Andrey Bely

Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev (Russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, IPA: [bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪdʑ bʊˈɡajɪf]; 26 October [O.S. 14 October] 1880 – 8 January 1934), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely, was a Russian and Soviet novelist, Symbolist poet, theorist and literary critic. He was a committed anthroposophist and follower of Rudolf Steiner. His novel Petersburg (1913/1922) was regarded by Vladimir Nabokov as the third-greatest masterpiece of modernist literature. The Andrei Bely Prize (Премия Андрея Белого), one of the most important prizes in Russian literature, was named after him. His poems were set to music and performed by Russian singer-songwriters.

Life and career

Boris Bugaev was born in Moscow, into a prominent intellectual family. His father, Nikolai Bugaev, was a noted mathematician who is regarded as a founder of the Moscow school of mathematics. His mother, Aleksandra Dmitrievna (née Egorova), was not only highly intelligent but a famous society beauty, and the focus of considerable gossip. She was also a pianist, providing Bugaev his musical education at a young age.

Young Boris grew up at the Arbat, a historical area in Moscow. He was a polymath whose interests included mathematics, biology, chemistry, music, philosophy, and literature. Bugaev attended university at the University of Moscow. He would go on to take part in both the Symbolist movement and the Russian school of neo-Kantianism. Bugaev became friendly with Alexander Blok and his wife; he fell in love with her, which caused tensions between the two poets. Bugaev was invited but was unable to attend their wedding due to his father's death.