Ivan Bunin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1933.
Bunin was a Russian poet, novelist, short-story writer, and memoirist whose work continued the traditions of Russian literary realism. The Swedish Academy praised the strict artistry with which he carried on the classical Russian traditions in prose writing. He became the first Russian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Bunin had left Russia after the 1917 Revolution and lived in France, where he became an important figure among Russian émigrés. His exile did not prevent his work from gaining international recognition. Support for his candidacy developed over several years, helped by translators and literary advocates in Sweden.
Readers sometimes confuse Bunin's award year with the years of other Russian Nobel laureates. Boris Pasternak won in 1958, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in 1970, and Joseph Brodsky in 1987. Bunin's prize was announced in November 1933, with the formal ceremony held in Stockholm on 10 December. His notable works include The Village, Dry Valley, and Dark Avenues.