When the unprecedented happened - the emigrant writer Ivan Bunin, who lived in Paris, was the first Russian writer to receive the Nobel Prize - he became rich overnight. However, he did not buy either a decent apartment or a villa, although he could well afford it. In general, quite quickly Bunin was left with nothing, having distributed money to other needy writers and invested it in some failed project.

Many explain this reluctance to “settle down” by longing for their homeland and disbelief that emigration is forever. Meanwhile, Bunin was called to Russia, but he bitterly hated the Soviets and understood that that Russia, his, would no longer exist. Tsvetaeva, who shared the fate of many émigré writers and lived in Paris at the same time as Bunin, expressed this sentiment very accurately:

“The one where on the coins

My youth

That Russia does not exist.

Just like that one me.”

And Bunin wrote about his restless life in a foreign land:

“An animal has a hole, a bird has a nest.

How the heart beats, sadly and loudly,

When I enter, crossing myself, into someone else's rented house,

With his already shabby knapsack.”

Despite the fact that more than 30 years - since 1920, since the flight from Soviet Russia, until 1953, until his death - Bunin lived in France, he continued to write about his homeland. “In a foreign land, I remembered my Motherland, its fields, villages, nature. I couldn't write about anything else. I couldn’t find my second home here.” Despite everything, in exile Bunin created his own best works, for example, “Mitya’s love”, “ Sunstroke“,” “The Case of Cornet Elagin,” the cycle of stories “Dark Alleys” and “The Life of Arsenyev,” which Paustovsky called “one of the most remarkable phenomena of world literature.”

Still, Bunin had his own, albeit modest, housing in Paris. With his wife Vera Nikolaevna (née Muromtseva), they owned an apartment in building No. 1 on Jacques Offenbach Street, where they settled some time after arriving in France. Before that, they wandered around to friends, relatives, and hotels.

Writer and critic Alexander Bakhrakh wrote about this apartment in the book “Bunin in a Bathrobe”: “(Bunin) started a small apartment in Paris, furnishing it with sin in half.” And “...I began to visit his house, this very uncomfortable and almost deliberately unsightly apartment on Offenbach Street, in which he died 30 years later.”

Two decades after the writer’s death, his Parisian office “moved” from an apartment on Offenbach Street to Orel. In this city, Bunin lived for several years in his youth, working in the editorial office of the Orlovsky Vestnik newspaper (he spent his childhood and adolescence not far from Orel - on the Butyrki farm, in the Yeletsky district of the Oryol province). Furniture from Bunin's office for a long time was kept in the family of the writer N.V. Kodryanskaya in Paris, and in 1973 she sent it to Orel through the Soviet embassy in France. This furniture became the heart of the new museum, which opened in 1991.

In general, here in the museum, there is a unique, largest Bunin collection in Russia, numbering more than six thousand original things of Bunin and his family: icons, manuscripts, letters, documents, books, personal belongings. Various household items of the Bunin family " Russian period“The writer’s relative gave the museum, and photographs, autographs and books that belonged to the writer after he left his homeland were received from his wife and friends.

The museum building itself has nothing to do with the Bunins - it is an old noble mansion of the 19th century. However, the writer’s office was painstakingly recreated from surviving photographs of his Parisian apartment. Everything here has been reconstructed down to the last detail: fireplace, stucco molding, wallpaper pattern. And looking out the window we will see... the Parisian street of Offenbach - in fact, this is a drawing on canvas. The furnishings are not luxurious: there is a fairly spacious desk with drawers, a comfortable armchair, a modest table under typewriter, a chair and a snuff box with preserved tobacco. The effect of presence is supported by an audio recording of Bunin’s poem “Loneliness”, which is performed by the author himself. and the Bunin family of the “Russian period” was given to the museum by a relative of the writer, and photographs, autographs and books that belonged to the writer after he left his homeland were received from his wife and friends.

In 1922, Ivan Alekseevich’s wife wrote in her diary that Romain Rolland nominated Bunin to receive Nobel Prize. And finally, in 1933, he nevertheless became a laureate of the prize. On the day the prize was awarded, November 9, Ivan Bunin watched the comedy “Baby” in the cinema. Suddenly the darkness of the hall was cut through by a narrow beam of a flashlight. They were looking for Bunin - he was called by phone from Stockholm. On November 10, Paris newspapers came out with large headlines: “Bunin is a Nobel laureate,” and every Russian, of whom there were a huge number in Paris at that time, was proud and happy.

