Maxim Gorky was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on March 28, 1868. Gorky worked in many jobs during an impoverished and abusive childhood before finding fame and fortune as a writer. Initially a Bolshevik supporter, Gorky became a critic when Vladimir Lenin seized power. However, Gorky later served as a Soviet advocate and headed the Union of Soviet Writers. He died in Russia on June 18, 1936.
Difficult Early Life
Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov was born on March 28, 1868, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. His father died from cholera when he was five. His mother soon remarried and left him to be raised by his maternal grandparents. His grandfather was a strict taskmaster and abusive, but his grandmother shared her knowledge of folktales with young Peshkov.Declining family income from his grandfather's dye shop meant that Peshkov had to begin working when he was 8. His jobs included being an apprentice, a ship's dishwasher and a factory worker. He learned to read and write along the way, but eventually the misery of his life prompted Peshkov to become hobo by the time he was 21.
Writing Success
In the 1890s, Peshkov began writing. He adopted the pseudonym Maxim Gorky (choosing the name Gorky because it meant "bitter"). In 1895, the short story "Chelkash"—about a thief and a peasant boy—was published. In this and other pieces, Gorky wrote using knowledge gained from living in poverty and on the margins of society. He was soon viewed as a leading writer.A Gorky collection, Sketches and Stories, came out in 1898. Gorky also produced full-length books and plays, beginning with the novel Foma Gordeyev (1899). The Lower Depths was performed in 1902; the play became widely popular in Russia and throughout Europe. Gorky also penned the novel Mother (1906), a three-volume autobiography and literary portraits of fellow Russian writers such as Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov.
Marxist Supporter Turned Critic
Gorky was a devoted Marxist and gave much of his writing income to the cause. He followed the Bolshevik wing following a party split in 1903, though he was never an official party member. Gorky was imprisoned for his actions during the Russian Revolution of 1905. He left Russia in 1906, visiting the United States with his mistress before moving to an Italian villa on Capri.Gorky was living in Russia when the Bolsheviks and Vladimir Lenin seized control in 1917; he objected to the undemocratic tactics that were used in this takeover. Gorky also wrote about the violence and repression that Russia experienced under Lenin's rule. He was silenced when his newspaper was shut down in 1918.
Criticism of the Bolsheviks led to Gorky’s exit from Russia in 1921. He traveled through Europe before settling into life in exile in Sorrento, Italy, in 1924. It was not until 1928—when his 60th birthday was extensively celebrated—that Gorky returned to Russia.
Later Years
Joseph Stalin, who had taken control of the Soviet Union after Lenin’s death, decided that it would be better to have Gorky return permanently. Not only was Gorky an acclaimed writer, having him inside the country would make it easier to keep an eye on his activities. In the early 1930s, a campaign was launched to convince Gorky to return—a Moscow street and his birth city were named after him, and he was promised an prominent role in the country's literary life.By 1933, Gorky was ensconced in the Soviet Union, and was restricted from foreign travel. He took on the leadership of the Union of Soviet Writers in 1934, echoing Stalin's viewpoint that writers should be "mechanics of culture" and "engineers of the soul." Gorky voiced no objections about forced labor and other Stalinist atrocities, a contrast to his stance in 1917.
On June 18, 1936 (some sources say July), Gorky died at his villa in Gorki Leninskiye, outside of Moscow. He was 68. Gorky had been unwell and undergoing medical treatment but rumors circulated that Stalin had arranged for his death. However, Stalin made no outward sign of renouncing Gorky, whose ashes were placed in the Kremlin Wall
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