Saltykov-Shchedrin (pseudonym - N. Shchedrin) Mikhail Evgrafovich- Russian satirist writer.
Born 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 how he described 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 were written " Provincial essays", published on behalf of the "court adviser N. Shchedrin", who became known throughout reading Russia, who 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" social 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 government 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, 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); "Gentlemen 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 recent years During 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...”.
M. Saltykov-Shchedrin died in St. Petersburg.
Shchedrin, real name Saltykov, was born in 1826, in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province, now Moscow region, on a family estate.
Strict economy, parental scandals and swearing, cruel treatment of serfs - this is the world of his childhood, captured in the novel “Poshekhon Antiquity.”
Having received primary education in the family, the writer studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where senior government officials were trained. There his literary and poetic abilities manifested themselves.
After graduation, he began service, which continued with a short break until 1868.
In 1848 the young official, already taking part in the literary and social life of the capital, almost suffered the fate of Dostoevsky: Saltykov was arrested for the stories “Contradictions” (1847) and “A Confused Case” (1848). He continues to serve in Vyatka, from where he returns after the death of Nicholas I, in 1855.
In 1856 - 1857, the satirist, basing his impressions of the province and for the first time using his favorite form - a cycle of closely related stories and scenes, embodied his plan - “Provincial Sketches”.
1858 Saltykov is the vice-governor of Ryazan, later of Tver, and in 1865 - 1868 he served in important posts in Penza, Tula, and the same Ryazan. According to contemporaries, he was a respectable, incorruptible, and zealous official. But intransigence, rigidity and inflexibility, some cynicism and caustic temperament, reluctance to adapt to the leaders and the current situation, became the reason for leaving the civil service.
Shchedrin devotes himself entirely to literary craft. True experience of life in the outback and awareness of the structure of the state apparatus from the inside made the writer an expert on the national foundations of that time. “Innocent Stories”, “Satires in Prose”, “Pompadours and Pompadours”, and the brilliant “History of a City” appeared, which in its genre became a satirical parody of historical work.
In 1863 - 1864, having temporarily retired from service, Saltykov collaborated with Nekrasov in the Sovremennik magazine. In 1868 - becomes co-editor of Otechestvennye Zapiski, linking his further literary and social activities with this magazine. In 1880 The socio-psychological novel “Gentlemen Golovlevs” has been completed.
In 1884 By decision of the government, the popular and democratic “Otechestvennye Zapiski” is closed. The writer perceives this as a personal life disaster. The mental wound inflicted by the banning of the publication, into which so much effort and heart had been invested, did not heal until his death in 1889.
Despite the painful illness and oppressed state of mind Saltykov continues to compose. This time includes: “Poshekhon Antiquity”, “Little Things in Life”. Bright, expressive, sharp in their themes fairy tales, the images of which have become household names. The author begins “Forgotten Words”, in the genre of poetic prose, but death interrupts his work.
All the works of the classic are united not by genre, not by theme, or even by a special, sarcastic method of describing what is happening, but by the fact that they are original parts and fragments of one great work, which depicted Russian life late XIX century.
M.E. Saltykov, thanks to the strength and depth of his amazing talent, is a rare, amazing phenomenon. He rightfully occupies a special niche in literature.
A very short biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin
M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was born in the Tver province in 1826. At the age of 10, he began studying at the Moscow Noble Institute. Having shown himself to be an excellent student, he soon received a transfer to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum.
At the age of 19, Mikhail entered the military service, to the office. At this time, his works began to be published for the first time.
He was exiled to Vyatka in 1848 because his way of thinking was not accepted by many. There he served as a senior official under the governor and later became an advisor to the governor's board.
It was not until 1856 that his residence restriction was lifted. At this time, Mikhail returned to St. Petersburg. There he began to engage in writing again. In addition, the writer worked at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and took part in reforms. In 1858, Saltykov-Shchedrin became vice-governor in Ryazan, and then in Tver. At the age of 36, he resigned, returned to St. Petersburg and began working as editor of Sovremennik magazine.
For several years he tried to return to public service, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
Almost until his death, Mikhail worked in the journal Otechestvennye zapiski, first as one of the editors, and then as the managing editor of the magazine. At this time he creates his own famous work- “The history of one city.”
In 1889, Mikhail Evgrafovich passed away.
Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important.
Born on January 15 (27 n.s.) 1826 in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province, into an old noble family. Real name Saltykov, pseudonym N. Shchedrin. His childhood years were spent on his father's family estate in "... the years... at the height of serfdom", in one of the remote corners of "Poshekhonye". Observations of this life will subsequently be reflected in the writer’s books.
Saltykov's father, Evgraf Vasilyevich, a pillar nobleman, served as a collegiate adviser. Came from ancient noble family. Mother, Olga Mikhailovna, nee Zabelina, Muscovite, merchant daughter. Mikhail was the sixth of her nine children.
For the first 10 years of his life, Saltykov lives on his father’s family estate, where he receives his primary education at home. The future writer's first teachers were his elder sister and the serf painter Pavel.
At the age of 10, Satlykov was admitted as a boarder to the Moscow Noble Institute, where he spent two years. In 1838, as one of the most excellent students, he was transferred as a government student to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. At the Lyceum he began to write poetry, but later realized that he did not have a poetic gift and left poetry. In 1844 he completed a course at the Lyceum in the second category (with the rank of X class) and entered service in the office of the War Ministry. He received his first full-time position, assistant secretary, only two years later.
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 Otechestvennye zapiski 1847), then the stories “Contradictions” (ibid., November 1847) and “A Confused Affair” (March 1848).
For freethinking in 1848, in the biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin, he was exiled to Vyatka. There he served as a clerical official, and there, during investigations and business trips, he collected information for his works.
In 1855, Saltykov-Shchedrin was finally allowed to leave Vyatka; in February 1856 he was assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then appointed an official of special assignments under the minister. Returning from exile, Saltykov-Shchedrin resumes literary activity. Written based on materials collected during his stay in Vyatka, “Provincial Sketches” quickly gained popularity among readers, Shchedrin’s name became famous. In March 1858, Saltykov-Shchedrin was appointed vice-governor of Ryazan, and in April 1860 he was transferred to the same position in Tver. At this time, the writer works a lot, collaborating with various magazines, but mainly with Sovremennik.
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 he paid most attention to the monthly review “Our Social Life,” which became a monument to Russian journalism of the 1860s.
It is very likely that the constraints that Sovremennik encountered at every step from the censorship, due to the lack of hope for a quick change for the better, prompted Saltykov to re-enter the service, but in a different department, less concerned with the topic of the day. In November 1864, he was appointed manager of the Penza treasury chamber, two years later he was transferred to the same position in Tula, and in October 1867 - to Ryazan. These years were the time of his least literary activity: for three years (1865, 1866, 1867) only one of his articles appeared in print.
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 from 1868 to 1884. Saltykov now switched entirely to literary activity. In 1869 he wrote “The History of a City” - the pinnacle of his satirical art.
In 1875, while in France, he met with Flaubert and Turgenev. Most of Mikhail's works of that time were filled with the deepest meaning and unsurpassed satire, the culmination of which reached its apogee in the grotesque called “The Modern Idyll”, as well as “The Golovlev Lords”.
In the 1880s, Saltykov's satire reaches its climax in its anger and grotesquery: "Modern Idylls" (1877-1883); "Gentlemen Golovlevs" (1880); "Poshekhonsky stories" (1883-1884).
In 1884 the government banned the publication of Otechestvennye zapiski. Saltykov-Shchedrin had a hard time with the closure of the magazine. He was forced to publish in liberal organs that were alien to his direction - in the magazine "Bulletin of Europe" and the newspaper "Russian Vedomosti". Despite the fierce reaction and serious illness, Saltykov-Shchedrin created in recent years such masterpieces as “Fairy Tales” (1882-86), which concisely reflect almost all the main themes of his work; filled with deep philosophical historicism, “Little Things in Life” (1886-87) and, finally, a broad epic canvas of serf Russia - “Poshekhon Antiquity” (1887-1889).
May 10 (April 28), 1889 - Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin dies. According to his own will, he was buried at the Volkov cemetery in St. Petersburg next to I.S. Turgenev.
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin is a Russian writer, journalist, editor of the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine, Ryazan and Tver vice-governor. Saltykov-Shchedrin was a master of the island of words and was the author of many.
He managed to create wonderful works in the genres of satire and realism, as well as help the reader analyze his mistakes.
Perhaps its most famous graduate was.
While studying at the Lyceum, Saltykov-Shchedrin stopped taking care of his appearance, began swearing, smoking, and often ended up in a punishment cell for inappropriate behavior.
As a result, the student graduated from the lyceum with the rank of collegiate secretary. It is interesting that it was during this period of his biography that he tried to write his first works.
After this, Mikhail began working in the office of the military department. He continued to write and became seriously interested in the works of French socialists.
Link to Vyatka
The first stories in the biography of Saltykov-Shchedrin were “An Entangled Case” and “Contradictions.” In them he raised important issues, which runs counter to the policies of the current government.
When Alexander 2 was on the throne in 1855, he was allowed to return home. The following year he was appointed an official of special assignments at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Creativity of Saltykov-Shchedrin
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin is one of the most prominent representatives of satire in. He had a subtle sense of humor and knew how to brilliantly convey it on paper.
An interesting fact is that it was he who coined such expressions as “bungling”, “soft-bodied” and “stupidity”.
One of the most popular portraits of the writer M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrin After Saltykov-Shchedrin returned from exile in Russia, he published a collection of short stories, “Provincial Sketches,” under the name of Nikolai Shchedrin.
It is worth noting that even after he gained all-Russian popularity, many of his admirers will remember this particular work.
In his stories, Saltykov-Shchedrin depicted many different heroes, who, in his opinion, were prominent representatives.
In 1870, Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote one of the most famous stories in his biography - “The History of a City”.
It is worth noting that this work initially it was not appreciated, since it contained a lot of allegories and unusual comparisons.
Some critics even accused Mikhail Evgrafovich of deliberate distortion. The story featured ordinary people of different minds and who unquestioningly obeyed the authorities.
Soon, from the pen of Saltykov-Shchedrin, a very interesting and deep tale came out “ The wise minnow" It told about a minnow who was afraid of everything, who lived in fear and loneliness until his death.
Then he began working as an editor in the publication Otechestvennye zapiski, which he owned. In this magazine, in addition to his direct responsibilities, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin also published his own works.
In 1880, Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote the brilliant novel “Gentlemen Golovlevs.” It told the story of a family that had spent its entire adult life thinking only about increasing its capital. Ultimately, this led the entire family to spiritual and moral decay.
Personal life
In the writer’s biography there was only one wife - Elizaveta Boltina. Saltykov-Shchedrin met her during his exile. The girl was the daughter of the vice-governor and was 14 years younger than the groom.
Initially, the father did not want to give Elizabeth in marriage to the disgraced writer, however, after talking with him, he changed his mind.
An interesting fact is that Mikhail’s mother was categorically against his marrying Boltina. The reason for this was the young age of the bride, as well as a small dowry. In the end, in 1856 Saltykov-Shchedrin finally got married.
Saltykov-Shchedrin with his wife Soon, frequent quarrels began to occur between the newlyweds. By nature, Saltykov-Shchedrin was a straightforward and courageous person. Elizabeth, on the contrary, was a calm and patient girl. In addition, she did not have a sharp mind.
According to the recollections of Mikhail Evgrafovich’s friends, Boltina loved to butt into the conversation, saying a lot of unnecessary things, which, moreover, were often irrelevant to the point.
At such moments, the writer simply lost his temper. In addition, Saltykov-Shchedrin’s wife loved luxury, which further increased the distance between the spouses.
Despite this, they lived together all their lives. In this marriage they had a girl, Elizaveta, and a boy, Konstantin.
Biographers of Saltykov-Shchedrin claim that he had a good understanding of wines, played the wine and was an expert in matters related to profanity.
Death
In recent years, the writer suffered seriously from rheumatism. In addition, his health deteriorated after Otechestvennye zapiski was closed in 1884. The censorship considered the publication a disseminator of harmful ideas.
Shortly before his death, Saltykov-Shchedrin was bedridden, in need of outside help and care. However, he did not lose his optimism and sense of humor.
Often, when he was unable to receive guests due to weakness, he asked them to tell them: “I’m very busy - I’m dying.”
Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin died on April 28, 1889 at the age of 63 years. According to his request, he was buried next to his grave at the Volkovskoye cemetery.
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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), “A Confused Affair” (1848), with their acute social problems, attracted the attention of the authorities, frightened by the French Revolution of 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 his 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 he paid most attention to the monthly review “Our Social 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 government 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, visiting Western European countries in different years of his 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); "Gentlemen 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...”.