Biographical information about Zoshchenko. Mikhail Zoshchenko - biography, information, personal life

Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko (1894-1958) - classic of Russian literature, satirist, translator, playwright and screenwriter. In his satirical works he ridiculed cruelty, philistinism, pride, ignorance and other human vices. Based on his stories, director Leonid Gaidai made the comedy “It Can’t Be!”

Birth and family

His father, Mikhail Ivanovich Zoshchenko, born in 1857, belonged to a noble family from Poltava. He is a famous Russian mosaic artist, graduated from the Imperial Academy of Arts. He worked in a mosaic workshop and St. Petersburg magazines “Niva” and “Sever” as an illustrator. His mosaic panel “Suvorov’s Departure from the Village of Konchanskoye for the Italian Campaign of 1799” still adorns the museum of the great commander today. For this work, Zoshchenko received the Imperial Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree. His artistic works are exhibited in the State Tretyakov Gallery, as well as in museums in Krasnodar and Yekaterinburg.

Mother, Elena Osipovna Zoshchenko (maiden name Surina), born in 1875, was also of noble origin. She had artistic inclinations and played in amateur theater before her marriage. Then eight children were born one after another (one of them died in infancy), and Elena Osipovna completely devoted herself to their upbringing and household chores. At the same time, she found time to write short stories and publish them in the Kopeyka newspaper.

Childhood

Mikhail was the third child and first son; two girls were born before him. The family lived on the Petrogradskaya side in a house with several apartments on Bolshaya Raznochinnaya Street.

In 1903, the boy was sent to St. Petersburg gymnasium No. 8. He studied poorly, especially in the Russian language, which was extremely surprising, because even then Mikhail began to write his first stories and was going to become a writer.

Having received a “one” for an essay at the final exam with the postscript “nonsense,” Zoshchenko flew into a rage and tried to take his own life - he swallowed a crystal of sublimate (mercuric chloride). Then they pumped him out.

Youth

In 1913, Misha became a law student at the Imperial University. But a year later he was expelled for non-payment. Their family had always lived poorly, and after their father died in 1907, they had to eke out an existence in almost poverty and poverty. Mikhail went to work for the Caucasian Railway as a controller.

A year later, Zoshchenko went to the front of the outbreak of the First World War. He did this not out of any patriotic motives, he simply could not sit in one place, his soul demanded change. However, during his service he managed to distinguish himself - he participated in many battles, received a shrapnel wound in the leg and gas poisoning, and was awarded four orders.

The gas poisoning did not pass without a trace; in February 1917, Zoshchenko’s heart disease worsened, he was sent to the hospital, and from there to the reserve.

Labor path

Before taking up literary activity, Mikhail managed to master and change many professions. Returning from the front, he was appointed to the post office of St. Petersburg as commandant. Such a place was considered honorable; he was even entitled to a horse and droshky and a room at the Astoria Hotel.

Six months later, Zoshchenko was sent on a business trip to Arkhangelsk, where he was caught up in the revolution. Mikhail was offered to leave the country and go to France, but he refused. In Arkhangelsk he received a new appointment to the post of adjutant of the squad. Then he was elected secretary of the regimental court.

From Arkhangelsk, fate brought Zoshchenko to the Smolensk province, where he worked as an instructor in breeding chickens and rabbits.

At the beginning of 1919, he voluntarily joined the Red Army, but after another heart attack he was declared unfit for service and demobilized. Mikhail was appointed to the border guard as a telephone operator.

Returning to St. Petersburg, Zoshchenko joined the criminal investigation department as an agent. Then he worked as a clerk in a military port, and managed to study carpentry and shoemaking.

Literary activity

In the summer of 1919, when he was still working as an agent in the criminal investigation department, Zoshchenko began to frequent the literary studio. He did not make loud statements that he wanted to become a writer, he just sat quietly in the corner, did not participate in discussions, and was embarrassed to show his writings. He was even nicknamed the “eccentric policeman.” But when he finally decided to read his story, the audience laughed. The head of the studio, Korney Chukovsky, got acquainted with Zoshchenko’s other works and identified his obvious talent for literature.

Gradually, in the studio, Mikhail met many writers of that time. In 1921 he became a member of the Serapion Brothers literary community. The following year, 1922, the “Serapions” published their first almanac, in which Zoshchenko’s story was published. The publications immediately attracted attention to the young writer. Maxim Gorky maintained a friendship with the “Serapion Brothers”; he began to carefully monitor Mikhail’s work and patronize him in every possible way.

