Bunin was a member of a literary circle. Ivan Bunin fell in love five times and married three times. Personal life of Ivan Bunin

BIG BROTHER When the little brother appeared in their narrow room, Andrei was twelve years old. He did not remember his father, he did not know Valerkin. The little boy squeaked quietly all day long in his wicker stroller, which looked like a laundry basket. Diapers drying on the radiator,

Elder brother July 1884. The youngest in the family, Mitya, was missing for several months until he was four years old. He had not even dreamed of a backpack and a school desk when his elder brother Vladimir successfully graduated from the Omsk classical gymnasium.

In the early 1880s, illegal brochures were in demand among the revolutionary-minded intelligentsia, the author of which signed the pseudonym Alekseev. These works criticized the existing order and expressed socialist ideas. The writer of the "seditious articles" was a public and literary figure Yuliy Bunin, the elder brother of the famous writer...

The future Nobel laureate Ivan Bunin was still a youngster at that time and, perhaps, his fate would have been different if not for his brother. According to the writer, in adolescence it was Julius who had a decisive influence on the formation of his personality.
Dangerous hobby of a young high school student
Our hero was born in 1857, in Usman, Tambov province, * where his parents were passing through. The Bunins lived in Yelets, but then moved to Voronezh. Here Julius entered the gymnasium, where he soon established himself as a very capable student. Humanities and exact disciplines were equally easy for him. Immediately he got acquainted with the works of revolutionary publicists, who were secretly read by his classmates. It was a dangerous hobby, but then it did not harm the young schoolboy. Bunin graduated from an educational institution with a gold medal and in 1874 was admitted to the mathematical faculty of Moscow University. By that time, the family had already moved from Voronezh to an estate in the Yelets district. This was facilitated by the pernicious passion for the cards of its head Alexei Nikolayevich. My father squandered his fortune, and Bunin became unaffordable for life in a large city. Of course, Julius was worried about the difficulties in the "family nest", and yet he was heading to the Mother See with great hopes. The young man dreamed of plunging into a stormy student life ...
Underground student
At the university, Julia was predicted to have a brilliant career, but the gifted young man was more inspired by the ideas of fighting the autocracy. He became one of the leaders of the illegal populist circle, which included his friends from Voronezh. Members of the group distributed forbidden literature, assisted the exiles, and organized student gatherings.
In 1878, it became known about a wave of arrests among Kiev youth. Then the Bunins announced a fundraiser for the detainees and staged a protest rally.
In 1879, in Lipetsk, Voronezh and St. Petersburg, congresses of the organization "Land and Freedom" were held, during which it split into two independent "wings" - "Narodnaya Volya" and "Black Redistribution". Julius participated in the Lipetsk gathering of populists, ** and then initiated a secret meeting in Moscow, at which Lev Deutsch, an ally of the famous revolutionary figure Plekhanov, spoke ...
Underground work went in parallel with classes at the university. In 1879, Julius successfully graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and entered the law. However, the study had to be interrupted. In March 1881, shocking news shocked Russia - as a result of an explosion arranged by the People's Will, Emperor Alexander II died. A wave of arrests swept the country. Julius was among the detainees.
"Prison Universities"
Bunin was expelled from the university and sent to Kharkov, but the young rebel continued his revolutionary activities there. In 1883, in a secret printing house, his works on the foundations of the populist movement were published under the same pseudonym "Alekseev". These essays were then included in the program of classes with workers in Marxist circles. Experienced members of the underground spoke of the author: "very educated, a good speaker and a brilliant debater."
However, the law enforcement officers did not doze off either. In 1884, Julius was arrested at his parents' estate, where he moved illegally after gendarmerie raids in Kharkov. First, he was imprisoned in the Yelets district prison, then they decided to send him to serve his sentence at the place of exile in Ukraine. The family was allowed to say goodbye to him. This difficult episode is described in Ivan Bunin’s famous novel “The Life of Arseniev”: “The sight of my brother, his prisoner isolation and lack of rights struck me in the heart (...) He sat alone in the farthest corner near the door to the platform, youthfully sweet and pathetic in his thinness (...) It was empty near him. The gendarmes now and then removed the women, peasants and philistines who crowded around and looked with curiosity, with fear at the living socialist (...) It took me a long time after that to survive my mental illness.
“We had endless conversations with him about literature”
Bunin spent about a year behind bars. After his release, he was allowed to settle in the "parent's nest" under the open supervision of the police. This break in the activities of our hero was a boon for his younger brother.
By that time, young Vanya was forced to leave his studies at the gymnasium due to the financial difficulties of the family. The well-educated Julius became his mentor. “He taught me languages, read me the beginnings of psychology, philosophy, social and natural sciences; in addition, we had endless conversations with him about literature, ”Ivan Alekseevich recalled years later. He also made his first steps in the poetic field not without the help of his brother. He supported his desire for creativity, instilled confidence in him and insisted that the young writer send his work to the metropolitan publication. It was a poem written on the death of the poet Nadson. In 1887, it was published by the St. Petersburg newspaper Rodina. So the printed debut of Bunin Jr. took place.
"Zhivoderka" and "Old Newspaper Lane"
In 1888, Julius received permission from the authorities to move to Kharkov, from where he moved to Poltava two months later. Here he worked in static management and helped Ivan find a job in the city.
In 1895, Bunin Sr. moved to Moscow (later he dragged his brother there as well). Julius got a place in the editorial office of one of the best pedagogical magazines, the Bulletin of Education. Formally, he was a secretary, but in fact he performed the duties of a leader. In addition, our hero was a member of various committees and societies, including the famous Wednesday. Meetings of this circle were held by the writer Nikolai Teleshov. *** They were visited by writers, musicians, and artists. They shared their creativity, discussed. Not without playful "shares". So, nicknames were assigned to each regular of the events. They reflect the names of Moscow streets and some special features of the members of this unique club. For example, the loud-voiced Chaliapin was named Razgulyay, the wit Ivan Bunin - the Flayer, and his brother, an experienced publicist - the Old Newspaper Lane. The latter, as usual, tried to stick together and supported each other in everything. They were separated only by the revolution that Julius once so dreamed of. Ivan did not accept the Bolshevik government and emigrated to a foreign land. Bunin Sr. remained at home, but under the new regime he did not live long. His health, already undermined by prison, was completely weakened by hardships during the period of devastation. In 1921 he died ...

