Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin was a Russian writer, poet, prose author, translator, and Nobel Prize laureate.
Early Years
He was born on 22 October 1870 in Voronezh to the impoverished noble family of Alexei and Lyudmila Bunin. His childhood was spent at the Butyrki estate in the Oryol Governorate. During his gymnasium years (1881–1885), he wrote poetry, vividly depicting the world around him. His elder brother Yuly played a key role in his education, teaching him various subjects and guiding him through a university-level curriculum.

Beginning of a Literary Career
At 19, Bunin moved to Oryol and worked as a proofreader and journalist for the Oryol Herald newspaper. In 1891, his first book of youthful poems, “Poems of 1887–1891,” was published. His early work was marked by an imitative style and journalistic practice.

By the early 20th century, Bunin had become a recognized poet, prose writer, and translator. On 19 October 1903, for his translation of Henry Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha” and the poem “Leaf Fall,” he received the Pushkin Prize of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He received the prize again in 1909 for his poems of 1903–1907 and translations of Byron and Tennyson. That same year he became an honorary academician in the field of literature.

Connection to Odesa
Between 1896 and 1920, Bunin visited Odesa more than 30 times. He maintained close ties with A. Kuprin, A. Fyodorov, and artists of the Society of South Russian Painters (P. Nilus, Y. Bukovetsky, V. Kurovsky, V. Zauze). Local newspapers (Odeskyi Listok, Southern Thought, Odesa News) regularly reported on his arrivals.

Bunin was published in the newspaper Southern Review, which printed his poems “To the Homeland” (1898), “Cypresses” (1899), and “In the Steppe” (1899). He participated in editing, wrote reviews, translations, and poems.

As a member of the Literary and Artistic Society, Bunin gave readings of works by Chekhov, Verlaine, and his own stories: “Zakhar Vorobyov,” “To the Edge of the World,” “The Prophet’s Death,” and “Chang’s Dreams.”

In Odesa, he worked on many of his writings: poetry, prose, the proofreading of the novella “The Village,” the collection “John Rydalec,” and his diary-like book “Cursed Days.” His first marriage to A. N. Tsakni took place here, and his son Kolya was born, who died young. Odesa is also linked to his profound emotional turmoil during the Civil War; it was from this city that he emigrated on 6 February 1920.

Emigration and International Recognition
From 1920, Bunin lived in France (Paris, Grasse). In emigration, he created numerous masterpieces, including the novella “Mitya’s Love” and the novel “The Life of Arsenyev.” In 1933 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for the strict artistry with which he carried on the traditions of Russian classical prose.”

The pinnacle of Bunin’s work is considered the short story collection “Dark Avenues,” classically clear and stylistically perfect. His beloved Odesa appears in the story “Halya Hanska.”

Later Years
In his final years, Bunin was ill and required assistance, yet continued to work, particularly on a book about Chekhov.
He died on 8 November 1953 and was buried at the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois cemetery in France.