The childhood of Saltykov-Shchedrin. Interesting facts and important information about his childhood. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

Saltykov-Shchedrin (pseudonym N. Shchedrin) Mikhail Evgrafovich (1826 1889), prose writer.

Born on January 15 (27 NS) in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province, into an old noble family. His childhood years were spent on his father's family estate in "... the years... of the very height of serfdom", in one of the remote corners of "Poshekhonye". Observations of this life will subsequently be reflected in the writer’s books.

Having received a good education at home, Saltykov at the age of 10 was accepted as a boarder at the Moscow Noble Institute, where he spent two years, then in 1838 he was transferred to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Here he began to write poetry, having been greatly influenced by the articles of Belinsky and Herzen, and the works of Gogol.

In 1844, after graduating from the Lyceum, he served as an official in the office of the War Ministry. “...Everywhere there is duty, everywhere there is coercion, everywhere there is boredom and lies...” - this is the description he gave of bureaucratic Petersburg. Another life was more attractive to Saltykov: communication with writers, visiting Petrashevsky’s “Fridays,” where philosophers, scientists, writers, and military men gathered, united by anti-serfdom sentiments and the search for the ideals of a just society.

Saltykov's first stories "Contradictions" (1847), "Confused Affair" (1848) with their acute social issues attracted the attention of the authorities, frightened French revolution 1848. The writer was exiled to Vyatka for “... a harmful way of thinking and a destructive desire to spread ideas that have already shaken the whole of Western Europe...”. For eight years he lived in Vyatka, where in 1850 he was appointed to the position of adviser to the provincial government. This made it possible to often go on business trips and observe the bureaucratic world and peasant life. The impressions of these years will influence the satirical direction of the writer’s work.

At the end of 1855, after the death of Nicholas I, having received the right to “live wherever he wishes,” he returned to St. Petersburg and resumed literary work. In 1856 1857, “Provincial Sketches” were written, published on behalf of the “court adviser N. Shchedrin,” who became known throughout reading Russia, which named him Gogol’s heir.

At this time, he married the 17-year-old daughter of the Vyatka vice-governor, E. Boltina. Saltykov sought to combine the work of a writer with public service. In 1856 1858 he was an official of special assignments in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where work on preparing the peasant reform was concentrated.

In 1858 1862 he served as vice-governor in Ryazan, then in Tver. I always tried to surround myself at my place of work with honest, young and educated people, firing bribe-takers and thieves.

During these years, stories and essays appeared (“Innocent Stories”, 1857㬻 “Satires in Prose”, 1859 62), as well as articles on the peasant question.

In 1862, the writer retired, moved to St. Petersburg and, at the invitation of Nekrasov, joined the editorial staff of the Sovremennik magazine, which at that time was experiencing enormous difficulties (Dobrolyubov died, Chernyshevsky was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress). Saltykov took on a huge amount of writing and editing work. But the main attention was paid to the monthly review "Nasha" public life", which became a monument to Russian journalism of the 1860s.

In 1864 Saltykov left the editorial office of Sovremennik. The reason was internal disagreements on the tactics of social struggle in the new conditions. He returned to public service.

In 1865 1868 he headed the State Chambers in Penza, Tula, Ryazan; observations of the life of these cities formed the basis of “Letters about the Province” (1869). The frequent change of duty stations is explained by conflicts with the heads of the provinces, at whom the writer “laughed” in grotesque pamphlets. After a complaint from the Ryazan governor, Saltykov was dismissed in 1868 with the rank of full state councilor. He moved to St. Petersburg and accepted N. Nekrasov’s invitation to become co-editor of the journal Otechestvennye zapiski, where he worked in 1868–1884. Saltykov now completely switched to literary activity. In 1869 he wrote "The History of a City" - the pinnacle of his satirical art.

In 1875 1876 he was treated abroad, visited countries Western Europe V different years life. In Paris he met with Turgenev, Flaubert, Zola.

In the 1880s, Saltykov's satire reached its climax in its anger and grotesquery: "Modern Idyll" (1877 83); "Messrs. Golovlevs" (1880); "Poshekhonsky stories" (1883㭐).

In 1884, the journal Otechestvennye zapiski was closed, after which Saltykov was forced to publish in the journal Vestnik Evropy.

In the last years of his life, the writer created his masterpieces: “Fairy Tales” (1882 86); "Little things in life" (1886 87); autobiographical novel"Poshekhon Antiquity" (1887 89).

A few days before his death, he wrote the first pages of a new work, “Forgotten Words,” where he wanted to remind the “motley people” of the 1880s about the words they had lost: “conscience, fatherland, humanity... others are still out there...”.