At the same time, Bunin lived a lot in Grasse, at the Belvedere villa (later it became known as Jeannette). A number of works, including the cycle of stories " Dark alleys“, Bunin wrote in this town, which, according to Bachrach, attracted him like a “magnet”: “... almost immediately after moving to France, Grasse became a real magnet for Bunin, to which he was tirelessly drawn.”

Bunin's villa "Belvedere" would have shared the fate of many houses of great writers (and not only Russians), which after their death were sold to strangers. IN best case scenario, you can see a memorial plaque on them. This is the fate, for example, of Remarque’s villa on Lake Lago Maggiore in Switzerland.

But there was one very devoted admirer of Bunin - the founder of the institute nuclear physics in Bordeaux, the chairman of the Bunin Society in France, Professor Gavriil Simonov, who “saved” the house. He collected the required amount by selling parents' house near Paris and borrowed money, and in 2002 bought the villa from the daughter of the mayor of Grasse to preserve it for posterity. He decided to set up a museum on the first floor, and he and his family settled on the second. The museum is progressing rather slowly, and it has been waiting in the wings for more than half a century. Apparently, it will wait a little longer.

Immigration to Spain is very popular, it is one of the most popular countries in Europe for visitors. The conditions for moving to this state are changing, but its popularity does not decrease. Thus, several thousand migrants arrive here from Russia every year, and their total number has already reached over 250 thousand people.

This state attracts with its cleanliness, quality of life, and a reliable system of social benefits. The local population here always meets halfway, so adaptation to the new life will pass as quickly as possible. And due to the fact that Spain is one of the European centers of tourism, there will always be work here. The country has several immigration programs suitable for different categories of immigrants.

How to move for permanent residence to Spain

If you have a dream of living peacefully on the coast Mediterranean Sea and build your future there, you need to come there legally. Previously, emigration from Russia to Spain was illegal, when, under any pretext, Russians entered and stayed in the country without renewing their visas, after which they tried to obtain a residence permit (residence permit). Now this is a risky option; it is better to use legal and proven methods, of which there are several:

• admission to a Spanish university;
• acquisition of real estate;
• marriage with a Spaniard;
• family reunification;
• immigration for work purposes;
• obtaining refugee status;
• investing in a country's economy or doing business there.

Any of these methods gives the right to obtain a residence permit. This is not exactly the same as moving to Spain for permanent residence, as it is a temporary document, but it has its advantages. The person who receives it can within long term stay in Spain with or without the right to work. It should be remembered that a person with a residence permit must stay in the country for at least 183 days a year, otherwise the document will be cancelled.

A residence permit is not the same as citizenship, so such a person remains a citizen Russian Federation and resolves all issues at its consulate. And if there are strong problems with local laws, he may be deported and deprived of the right to a residence permit. Let's take a closer look at the main methods.

Admission to a university to study

To obtain the right to reside in Spain with educational purpose, you need to enroll in a paid private university that is accredited by the Ministry of Education and has permission to invite foreigners. The list may include not only universities, but also schools, language academies, all kinds of courses, business schools, etc.

If your studies last more than a year, the residence permit must be extended. By the way, a student visa provides the opportunity to work additionally, but not more than 20 hours a week, if this does not interfere with educational activities.

Positive aspects of a student residence permit:

1. the decision to issue a residence permit is made in the shortest possible time;
2. in the future you can obtain a full-fledged residence permit with the right to work and Spanish citizenship.

Marriage to a Spaniard

Marriage with a Spanish citizen allows you to first very quickly obtain a residence permit, and then citizenship through a faster procedure. To get married in this country, you need to find their territorial registry office (Registro Civil) and study the list of documents for marriage. All your documents will need to be translated into Spanish, then you will be interviewed. But all this looks rather intimidating, but in practice it can be solved simply. After marriage, you need to obtain a resident card from the police department for foreigners, and after a year you can already apply for citizenship.

You can marry a foreigner not only in Spain, but also in Russia. Then all documents will have to be translated into Russian. This will not affect the procedure for obtaining a residence permit and citizenship.

Positive aspects of marriage:

1. minimal financial expenses;
2. you can get married in both Russia and Spain;
3. Citizenship can be obtained through a faster procedure.

There's no need to worry if you're moving here alone. Finding a wife in Spain is not difficult. Firstly, he lives here great amount Russian-speaking women, and secondly, local women are interested in Russian men.

