Nikolay Karamzin- Russian historian, writer, poet and prose writer. He is the author of “History of the Russian State” - one of the first generalizing works on the history of Russia, written in 12 volumes.
Karamzin is the largest Russian writer of the era of sentimentalism, nicknamed the “Russian Stern.”
In addition, he managed to carry out many important reforms in the Russian language, as well as introduce dozens of new words into use.
Feeling confident in his abilities and inspired by his first success, Nikolai Karamzin begins to actively engage in writing. From his pen come many interesting and instructive stories.
Soon Karamzin becomes the head of the Moscow Journal, which publishes works different writers and poets. Until this time in Russian Empire there was no such publication.
Works by Karamzin
It was in the Moscow Journal that Nikolai Karamzin published “Poor Liza,” which is considered one of best works in his biography. After this, “Aonids”, “My trifles” and “Aglaya” came out from his pen.
Karamzin was an incredibly efficient and talented person. He managed to compose poetry, write reviews and articles, participate in theatrical life, and also study many historical documents.
Despite the fact that he liked creativity and creativity, he looked at poetry from a different perspective.
Nikolai Karamzin wrote poetry in the style European sentimentalism, thanks to which he became the best Russian poet working in this direction.
In his poems, he primarily paid attention to the spiritual state of a person, and not to his physical shell.
In 1803, a significant event occurred in Karamzin’s biography: by personal decree, the emperor granted Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin the title of historiographer; 2 thousand rubles of annual salary were then added to the rank.
From that time on, Karamzin began to move away from fiction, and began to study historical documents even more diligently, including the most ancient chronicles.
During this biographical period, he was constantly offered various government positions, but apart from Karamzin, he was not interested in anything.
At the same time, he wrote several historical books, which were only a prelude to the main work of his life.
"History of Russian Goverment"
His work was appreciated by all segments of society. Representatives of the elite tried to acquire the “History of the Russian State” in order to become familiar with it for the first time in their lives. detailed history.
Many prominent people sought meetings with the writer, and the emperor openly admired him. It is worth noting here that as a historian, Nikolai Karamzin was a supporter absolute monarchy.
Having received wide recognition and fame, Karamzin needed silence in order to continue to work fruitfully. For this purpose, he was allocated separate housing in Tsarskoe Selo, where the historian could carry out his activities in comfortable conditions.
Karamzin's books attracted the reader with the clarity and simplicity of the presentation of historical events. While describing certain facts, he did not forget about beauty.
Works of Karamzin
During his biography, Nikolai Karamzin completed many translations, among which was the work “Julius Caesar”. However, he did not work in this direction for long.
It is worth noting that Karamzin managed to radically change Russian literary language. First of all, the writer sought to get rid of outdated Church Slavonic words, as well as modify the grammar.
Karamzin took the syntax and grammar of the French language as the basis for his transformations.
The result of Karamzin’s reforms was the emergence of new words that are still used in Everyday life. Here is a short list of words introduced into the Russian language by Karamzin:
Today it is difficult to imagine the modern Russian language without these and other words.
An interesting fact is that it was thanks to the efforts of Nikolai Karamzin that the letter “e” appeared in our alphabet. It should be admitted that not everyone liked his reforms.
Many criticized him and tried to do everything possible to preserve the “old” language.
However, Karamzin was soon elected a member of the Russian and Imperial Academy Sciences, thus recognizing his services to the Fatherland.
Personal life
In Karamzin’s biography there were two women to whom he was married. His first wife was Elizaveta Protasova.
She was a very literate and flexible girl, but she was often sick. In 1802, a year after the wedding, their daughter Sophia was born.
Ekaterina Andreevna Kolyvanova, Karamzin’s second wife After giving birth, Elizabeth began to develop a fever, from which she later died. A number of biographers believe that the story “ Poor Lisa"was written in honor of Protasova.
An interesting fact is that Karamzin’s daughter Sofia was friends with and.
Karamzin’s second wife was Ekaterina Kolyvanova, who was illegitimate daughter Prince Vyazemsky.
In this marriage they had 9 children, three of whom died in childhood.
Some of the children have reached certain heights in life.
For example, son Vladimir was a very witty and promising careerist. He later became a senator in the Justice Department.
Karamzin's youngest daughter, Elizaveta, was never married, although she had great mind and was an extremely kind girl.
Karamzin was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Karamzin Photos
At the end you can see some of the most famous portraits Karamzin. All are made from paintings, not from life.
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We talk about the great Russian writer and historian, author of the famous “History of the Russian State” - Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin - with Dr. philological sciences, Associate Professor, Faculty of Philology, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov Vladimir Leonidovich Korovin.
– Karamzin – very good writer, classic of our literature, the first Russian classical writer in the field literary prose.
Karamzin is the first Russian classical writer in the field of fiction
He is the author of “History of the Russian State,” the first generalizing work in Russian historiography, to some extent built on the scientific principles of criticism of sources. During his work, Karamzin introduced into circulation whole line ancient Russian literary and historical monuments.
