his godfather. It was he who suggested that the aspiring writer take the pseudonym “Andrei Bely” in order to hide his “decadent hobbies” from his loved ones and not upset his father with a “symbolic debut.” The choice of pseudonym was not accidental. The departure of student Boris Bugaev into literary creativity, according to M. Tsvetaeva, was akin to religious devotion. White- divine, symbol of the second baptism. The name Andrey is also symbolic. It is translated as “courageous”, moreover, this was the name of one of the 12 apostles of Christ.

In 1903, Boris Bugaev brilliantly graduated from the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, the following year he entered the Faculty of History and Philology, but in 1905 his studies were interrupted. A year later, he submitted a request for expulsion in connection with a trip abroad.

Before entering the university, the young man experienced, in his words, a state of “scissors.” He did not choose whether to be a “physicist” or a “lyricist.” The young man came up with his plan for studying subjects: 4 years - Faculty of Science, 4 years - Faculty of Philology, in order to realize the idea of ​​mastering facts in the spirit of a worldview built on 2 pillars - “aesthetics and natural science”.

While studying at the university, A. Bely is interested not only in literature, but also in philosophy. He sits in his father's office reading books on the problems of hypnosis, spiritualism, the occult, and Indian culture. B. Bugaev seriously studies the works of Darwin and positivist philosophers. The encyclopedic “dispersion” of his hobbies amazed and at the same time delighted his contemporaries. I.F. Annensky recalled: “A richly gifted nature. Bely simply does not know which of his muses he should smile at once again. Kant is jealous of his poetry. Poetry goes to music."

In the fall of 1903, Andrei Bely with a group of like-minded people, among whom were A.S. Petrovsky, S.M. Soloviev, V.V. Vladimirov and others formed the “Argonauts” circle. Its members became servants of a special mythology of life-creation, worship of the glorified Vl. Solovyov Eternal Femininity. “Young Symbolists,” as they called themselves, sought to understand mystical secrets being. A. Bely called this time the “dawns” of symbolism, which rose after the twilight of decadent paths, which ended the night of pessimism in the young poet’s worldview.

Following the general desire of the Symbolists for a synthesis of arts, Bely created 4 literary works, which have no analogues - symphonies, where the prose narrative was built according to the laws of the musical symphonic form. The young poet tried to completely move away from the traditional denouement of the plot and replaced it with crossing and alternating “musical themes”, refrains, and rhythmization of phrases. The most striking work of this genre was the “Northern Symphony”, which, according to Bely, arose from improvisation to the music of E. Grieg. Unfortunately, critics did not appreciate the symphony of the aspiring poet. The duality that permeated them was alien to the new literature, but certain stylistic discoveries of the young author subsequently had a strong impact on “ornamental prose.” By as much as 20 years, A. Bely anticipated the technique of describing the chaos of city life in the novel “Ulysses” by J. Joyce.

After the release of dramatic symphonies, A. Bely, at the suggestion of V. Bryusov, began to prepare a collection of poems for the Scorpio magazine. Soon he met the organizers of St. Petersburg religious and philosophical meetings and the publishers of the magazine “New Way” D.S. Merezhkovsky and Z.N. Gippius. In the same year, a correspondence began between A. Bely and A. Blok, which marked the beginning of a dramatic friendship and enmity between the poets. The young people had known each other in absentia for a very long time. A. Bely admired Blok’s poetry, and he, in turn, decided to enter into controversy with the author of the article “On Art Forms,” who was Bely. It was the dissimilarity of views on the art of the young symbolists that was the reason for the first letter. And exactly a year later, in 1904, in his apartment on Arbat B. Bugaev met his pen pal and his wife, Lyubov Dmitrievna.

