Bruno Jasieński (; born Victor Bruno Sysmann; ; ; 17 July 1901 – 17 September 1938), was a Polish poet, novelist, playwright, Catastrophist, and leader of the Polish

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

movement in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

.Dr Feliks Tomaszewski
Bruno Jasieński. Biography.
''Virtual Library of Polish Literature'', University of Gdansk. . Jasieński was also a

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activist in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, where he was executed during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. He is acclaimed by members of the various modernist art groups as their patron. An annual literary festival ''Brunonalia'' is held in Klimontów,

, his birthplace, where one of the streets is also named after him.

Early life

Wiktor Bruno Zysman was born at Klimontów,

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, to the family of Jakub Zysman, who was of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin. Wiktor's mother, Eufemia Maria (''née'' Modzelewska), came from a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Polish ''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'' (nobility) family. Jakub Zysman was a prominent local doctor and social worker, active in Klimontów

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

. Zysman converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

to be able to marry Eufemia Maria. They had three children: Wiktor Bruno, Jerzy, and Irena. Jasieński attended a gymnasium secondary school in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. In 1914, as

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

raged on, his family relocated to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

proper, where in 1918 he graduated from a secondary school in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. There, his fascination with

Igor Severyanin Igor Severyanin (; pen name, real name Igor Vasilyevich Lotaryov: И́горь Васи́льевич Лотарёв; May 16, 1887 – December 20, 1941) was a Russian poet who presided over the circle of the so-called Ego-Futurists. Igor wa ...

's Ego-Futurism started, followed by readings of Velimir Chlebnikov,

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

and Alexiey Kruchonykh's so-called ''Visual poems''.

Literary career and political activism

In Poland

In 1918 Jasieński arrived in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, where he attended courses in

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

, law and philosophy at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

and became active in the

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

circles. In 1919, he became one of the founders of a club of Futurists named ''Katarynka'' (

Barrel Organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a France, French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of organ pipe, pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic ...

), to suggest identification with the common people and anti-elitism of its members. His pursuits included literary productions and social activities in Kraków, Warsaw, and elsewhere in Poland. Among his collaborators were Stanisław Młodożeniec,

Tytus Czyżewski Tytus Czyżewski (28 December 1880 in Przyszowa – 5 May 1945 in Kraków) was a Polish painter, art theoretician, Futurism (art), Futurist poet, playwright, member of the Formizm, Polish Formists and a Kapists, Colorist. Biography In 1902 he s ...

, Anatol Stern and Aleksander Wat. In 1921 Jasieński published one of his first Futurist works, ''Nuż w bżuhu'' ('Knife in the Stomach', with intentional misspellings in the title) and, together with Młodożeniec, became known as one of the founders of the Polish Futurist movement. The same year he published a number of other works, including manifestos, leaflets, posters and various kinds of ''new art'', formerly unknown in Poland. A volume of his poems entitled ''But w butonierce'' ('A Boot in the Boutonniere') was published in Warsaw. He gained much fame as an ''enfant terrible'' of Polish literature and was well-received by critics in many Polish cities, including Warsaw and

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, where he met Marian Hemar. Jasieński collaborated with various newspapers, such as the

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

''Trybuna Robotnicza'', ''Nowa Kultura'' and '' Zwrotnica''. In 1922, ''Pieśń o głodzie'' ('Song of Hunger') was published, followed in 1924 by ''Ziemia na lewo'' ('Earth Leftwards', written together with Stern). In 1923 he married Klara Arem, daughter of a merchant from Lwów. That year Jasieński witnessed a workers' rebellion in Kraków, which prompted him to join the Polish communist movement. He gave public lectures on

Marxist philosophy Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's Historical materialism, materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Wester ...

and revolutionary strategies for

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

In France

Persecuted by the police, Jasieński and his wife moved to France in 1925; they settled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in '' Passage Poissonniere''. The couple lived a humble life, making ends meet as journalists and correspondents of various Polish newspapers. Jasieński, together with Zygmunt Modzelewski, formed an amateur theatre for the Polish worker

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

living in Saint-Denis. He wrote numerous poems, essays and books, many of which expressed his radical views. Jasieński became an active member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

. He pursued library research on the 1846 peasant uprising of Jakub Szela in the Austrian Partition of Poland and on Polish

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

. He wrote the poem ''Słowo o Jakubie Szeli'' ('A note on Jakub Szela'). In 1928, he serialised the work which secured his reputation, ''Palę Paryż'' ('I burn Paris'), a Futurist-Catastrophist novel depicting the collapse and decay of the city and social tensions within

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

societies. It was published in the leftist ''

L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...

