Boris Zaitsev is a well-known Russian writer and publicist at the beginning of the 20th century, who ended his life in exile. Widely known for works on Christian subjects. The Life of Sergius of Radonezh is especially criticized, where the writer outlined his point of view on the life of the saint.
Boris Zaitsev: biography
The writer was born in a noble family on January 29 (February 10), 1881 in the city of Orel. Father often took little Boris with him to work in mining plants. However, most of his childhood was spent in a family estate near Kaluga, later Zaitsev described this time as idyllic observation of nature and communication with relatives. Despite the well-being of his family, Zaitsev also saw another life - a ruined nobility, a tightly developing factory production, gradually emptying estates, deserted peasant fields, provincial Kaluga. All this will later be reflected in his work, showing how much this situation influenced the formation of the personality of the future writer.
Up to 11 years old Zaitsev was at home schooling, then he was sent to the Kaluga real school, which he graduated in 1898. In the same year he entered the Moscow Technical Institute. However, already in 1899 Zaitsev was expelled from the school as a participant in student unrest.
But already in 1902, Boris Konstantinovich entered the law faculty, which, however, also did not graduate. This is due to the fact that the writer leaves for Italy, where he is fascinated by antiquities and art.
The beginning of creativity
Zaitsev Boris Konstantinovich began writing as early as 17 years old. And already in 1901 he published the story āOn the Roadā in the magazine āCourierā. From 1904 to 1906 he worked in the journal Pravda as a correspondent. His short stories The Dream and The Darkness were also published in the same journal. In addition, in the magazine "New Way" published a mystical story "Quiet Dawns".
The first collection of short stories of the writer was published in 1903. It was dedicated to the description of the life of the noble intelligentsia, vegetating in the outback, the destruction of noble estates, the devastation of fields, the destructive and terrible city life.
At the beginning of his career, Zaitsev was lucky enough to meet such eminent writers as A.P. Chekhov and L.N. Andreev. With Anton Pavlovich, fate brought the writer to Yalta in 1900, and a year later he met with Andreev. Both writers provided serious assistance at the beginning of Zaitsev's literary career.
At this time, Boris Konstantinovich lives in Moscow, is a member of the Literary and Art Circle, publishes the magazine "Dawns", is a member of the Society of lovers of Russian literature.
Journey to Italy
In 1904, Boris Zaitsev first went on a trip to Italy. This country greatly impressed the writer, later he even called it his spiritual homeland. He spent a lot of time there in the prewar years. Many Italian impressions formed the basis of Zaitsev's works. So was published in 1922 a collection called "Raphael", which included a series of essays and impressions of Italy.
In 1912, Zaitsev married. Soon, his daughter Natalia is born.
World War I
During World War I, Boris Zaitsev graduated from the Alexander Military School. And as soon as the February Revolution ended, he was promoted to officer. However, he did not get to the front due to pneumonia. And he lived in wartime at the Pritykino estate with his wife and daughter.
After the war ended, Zaitsev returned to Moscow with his family, where he was immediately appointed chairman of the All-Russian Writers Union. Also, at one time he worked part time in the Cooperative Writers' Shop.
Emigration
In 1922, Zaitsev became ill with typhus. The disease was severe, and for the speedy rehabilitation he decides to go abroad. He receives a visa and goes first to Berlin, and then to Italy.
Boris Zaitsev is an emigrant writer. It is from this time that the overseas stage in his work begins. By this moment, he had already managed to feel the strong influence of the philosophical views of N. Berdyaev and V. Solovyov. This dramatically changes the creative orientation of the writer. If earlier Zaitsevās works belonged to pantheism and paganism, now they are clearly traced in their Christian orientation. For example, the story āGolden Patternā, the collection āRenaissanceā, essays on the life of the saints āAthosā and āValaamā, etc.
The Second World War
At the very beginning of World War II, Boris Zaitsev turned to his diary entries and began to publish them. So, in the newspaper "Renaissance" published his series "Days". However, already in 1940, when Germany occupied France, all publications of Zaitsev ceased. For the rest of the war nothing was said about the writer's work in newspapers and magazines. Boris Konstantinovich himself remained aloof from politics and war. As soon as Germany was defeated, he again returned to the previous religious and philosophical themes and in 1945 published the story "King David".
The last years of life and death
In 1947, Zaitsev Boris Konstantinovich began working in the Parisian newspaper Russian Thought. In the same year he became chairman of the Union of Russian Writers in France. This position remained with him until the last days of his life. Such meetings were common in European countries, where the Russian creative intelligentsia emigrated after the February Revolution.
In 1959, he began correspondence with Boris Pasternak, while collaborating with the Munich almanac Bridges.
In 1964, the story "River of Time" by Boris Zaitsev was published. This is the last published work of the writer, completing his career. A collection of short stories by the author of the same name will be published later.
However, Zaitsevās life did not stop there. In 1957, his wife suffered a severe stroke, and the writer always remained with her.
The writer himself died at the age of 91 in Paris on January 21, 1972. His body was buried in the cemetery of Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois, where many Russian emigrants who moved to France are buried.
Boris Zaitsev: books
Zaitsev's work is usually divided into two large stages: pre-emigrant and post-emigrant. This is due not to the fact that the writer's place of residence has changed, but to the fact that the semantic orientation of his works has radically changed. If in the first period the writer turned more to pagan and pantheistic motives, described the darkness of the revolution, capturing the souls of people, then in the second period he devoted all his attention to Christian subjects.
Note that the most famous are works related specifically to the second stage of Zaitsev's work. In addition, it was the emigrant time that became the most fruitful in the authorās life. So, over the course of these years about 30 books have been published and about 800 more works have appeared on the pages of magazines.
This is mainly due to the fact that Zaitsev concentrated all his forces on literary activity. In addition to writing his works, he is engaged in journalism and translation. Also in the 50s, the writer was part of the Commission for the translation of the New Testament into Russian.
Particularly famous was the trilogy "Journey of Gleb." This is an autobiographical work in which the writer describes the childhood and youth of a person born at a crucial time for Russia. The biography ends in 1930, when the hero realizes his connection with the holy great martyr Gleb.
"Rev. Sergius of Radonezh"
He addressed the lives of saints Boris Zaitsev. Sergius of Radonezh became a hero for him, on the example of which he showed the transformation of an ordinary person into a saint. Zaitsev managed to create a more vivid and lively image of the saint than they describe him in other lives, thereby making Sergius more understandable to the simple reader.
We can say that in this work the religious searches of the author himself were embodied. Zaitsev himself understood for himself how a person can attain holiness through a gradual spiritual transformation. The writer himself, like his hero, went through several stages on the path to realizing true holiness, and all his steps were reflected in the work.