Everyone who knew both poets noted the sharp differences in their characters. Z.N. Gippius wrote: “It is difficult to imagine two beings more opposite than Borya Bugaev and Blok.” But despite the obvious differences, they had much in common: an attitude to life and literature, an interest in philosophy, broad erudition and, of course, a literary gift manifested in different ways. The Young Symbolists worshiped the cult of the Beautiful Lady and professed love-mystery as the path to eschatological knowledge of the world. Young poets sought to find the embodiment of the Beautiful Lady on earth. And Lyubov Dmitrievna Blok became such a woman. Andrei Bely, unnoticed by himself, fell in love with a friend’s wife, and she reciprocated his feelings. The poet, frightened, retreated, explaining that he had been misunderstood. And the loving woman took these words as an insult. The character of Boris Bugaev complicated their relationship to the extreme. He always followed the same tactics in relationships with women. Bely conquered them with his charm, not allowing even a hint of any sensual relationship. But the poet did not fully fulfill his role and sought in every possible way the object of his adoration, each time becoming furious if he was rejected. If a woman agreed to share his feelings, then Bely felt defiled.

In 1904, Andrei Bely published his first collection of poetry, “Gold in Azure.” Everything ideal, mythical, sublime in the poems included in this collection is indicated by light (sun, dawn) and color (description precious stones and fabrics) symbols. In his poems, the poet for the first time destroyed the traditional syllabonic meter and mixed two- and three-syllable measures of the poem. He arranged the lines according to intonation, anticipating the “columns and ladders” of V. Mayakovsky’s tonic poems. Formalist literary critic V. Shklovsky noted: “Without Bely’s poems, new Russian literature is impossible.”

In January 1905, the poet became close to Merezhkovsky, who accepted him into his " religious community» seventh member. Z.N. Gippius gave the young poet pectoral cross, which he defiantly wore over his clothes.

After the revolutionary events of 1905, which swept through Russia like a whirlwind, the famous poet, distinguished by his unstable worldview, again changed his position in life. He became interested in social problems: “This winter. changed me a lot: I once again doubted everything. in art, in God, in Christ. wanted to become Andryukha Krasnorubakhin,” he wrote in a letter to P.A. Florensky. Andrei Bely takes an active part in student rallies, marches in the ranks of demonstrators at the funerals of Trubetskoy and N.E. Bauman. Impressed by the December barricade battles, Bely writes the poem “He’s here again, in the ranks of the fighters.” The poet gets acquainted with the brochures of social democrats, socialist revolutionaries and even anarchists, reads “Capital” by K. Marx.

A. Bely and L.D. Blok decided to go to Italy, but the trip was not a success. The explanation with A. Blok was difficult, and Lyubov Dmitrievna decided to break off all relations with Bely. The poet recalled this period of his life with pain: “So many days - so many explosions of the heart, ready to jump out, so many crises of tormented consciousness.”

Soon, A. Bely’s second, Ellis, appeared at Blok’s estate with a challenge to a duel, which never took place.

The following year, a disagreement arose again between the rival friends, the cause of which was A. Blok’s collection “ Unexpected joy" A. Bely, without hesitation, denigrated the poems included in it and the play “Balaganchik”: “A fake childish and idiotic. Blok has ceased to be Blok." And Blok answered him in his own way: “I stopped understanding You. That’s the only reason I don’t dedicate this book to You.” Only many years later, after Blok’s death, did Bely admit that his criticism was unfair.

The enmity was also reinforced by controversy related to the work of realist writers, which led to a new challenge to a duel, but Bely sent several conciliatory letters and the conflict was resolved.

Soon Blok arrived in Moscow, and a long and frank conversation took place between friends and enemies. The fragile peace established after reconciliation was disrupted by another quarrel over the collection of poems by S. Solovyov “Flowers and Incense”. The poets separated, but they could not “divide forever.”

A. Bely was again the first to take a step towards reconciliation. Correspondence between them resumed. From that time (1910), their “zigzag relationship,” according to Bely, took on the character of “an even, calm, but somewhat distant friendship.” As in previous years, their letters began with the words: “Dear, close, beloved Sasha!” and “Dear, dear Borya.”

