Maxim Gorky

@Writers, Birthday and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, better known as Maxim Gorky, was a Russian author Russian Writers Novelists Playwrights Aries Celebrities Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, better known as Maxim Gorky, was a Russian author considered the father of Soviet revolutionary literature and founder of the doctrine of socialist realism. After having a difficult childhood, he roamed across the Russian empire, frequently changing jobs for about fifteen years before he became a successful writer. The experiences he had during those fifteen years deeply influenced his writing. Initially, he wrote stories mainly based on the lives of tramps and social outcasts, and he became known for his naturalistic style of writing. One of his greatest works is ‘The Mother,’ which Lenin praised as “a very timely book.” Gorky was deeply associated with fellow Russian writers, Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy and later wrote memoirs on them. Gorky was not only a great writer but also an influential figure in the political thinking. He was active with the emerging Marxist social-democrat movement. Initially a Bolshevik supporter, he became a critic when Vladimir Lenin seized power. However, later Gorky served as a Soviet advocate and headed the Union of Soviet Writers. His life was marked with a number of politically forced and sometimes self-imposed exiles.

Personal Details

Birthday: March 28, 1868 Died on: June 18, 1936 Nationality: Russian Famous: Dramatist, Writers, Writers, Novelists, Playwrights Spouses: Maria Andreyeva, Moura Budberg, Yekaterina Peshkova Known as: Alexei Maximovich Peshkov Childrens: Catherine Zhelyabuzhskiy, Maxim Peshkov, Yekaterina Peshkova, Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, Zinovy Peshkov Information Detail Birthday March 28, 1868 Died on June 18, 1936 Nationality Russian Famous Dramatist, Writers, Writers, Novelists, Playwrights Spouses Maria Andreyeva, Moura Budberg, Yekaterina Peshkova Known as Alexei Maximovich Peshkov Childrens Catherine Zhelyabuzhskiy, Maxim Peshkov, Yekaterina Peshkova, Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, Zinovy Peshkov Birth Place Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire Gender Male Father Maksim Peshkov Mother Varvara Peshkova Sun Sign Aries Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire Famous as Writer & Dramatist Died at Age 68

Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire

Maxim Gorky born at Unsplash Birth Place

Moura Budberg, who was initially hired by Gorky as his secretary in 1921, became his unofficial wife. Unsplash Personal Life

On June 18, 1936, 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. Unsplash Personal Life

Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov was born on March 28, 1868, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia and became an orphan at the age of eleven. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He was raised by his maternal grandmother who helped his development as a storyteller. He ran away from home at the age of twelve in 1880. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After an attempt at suicide in December 1887, he travelled on foot across the Russian Empire for five years, frequently changing jobs. His jobs included, among many others, work as assistant in a shoemaker’s shop, as errand boy for an icon painter, and as a dishwasher on a Volga steamer, where the cook introduced him to reading—soon to become his main passion in life. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In the 1890s, he began writing. He adopted the pseudonym Maxim Gorky (choosing the name Gorky because it meant "bitter"). Unsplash Career

His first short story, “Makar Chudra” was published in various journals in 1892, and it became very popular with readers. Unsplash Career

Then, in 1895, “Chelkash,” a short story about a thief and a peasant boy was published. In all his writings, Gorky wrote using all the experiences he had gained from living in poverty. He wrote with sympathy about the simple folks, the outcasts, the gypsies, the hobos and dreamers in the context of social decay in the Russian Empire. His perspective won him great acclaim around the country, and he was soon viewed as one of the leading writers. Unsplash Career

In 1898, a collection of Gorky’s writings, “Sketches and Stories” was published. Unsplash Career

He also produced full-length books and plays beginning with the novel “Foma Gordeyev” in 1899. Unsplash Career

Among his many writings, Gorky’s play “The Lower Depths” was praised by Chekhov and was successfully played in Europe and the United States in 1902. Unsplash Major Works

“Twenty-six Men and a Girl”, “The Song of the Stormy Petrel”, “Summerfolk”, and “Children of the Sun” are among the most well-known works of Gorky. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	March 28, 1868
Died on	June 18, 1936
Nationality	Russian
Famous	Dramatist, Writers, Writers, Novelists, Playwrights
Spouses	Maria Andreyeva, Moura Budberg, Yekaterina Peshkova
Known as	Alexei Maximovich Peshkov
Childrens	Catherine Zhelyabuzhskiy, Maxim Peshkov, Yekaterina Peshkova, Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, Zinovy Peshkov
Birth Place	Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire
Gender	Male
Father	Maksim Peshkov
Mother	Varvara Peshkova
Sun Sign	Aries
Born in	Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire
Famous as	Writer & Dramatist
Died at Age	68

Maxim Gorky

Russian

Mar 28, 1868

Biography

Personal Details

Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire