Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (Russian: Борис Леонидович Пастернак) (February 10 [O.S. January 29] 1890 – May 30, 1960) was a Nobel Prize-winning Russian poet and writer, in the West best known for his epic novel Doctor Zhivago. The novel is a tragedy, whose events span through the last period of Czarist Russia and early days of Soviet Union, and was first translated and published in Italy in 1957. In fact, Boris Pasternak, however, is most celebrated in Russia as a poet. My Sister Life, written in 1917, is arguably the most influential collection of poetry published in Russian language in the 20th century. Image File history File links Pasternak. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style or O.S. is a designation indicating that a date conforms to the Julian calendar, formerly in use in many countries, rather than the Gregorian calendar, currently in use in most countries. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ... Anthem God Save the Tsar! The Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great (first)  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II (last) History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... House-museum of Boris Pasternak in Peredelkino Peredelkino is a dacha complex situated just to the south-west of Moscow. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style or O.S. is a designation indicating that a date conforms to the Julian calendar, formerly in use in many countries, rather than the Gregorian calendar, currently in use in most countries. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The Nobel Prizes (Swedish: ) are awards in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physiology or Medicine and Economics. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... For other uses, see Doctor Zhivago (disambiguation). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Russian ( , transliteration: , ) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Early life

Pasternak was born in Moscow on February 10, (Gregorian), 1890 (Julian January 29). His father was a prominent Jewish painter Leonid Pasternak, professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and his mother was Rosa (Raitza) Kaufman, a concert pianist. Pasternak was brought up in a highly cosmopolitan atmosphere, and his home was visited by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Leo Tolstoy. Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... Self portrait with the wife Leonid Osipovich Pasternak (Russian: , April 4, 1862 N.S. - May 31, 1945) was a Russian Impressionist painter. ... School of painting, sculpturing and architecture - the Moscow school of painting, sculpturing and the architecture, the largest alongside with St. ... Pianist Claudio Arrau, Carnegie Hall, 1954. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rakhmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music. ... Rainer Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926) is considered one of the German languages greatest 20th century poets. ... Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: , IPA:  ), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28] 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) was a Russian novelist, writer, essayist, philosopher, Christian anarchist, pacifist, educational reformer, moral thinker, and an influential member of the Tolstoy family. ...

Pasternak resolved to become a composer and entered the Moscow Conservatory being inspired by his neighbour Alexander Scriabin. In 1910 he abruptly left the conservatory for the University of Marburg, where he studied under Hermann Cohen and Nicolai Hartmann, who were Neo-Kantian philosophers . Although invited to become a scholar, he decided against philosophy being a profession and returned to Moscow in 1914. His first poetry collection, influenced by Alexander Blok and the Russian Futurists, was published later the same year. The Moscow Conservatory (Московская Государственная Консерватория им. П.И.Чайковского) is a prominent music school in Russia. ... Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин, Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin; sometimes transliterated as Skryabin (6 January 1872 – 27 April 1915) was a Russian modernist composer and pianist. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... University of Marburg - Department of Social Sciences and University library The old university The University of Marburg, officially Philipps-Universität Marburg, was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philipp I of Hesse (usually called the Magnanimous) as the worlds first and oldest Protestant university. ... Hermann Cohen by Karl Doerbecker Hermann Cohen (4 July 1842 - 4 April 1918) was a German-Jewish philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg School of Neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be probably the most important Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth century (Jewish Virtual Library). ... Nicolai Hartmann (February 20, 1882 – October 9, 1950) was a German philosopher. ... Neo-Kantianism means a revived or modified type of philosophy along the lines of that laid down by Immanuel Kant in the eighteenth century. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Blok in 1907 Alexander Blok (Александр Александрович Блок, November 28 [O.S. November 16] 1880 – August 7, 1921), was perhaps the most gifted lyrical poet produced by Russia after Alexander Pushkin. ... El Lissitzkys poster for a post-revolutionary production of the Victory Over the Sun. ...

Pasternak's early verse cleverly dissimulates his preoccupation with Kant's ideas. Its fabric includes striking alliterations, wild rhythmic combinations, day-to-day vocabulary, and hidden allusions to his favourite poets like Rilke, Lermontov and German Romantic poets. Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... Alternate meaning: Mikhail Lermontov (ship) Mikhail Lermontov in 1837 Mikail Yurevich Lermontov (Михаил Юрьевич Лермонтов), (October 15, 1814–July 27, 1841), Russian poet and novelist, often called the poet of...

