The great folk poet Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov was born on November 28 (December 10), 1821 in the town of Nemirov, Vinnitsa district, Podolsk province.
Childhood
Kolya's childhood passed on the Nekrasov estate - the village of Greshnev in the Yaroslavl province. It was not easy to support 13 (three survived) children, and the father of the future poet took another place as a police officer. The work was not fun, Alexei Sergeevich often had to take his son with him. Therefore, from an early age, Nikolai saw all the problems ordinary people and sympathized with them.
At the age of 10, Nekrasov was sent to study at a gymnasium in Yaroslavl, where he studied only up to grade 5. Some biographers of the poet say that the boy studied poorly and was expelled, others that his father simply stopped paying for his education. Most likely, in reality there was something in between - perhaps the father found it useless to teach further to his son, who did not differ in special diligence. He decided that his son should make a military career. For this, Nekrasov, at the age of 16, was sent to St. Petersburg to enter the noble regiment (military school).
Time of deprivation
The poet could become an honest campaigner, but fate decreed otherwise. In St. Petersburg, he met students who aroused Nekrasov's desire to study so much that he dared to go against the will of his father. The poet began to prepare for entering the university. It was not possible to pass the exams, but Nekrasov went to the faculty of philology as a volunteer (he stayed from 1839 to 1841). Father did not give Nikolai a penny, and for three years he lived in terrible poverty. He constantly felt hungry and went as far as sleeping in homeless shelters. In one of these "institutions" Nekrasov found his first income - he wrote someone a petition for 15 kopecks.
The difficult financial situation did not break the poet. He vowed to himself to overcome all adversity and achieve recognition.
literary life
Portrait of N.A. Nekrasov. 1872, the work of the artist N.N.Ge. |
Gradually, life began to improve. Nekrasov found a place as a tutor, began to compose alphabets and fairy tales for popular print publishers, handed over articles to the Literary Gazette and the Literary Addendum to the Russian Disabled. On the Alexandria stage, several vaudevilles composed by him were staged (under the pseudonym - "Perepelsky"). With the accumulated funds in 1840, Nekrasov published his first collection of poems, Dreams and Sounds.
Critics reacted to it differently, but Belinsky's negative opinion upset Nekrasov so much that he bought up most of the circulation and destroyed it. The collection remained interesting in that it represented the poet in a work that was completely uncharacteristic of him - a writer of ballads, which never happened in the future.
In the 1940s, Nekrasov first came to the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine as a bibliographer. Here his friendship with Belinsky is fastened. Soon, Nikolai Alekseevich began to be actively printed. He publishes almanacs "Physiology of Petersburg", "April 1", "Petersburg Collection" and others, where, in addition to him, the best authors of that time are published: F. Dostoevsky, D. Grigorovich, A. Herzen, I. Turgenev.
Publishing business is going well and at the end of 1846 Nekrasov, together with several friends, acquire the Sovremennik magazine. A whole "team" of the best writers goes to this magazine together with Nikolai Alekseevich. A huge "gift" to Nekrasov is made by Belinsky, passing for the magazine a large number of material that he had previously "hoarded" for his own publication.
After the onset of the reaction, Sovremennik becomes more “obedient” to the authorities, more adventure literature begins to be published in it, but this does not prevent the magazine from remaining the most popular in Russia.
In the 50s, Nekrasov went to Italy to be treated for a sore throat. Upon his return, both his health and his affairs are getting better. He falls into the advanced stream of literature, to people of high moral principles. Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov work with him in the magazine. Revealed and the best sides talent of Nekrasov.
When Sovremennik was closed in 1866, Nekrasov did not give up, but rented Fatherland Notes from his old “competitor”, which he elevated to the same literary height as Sovremennik.
While working with two the best magazines In modern times, Nekrasov wrote and published many of his works: the poems “Sasha”, “Peasant Children”, “Frost, Red Nose”, “Who Lives Well in Russia” (finished in 1876), “Russian Women”, poems “Knight for an Hour "," Railway”, “Prophet” and many others. Nekrasov was at the zenith of his fame.
At the last line
In early 1875, the poet was diagnosed with bowel cancer. His life turned into a series of suffering, and only the general support of readers gave him some strength. Telegrams and letters of support came to the poet from all over Russia. Inspired by the support of people, Nekrasov, overcoming pain, continues to write. IN last years written: the satirical poem "Contemporaries", the poem "Sowers" and the cycle of poems "Last Songs", unsurpassed in sincerity of feelings. The poet recalls his life and the mistakes made in it, and at the same time sees himself as a writer who lived his years with dignity. December 27, 1877 (January 8, 1878) in St. Petersburg, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov ended his earthly journey. He was only 56 years old at the time.
