Maxim Gorky Biography

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.