In the autumn of the same year, A. Bely leaves St. Petersburg to rethink his relationship with L.D. Block. At the same time, the poet drew attention to Asya Turgeneva and became close to her and her family. Having entered into a civil marriage, at the end of 1910 they went abroad, where they traveled through Italy, Tunisia, and Palestine. The poet remained the same as he was: expansive, impetuous, but something broke in his attitude to life. He tries to heal his mental wounds with work, as he writes in a letter to his mother: “Upon returning to Russia, I will take all measures to protect myself from the influx of unnecessary impressions. A plan for future literary works is now ripening before my eyes, which will create a completely new form of literature.”

At this time, A. Bely is experiencing a whole series of “hysterics, breakdowns, collapses and abysses.” He is interested in philosophy and shows a serious interest in “exact knowledge.” A. Bely strives to create a “philosophical brick” under the title “Theory of Symbolism.” Since 1909, the poet has been conceiving an epic trilogy about the philosophy of Russian history, “East or West.” The first part of this unrealized plan was the then published novel “Silver Dove,” in which the influence of Gogol’s works is felt. In it, the author tries to answer the traditional question: where should we look for the salvation of Russia - in the West or in the East? - and, despairing of solving this problem, explains that he is lost in fog and chaos.

In the collection “Ashes” (1909), which is dedicated to N.A. Nekrasov, genre poems and works of social themes are included. A. Bely wrote: “The theme of the new book is Russia with its decayed past and unborn future. Analyzing the collection “Ashes”, S.M. Soloviev wrote: “Ashes of what? The former subjective experiences of the poet or objective reality are the ashes of Russia. Both,” he answers firmly. Another collection, Urn, includes poems from the same period as Ashes. A. Bely wrote it as “reflections on the frailty of human nature with its passions and impulses.” The author’s thoughts and feelings are largely inspired by Bely’s “St. Petersburg drama”, his tragic and sublime feelings for L.D. Block. “Ashes is a book of self-immolation and death: but death itself is only a curtain that closes the horizons of the distant in order to find them in the near. In the Urn I collect my own ashes so that they do not obscure the light of my living Self.” - the poet wrote in the preface.

In 1910, the Moscow publishing house “Musaget”, which united symbolists of religious and philosophical orientation, published collections of Bely’s critical and theoretical articles “Symbolism” and “Arabesques”. Unfortunately, contemporaries did not appreciate philosophical works A. Bely. He was considered a poet, a mystic, a creator of unusual artistic forms, a genius or a madman, a prophet, a clown - but not a philosopher. Symbolists have repeatedly said that “Bely’s attempt to leave the “path of madness” on the strict path of critical thought could not but end in complete failure.” “In theoretical interests I was alone.” - Bely realized sadly.

In the spring of 1911, Bely and his wife returned to Russia. In search of income, he worked part-time in small newspapers and magazines. He has to wander around corners offered by random acquaintances; lack of money leads the vulnerable, restless poet into a dejected state. Driven to complete despair, in mid-November 1911 he wrote to A. Blok: “I must either give up literature and hang around among the front trustees of the district, or demand from society that A. Bely, who can write good things, be provided for by society. In 2 weeks I will roar with good obscenities at all the thresholds of the rich bourgeois bastard: “Give Christ for the sake of A. Bely.” Despite the complicated relationship between the famous poets, A. Blok immediately sent his friend the necessary money. For some time a way out of the situation was found.

At the same time, A. Bely began work on the second part of the trilogy, but realized that he would not be able to create a direct continuation of The Silver Dove. The main theme of the new novel was St. Petersburg. This city in the novel is an inanimate vision, a haze hiding the intersection of two main trends historical development. Its inhabitants are poisoned by the poison of contradictions, corroded by duality, which also destroyed the life of A. Bely himself. The novel “Petersburg” became the pinnacle of prose of Russian symbolism. This is the first “novel of consciousness” in world literature. Its publication was organized with the support of Blok.

In 1912, the poet and his wife went abroad again. In Germany, A. Bely met the founder of the anthroposophical movement, R. Steiner, and became his faithful follower. Since 1914, the couple moved to Switzerland, where, together with other followers of Steiner's ideas, they participated in the construction of St. John's Temple.