Zoshchenko’s works began to be regularly published in humorous publications:

• "Hippopotamus";
• "Amanita";
• "Laughter";
• "Inspector";
• "Eccentric";
• "Buzoter."

In one breath, people from different strata of society read his stories, novellas and feuilletons:

• "Aristocrat";
• "Black Prince";
• "Urgent business";
• "Trouble";
• "Retribution";
• "Cup";
• "Bath";
• "Marriage of convenience";
• "Kerensky"
• "Disease history".

Mikhail's popularity grew rapidly, and phrases from humorous stories became popular among the people. His heyday as a writer occurred in the 1920s and 1930s. Zoshchenko traveled a lot around the country giving speeches, his works were republished in large editions, and a collection of works was published in six volumes. In 1939, for his creative achievements, the writer was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

The author also wrote a lot for children. The first stories were published in children's magazines "Chizh" and "Hedgehog" - "Grandma's Gift", "Yolka", "Smart Animals". Then entire collections of works for young readers were published - “Lelya and Minka”, “The Most Important Thing”. In 1940, his children's book “Stories about Lenin” was published.

Personal life

While still a student, Mikhail met a pretty girl, Verochka Korbits-Kerbitskaya. She was graceful and thin, like a porcelain figurine, with a pretty little face and chestnut-colored curls, slightly mannered, very talkative, always wearing airy outfits and a hat. In her album, Zoshchenko made a note as a keepsake: “Men don’t believe in love, but it’s criminal to talk about it, otherwise there’s no access to a woman’s body.” This was Mikhail’s problem - he did not know how, like millions of ordinary people, to enjoy simple things, for example, love for a woman.

Fate separated them after they met, and in 1918 brought them together again for forty long years, full of separations and reconciliations. They got married by chance. In 1920, Zoshchenko’s mother died, and then Vera offered to move in with her. He went with this woman to the registry office and transported his simple belongings to her house - a small desk, a bookcase, a carpet and two armchairs.

When her husband began to receive his first writer's fees, Vera furnished the apartment with furniture, bought paintings in gilded frames, porcelain shepherdesses and a large spreading date palm. This change of situation not only did not make Zoshchenko happy, but rather caused melancholy. He left his wife with their newly born son Valerka and moved to the House of Arts. At the same time, Mikhail periodically visited the family, but not to visit, but because he was firmly convinced that his official wife should feed him lunch, wash his clothes and help him with his correspondence.

Zoshchenko called his wife an “old woman”, suppressed his blues in endless love affairs, but Vera endured everything, she understood that this was not a bad character, but an incurable disease. Mikhail's novels were fleeting and cynical; he liked married women. He visited his mistresses at home and met their husbands. But all this did not bring the writer relief from melancholy. Looking over all his love affairs in his memory, he understood: the more women there were, the more meaningless life became. He drove himself into a corner.

Depression

His friend Korney Chukovsky said that Misha should be the happiest person on earth, because he has everything - beauty and youth, fame, talent and money. But instead, the writer was consumed by such depression that he could not put pen to paper and avoided any communication with people. Zoshchenko did not leave the house for two weeks, did not shave, sat in his room and was silent.

It got to the point that in 1926 he turned to a psychiatrist. Mikhail complained that he couldn’t eat because of melancholy, and because of irritability he couldn’t sleep; everything disturbed him - the sound of a tram on the street, the dripping of water from the tap. The doctor examined the patient and advised him to read short humorous stories every time before going to bed or eating, for example, by an author such as Zoshchenko. The patient sadly replied that he was the very author of Zoshchenko.

Having received no qualified help, he took up the books of the Russian academician Pavlov and the German psychoanalyst Freud, trying to cure himself. Mikhail tried to unravel the reasons for his melancholy and depression.

