Andrei Bely
Russian poet, writer and critic (1880–1934)

Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev (Russian: Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, IPA: [bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪdʑ bʊˈɡajɪf] ; 26 October [O.S. 14 October] 1880 – 8 January 1934), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely, was a Russian and Soviet novelist, Symbolist poet, theorist and literary critic. He was a committed anthroposophist and follower of Rudolf Steiner. His novel Petersburg (1913/1922) was regarded by Vladimir Nabokov as the third-greatest masterpiece of modernist literature. The Andrei Bely Prize (Премия Андрея Белого), one of the most important prizes in Russian literature, was named after him. His poems were set to music and performed by Russian singer-songwriters.
Life and career
Boris Bugaev was born in Moscow, into a prominent intellectual family. His father, Nikolai Bugaev, was a noted mathematician who is regarded as a founder of the Moscow school of mathematics. His mother, Aleksandra Dmitrievna (née Egorova), was not only highly intelligent but a famous society beauty, and the focus of considerable gossip. She was also a pianist, providing Bugaev his musical education at a young age.
Young Boris grew up at the Arbat, a historical area in Moscow.
The public source identifies “Andrei Bely” as russian poet, writer and critic (1880–1934). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Andrei, Bely and Russian.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q212632. VIAF identifies the subject as 66463508. The Library of Congress control number is n82058976. 6 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1880, 1934, 1913 and 1922.
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This entry incorporates text from “Andrei Bely” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.