Konstantin Dmitrievich Balmont (06/15/1867, Gumnischi, Vladimir province - 12/23/1942, Noisy-le-Grand, France) - Russian poet.
Konstantin Balmont: biography
By origin, the future poet was a nobleman. Although his great-grandfather bore the name Balamut. Later, the surname was remade in a foreign manner. Balmont's father was the chairman of the zemstvo council. Konstantin received his education at the Shuya gymnasium, although he was expelled from it because he attended an illegal club. A brief biography of Balmont tells that he created his first works at the age of 9 years.
In 1886, Balmont began his studies at the law faculty of Moscow University. A year later, due to participation in student unrest, he was expelled until 1888. Soon he left the university of his own free will, enrolling in Demidov Law Lyceum, from which he was also expelled. It was then that the first poetry collection was published, which was written by Balmont.
The biography of the poet tells that at the same time, due to constant disagreements with his first wife, he tried to commit suicide. The suicide attempt ended for him with a broken leg and a limp for life.
Among the first books of K. Balmont it is worth mentioning the collections of "Burning Buildings" and "In Vastness." The poet’s relationship with the authorities was tense. So, in 1901, for the verse "The Little Sultan," he was deprived of his right to reside in university and capital cities for 2 years. K. Balmont, whose biography has been studied in sufficient detail, leaves for the Volkonsky estate (now Belgorod region), where he is working on a poetic collection, “Let’s Like the Sun”. In 1902 he moved to Paris.
In the early 1900s, Balmont creates many romantic poems. So, in 1903, the collection “Only Love. Seven-flax ", in 1905 -" Liturgy of Beauty ". The named collections bring Balmont fame. The poet himself is traveling at this time. So, by 1905, he managed to visit Italy, Mexico, England and Spain.
When political unrest begins in Russia, Balmont returns to his homeland. He collaborates with the Social Democratic publication New Life and the Red Banner magazine. But at the end of 1905, Balmont, whose biography is rich in travels, came to Paris again. In subsequent years, he continues to travel a lot.
When an amnesty was granted to political emigrants in 1913, C. Balmont returned to Russia. The poet welcomes the February Revolution, but opposes the October Revolution. In this regard, in 1920 he again left Russia, settling in France.
While in exile, Balmont, whose biography is inextricably linked with his homeland, actively worked in Russian periodicals published in Germany, Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland and Czechoslovakia. In 1924 he published a book of memoirs entitled "Where is my house?", Wrote essays on the revolution in Russia, "White Dream" and "Torch in the Night." In the 20s, Balmont publishes such collections of poems as “Gift to the Earth”, “Marevo”, “Bright Hour”, “Song of the Working Hammer”, “In the Far Distance”. In 1930, C. Balmont completed the translation of the old Russian work, "The Word of Igor's Campaign." The last collection of his poems was published in 1937 under the title "Light Service".
At the end of his life, the poet suffered from mental illness. C. Balmont died in a shelter known as the “Russian House”, located near Paris.