Samuil Marshak - Early Years

Early Years

Marshak was born on November 3, 1887 in Voronezh. His father was a foreman at a soap-making plant. He got a good home education and later studied at the gymnasium (secondary school) of Ostrogozhsk, a suburb of Voronezh. Samuil started to write poetry during his childhood years in Voronezh. His brother Ilya (who wrote under the pseudonym M. Ilin) (1896—1953) and sister Liya (who wrote as Elena Ilina) (1901—1964) both became Soviet authors as well.

In 1902, the Marshak family moved to Saint Petersburg. There was a complication: as a Jew, Marshak could not legally live outside the Pale of Settlement, thus he could not attend school while living in the city. Philanthropist and scholar Baron David Gunzburg took an interest in and introduced him to the influential critic, Vladimir Stasov." Stasov was so impressed by the schoolboy's literary talent that he arranged an exception from the Pale laws for Samuil and his family. He also introduced Marshak to Maxim Gorky and Feodor Chaliapin.

In 1904, Samuil was diagnosed with tuberculosis and could no longer continue to live in the cold climate of Saint Petersburg. Maxim Gorky arranged for Samuil to live with his family in the Black Sea resort town of Yalta (1904–1907). Gorky and Chalyapin also paid for his education and therapy.