During World War I he taught and worked at a chemical factory in the Urals, which undoubtedly provided him with material for Dr. Zhivago many years later. Unlike his relatives and many of his friends, Pasternak didn't leave Russia after the revolution. Instead, he was fascinated with the new ideas and possibilities that revolution brought to life. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Ural Mountains, (Russian: Ура́льские го́ры = Ура́л) also known simply as the Urals, are a mountain range that run roughly north and south through western Russia. ...

My Sister Life

Pasternak spent the summer of 1917 living in the steppe country near Saratov, where he fell in love with a Jewish girl. This passion resulted in the collection My Sister Life, which he wrote for three months and was embarrassed to publish for four years because of its novel style. When it finally appeared in 1921, the book had a revolutionary impact upon Russian poetry. It made Pasternak the model of imitation for younger poets, and decisively changed the poetic manners of Osip Mandelshtam and Marina Tsvetayeva, to name only a few. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Saratov (Russian: ) is a major city in southern European Russia. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for full calendar). ... Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (Russian: ) (October 9, 1892 – August 31, 1941) was a Russian poet and writer. ...

Following My Sister Life, Pasternak produced some hermetic pieces of uneven quality, including his masterpiece: the lyric cycle entitled Rupture (1921). Various authors such as Vladimir Mayakovsky, Andrey Bely, and Vladimir Nabokov applauded Pasternak's poems as works with pure, unbridled inspiration. In the late 1920s, he also participated in the much celebrated tripartite correspondence with Rilke and Tsvetayeva. Portrait of Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский) (July 19 [O.S. July 7] 1893 – April 14, 1930) was a Russian poet, among the foremost representatives of early-20th century Futurism. ... Boris Budaev Andrei Bely (Андрей Белый) was the pseudonym of Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev (1880 - 1934), a Russian novelist, poet, theorist, and literary critic. ... Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Набо́ков, pronounced ) (April 22 [O.S. April 10] 1899, Saint Petersburg – July 2, 1977, Montreux) was a Russian-American author. ... Rainer Maria Rilke (born 4 December 1875 in Prague; died 29 December 1926 in Val-Mont (Switzerland)) was an important poet in the German language. ... ...

By the end of the 1920s, Pasternak increasingly felt that his colourful modernist style was at odds with the doctrine of Socialist Realism approved by the Communist party. He attempted to make his poetry more comprehensible to the masses by reworking his earlier pieces and starting two lengthy poems on the Russian Revolution. He also turned to prose and wrote several autobiographic stories, notably "The Childhood of Luvers" and "Safe Conduct." Roses for Stalin, Boris Vladimirski, 1949 For other meanings of the term realism, see realism (disambiguation). ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ...

Second Birth

Boris Pasternak (in the foreground) and Korney Chukovsky at the first Congress of the Soviet Union of Writers in 1934.

By 1932, Pasternak had strikingly reshaped his style to make it acceptable to the Soviet public and printed the new collection of poems aptly entitled The Second Birth. Although its Caucasian pieces were as brilliant as the earlier efforts, the book alienated the core of Pasternak's refined audience abroad. He simplified his style even further for his next collection of patriotic verse, Early Trains (1943), which prompted Nabokov to describe Pasternak as a "weeping Bolshevik" and "Emily Dickinson in trousers." Image File history File links Pastchuk. ... Image File history File links Pastchuk. ... Mayakovskys cartoon of Korney Chukovsky Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky (Russian: , March 31 NS 1882 - October 28, 1968) is probably the most popular poet for children in the Russian language. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... This page is about the novelist. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