On the other hand, he is called our “last chronicler”, and this also makes sense. After all, Karamzin did not pretend to know the laws historical process and did not skimp on giving moral assessments to historical figures. That is, on the one hand, Karamzin’s “History” stands at the origins of the scientific historiographic tradition of the 19th century, and on the other hand, it is a bright and not devoid of artistry work, designed to produce both an aesthetic and moral impact on the reader.
His “History” consists of two parts. The first is a coherent narrative, written in the exquisite Karamzin language, where vivid and memorable images of Russian rulers are given. Their characters in finished form could be borrowed (and were borrowed) by later Russian poets, playwrights and prose writers. And the second part is Karamzin’s notes to the main text, which contains a discussion controversial issues, reasoning about sources, etc. From these notes, to some extent, Russian culture grows. historical science.
– When did Nikolai Mikhailovich become a conservative?
“He’s probably always been like this, to one degree or another.” However, Karamzin became a conservative thinker in the full sense of the word at the beginning XIX century, during the period when he published the magazine “Bulletin of Europe” and began work on his “History”. His conservatism lay in the fact that he believed that one should preserve the good that has been tested by time, avoiding novelty, which is always unreliable.
– Any novelty?
- It depends. In “Note on Ancient and new Russia", addressing Alexander I, he writes that time requires from the Sovereign wisdom more protective than creative. It's 1811 eve Patriotic War 1812. Then he thought so, being dissatisfied with the reforms of Alexander I. This is a situational statement, clothed in the form of a general judgment.
– What did Karamzin consider the main protective principles of Russia?
– During the period of writing “The History of the Russian State” for Karamzin, such a beginning was, first of all, autocracy. “Russia was created by the victories of autocracy, perished from discord and was saved by autocracy.” I quote in in this case“Note on Ancient and New Russia”, but in “History” Karamzin shows this on specific examples. “Perish from discord” is, for example, about Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century.
The second protective principle is Orthodoxy, a single faith, which Karamzin evaluates as a state-creating principle in Russia. And the third is respect for folk customs, people's pride. From Karamzin’s “History” will later emerge, after his death, the famous formula of Sergei Semyonovich Uvarov: “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality.”
– Has Uvarov read Karamzin?
- Of course, I read it. Everyone has read Karamzin. Uvarov in his youth was a Karamzinist writer.
– Is Karamzin formulated this triune formula anywhere in this or a similar form?
– The point is not that Uvarov’s formula directly grows out of Karamzin’s texts. Rather, we can say that official ideology Nicholas's reign is largely based on Karamzin's "History". The expression “Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality,” taken by itself, sounds like a slogan, but in Karamzin its components are filled with meaning – both in his “History” and in his journalism.
- How did it even begin? creative path Karamzin?
– From Moscow University and from the circle of Moscow Freemasons in the 1780s. Or earlier - when Karamzin, while still a very young man, decided to leave the military service in which he had been enrolled since childhood. From that moment on, he never served anywhere again.
– Where did he serve before?
- Formally spent three years in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, but in fact from three years During his service, he was simply on leave for one year, on leave for another year due to the death of his father, and then on leave again due to illness, and after that he retired.
Karamzin chooses the path of a writer for himself. He deliberately avoids official activities in order to devote himself to literature. In the “Bulletin of Europe” in 1802, he published the article “Why are there few artistic talents in Russia?” Here he will regret that in Russia ranks and titles are more attractive to young people than literary fame. And that for us it is not enough to be a talented writer in order to “have the right to a smile of politeness”, you need to have something else: rank, title, fortune. Karamzin is sometimes called the first professional writer, since before “History” he worked exclusively literary activity.
So, in the 1780s. he finds himself in the circle of Moscow masons and Martinists. As a volunteer attends lectures at Moscow University. Karamzin then lives in the Menshikov Tower in Krivokolenny Lane, purchased by the Freemasons for the students of the Friendly Scientific Society at Moscow University, but he develops, in general, quite independently. Young Karamzin begins as a translator, and chooses the texts for translation himself. His interests were directed not to France and not to French literature, but to German literature, mainly Swiss (German-language). His first published literary experiments– translation of Gesner’s idyll “The Wooden Leg” and Haller’s didactic poem “On the Origin of Evil.” Together with his friend Alexander Petrov, Karamzin became the publisher of the first in Russia children's magazine « Children's reading for the heart and mind." The founder of this magazine was Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov, and Karamzin and Petrov were editors hired by Novikov.
– When was this magazine published?
– From 1785 to 1788, Karamzin and Petrov edited it from 1786. Karamzin published his translations and some original works there.
Karamzin's mature work begins with his European travel in 1789–1790.
Karamzin's mature work begins with his European travel in 1789–1790
Everyone probably knows his “Letters of a Russian Traveler.” Karamzin's European journey lasted 18 months. He travels at his own expense, having sold half of his half of his father's estate to his brother. Why he went to Europe is an interesting and important question. I won’t retell all the versions, but I think the main motivation to go on a trip was the intention to write a book about this trip. It was literary journey, it was originally intended that way. There were probably other goals, but they were secondary.
