French writer Elsa Triolet was frankly prettier than her older sister Lily. And much less promiscuous in relationships with men. Introducing Brik to Mayakovsky, she did not know what torment she was giving the poet.
Before Mayakovsky
Lily Brick's parents were quite creative people. Despite the fact that her father, Uriya Kagan, was a sworn attorney at the Moscow Court of Justice in his main position, he was also an honorary member of the Literary and Artistic Circle. Lily's mother, Jewish by nationality and Latvian by origin, graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in her time. On her initiative, musical evenings were held in the Kagan house, where they had fun playing the piano and reading poetry. In such a family, Lilya Brik was born in 1891.
In 1909, Lilya entered the mathematics faculty of the Higher Courses for Women. The understanding that the exact sciences are clearly not hers comes to the girl pretty quickly. And less than a year later, she enthusiastically studies at the Moscow Architectural Institute at the department of painting and modeling. In 1911 Lilya Kagan continued her sculpture studies in Munich. This creative hobby stayed with her all her life.
From her youth, Lilya realized her attractiveness for males. Moreover, in the classical sense, she was not a beauty, but possessed an innate charm, the ability to bewitch, attract. Moscow legends say that Fyodor Chaliapin was among the first to appreciate the young siren. Seeing her on one of the city streets, he jumped out of the carriage to invite Lily to his concert. There was nothing obscene in their relationship, but other fans were more demanding. Lilya did not leave her love affairs even after she was married by a Moscow rabbi to a lawyer Osip Brik in 1912. Convenience in relationships with men gave her the fact that she was sterile. Lily's first illegitimate pregnancy ended with an abortion, which caused such a complication.
Volodenka
Brik and Mayakovsky had known each other in absentia since 1913, since both had heard about each other from Elsa Triolet, who was Brik's younger sister and a good friend, Vladimir Mayakovsky. In 1915, the poet reads the unpublished "Cloud in Pants" at Kagan's apartment. Osip Brik is so delighted that he decides to publish the poem at his own expense. And he still does not realize that he has already lost his young wife. Now the Kagans will affectionately call Mayakovsky "Volodenkaya".
In the first publication of Mayakovsky's works, published in 1928, all works are devoted to Lilya Brik. Even those written before 1915, when they met. Since 1916, the Brick apartment becomes the Brick-Mayakovsky apartment, which is visited by such pillars of the culture of that time as Gorky, Yesenin, Pasternak, Meyerhold. Lilya Brik becomes the natural center of a kind of literary salon.
In 1918, Mayakovsky finally moved to the Briks. Later, Lilya will write that, despite her passionate love for Vladimir, she will always love Osip more than her brother, husband or son. According to her, living together did not harm her friendship with Osip, nor his friendly relations with Mayakovsky. All three believed that one does not interfere with the other.
Briki. Mayakovsky
Until 1922, this non-standard cohabitation continues quite well. Mayakovsky writes and draws posters in ROSTA. After, at the invitation arranged by Lily, they come to Riga to read poetry by the poet. At the end of 1922, the first discord ensues, marked by a two-month separation, after which (in 1923) Lilya and Vladimir meet again to spend a painful and crazy week together in Petrograd.
In 1924, outwardly their discord was final. Mayakovsky travels, Brick continues love affairs on the side. Nevertheless, since 1926, this couple has continued to maintain a sexual relationship. In the same year, Lilya got a job as an assistant director Abram Rome, who released in 1927 the picture "The Third Meshchanskaya" (Love Three), which described the relationship between Mayakovsky and Brikov.
Since 1928, Lilya has been controlling Mayakovsky's publishing business, translating and writing. In February 1930, the Brikov couple temporarily left for Berlin and London. In April, Mayakovsky will send his beloved one last postcard and shoot himself on the same day. Or, as they will say later, he will be killed.
The entire archive of the poet will be handed over to the Briks and Lilya will enthusiastically prepare a collection of his works. Later, excluding the period from 1934 to 1954, Brik would actively cooperate with the OGPU, marry the commander of the "Red Cossacks" Primakov, who was repressed in 1937. Her last husband will be the literary critic Katanyan.
In the 1960s, her home salon on Kutuzovsky Prospect will give way to the poetry life of Andrei Voznesensky. Maya Plisetskaya, Rodion Shchedrin and other cultural figures of that time were often here.
In 1978, Lilya Brik would commit suicide, deciding that she could no longer burden her family and friends with her physical helplessness.
