Mikhail Andreyevich Osorgin (russian: Михаи́л Андре́евич Осорги́н; real last name Ilyin (Ильи́н); 19 October 1878 – 27 November 1942) was a writer, journalist, and essayist born in the Russian Empire.

Biography

Osorgin was born in

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administrat ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

and became a lawyer after attending school in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He participated in the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

, was arrested and imprisoned, and eventually forced into exile in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In Italy he became a foreign correspondent for ''The Russian News'', and a contributor to various papers abroad. He returned to Russia in 1916 and lived there until 1921 when he was again imprisoned for non-conformity and exiled to

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...

. He was deported to Germany in 1922 on one of the "

Philosophers' ships The philosophers' ships or philosopher's steamboats (russian: Философский пароход) were steamships that transported intellectuals expelled from Soviet Russia in 1922. The main load was handled by two German ships, the ''Oberbü ...

". He lived in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

and Italy before settling in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. In Paris he contributed journalism, fiction, and book reviews to emigre papers. Among Osorgin's best known works are his novels '' Сивцев Вражек'' (1928;

Sivtsev Vrazhek Sivtsev Vrazhek is a radial lane in the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow; it forms the boundary between Arbat and Khamovniki municipal districts. The lane begins at a T-junction with Gogolevsky Boulevard and runs west, roughly parallel to Ar ...

is a small lane in Moscow) translated as ''Quiet Street'' and ''Повесть о сестре'' (1931; Literally "A Tale about My Sister") translated as ''My Sister's Story''. During the 1930s he spent much of his time in the village of

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Essonne Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (often abbreviated to SGdB) is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 23.5 km (14.6 miles) from the center of Paris, in the arrondissement of Palaiseau, Essonne department, Île-de-F ...

, where he owned a cottage. Here he protested urban civilization, promoting a lifestyle that was closer to nature. He stayed in France during the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 193 ...

and died in 1942 in the village of

Chabris Chabris () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. Located at an important river crossing-place on the road from Valençay to Romorantin with a bridge since Roman times, Chabris was once the site of the ancient Bishop of Bourges ...

, where he and his wife had gone as refugees.

English translations

*''Quiet Street'', Longmans, Green and Co, 1930. *''My Sister's Story'', The Dial Press, NY, 1931. *''The Choosing of a Bride'', from ''A Russian Cultural Revival'', University of Tennessee Press, 1981. *''Selected Stories, Reminiscences, and Essays'', Ardis Publishers, 1982.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osorgin, Mikhail 1878 births 1942 deaths Writers from Perm, Russia People from Permsky Uyezd Nobility from the Russian Empire Novelists from the Russian Empire Short story writers from the Russian Empire Essayists from the Russian Empire Journalists from the Russian Empire Pseudonymous writers People deported from the Soviet Union Expatriates from the Russian Empire in Italy Soviet emigrants to France