Aleksey Remizov facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aleksey Remizov
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Aleksey Mikhailovich Remizov
6 July 1877 Moscow, Russia
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| Died | 26 November 1957 (aged 80) Paris, France
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| Citizenship | Russian Empire (1877–1917) Soviet Russia (1917–1922) Stateless (1922–1952) Soviet Union (1952–1957) |
| Alma mater | Moscow University |
| Occupation | Writer |
Aleksey Mikhailovich Remizov (Russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Ре́мизов; born July 6, 1877, in Moscow – died November 26, 1957, in Paris) was a Russian writer. He was known for his creative and sometimes unusual stories. Besides writing, Remizov was also an expert calligrapher, meaning he was very skilled at beautiful handwriting. He hoped to bring back this old art form in Russia.
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Life Story of Aleksey Remizov
Aleksey grew up in a merchant family in Moscow. When he was a student at Moscow University, he became interested in ideas about changing society. Because of his beliefs, he faced difficulties and spent time away from home, including in a place called Siberia. During this time, he became very interested in Russian folklore, which are traditional stories and beliefs. He married a student who studied ancient Russian art, and she helped him connect with other artists like the Roerichs.
Early Writing Career
In 1905, Remizov moved to Saint Petersburg. There, he began to write stories that sounded like old medieval folk tales. He wanted to capture "the sadness and strangeness of folklore." At first, his unique stories about saints were not very popular, partly because of their complex language. However, his more traditional stories about city life became quite well-known.
One of his interesting books was The Indefatigable Cymbal (1910). In this book, Remizov wrote about the odd habits and beliefs of people living in the countryside. Another famous work from this time was The Sacrifice. This was a scary story where a ghost-like version of a father tries to harm his daughter by mistake.
During and After the Russian Revolution
Around the time of the Russian Revolution, Remizov focused on writing stories that copied less-known medieval Russian books. He reacted to the revolution by writing Lay of the Ruin of the Russian Land. This was his version of a 13th-century story that complained about the Mongol invasion of Russia.
In 1921, he moved to Berlin, and then in 1923, he moved to Paris. In Paris, he published a book called Whirlwind Russia (1927), which shared his thoughts about the revolution.
Life in Exile
While living outside Russia, Remizov wrote many unusual stories. These often included strange creatures and nightmare figures. He also became very interested in dreams and wrote several works about them. These dream stories sometimes featured famous Russian writers like Gogol and Dostoyevsky. Even though he wrote a lot, many of his books were not published for a long time (from 1931 to 1952, no new books of his came out).
Remizov was one of the first Russian modernist writers to get attention from famous writers in Paris, like James Joyce. However, his reputation changed after World War II. He said he wanted to return to the Soviet Union and even got a Soviet passport. Because of this, many Russian writers living outside Russia disliked him. One famous writer, Vladimir Nabokov, even said that the only good thing about Remizov was that he truly lived in the world of literature. From 1952 to 1957, some of Remizov's books were published, but only a small number of copies were printed.
See Also
- Russian literature
- Modernism (literature)
