As a man of firm convictions and principles, the writer Ivan Shmelev kept them throughout his life. He took his work very seriously, and put all his soul into books. He had enough difficult moments in his life, and his relations with the Soviet authorities were not easy, however, I. Shmelev with dignity went through all the trials that fell to his lot.
He owed a good education to his mother. She herself taught him in childhood and youth, and since she was a very smart and well-read man, Ivan Shmelev also learned a lot of useful knowledge. Grandfather I. Shmeleva was a peasant, and his father was at first, too, but by the time his son was born, he had already become rich and had become a fairly successful trader. All his life, Ivan Shmelev was a deeply religious person. He penetrated religion as a child, with the filing of his elderly teacher. He received his higher education in Moscow, at the famous Moscow State University. While studying at the gymnasium, literature was the favorite subject of the future writer, and he always received the highest marks on it. Moreover, his teacher was the uncle of Marina Tsvetaeva, a strict man, but fair, and he quickly discerned the talent in his student.
In his youth I. Shmelev supported revolutionary moods. However, after the revolution, he became disillusioned with the Bolsheviks, and moved to the Crimea, away from Moscow. His son, a White Guard officer, was shot by the Soviet authorities. Based on this tragic event, he later wrote the epic novel “The Sun of the Dead”. Ivan Shmelev made friends with Maxim Gorky. He even sent him many of his works with a request to review them. He read out the works of Russian classics, especially highlighting the work of Leskov, Pushkin and Tolstoy.
Books written by Ivan Shmelev have been translated into almost all languages of Europe. His wife, Olga Ochterloni, had Scottish roots – she came from an ancient noble family of the Stuarts. With the help of Bunin, Ivan Shmelev moved to France, where he eventually lived until the end of his life. It was in Paris that he survived the German occupation during the Second World War.
The first publication of I. Shmelyov took place when he was 22 years old, although he began his literary experiments much earlier, while still studying at the gymnasium. The collection of essays “On the Rocks of Valaam” was banned by Soviet censorship immediately after its publication. Later, he was still allowed to print, but forced the writer to cut out almost half of the text. He worked on the novel “Summer of the Lord” for fourteen years. It is very popular today, especially among faithful readers. Ivan Shmelev was nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature. Half a century after the death of Ivan Shmelev, his body was transported to Russia and reburied.
