Vladimir Mayakovsky.

His father, a forest ranger, died in 1906 after cutting his finger, leading to blood poisoning. Vladimir Mayakovsky, born on July 7, 1893, in Baghdati, Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire, moved to Moscow with his mother and sisters. He studied at the Moscow Gymnasium but dropped out and became involved in revolutionary activities. He was arrested three times and spent over six months in Butyrskaya prison, where he wrote his first poems in a solitary cell in 1909.

After his release, Mayakovsky studied at the Stroganov School of Art and later at the Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. There he met Futurist artist David Burlyuk, a collaboration that shaped his artistic direction. He absorbed influences from Transcaucasian culture and Russian avant-garde movements.

In 1912, Mayakovsky moved to St. Petersburg and met Maxim Gorky. His first play, the tragedy Vladimir Mayakovsky, premiered in 1913. He published his passionate poem Cloud in the Trousers in 1915, followed by The Backbone Flute in 1916. During World War I, he served in the Petrograd Military Automobile School from 1915 to August 1917.

After the 1917 Revolution, he remained in Petrograd and edited Futurist papers. In 1918 he made his film debut, appearing in three silent films including The Young Lady and the Hooligan, which he co-directed. In 1919 he moved to Moscow and worked as designer and poet for ROSTA propaganda publications. He co-founded the avant-garde magazine LEF and wrote satirical plays The Bedbug and The Bath, staged by Vsevolod Meyerhold but later banned. He traveled extensively in the 1920s, visiting Europe and America, and fathered a daughter in the US.

Mayakovsky met Lilya Brik in 1913. She became his muse, lover, and lifelong companion, while her husband Osip Brik published his works. This unconventional menage a trois lasted many years. In the 1920s, while traveling in America, he had a relationship with Russian-American emigre Elli Jones, with whom he fathered a daughter, Patricia Thompson. He also had affairs with other women, including actress Veronika Polonskaya. His complicated love life contributed to his emotional instability. He died by suicide on April 14, 1930, allegedly due to his breakup with Polonskaya.

After Mayakovsky’s death, his lover Lilya Brik wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin in 1935, leading to the mass publication of Mayakovsky’s works. Stalin declared him a revolutionary poet, and his poems became mandatory in Soviet schools, ensuring his place in Russian culture. His bold, rhythmic style anticipated modern rap, with comparisons to Eminem and Snoop Dogg. Mayakovsky was depicted in the 1958 film Mayakovsky itskeboda ase… directed by Konstantine Pipinashvili. He is remembered as the most innovative poet of the Russian Futurist movement, whose work challenged traditional norms and influenced generations of artists.