Alexander Alexeev paradox: from military school to artist (1919-1930)

The authors of the article examine the way Alexander Alexeev (1901, Kazan - 1982, Paris), the outstanding world and Russian classical literature illustrator and pinscreen creator began his creative career. It is mentioned in the article that Alexander Alexeev had to leave the Russian Empire, forming part of the first wave of the Russian emigration settling down in Paris in the long run. In the beginning of his creative career he worked there as a theatre artist. Henceforward, Alexander Alexeev committed himself to the art of the book illustration. The authors claim in the first fifteen years of his creative activities Alexander Alexeev to have become the most eminent of the Russian emigrants book artist with twenty seven books, including book author frontispiece portrait and some book jackets illustrated. Having examined creative activities in the first fifteen years of his Paris life the authors claim Alexander Alexeev, as many other creative intellectuals of the first wave of the Russian emigration to have retained in his soul and heart the image of his Motherland, visualizing it in his works this way or another. These reminiscences and Motherland perception do demonstrate our contemporaries Alexander Alexeev though being away from Russia for nearly 60 years, in fact to have always been Russian patriot retaining the Russian world particle in his heart, as well as love for his mother, with her images scattered in his works all over his creative activities.