The first wave of Russian emigration is a phenomenon resulting from the Civil War, which began in 1917 and lasted for almost six years. Nobles, soldiers, manufacturers, intellectuals, clergy and civil servants left their homeland. More than two million people left Russia in the period 1917-1922.
Causes of the first wave of Russian emigration
People leave their homeland for economic, political, social reasons. Migration is a process that has occurred to varying degrees at all times. But it is characteristic primarily for the era of wars and revolutions.
The first wave of Russian emigration is a phenomenon that has no analogue in world history. The ships were full. People were ready to endure unbearable conditions, just to leave the country in which the Bolsheviks won.
After the revolution, members of noble families were repressed. Those who did not have time to escape abroad died. There were, of course, exceptions, for example, AlexeyTolstoy, who managed to adapt to the new regime. The nobles, who did not have time or did not want to leave Russia, changed their surnames and hid. Some managed to live under a false name for many years. Others, being exposed, ended up in Stalin's camps.
Starting from 1917, writers, entrepreneurs, artists left Russia. There is an opinion that European art of the 20th century is unthinkable without Russian emigrants. The fate of people cut off from their native land was tragic. Among the representatives of the first wave of Russian emigration there are many world-famous writers, poets, scientists. But recognition doesn't always bring happiness.
What is the reason for the first wave of Russian emigration? The new government, which showed sympathy for the proletariat and hated the intelligentsia.
Among the representatives of the first wave of Russian emigration, there are not only creative people, but also entrepreneurs who managed to make fortunes with their own labor. Among the manufacturers were those who at first rejoiced at the revolution. But not for long. Soon they realized that they had no place in the new state. Factories, enterprises, plants were nationalized in Soviet Russia.
In the era of the first wave of Russian emigration, the fate of ordinary people was of little interest to anyone. The new government did not care about the so-called brain drain either. The people who were at the helm believed that in order to create a new one, everything old should be destroyed. The Soviet state did not need talented writers, poets, artists, musicians. New masters of the word have appeared, ready to convey new ideals to the people.
Let's consider in more detail the reasons andfeatures of the first wave of Russian emigration. The short biographies presented below will create a complete picture of the phenomenon, which had terrible consequences both for the destinies of individuals and for the whole country.
Famous emigrants
Russian writers of the first wave of emigration - Vladimir Nabokov, Ivan Bunin, Ivan Shmelev, Leonid Andreev, Arkady Averchenko, Alexander Kuprin, Sasha Cherny, Teffi, Nina Berberova, Vladislav Khodasevich. Nostalgia pervades the works of many of them.
After the Revolution, such outstanding artists as Fyodor Chaliapin, Sergei Rachmaninov, Wassily Kandinsky, Igor Stravinsky, Marc Chagall left their homeland. Representatives of the first wave of Russian emigration are also aircraft designer Igor Sikorsky, engineer Vladimir Zworykin, chemist Vladimir Ipatiev, hydraulic scientist Nikolai Fedorov.
Ivan Bunin
When it comes to Russian writers of the first wave of emigration, his name is remembered in the first place. Ivan Bunin met the October events in Moscow. Until 1920, he kept a diary, which he later published under the title Cursed Days. The writer did not accept Soviet power. In relation to the revolutionary events, Bunin is often opposed to Blok. In his autobiographical work, the last Russian classic, as the author of "Cursed Days" is called, argued with the creator of the poem "The Twelve". Critic Igor Sukhikh said: "If Blok heard the music of the revolution in the events of 1917, then Bunin heard the cacophony of rebellion."
Before emigrating, the writer lived for some time with his wife in Odessa. In January 1920, they boarded the Sparta steamer, which was leaving for Constantinople. In March, Bunin was already in Paris - in the city where many representatives of the first wave of Russian emigration spent their last years.
The fate of the writer cannot be called tragic. In Paris, he worked a lot, and it was here that he wrote the work for which he received the Nobel Prize. But Bunin's most famous cycle - "Dark Alleys" - is riddled with longing for Russia. Nevertheless, he did not accept the offer to return to their homeland, which many Russian emigrants received after the Second World War. The last Russian classic died in 1953.
Ivan Shmelev
Not all intellectuals heard the "cacophony of rebellion" during the October events. Many perceived the revolution as a victory for justice and goodness. At first, Ivan Shmelev also rejoiced at the October events. However, he quickly became disillusioned with those who were in power. And in 1920 an event occurred, after which the writer could no longer believe in the ideals of the revolution. Shmelev's only son, an officer in the tsarist army, was shot by the Bolsheviks.
In 1922, the writer and his wife left Russia. By that time, Bunin was already in Paris and in his correspondence promised more than once to help him. Shmelev spent several months in Berlin, then went to France, where he spent the rest of his life.
The last years one of the greatest Russian writers spent in poverty. He died at the age of 77. Buried, like Bunin, at Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois. Famous writers and poets - Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Zinaida Gippius, Teffi - found their last resting place in this Parisian cemetery.