A. Bely became interested in the problem of internal self-knowledge and wrote several autobiographical novels - “Kotik Letaev” (1917), “Baptized Chinese” (1921).

The February Revolution became for Bely an inevitable breakthrough to the salvation of Russia. AND October Revolution he greeted him joyfully. For the famous symbolist, it was a symbol of “the saving liberation of creative principles from the inertia of stagnation, the opportunity for Russia to enter a new round of spiritual development.” The result of A. Bely’s spiritual ascent was the poem “Christ” (1918), where the main character is a kind of symbol of the cosmic revolution. From his pen came “Essay”, “Revolution and Culture”, and a collection of poems “Star”.

The famous symbolist gravitated towards the ideas of “spiritual communism”, so it was no coincidence that in the first post-revolutionary years he actively responded to calls to develop cultural and educational activities among the masses. A. Bely acts as a speaker and lecturer, teacher and one of the organizers and creators of the Free Philosophical Organization (Wolfils). He writes many critical and journalistic articles, striving to become “understandable to people,” moving away from the obscure, torn language of previous years. From the end of 1920, the poet lived in Petrograd, dreaming of going abroad. He even thought about escaping, but he told everyone about his plans. Mocking questions from friends about the timing of the escape caused A. Bely to have attacks of wild fear.

In the summer of 1921, A. Bely managed to travel to Europe with the goal of organizing the publication of his books and founding a branch of Wolfila in Berlin. The poet's break with Steiner and his followers was a real blow for him. Berlin witnessed his prolonged hysteria, which was expressed in drunken dancing. Living his life in foxtrots and polkas, Bely sought to trample all the best in himself, falling lower and lower. So he tried to drown out the pain caused to him by the break with L.D. Block. In a half-crazed state, retaining the remnants of his cunning, the poet obtained a visa and left for Moscow.

On August 7, 1921, A. Blok died. Bely was grieving the loss. The obituary written by him began with the words: “A.A. has passed away. Blok is the first poet of modern times; the first voice fell silent, the song of songs ended.”

During the years spent abroad, A. Bely published 16 books and the poem “Gossolalia” about the cosmic meanings of the sounds of human speech. Returning to Russia, he married K.N. Vasilyeva and even conducted anthroposophical work for some time. It was almost never published, and in recent years the famous poet himself has been working on an autobiography consisting of three volumes - “At the turn of two centuries” (1930); "Beginning of the Century" (1933); “Between two revolutions” (1934). The writer's life story is revealed in the trilogy against the backdrop of the cultural life of the era, and she herself becomes the main character.

His plan to create a novel about Moscow was doomed to failure: only two parts of the first volume were written - “Moscow Eccentric” and “Moscow under Attack” and the 2nd volume - “Masks”. The author sought to bring to life a picture of history that had lost its meaning, but this plan became anti-epic.

The most important part of Bely’s legacy was his work on philology, primarily on poetry and poetic stylistics. In them he develops the theory of “rhythmic meaning”, the principles of studying sound recording and the vocabulary of writers. The works “Rhythm as Dialectics”, “The Bronze Horseman”, “Gogol’s Mastery”, “Rhythm and Meaning” and others had a largely decisive influence on literary criticism of the 20th century - the formalist and structuralist schools in the USSR, the “new criticism” in the USA, laid the foundations modern scientific poem (distinction between meter and rhythm, etc.).

A. Bely died on January 8, 1934 from the consequences of sunstroke. Before his death, he asked to read his early poems to him:

I believed in the golden glitter.

And he died from solar arrows.

I measured the centuries with the Duma,

But I couldn’t live my life.

Listening in last time these lines, he seemed to live his rebellious and extravagant life again.

Valentina Sklyarenko

From the book “100 Famous Muscovites”, 2006

Andrei Bely (1880-1934) - Russian poet and writer, was one of the leading figures in Russian modernism and symbolism, and is also known for his work as a poet, memoirist and critic.

Childhood years

Andrei Bely's real name is Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev. He was born on October 26, 1880 in Moscow.