*Now - Lipetsk region.
** So Vera Muromtseva, Ivan Bunin's wife, stated in her memoirs.
*** Met on Wednesdays, hence the name.

Yuli Bunin had a chance to meet with Andrey Zhelyabov, who later became known as one of the organizers of the fatal terrorist attack against Tsar Alexander II. Years later, Julius Alekseevich recalled: “He was gifted with remarkable oratory skills. His speech was clear, precise, without any embellishment and mannerisms, and at the same time something extremely strong was felt in it (...) During my life I have heard many brilliant speakers, but I cannot get rid of the impression made on me Zhelyabov.

From the memoirs of the writer Nikolai Teleshov about Yulia Bunin:“His influence on his brother was enormous, starting from childhood. As a well-educated person who loved, appreciated and understood world literature, Ivan Alekseevich owed a lot in his development to him. Love and friendship between the brothers were inseparable.

On the picture: Julius and Ivan Bubnin, 1893.

13 January 1890 in Moscow, the first issue of the journal "Bulletin of Education" was published. In January 1915, Vestnik, which by that time had become one of the best pedagogical publications, turned 25 years old. It was military time, and despite the fact that many proposals were received from readers and admirers of the magazine, as well as urgent requests from many members of the team to arrange celebrations on this occasion, the editors did not immediately agree.

Making a positive decision, the leadership believed that if we were to hold a celebration, then it was necessary to organize it taking into account the circumstances, and if it was impossible to do without celebrations at all, then it would be better to hold them chamberly, modestly, without pomposity, seriously approaching the preparation of the event. The Organizing Committee was asked to preliminarily write the history of the journal, speed up the previously planned survey among readers, analyze and summarize the results of their answers. Questions were offered interesting, contributing to a comprehensive and objective assessment of the journal.

In the first (January) issue of Vestnik for 1915, an article by N.F. Mikhailov “In Memory of the Founder of the Journal of Education”, an essay “From the History of the “Bulletin of Education”” (1890–1915), the final materials of the survey are readers' reviews of the “Bulletin of Education”, by the way, containing not only positive, but also critical reviews and suggestions; a letter of greeting from Academician D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky, one of the authors of the journal, whose work "Russian Literature of the 19th Century" "Bulletin" was published during 1903 and received many positive reviews. In addition, the editors intended to publish in a small edition a “Systematic Index (by Authors and Subjects) of All Articles Published in the Vestnik over the Past 25th Anniversary, in a slightly different form than that published in the annual index.

About the history of the Bulletin of Education

F The journal "Bulletin of Education" was founded in 1890 at his own expense by the doctor of the Moscow Children's Hospital, the author of books on medicine and pedagogy, Yegor Arsenievich Pokrovsky. There was no shortage of pedagogical press at that time, but Pokrovsky believed that raising children is a joint affair of teachers and doctors. However, there was no special publication in Russia in which they could publish their work on the moral and physical education of the child. Having substantiated the need for such a publication, Pokrovsky founded the Vestnik and addressed it to parents and educators. In the new journal, articles on teaching excellence were successfully combined with special articles on sanitation, school hygiene, and the physical preparation of the child, which aroused great interest.

The magazine grew in popularity. "Bulletin of Education" edited by Pokrovsky (the publisher also acted as the author) was accepted in society, "approved by the scientific committee of the Ministry of Public Education for fundamental libraries, secondary educational institutions, both male and female, and, moreover, was allowed for free public libraries". Interested in the magazine, the number of subscribers grew.

In 1895, at the height of its success, the magazine's founder passed away. After his death, at the request of his wife and daughter Pokrovsky, the publication of Vestnik was taken over by Nikolai Fedorovich Mikhailov, a sanitary doctor, an associate of Pokrovsky, who had worked with him in the magazine since the first issue and could take financial responsibility. At first, he helped edit N.D. Sinitsky, later assistant professor at the Yaroslavl Democratic Lyceum, and in 1897 the editor-publisher invited Yuli Alekseevich Bunin, head of the Statistical Bureau of the Poltava provincial department, a mathematician by education and a journalist by vocation, to this position. Mikhailov and Bunin worked in close contact for the benefit of the journal until its closure in 1917, they did not share portfolios, they did everything in concert, and although Yu.A. Bunin in some biographical articles is called either the deputy editor or the executive secretary, in fact it was he who was the editor, and N.F. Mikhailov - editor-publisher (or, as some authors write, "nominal editor") and the author of articles on medical topics.

Not contradicting Pokrovsky's idea, the new edition still published articles on pedagogy and medicine, but thematically expanded the range of publications and, in accordance with the increased needs of readers, increased its volume. If in the first years the magazine was published in the volume of 11-12 printed sheets, now it has been increased to 15, and in subsequent years to 20 sheets. The annual set (eight thick volumes, and since 1901 nine; in the summer months the magazine was not published), which subscribers received, was a real encyclopedia, meaningful and useful reading on many issues of raising children.

In addition to materials on pedagogy and school medicine, the editors published articles on various branches of knowledge: natural history, social science, ethics, philosophy, art, literature. Among the authors were prominent people: academicians V.M. Bekhterev, I.A. Bunin, V.I. Vinogradov, D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky, I.I. Yanzhul, Professor M.M. Kovalevsky, I.I. Mechnikov, F.F. Erisman and many other equally eminent professionals in their field. Yu.A. Bunin.

The Russian State Archives of Literature and Art (RGALI) has preparatory materials for the anniversary article about the journal, containing information to characterize the Bulletin of Education, where Yuliy Bunin writes: “When edited by E.A. Pokrovsky, the purpose of the journal was to "disseminate among the Russian society reasonable information about the possible correct establishment of questions of education in the family and school." The new edition considered the main task to be “the identification of issues of upbringing and education based on scientific pedagogy in the spirit of democracy and freedom for the development of the individual.” According to Yu.A. Bunin, during this period the journal paid great attention to “social pedagogy”, the editors attracted authors from Germany, Austria and other countries for cooperation, periodically covered “current phenomena in various areas of public education in our country (in Russia. - T.G.) and abroad, sought to ensure that upbringing and education were based on reasonable pedagogical principles, and not for the sake of one or another political, nationalist or clerical tendencies. The author also noted that “in the materials of recent months (1914 - T.G.) Attention is drawn to the fact that it is necessary to protect society, and in particular the younger generation, from the feelings of national exclusiveness, chauvinism and enmity caused by the war, on the contrary, it is necessary to maintain lofty and noble feelings that ensure future progress and solidarity of peoples "*.

Julius Alekseevich Bunin (1857–1921) - editor of the Bulletin of Education

YU Liy Bunin, in his views, education, life experience, human qualities, was the most suitable candidate for the position of editor of such a magazine as Vestnik Vbr. He was a talented child, always striving for knowledge and completed a full course of study at the Voronezh classical gymnasium, at that time one of the best educational institutions of this type.

Parents specifically left home for several years in Voronezh in order to prepare their sons, Yulia and Evgeny, to enter the gymnasium, where they were accepted from the age of 10 if they were well prepared and able to pay for their studies. It was not easy financially for the family, but Alexey Nikolaevich and Lyudmila Alexandrovna did everything to achieve the goal. Judging by some information, the children entered in 1869, when the eldest, Yuliy, was 12, and Yevgeny was 11 years old. Yevgeny did not work out with his studies, but Julius studied brilliantly, loved literature, and showed a penchant for mathematics. In the matriculation certificate, which was issued to him on June 15, 1877, it is noted that a student who studied for 7 years at the Voronezh classical gymnasium and spent one year in the 8th grade, "during the entire period of study<...>behavior was excellent, serviceability in attendance and preparation of lessons, as well as in the performance of written work, excellent diligence and excellent curiosity.

Taking into account all this, as well as excellent achievements in the sciences, especially in ancient languages, the pedagogical council decided to award him a gold medal and issue him a certificate granting all the rights indicated in paragraphs 129-132 of the charter of gymnasiums and progymnasiums approved on July 30, 1871 city ​​of Voronezh. And on August 9, 1877, he filed a petition addressed to the rector of the Imperial Moscow University with a request to be admitted to the mathematical department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. He was twenty years old and older than many of the freshmen. He enthusiastically studied mathematics, listened to lectures on literature at the Faculty of History and Philology, and became involved in social work. Life promised a bright future. But the time of his studies at the university (1877-1881) coincided with the special political activity of students, and while still in Voronezh, Julius became interested in revolutionary ideas, read a lot, his reference books were the works of Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Gleb Uspensky. In Moscow, he met several old friends from the Voronezh circle and began to collaborate with them. E.V., who knew him at that time, Ignatova noted that among other students who were part of the populist circle, “Yuli Bunin was distinguished by the greatest efficiency, energy and devotion to the working masses. He put his whole soul into any social enterprise, showed resourcefulness, initiative, enterprise: moreover, he was extremely sincere, kind, sympathetic.

Starting from the first year, his studies and his social revolutionary activities went in parallel. Political gatherings, meetings, rallies - he took part in everything and was soon taken into account by the police. He often fell under arrest, spent several days with a group of students in prison, and after repeated warnings ended up on the list of politically unreliable students. In March 1881, for participating in the riots, in which he might not have been to blame this time, fourth (last) year student Yuli Bunin, among thirty students from different faculties, was “dismissed from the university for a period of one year, without the right to reinstate at Moscow University*.

After a year, Yu. Bunin was restored to the fourth year of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Novorossiysk University (Odessa), then moved to Kharkov, where in 1882 he defended his qualifying work, receiving the degree of Candidate of Mathematical Sciences; Later, he also studied statistics at the Faculty of Law. Revolutionary ideas still agitated him, and in Kharkov, as memoirists testify, he headed a populist circle. In 1883, in an underground printing house, under the pseudonym Alekseev, he published the pamphlet A Few Words about the Past of Russian Socialism and the Tasks of the Intelligentsia, as well as the Project for Organizing a People’s Party, the Program of Action for a Circle of Narodnik Workers, and other documents. When the police found out about this activity, he had to go underground, then he was arrested and in July 1885 exiled under police supervision to his father's estate, the village of Ozerki, Yelets district.

In Ozerki, his successful teaching career began, here he was engaged in raising his younger brother, who, after the next vacation, did not return to the Yelets gymnasium to continue his studies and studied with Julius at home. Seeing Ivan's extraordinary poetic talent, Julius tried to develop his talent and give him a real education. He not only went through the entire gymnasium course with him, but also passed on his knowledge in many subjects of the university cycle: literature, history, philosophy.

He returned to Kharkov again, and then, until moving to Moscow in 1897, he headed the Statistical Bureau in Poltava. Constantly published in the South Russian newspapers, increasingly dealing with the history and practice of journalism. In the RGALI and in the Oryol State Literary Museum I.S. Turgenev (OGLMT) there are autographs of rough sketches by Y. Bunin and texts, obviously never published, that are devoted to newspaper business: these are articles analyzing the contemporary press, proposals for improving some publications of that time. So, in 1896 in Poltava, despite obstacles from censorship, for a year, together with his colleagues and with his brother, I.A. Bunin, published as an independent publication the “unofficial part” of the Poltava Gubernskie Vedomosti, which was distributed among the rural population. This was done without additional subsidies, on the basis of Y. Bunin's proposals for more economical spending of funds spent on the publication of "PGV". On his initiative, in 1896, the newspaper "Khutoryanin" was opened in Poltava, which is very necessary and useful for rural residents, and some projects were implemented aimed at raising awareness and educating the rural population of Poltava region.

After moving to Moscow, Yu. Bunin engaged exclusively in journalistic activities, and in particular, he performed all the functions of the editor of the Bulletin of Education: he wrote for the magazine, edited the articles received by the editorial office, corresponded with the authors, and carried out all organizational work. He weakened his political activity a little, but, according to him, "he remained true to the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bstruggle for the happiness of the people."

In Moscow, he did a lot of social work. He was one of the founders and permanent chairman of all meetings of the Sreda literary circle (1899–1918), editor and chairman of the board of the Writers' Book Publishing House in Moscow. From 1907 to 1914, he headed the Society of Periodical Press and Literature (in 1914 he was elected an honorary member), advocated the creation of a professional magazine for journalists and writers, and achieved this. The first issue of the magazine "Journalist" was published in January 1914, and there he is listed among those who agreed to cooperate with the magazine. At one time he headed the Society for Assistance to Writers and Journalists, was a member of the board of the Tolstoy Society, took part in the creation of the Writers' Club and the Union of Journalists, and participated in the work of many public organizations.

Boris Zaitsev, who knew Yuli Bunin well from Sreda, wrote in an essay dedicated to him: “Everyone appreciated his calm and noble, gentlemanly tone. There was something solid, solid, like fine material in an expensive suit, in him, and this could not be ignored.<...>Julius was the measure, the model and the tradition. In essence, from him alone, from his speech, judgments, meetings, trips abroad, one could feel all that life, all that time.

Anniversary of the Bulletin of Education

YU The bill of the Bulletin of Education was celebrated on January 25, 1915, the meeting was held in the premises of the Literary and Artistic Circle, chaired by N.D. Sinitsky, who made a report “History of the “Bulletin of Education”” and noted the main milestones of his path. All materials of the meeting were published in the second (February) issue of Vestnik and came out as a separate print along with the texts of greetings expressed in numerous addresses, letters, telegrams from organizations, individuals, friends and authors of the journal.

Most of these greetings were addressed to the editorial board represented by N.F. Mikhailov and Yu.A. Bunin. Members of the literary circle "Wednesday" (the commission of literary interviews of the Moscow Society for Assistance to Writers and Journalists), after greeting N.F. Mikhailov addressed with a welcoming speech to Yu.A. Bunin as the chairman of the circle.

The report on the anniversary celebrations says that from the young representatives of Sreda, Yu.A. Bunin received a congratulatory address in verse (by Ada Chumachenko), decorated with a drawing by the artist A.M. Vasnetsov,
and the representatives of the old “Sreda” handed over the “Inkpot” along with the address (this is how the subject is designated. - T.G.) with nineteen autographs engraved on it: Leonid Andreev, Ivan Bunin, Ivan Belousov, Vikenty Veresaev-Smidovich, Alexei Gruzinsky, Sergei Glagol, Boris Zaitsev, Alexander Karzinkin, Nikolai Krasheninnikov, Sergei Mamontov, Sergei Makhalov, Ivan Popov, S. Semenov , Alexander Serafimovich, Elena Teleshova, Nikolai Teleshov, Lev Khitrovo, Maria Chekhova, Ivan Shmelev*.

After many unsuccessful searches, I decided that this item was lost or privately owned.
research institute, but not so long ago I learned that it was purchased by the museum on March 13, 1968 from a private person, Zoya Mikhailovna Andrievskaya **, and is located in the OGLMT, in the Y. Bunin fund, among material monuments. The object turned out to be not just an inkpot, but a very beautiful oval-shaped inkstand, in the center of which is a bust of Homer, on the sides are two inkwells with glass reservoirs. Engraved on the base: “To Yuli Alekseevich Bunin from the comrades of the old Sreda”. And then all the above autographs belonging to famous writers, journalists, creative people - members of the famous literary circle. Some of the signatures have faded over time, but are easily recognizable. The gift that was presented to Yu.A. Bunin during the celebrations is another sign of respect that he enjoyed among his contemporaries.

According to the recollections of many who knew him, he was a kind, sympathetic, sensitive person, who was loved in the family, appreciated in society, whose authoritative opinion was always heeded. With all the gentleness of his character, he knew how to make decisions and take responsibility. His life experience was of great importance for the formation of the Russian press, including for the development of the "Bulletin of Education".

Many people left warm memories of him: N.D. Teleshov, V.F. Go-
sevich, V.N. Muromtseva-Bunina, Wanderer (S. Petrov) and others. Unfortunately, the end of his life was sad. The revolution did not bring him happiness. After the closure of the Bulletin of Education, he was completely out of work, seriously ill, and lived from hand to mouth. He died in Moscow on July 17, 1921 in poverty, from which no one could rescue him. Friends wrote appeals to various authorities, asked to support him financially (food rations were allocated), briefly placed him in various hospitals. In complete despair, on February 23, 1921, he addressed a letter to N.A. Semashko, in which he described his plight and asked to extend his stay at the Health Resort. The resolution was positive, he was extended for a month, then, according to Zaitsev, he was transferred to a rest home for writers and scientists, but it was no longer possible to save him, the disease did not recede. Taking him to the last hospital, the doctor said that they could treat, but there was nothing to feed the sick. Julius Alekseevich did not burden anyone, and soon died there. He was buried at the Donskoy cemetery in Moscow.

Recalling his death, Boris Zaitsev wrote in the essay “Yuliy Bunin”: “By strange stubbornness, he did not want to go south with his brother in 1918 and remained in Moscow to watch the death of the world to which he belonged and under which he himself laid the once dynamite cartridge” . There are manuscripts, letters, memories of him. To date, the ink device is the only one of the found items that belonged to Yuli Alekseevich Bunin.

Every year, in the last issue of the journal, the editorial board published a "Systematic index of all articles published during the year, according to the model: 1) index by authors; 2) index on subjects. Whether a consolidated index was issued could not be ascertained.

A series of articles by D.N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky later formed the basis of his book The History of the Russian Intelligentsia.

CIAM. F. 418. Op. 291. D. 62: Imperial Moscow University. Julius Bunin, student. 1877 L. 2v.: Certificate of maturity from the Voronezh classical gymnasium. June 15, 1877 (copy).

Ignatov E.IN. Moscow populists of the late 70s // The Emancipation of Labor Group: From the archive of G.V. Plekhanov, V.I. Zasulich and L.G. Deutsch. Sat. 5. M.; L.: Gosizdat, 1926. S. 46.

Bunin Yu.BUT. Handwritten autograph of the proposal article "Project for the reorganization of the Poltava Gubernskiye Vedomosti". OGLMT RDF. F. 17, No. 3447 of.

The diary entries of I. A. Bunin for 1922 are filled with the bitterness of an irretrievable loss about his elder brother Yulia. On January 21, Ivan Alekseevich writes: “... And all the thoughts about Yulia, about how he once came, young, starting life, to Ozerki ... And somehow I still can’t believe that I will never see him again ... ". Three days later, a new entry: “I don’t suffer about Yulia as desperately and strongly as I should, perhaps because I don’t think out the meaning of this death, I can’t, I’m afraid. . A terrifying thought about him is often such a distant, amazing lightning ... Is it possible to think it through? After all, it’s already quite firm to say to yourself: it’s the end of everything. ”

In various literature - local history, literary studies, not only the year of birth of the older brother of the Nobel Prize winner I.A. Bunin, but also the place of his birth. And Julius Aleseevich was born on July 7 (19), 1857 in the county town of Usman, Tambov province (now the city of Usman, Lipetsk region). Parents, apparently, traveled from the Mosolovka estate, which is now in the Usmansky district of the Lipetsk region. The birth certificate of the elder brother Ivan Alekseevich has been preserved: “By decree of His Imperial Majesty, from the Tambov Ecclesiastical Consistory, that the birth and baptism of the son of Yelets landowner Collegiate Registrar Alexei Nikolayevich Bunin, Yulia, according to the metric books of the city of Usman, the Cathedral Church for one thousand eight hundred and fifty the seventh year is listed as follows: collegiate registrar Alexei Nikolaevich Bunin, passing through the city of Usman, and his legal wife Lyudmila Alexandrovna, their son Julius was born on July 7, the same month and date, he was baptized by priest Stefan Dobrov with an clergy ... ". Yuliy Alekseevich was baptized in the Usman Epiphany Cathedral Church.

