Veronica Polonskaya: Mayakovsky's last love and the last who saw him alive

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When they write about muses Vladimir Mayakovsky, then, of course, they first of all mention Lilya Brik - a woman whose love he carried through his whole life. But the fact is that in his fate there were no less iconic heroines, about whom much less is known. In particular, Veronica Polonskaya - an actress who became the poet's last love. It was she who was with him in the last minutes of his life, her name is mentioned in his dying letter.

Veronica Polonskaya is an actress of the Moscow Art Theater, she made her film debut in the film "Glass Eye" by Lily Brik and Vladimir Zhemchuzhny. Osip Brik introduced her to Mayakovsky. At that time, Mayakovsky was 36 years old, Veronica Polonskaya - 21. She was married to actor Mikhail Yanshin. Despite the difference in age and marital status of the actress, the romance developed rapidly.

They say that unfree women are rock that haunted Mayakovsky all his life. Lilya Brik was married, Tatyana Yakovleva had three more fans, besides him, Veronica Polonskaya never succumbed to his persuasion and did not divorce her husband. The poet was very upset by the forced need to share his beloved women with other men. None of them belonged to him to the end.

Veronika Polonskaya recalled in an interview: “He was a man with a complex, uneven character, like any gifted person. There were sudden mood swings. It wasn't easy, and we had a big age difference. This brought a certain note to our relationship. He treated me like a very young creature, was afraid to upset, hid his troubles. Many aspects of his life remained closed to me. Everything was complicated by the fact that I was married, this tormented Vladimir Vladimirovich. He was jealous of me, recently insisted on a divorce."

“1930 started badly for him. I was sick a lot. His exhibition was unsuccessful, none of his colleagues came, although there were many young people. Another setback - the premiere of "Bath" in March. There was talk that Mayakovsky had written out, and he heard it. And just at that time, I was also not going well in the theater. He wanted me to leave the theater, which I could not do. We quarreled, sometimes over trifles, quarrels developed into violent explanations,”Polonskaya said in an interview in 1990.

In the last days of his life, Mayakovsky was on the verge of insanity. He constantly made scandals for Polonskaya, forced her to leave the theater and leave her husband. Allegedly, her refusal in their last conversation was the reason for suicide - the poet shot himself three minutes after the actress left him.

After his death, many blamed Polonskaya for the fact that she became the reason for this terrible step. She herself felt guilty, about which she wrote in her memoirs: “It would be ridiculous if I wanted to say this: Mayakovsky shot himself to destroy my family life. But in the complex of reasons that led to his death, there was a misunderstanding between us, which he took for a break. Nevertheless, it is an exaggeration to say that their quarrel was the cause of the suicide. Rather - the reason, the last straw.

In his dying letter, Mayakovsky wrote: “Don't blame anyone for dying, and please don't gossip. The deceased did not like this terribly. Mom, sisters and comrades, I'm sorry - this is not a way (I do not recommend it to others), but I have no choice. Lily - love me. Comrade government, my family is Lilya Brik, mother, sisters and Veronika Vitoldovna Polonskaya. If you arrange a tolerable life for them, thank you.”And not only the actress Polonskaya, but also Mayakovsky himself was associated with the cinema: "The Young Lady and the Hooligan" is the only film with Vladimir Mayakovsky that has survived to this day