Background
GORKY, Maksim was born on March 28, 1868 in Nizhniy Novgorod. Son of a carpenter.
GORKY, Maksim was born on March 28, 1868 in Nizhniy Novgorod. Son of a carpenter.
Self-taught.
From age 1 1 worked as errand boy in a store, as dish-washer on a steamer and as assistant in a bakery, et cetera 1884 tried to enroll at Kazan’ University. In Kazan’joined Populist ”self-cduc circle” and began propaganda among workers and peasants.
Became acquainted with Marxist literature 1887 shot himself through the lung in a suicide attempt. 1889 arrested for links with revolutionaries and kept under police surveillance.
1888-1889 and 1891-1892 toured Russia, reaching Tiflis, where he worked at the railroad workshops and engaged in revol propaganda among workers. 1892 first work printed. 1898 his two-volume Ocherki i rasskazy (Essays and Stories) attracted wide attention.
Late 1890’s closely linked with Marxist circles in Nizhniy Novgorod and Sormovo. Sided with Lenin’s Iskra group. 1901 wrote proclamation urging campaign against Tsarism.
April 1901 published ’’Song of the Stormy Petrel” heralding coming revol. 1901 arrested for complicity in establishing an underground printing press and exiled to Arzamas. 1902 elected Honorary member, Russian Academy of Sciences, but his election was quashed on orders from Nicholas World War II
Prior to 1905 Revol directed progressive democratic "Knowledge" Publ House, which published a series of socio-political pamphlets. Evening of 8 January 1905, together with other public figures, met Tsarist ministers to plead for withdrawal of troops from Saint St. Petersburg streets in a bid to avert bloodshed. After bloody events of 9 January wrote revol proclamation, leading to his internment in Peter and Paul Fortress.
Released after massive public protests. October 1905 helped found first legal Bolshevik paper Novaya zhizn'-, 27 November 1905 met for first time Lenin, with whom for many years he was close friends. Early 1906 went to America and wrote essays, pamphlets and appeals in support of Russian revol.
Fall 1906 settled on Capri, where he lived for seven years. May 1907 non-voting deleg at 5th (London) Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party Congress. 1909-1910 sided with Vperyod (Forward) group.
His interest in bogostroitel’stvo / the idea of establishing a new, ’’socialist” religion/ dates from this time. 1913 returned to Russia. 1912-1914 contributed to Bolshevik newspapers Zvezda and Pravda and journal Prosveshcheniye.
During WVV 1 adopted internationalist stand. 1915 founded anti-war journal Letopis’. 1915-1917 directed Barns (Sail) Publ House, which published a series of pamphlets entitled ’’Europe Prior to and During the War”.
At time of 1917 February Revol published newspaper Novaya zhizn'. 1917-1918, disagreeing with Bolshevik policy, printed his ’’Untimely Thoughts” in above newspaper. His attitude to October Revol drew sharp criticism from Lenin.
1918-1920 nevertheless contributed to establishment of Soviet cultural organs. Founded ’’World Literature” Publ House. Helped found 1st Workers and Peasants’ University.
Worked for Commission to Improve Welfare of Scientists. 1921 went abroad to recover from tuberculosis. From 1924 lived at Sorrento, Italy.
July-August 1928 and 1929 toured Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. 1929 at 5th All-Union Congress of Soviets elected member, Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics Central Executive Committee. 1931 returned for good to Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics.
Directed many periodicals: Nashi dostizheniya, USSR na stroyke, Literatumaya uchyoba, Za rubezhom, Kolkhoznik, et cetera 1934 elected chairman, bd, Soviet Writers’ Union. 1930's sponsored and organized work on publ Istoriya grazhdanskoy voyny v USSR (The History of the Civil War in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics) and series Istoriya fabrik i zavodov, edited lit history and biographical series Istoriya molodogo cheloveka 19 veka (The History of a Young Manitoba of the 19th Century), Istoricheskiye romany (Historic Novels) and Zhizn’ zamechotel’nykh lyudey (The Lives of Remarkable People), et cetera