He analyzed his whole life, recalled every incident that could provoke the current blues:

• I remembered moments when his mother weaned him, a two-year-old boy, from the breast, smearing it with bitter quinine.
• At the age of three, a local doctor performed surgery on him without anesthesia. Misha cut himself then, but the harmless wound began to fester, which could lead to blood poisoning. He clearly remembered how a shiny scalpel cut through his flesh.
• As a six-year-old child, he witnessed a neighbor's youth drown in a roadside ditch.
• He remembered his mother’s unsuccessful efforts to get a pension, when they were left poor after the death of their father, and from then on he was always haunted by the fear of poverty.
• A picture arose before his eyes when, during the war, after a terrible gas poisoning, he woke up and saw dead colleagues around him and even birds falling dead from the trees.

War

Mikhail was not taken to the front because of his age and heart problems. He remained in Leningrad and joined the fire defense. In the fall of 1941, he was evacuated to Alma-Ata, where he collaborated with the Mosfilm studio. Zoshchenko wrote scripts for the films “Fallen Leaves” and “Soldier’s Happiness.” In his free time he continued to compose the main work of his life.

In 1943, the magazine "October" published the first chapters of the novel. But this publication turned out to be a disaster for the writer. The Bolshevik magazine published a devastating article about how Zoshchenko was engaged in “psychological picking” when the entire people were fighting against the German invaders. The article also said that Soviet people are not characterized by the ailments in which the author of the novel drowned.

Clouds gathered over Zoshchenko, publication of the continuation of the novel was banned, persecution and persecution began. His work was criticized by Stalin and Zhdanov, calling him “disgusting,” and the author himself a “literary scum” and a “coward.”

Last years

In 1946, Zoshchenko was expelled from the Writers' Union. In order not to die of hunger, he began to work as a translator. Mikhail bravely endured all the hardships, but in 1954 he broke down. Just after Stalin died and Konstantin Simonov arranged for Zoshchenko to be returned to the Writers' Union. After many years of seclusion, Mikhail began to experience depression and his health deteriorated.

He lived in Sestroretsk at the dacha. In the spring of 1958, he was severely poisoned by nicotine, after which, due to a spasm of blood vessels in the brain, he could not recognize his relatives, and problems with speech began. The day before his death, his ability to speak returned. For the first time in many years, Mikhail hugged his wife tightly and said: “How strange, Verochka...How absurdly I lived.” That same night, July 22, 1958, the writer’s heart stopped.

The authorities prohibited burying Zoshchenko at the Volkovskoye cemetery in Leningrad. His grave is located in Sestroretsk, his wife, son and grandson rest nearby.

Biography, life story of Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko

Life before the 1917 revolution

Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko, writer, was born on the 28th of July (9th August) in 1894 in St. Petersburg. His father, an artist, came from Poltava nobles, his name was Mikhail Ivanovich. His mother, whose maiden name was Surina Elena Osipovna, also had a noble origin and was an actress before her marriage. Mikhail graduated from high school in St. Petersburg and entered the law faculty of the university there, but was expelled for non-payment. In the summer, Mikhail worked part-time as a controller on the railway, then the war began. Mikhail was first enrolled as a cadet at the Pavlovsk Military School, then, after completing a four-month wartime course, he was promoted to the position of ensign. Further briefly: received the Order of St. Stanislaus, Third Class; in December 1915 - head of the machine gun team, second lieutenant; in 1916, Order of St. Anne, Fourth Class, lieutenant; poisoned during a gas attack, but returned to the regiment; Order of St. Stanislaus with Swords, Second Class; Order of St. Anne with Swords and Bow, Third Class; company commander and staff captain; in 1917, in the month of January, the Order of St. Vladimir, Fourth degree, captain. He did not manage to receive the last order in connection with the outbreak of the revolution, but there was an order.

February 1917

In February 1917, Zoshchenko was sent to the reserve. At this time, the heart defect he received as a result of gas poisoning worsened. There was an offer to emigrate to France, but he refused. In the summer of 1917, Zoshchenko worked as the head of posts and telegraphs, then went to Arkhangelsk to join the Arkhangelsk squad.

Civil War

Under Soviet rule, Zoshchenko worked in Smolensk as a court secretary, then as an instructor in chicken and rabbit breeding. He was released from military service in the Red Army due to health reasons, but volunteered for the Model Regiment of the Village Poor. In the winter of 1919, he was in the battles near Narva, then he also fought against the Bulak-Balakhovich gang, and was finally demobilized for health reasons in April 1919 after a heart attack.

CONTINUED BELOW

Zoshchenko changed many professions in the period 1920-1922. He worked in the criminal investigation department, as a port clerk, as a carpenter, as a shoemaker and as a telephone operator. At this time, he attended the literary circle (studio) of Korney Chukovsky at the World Literature publishing house. He began publishing in 1922 and joined the Serapion Brothers group of writers. Critics were wary of them. Zoshchenko wrote stories in which he created a comic image of an ordinary hero with poor morality and primitive views on the environment. In the thirties, he moved on to larger forms and began working on a story called “Before Sunrise.”

Patriotic War of 1941

With the outbreak of the 1941 war, he immediately went to the military registration and enlistment office and immediately applied to be sent to the front. He was refused because he was unfit for military service due to health reasons. He began to write anti-fascist feuilletons and wrote the play “Under the Linden Trees of Berlin,” which was performed during the blockade in Leningrad at the Comedy Theater. In September 1941, Zoshchenko was evacuated by order from Leningrad to Moscow, then to Alma-Ata. During the evacuation, he worked at Mosfilm in the script department. Zoshchenko returned to Moscow in April 1943 and worked on the editorial board of the Krokodil magazine. He also worked a lot for theaters in the period from 1944 to 1946 and did not stop working on the story. He worked towards this story all his life. Zoshchenko returned to the past in his memory and looked there for the reasons for his troubles and misfortunes, looking for the cause of his illness. The book describes his life in great detail. In 1943, part of the story was published in the magazine "October", but continued publication in the magazine was prohibited.

Post-war "bullying"

The story was published, but first only in the USA in 1968, in the Soviet Union in 1987. In April 1946, Zoshchenko was awarded the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Second World War 1941-1945." Immediately after the award, persecution began; 3 months later Zoshchenko was accused of allegedly not helping the Soviet people in the war. He was accused of vulgarity and apoliticality, hooliganism and anti-Soviet attacks. Mikhail Mikhailovich was expelled from the Writers' Union and deprived of his livelihood.

Post-Stalin period, death

After Zoshchenko's death, he was re-admitted to the Writers' Union. He was invited to a meeting with students from England. They were asked about the decree of 1946 that was disastrous for them. she said that she agreed with the decision (her son was in custody at that time). Zoshchenko said that he worked with a clear conscience, he is a military officer and does not agree with the slander. A new persecution has begun. The writer’s strength was exhausted, he withdrew into himself and lived at his dacha in Sestroretsk until his death. Zoshchenko no longer had the desire to work. After some time he became worse, there was a spasm of blood vessels, he lost his speech, and stopped recognizing those around him. He was denied a pension until his death. Zoshchenko died of acute heart failure on June 22, 1958, and was buried in Sestroretsk.

On August 10, 1895, a boy Misha was born in St. Petersburg - one of eight children in the poor noble family of Zoshchenko. His father, Mikhail Ivanovich, was an Itinerant artist and served at the Academy of Arts. Some of the elder Zoshchenko's paintings are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery and the Museum of the Revolution. Misha’s mother, Elena Osipovna, once played on stage, and after her marriage she wrote stories and published them in the capital’s magazine “Kopeyka”.

Misha inherited his mother's talent - from the age of eight he wrote poetry, and at thirteen he wrote his first story, called “Coat”. True, his literary abilities did not affect his studies. At the age of nine, Misha was sent to the eighth St. Petersburg gymnasium, and he studied very mediocrely, and, oddly enough, he had the worst grades in the Russian language. Subsequently, Zoshchenko himself was quite surprised by this, because since childhood he dreamed of becoming a writer. But the fact remains: at the final exam, Mikhail received a unit for his essay. For a seventeen-year-old boy, such an assessment was a huge blow, and he even tried to commit suicide - according to him, not so much out of despair as out of rage.

Zoshchenko's father died in 1907, leaving the family practically without a livelihood, but Elena Osipovna still found the opportunity to pay for the gymnasium, and in 1913 Mikhail Zoshchenko became a law student. However, six months later, Mikhail was expelled from the university - the family did not have money to pay for his education. And in the spring of 1914, Zoshchenko went to the Caucasus, where he became a controller on the Kislovodsk - Minvody railway line, and at the same time earned money by giving private lessons. In the fall he returned to St. Petersburg, but instead of university he decided to pursue a military career.

Mikhail became a cadet at the Pavlovsk Military School (1st category volunteer), but still did not want to study - he took accelerated military courses and in February 1915 went to the front with the rank of ensign. Zoshchenko did not experience any patriotic sentiments regarding the outbreak of war - rather, he wanted some kind of change, thus fighting his tendency towards melancholy and hypochondria. However, the future writer fought quite successfully, and his comrades did not notice any melancholy behind him, at least in battles.

Zoshchenko ended up in the Caucasian Grenadier Division, received a shrapnel wound in November, and in December he received the rank of second lieutenant. In the summer of 1916, he was poisoned by gases and, after hospitalization, was transferred to the reserve. But Zoshchenko did not want to serve in the reserve regiment and returned to the front in the fall. In November he became a company commander and staff captain, and almost immediately began acting as battalion commander. During the war, he received four orders and was nominated for a fifth, but did not manage to receive either the Order of St. Vladimir or the rank of captain - the February Revolution broke out in Russia. In the same month, Mikhail was diagnosed with a consequence of poisoning - a heart defect, and he was nevertheless demobilized. In the summer of 1917, Zoshchenko was appointed commandant of the Petrograd Post Office, but in October Mikhail left this position and went to serve in Arkhangelsk - adjutant of the 14th Arkhangelsk squad and secretary of the field court. By the way, here he was offered to emigrate to Paris, but Mikhail refused - after the October Revolution, he accepted Soviet power without hesitation.

In Arkhangelsk, Mikhail met his first love, but Lada, the mother of three sons, who was waiting for her husband who disappeared at sea, refused him, fearing that the capital officer would very quickly get tired of the provincial routine. Perhaps there was some truth in her words - Zoshchenko had an appearance that was very interesting to women. Handsome and delicate in an old-fashioned way, he aroused curiosity with his outward arrogance, the cause of which was actually his reserved character and leisurely movements.

In 1918, Zoshchenko returned to Petrograd and immediately enlisted in the Red Army - first he served as a border guard in Kronstadt, then he went to the front. In the spring of 1919, the disease made itself felt again, and Mikhail had to be demobilized. His fiancée, Vera Vladimirovna Kerbits-Kerbitskaya, was waiting for him in Petrograd, and the following year they got married - exactly six months after the death of Mikhail’s mother. A year later, Vera gave birth to a son, Valery, who later became a theater critic.

After the front, Zoshchenko changed more than a dozen professions, having been a carpenter, a criminal investigation agent, a clerk, and even an instructor in breeding chickens and rabbits. And all this time he was engaged in literature, becoming more and more convinced that his true calling was writing. Since 1919, he attended the literary studio organized by the publishing house “World Literature” under the leadership of Korney Chukovsky. In 1921, Zoshchenko joined the literary group “Serapion Brothers” and was a member of a faction whose adherents argued that one should learn to write from Russian classics.

In August 1922, the Alkonost publishing house published the first almanac of the Serapion Brothers group, which included Zoshchenko’s story. In the same year, his first book, entitled “Stories of Nazar Ilyich Mr. Sinebryukhov,” was published. This collection of short stories became a real literary sensation. Maxim Gorky, impressed by Mikhail’s talent, called him a “subtle writer” and a “wonderful humorist.” It is interesting that the first translation of Soviet prose in the West is “Victoria Kazimirovna,” a story by Zoshchenko, which was published by the Belgian magazine “Le disque vert.”

Over the next few years, Mikhail Zoshchenko gained incredible popularity, and phrases from his stories became catchphrases. By the mid-twenties, he was considered perhaps the most famous Soviet writer, and his work was loved by people belonging to different social strata of society. Basically, Zoshchenko's fame was based on the fact that he created a new type of literary hero - a Soviet man in the street, with neither education nor cultural baggage, primitive and with poor morals. The stories were written in undoubtedly artistic and at the same time ordinary, extra-literary, everyday language.

In 1927, the gradual liquidation of satirical magazines began in the Soviet Union, and some of the writer’s stories were recognized as “ideologically harmful.” In 1929, his book “Letters to a Writer” was published, compiled from readers’ letters and comments to them. The book was very similar to a sociological study and caused great bewilderment among many, because out of habit, only funny stories were expected from Zoshchenko.