Family reunions are another popular way to move, but they may not be suitable for everyone. It can be used by those who have close relatives who have already immigrated to this country and want to bring the rest of the family with them. The program can also be used by those who were born in Spain or have family members who had Spanish citizenship.

Purchase of real estate

Recently, in Spain you can purchase real estate worth 500 thousand euros and get a residence permit on this basis. This perfect option for those who want to move to this country for a long time and make it their place of residence. Of course, they will not have the right to work, since an investor residence permit is issued, which assumes that the applicant has a lot of money that he invests in Spain, and therefore does not need to work.

For the first time, a residence permit is granted for a period of up to 2 years, and then it can be extended for another two years. An important nuance must be taken into account: the amount of 500 thousand euros implies the right for only one applicant to apply for a residence permit, that is, for a husband and wife it is necessary to buy a house worth at least a million euros, which they will own in equal shares.

Advantages of the method:

1. acquisition of excellent real estate;
2. minimum list of documents;
3. you do not need to be in the country for more than 183 days a year, since an investor residence permit is issued, which requires you to visit Spain only once during the validity period of the document.

Business immigration: opening a company or investing in an existing one

To obtain a residence permit as an investor, it is not necessary to buy an expensive house. Can be opened own company or invest heavily in a Spanish business. Any of the following conditions must be met:

Obtaining a residence permit through investing in companies or securities is not a very fast or productive process. It is necessary to fulfill all conditions without exception - register a company in Spain, pay all taxes on time, create a sufficient number of jobs, have a cost-effective and profitable enterprise. The Ministry of Labor will audit the company's accounting and tax payments.

If you want to obtain a residence permit as an investor, it is recommended to purchase real estate, securities or make a deposit in a bank. And when you are already in the country on completely legal grounds, open a company and engage in economic activity.

The positive aspects of this method:

• the opportunity to develop your business in a region characterized by political and economic stability;
• not necessary most time to stay in Spain, since the investor’s residence permit does not oblige him to permanently stay in the country;
• money can be stored in large quantities in Spanish banks, which are distinguished by their reliability and transparency.

Work immigration

This is a rather complicated relocation option, but reliable and effective. Suitable for those who have achieved success in their career and have a sought-after specialty. It is not enough to simply receive an invitation from a Spanish employer. It is necessary that a contract certified by the Ministry of Labor be concluded. But if you managed to go through this procedure, you can safely emigrate from Russia, because stability and confidence await you in your future place of residence.

Obtaining refugee status

The last chance for those who do not fit into any of the above categories is to try to obtain refugee status. Spain, like many European countries, provides protection to refugees only on its territory. This means that to apply for this status you need to travel to that country or visit its embassy abroad. However, refugee status may be denied if you have previously traveled through other countries in which you could ask for political asylum.

Upon receiving status, a refugee has all the same rights as citizens, but does not have the opportunity to participate in elections. As a rule, the application review process lasts from several months and even up to 2-3 years. All this time, a person who has written a written statement and provided evidence why he needs asylum is in the country on completely legal grounds and enjoys his rights.

The best cities to start in a new place

It is extremely important to decide where to live, because you need to choose not only the country, but also the region and city in which your future place of residence will be. It is impossible to say exactly which region will be ideal for everyone, because each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is important to collect detailed information about a particular city and weigh everything before moving. Emigrants from Russia are especially attracted to Catalonia with its capital Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and Madrid itself.

To those who love active life, is going to build successful career, will work in an intelligent way, it's worth moving to Big City— Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Malaga, young people should consider Ibiza. If you want to live in a quiet city, then it could be Zafra in Extremadura.

If you want to live in a village, you should not immediately purchase real estate there. It’s better to try to live in rented housing for at least six months, and then decide on permanent place residence. The most popular areas are those located no further than 100-200 km from the coast. It is closer to international airports, has more convenient infrastructure, and has greater development prospects. Before moving to the village, you need to seriously weigh everything whether you are ready for this step.

I. A. Bunin was born on October 22, 1870 in Voronezh. His childhood was spent on a family estate located in the Oryol province.

At the age of 11, Bunin began studying at the Yeletsk gymnasium. In his fourth year of study, due to an illness, he was forced to leave his studies and go to live in the village. After recovery, Ivan Bunin continued his studies with his older brother; both were very interested in literature. At the age of 19, Bunin is forced to leave the estate and provide for himself. He changes several positions, working as an extra, proofreader, librarian, and has to move often. Since 1891, he begins to publish poems and stories.

