Having lived on the simplest life, Boris Zaitsev, a famous writer, has seen a lot. However, he was not only a talented person, but also incredibly persistent. Never betraying his own principles, he, along with his native country, went through many hardships that fell to her lot, until he was forced to leave her. And all this time he did not stop writing, thanks to which we can now enjoy his magnificent works.
He was a nobleman by birth, which is why in his adult life, after the revolution, he had certain problems. But his parents gave him a good education, hiring him tutors and mentors. At one time, Zaitsev managed to work on biographies of famous writers and poets – Zhukovsky, Turgenev and Chekhov, preparing for publication. The writer has been to Italy many times, and has lived in this sunny country for some time. A year before the revolution, Boris Zaitsev was enrolled in a military academy, and in 1917 received an officer rank. Boris Zaitsev showed his strength of character even in his youth. Not wanting to put up with what was happening, he took an active part in student unrest. As a result, he was expelled from the university, where he studied for a chemist.
Even in his youth, Boris Zaitsev almost perfectly mastered the ancient Greek language, difficult to learn. Moreover, he even passed exams on this subject externally. For many years of his life, B. Zaitsev was in personal correspondence with Pasternak, who was then actively oppressed by the authorities. He was not afraid of the consequences. The writer was not in good health. Perhaps this saved him – the bloody events of the Civil War practically did not affect him, since he had been treated for several years and practically did not leave his village. And then, in 1922, his state of health served as the reason why the Soviet authorities allowed him to travel abroad.
Boris Zaitsev became interested in literature in his youth, when he was seventeen years old. Then he wrote his first works. The story “On the Road” was his first published work. It was published in the then popular magazine Courier. The first attempt by Boris Zaitsev to write a larger-scale work ultimately led to the creation of the novel “Uninteresting History”. A. Chekhov and V. Korolenko at his request read and reviewed it before publication. Zaitsev met A.P. Chekhov in his youth, and since then has maintained friendly relations. Among his other famous friends, one cannot fail to mention I. Bunin. After leaving the USSR, Boris Zaitsev never returned to his homeland. First he went to Italy, and then to France, where he lived almost two-thirds of his life. After his death, he was buried in a cemetery near Paris.
Soon after moving to France, he returned to an active literary life, and began to publish in Russian-language publications. At that time, many former White Guards and just intellectuals who had fled the USSR lived in Paris. In France, Boris Zaitsev made over eight hundred publications in newspapers and magazines, and wrote three dozen books. And he wrote in Russian, and not in French.