Of course, such changes could not but affect the writer, who was already prone to depression since childhood. A trip by a group of writers along the White Sea Canal made a particularly depressing impression on him in the thirties. There, Mikhail Mikhailovich met his Arkhangelsk love in one of the camps, who had no idea where her sons were now. After this trip, writing about the “re-education” of criminals turned out to be simply unbearable. In 1933, Zoshchenko published a story called “Youth Restored”, trying to get rid of depression and at least somehow correct his psyche. This book, dedicated to mental health problems, was reviewed by scientific publications and discussed at the Academy of Sciences.

His creative destiny developed very strangely: publications, popularity, material well-being, fame abroad, in 1939 - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, but with all this - constant attacks from criticism.

In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Zoshchenko tried to go to the front, but was refused due to his health. In October, the writer evacuated to Alma-Ata, in November he became an employee of the scriptwriters department of Mosfilm, and in 1943 he was called to Moscow and offered the post of executive editor of the satirical magazine Krokodil. Mikhail Mikhailovich did not accept this position, but joined the editorial board of Krokodil. At the end of the year, two government resolutions were adopted - one required increasing the responsibility of secretaries of literary magazines, the second tightened control over these magazines. Zoshchenko’s story “Before Sunrise” was declared “politically harmful and anti-artistic,” and its author was removed from the editorial board of “Crocodile” and deprived of food rations.

Since 1944, Zoshchenko wrote for theaters, and one of his comedies, “The Canvas Briefcase,” had two hundred performances in a year. But the printing of his works was practically stopped. And yet, Mikhail Mikhailovich received the medal “For Valiant Labor,” and in 1946 he became one of the editors of the Zvezda magazine. But in August 1946, after the infamous decree “On the magazines “Zvezda” and “Leningrad”, Zoshchenko was expelled from the Writers' Union and again deprived of his food card. All contracts concluded with publishing houses, magazines and theaters were terminated. Zoshchenko tried to earn extra money in a shoemaking artel, and Vera Vladimirovna was selling their things... Zoshchenko’s main income then became translations, and the translator’s name was not in the books.

Mikhail Mikhailovich was reinstated in the Writers' Union after Stalin's death, but only for a year - in 1954, the persecution continued. Famous writers came to his defense - Chukovsky, Kaverin, Tikhonov. At the end of 1957, it was possible to publish a book of selected works, but Zoshchenko’s health and psyche were irrevocably undermined.

On July 22, 1958, Mikhail Zoshchenko died of a heart attack at his dacha in the city of Sestroretsk. The disgrace did not stop even after death: the writer was not allowed to be buried in Leningrad. His grave is located in the Sestroretsk city cemetery. They say that in the coffin Mikhail Mikhailovich, who was distinguished by his gloom in life, smiled...

Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko is a famous Soviet writer. He was born in the city of St. Petersburg, where he grew up and spent basically his entire life. In most of his satirical works we can see the struggle against cruelty, pride, stupidity, lack of culture and faith and other human shortcomings.

Almost all of his relatives were also creative people, and his parents were from an ancient noble family. His father was a famous artist, his mother was also a well-known theater actress, and also published her own stories, which were published in the newspaper.

In 1913, the writer entered the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University. At the same time, the young writer is just beginning to publish his first stories. The life of Mikhail Zoshchenko changes dramatically in 1915. This year he voluntarily enlists in the army during the First World War. Two years later, the author comes back to St. Petersburg, and in 1918 he again voluntarily goes to war as a Red Army soldier.

A year later, the writer begins to work in a creative studio headed by Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky. After some time, the author's first stories were published.

The first book with stories by Mikhail Mikhailovich was published in 1922. Already in the 1920s, he became one of the most famous writers in Russia.

Zoshchenko attaches particular importance to feuilletons in his work. The writer put in a lot of effort. He worked on radio, newspapers and Krokodil magazine. Even during the outbreak of the Second World War, Mikhail Zoshchenko had to leave for the city of Alma-Ata. There he worked a lot on his works in the Mosfilm studio.

After temporarily living in Alma-Ata, the writer arrived at the beginning of 1943 and became one of the editors of the humorous magazine "Crocodile", while working a lot in the theater.

Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko died in July 1958 in St. Petersburg, and he was buried in the city of Sestroretsk.

Zoshchenko. Biography and creativity

The name of Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko occupies a place of honor among the world-famous classics of Russian literature. In addition, he was known as a talented screenwriter, playwright and translator. Not a single reader could ignore his stories, in which humor occupies a special place.