Despite the severe cold, a crowd of thousands escorted the poet to his final resting place at the Novodevichy Cemetery in St. Petersburg.
Interesting about Nekrasov:
There were three women in Nekrasov's life:
Avdotya Yakovlevna Panaeva, with whom he lived without marriage for 15 years.
Frenchwoman Celina Lefren, who abandoned the poet, squandering a fair amount of his money.
Fyokla Anisimovna Viktorova, with whom Nekrasov married 6 months before his death.
Nekrasov, speaking modern language, was a real manager and entrepreneur - he managed to make the best two magazines that were in a rather difficult financial situation before him.
Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov is a Russian poet-democrat, the author of brilliant samples of civil lyrics, who made poetry a "folk lyre" and a tool in the struggle for the rights of the oppressed people. His poetic muse is the muse of "revenge and sorrow", pain, the struggle against injustice towards the peasantry.
The poet was born on November 28, 1821 in the city of Nemirov (Vinnitsa district of the Podolsk province, now the territory of Ukraine). His parents met in Nemirov - his father served in a regiment stationed in this city, his mother, Elena Zakrevskaya, was one of the best - the most beautiful and most educated - brides of the town. Zakrevskaya's parents were not going to give their daughter to officer Nekrasov, who obviously married for convenience (by the time he met Zakrevskaya, he had formed gambling debts and a desire to solve financial question through an advantageous marriage). As a result, Elena marries against the will of her parents, and, of course, the marriage turns out to be unhappy - her unloving husband made her an eternal recluse. The image of the mother, bright and tender, entered the lyrics of Nekrasov as an ideal of femininity and kindness (the poem "Mother" 1877, "Knight for an Hour" 1860-62), and the image of the father was transformed into the image of a wild, unbridled and stupid despot.
The literary formation of Nekrasov cannot be separated from the facts of his difficult biography. Soon after the birth of the poet, the family moved to the father's family estate, in Greshnev, Yaroslavl region. The poet had 12 brothers and sisters, most of whom died in early age. Father was forced to work - the estate income for the needs big family was not enough - and he began to serve in the police as a police officer. He often took his son with him to work, so from an early age the child witnessed the beating of debts, suffering and prayers, deaths.
1831 - Nikolai Nekrasov was sent to study at a gymnasium in Yaroslavl. The boy was capable, but he managed to ruin relations with the team - he was sharp, sharp on the tongue, composed ironic poems about classmates. After the 5th grade, he stopped studying (it is believed that the father stopped paying for education, not seeing the need for education for a not too diligent son).
1837 - 16-year-old Nekrasov begins independent life In Petersburg. Against the will of his father, who saw him as a modest official, Nikolai tries to enter the university at the Faculty of Philology. I did not pass the exams, but with persistence for 3 years I stormed the faculty, attending classes as a volunteer. At this time, his father refused to support him financially, so he had to live in terrible poverty, sometimes with overnight stays in homeless shelters, in constant hunger.
The first money was earned as a tutor - Nekrasov serves as a teacher in a wealthy family, while writing fairy tales and editing alphabets for children's publications.
1840 - Nekrasov earns as a playwright and critic - the St. Petersburg theater puts on several of his plays, and the Literary Gazette publishes several articles. Having saved up money, Nekrasov in the same year published at his own expense a collection of poems "Dreams and Sounds", which fell under such a barrage of criticism that the poet bought almost the entire print run and burned it.
1840s: Nekrasov meets Vissarion Belinsky (who shortly before this mercilessly criticized his first poems) and begins a fruitful collaboration with the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine.
1846: the improved financial situation allowed Nekrasov to become a publisher himself - their Zapisok leaves and buys the Sovremennik magazine, in which young and talented writers and critics who left Zapiski after Nekrasov begin to publish. Tsarist censorship closely monitors the content of the magazine, which has gained high popularity, so in 1866 it was closed.
1866: Nekrasov buys out the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine, where he previously worked, and intends to bring it to the same level of popularity that he managed to bring Sovremennik to. Since that time, he has published more actively himself.
The following works come out:
- "Sasha" (1855. A poem about a thinking woman. Sasha is close to the people and loves them. She is at a crossroads in life, thinks a lot about life when she meets a young socialist. Agarin tells Sasha about the social world order, inequality and struggle, he positively A few years pass, and Agarin lost faith that the people can be controlled and given freedom, he can only philosophize on how to give the peasants freedom, and what they will do with it. at this time she is engaged in albeit small, but real things - she provides medical assistance to the peasants).