Biography

early years

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov was born on January 15 (27), 1826 into an old noble family, on his parents’ estate, in the village of Spas-Ugol, Kalyazin district, Tver province. He was the sixth child of a hereditary nobleman and collegiate adviser Evgraf Vasilyevich Saltykov (1776-1851). The writer's mother, Olga Mikhailovna Zabelina (1801-1874), was the daughter of Moscow nobleman Mikhail Petrovich Zabelin (1765-1849) and Marfa Ivanovna (1770-1814). Although in the note to “Poshekhonskaya antiquity” Saltykov asked not to confuse him with the personality of Nikanor Zatrapezny, on whose behalf the story is told, the complete similarity of much of what is reported about Zatrapezny with the undoubted facts of the life of Mikhail Saltykov allows us to assume that “Poshekhonskaya antiquity” is partly autobiographical character.

M. E. Saltykov’s first teacher was a serf of his parents, the painter Pavel Sokolov; then his elder sister, the priest of a neighboring village, the governess and a student at the Moscow Theological Academy took care of him. At the age of ten he entered the school, and two years later he was transferred, as one of the best students, as a state student to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. It was there that he began his career as a writer.

Beginning of literary activity

In 1844 he graduated from the Lyceum with the second category (that is, with the rank of X class), 17 out of 22 students were expelled because their behavior was certified as no more than “pretty good”: ordinary school offenses (rudeness, smoking, carelessness in clothing) Shchedrin added “writing poetry” with “disapproving” content. At the Lyceum, under the influence of Pushkin’s legends, which were still fresh at that time, each course had its own poet; in the 13th year, Saltykov played this role. Several of his poems were placed in the “Reading Library” in 1841 and 1842, when he was still a lyceum student; others, published in Sovremennik (ed. Pletnev) in 1844 and 1845, were also written by him while still at the Lyceum; all these poems are reprinted in “Materials for the biography of M. E. Saltykov”, attached to full meeting his writings.

None of Mikhail Saltykov’s poems (some translated, some original) bear any traces of talent; the later ones are even inferior to the earlier ones. M. E. Saltykov soon realized that he had no vocation for poetry, stopped writing poetry and did not like being reminded of them. However, in these student exercises one can sense a sincere mood, mostly sad and melancholic (at that time Saltykov was known among his acquaintances as a “gloomy lyceum student”).

In August 1845, Mikhail Saltykov was enlisted in the office of the Minister of War and only two years later he received his first full-time position there - assistant secretary. Literature even then occupied him much more than service: he not only read a lot, being particularly interested in George Sand and the French socialists (a brilliant picture of this hobby was drawn by him thirty years later in the fourth chapter of the collection “Abroad”), but also wrote - at first small bibliographic notes (in “Notes of the Fatherland”), then the stories “Contradictions” (ibid., November 1847) and “A Confused Affair” (March).

Already in the bibliographic notes, despite the unimportance of the books about which they were written, the author’s way of thinking is visible - his aversion to routine, to conventional morality, to serfdom; In some places there are also sparkles of mocking humor.

In M. E. Saltykov’s first story, “Contradictions,” which he never subsequently reprinted, the very theme on which J. Sand’s early novels were written sounds, muffled and muffled: recognition of the rights of life and passion. The hero of the story, Nagibin, is a man weakened by his hothouse upbringing and defenseless against environmental influences, against the “little things in life.” Fear of these little things both then and later (for example, in “The Road” in “Provincial Sketches”) was apparently familiar to Saltykov himself - but for him it was the fear that serves as a source of struggle, not despondency. Thus, only one small corner of the author’s inner life was reflected in Nagibin. Other actor novel - “woman-fist”, Kroshina - resembles Anna Pavlovna Zatrapeznaya from “Poshekhon Antiquity”, that is, probably inspired by the family memories of Mikhail Saltykov.

Much larger is “The Entangled Case” (reprinted in “Innocent Stories”), written under the strong influence of “The Overcoat”, perhaps and “Poor People”, but containing several wonderful pages (for example, an image of a pyramid of human bodies that is dreamed Michulin). “Russia,” the hero of the story reflects, “is a vast, abundant and rich state; Yes, the man is stupid, he is starving to death in an abundant state.” “Life is a lottery,” the familiar look bequeathed to him by his father tells him; “It is so,” replies some unkind voice, “but why is it a lottery, why shouldn’t it just be life?” A few months earlier, such reasoning might have gone unnoticed - but “Entangled Affair” appeared just when the February Revolution in France was reflected in Russia by the establishment of the so-called Buturlinsky committee (named after its chairman D.P. Buturlin), vested with special powers to curb the press.

Vyatka

Mikhail Evgrafovich’s health, shaken since the mid-1870s, was deeply undermined by the ban on Otechestvennye zapiski. The impression made on him by this event is depicted by him with great force in one of the tales (“The Adventure with Kramolnikov,” who “one morning, waking up, quite clearly felt that he was not there”) and in the first “Motley Letter,” beginning words: “several months ago I suddenly lost the use of language”...

M. E. Saltykov was engaged in editorial work tirelessly and passionately, keenly taking everything concerning the magazine to his heart. Surrounded by people he liked and who were in solidarity with him, Saltykov felt, thanks to Otechestvennye Zapiski, in constant communication with readers, in constant, so to speak, service to literature, which he loved so dearly and to which he dedicated in “ All year round“such a wonderful hymn of praise (a letter to his son, written shortly before his death, ends with the words: “love above all native literature and prefer the title of writer to any other”).

An irreplaceable loss for him was therefore the severance of the direct connection between him and the public. Mikhail Saltykov knew that the “reader-friend” still existed - but this reader “became shy, lost in the crowd, and it is quite difficult to find out exactly where he is.” The thought of loneliness, of “abandonment” depresses him more and more, aggravated by physical suffering and, in turn, aggravating it. “I’m sick,” he exclaims in the first chapter of “Little Things in Life.” The disease has dug its claws into me and is not letting go. The emaciated body cannot oppose anything to it.” His last years were a slow agony, but he did not stop writing as long as he could hold a pen, and his work remained strong and free to the end: “Poshekhon Antiquity” is in no way inferior to his the best works. Shortly before his death, he began a new work, the main idea of ​​which can be understood by its title: “Forgotten Words” (“There were, you know, words,” Saltykov told N.K. Mikhailovsky shortly before his death, “well, conscience, the fatherland, humanity, others are still out there... Now take the trouble to look for them!.. We need to remind you!..). He died on April 28 (May 10), 1889 and was buried on May 2 (May 14), according to his wishes, at the Volkovsky cemetery, next to I. S. Turgenev.

Basic motives of creativity

“The humiliated and insulted stood before me, illuminated by the light, and loudly cried out against the innate injustice that gave them nothing but chains.” In the “abused image of a slave” Saltykov recognized the image of a man. The protest against the “serf chains”, brought up by the impressions of childhood, over time turned from Mikhail Saltykov, like Nekrasov, into a protest against all sorts of “other” chains “invented to replace the serfs”; intercession for a slave turned into intercession for a man and a citizen. Indignant against the “street” and the “crowd,” M. E. Saltykov never identified them with the masses and always stood on the side of the “man who eats swan” and the “boy without pants.” Based on several misinterpreted passages from various works of Saltykov, his enemies tried to attribute to him an arrogant, contemptuous attitude towards the people; “Poshekhon antiquity” destroyed the possibility of such accusations. In general, there are few writers who would be hated so much and so persistently as Saltykov. This hatred outlived him; Even the obituaries dedicated to him in some press organs were imbued with it. The ally of anger was misunderstanding. Saltykov was called a “storyteller”; his works were called fantasies, sometimes degenerating into a “wonderful farce” and having nothing in common with reality. He was relegated to the level of a feuilletonist, funnyman, caricaturist; they saw in his satire “a certain kind of Nozdryovism and Khlestakovism with a big addition of Sobakevich.” M. E. Saltykov once called his writing style “slave-like”; this word was picked up by his opponents - and they assured that thanks to the “slave tongue” the satirist could chat as much as he wanted and about anything, arousing not indignation, but laughter, amusing even those against whom his blows were directed. Mikhail Saltykov, according to his opponents, had no ideals or positive aspirations: he was only engaged in “spitting”, “shuffling and chewing” a small number of boring topics. The basis for such views lies in best case scenario a number of obvious misunderstandings. The element of fantasy, often found in Saltykov, does not in the least destroy the reality of his satire. Through the exaggerations, the truth is clearly visible - and even the exaggerations themselves sometimes turn out to be nothing more than a prediction of the future. Much of what is dreamed about, for example, the projectors in “The Diary of a Provincial,” turned into reality a few years later. Among the thousands of pages written by M. E. Saltykov, there are, of course, those to which the name feuilleton or caricature is applicable - but one cannot judge the huge whole by a small and relatively unimportant part. Saltykov also uses harsh, rude, even abusive expressions, sometimes, perhaps, going over the edge; but politeness and restraint cannot be demanded from satire. Slave language, in Mikhail Saltykov’s own words, “does not at all obscure his intentions”; they are perfectly clear to anyone who wishes to understand them. Its themes are endlessly varied, expanding and updating in accordance with the needs of the times. Of course, he also has repetitions, depending partly on what he wrote for magazines; but they are justified mainly by the importance of the questions to which he returned. The connecting link of all his works is the desire for an ideal, which he himself (in “Little Things in Life”) sums up in three words: “freedom, development, justice.” At the end of his life, this formula seems insufficient to him. “What is freedom,” he says, “without participation in the blessings of life? What is development without a clearly defined end goal? What is justice devoid of the fire of selflessness and love? In fact, love was never alien to M.E. Saltykov: he always preached it with the “hostile word of denial.” Ruthlessly pursuing evil, he inspires condescension towards people, in whom it finds expression, often against their consciousness and will. He protests in “Sick Place” against the cruel motto: “break with everything.” The speech about the fate of a Russian peasant woman, which he put into the mouth of a village teacher (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the “Collection”), can be ranked in terms of depth of lyricism along with best pages Nekrasov's poem“Who lives well in Rus'.” “Who sees the tears of a peasant woman? Who can hear them pouring drop by drop? Only the little Russian peasant sees and hears them, but in him they revive his moral sense and plant in his heart the first seeds of goodness.” This thought, obviously, had long possessed Saltykov. In one of his earliest and best fairy tales (“Conscience Lost”), conscience, which everyone is burdened with and from which everyone is trying to get rid of, says to its last owner: “find me a little Russian child, dissolve his pure heart before me and bury it.” me in him: maybe he, an innocent baby, will shelter and nurture me, maybe he will make me according to his age and then come out with me into people - he won’t disdain... According to this word of hers, that’s what happened. A tradesman found a little Russian child, dissolved his pure heart and buried his conscience in him. A little child grows, and his conscience grows with him. And there will be a little child big man, and there will be a great conscience in him. And then all untruths, deceit and violence will disappear, because the conscience will not be timid and will want to manage everything itself.” These words, full of not only love, but also hope, are the testament left by Mikhail Saltykov to the Russian people. IN high degree The syllable and language of M. E. Saltykov are unique. Every face he portrays speaks exactly as befits his character and position. Derunov's words, for example, breathe self-confidence and importance, the consciousness of a force that is not accustomed to meeting either opposition or even objections. His speech is a mixture of unctuous phrases drawn from church everyday life, echoes of former respect for masters and unbearably harsh notes of home-grown political-economic doctrine. Razuvaev's language is related to Derunov's language, like the first calligraphic exercises of a schoolchild to the teacher's copybooks. In the words of Fedinka Neugodov one can discern high-flying clerical formalism, something salon-like, and something Offenbachian. When Saltykov speaks on his own behalf, the originality of his manner is felt in the arrangement and combination of words, in unexpected convergences, in quick transitions from one tone to another. Saltykov’s ability to find a suitable nickname for a type, for a social group, for a way of action (“Pillar”, “Candidate for Pillars”, “internal Tashkentians”, “Tashkentians of the preparatory class”, “Mon Repos Shelter”, “Waiting for Actions”, etc.) is remarkable. P.). The second of the mentioned approaches, going back to the ideas of V. B. Shklovsky and the formalists, M. M. Bakhtin indicates that behind the recognizable “realistic” storylines and the system of characters hides a collision of extremely abstract worldview concepts, including “life” and “death.” Their struggle in the world, the outcome of which did not seem obvious to the writer, is presented through various means in most of Shchedrin’s texts. It should be noted that the writer paid special attention to the mimicry of death, clothed in externally vital forms. Hence the motif of dolls and puppetry (“Toy People”, Organchik and Pimple in “The Story of a City”), zoomorphic images with different types transitions from man to beast (humanized animals in “Fairy Tales”, bestial people in “The Tashkent Gentlemen”). The expansion of death forms the total dehumanization of living space, which Shchedrin reflects. It is not surprising how often the mortal theme appears in Shchedrin’s texts. An escalation of mortal images, reaching almost the level of phantasmagoria, is observed in “The Golovlev Lords”: these are not only numerous repeated physical deaths, but also the depressed state of nature, the destruction and decay of things, various kinds of visions and dreams, Porfiry Vladimirych’s calculations, when “digits” are not only loses touch with reality, but turns into a kind of fantastic vision, ending with a shift in time layers. Death and lethality in social reality, where Shchedrin painfully acutely sees the alienation leading to a person’s loss of himself, turns out to be only one of the cases of the expansion of the deadly, which forces us to divert attention only from “social everyday life.” In this case, the realistic external forms of Mikhail Saltykov’s writing hide the deep existential orientation of Shchedrin’s creativity, making him comparable to E. T. A. Hoffman, F. M. Dostoevsky and F. Kafka. There are few such notes, few such colors that could not be found in M. E. Saltykov. The sparkling humor that fills the amazing conversation between a boy in pants and a boy without pants is as fresh and original as the soulful lyricism that permeates the last pages of “The Golovlevs” and “The Sore Spot.” Saltykov’s descriptions are few, but even among them one comes across such gems as the picture of rural autumn in “The Golovlevs” or a provincial town falling asleep in “Well-Intentioned Speeches.” The collected works of M. E. Saltykov with the appendix “Materials for his biography” were published for the first time (in 9 volumes) in the year of his death () and have gone through many editions since then. The works of Mikhail Saltykov also exist in translations into foreign languages, although Saltykov’s unique style poses extreme difficulties for the translator. “Little things in life” and “Lords Golovlyov” (in the Universal Library Advertising) have been translated into German, and “Lord Golovlyovs” and “Poshekhon antiquity” have been translated into French (in “Bibliothèque des auteurs étrangers”, published by “Nouvelle Parisienne”). Memory The following were named in honor of Mikhail Saltykov: street and alley in Kaluga lane in Shakhty and etc. State Public Library named after. Saltykova-Shchedrin (St. Petersburg) Before the renaming, Saltykova-Shchedrina Street was in St. Petersburg Memorial museums of Saltykov-Shchedrin exist in: village of Spas-Ugol, Taldomsky district, Moscow region Monuments to the writer were installed in: Busts of the writer are installed in: Ryazan. The opening ceremony took place on April 11, 2008, in connection with the 150th anniversary of the appointment of Mikhail Saltykov to the post of vice-governor in Ryazan. The bust is installed in a public garden next to the house, which is currently a branch of the Ryazan regional library, and previously served as the residence of the Ryazan vice-governor. The author of the monument is Honored Artist of Russia, Professor of the Moscow State Academic art institute named after Surikov Ivan Cherapkin. Kirov. The stone sculpture, authored by Kirov artist Maxim Naumov, is located on the wall of the building of the former Vyatka provincial government (Dinamovsky proezd, 4), where Mikhail Evgrafovich served as an official during his stay in Vyatka village of Spas-Ugol, Taldomsky district, Moscow region The “Saltykiada” project, conceived and born in Vyatka, dedicated to the 190th anniversary of the birth of M. E. Saltykov Shchedrin, uniting literature and art. It included: the procedure for open defense of diploma projects of students of the Department of Technology and Design of Vyatka State University, at which the ceremonial transfer of the figurine of the symbol of the All-Russian M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Prize to the government of the Kirov region was carried out, as well as the ceremony of donating a sculptural image of the writer and a set of collectible coins to the Kirov regional to the museum. The M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin Prize was awarded to Evgeniy Grishkovets (September 14, 2015). Exhibition "M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Image of Time" at which the project was presented sculptural monument to the writer. Exhibition of works by Maxim Naumov “Saltykiada” at the Kirov Regional Art Museum named after the Vasnetsov brothers (March - April 2016). In October 2016, as part of the Saltykov Readings, a presentation of the multi-information album “Saltykiada” took place. At the exhibition “Saltykiada. The Story of One Book,” held on March 16, 2017, featured 22 new graphic works from the cycle, as well as works from the collections of the Vyatka Art Museum. Postage stamps dedicated to Mikhail Saltykov were issued in the USSR. Postal envelopes were issued in the USSR and Russia, including those with special cancellation marks. Postage stamps of the USSR Addresses in St. Petersburg 05. - 12.1844 - Ofitserskaya street, 19; early 1845 - apartment building- Torgovaya Street, 21; 1845 - 04/21/1848 - Zhadimirovsky's house - Moika River embankment, 8; 01.1856 - apartment building - Torgovaya Street, 21; 04. - 05.1856 - Utin's house - Galernaya street, 12; 11.1862 - 1863 - apartment building of I. N. Schmidt - 5th line, 30; summer 1868 - A. M. Unkovsky’s apartment in an apartment building - Italianskaya Street, 24; 09.1868 - summer 1873 - Strakhov apartment building - Furshtatskaya street, 41 1874 - Kurtsevich apartment building - 2nd Rozhdestvenskaya Street, 5; second half of 08.1876 - 04.28.1889 - house of M. S. Skrebitskaya - Liteiny Avenue, 60, apt. 4. Bibliography Creativity Researchers Publication of texts Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. Collected works: in 20 volumes / Ch. ed. S. A. Makashin. - M.: Fiction, 1965-1977. Scientific edition of “Fairy Tales”: Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. Fairy tales / Ed. preparation V. N. Baskakov, A. S. Bushmin; resp. ed. S. A. Makashin. - L.: Science: Leningrad branch, 1988. - 280 p. - (Literary monuments / USSR Academy of Sciences; Chairman of the Editorial Board D.S. Likhachev). Literature Memoirs and memoirs M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in the memoirs of contemporaries / Preface, preparation of text and commentary. S. A. Makashina. - 2nd ed., revision. and additional - M.: GIHL, 1975. - 879 p. - (Series literary memoirs/ Under the general ed. S. N. Golubova and others). M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in the memoirs of contemporaries: in 2 volumes / Collected, prepared. for publication, commented and wrote the introduction. article by A. S. Makashin. - 2nd ed., revision. and additional - M.: Fiction, 1975. - T. 1. - 406 p. - (Series of literary memoirs / Under the general editorship of V.V. Grigorenko and others). M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in the memoirs of contemporaries: in 2 volumes / collected, prepared. for publication, commented and wrote the introduction. article by A. S. Makashin. - 2nd ed., revision. and additional - M.: Fiction, 1975. - T. 2. - 429 p. - (Series of literary memoirs / Under the general editorship of V.V. Grigorenko and others). Research Barashev P. P., Demina E. P., Pronchev G. B. Meet M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. - M.: INFRA-M, 2011. - 378 p. - ISBN 978-5-16-004202-2. Belova T.V. Principles of depicting a person in Russian literature mid-19th century century (M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and F. M. Dostoevsky). - Tver: A. N. Kondratiev, 2013. - 142 p. - ISBN 978-5-905621-27-7. Bukhshtab B. Ya. Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin. - Penza: Penza Regional Publishing House, 1947. - 61 p. Grigoryan K. N. Novel by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “Gentlemen Golovlevs” / Academy of Sciences of the USSR; Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House). - M.; L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962. - 116 p. Borshchevsky S. S. Shchedrin and Dostoevsky: The history of their ideological struggle. - M.: GIHL, 1956. - 392 p. Bocharova A.K. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Polemical aspect of satire. - Saratov. ; Penza: Privolzhskoe book publishing house, 1967. - 203 p. - (Scientific notes / Ministry of Education of the RSFSR; Penza State Pedagogical Institute named after V. G. Belinsky; issue 18). Bushmin A. S. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. - L.: Education: Leningrad branch, 1970. - 240 p. - ((Vocabulary Library)). Bushmin A. S. Saltykov-Shchedrin. The art of satire. - M.: Sovremennik, 1976. - 252 p. - (Library “For Lovers of Russian Literature”). Bushmin A. S. Satira Saltykova / USSR Academy of Sciences; Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House). - M.; L.: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences: Leningrad branch, 1959. - 644 p. Bushmin A. S. Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin. - M.; L.: GIHL: Leningrad branch - 230 p. Bushmin A. S. Art world Saltykov-Shchedrin: Selected works / Rep. ed. D. S. Likhachev, V. N. Baskakov. - M.; L.: Science: Leningrad branch - 365 p. Bushmin A. S. The evolution of Saltykov-Shchedrin’s satire / Rep. ed. S. A. Makashin. - L.: Science: Leningrad branch, 1984. - 342 p. Volpe L.M. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in Penza / Ed.

The biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin shows not just a talented writer, but also an organizer who wants to serve the country and be useful to it. He was valued in society not only as a creator, but also as an official who cared for the interests of the people. By the way, his real name- Saltykov, and his creative pseudonym is Shchedrin.

Education

The biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin begins from childhood spent on the Tver provincial estate of his father, an ancient nobleman located in the village of Spas-Ugol. The writer would later describe this period of his life in the novel “Poshekhon Antiquity,” published after his death.

Elementary education the boy received at home - the father had his own plans for his son’s studies. And at the age of ten he entered the Moscow Noble Institute. However, his talents and abilities were an order of magnitude higher than the average level of this institution, and two years later, as the best student, he was transferred “for government money” to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. At this educational institution, Mikhail Evgrafovich became interested in poetry, but soon realized that writing poetry was not his path.

War Department official

Saltykov-Shchedrin’s work biography began in 1844. The young man enters the service as an assistant secretary in the office of the War Ministry. It's captivating literary activity, to which he devotes much more mental strength than the bureaucratic one. The ideas of the French socialists and the influence of the views of George Sand are visible in his early works(stories “Entangled Affair” and “Contradictions”). The author sharply criticizes serfdom, which throws Russia back in relation to Europe a century ago. The young man expresses a deep thought that human life in society should not be a lottery, it should be life, and for this we need a different social structure of this very life.

Link to Vyatka

It is natural that the biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin during the reign of despot Emperor Nicholas I could not be free from repression: public freedom-loving thoughts were not welcomed.

Exiled to Vyatka, he served in the provincial government. He devoted a lot of time and effort to his service. The career of an official was successful. Two years later he was appointed advisor to the provincial government. Thanks to frequent business trips and active insight into people's affairs, extensive observations of Russian reality are accumulated.

In 1855, the term of exile ended, and the promising official was transferred to his native Tver province to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for militia affairs. In fact, a different Saltykov-Shchedrin returned to his small homeland. The (short) biography of the returning writer-official contains one more touch - upon his arrival home, he got married. His wife was Elizaveta Apollonovna Boltova (the Vyatka vice-governor blessed his daughter for this marriage).

A new stage of creativity. "Provincial Sketches"

However, the most important thing is to find his own literary style: his regular publications in the Moscow magazine “Russian Messenger” were expected by the literary community. This is how the general reader became acquainted with the author’s “Provincial Sketches.” Saltykov-Shchedrin's stories presented the recipients with the pernicious atmosphere of outdated serfdom. The writer calls anti-democratic state institutions an “empire of facades.” He denounces officials as “guzzlers” and “mischievous people”, local nobles as “tyrants”; shows readers the world of bribes and behind-the-scenes intrigues...

At the same time, the writer understands the very soul of the people - the reader feels this in the stories “Arinushka”, “Christ is Risen!” Starting with the story “Introduction,” Saltykov-Shchedrin immerses recipients in the world of truthful artistic images. A short biography concerning creativity, at the turn of writing “Provincial Sketches”, he himself assessed it extremely succinctly. “Everything I wrote before was nonsense!” The Russian reader finally saw a vivid and truthful picture of the generalized provincial town of Krutoyarsk, the material for the image of which was collected by the author in Vyatka exile.

Cooperation with the magazine “Otechestvennye zapiski”

The next stage of the writer’s work began in 1868. Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Evgrafovich left public service and completely focused on literary activity.

He began to work closely with the Nekrasov magazine Otechestvennye zapiski. The writer publishes in this printed edition his collections of stories “Letters from the Province”, “Signs of the Times”, “Diary of a Provincial...”, “The History of a City”, “Pompadours and Pompadours” (the full list is much longer).

The author’s talent, in our opinion, was most clearly demonstrated in the story “The History of a City,” full of sarcasm and subtle humor. Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin masterfully illustrates to the reader the history of his own collective image"dark kingdom" of the city of Foolov.

Before the eyes of the addressees passes a host of rulers of this city who were in power in XVIII-XIX centuries. Each of them manages to leave social problems without attention, while on their part compromising the city government. In particular, mayor Brudasty Dementy Varlamovich ruled in such a way that he provoked the townspeople into unrest. Another of his colleagues, Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko, (former orderly of the all-powerful Potemkin) died of gluttony while touring the lands entrusted to him. The third, Vasilisk Semyonovich Wartkin, became famous for launching real military operations against his subjects and destroying several settlements.

Instead of a conclusion

The life of Saltykov-Shchedrin was not simple. A caring and active person, not only as a writer he diagnosed the diseases of society and demonstrated them in all their ugliness for viewing. Mikhail Evgrafovich, as a government official, fought to the best of his ability against the vices of government and society.

His health failed professional loss: The authorities closed the magazine “Otechestvennye zapiski”, with which the writer had great personal connections creative plans. He died in 1889 and, according to his will, was buried next to Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, who had passed away six years earlier. Their creative interaction during life is well known. In particular, Mikhail Evgrafovich was inspired to write the novel “Lord Golovlevs” by Turgenev.

The writer Saltykov-Shchedrin is deeply revered by his descendants. Streets and libraries are named in his honor. In his small homeland, Tver, memorial museums have been opened, and numerous monuments and busts have also been erected.

On January 15, 1826, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was born in a small village in the Tver province. The biography of this man is thoroughly permeated with philanthropy and contempt for the reactionary state apparatus of his time. However, first things first.

Saltykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Evgrafovich: biography of his early years

Future famous writer was born into the family of a wealthy nobleman. By the way, Saltykov is his real name. Shchedrin is a creative pseudonym. The boy spent the first years of his life on his father's family estate. This period saw the most difficult years serfdom. When in most states the scientific and technological revolution had already occurred or was taking place, and capitalist relations were developing, Russian empire became more and more mired in its own medieval way of life. And in order to somehow keep up with the development of the great powers, the state machine worked more and more actively, extensively squeezing all the juices out of the peasant class. Actually, all further biography Saltykov-Shchedrin eloquently testifies to the fact that he had sufficient opportunity to observe the situation of the peasants in his youth.

This greatly impressed the young man and left an imprint on everything he further creativity. Mikhail receives his primary education at home, and being ten years old, he entered the Moscow Institute of Nobility. Here he studied for only two years, showing extraordinary abilities. And already in 1838 he was transferred to receive a state scholarship for his studies. Six years later he ends it educational institution and enters the ministerial military office for service.

Biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin: the beginning of creative activity

Here the young man is seriously interested in the literature of his time, voraciously reading French educators and socialists. During this period, his first own stories were written: “Contradictions”, “An Entangled Affair”, “Notes of the Fatherland”. However, the nature of these works, full of freethinking and satire on the tsarist autocracy, even then set state power against a young official.

Biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin: creative recognition and acceptance by state authorities

In 1848, Mikhail Evgrafovich went into exile in Vyatka. There he enters the service as a clerical official. This period ended in 1855, when the writer was finally allowed to leave this city. Returning from exile, he is appointed as an official for special assignments under the State Minister of Internal Affairs. In 1860 he became the Tver vice-governor. At the same time, the writer resumes his creative activity. Already in 1862, he retired from public office and focused on literature. At the invitation of Sergei Nekrasov, Saltykov-Shchedrin comes to St. Petersburg and gets a job in the editorial office of Sovremennik. Here, and later in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski, where he ended up under the patronage of the same Nekrasov, they are held

the most fruitful years of his creative activity. Many stories, satirical articles and, of course, the famous grotesque novels: “The History of a City”, “A Modern Idyll” and others - were written in the second half of 1860-1870.

Biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin: the last years of his life

In the 1880s, the writer’s satirical works increasingly enjoyed fame among the intelligentsia, but at the same time they were increasingly persecuted by the tsarist regime. Thus, the closure of the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski, where he was published, forced Mikhail Evgrafovich to look for publishing houses abroad. This printing ban home country greatly undermined the health of an already middle-aged man. And although he also wrote the famous “Fairy Tales” and “Poshekhon Antiquity,” over the course of several years he grew very old, his strength was rapidly leaving him. On May 10, 1889, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin died. The writer, in accordance with his request in his will, was buried in St. Petersburg, next to the grave of I.S. Turgenev.

The biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin is quite modest for a pioneer of Russian satire. Perhaps some interesting facts from the life of Saltykov-Shchedrin will somewhat enliven the biographical facts, enliven and complement the image of this extraordinary writer.

1. Saltykov-Shchedrin was born into a noble family. Despite their liberal views, the future satirist was born into a wealthy and well-born family. His father held the position of collegiate assessor, and his mother traced her ancestry to the wealthy merchant family of the Zabelins.
2. Saltykov-Shchedrin was a gifted child. Mikhail Evgrafovich received such a rich education at home that he was able to enter the Moscow Noble Institute at the age of ten. Excellent studies helped him get a place at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where the most gifted young men from Russian noble children were recruited.

   

3. Satirical talent young genius prevented him from graduating from the Lyceum with honors. The first satirical works were written by the future writer while still at the Lyceum. But he ridiculed his teachers and fellow students so viciously and talentedly that he received only the second category, although his academic success allowed him to hope for the first.

   

4. Saltykov-Shchedrin - a failed poet. The first attempts to create poems and poems were criticized by the people closest to the young man. From the moment he graduates from the Lyceum until his death, the writer will not write a single poetic work.

   

5. Saltykov-Shchedrin framed satire as a fairy tale. Satirical works Saltykov-Shchedrin often designed them in the form of notes and fairy tales. This is how he managed to avoid attracting the attention of censors for a long time. The most poignant and revealing works were presented to the public in the form of frivolous stories.

   

6. The satirist was an official for a long time. Many people know this writer as the editor of Otechestvennye Zapiski. Meanwhile, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was a government official for a long time, and worked as the Ryazan vice-governor. Later he was transferred to a similar position in the Tver province.

   

7. Saltykov-Shchedrin - creator of new words. Like any gifted writer, Mikhail Evgrafovich was able to enrich his native language with new concepts that we still use in our native speech. Words such as “soft-bodied”, “stupidity”, “bungling” were born from the pen of a famous satirist.

   

8. Saltykov-Shchedrin's satirical works are based on realism. Historians rightfully study the satirist’s legacy as an encyclopedia of the morals and customs of the Russian hinterland of the 19th century. Modern historians highly appreciate the realism of classic works, and use his observations in compiling national history.

   

9. Saltykov-Shchedrin condemned radical teachings. Despite his reputation as a patriot, the writer condemned violence in any form. Thus, he repeatedly expressed his indignation at the actions of the Narodnaya Volya members and condemned the murder of Tsar-Liberator Alexander II.

   

10. Nekrasov is a close associate of Saltykov-Shchedrin. ON THE. Nekrasov long years was a friend and ally of Saltykov-Shchedrin. They shared the ideas of enlightenment, saw the plight of the peasantry, and both condemned the vices of the domestic social structure.

    

11. Saltykov Shchedrin – editor of Otechestvennye zapiski. There is an opinion that the satirist headed this pre-revolutionary popular publication, and was even its founder. This is far from true. The magazine was created at the dawn of the 19th century and for many years was considered a collection of ordinary fiction. Belinsky brought the publication its first popularity. Later, N.A. Nekrasov rented this periodical and was the editor of the “notes” until his death. Saltykov-Shchedrin was one of the publication’s writers, and became head of the magazine’s editorial board only after Nekrasov’s death.

    

12. The satirist and writer did not like popularity. Because of his position, the popular editor was often invited to writers' meetings and dinners. The satirist was reluctant to attend such events, considering such communication a waste of time. One day, a certain Golovachev invited a satirist to a lunch of writers. This gentleman had a poor command of style, so he began his invitation like this: “Every month, diners congratulate you...”. The satirist responded instantly: “Thank you. Saltykov-Shchedrin having lunch every day.”

    

13. Saltykov-Shchedrin worked a lot. Last years The writer's life was overshadowed by a serious illness - rheumatism. Nevertheless, the satirist came to his office every day and worked for several hours. Only in the last month of his life was Saltykov-Shchedrin exhausted by rheumatism and did not write anything - he did not have enough strength to hold a pen in his hands.

    

14. The last months of Saltykov-Shchedrin. There were always many guests and visitors in the writer's house. The writer talked a lot with each of them. Only in the last months of his life, bedridden, did Saltykov-Shchedrin receive anyone. And when he heard that someone had come to him, he asked: “Please tell me that I am very busy - I’m dying.”

    

15. The cause of death of Saltykov-Shchedrin is not rheumatism. Although doctors treated the satirist for many years for rheumatism, the writer died of a common cold, which caused irreversible complications.