'' newspaper in French as ''Je brûle Paris'', which was soon translated into

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

. In 1929, the original Polish text was published in Warsaw. The novel was also a humorous reply to

Paul Morand Paul Morand (13 March 1888 – 24 July 1976) was a French author whose short stories and novellas were lauded for their style, wit and descriptive power. His most productive literary period was the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s. He was m ...

's pamphlet ''I Burn Moscow'', published shortly before. It gained Jasieński much fame in France, but also became the main reason why in 1929 he was deported from the country, ostensibly for disseminating dangerous political propaganda. Not admitted to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, he moved to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and stayed in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

for a while. After the withdrawal of the extradition order he returned to France, only to be expelled once more.

In the Soviet Union

In 1929 Jasieński moved to the

and settled in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, where he accepted Soviet citizenship and was promoted by the authorities. The first Russian edition of ''I Burn Paris'' was issued in 130,000 copies and sold out in one day. The same year his son was born and Jasieński became editor-in-chief of ''Kultura mass'' ('Culture of the Masses'), a

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

monthly, and a journalist for the Soviet Tribune. He divorced Klara and married Anna Berzin, with whom he had a daughter. Jasieński began to write in

; he produced a play (1931), a novel, and collections of stories. In 1932, he transferred from the Polish division of the French Communist Party to the

All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

and soon became a prominent member of that organization. He relocated to Moscow. He served in various posts in literary departments of the communist party and at the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...

. He was granted honorary citizenship of

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. By the mid-1930s, he became a strong supporter of

Genrikh Yagoda Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda (, born Yenokh Gershevich Iyeguda; 7 November 1891 – 15 March 1938) was a Soviet secret police official who served as director of the NKVD, the Soviet Union's security and intelligence agency, from 1934 to 1936. A ...

's political

purge In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertaking such an ...

s within the writers' community; according to Wat, Jasieński was active in the campaign against

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel ( – 27 January 1940) was a Soviet writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' and ''Odessa Stories'', and has been acclaimed as "the greatest prose write ...

. From 1933 to 1937, he worked on the editorial staff of the multilingual magazine '' Internatsionalnaya Literatura'' ('International Literature'). However, in 1937 Yagoda himself was arrested and Jasieński lost a powerful protector. Soon afterwards, Jasieński's former wife Klara, allegedly involved in an affair with Yagoda, was also arrested, sentenced to death and executed. Jasieński was expelled from the party and he too was caught up in the purges. Sentenced to death by Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR on charge of participation in a counter-revolutionary terrorist organization on 17 September 1938 and executed the same day in

Kommunarka shooting ground The Kommunarka firing range (), former dacha of secret police chief Genrikh Yagoda, was used as a burial ground from 1937 to 1941. Executions may have been carried out there by the NKVD during the Great Terror and until the war started; altern ...

near Moscow as finally established in 1992. He was rehabilitated in 1955.

Family

Jasieński's second wife Anna was arrested in 1939 and was imprisoned in Soviet

gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

s for seventeen years. His underage son was sent to an orphanage to be brought up with no knowledge of his or his family's past. He escaped during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, he became prominent in Russia's criminal underworld. Having eventually discovered his true origins, he adopted a Polish name and became active in dissident organizations opposing the communist regime. He was killed in the 1970s.

References

External links

* * Anna Meller, Pawel Wawrzyniak
Bruno Jasieński. List of works, including poetry and manifestos.
University of Gdańsk. (Polish)
Brunonalia festival
at brunonalia.pl

at loosavor.org * ttp://www.twistedspoon.com/jasienski.html Jasieński at Twisted Spoon Press
''I Burn Paris''
(Twisted Spoon Press) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jasienski, Bruno 20th-century Polish male writers Polish communists Jewish socialists Jews executed by the Soviet Union Futurist writers 1901 births 1938 deaths Polish emigrants to the Soviet Union Great Purge victims from Poland People from Sandomierz County People from Radom Governorate Polish deportees to Soviet Union Executed people from Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Polish Gulag detainees 20th-century Polish poets Soviet people of Polish-Jewish descent Soviet male writers Executed writers Soviet rehabilitations Polish people imprisoned in the Soviet Union