Boris Zaitsev, a renowned Russian writer and translator, is considered one of the last significant figures of the Silver Age.

His work is usually divided into two periods: before emigration and after. The latter period is more significant and relevant, encompassing themes of human unity with nature ("The Blue Star", "Agrafena"), the intelligentsia's search for its place during the Russian Revolution of 1905 ("The Distant Land"), as well as works about famous historical figures ("Saint Sergius of Radonezh").

Boris Zaitsev was born in Oryol on January 29 (February 10) 1881 into a noble family. His father, Konstantin Zaitsev, was the director of the Moscow Metal Plant of Gujon and often took his son to work with him. However, Boris spent most of his childhood in the village of Usty in the Zhizdra district near Kaluga, where his father's ancestral estate was located. Zaitsev recalled this time as the happiest of his life, enjoying the company of family and nature.

Nevertheless, the boy also witnessed another side of life: the ruin of the nobility, the development of factory production, empty estates, and peasant allotments. Kaluga was turning into a backwater town. These observations later found reflection in his works and influenced the formation of his personality.

Until the age of eleven, Boris was educated at home by governesses, then his father sent him to the Kaluga classical gymnasium, which he did not finish. In 1894, he became a student at the Kaluga Real School, and that same year entered the Moscow Technical School, where he studied in the chemical department. In 1899, he was expelled for participating in student riots. After that, Zaitsev enrolled in the Mining Institute in St. Petersburg, but did not graduate from there either. In 1902, he entered the law faculty of Moscow University, where he studied until 1906, but never received a diploma.

Zaitsev's first literary experience occurred at the age of seventeen. In 1900, during a trip to Yalta, he met Anton Chekhov. A year later, he sent his manuscript "An Uninteresting Story" to Chekhov and Korolenko. During this time, he also met Leonid Andreyev, who helped him at the beginning of his literary career by introducing him to the literary circle "Sreda" led by Nikolai Telezhkov. Zaitsev made his literary debut in the summer of 1901 with the publication of the story "On the Road" in "Kuryer". A year later, he met Ivan Bunin, with whom he maintained a friendship for many years.

In 1906, Zaitsev, along with Glagolev and Yartsev, founded the literary group "Zori", which published a magazine of the same name. That year, the publishing house "Shipovnik" released his first book "Stories", which was highly appreciated by readers. Until 1917, he published five more collections of stories and the novel "The Distant Land". In 1904, Zaitsev visited Italy for the first time, which became his second spiritual homeland. Impressions from his travels formed the basis of a series of essays included in the book "Italy", published in 1918. During this time, he also worked on a translation of Dante's "Inferno" in rhythmic prose. This period of his work concluded with the novella "The Blue Star", published in 1918.

In 1922, Zaitsev fell ill with typhus. The illness was severe, and to recover more quickly, he decided to go abroad.

In addition to his literary activities, Zaitsev collected biographical materials about Turgenev, Zhukovsky, and Chekhov to later publish their literary biographies. In the summer of 1934, he began writing an autobiographical novel "The Journey of Gleb".

Zaitsev traveled extensively throughout France, and these trips were reflected in his essays and articles.

He was married once to Vera Smirnova (Oreshnikova), with whom he was wed on April 2, 1912. In August of the same year, they had a daughter, Natalia. The family accompanied him on all his travels.

They emigrated to Berlin and then settled in Paris. In February 1957, Zaitsev's wife suffered a stroke, and he cared for her for two years, recording all household matters at her dictation. Boris Zaitsev passed away on January 21, 1972, at the age of 91. He was buried at the cemetery of Saint Genevieve des Bois in Paris, where many Russian émigrés rest.