Velimir Khlebnikov is one of the most famous poets of the early twentieth century, a representative of the Russian avant-garde, who called himself "the chairman of the globe." He, of course, was an extraordinary and controversial person. In his work he strove for innovation, used unusual literary devices, associativity, and narrative abstraction. Therefore, not every reader is able to truly understand and feel his works.
Biography: early years
At birth, the poet was named Victor, his full name is Viktor Vladimirovich Khlebnikov. From his father's side, he came from a noble merchant family. However, Vladimir Alekseevich Khlebnikov had nothing to do with trade, but was engaged in botany and ornithology. His research activities led the family to the Maloderbetovsky ulus of the Astrakhan province, where Victor was born on October 28, 1885.
He became the third child of the Khlebnikov spouses, and later two more children were born to them. In addition to Victor, his sister Vera, who has become an avant-garde artist, is also quite famous. The mother of the future great poet - Ekaterina Nikolaevna - received a historical education, grew up in a wealthy family, and among her ancestors were Zaporozhye Cossacks.
Vladimir Khlebnikov was in the public service, because of which he did not stay long in one place. The family followed him. In Simbirsk, Victor went to the gymnasium, and in 1898 he continued his studies in Kazan. In 1903, he entered Kazan University, choosing the faculty of physics and mathematics. Participation in a student demonstration resulted in an arrest and imprisonment for one month, after which Khlebnikov picks up documents from the university. And in the fall of 1904 he returned to study, only now he is choosing the department of natural sciences.
At first, Victor enthusiastically began to study, was engaged in research in the field of ornithology, and wrote scientific articles. In his free time he studies Japanese. But gradually the sphere of his interests shifts more and more towards literature.
Literary work: first steps
In 1904, Khlebnikov made an attempt to publish the play "Elena Gordyachkina", but did not find a response from the publishers. His next literary experience is a work in prose, “Enya Voeikov, ” which remains incomplete. At the same time, Victor writes poetry and sends some of them to the poet Vyacheslav Ivanov. In 1908, they met in Crimea in person. After that, Khlebnikov decides to move to St. Petersburg, for which he is transferred to the natural branch of St. Petersburg University.
In the capital, he falls under the influence of the Symbolists, is interested in Slavic mythology, paganism. He draws close with the writer Alexei Remizov and becomes a frequent guest in his house. Khlebnikov’s new hobby is reflected in the play “Snow Maiden”. In October 1908, the newspaper Vesna published the poem Temptation of the Sinner. It was the debut of a young author in print. In 1909, he left for a long time with his relatives in a suburb of Kiev, and upon his return he wrote the poem The Menagerie.
Khlebnikov's educational interests are changing again: he chooses between the faculty of oriental languages and the historical and philological faculty, and in the end he prefers the latter. At the same time, he came up with the creative pseudonym Velimir - translated from the Slavic language “big world”. Khlebnikov is in the "Academy of Verse", organized by the symbolist poet Vyacheslav Ivanov, writes the poem "The Crane" and the drama "Madame Lenin".
Russian futurism
In 1910, the next stage of his work began as part of the writers' association “Bytlyany”. Members of this group publish the collection “Judges' Saddle, ” which includes several works by Khlebnikov. The literary world takes the work of the "beasts" with hostility, accusing it of frivolity and bad taste.
Meanwhile, Velimir begins a creative crisis, and he switches to searching for the numerical laws of historical development. His works are reflected in the brochure "Teacher and student", published in May 1912. In it, Khlebnikov actually predicted the upcoming revolutions of 1917.
The group of "bets" develops and gradually turns into a movement of Russian futurism. Velimir draws closer to the poet Alexei Kruchenykh, they write the poem "The Game in Hell." As part of a group of futurists, Khlebnikov’s works are published both in general and in copyright collections:
- “Slap in the face of public taste” (1912);
- "Rav!" (1913) - the first author's collection of the poet;
- "A collection of poems" (1914).
The search for patterns
Gradually, creative differences alienate Khlebnikov from the Futurists, and he again takes a great interest in studying historical laws. Based on its activities, it declares the number 317 the key in the ratio of mathematics and history. At the beginning of 1915 he came up with the “Society of the Chairpersons of the Globe”, which should include 317 outstanding people of the world.
In the spring of 1916, Khlebnikov was called up for military service, and he left for Volgograd. In the army, the poet has a hard time, so he seeks help from a familiar psychiatrist Nikolai Kulbin, who diagnoses mental disorders in Velimir. After a series of commissions, the poet leaves military service.
During the February Revolution of 1917, Khlebnikov came to St. Petersburg, wrote poems in support of current events. In 1918 he went on a trip to Russia, staying with his parents for a long time in Astrakhan and collaborating with the local newspaper Krasny Voyin.
In 1919, the poet entered the Kharkov Psychiatric Hospital to avoid being drafted into the army of Denikin. He works a lot and fruitfully, composes several poems:
- "Forest longing";
- "Poet";
- "Ladomir";
- Razin.
The last years of life and death
From 1920 to 1922 the poet traveled a lot: Rostov-on-Don, Baku, Persia, Zheleznovodsk, Pyatigorsk, Moscow. He is working on a treatise entitled The Boards of Fate, writes the poems Night before the Soviets, Chairman of the Check, and many poems. His contemporaries recalled that due to frequent travels, Khlebnikov’s works were constantly lost and kept in complete disarray. Sometimes he even slept on a pillow consisting of manuscripts stuffed in a pillowcase.
Shortly before his death, Velimir finished the work “Zangezi”, written in the genre he had invented of a supertale. This work, like The Boards of Fate, examined the “laws of time”, and the protagonist Zangezi appeared to be a new prophet. Khlebnikov’s supertale was published after his death.
Visiting the artist Pyotr Miturich, who lived in the Novgorod province, the poet suddenly paralyzed his legs. Local medicine could not help him, and Khlebnikov’s condition worsened. June 28, 1922 he died in the house of his friend Miturich, was buried in the village of Ruchey. In 1960, the writer's remains were transported to Moscow and buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.
