Boris Pasternak, Zinaida Neuhaus, Olga Ivinskaya

As a child, Boris Pasternak dreamed of becoming a composer, in his youth he wanted to be a philosopher, but he became a writer, and it was literature that won him the Nobel Prize in 1958. Speaking about the life and fate of great people, it is impossible not to say about the women who inspired them to feats, even literary ones, becoming prototypes of the heroines of immortal works. As a child, Boris Pasternak dreamed of becoming a composer, in his youth he wanted to be a philosopher, but he became a writer, and it was literature that won him the Nobel Prize in 1958. Speaking about the life and fate of great people, it is impossible not to say about the women who inspired them to feats, even literary ones, becoming prototypes of the characters of immortal works. 

Pasternak met Olga Ivinskaya when he was 56 and she was 34. She worked in the magazine "New World", where the poet often visited. Olga Ivinskaya was a widow and mother of two children, and Pasternak was married to Zinaida Neuhaus, whom he had once scandalously stolen from his friend, the musician Heinrich Neuhaus. Zinaida Neuhaus was the embodiment of responsibility and dedication, trying to help her husband in everything. Pasternak greatly appreciated these qualities in his wife, certainly loved her, but passion prevailed, and it was difficult to resist the regal beauty and femininity of Olga.

Later, Ivinskaya remembered their first meeting with Pasternak: 'It was a demanding, such an appreciative, such a man's look that it was clear: the person I was really needed came, the same person who, in fact, was already with me. And this is an amazing miracle.' Pasternak also wrote about Olga: "I am, my soul and love, and my creativity, everything belongs to Olga. <...> She is devoted to my spiritual life and all my writing."

For her affair with the famous poet Olga Ivinskaya will have to go through terrible trials and accusations of allegedly preparing to run abroad with Pasternak, who was suspected of espionage. She spent more than three years in detained camps, but after her emancipation, their romance flared up with more power, and the lovers kept their feelings for the rest of their lives.

The meeting will be held online in Russian with simultaneous translation into Spanish.

For detailed information click here.