Alexey Nikolaevich and Lyudmila Aleksandrovna apparently moved to Voronezh in 1867. The elder Julius, and later his brother Evgeny, began to attend the Voronezh Men's Classical Gymnasium on Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya Street (now Revolution Avenue). The educational institution was located not far from the house where the Bunin family lived. The building of the gymnasium has been preserved - it is one of the buildings of the Technological Academy. As Ivan Alekseevich recalled, and as evidenced by the documents, Julius was an extremely capable student. He freely wrote essays in difficult "dead" Latin. He also excelled in mathematics. In the gymnasium, Bunin got acquainted with the works of democratic writers: the gymnasium students read Chernyshevsky, Pisarev, Dobrolyubov. One of the teachers conducted propaganda among the gymnasium students, and a secret circle was created in the gymnasium. Passion for revolutionary ideas did not affect his studies: Julius graduated from the 1st Voronezh classical male gymnasium with a gold medal. At this time, his family had already moved to the Butyrki farm in the Yelets district of the Oryol province (now the Stanovlyansky district of the Lipetsk region), - this was facilitated by the "passion for the club, for wine and cards ..." of Alexei Nikolayevich himself.

In the autumn of 1874, Julius entered the mathematical faculty of Moscow University. Like most students, Julius Alekseevich tried to be closer to his fellow Voronezh residents. With five Voronezh residents, he settled in Kozitsky Lane. At this time, the youth was seething, student gatherings took place in the country, the intelligentsia went to the “people”, propagandizing “socialist” teachings, calling on the peasants to revolution. Julius did not escape the enthusiasm for populist ideas. He joined a populist circle, distributing forbidden literature. Having learned about the arrest in March 1878 of students of Kiev University, Moscow students not only collected money and warm clothes for them, but also held a rally within the walls of their native “alma mater”. The police noted that Y. Bunin was among the speakers. As the sister of a prominent landowner, and later colleague G. V. Plekhanov in the Marxist group “Emancipation of Labor” V. N. Ignatov - E. N. Ignatov, recalled: “Through Bunin and his comrades, the three of us joined the new world, about which until acquaintances were only heard from afar. In March 1879, a number of university students were searched. Among them was Julius Alekseevich. In the autumn of 1879, at the apartment of the Ignatov sisters, he organized a meeting of the circle of the Black Redistribution party, at which Plekhanov's ally L. G. Deutsch spoke. According to the memoirs of the wife of I. A. Bunin, Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, Yuli Alekseevich was a participant in the congress of the Narodnik Party in June 1879 in the district resort city of Lipetsk. Having successfully graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics, Julius enters the Faculty of Law of the University. He is interested in statistics. The same V. N. Muromtseva writes that Yuli Alekseevich “both in the gymnasium and at the university was predicted to have a scientific career, but he refused it for the sake of the desire to benefit the people and fight the existing system.” At the beginning of 1880, the police made new arrests in many cities of the empire, but Bunin's group continued to fight.

At the end of 1880, Julius Alekseevich met A. I. Zhelyabov, a prominent figure in the revolutionary movement. Later I.A. Bunin will leave memories of this in the seventh issue of the Bulletin of Education for 1909.

In March 1881, Zhelyabov and his supporters managed to kill Tsar Alexander II, but there was no revolutionary explosion. Students of Moscow University categorically refused to send a wreath to the coffin of the murdered autocrat. The police made further arrests. The suspect Bunin was also detained. He was expelled from the university and sent to Ukraine, to the city of Kharkov.

Julius Alekseevich, having arrived in Kharkov, managed to enter the local university. He plunges headlong into the revolutionary movement. In Kharkov, the populists organized a printing house, in which they began to print leaflets and proclamations in Russian and Ukrainian. Among the underground workers, one named Alekseev stood out in particular. This was Yuli Bunin. In November 1883, he published the pamphlet A Few Words on the Past of Russian Socialism and on the Tasks of the Intelligentsia. This work will later be included in the program of classes with workers in Marxist circles, for which it was hectographed in Kyiv, St. Petersburg and Moscow. The Kharkiv populists sent Yu. Bunin to the capital for negotiations with the so-called "working group" of the Narodnaya Volya. But both sides did not find a common language, did not agree on anything.

The police closely followed Yuliy Alekseevich. She even recorded his stay with his parents in Ozerki in the summer of 1883. Ivan was especially looking forward to the arrival of his older brother. Julius helped him prepare for entering the Yelets Men's Gymnasium. According to the memoirs of Bunina-Muromtseva, Yuly Alekseevich “after daytime reading and other activities, he walked in the evenings and took Vanya with him, talked about the stars, about the planets, knowing that from infancy his little brother loved the heavenly bodies ...”. For the first time, Julius accompanied Vanya to the gymnasium. According to the memoirs of Muromtseva, "... only Julius and his father laughed ...", and all the rest "restrained their sobs ... wept ...". Little Vanya was afraid of entrance exams, but "... Julius assured that there was nothing to worry about ...". Prepared by his elder brother, Ivan Alekseevich successfully passed the exams.

A provocateur and a police agent made his way into the ranks of the Kharkov Narodnaya Volya. And although he was eliminated, the police managed to learn a lot about the revolutionaries. And it dealt the first blow to the underground printing house. Julius Alekseevich, fearing arrest, leaves Kharkov and from January 1884 settles in Moscow. For five months without a passport, he hides with friends. But even in Moscow there was a provocateur and police agent, a certain Gurovich. He "helped" Yuliy Alekseevich "help out" a fake "residence permit".