Leonid Andreev
This writer accepted the revolution at first, but later changed his mind. Andreev's latest works are imbued with hatred for the Bolsheviks. He ended up in exile after the separation of Finland from Russia. But he did not live long abroad. In 1919, Leonid Andreev died of a heart attack.
The grave of the writer is located in St. Petersburg, at the Volkovskoye cemetery. Andreev's ashes were reburied thirty years after his death.
Vladimir Nabokov
The writer came from a we althy aristocratic family. In 1919, shortly before the Bolsheviks took over the Crimea, the Nabokovs left Russia for good. They managed to bring out some of the family jewels, which saved many Russian emigrants from poverty and hunger, to which many Russian emigrants were doomed.
Vladimir Nabokov graduated from Cambridge University. In 1922 he moved to Berlin, where he earned his living by teaching English. Sometimes he published his stories in local newspapers. There are many Russian emigrants among Nabokov's heroes ("Luzhin's Defense", "Mashenka").
In 1925, Nabokov married a girl from a Jewish-Russian family. She worked as an editor. In 1936, she was fired - an anti-Semitic campaign began. The Nabokovs left for France, settled in the capital, and often visited Menton and Cannes. In 1940 they managed to escape from Paris,which, a few weeks after their departure, was occupied by German troops. On the Champlain liner, Russian emigrants reached the shores of the New World.
In the United States, Nabokov lectured. He wrote both in Russian and in English. In 1960 he returned to Europe and settled in Switzerland. The Russian writer died in 1977. The grave of Vladimir Nabokov is located in the cemetery in Clarens, located in Montreux.
Alexander Kuprin
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, a wave of remigration began. Those who left Russia in the early twenties were promised Soviet passports, jobs, housing, and other benefits. However, many emigrants who returned to their homeland became victims of Stalinist repressions. Kuprin returned before the war. Fortunately, he did not suffer the fate of most of the first wave of emigrants.
Alexander Kuprin left immediately after the October Revolution. In France, at first he was mainly engaged in translations. He returned to Russia in 1937. Kuprin was famous in Europe, the Soviet authorities could not do with him the way they did with most of the white emigrants. However, the writer, being by that time a sick and old man, became a tool in the hands of propagandists. He was made into the image of a repentant writer who returned to sing the happy Soviet life.
Alexander Kuprin died in 1938 from cancer. Buried at the Volkovsky cemetery.
Arkady Averchenko
Before the revolution, the life of the writer was wonderful. He waseditor-in-chief of a humorous magazine, which was very popular. But in 1918 everything changed dramatically. The publishing house was closed. Averchenko took a negative position in relation to the new government. With difficulty, he managed to get to Sevastopol - the city in which he was born and spent his early years. The writer sailed to Constantinople on one of the last steamships a few days before the Crimea was taken by the Reds.
First, Averchenko lived in Sofia, then in Belgorod. In 1922 he left for Prague. It was difficult for him to live away from Russia. Most of the works written in emigration are permeated with the longing of a person who is forced to live far from his homeland and only occasionally hear his native speech. However, in the Czech Republic, he quickly gained popularity.
In 1925, Arkady Averchenko fell ill. He spent several weeks in the Prague City Hospital. Died March 12, 1925.
Taffy
The Russian writer of the first wave of emigration left her homeland in 1919. In Novorossiysk, she boarded a steamer that was going to Turkey. From there I went to Paris. For three years, Nadezhda Lokhvitskaya (this is the real name of the writer and poetess) lived in Germany. She published abroad, and already in 1920 she organized a literary salon. Taffy died in 1952 in Paris.
Nina Berberova
In 1922, together with her husband, poet Vladislav Khodasevich, the writer left Soviet Russia for Germany. Here they spent three months. They lived in Czechoslovakia, in Italy, and since 1925 - in Paris. Berberova published in an emigrantRussian Thought edition. In 1932, the writer divorced Khodasevich. After 18 years, she moved to the USA. She lived in New York, where she published the almanac Commonwe alth. Since 1958, Berberova has taught at Yale University. Died 1993
Sasha Cherny
The real name of the poet, one of the representatives of the Silver Age, is Alexander Glikberg. He emigrated in 1920. Lived in Lithuania, Rome, Berlin. In 1924, Sasha Cherny left for France, where he spent his last years. In the town of La Favière, he had a house where Russian artists, writers, and musicians often gathered. Sasha Cherny died of a heart attack in 1932.
Fyodor Chaliapin
The famous opera singer left Russia, one might say, not of his own free will. In 1922, he was on tour, which, as it seemed to the authorities, dragged on. Long performances in Europe and the United States aroused suspicion. Vladimir Mayakovsky immediately reacted by writing an angry poem, which included the following words: "I'll be the first to shout - roll back!".
In 1927, the singer donated the proceeds from one of the concerts in favor of the children of Russian emigrants. In Soviet Russia, this was perceived as support for the White Guards. In August 1927, Chaliapin was deprived of Soviet citizenship.
In exile, he performed a lot, even starred in a film. But in 1937 he was diagnosed with leukemia. On April 12 of the same year, the famous Russian opera singer died. He was buried at the Batignolles cemetery in Paris.