Having received approval from L. Tolstoy and A. Chekhov, Bunin focuses his activities on the literary sphere. As a writer, Bunin received the Pushkin Prize and also became an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Bunin became famous in literary circles brought the story “The Village”.

He perceived the October Revolution negatively, and therefore he left Russia, emigrating to France. In Paris he writes many works concerning Russian nature.

I. A. Bunin dies in 1953, having survived the Second world war.

Brief biography of Ivan Alekseevich Bunin, 4th grade

Childhood

Bunin Ivan Alekseevich was born on October 10 or 22, 1870 in the city of Voronezh. A little later, he and his parents moved to an estate in the Oryol province.

He spends his childhood on the estate, in the middle of nature.

Having not graduated from the gymnasium in the city of Yelets (1886), Bunin received his subsequent education from his brother Yuli, who graduated from the university with excellent marks.

Creative activity

Ivan Alekseevich's first works were published in 1888, and the first collection of his poems with the same title was published in 1889. Thanks to this collection, fame comes to Bunin. Soon, in 1898, in the collection “Under open air"his poems are published, and later, in 1901, in the collection "Listopad".

Later, Bunin was awarded the title of academician at the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg (1909), after which he left Russia, being an opponent of the revolution.

Life abroad and death

Abroad Bunin does not leave his creative activity and writes works that will be doomed to success in the future. It was then that he wrote one of the most famous works"The Life of Arsenyev." For him the writer receives the Nobel Prize.

Bunin's last work - literary image Chekhov was never completed.

Ivan Bunin died in the capital of France - in the city of Paris and was buried there.

4th grade for children, 11th grade

Life and work of Ivan Bunin

1870 is a landmark year for Russia. On October 10 (October 22), a brilliant poet and writer who won world fame, I.A. Bunin, was born into a Voronezh family of nobles. From the age of three, the Oryol province became home for the future writer. Ivan spends his childhood in his family; at the age of 8 he begins to try himself in the literary field. Due to illness, he was unable to complete his studies at the Yeletsk gymnasium. He improved his health in the village of Ozerki. Unlike his younger brother, another member of the Bunin family, Yuli, is studying at the university. But after spending a year in prison, he was also sent to the village of Ozerki, where he became Ivan’s teacher, teaching him many sciences. The brothers were especially fond of literature. The debut in the newspaper took place in 1887. Two years later, due to the need to earn money, Ivan Bunin leaves home. Modest positions as a newspaper employee, extra, librarian, and proofreader brought in a small income for subsistence. He often had to change his place of residence - Orel, Moscow, Kharkov, Poltava were his temporary homeland.

Thoughts about his native Oryol region did not leave the writer. His impressions were reflected in his first collection entitled “Poems,” which was published in 1891. Bunin was particularly impressed by his meeting with the famous writer Leo Tolstoy 3 years after the release of “Poems”. Next year He remembered it as the year he met A. Chekhov; before that, Bunin had only corresponded with him. Bunin's story “To the End of the World” (1895) was well received by critics. After which he decides to devote himself to this art. The subsequent years of Ivan Bunin's life are completely connected with literature. Thanks to his collections “Under the Open Air” and “Leaf Fall”, in 1903 the writer became the winner of the Pushkin Prize (this prize was awarded to him twice). The marriage to Anna Tsakni, which took place in 1898, did not last long; their only 5-year-old child dies. Afterwards he lives with V. Muromtseva.

In the period from 1900 to 1904, many beloved famous stories: "Chernozem", " Antonov apples", no less significant "Pines" and "New Road". These works made an indelible impression on Maxim Gorky, who highly appreciated the writer's work, calling him the best stylist of our time. Readers especially loved the story "Village".

In 1909, the Russian Academy of Sciences acquired a new honorary member. Ivan Alekseevich rightfully became it. Bunin was unable to accept the October Revolution and spoke harshly and negatively about Bolshevism. Historical events in his homeland force him to leave his country. His path lay to France. Crossing Crimea and Constantinople, the writer decides to stop in Paris. In a foreign land, all his thoughts are about his homeland, the Russian people, natural beauty. Active literary activity resulted in significant works: “Lapti”, “Mitya’s Love”, “Mowers”, “Distant”, the short story “Dark Alleys”, in the novel “The Life of Arsenyev”, written in 1930, he tells about his childhood and youth. These works were called the best in Bunin's work.

Three years later, another significant event occurred in his life - Ivan Bunin was awarded an honorary Nobel Prize. were written abroad famous books about Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. One of his appeared in France latest books"Memories". Ivan Bunin survived historical events in Paris - an attack by the fascist army, I saw their defeat. His active work made him one of the most important figures of the Russian Abroad. Date of death famous writer – 8.11.1953.

Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important.

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Ivan Alekseevich Bunin (October 10, 1870, Voronezh - November 8, 1953, Paris) - Russian writer, poet, honorary academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1909), the first Russian winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1933).

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin - the last Russian classic who captured Russia late XIX- beginning of the 20th century. “...One of the last rays of some wonderful Russian day,” wrote critic G. V. Adamovich about Bunin.
Ivan Bunin was born into an old noble family in Voronezh. IN further family moved to the Ozerki estate in the Oryol province (now Lipetsk region). Until the age of 11, he was raised at home, in 1881 he entered the Yeletsk district gymnasium, in 1886 he returned home and continued his education under the guidance of his older brother Julius. I did a lot of self-education, fascinated by reading world and domestic literary classics. At the age of 17 he began to write poetry, and in 1887 he made his debut in print. In 1889 he moved to Oryol and went to work as a proofreader for the local newspaper Oryol Vestnik. By this time, he had a long relationship with an employee of this newspaper, Varvara Pashchenko, with whom, against the wishes of his relatives, he moved to Poltava (1892).
Collections “Poems” (Eagle, 1891), “Under the Open Air” (1898), “Leaf Fall” (1901).
1895 - personally met A.P. Chekhov, before that they corresponded. His acquaintances with Mirra Lokhvitskaya, K.D. Balmont, and V. Bryusov date back to the same time.
In the 1890s, he traveled on the steamship “Chaika” (“a bark with firewood”) along the Dnieper and visited the grave of Taras Shevchenko, whom he loved and later translated a lot. A few years later, he wrote the essay “At the Seagull,” which was published in the children’s illustrated magazine “Vskhody” (1898, No. 21, November 1).
On September 23, 1898, she married Anna Nikolaevna Tsakni, the daughter of the populist revolutionary, a wealthy Odessa Greek Nikolai Petrovich Tsakni. The marriage didn't last long only child died at the age of 5 (1905). Since 1906, Bunin has been cohabiting (the civil marriage was formalized in 1922) with Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, the niece of S. A. Muromtsev, chairman State Duma Russian Empire of the 1st convocation.
In his lyrics, Bunin continued the classical traditions (collection “Falling Leaves,” 1901).
In stories and stories he showed (sometimes with a nostalgic mood) the impoverishment noble estates(“Antonov Apples”, 1900), the cruel face of the village (“Village”, 1910, “Sukhodol”, 1911), disastrous oblivion moral principles life (“Mr. from San Francisco”, 1915), sharp rejection October revolution and the Bolshevik authorities in the diary book “ Damn days"(1918, published 1925); in the autobiographical novel “The Life of Arsenyev” (1930) - a recreation of the past of Russia, the writer’s childhood and youth; the tragedy of human existence in the story “Mitya’s Love”, 1924, the collection of stories “Dark Alleys”, 1943, as well as in other works, wonderful examples of Russian short prose.
Translated “The Song of Hiawatha” by the American poet G. Longfellow. It was first published in the newspaper "Orlovsky Vestnik" in 1896. At the end of the same year, the newspaper's printing house published "The Song of Hiawatha" a separate book.
In April-May 1907 he visited Palestine, Syria and Egypt.
Bunin was awarded the Pushkin Prize twice (1903, 1909). On November 1, 1909, he was elected an honorary academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in the category of fine literature. In the summer of 1918, Bunin moved from Bolshevik Moscow to occupied Austrian troops Odessa. As the Red Army approached the city in April 1919, he did not emigrate, but remained in Odessa.
He welcomed the capture of the city by the Volunteer Army in August 1919, personally thanked General A.I. Denikin, who arrived in Odessa on October 7, and actively collaborated with OSVAG during Armed Forces South of Russia. In February 1920, when the Bolsheviks approached, he left Russia. Emigrated to France. During these years, he kept a diary, “Cursed Days,” which was partially lost, and which amazed his contemporaries with the precision of his language and his passionate hatred of the Bolsheviks.
In exile, he was active in social and political activities: he gave lectures, collaborated with Russian political organizations of nationalist and monarchist orientations, and regularly published journalistic articles. In 1924, he issued a famous manifesto on the tasks of the Russian Abroad regarding Russia and Bolshevism: “Mission of Russian Emigration,” in which he assessed what happened to Russia and the Bolshevik leader V.I. Lenin.
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1933 for "the rigorous mastery with which he develops the traditions of Russian classical prose."
He spent the Second World War (from October 1939 to 1945) in the rented villa “Jeannette” in Grasse (Alpes-Maritimes department). Worked hard and fruitfully literary activity, becoming one of the main figures of the Russian Abroad. In exile, Bunin wrote his best works, such as: “Mitya’s Love” (1924), “Sunstroke” (1925), “The Case of Cornet Elagin” (1925), and, finally, “The Life of Arsenyev” (1927-1929, 1933 ) and the cycle of stories “Dark Alleys” (1938-40). These works became a new word both in Bunin’s work and in Russian literature in general. According to K. G. Paustovsky, “The Life of Arsenyev” is not only the pinnacle work of Russian literature, but also “one of the most remarkable phenomena of world literature.”
According to the Chekhov Publishing House, recent months During his lifetime, Bunin worked on a literary portrait of A.P. Chekhov, the work remained unfinished (in the book: “Loopy Ears and Other Stories”, New York, 1953). He died in his sleep at two o'clock in the morning from November 7 to 8, 1953 in Paris. According to eyewitnesses, on the writer’s bed lay a volume of L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “Resurrection.” He was buried in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois cemetery in France.
In 1929-1954. Bunin's works were not published in the USSR. Since 1955, he has been the most published writer of the first wave of Russian emigration in the USSR (several collected works, many one-volume books). Some works (“Cursed Days”, etc.) were published in the USSR only with the beginning of perestroika.

