Boris Pasternak

Boris Pasternak was a seminal Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He first gained fame for his innovative and lyrical poetry, particularly the collection My Sister, Life, before achieving global recognition for his epic novel Doctor Zhivago. His acceptance of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958 became a major Cold War incident, leading to severe persecution by the Soviet authorities. Pasternak's work, which explores themes of individual spirit, nature, and history, continues to exert a profound influence on world literature.

Early life and education

He was born into a prominent artistic and intellectual family in Moscow; his father, Leonid Pasternak, was a noted painter and his mother, Rosa Kaufman, was a concert pianist. The family home was frequented by cultural luminaries such as composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and novelist Leo Tolstoy, profoundly shaping his early environment. Initially pursuing music under the tutelage of composer Alexander Scriabin, he abandoned this path after six years of study. He subsequently enrolled at the University of Moscow to study law before transferring to the University of Marburg in Germany to study philosophy under the neo-Kantian scholar Hermann Cohen. Deciding against an academic career, he returned to Moscow in 1914, dedicating himself fully to poetry.

Literary career

His early poetic works, influenced by the Futurist movement and associates like Vladimir Mayakovsky, were marked by complex imagery and philosophical depth. The 1917 collection Over the Barriers showcased his evolving style, but it was the 1922 book My Sister, Life, celebrating the Revolution as a spiritual awakening, that established him as a major poetic voice. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, he published significant collections like Themes and Variations and the long narrative poem Lieutenant Schmidt. During the era of Socialist realism, his apolitical, introspective verse fell under official disfavor, leading him to turn to translation. He produced highly acclaimed Russian versions of works by William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Heinrich von Kleist, which provided him a crucial financial and creative lifeline.

Doctor Zhivago and Nobel Prize

He secretly worked on his magnum opus, the novel Doctor Zhivago, from 1945 to 1955, a sweeping epic set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War. Rejected for publication in the Soviet Union due to its perceived critical portrayal of the Bolsheviks, the manuscript was smuggled to the West and first published in Italian by publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli in 1957. The novel's international success led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958 "for his important achievement both in contemporary lyrical poetry and in the field of the great Russian epic tradition." Under intense pressure from the Union of Soviet Writers, orchestrated by figures like Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Suslov, he was forced to decline the prize. He was expelled from the Writers' Union of the USSR and subjected to a vicious smear campaign in state media, exemplified by a condemning editorial in Pravda.

Later years and death

Following the Nobel Prize scandal, he lived in virtual internal exile at his dacha in the writers' village of Peredelkino outside Moscow. Despite the state-sponsored ostracism, he continued to write, producing the philosophical cycle of poems When the Skies Clear. He maintained correspondence with international admirers and received visits from loyal friends and fellow intellectuals. In early 1960, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and his health deteriorated rapidly. He died on 30 May 1960; his funeral at Peredelkino Cemetery became a notable act of quiet defiance, attended by thousands of admirers, including the poet Andrey Voznesensky. The Soviet government refused to publicly acknowledge his passing in major newspapers.

Legacy and influence

His literary reputation was officially rehabilitated in the Soviet Union during the era of Perestroika, with Doctor Zhivago finally being published there in 1988. The 1965 film adaptation by director David Lean, starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, won five Academy Awards and introduced his story to a global audience. His poetry and prose have influenced generations of writers, both in Russia, such as Joseph Brodsky, and abroad. In 1989, his son Yevgeny Pasternak accepted the Nobel Prize diploma posthumously on his behalf. Today, his dacha in Peredelkino operates as a museum, and he is universally celebrated as a symbol of artistic integrity and the individual conscience against political oppression.

Category:Boris Pasternak Category:Russian poets Category:Nobel Prize in Literature laureates Category:Soviet translators Category:1890 births Category:1960 deaths