Trying to hide his stay in Moscow, Yuli Bunin leaves the capital, lives in the North Caucasus in Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk. Later, in his memoirs, he wrote: “Returning from there (from the North Caucasus) in the fall, I was arrested at my father’s estate in the Oryol province, where I went, having previously inquired that there was no sufficient evidence against me and nothing terrible threatened me.” But the police very carefully and painstakingly searched for the author of the brochure under the name Alekseev. The Police Department soon announced an all-Russian search for a candidate in law throughout the empire (Yuli Alekseevich graduated from the law faculty of Kharkov University). His signs were also reported: “...26 years old, below average height, small mustache, shaves his beard, oblong face, long hooked nose, thin build.” And already in September 1884, Julius Alekseevich was arrested by the assistant chief of the Oryol provincial gendarme department on his father's estate, Ozerki. They imprisoned him for a short time, initially in the Yelets district prison, and then, at the request of the gendarmes from Kharkov, they sent him to Ukraine on the business of the printing house. Parents came to say goodbye to their son. The high school student Vanya was with them. Later, Ivan Alekseevich in the novel “The Life of Arseniev” describes the meeting in this way: “... the sight of my brother, his prisoner isolation and lack of rights, struck me in the heart, he himself understood it well, felt all his humiliation and smiled awkwardly. He was sitting alone in the farthest corner near the doors to the platform, youthfully cute and pitiful in his thinness, in his light gray suit, over which his father's raccoon coat was thrown. It was empty in front of him. The gendarmes now and then removed the women, peasants and townspeople who crowded around and looked with curiosity, with fear at the living socialist ... But they took my brother away, my father and mother left ... It took me a lot of time after that to survive my new mental illness. The Bunin family was shocked by the arrest of their eldest son. According to Bunina-Muromtseva: "It never occurred to them that their Yulenka, so quiet, would not hurt a fly, was taking part in the revolutionary movement ...".

In Kharkov, Bunin was kept in a local prison for more than a year, while the investigation was underway. One of the main pieces of evidence for the police was Bunin's address found in an underground printing house. But Julius Alekseevich "... very conspiratorial with mild character traits, he even gave the investigator the impression of being accidentally involved in a revolutionary case, and therefore got off lightly ...".

On July 3, 1885, Yuliy Bunin, accused of a crime against the state, was "subject to open police supervision for three years, with a ban on living in areas declared in a state of enhanced security for a specified time." At the end of July 1885, Julius Alekseevich arrived in Yelets and, with the permission of the chief of police, was "placed" in the estate of Ozerka's father, Yelets district, Oryol province. Bunin describes the arrival of his brother in “The Life of Arsenyev”: “I still remember that special cautious pallor that struck me with the familiar and at the same time completely new, alien face of my brother ... It was one of the happiest evenings in the life of our family.

The financial situation of the Bunin family was terrible. Julius "has no employment, does not receive benefits ...", the estate did not bring income. The younger Ivan, due to non-payment for his studies, was forced to leave the gymnasium. The elder Julius insisted that, having two university educations, he would study with his brother and prepare him for a matriculation certificate, at least for the seventh grade of a male gymnasium. Julius was an excellent teacher. He later recalled: “When I arrived from prison, I found Vanya still a completely undeveloped boy, but I immediately saw his talent. In less than a year, he had grown so mentally that I could already have conversations with him almost as an equal on many topics. He still had little knowledge, and we continued to replenish it by doing the humanities.” It is also interesting that Yuliy Alekseevich soon switched to teaching methods characteristic of higher education - a lecture and a seminar. Walks became frequent. On January 27, 1886, Ivan Alekseevich wrote in his diary: “July lives in Ozerki - under police supervision, he is obliged not to go anywhere for three years. In winter I write poetry. I remember frosty sunny days, moonlit nights, walks and conversations with Julius.

The brothers usually took walks twice a day: before afternoon tea and after supper. There were various conversations, a lot was said about literature. Convinced that his younger brother was not inclined to the exact sciences, and especially to mathematics, Julius began to encourage his literary pursuits. It was he who insisted that Ivan send his poem "The Village Beggar" to the Rodina magazine. And when it was printed, the delight of the younger brother and the whole family knew no bounds. I was happy for Ivan and Yuli Alekseevich, not realizing that he had become the "godfather" of the future classic of Russian and world literature.

The link has expired. On August 24, 1888, Julius Alekseevich, having received a certificate to leave, hurried to Kharkov. The police now closely watched him, recorded all addresses of residence, behavior. In the spring of 1889, Ivan Alekseevich also came to him. Here he lived no more than two months. In the spring of 1890, Julius moved to Poltava, where he received a lucrative position in the statistical department of the provincial zemstvo. Ivan asks him to find him "a place in Poltava, for forty, thirty-five rubles" in order to be able to live with "her (civil wife of Ivan Alekseevich-Varvara Vladimirovna Pashchenko - V.E.), and most importantly with you (that is, with Julius - V.E.) in the same city! In Poltava, Ivan Alekseevich works as a librarian, extra, correspondent. It was in Poltava that the younger Bunin "began to more or less seriously take up fiction for the first time." Here Bunin broke with Pashchenko. And Julius came to the aid of his brother at this difficult time. As a sign of great gratitude, it was the first collection of poems, published in Orel in 1891, that Ivan Alekseevich dedicated to “Dear brother and dear friend Yu. A. Bunin.”

