Portrait of Lilya Brik

Lilya Brik

Muse of Vladimir Mayakovsky

Lived
1891–1978
Country
Russia

Updated September 2026

About Lilya Brik

Lilya Yuryevna Brik was a Russian author and socialite, connected to many leading figures in the Russian avant-garde between 1914 and 1930. She was the lover and muse of Vladimir Mayakovsky, even while she was married to poet, editor and literary critic Osip Brik (1888–1945). Pablo Neruda called Lilya the "muse of Russian avant-garde". Her name was frequently abbreviated by her contemporaries as "Л.Ю." or "Л.Ю.Б." which are the first letters of the Russian word lyubov.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Authors like Lilya Brik

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.