Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin, Nobel Prize in Literature 1933

BUNIN IVAN ALEKSEEVICH. HAPLOGROUP: N1a-Y9022 BRANCH: Volga-Altai

Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin (Russian: Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин; 22 October 1870 – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature "for the strict artistry with which he has carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing". The texture of his poems and stories, sometimes referred to as "Bunin brocade", is considered to be one of the richest in the language.

Best known for his short novels The Village (1910) and Dry Valley (1912), his autobiographical novel The Life of Arseniev (1933, 1939), the book of short stories Dark Avenues (1946) and his 1917-1918 diary (Cursed Days, 1926), Bunin was a much revered figure among anti-communist White emigres, European critics, and many of his fellow writers, who viewed him as a true heir to the tradition of realism in Russian literature established by Tolstoy and Chekhov.

Ivan Bunin was born on his impoverished but proud family's estate near Voronezh in Oryol Province on Oct. 10/22, 1870. He grew up with a love for family traditions and a high regard for the works of Aleksandr Pushkin. In 1881 he entered the gymnasium (secondary school) in Elets but withdrew after 3 years and was tutored by his older brother. In 1889, however, family poverty forced Bunin to go to work. He held various technical and clerical jobs on provincial newspapers.

In 1891 Bunin published Poems, a volume that celebrated the natural world and was classical in style. Other collections of poetry followed - In the Open Air (1898) and Falling Leaves (1901), which won the Academy of Sciences' Pushkin Prize in 1903. At the same time Bunin wrote stories and sketches about Russian rural life, among the most notable of which are "Tank," "At the World's End," and "News from Home." During the 1890s he was becoming a well-known figure in literary circles. The year 1891 marked the beginning of his friendship with Anton Chekhov. And in 1899 Bunin met Maxim Gorky, who introduced him to the Znaniye group, a circle of young liberal writers.

With the opening years of the 20th century, Bunin began to concentrate on prose forms. "Antonov Apples" (1900), "The Pines" (1901), and "The Black Earth" (1904) are among his finest stories. They are marked by love for the land as well as by social awareness. In his novels The Village (1910) and Sukhodol (1911), Bunin contrasts man's aspirations with the dismal record of failure seen in human history. These works display Bunin's use of striking metaphors and penetrating understatement. Bunin's prose style has been widely admired for its delicacy, subtlety, clarity, and strong musical quality.

Bunin's work was both popular and critically respected, and in 1909 the Academy of Sciences elected him to honorary membership. He traveled widely, and from 1907 to 1911 he published a series of sketches on the Mediterranean and the Near East. At the same time, his energetic talent explored urban themes (the satirical "A Good Life," told entirely in Elets dialect), presented psychological portraits of fierce intensity ("The Dreams of Chang," 1916), and exposed the internal contradictions of bourgeois civilization ("The Gentleman from San Francisco," 1916). His translations of The Song of Hiawatha, Lord Byron's plays, and other works were extremely successful.

Bunin opposed the Russian Revolution, and in 1920 he emigrated to France, where he lived until his death. Bunin's early themes often reappear in the works he wrote in exile-especially his use of autobiographical material in fiction (Arseniyev's Life, 1930) and his strong interest in death and idealistic passion ("Mitya's Love," 1925). During this period he also wrote books on Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. In his Memories and Portraits (1950) he attacked Soviet cultural debasement. Bunin died in Paris, on Nov. 8, 1953. He was buried at the Russian Cemetery of Sainte-Geneviéve-des-Bois near Paris.

BUNIN IVAN ALEKSEEVICH. HAPLOGROUP: N1a-Y9022 BRANCH: Volga-Altai

БУНИН ИВАН АЛЕКСЕЕВИЧ. Бунин Иван Алексеевич (22 октября 1870 – 8 ноября 1953) – русский писатель, поэт и переводчик, лауреат Нобелевской премии по литературе 1933 года.

ГАПЛОГРУППА: N1a-Y9022 ВЕТВЬ: Волго-алтайская