Maximilian Voloshin

Maximilian Alexandrovich Kirienko-Voloshin
Maximilan Voloshin
Born	28 May 1877 Kiev, Ukraine then in Russian Empire
Died	November 8, 1932 (aged 65) Koktebel, USSR
Occupation	Poet
Literary movement	Symbolist movement

Maximilian Alexandrovich Kirienko-Voloshin (Russian: Максимилиа́н Алекса́ндрович Кирие́нко-Воло́шин), commonly known as Max Voloshin (May 28, 1877 – November 8, 1932), was a Ukrainian-born Russian poet. He was one of the significant representatives of the Symbolist movement in Russian culture and literature. He became famous as a poet and a critic of literature and the arts, being published in many contemporary magazines of the early 20th century, including Vesy, Zolotoye runo ('The Golden Fleece'), and Apollon. He was known for his brilliant translations of a number of French poetic and prose works into Russian.

Voloshin was born in Kiev in 1877. He spent his early childhood in Sevastopol and Taganrog. Reportedly, "his schooling included a few years at the Polivanov establishment and a school in the Crimea, where in 1893 his mother had bought a cheap plot of land at Koktebel." After secondary school, Voloshin entered Moscow University during "a time of the resurgence of the radical student movement in Russia." Voloshin reportedly actively participated in it, "which resulted in his expulsion from the University in 1899."

Not discouraged, Voloshin "resumed his travels the length and breadth of Russia, often on foot." In 1900, he worked with an expedition surveying the route of the Orenburg-Tashkent Railway. He described this period in his life as:

Upon his return to Moscow, Voloshin did not seek reinstatement at the university, but continued his travels to such places as Western Europe, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. Reportedly, "his stay in Paris and travels all over France had a particularly deep effect on" him and he came back to Russia "a veritable Parisian." While during this time in Russia there were "numerous literary groups and trends, known as the Silver Age," Voloshin remained aloof despite "being a close friend of many outstanding cultural figures of the day." In verses devoted to Valery Bryusov he wrote: "In your world, I am a passerby, close to all and yet a stranger to all."