- “Who should live well in Russia” (1860 - 1877. An epic peasant poem denouncing the inability of the autocracy to provide the people with true freedom, despite the abolition of serfdom. The poem paints pictures folk life and vividly filled with popular speech).
- "Pedlars" (1861).
- "Frost, Red Nose" (1863. A poem praising the fortitude of a Russian peasant woman capable of hard work, loyalty, selflessness, fulfillment of duty).
- "Russian Women" (1871-71. A poem dedicated to the courage of the Decembrists who followed their husbands into exile. Contains 2 parts "Princess Volkonskaya" and "Princess Trubetskaya". Two heroines decide to follow the exiled husbands. Princesses who are unknown hungry impoverished existence, hard work, give up their former life.They demonstrate not only the love and mutual assistance inherent in all guardians hearth by default, but also open opposition to the authorities).
Poems:
- "Railway"
- "Knight for an Hour"
- "Uncompressed Band"
- "Prophet",
- cycles of poems about peasant children,
- cycles of poems about urban beggars,
- "Panaevsky cycle" - poems dedicated to the common-law wife
1875 - the poet falls seriously ill, but, struggling with pain, finds the strength to write.
1877: the last works are the satirical poem "Contemporaries" and the cycle of poems "Last Songs".
The poet died on December 27, 1877 in St. Petersburg and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Despite the terrible frost, to see the poet in last way thousands of fans came.
According to his views, the poet considered himself a democrat, but his contemporaries were ambivalent about his ideas and views. In spite of this great poet and the publicist left behind a poetic legacy that allows him to be put on a par with the greatest classical writers. Nekrasov's work is highly appreciated all over the world, and his works have been translated into many languages.
The origin of the poet
It is known that Nikolai Alekseevich came from a family of nobles who once lived in the Yaroslavl province, where the poet's grandfather Sergei Alekseevich Nekrasov lived for many years. But he had a slight weakness, which, unfortunately, later passed on to the poet's father - a love of gambling. So easily Sergei Alekseevich was able to lose most of the family's capital, and his children were left with a modest inheritance.
This led to the fact that Alexei Nekrasov, the poet's father, became an army officer and wandered around the garrisons. Once he met Elena Zakrevskaya, a rich and very pretty girl. He called her Polish. Alexey made an offer, but was refused, as the parents were preparing a more reliable and secure future for their daughter. But Elena Andreevna fell in love with a poor officer, so she did not accept the decision of her parents and secretly got married from them. Aleksey Sergeevich was not rich, but he did not live in poverty along with his entire large family.
When in 1821 the regiment of lieutenant Alexei Nekrasov stood in the Podolsk province, in the city of Nemirov, a boy Nikolai was born in the family. This event took place on November 28th.
I must say that the marriage of the parents was unhappy, so the child also suffered. When the poet later recalls his childhood years, the image of his mother will always be sacrificial and suffering for him. Nicholas saw his mother as a victim of the rough and even depraved environment in which his father lived. Then he will dedicate many poems to his mother, because it was something bright and tender in his life. Nikolai's mother gave a lot to her children, of whom she had thirteen. She tried her best to surround them with warmth and love. All surviving children owe their education to her.
But there were other bright images in his childhood life. So, his sister was his reliable friend, with a fate similar to that of his mother. Nekrasov also dedicated his poems to her.
Childhood
All the childhood of little Nikolai Nekrasov was spent in the village of Greshnevo near Yaroslavl. The family settled in the grandfather's estate when the poet was barely three years old.
From an early age, the future poet saw how cruelly his father treated the peasants, how he was rude to his wife, and how often the father's mistresses, the serf girls, passed and changed before the boy's eyes.
But his father's hobbies for women and cards forced him to take the place of police officer. Traveling around the villages and villages in order to beat out arrears from the peasants, his father took Nikolai with him. Therefore, from early childhood, the poet saw injustice and what great grief the common people are experiencing. This later became the main theme for his poetic works. Nikolai never changed his principles, did not forget the environment in which he grew up.
As soon as Nikolai Nekrasov was eleven years old, he was sent to the gymnasium of the city of Yaroslavl, where he studied for five years. But, unfortunately, he did not study well, he did not have time in many subjects, and he did not differ in good behavior either. He had many conflicts with teachers, as he wrote his small satirical poems on them. At the age of sixteen, he decided to write down these samples of his poetry in a thin notebook at home.
Education
In 1838, Nikolai Nekrasov, who was barely seventeen years old, was sent by his father to St. Petersburg so that he could serve in a regiment for the nobility. But here the desires of the son and father diverged. Father dreamed of military service for his son, and the poet himself thought about literature, which fascinated more and more every day.
Once Nikolai Nekrasov met his friend, Glushitsky, who at that time was a student. After talking with a friend who told Nikolai about student life and education, the young man finally decided not to connect his life with military affairs. Then Glushitsky introduced his friend to his other friends, the same students, and soon the poet had a great desire to study at the university. Although his father was categorically against studying at the university, Nikolai disobeyed.
But, unfortunately, he failed his exams. This could not stop him, and he decided to become a free student who simply came to lectures and listened. He chose the Faculty of Philology, and stubbornly attended it for three years. But every year it became more and more difficult for him, since his father nevertheless fulfilled the threats and deprived him of material support. Therefore, most of Nikolai Nekrasov's time was spent on finding at least some small job or even a side job. Soon the need turned out to be very strong, he could not even dine, and he could no longer pay for a rented small room. He fell ill, lived in the slums, ate at the cheapest canteens.
Writing activity
After hardships, the life of the young poet gradually began to improve. At first he began to give private lessons, and this brought him a small but stable income, and then he began to publish his articles in literary magazines. In addition, he was given the opportunity to write more and vaudeville for the theater. At this time, the young poet enthusiastically works on prose, sometimes writing poetry. Journalism becomes his favorite genre at this time. Then he says to himself:
"How much have I worked!"
In his early works, romanticism is noted, although in the future, critics and writers attributed all Nekrasov's works to realism. The young poet began to have his own savings, which helped him to publish his first book of poems. But only critics did not always accept his poetic works laudatory. Many ruthlessly scolded the young poet and shamed him. For example, the most respected critic Belinsky reacted very coldly and dismissively to the work of Nekrasov. But there were also those who praised the poet, considering his works a real literary art.
Soon the writer decides to turn to the humorous direction and writes several poems. And in his life there are new successful changes. Nikolai Nekrasov becomes an employee of one of the magazines. He becomes close to Belinsky's circle. It was the critic who exerted the strongest influence on the inexperienced publicist.
Publishing becomes his life and source of income. First, he publishes various almanacs, in which both young, aspiring poets and writers and real sharks of the pen were published. He began to succeed so much in a new business for him that, together with Panaev, he acquired the popular magazine Sovremennik and became its editors. At that time, writers who later became famous began to publish in it: Turgenev, Ogarev, Goncharova, Ostrovsky and others.
His works, poetic and prose, on the pages of this literary magazine printed by Nikolai Nekrasov himself. But in 1850 he fell ill with a sore throat and was forced to leave for Italy. And when he returned, he saw that changes were coming in an enlightened society. As a result of all this, the writers who published in the magazines were divided into two groups. Censorship bans also became aggravated.
Because of the bold publications, the magazine received a warning. The authorities were afraid of the activities of writers. A real disgrace was organized against the most dangerous masters of the pen. Many have been exiled. The activities of Sovremennik were first suspended. Then, in 1866, the magazine was closed for good.
Nekrasov goes to work in the journal Domestic Notes. He begins to release a supplement to the magazine, which has satirical content.
The personal life of the poet
In his personal life, the poet had three women whom he loved and whom he mentioned in his will:
A. Panaeva.
S. Lefren
Z.N. Nekrasov
Avdotya Panaeva was married to a friend of Nikolai Nekrasov. Their meeting took place at literary evenings. Then the poet was 26 years old. Avdotya, although not immediately, noticed Nikolai Nekrasov and reciprocated. They began to live together, and even in the house where her legal husband lived. This union lasted as long as 16 years. In this strange union a child is born, but he is in early years dies, and discord begins between the lovers, and soon Avdotya goes to another revolutionary poet.
Nikolai Nekrasov met Selina Lefren by chance, as his sister lived with her in an apartment. The poet also stayed in this apartment for the summer. There was a small romance between young people.
At the age of 48, he met Fekla Viktorova, who later became his wife. At the time of their acquaintance, Fekla was only twenty-three years old, and she was from a simple village family. Nekrasov was engaged in her education, and over time, the girl changed her name and began to call herself Zinaida Nikolaevna.
last years of life
In their last days and for years the publicist and poet worked a lot. In 1875, he fell ill and, during a medical examination, it turned out that he had cancer, which could not be cured.
After that, Nikolai Alekseevich was confined to bed rest for two years. When in the literary environment he learned about the serious illness of the writer, interest in him increased and his works began to enjoy success, fame and popularity. They tried to support him kind word many colleagues, he received letters and telegrams from all over Russia.
The poet died at the end of 1877 according to the old style. About eight o'clock, on the evening of December 27th. A large number of people came to his funeral. Everyone who could attend the funeral wished to pay tribute to the great writer and poet.
The work of the classic, appreciated even during his lifetime, remains an invaluable gift after almost 140 years, and some works amaze with their relevance, modernity and significance.
The personal life of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov was not always successful. In 1842, at a poetry evening, he met Avdotya Panaeva (ur. Bryanskaya), the wife of the writer Ivan Panaev.
Avdotya Panaeva, an attractive brunette, was considered one of the most beautiful women in St. Petersburg at that time. In addition, she was smart and was the hostess of a literary salon, which met in the house of her husband Ivan Panaev.
S. L. Levitsky. Photo portrait of N. A. Nekrasov
Her own literary talent attracted the young but already popular Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, Turgenev, Belinsky to the circle in the Panaevs' house. Her husband, the writer Panaev, was characterized as a rake and a reveler.
Kraevsky House, which housed the editorial office of the journal "Domestic Notes",
and also was Nekrasov's apartment
Despite this, his wife was distinguished by decency, and Nekrasov had to make considerable efforts to attract the attention of this wonderful woman. Fyodor Dostoevsky was also in love with Avdotya, but he failed to achieve reciprocity.
At first, Panaeva also rejected the twenty-six-year-old Nekrasov, who was also in love with her, which is why he almost committed suicide.
Avdotya Yakovlevna Panaeva
During one of the trips of the Panaevs and Nekrasov to the Kazan province, Avdotya and Nikolai Alekseevich nevertheless confessed their feelings to each other. Upon their return, they began to live in a civil marriage in the Panaevs' apartment, and together with Avdotya's legal husband, Ivan Panaev.
Such an alliance lasted almost 16 years, until the death of Panaev. All this caused public condemnation - they said about Nekrasov that he lives in a strange house, loves a strange wife, and at the same time rolls up scenes of jealousy to his lawful husband.
Nekrasov and Panaev.
Caricature by N. A. Stepanov. "Illustrated Almanac"
censored. 1848
During this period, even many of his friends turned away from him. But, despite this, Nekrasov and Panaeva were happy. She even managed to get pregnant from him, and Nekrasov created one of his best poetic cycles - the so-called "Panaevsky cycle" (they wrote and edited much of this cycle together).
The co-authorship of Nekrasov and Stanitsky (pseudonym Avdotya Yakovlevna) owns several novels that were very successful. Despite such a non-standard way of life, this trinity remained like-minded and comrades-in-arms in the revival and formation of the Sovremennik magazine.
In 1849, a boy was born to Avdotya Yakovlevna from Nekrasov, but he did not live long. At this time, Nikolai Alekseevich also fell ill. It is believed that strong fits of anger and mood swings are associated with the death of the child, which later led to a break in their relationship with Avdotya.
In 1862, Ivan Panaev died, and soon Avdotya Panaeva left Nekrasov. However, Nekrasov remembered her until the end of his life and, when drawing up his will, he mentioned her to Panaeva, this spectacular brunette, Nekrasov dedicated many of his fiery poems.
In May 1864, Nekrasov went on a trip abroad, which lasted about three months. He lived mainly in Paris with his companions - sister Anna Alekseevna and the Frenchwoman Selina Lefresne (fr. Lefresne), whom he met back in St. Petersburg in 1863.
ON THE. Nekrasov during "The Last Songs"
(painting by Ivan Kramskoy, 1877-1878)
Selina was an ordinary actress of the French troupe, who performed at the Mikhailovsky Theater. She was distinguished by a lively disposition and an easy character. Selina spent the summer of 1866 in Karabikha. And in the spring of 1867, she went abroad, like last time, together with Nekrasov and his sister Anna. However, this time she never returned to Russia.
However, this did not interrupt their relationship - in 1869 they met in Paris and spent the whole of August by the sea in Dieppe. Nekrasov was very pleased with this trip, having also improved his health. During the rest, he felt happy, the reason for which was Selina, who was to his liking.
Selina Lefren
Although her attitude towards him was even and even a little dry. Returning, Nekrasov did not forget Selina for a long time and helped her. And in his dying will he appointed her ten and a half thousand rubles.
Later, Nekrasov met a village girl Fyokla Anisimovna Viktorova, simple and uneducated. She was 23 years old, he was already 48. The writer took her to theaters, concerts and exhibitions to fill in the gaps in education. Nikolai Alekseevich came up with her name - Zina.
So Fyokla Anisimovna began to be called Zinaida Nikolaevna. She memorized Nekrasov's poems and admired him. Soon they got married. However, Nekrasov still yearned for his former love - Avdotya Panaeva - and at the same time loved both Zinaida and the Frenchwoman Selina Lefren, with whom he had an affair abroad.
One of his most famous poetic works - "Three Elegies" - he dedicated only to Panaeva.
2
Mention should also be made of Nekrasov's passion for playing cards, which can be called the hereditary passion of the Nekrasov family, starting with Nikolai Nekrasov's great-grandfather, Yakov Ivanovich, an "innumerably rich" Ryazan landowner who quickly lost his wealth.
However, he got rich again quickly enough - at one time Yakov was a governor in Siberia. As a result of the passion for the game, his son Alexei got only the Ryazan estate. Having married, he received the village of Greshnevo as a dowry. But already his son, Sergei Alekseevich, having laid the Yaroslavl Greshnevo for a term, lost it too.
Alexey Sergeevich, when he told his son Nikolai, the future poet, a glorious pedigree, summarized:
“Our ancestors were rich. Your great-great-grandfather lost seven thousand souls, great-grandfather - two, grandfather (my father) - one, I - nothing, because there was nothing to lose, but I also like to play cards.
And only Nikolai Alekseevich was the first to change his fate. He also liked to play cards, but was the first to not lose. At a time when his ancestors were losing, he alone won back and won back a lot.
The bill ran into hundreds of thousands. So, Adjutant General Alexander Vladimirovich Adlerberg, a well-known statesman, Minister of the Imperial Court and personal friend Emperor Alexander II.
And the Minister of Finance Alexander Ageevich Abaza lost more than a million francs to Nekrasov. Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov managed to return Greshnevo, where he spent his childhood and which was taken away for the debt of his grandfather.
Another hobby of Nekrasov, also passed on to him from his father, was hunting. Dog hunting, which was served by two dozen arriving, greyhounds, vyzhlyatnikov, hounds and stirrups, was the pride of Alexei Sergeevich.
The poet's father forgave his offspring long ago and, not without jubilation, followed his creative and financial success. And the son until the death of his father (in 1862) came to see him in Greshnevo every year. Nekrasov devoted funny poems to canine hunting and even the poem of the same name “Dog Hunting”, which glorifies the prowess, scope, beauty of Russia and the Russian soul.
In adulthood, Nekrasov even became addicted to bear hunting ("It's fun to beat you, respectable bears ...").
Avdotya Panaeva recalled that when Nekrasov was going to hunt a bear, there were large fees - expensive wines, snacks and just provisions were brought. They even took a chef with them. In March 1865, Nekrasov managed to get three bears at once in a day. He appreciated the bear-catchers, dedicated poems to them - Savushka (“who rallied on the forty-first bear”) from “In the Village”, Savely from “Who Lives Well in Russia”.
The poet also liked to hunt game. His fondness for walking through the swamp with a gun was boundless. Sometimes he would go hunting at sunrise and not return until midnight. He also went hunting with the "first hunter of Russia" Ivan Turgenev, with whom they were friends and corresponded for a long time.
Nekrasov, in his last message to Turgenev abroad, even asked him to buy him a Lancaster gun in London or Paris for 500 rubles. However, their correspondence was destined to be interrupted in 1861. Turgenev did not answer the letter and did not buy a gun, and their long-term friendship was put an end to.
And the reason for this was not ideological or literary differences. Nekrasov's common-law wife, Avdotya Panaeva, got involved in an inheritance lawsuit ex-wife poet Nikolai Ogaryov. The court awarded Panaeva a claim for 50 thousand rubles. Nekrasov paid this amount, preserving the honor of Avdotya Yakovlevna, but thereby his own reputation was shaken.
Turgenev found out from Ogarev himself in London all the intricacies of the dark case, after which he broke off all relations with Nekrasov. Nekrasov, the publisher, also broke up with some other old friends - L. N. Tolstoy, A. N. Ostrovsky. At this time, he switched to a new democratic wave emanating from the Chernyshevsky-Dobrolyubov camp.
Zinaida Nikolaevna Nekrasova (1847-1914)
- wife of the Russian poet Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov
Fyokla Anisimovna, who became his late muse in 1870, named Zinaida Nikolaevna by Nekrasov in a noble way, also became addicted to her husband's hobby, to hunting. She even saddled a horse herself and went hunting with him in a rait-coat and tight-fitting trousers, with a Zimmerman on her head. All this delighted Nekrasov.
But once, while hunting in the Chudovsky swamp, Zinaida Nikolaevna accidentally shot Nekrasov's beloved dog, a black pointer named Kado. After that, Nekrasov, who devoted 43 years of his life to hunting, forever hung his gun on a nail.
Nikolai Nekrasov is known to modern readers as the “most peasant” poet in Russia: it was he who was one of the first to speak about the tragedy of serfdom and explored spiritual world Russian peasantry. Nikolai Nekrasov was also a successful publicist and publisher: his Sovremennik became a legendary magazine of its time.
“Everything that, having entangled my life from childhood, an irresistible curse fell on me ...”
Nikolai Nekrasov was born on December 10 (November 28 according to the old style) in 1821 in the small town of Nemirov, Vinnitsa district, Podolsk province. His father Alexei Nekrasov came from a family of once wealthy Yaroslavl nobles, he was an army officer, and his mother Elena Zakrevskaya was the daughter of a possessor from the Kherson province. Parents were against the marriage of a beautiful and educated girl with a poor military man at that time, so the young people got married in 1817 without their blessing.
However, family life the couple was not happy: the father of the future poet turned out to be a harsh and despotic man, including in relation to his soft and shy wife, whom he called a “recluse”. The painful atmosphere that reigned in the family influenced Nekrasov's work: metaphorical images of parents often appeared in his works. Fyodor Dostoevsky said: “It was a heart wounded at the very beginning of life; and this wound that never healed was the beginning and source of all his passionate, suffering poetry for the rest of his life..
Konstantin Makovsky. Portrait of Nikolai Nekrasov. 1856. State Tretyakov Gallery
Nicholas Ge. Portrait of Nikolai Nekrasov. 1872. State Russian Museum
Nikolai's early childhood was spent in his father's family estate - the village of Greshnevo, Yaroslavl province, where the family moved after the resignation of Alexei Nekrasov from the army. The boy developed a particularly close relationship with his mother: she was his best friend and first teacher, instilled in him a love for the Russian language and the literary word.
Things in the family estate were very neglected, it even came to litigation, and Nekrasov's father took on the duties of a police officer. When leaving on business, he often took his son with him, so from an early age the boy had a chance to see pictures that were not intended for children's eyes: knocking out debts and arrears from peasants, cruel reprisals, all kinds of manifestations of grief and poverty. In his own poems, Nekrasov recalled the early years of his life as follows:
There is no remembrance that pleases the soul;
But everything that, having entangled my life with childhood,
An irresistible curse fell on me, -
Everything began here, in my native land! ..
The first years in St. Petersburg
In 1832, Nekrasov turned 11 years old, and he entered the gymnasium, where he studied until the fifth grade. Studying was difficult for him, relations with the gymnasium authorities did not go well - in particular, because of the caustic satirical poems that he began to compose at the age of 16. Therefore, in 1837, Nekrasov went to St. Petersburg, where, according to the wishes of his father, he was supposed to enter the military service.
In St. Petersburg, young Nekrasov, through his friend at the gymnasium, met several students, after which he realized that education interested him more than military affairs. Despite the demands of his father and the threats to leave him without material support, Nekrasov began to prepare for the entrance exams to the university, but failed them, after which he became a volunteer at the Faculty of Philology.
Nekrasov Sr. fulfilled his ultimatum and left his rebellious son without financial assistance. All of Nekrasov's free time from studies was spent looking for work and a roof over his head: it got to the point that he could not afford to have lunch. For some time he rented a room, but in the end he could not pay for it and ended up on the street, and then ended up in a beggar's shelter. It was there that Nekrasov discovered new opportunity earnings - wrote petitions and complaints for a small fee.
Over time, Nekrasov's affairs began to improve, and the stage of dire need was passed. By the beginning of the 1840s, he was earning a living by composing poems and fairy tales, which later appeared in the form of popular prints, published short articles in " Literary newspaper"and" Literary addition to the "Russian invalid", gave private lessons and composed plays for the Alexandrinsky Theater under the pseudonym Perepelsky.
In 1840, at the expense of his own savings, Nekrasov published his first collection of poetry, Dreams and Sounds, consisting of romantic ballads, which traced the influence of the poetry of Vasily Zhukovsky and Vladimir Benediktov. Zhukovsky himself, having familiarized himself with the collection, called only two poems not bad, while he recommended printing the rest under a pseudonym and argued this as follows: “Later you will write better, and you will be ashamed of these poems.” Nekrasov heeded the advice and released a collection under the initials N.N.
The book "Dreams and Sounds" was not particularly successful with either readers or critics, although Nikolai Polevoy spoke of the beginning poet very favorably, and Vissarion Belinsky called his poems "come out of the soul." Nekrasov himself was upset by his first poetic experience and decided to try himself in prose. He wrote his early stories and novels in a realistic manner: the plots were based on events and phenomena in which the author himself was a participant or witness, and some characters had prototypes in reality. Later, Nekrasov also turned to satirical genres: he created the vaudeville "This is what it means to fall in love with an actress" and "Feoktist Onufrievich Bob", the story "Makar Osipovich Random" and other works.
Publishing activities of Nekrasov: Sovremennik and Whistle
Ivan Kramskoy. Portrait of Nikolai Nekrasov. 1877. State Tretyakov Gallery
Nikolai Nekrasov and Ivan Panaev. Caricature by Nikolai Stepanov, "Illustrated Almanac". 1848. Photo: vm.ru
Alexey Naumov. Nikolai Nekrasov and Ivan Panaev at the patient Vissarion Belinsky. 1881
From the mid-1840s, Nekrasov began to actively engage in publishing activities. With his participation, the almanacs "Physiology of Petersburg", "Articles in Poetry without Pictures", "April 1", "Petersburg Collection" were published, and the latter was especially successful: Dostoevsky's novel "Poor People" was first published in it.
At the end of 1846, Nekrasov, together with his friend, journalist and writer Ivan Panaev, rented the Sovremennik magazine from the publisher Pyotr Pletnev.
Young authors, who had previously published mainly in Otechestvennye Zapiski, willingly switched to Nekrasov's publication. It was Sovremennik that made it possible to reveal the talent of such writers as Ivan Goncharov, Ivan Turgenev, Alexander Herzen, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. Nekrasov himself was not only the editor of the magazine, but also one of its regular contributors. His poems, prose, literary criticism, journalistic articles were published on the pages of Sovremennik.
The period from 1848 to 1855 became a difficult time for Russian journalism and literature due to a sharp tightening of censorship. To fill in the gaps that arose in the content of the magazine due to censorship bans, Nekrasov began to publish in it chapters from the adventure novels Dead Lake and Three Countries of the World, which he wrote in collaboration with his common-law wife Avdotya Panaeva (she was hiding under the pseudonym N .N. Stanitsky).
In the mid-1850s, censorship requirements softened, but Sovremennik had new problem: class contradictions split the authors into two groups with opposing beliefs. Representatives of the liberal nobility advocated realism and the aesthetic principle in literature, supporters of democracy adhered to a satirical direction. The confrontation, of course, splashed out on the pages of the magazine, so Nekrasov, together with Nikolai Dobrolyubov, founded an appendix to Sovremennik - the satirical publication Whistle. It published humorous novels and stories, satirical poems, pamphlets and caricatures.
IN different time Ivan Panaev, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Alexei Tolstoy published their works on the pages of the Whistle. The supplement was first published in January 1859, and its last issue was released in April 1863, a year and a half after Dobrolyubov's death. In 1866, after the assassination of Emperor Alexander II, the Sovremennik magazine itself was closed. “Who should live well in Russia.”
The idea for the poem appeared to Nekrasov as early as the late 1850s, but he wrote the first part after the abolition of serfdom, around 1863. The basis of the work was not only the literary experiences of the poet's predecessors, but also his own impressions and memories. As conceived by the author, the poem was to become a kind of epic, demonstrating the life of the Russian people from different points vision. At the same time, Nekrasov purposefully used for writing it not a “high calm”, but a simple spoken language, close to folk songs and legends, replete with colloquial expressions and sayings.
Work on the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" took Nekrasov almost 14 years. But even during this period, he did not have time to fully realize his plan: a serious illness prevented him, which chained the writer to bed. Initially, the work was supposed to consist of seven or eight parts. The route of the heroes' journey, looking for "who lives happily, freely in Russia", lay across the whole country, to St. Petersburg itself, where they were to meet with an official, merchant, minister and tsar. However, Nekrasov understood that he would not have time to complete the work, so he reduced the fourth part of the story - "A Feast for the Whole World" - to an open ending.
During the life of Nekrasov, only three fragments of the poem were published in the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski - the first part with a prologue, which does not have its own name, "Last Child" and "Peasant Woman". "A Feast for the Whole World" was published only three years after the death of the author, and even then with significant censorship cuts.
Nekrasov died on January 8, 1878 (December 27, 1877 according to the old style). Several thousand people came to say goodbye to him, who accompanied the coffin of the writer from home to the Novodevichy cemetery in St. Petersburg. This was the first time that a Russian writer was given national honors.