During the great purges of the later 1930s, Pasternak became progressively disillusioned with Communist ideals. Reluctant to publish his own poetry, he turned to translating Shakespeare (Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear), Goethe (Faust), Rilke (Requiem für eine Freundin), Paul Verlaine, and Georgian poets. Pasternak's translations of Shakespeare have proved popular with the Russian public because of their colloquial, modernised dialogues, but critics accused him of "pasternakizing" the English playwright. Although he was widely panned for excessive subjectivism, Stalin is said to have crossed Pasternak's name off an arrest list during the purges, saying "Don't touch this cloud dweller." Shakespeare redirects here. ... Hamlet and Horatio in the cemetery by Eugène Delacroix For other uses, see Hamlet (disambiguation). ... Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath by Théodore Chassériau. ... King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce (1806-1864) King Lear is generally regarded as one of William Shakespeares greatest tragedies. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Faust depicted in an etching by Rembrandt van Rijn (circa 1650) Faust or Faustus is the protagonist of a popular German legend in which a mediæval scholar makes a pact with the Devil. ... Rainer Maria Rilke (born 4 December 1875 in Prague; died 29 December 1926 in Val-Mont (Switzerland)) was an important poet in the German language. ... Paul Verlaine illustrated in the frontispiece of , 1902 Paul Marie Verlaine (March 30, 1844 – January 8, 1896) is considered one of the greatest and most popular of French poets. ... The Great Purge (Russian: , transliterated Bolshaya chistka) is the name given to campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the late 1930s. ...

Doctor Zhivago

Several years before WWII, Pasternak and his wife settled in Peredelkino, a village for writers several miles from Moscow. He was filled with a love of life that gave his poetry a hopeful tone. This is reflected in the name of his autobiographic hero Zhivago, derived from the Russian word for "live." Another famous character, Lara, is said to have been modeled on his mistress Olga Ivinskaya*. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... House-museum of Boris Pasternak in Peredelkino Peredelkino is a dacha complex situated just to the south-west of Moscow. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ...

As the book was frowned upon by the Soviet authorities, Doctor Zhivago was smuggled abroad and published in an Italian translation by the Italian publishing house Feltrinelli in 1957. Becoming an instant sensation, the novel was subsequently translated and published in many non-Soviet bloc countries. In 1958 and 1959, the American edition spent 26 weeks at the top of The New York Times' bestseller list. Although none of his critics had the chance to read the proscribed novel, some of them publicly demanded, "kick the pig out of our kitchen-garden," i.e., expel Pasternak from the USSR. Doctor Zhivago was eventually published in the USSR in 1987. For other uses, see Doctor Zhivago (disambiguation). ... Feltrinelli may refer to: Feltrinelli (publisher) - Italian publishing house Giangiacomo Feltrinelli - founder of the publishing house Antonio Feltrinelli Prizes (Premi Antonio Feltrinelli) - awarded by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei since 1950 in various fields of arts, sciences and exceptional endeavours of outstanding moral and humanitarian value. Often referred to as... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The screen adaptation, directed by David Lean, was of epic proportions, being toured in the roadshow tradition, and starred Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. Concentrating on the romantic aspects of the tale, it quickly became a blockbuster around the world, but wasn't released in Russia until near the time of the fall of the Soviet Union. Doctor Zhivago (Russian: Доктор Живаго) is a 1965 film directed by David Lean and loosely based on the famous novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak. ... Sir David Lean, KBE (March 25, 1908 – April 16, 1991) was an English film director and producer, best remembered for big-screen epics such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and Doctor Zhivago . ... RoadShow（路訊通, formerly known as 資訊娛樂共同睇 [paraphrased as Integrated View of Information and Entertainment]） is a Multi-Media On Board (MMOB) service on transit vehicles in Hong Kong. ... For Pakistani actor of same name see Umer Sharif. ... Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1941) is an English Academy Award-winning film actress. ...

Nobel Prize

Pasternak house in Peredelkino, where the poet died.

Pasternak was named the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958. On October 25, two days after hearing that he had won, Pasternak sent the following telegram to the Swedish Academy: Image File history File linksMetadata Dommuzejpasternak. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Dommuzejpasternak. ... House-museum of Boris Pasternak in Peredelkino Peredelkino is a dacha complex situated just to the south-west of Moscow. ... The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded annually to an author from any country who has produced the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency. The work in this case generally refers to an authors work as a whole, not to any individual work, though individual works are sometimes... Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 on the personal initiative of King Gustav III The Swedish Academy in Stockholm The Swedish Academy or Svenska Akademien, founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. ...