His father, Nikolai Vasilyevich Bugaev, was a famous Russian philosopher and mathematician, corresponding member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, emeritus professor and dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University.

Mother, Alexandra Dmitrievna (maiden name Egorova), was considered one of the first beauties in Moscow.

The future poet spent many years of his life (almost 26 years) in his parents’ house, which was located at the intersection of Denezhny Lane and Arbat. Now on this site in the very center of Moscow there is the only memorial museum in the world dedicated to Andrei Bely.

His father, Nikolai Bugaev, had very wide acquaintances among representatives of the old Moscow professoriate, so Andrei’s childhood was spent in the high atmosphere of cultural and professorial Moscow. The great writer Leo Tolstoy was a frequent guest in the house.

A difficult relationship developed between the parents, which had a serious impact on the emerging character and psyche of the future poet. This was later expressed in the strangeness and conflicts of Andrei Bely with those around him.

Education

At the age of 11, Andrei entered the best Moscow private gymnasium of Polivanov L.I., where his most favorite hobbies were Eastern religion (occultism, Buddhism) and literature (the boy was especially interested in the works of Ibsen, Nietzsche and Dostoevsky). In his final years, the young man became very interested in poetry. Among poetic works, he gave special preference to the poets of France and the symbolists of Russia (Merezhkovsky, Bryusov and Balmont).

When the guy was 15 years old, he became close to the future Russian poet Sergei Solovyov, the son of a famous translator. Andrei became quite close to their family; here he became acquainted with the latest art in music, painting, and philosophy. It was in the Solovyovs’ house that his first poetic experiments were met with sympathy and his creative pseudonym was invented - Andrei Bely.

In 1899, he graduated from the gymnasium and, at the insistence of his parents, passed the exams for admission to Moscow University. At the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, he chose the natural sciences department, because from early teenage years, despite his mystical and artistic moods, Andrei strove for the exact sciences.

At the university, he intensively studied Darwin's theory and invertebrate zoology, and paid a lot of attention to chemistry. At the same time, he did not miss a single issue of the monthly illustrated art magazine “World of Art,” in which he studied the latest works of Russian symbolists.

In 1903, Bely graduated from the university with honors.

In 1904, at the same Moscow University, Andrei became a student at the Faculty of History and Philology. He chose the famous Russian logician, translator and philosopher Boris Aleksandrovich Fokht as his leader. However, a year later, Bely stopped going to classes, and in 1906 he wrote to the dean’s office asking for his expulsion from the university. He decided to devote himself entirely to literary activity.

Literary activity

In the winter of 1901, Bely met experienced symbolists Bryusov, Gippius and Merezhkovsky. And already in 1903, a circle of young symbolists began to form around him, which consisted mainly of university students. The circle was given the name “Argonauts”, and Andrei became its ideological inspirer and undoubted leader.

In 1903, Andrei began corresponding with the poet Alexander Blok, and a year later they met in person. This acquaintance in the future resulted in many years of painful enmity and friendship.

In January 1904, the monthly scientific and literary magazine “Vesy” began to be published in Moscow. Andrei Bely worked closely with the publishing house.

The Argonauts circle held its meetings in the apartment of the famous Russian public figure and lawyer Pavel Ivanovich Astrov. At one of the meetings, a decision was made to publish a literary and philosophical collection. In 1906, the first two books of this collection were published, which were given the name “Free Conscience.”

In 1909, Bely worked at the Moscow publishing house "Musaget", he was one of its founders, here the poet was engaged in translations and also published his poems.

In 1911, Andrei went to travel to the Middle East and North Africa. Impressions from this trip are reflected in “Travel Notes”.

Returning to Russia in 1912, Bely worked briefly as an editor in the journal Works and Days. Then he went abroad again, where in Berlin he met Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian founder of the religious-mystical teaching of anthroposophy. Andrei plunged headlong into this teaching and became a student of Steiner.

During this period, three volumes of his theoretical and critical articles were published:

• "Symbolism";
• "Green meadow";
• "Arabesque".