In March 1895, Julius Alekseevich decided to move from Poltava to Moscow. He invited his brother with him: "You need to establish personal relations with the editors, you are already published in thick magazines, and no one knows you." He advised his brother to establish relations with the editors of Russkiye Vedomosti and Russkaya Mysl. But on his first visit, he could not find a job in the capital city. Although Yuliy Alekseevich was invited to the capital to the Ministry of Finance, he could not go there "according to his convictions." Soon, a place was found for the elder brother: the editor-publisher of the journal "Bulletin of Education" N.F. Mikhailov offered him the position of editorial manager. On June 15, 1897, Ivan Alekseevich, in a letter to the poet I. A. Belousov, reported that he was also going to follow his brother to move to Moscow: “... I will now be in Moscow in winter almost without a break ...”. With the advent of Yuli Alekseevich, the Bulletin of Education became one of the best Russian pedagogical publications. When the 25th anniversary of this journal was celebrated in January 1915, according to the younger Bunin, it was "honoring Julius." I. A. Bunin also published in the journal under the pseudonym I. Ozersky. In addition to managing the editorial office of the Bulletin of Education, Julius Alekseevich fruitfully collaborated with a number of reputable publications - Journalist, Novoye Slovo, School and Life. Not without reason, at the beginning of the 20th century, a number of magazines and newspapers in Russia considered Bunin Sr. "their correspondent and collaborator." In Moscow, Julius Alekseevich becomes an active participant in various literary circles. In the mid-90s, he was a member of the Tikhomirov circle, where he met Gilyarovsky, Mamin-Sibiryakov, Zlatovratsky, Stanyukovich, and in the future with the famous Leonid Sobinov. N. D. Teleshov in his “Notes of a Writer” notes: “The elder Bunin, Yuli Alekseevich, was the head of the editorial office of the journal “Bulletin of Education”. The acquaintance that began between me and Yuli Bunin led us to the closest friendship for twenty-five years - until his death ... The younger Bunin, Ivan Alekseevich, although he placed his poems and stories in magazines, was still very little known at that time ... " .

Soon they began to gather at Teleshov himself. Initially, the circle was called "Parnassus". Gathered first on Tuesdays, and then invariably on Wednesdays. Subsequently, this association became known as the "Moscow literary environment". In the autumn of 1899, a new circle arose, uniting not only writers, poets, but also artists. Yuliy Alekseevich was elected a member of the directorate of the circle. Bunin Sr. also entered the board of the Society of Periodical Press and Literature. According to the memoirs of Bunina-Muromtseva, Yuli Alekseevich “at five o'clock, when the reception ends in the editorial office ... there is a tea party. Younger brother / Ivan - V.E./, during his stay in Moscow, does not miss these gatherings ... ". The brothers sometimes met several times a day, took walks around Moscow together, and went on trips around Russia. Together they take care of their sister Maria, who was married to the machinist Laskarzhevsky and lived with her mother at the Gryazi junction station (now in the Lipetsk region). In one of the letters to his younger brother on September 25, 1909, Julius asked: “Did you send money to ours, as you promised, otherwise they are probably sitting without a penny. As I told you, I left them only 25 rubles. Please go at once if you haven't sent it."

The brothers often came to Gryazi, visiting their sister, mother and nephews. The first wife of Ivan Alekseevich, Anna Tsakni, once noticed that her memory preserved “a wonderful person, Yuli Alekseevich Bunin, who was literally a father to Ivan Alekseevich, without him he would not have become what he became: a wonderful poet and writer. A soft, sincere person, he literally fascinated and could not help but like.

In 1912, when the 25th anniversary of Ivan Alekseevich's literary activity was celebrated, many publications placed a photograph showing the brothers, and Yuli Alekseevich certainly began his speech at all celebrations in the same way: “Dear brother, Ivan!. . . ".

The outbreak of the February and then the October Revolution scattered the brothers. In May 1918, Julius saw off his younger brother and his wife, Vera Nikolaevna Muromtseva, from Moscow. They did not know that they were parting forever. Ivan Alekseevich watched his brother from afar. In September 1918, he writes, worrying about the fate of his relatives: “eternal anxiety for loved ones ... meanwhile, Yuli Alekseevich fell seriously ill again.” Soon Julius Alekseevich becomes a member of the literary department of the Palace of Arts. This included Yesenin, Prishvin, Gilyarovsky, Belousov. He is often sick. He is placed in health resort No. 2 in Moscow. But the disease did not recede. In July 1921 he died. Yuli Alekseevich was buried in the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery.

Ivan Alekseevich, having learned about the death of his elder brother, was shocked. In his diary, he writes: “... And all the thoughts about Yulia, about how he once came, young, starting life, to Ozerki ... And somehow I still can’t believe that I will never see him again. Four years ago, saying goodbye to me at the station, he cried ... I can’t remember this ... ”. In another entry: "... So I wrote 3 new stories, but now Julius will never recognize them - he, who always knew my new line, starting from the very first Ozersky ones." In an entry dated February 5, 1922: “I saw a train in a dream, something like a big car, in which Vera and I were going somewhere. And Julius. I wept, feeling great tenderness for him, telling him how I felt without him.

He is calm, simple and kind ... ". Ivan Alekseevich often sees his older brother in dreams: on February 13, he dreamed “... his empty apartment, with newspapers tied and stacked on the tables. Now, I can't remember it vividly. Sometimes again the thought: “But he is in Moscow, somewhere in the grave, has already rotted!” - and no longer cuts, but only stupidly presses, only mentally terrifies.