Teffi

Born into the family of lawyer Alexander Vladimirovich Lokhvitsky (1830 - 1884) and his wife Barbara Alexandrovna (born Goyer). Her older sister, Myrra Lokhvitsky (1869-1905) was a well-known Russian poet, two other sisters Hélène and Barbara wrote, her brother Nicolas, general, (1867-1933) commanded the Russian Expeditionary Force in France during the First World War. In 1892, after the birth of their eldest daughter Valérie (1892-1964), she moved with her first husband Vladislav Buchinsky to his estate near Mogilev. After the birth of their son Janek (1893 - repressed in 1937) and their second daughter Elena (1894-1957), she separated from her husband and moved to Saint Petersburg in 1900, where she began her literary career. Her first poetry was published in 1901. Then she wrote poems and short stories dealing with daily events for satirical magazines (parodies, serials, epigrams), which brought her great popularity. In 1910, the publishing house “Rosehip” published a first collection of poems “Seven Lights” and the collection “Humorous Stories”. She wrote regularly for the "Satiricon" (1908-1913) and the "New Satiricon" (1913-1918) directed by her friend Arkady Avertchenko. In 1918 she went with him on tour to Kiev and southern Russia, then she emigrated via Constantinople to Berlin and then to Paris. She was considered the "queen of Russian humor" of the early 20th century, however her humor was always tinged with sadness and keen, witty observations of her environment.

From the mid-1920s, Teffi lived as a husband and wife with Pavel Andreevich Thixton (1872-1935). In Paris she found a readership among the numerous Russian emigration. Living from her pen, she collaborated with numerous Russian newspapers (of which there was no shortage at the time). She is also one of the regulars on Sunday evenings with Zinaïda Hippius and Dimitri Merejkovski. Author of serials and short stories, satirical short stories. His book “The Little Town” has the theme of the Paris of emigration. In the 1930s, Teffi turned to writing memoirs. She creates autobiographical stories “First visit to the editorial office” (1929), “Pseudonym” (1931), “How I became a writer” (1934), “45 years” (1950), as well as artistic essays - literary portraits of famous people she met by chance. When creating images of famous people, Teffi highlights whatever trait or quality she finds most striking, emphasizing the person's individuality. Nadejda Teffi was one of the most read authors by Russian emigrants between 1920 and 1940.

Her popularity in Russia was such that she gave her name to a perfume and chocolates.