Bely began to move away a little from the poetry of symbolism; more and more prose works appeared in his work, for example, the novels “Silver Dove” and “Petersburg”, as well as the autobiographical story “Kitten Letaev”.

From 1914 to 1916, Andrei lived in Switzerland, where he took part in the construction of the Goetheanum temple. At the end of 1916, Bely was summoned to Russia to check his attitude towards military service. His wife Asya did not go with Andrei; she remained in Switzerland, deciding to devote herself entirely to Steiner’s cause and the construction of the temple.

First World War Bely considered it a universal human disaster, and he perceived the revolution in Russia of 1917 as a possible way out of the global dead-end catastrophe. These ideas were embodied in his works:

• a cycle of essays “At the Passage”, consisting of three parts “Crisis of Life”, “Crisis of Thought” and “Crisis of Culture”;
• essay “Revolution and Culture”;
• poem "Christ is Risen";
• poetry collections “The Queen and the Knights” and “The Star”.

Along with creativity, Andrei was engaged in teaching activities. For young proletarian writers and poets in the Proletkult in Moscow, he gave lectures on the theory of prose and poetry.

From 1921 to 1923, Bely again spent abroad, but after a complete break in marital relations with his wife, he returned to Russia, where a particularly fruitful period of his work began, mainly now he wrote prose:

• dulogy of novels “Moscow” (“Moscow eccentric” and “Moscow under attack”);
• novel "Masks";
• memoirs “Memories of Blok”;
• trilogy “At the turn of two centuries”, “Beginning of the century”, “Between two revolutions”.

A significant contribution to literary science was research papers Bely “The Mastery of Gogol”, “Rhythm as Dialectics and “The Bronze Horseman”.

Personal life

Having met and become close to the poet Alexander Blok, Andrei Bely began to court his wife Lyubov Mendeleeva, and later they became lovers. In this dramatic love triangle all three suffered for almost four years, until the final break occurred, reflected in Blok’s play “Balaganchik.” The poet Andrei Bely went abroad and poured out his suffering in the poetry collections “Ashes” and “Urna”.

Almost at the same time, Bely was in another love triangle - with his fellow Symbolist poet Valery Bryusov and his wife, poetess Nina Petrovskaya. This romance between Andrei and Nina began quite innocently, but soon Petrovskaya fell in love with Bely so much that her feelings reached the point of mystical worship of him. Andrey decided to break off this relationship, he had enough love story with Mendeleeva Lyuba, Blok’s wife, but Petrovskaya began to literally pursue him. It got to the point that Nina attempted to kill her lover. During a break in the lecture that Andrei was giving at the Polytechnic Institute, she approached and shot him at point-blank range. Fortunately, the Browning misfired. This whole collision was later reflected in Bryusov’s novel “Fire Angel”.

In 1909, Bely met the artist, the niece of the great Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. The girl's name was Anna (close people called her Asya), they became close and began to live in a civil marriage. She shared years of travel with him as he traveled through Egypt, Palestine, Tunisia and Sicily from 1910 to 1912. In the spring of 1914, Andrei officially married Asa; their wedding took place in Bern.

In 1916, he left for Russia alone; Asya did not follow him, remaining in Dornach. Five years later, he returned to his wife, but after explanations it became clear that further cohabitation was no longer possible.

After wandering abroad for a couple of years, Bely returned to Moscow. Married life with Anna Turgeneva was a thing of the past, but another woman appeared in his destiny. Vasilyeva Klavdiya Nikolaevna became the poet’s last lover. In 1925, at the invitation of their friends, they left for Kuchino, where they settled at the dacha of their acquaintances. As Andrei Bely later said, this estate became for him like Yasnaya Polyana for Leo Tolstoy or like Yalta for Anton Chekhov. Here he was finally able to immerse himself in creativity. In 1931, Claudia and Andrei legalized their relationship.

Klavdia Nikolaevna made the last years of Bely’s life happy, she was quiet and very caring, surrounded him with her attention, and in response he affectionately called her Klodya.

On January 8, 1934, Andrei had a stroke, he died in the arms of his wife, he was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery.