Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich - author of satirical stories. His works were widely known in Russia several years before the revolutionary events. And after he emigrated. The topics that he touched on in his books were relevant at the beginning of the century. How interesting are the works created by Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich today?
short biography
The hero of this article outlined the main events of his life in one of his early stories. Arkady Timofeevich Averchenko is a writer whose works are distinguished by an easy syllable and a sharp, but evil-faced satire. He knew how to talk about the sad side of life with irony. The proof is the story "Autobiography".
Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich was born in Sevastopol. From childhood, he had poor eyesight. Due to this ailment, he received education at home. The father was a merchant and, according to the writer's recollections, he devoted little time to his son, because he was worried about the issue of how to go broke faster. The unlucky businessman reached his aspirations.
Averchenko, Jr., meanwhile, became a victim of pedagogical exercises of the eldest daughters of a bankrupt merchant. Which, however, benefited the future writer. At the time when his father lost his last hope for improving family well-being, his son was a moderately literate young man. Therefore, already at the age of fifteen he entered the service in the transport office.
The beginning of the creative path
Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich began to write stories during his years of service in stone mines. Here he also worked in a small office. The deaf settlement in which Averchenko spent several years is depicted in his works. Local residents of the mining town drank like shoemakers. The Donetsk steppe landscape was overwhelming. When the rule of the mines was transferred to Kharkov, Averchenko was so inspired that he wrote a small literary work. In the next two years, the young writer created and published only three stories.
Editorial activity
Inspired by literary work, Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich in 1905 got a job in the Kharkov satirical magazine. At the publishing house, he edited, corrected, and drew caricatures. And so he became interested in this activity that he was fined by the Governor General for five hundred rubles.
Despite the popularity among residents of Kharkov, Averchenko had to leave this glorious city. He did not want to pay a fine, and he did not have the opportunity. And there was no point in arguing further with the governor.
Satyricon
In St. Petersburg, Averchenko’s career went uphill. The articles and notes he published in Satyricon were extremely popular. Averchenko took an active part in the foundation of this literary magazine.
Satirikonovtsy enjoyed recognition and freedom of creativity. But only as long as there was almost no censorship in the country. In 1917, everything changed. Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich was forced to leave for Sevastopol, and then completely emigrate.
Interesting Facts
The author of satirical works and today remains one of the most mysterious figures in Russian literature. Disputes are being held regarding the date of his birth, and the disease, by virtue of which he passed away so early. And most importantly, there is no reliable information about the writer's personal life. White spots in Averchenko’s biography appeared because he always gave an interview in a rather playful form. In addition, he was on the list of banned authors for too long.
Arkady Averchenko did not really know the exact date of his birth. And most importantly, nothing is known about the satirikonov’s personal life. However, there is information about his relationship with the then-famous actress Alexandra Sadovskaya. This romance was a long one, but still they parted.
About why the writer never married, he told his readers in the story “Razor in Kissel”. Sadovskaya was an energetic and active lady. He is a phlegmatic and not particularly decisive person. They broke up in 1915. It is noteworthy that the actress had three children, and one of them was born in 1915 - just when, according to the stories of Averchenko, his relationship with Alexandra Sadovskaya reached its zenith. Moreover, the son of the actress was a participant in the breakthrough of the Blockade, and after the war he became a writer.
Alexandra Sadovskaya did not tell anyone about her relationship with the editor of Satyricon magazine. But the echoes of these relationships are present in the works of Averchenko. In the stories “Surrounding”, “Tail of a Woman”, “Ordinary Woman”, the hero long and painfully decides whether to settle scores with his bachelor way of life. And in the last novel of the writer, “Joke of the philanthropist,” a woman is depicted, who, according to external data, resembles Sadovsky: puffy, dark-haired, stately.
Whether the son of Sadovsky is the son of a famous satirist is not known for certain. This is only an assumption of his biographers. However, there is evidence that, even while in exile, Averchenko did not cease to be interested in the fate of his former lover. And this despite the fact that Alexandra Sadovskaya was not the only woman in the life of a satirist.
“It's easy to understand a woman, but hard to explain.”
This phrase is present in one of Averchenko’s works. He was always interested in the opposite sex, but he was somewhat cynical about him. In his work, a St. Petersburg bachelor affirmed the idea of ​​male freedom. In order to attract fans, he carefully monitored his appearance. This feature was sometimes criticized by colleagues. However, one of the fans of the writer once admitted that a person with such a mind and sense of humor can look like anything. Appearance is not important for a witty and charming man.
Memoirs of Contemporaries
"Tales for Convalescents" Arkady Timofeevich Averchenko released in 1910 in an incredible print run. And so, and the writer earned with dignity. His colleagues, native Petersburgers, noted in him the ability to have an interlocutor with him. Averchenko, having a reputation as an avid bachelor, always impressed with his impeccable appearance, despite his slightly provincial dress style.
In order to maintain good physical condition, according to the recollections of acquaintances and colleagues, he daily lifted weights, while singing a batch from the famous opera. By the way, the main satirikonovets had no voice and hearing.
The disease, which once deprived the writer of the opportunity to receive a full education, reminded himself in a foreign land. Arkady Timofeevich Averchenko passed away in 1925 in Prague. His health was undermined by events foreshadowing a forced departure from Russia. The Bolsheviks deprived him of everything: friends, homeland, work, bank account.
Averchenko and the new government
The writer called the Bolshevik politics a vile betrayal of everything that was in Russia. He did not fail to express his views in one of the essays. The new government and its work turned out to be incompatible. Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich easily wrote, he was an eater in assessments and amazingly observant. In the stories he ridiculed human stupidity, greed, hypocrisy and rudeness. But the new government did not need a criticism of human vices. In Bolshevik Russia, only the author of romantic utopian works glorifying the proletarian revolution could survive.
Recent years have been fruitful for the writer. But creativity did not bring peace and harmony to his life. In Prague, he lacked Russian literature. I read mainly local newspapers. Perhaps homesickness had a negative impact on the writer's mental state.
Averchenko died in his forty-fifth year of life. In the eighties, the works of the anti-Soviet author Arkady Averchenko were first published. The compatriots remembered the writer only half a century after his death.