Maxim Gorky went down in history as a great Russian writer, a “petrel of the revolution”, a pioneer of socio-political drama and even a traveler: the author of “At the Bottom”, “Old Woman Izergil” and other masterpieces spent 18 years in exile.
Nevertheless, the writer was also remembered by his contemporaries for his special temperament, namely hypersexuality. Yes, yes, despite the fact that in his early work he was very chaste and cautious, Gorky from adolescence showed an increased interest in the opposite sex. No wonder in his life, in addition to the three main ladies of the heart – his wife Ekaterina Volzhina, actress Maria Andreeva and Baroness Maria Budberg, there were still plenty of mistresses.
The writer called himself a “passionate person”, and his contemporaries often noted the special love of Alexei Maksimovich.
Apparently, it manifested itself especially strongly in Italy, where Gorky went to be treated for consumption at the beginning of the 20th century and where, with a break, he stayed for as long as 15 years.
It was there that the great writer met the Baroness of Russian origin Maria Budberg (Zakrevskaya). The 26-year-old girl conquered him not so much with her beauty as with her unusual sexual attractiveness: according to Chukovsky’s memoirs, Gorky immediately spread his tail in front of her and spoke, though not with her, but exclusively for her. Over time, a romance began between them. And although Zakrevskaya publicly claimed that their relationship was always platonic, the testimonies of contemporaries indicate the opposite.
However, even without meeting with the baroness, Gorky had quite rich foreign love adventures.
“They say in Capri that Gorky didn’t let a single maid in the hotels,” wrote Dmitry Bykov (recognized by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as a foreign agent) in the book “Was Gorky? Biographical essay”.
How many intrigues Gorky had on Capri, of course, is impossible to calculate. But, thanks to the recollections of one of the writer’s mistresses, we can judge how ardent and passionate Alexei Maksimovich was.
The revelations of this Italian woman were recorded by Izvestia journalist Leonid Kolosov in his book KGB Special Correspondent. Notes of a scout and a journalist”:
“We also ended up on the island of Capri and, of course, visited the villa where Alexei Maksimovich Gorky lived and worked in those days. The interview was given by an elderly Italian woman with traces of her former beauty on her face. The first thing the signorina (that is, the unmarried “girl”) told us about, plunged us all into great fun. She literally said:You know, I served Massimo when he came here to be treated for consumption. Oh, it was a real man! Unlike our seniors, who can only work with their chatty tongues. And Massimo was taciturn, but extremely tireless in bed“- wrote Kolosov.
It turns out that Gorky’s legacy in exile was by no means limited to the cycle of stories “Tales of Italy” and other works!
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