The siege of Leningrad is a tragic page in the history of the Great Patriotic War. A real symbol of courage, perseverance, will of the Leningrad people are the piercing poems of Olga Berggolts. They supported the city in the most difficult days, with them the inhabitants met the long-awaited break of the blockade ring. The life of the poetess was consonant with the era - just as difficult, full of losses, defeats, big and small victories.
Short biography: childhood and adolescence
Olga Berggolts was born in St. Petersburg, in 1910. The family was small, but friendly, Olga always fondly remembered her father, mother, sister Maria. After the revolution, my father moved his family to Uglich, and he went to the front. Mother and daughters lived in the Epiphany Monastery, the family managed to reunite only after the father's return.
In 1926, Olga graduated from a labor school and entered the Institute of Art History. She always wrote poetry, so the girl had no doubts about her choice of life. Since 1930 she has been a student of the Philology Department of the Literary Institute. Along with her studies, Olga works in one of the Leningrad newspapers. After graduation from the university he was assigned to Kazakhstan, where he wrote for the newspaper “Soviet Step” for 3 years. Returning to Leningrad, Bergolts got a job in the editorial office of the newspaper "Electrosila".
Working as a correspondent gave the aspiring writer a lot - it was at this time that ideas for future works were born: novels, stories and poems. Interestingly, Olga originally planned to write for children - her literary experiments were highly appreciated by Korney Chukovsky.
In 1934 Bergholz was admitted to the Writers' Union. However, this is where the exemplary career of the leading Soviet author ends. Politics interferes with fate - on false charges of having connections with enemies of the people, the poetess is arrested. Bergholz spent a terrible six months in prison. Endless interrogations and torture awaited her, ending with the death of an unborn child. After her release, the writer was completely rehabilitated.
The blockade and flourishing of literary creativity
The war found Olga Fedorovna in Leningrad. From the first days she worked on the radio, hosted programs, read reports from the fronts and her own poems that support the spirit of Leningraders. At the beginning of the blockade, Bergholz had the opportunity to evacuate, but she decided to share the fate of the city and stayed, continuing to work on the radio. At this time, the "Leningrad Poem" was created, from which the whole world learned about the life, courage and struggle of Leningraders surrounded by an enemy ring. It was Olga Berggolts who announced the end of the blockade. For her services to the hero-city, the poetess received a medal "For the Defense of Leningrad", which was awarded to combatants.
Personal life
The family life of Olga Berggolts is full of losses. The writer married three times, dreamed of children, but ended her century alone. Olga's first husband was Boris Kornilov. The couple had a daughter, who died from heart failure a few months later. The result of the first marriage was a divorce, and a few years later Nikolai was shot as an enemy of the people.
The second husband of Berggolts was Nikolai Molchanov, who died of hunger in the terrible Leningrad winter of 1942. From this marriage, Olga could have had a child - but in 1938, after the arrest, the baby was born dead in the prison hospital.
The third marriage took place after the war, in 1949. Literary critic Georgy Makogonenko became the husband of the writer. The couple lived for 12 years and divorced. The end of her life Bergholz lived alone, she was helped only by her beloved sister Maria. Death overtook Olga early, at the age of 65. The funeral was crumpled, due to the intent of the authorities, Leningraders could not say goodbye to their beloved poetess. Bergholz is buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery. The books "Leningrad Poem", "Day Stars", "February Diary" became a real monument to her.