Publications in the Literature section

“Russia lived in him, he was Russia”

On October 22, 1870, the writer and poet Ivan Bunin was born. The last pre-revolutionary Russian classic and the first Russian Nobel laureate in literature he was distinguished by independence of judgment and in apt expression Georgy Adamovich “saw right through people, unmistakably guessed what they would prefer to hide.”

About Ivan Bunin

"I was born October 10, 1870(all dates in the quote are indicated in the old style. - Editor's note) in Voronezh. He spent his childhood and early youth in the village, and began writing and publishing early. Quite soon criticism also turned its attention to me. Then my books were awarded the highest award three times Russian Academy Sciences - Pushkin Prize. However, I was not more or less widely known for a long time, because I did not belong to any literary school. In addition, I did not move much in the literary environment, lived a lot in the village, traveled a lot in Russia and outside Russia: in Italy, Turkey, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, in the tropics.

My popularity began from the time I published my “Village”. This was the beginning of a whole series of my works, which sharply depicted the Russian soul, its light and dark, often tragic foundations. In Russian criticism and among the Russian intelligentsia, where, due to ignorance of the people or political considerations, the people were almost always idealized, these “merciless” works of mine evoked passionate, hostile responses. During these years, I felt my literary strength becoming stronger every day. But then war broke out, and then revolution. I was not one of those who was taken by surprise by it, for whom its size and atrocities were a surprise, but still the reality exceeded all my expectations: no one who did not see it will understand what the Russian revolution soon turned into. This spectacle was sheer horror for anyone who had not lost the image and likeness of God, and from Russia, after Lenin seized power, hundreds of thousands of people who had the slightest opportunity to escape fled. I left Moscow on May 21, 1918, lived in the south of Russia, which passed from hand to hand between whites and reds, and on January 26, 1920, having drunk the cup of unspeakable mental suffering, I emigrated first to the Balkans, then to France. In France, I lived for the first time in Paris, and in the summer of 1923 I moved to the Alpes-Maritimes, returning to Paris only for some winter months.

In 1933 he received the Nobel Prize. While in exile, I wrote ten new books.”

Ivan Bunin wrote about himself in “Autobiographical Notes”.

When Bunin came to Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize, it turned out that all passers-by knew his face: photographs of the writer were published in every newspaper, in store windows, on the cinema screen. Seeing the great Russian writer, the Swedes looked around, and Ivan Alekseevich pulled his lambskin cap over his eyes and grumbled: "What's happened? A perfect success for the tenor".

