Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin was born on September 7 (August 26 in the old style) 1870 in Narovchat, Penza province, to a family of a minor official. His father died when he was only two years old.

In 1874, his mother, from an ancient family of Tatar princes Kulanchakovs, moved to Moscow. Due to difficult financial circumstances, Alexander was sent to the Moscow Razumovsky orphanage at the age of five, known for its strict discipline.

Kuprin graduated from the cadet corps in 1888, and in 1890 completed his studies at the Alexandrov military school, receiving the rank of second lieutenant. After that, he was assigned to the 46th Dnieper Infantry Regiment in the city of Proskurov (now Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine).

In 1893, Kuprin went to St. Petersburg intending to enter the Academy of the General Staff, but due to a scandal in Kyiv, when he threw an intoxicated official overboard for insulting a waitress, he was not allowed to take the exams.

In 1894, Kuprin left military service and began traveling through southern Russia and Ukraine, trying his hand at various professions: he worked as a loader, warehouseman, forest ranger, land surveyor, psalmist, proofreader, estate manager, and even a dentist.

Kuprin's first story, "The Last Debut," was published in 1889 in the Moscow "Russian Satirical Leaflet." His early essays appeared in Kyiv in the collections "Kyiv Types" (1896) and "Miniatures" (1897). In 1896, the novella "Moloch" was published, bringing him fame. This was followed by "Night Shift" (1899) and other stories.

During this period, Kuprin met writers such as Ivan Bunin, Anton Chekhov, and Maxim Gorky. In 1901, he moved to St. Petersburg, where he led the fiction department of the "Journal for All" for a time, and then worked at the magazine "World of God" and the publishing house "Knowledge," which published the first two volumes of his works (1903, 1906).

Kuprin entered the history of Russian literature as the author of novellas and novels such as "Olesya" (1898), "The Duel" (1905), "The Pit" (part 1, 1909, part 2, 1914-1915), as well as a master of the short story. In 1912, he traveled through France and Italy, which was reflected in the cycle of travel essays "Azure Shores."

During this period, he explored new activities: he ascended in a hot air balloon, flew in an airplane, and dove underwater in a diving suit.

In 1917, Kuprin worked as an editor for the newspaper "Free Russia," published by the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. From 1918 to 1919, he worked at the publishing house "World Literature," founded by Maxim Gorky. After the arrival of the White Army in Gatchina, where he had lived since 1911, Kuprin edited the newspaper "Prinevsky Krai," published by Yudenich's headquarters.

In the fall of 1919, he emigrated with his family abroad, spending 17 years mainly in Paris. In exile, Kuprin published several collections of prose, such as "The Dome of St. Isaac of Dalmatia," "Elan," "The Wheel of Time," as well as the novels "Janeta" and "Junkers."

Living abroad, the writer experienced hardship and suffered from separation from his homeland. In May 1937, he returned to Russia with his wife, already seriously ill. His interviews and the essay "Dear Moscow" were published in Soviet newspapers.

On August 25, 1938, Kuprin died in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) from esophageal cancer and was buried at the Literary Bridges of Volkovo Cemetery.