The birthplace of M. M. Zoshchenko is the city of St. Petersburg. He was the third child in the family. The appearance of the boy made the family of the famous artist, Mikhail Ivanovich Zoshchenko, and his wife, a housewife, Elena Osipovna Zoshchenko happy in 1894.

Since 1903, Mikhail stayed within the walls of Gymnasium No. 8. He was not distinguished by his excellent knowledge of humanitarian subjects. Having received the lowest score for an essay in the final exam, he was unable to cope with his emotions and attempted to commit suicide in protest. Thanks to the efforts of doctors, his life was saved.

Later, without studying for a year, Mikhail was expelled from the Imperial University for lack of funds for tuition. The most difficult time for the family came when his father died. After this, the young man was forced to go to work. He was accepted as a controller on the Caucasian railway. But a year later Zoshchenko was already at the front. There, awards, wounds, and endless battles awaited him, where he showed real courage. In 1917, the future writer was sent to the reserve force, since his health did not allow him to serve further.

The path to fame in the literary field was not purposeful. After participating in hostilities, Mikhail Zoshchenko tested himself in various fields of activity. For several months he held the position of commandant in St. Petersburg, was an adjutant of the squad, and secretary of the regimental court in Arkhangelsk. Working as an instructor in the field of subsidiary farming, he gained experience in the Smolensk region. And after an unsuccessful return to the army, he began working as a telephone operator. After returning to St. Petersburg, he mastered shoemaking.

Zoshchenko devoted his free time to writing short stories. However, he never declared himself as a writer, remaining modestly silent in a corner at literary evenings.

While occupying a position in the criminal investigation department, one day he decided to voice one of his works among literature lovers. K. Chukovsky, who at that time headed the literary studio, paid special attention to him. His works were included in the well-known collections of that time: “Eccentric”, “The Inspector General” and others.

“Stories of Nazar Ilyich, Mr. Sinebryukhov” became his first book, published in 1922. By the mid-20s, his fame spread throughout Soviet Russia. In subsequent years, he worked in newspapers, magazines, and was also attracted to theatrical activities.

Outwardly, the writer’s family life turned out well. From his marriage with Vera Kerbits-Kerbitskaya a son was born. However, his heart always belonged to another woman - Roan Lydia, whom he could not forget until his death.

1958 is the date of death of the world famous satirist writer. He was buried in the city of Sestroretsk.

Zoshchenko Mikhail Mikhailovich (1894-1958), writer.

The artist was born on August 10, 1894 in St. Petersburg. In 1913 he entered the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. This includes Zoshchenko’s first literary experiments (notes about modern writers, sketches of short stories).

In 1915, during the First World War, he volunteered to go to the front, commanded a battalion, and became a Knight of St. George.

In 1917 he returned to St. Petersburg, and in 1918, despite illness, he volunteered for the Red Army. After the Civil War in 1919, Zoshchenko studied in a creative studio at the publishing house “World Literature” in Petrograd, headed by K. I. Chukovsky.

In 1920-1921 his stories appeared.

In 1921, Zoshchenko became a member of the Serapion Brothers literary circle. The writer’s first was published in 1922 under the title “Stories of Nazar Ilyich, Mr. Sinebryukhov.” Then “Raznotyk” (1923), “Aristocrat” (1924), and “Cheerful Life” (1924) appeared. Their publication immediately made the author famous.

By the mid-20s. XX century Zoshchenko became one of the most popular writers in Russia.

In 1929, he published the book “Letters to a Writer,” in which he depicted many negative aspects of Soviet life on behalf of various citizens. He himself remarked on this matter: “I write only in the language in which the street now speaks and thinks.” After the book was published, director V. E. Meyerhold was forbidden to stage Zoshchenko’s play “Dear Comrade” (1930).

Zoshchenko’s works that went beyond “positive satire on individual shortcomings” were no longer published. However, the writer himself increasingly ridiculed the life of Soviet society.

The resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the magazines Zvezda and Leningrad” dated August 14, 1946 led to a ban on the publication of Zoshchenko’s works and to the persecution of the writer.

The consequence of this ideological campaign was an exacerbation of Mikhail Mikhailovich’s mental illness. His reinstatement in the Writers' Union after I.V. Stalin (1953) and the publication of his first book after a long break (1956) only temporarily alleviated his condition.