“For the first time since the establishment of the Nobel Prize, you awarded it to an exile. For who am I? An exile enjoying the hospitality of France, to which I, too, will forever remain grateful. Gentlemen of the Academy, allow me, leaving aside myself and my works, to tell you how wonderful your gesture is in itself. There must be areas of complete independence in the world. Undoubtedly, around this table there are representatives of all kinds of opinions, all kinds of philosophical and religious beliefs. But there is something unshakable that unites us all: freedom of thought and conscience, something to which we owe civilization. For a writer, this freedom is especially necessary - for him it is a dogma, an axiom.”

From Bunin's speech at the Nobel Prize ceremony

However, his feeling for his homeland and the Russian language was enormous and he carried it throughout his life. “We took Russia, our Russian nature with us, and wherever we are, we cannot help but feel it”, - Ivan Alekseevich said about himself and about millions of the same forced emigrants who left their fatherland during the turbulent revolutionary years.

“Bunin did not have to live in Russia to write about it: Russia lived in him, he was Russia.”

Writer's secretary Andrey Sedykh

In 1936, Bunin went on a trip to Germany. In Lindau, he first encountered the fascist order: he was arrested and subjected to an unceremonious and humiliating search. In October 1939, Bunin settled in Grasse at the Villa Jeannette, where he lived throughout the war. Here he wrote his “Dark Alleys”. However, under the Germans he did not publish anything, although he lived in great poverty and hunger. He treated the conquerors with hatred and sincerely rejoiced at the victories of the Soviet and allied troops. In 1945 he moved permanently from Grasse to Paris. Last years I was sick a lot.

Ivan Alekseevich Bunin died in his sleep on the night of November 7–8, 1953 in Paris. He was buried in the cemetery of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois.

“I was born too late. If I had been born earlier, my writing memories would not have been like this. I wouldn’t have to go through... 1905, then the First World War, followed by the 17th year and its continuation, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler... How not to envy our forefather Noah! Only one flood befell him..."

I.A. Bunin. Memories. Paris. 1950

“Start reading Bunin - be it “Dark Alleys”, “ Easy breath", "Cup of Life", " Clean Monday", "Antonov's Apples", "Mitya's Love", "The Life of Arsenyev", and you will immediately be captivated and enchanted by the unique Bunin Russia with all its charming features: ancient churches, monasteries, ringing bells, village churchyards, bankrupt " noble nests”, with its rich colorful language, sayings, jokes, which you will not find either in Chekhov or Turgenev. But that’s not all: no one has so convincingly, so psychologically accurately and at the same time laconicly described the main feeling of a person - love. Bunin was endowed with a very special property: vigilance of observation. With amazing accuracy he could draw psychological picture any person seen, give a brilliant description of natural phenomena, changes in moods and changes in the lives of people, plants and animals. We can say that he wrote on the basis of keen vision, sensitive hearing and keen sense of smell. And nothing escaped him. His memory of a wanderer (he loved to travel!) absorbed everything: people, conversations, speech, colors, noise, smells.”,” literary critic Zinaida Partis wrote in her article “Invitation to Bunin.”

Bunin in quotes

“God gives each of us, along with life, this or that talent and entrusts us with the sacred duty not to bury it in the ground. Why, why? We don't know. But we must know that everything in this world, incomprehensible to us, must certainly have some meaning, some high God’s intention, aimed at ensuring that everything in this world “is good,” and that the diligent fulfillment of this God’s intention is Our service to him is always ours, and therefore joy and pride...”

The story "Bernard" (1952)

“Yes, from year to year, from day to day, you secretly expect only one thing - a happy love meeting, you live, in essence, only in the hope of this meeting - and all in vain...”

The story “In Paris”, collection “Dark Alleys” (1943)

“And he felt such pain and such uselessness of all his later life without her, that he was seized by horror and despair.”
“The room without her seemed somehow completely different than it was with her. He was still full of her - and empty. It was strange! There was still the smell of her good English cologne, her unfinished cup was still standing on the tray, but she was no longer there... And the lieutenant’s heart suddenly sank with such tenderness that the lieutenant hurried to light a cigarette and walked back and forth around the room several times.”

Short story "Sunstroke" (1925)

“Life is, undoubtedly, love, kindness, and a decrease in love, kindness is always a decrease in life, there is already death.”

Short story "The Blind Man" (1924)