123 Years Ago: Boris Pasternak Was Born (January 29) on February 10, 1890, in Moscow2 photos

123 years ago, on January 29, 1990, Boris Pasternak was born in Moscow. His family belonged to the intelligentsia: his father was an artist, and his mother was a pianist. Boris had a younger brother and two sisters. Musicians and writers often visited the Pasternak home, and even Leo Tolstoy once spent time there. As a child, Boris was fascinated by music and even composed sonatas. He graduated from high school with honors and later studied law at first, then philosophy at Moscow University. He also pursued philosophical studies in Germany. In the 1910s, Boris became friends with futurists. His first poems were published in 1913, and his first book, "The Twin in the Clouds," appeared in 1914. In 1921, his family moved to Berlin, but he continued to correspond with them and other emigrants. He married the artist Evgenia Lurye, and they had a son. During the 1920s, Pasternak wrote numerous poems and elegies, and in 1928 he began writing prose. This was a period of official recognition for him in the Soviet Union. He actively participated in the activities of the Soviet Writers Union, but in 1936 he was accused of being detached from reality, which led to his gradual exclusion from official literature. Meanwhile, Pasternak devoted himself entirely to his creative work, translating works by Shakespeare, Goethe, and Schiller. Our knowledge of these poets today is largely due to Pasternak's translations. In 1958, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but this honor was linked to his anti-Soviet novel "Doctor Zhivago," which forced him to decline it. Under oppressive circumstances, the writer did not live long after that. He died of lung cancer on May 30, 1960, in Peredelkino. Despite being officially condemned, his funeral was attended by thousands of people, including famous artists and writers such as Bulat Okudzhava, Naum Korzhavin, and Andrey Voznesensky. The novel "Doctor Zhivago" was first published in Russia in 1988 in the magazine "Novy Mir," and the Nobel Prize medal and diploma were given to the writer's son, Evgeny.