Immensely thankful, touched, proud, astonished, abashed.

However, four days later came another telegram:

Considering the meaning this award has been given in the society to which I belong, I must reject this undeserved prize which has been presented to me. Please do not receive my voluntary rejection with displeasure.

The Swedish Academy announced:

This refusal, of course, in no way alters the validity of the award. There remains only for the Academy, however, to announce with regret that the presentation of the Prize cannot take place.

Reading between the lines of Pasternak's second telegram, it is clear he declined the award out of fear that he would be stripped of his citizenship were he to travel to Stockholm to accept it. After struggling a lifetime to avoid leaving Russia, this was not a prospect he welcomed. Nickname: Location of Stockholm in northern Europe Coordinates: Country Sweden Municipality Stockholm Municipality County Stockholm Province Södermanland and Uppland Charter 13th Century Population (April 2007)  - City 782,885  - Density 4,160/km² (10,774. ...

Despite turning down the Nobel Prize, an official witchhunt immediately started against Pasternak, and he was threatened at the very least with expulsion. However, saner voices prevailed, and it appears that the Prime Minister of India, Pandit Nehru, may also have spoken with Khrushchev about this.^[1]. Jawaharlal Nehru (Hindi: , IPA: , from Persian Javâher-e Laal, meaning Red Jewel) (November 14, 1889 – May 27, 1964) was a political leader of the Indian National Congress, was a pivotal figure during the Indian independence movement and served as the first Prime Minister of the Republic of India. ...

Although he wasn't exiled or imprisoned, a famous Bill Mauldin cartoon at the time showed Pasternak and another prisoner in Siberia, splitting trees in the snow. In the caption, Pasternak says, "I won the Nobel Prize for literature. What was your crime?" The cartoon won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1959.^[2] William Henry Bill Mauldin (October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist of the United States. ... The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect. ...

Death

Pasternak's post-Zhivago poetry probes the universal questions of love, immortality, and reconciliation with God.^[3][4]

Pasternak died of lung cancer on May 30, 1960. Despite only a small notice appearing in the Literary Gazette, many thousands of people travelled from Moscow to his funeral in Peredelkino. "Volunteers carried his open coffin to his burial place and those who were present (including the poet Andrey Voznesensky) recited from memory the banned poem 'Hamlet'."^[1] Lung cancer is the malignant transformation and expansion of lung tissue, and is the most lethal of all cancers worldwide, responsible for 1. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Andrey Andreyevich Voznesensky (Russian: ) (b. ...

It was not until 1988 that Doctor Zhivago was published in the USSR.^[5] 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cultural References

Russian-born New York musician Regina Spektor makes a reference to Pasternak's poem "February. Take Your Pen and Weep" in the song "Apres Moi, featured on her 2006 album Begin to Hope. Regina Spektor (Russian: ) (born February 18, 1980) is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Begin to Hope is the fourth album by Regina Spektor. ...

References

Novy Mir (rus. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Boris Pasternak

• 1958 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Homegrown Doctor Zhivago to Debut on Russian Television
• PBS biography of Pasternak
• Read Pasternak's interview with The Paris Review
• Boris Pasternak Poem - rus

|PLACE OF BIRTH= Moscow, Russian Empire |DATE OF DEATH= May 30, 1960 |PLACE OF DEATH= Peredelkino, USSR }} Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ... Anthem God Save the Tsar! The Russian Empire in 1914 Capital Saint Petersburg Language(s) Russian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1721-1725 Peter the Great (first)  - 1894-1917 Nicholas II (last) History  - Established 22 October, 1721  - February Revolution 2 March, 1917 Area  - 1897 22,400,000 km2 8,648,688 sq... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... House-museum of Boris Pasternak in Peredelkino Peredelkino is a dacha complex situated just to the south-west of Moscow. ...

{{Persondata |NAME= Pasternak, Boris |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Pasternak, Boris Leonidovich; Борис Леонидович Пастернак (Russian) |SHORT DESCRIPTION= Russian poet and writer |DATE OF BIRTH= February 10 [O.S. January 29] 1890 The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style or O.S. is a designation indicating that a date conforms to the Julian calendar, formerly in use in many countries, rather than the Gregorian calendar, currently in use in most countries. ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ...