Background
Voloshin, Maksimilian was born on May 28, 1877 in Kiev. Son of a Ukrainian father and a German mother.
Voloshin, Maksimilian was born on May 28, 1877 in Kiev. Son of a Ukrainian father and a German mother.
In his youth, involved in revolutionary activity, exiled to Central Asia. Moved to Paris, studied at the Sorbonne. Visited many countries, especially in the Mediterranean region, and was deeply influenced by their nature and culture.
Attracted to anthroposophy. First poems published in the 1900s. Personally acquainted with almost all of his literary contemporaries, but stood apart from movements and groups, retaining complete individuality.
Fought the last of the famous literary duels in Russia (with N. Gumilev), and discovered Marina Tsvetaeva. Settled in Koktebel in the Crimea, turning his house at the seaside into a centre of literary life. During the Civil War, gave refuge to both Reds and Whites, sheltering them from each other.
Wrote a deeply tragic cycle of poems on the revolution, the Civil War, and the terror of the 1920s. Also a literary critic, and a prolific and original landscape painter. One of the most colourful figures of the Silver Age of Russian literature.
His collected works, in 2 volumes, were published in 1970s in the USA.