Karamzin travels to a very difficult period in European history: this is the beginning of the French Revolution. On the way, he learns about the storming of the Bastille. Over the course of 18 months, he travels through Germany, Switzerland, France, then arrives in England, and from there returns by sea to St. Petersburg. For a person who strives to see new places, the chronicle of his journey looks strange. Out of 18 months, he spends almost 8 months in Geneva without a break. This suggested to some researchers that the route of his journey known to us from Karamzin’s book was somewhat falsified. But there is another, more plausible, in my opinion, explanation. Traveling through Germany and Switzerland, Karamzin kept detailed diaries and then in Geneva, based on these diaries, he began to write his book. That is, in Geneva he did exactly what he went on the trip for. When he returned to Russia and began publishing the Moscow Journal in 1791, he already had the first half of Letters of a Russian Traveler ready, covering the route through Germany and Switzerland. The sections of the book that describe the journey through France and England will be written later, and the entire book will be published only in 1801.
During the 1790s, partly due to news of the horrors of the revolutionary terror in France, Political Views Karamzin have changed somewhat. He always had sympathy for the republican system, even when he defended autocracy. But he proceeded from the ideas of the French enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu that a monarchy is more reliable than a republic, because a republic is successful only where citizens are virtuous, and a monarchy does not require “extraordinary things” from people, that is, virtues, therefore monarchical states are capable of “ rise to the level of morality at which republics fall.” Karamzin owns the phrase recorded by Pushkin: “I am a republican in heart, but a monarchist in mind.” The same is true in his story “Marfa the Posadnitsa,” where Novgorod, symbolizing the republic, and autocratic Moscow collide. The action takes place during the time of Ivan III.
Karamzin owns the phrase: “I am a republican in heart, but a monarchist in mind.”
The narrator seems to be a contemporary of the events, a man of the 15th century, and the publisher, Karamzin, writes about him that he is clearly devoted to the Moscow autocracy, but at times “the blood of Novgorod plays in him.”
“Monarchical government can rise to the level of morality at which republics fall.”
– How did he feel about the political structure of different Western European countries?
– Karamzin, both during his European travel and later, was a person keenly interested in political issues. His “Letters of a Russian Traveler” are a kind of political review of Europe at a certain period in its history. This is one of the aspects of the content of this wonderful book. Passing through the German states, he shows the features of the monarchy. Switzerland, according to Karamzin, is a republic based on general self-restraint for the sake of the common good, on a kind of forced collective virtue. England is not formally a republic, but Karamzin views it as a republic where everything is built on personal freedom. In Switzerland you cannot decorate the facades of houses, you cannot ride in carriages and you cannot wear furs. Women should not wear jewelry or generally flaunt their wealth. In England, the most arrogant luxury coexists with the ugliest poverty. The streets of London are full of criminals, the history of England is replete with atrocities. The British have commercial integrity, family connections, but in all this there is a “subtle egoism.” Switzerland, even from Russia, seemed to him like some kind of ideal state in which simplicity, modesty, equality, and collectivism reign. In the book, he notes that in Zurich, “wise... legislators knew that luxury can be the coffin of freedom and good morals, and they tried to block its entry into their republic.” However, he immediately notices that all this is already in the past, that in Switzerland too democracy is degenerating into an oligarchy.
However, it is interesting that Karamzin to a certain extent sympathizes with English “egoism”.
– What and why?
– He doesn’t like the narrow-mindedness of the Swiss. In “Letters of a Russian Traveler” there is, for example, such an episode. A certain Englishman in Geneva entered into love affair with a townswoman and went on a date to her on horseback. The Genevans stop him and say that he cannot ride a horse here. "Why?" - asks the Englishman. “We have such laws,” they tell him. “Why do you have such laws?” - asks the Englishman. The Genevans do not answer the question, but only insist that they have such laws. The Englishman exclaims: “I don’t care about your laws!” The Genevans get angry and try to force him off his horse, the Englishman becomes furious and begins to trample the flower beds with the hooves of his horse, after which he is finally pulled off his horse and put in prison, from where his beloved frees him. Karamzin’s sympathy here is rather on the side of the Englishman, who does not want to put up with laws that he does not understand and the meaning of which they do not want to explain to him or cannot.
– Does the Englishman behave this way because he is a rich tourist, a kind of colonialist?
– No, the Englishman is just a tourist, a traveler, not a colonialist in this case. Karamzin confronts two approaches to life. On the one hand, there is a society that requires self-restraint from the individual for the sake of the common good, and on the other hand, there is an individual who does not recognize external restrictions and defends his rights. About the British he says that they are "in moral sense they grow like wild oaks, according to the will of fate, and although they are all of the same kind, they are all different; and Fielding could not invent characters for his novels, but only note and describe” (Fielding - English novelist of the 18th century).
Karamzin values the diversity and originality of characters no less, if not more, than the society of virtuous, but identical people.
And between these two types of “republics” lies France, where the monarchy has just fallen and through which Karamzin passes. The most terrible thing about it is its lack of leadership. This is only 1790, still a long way from terror. The first thing that strikes a traveler upon entering France is that in taverns they do not serve knives among the cutlery. The question is, why? Yes, because it’s not necessary - everyone has a knife with them anyway, no one walks around here without knives. Or another episode, I’ll quote Karamzin:
“In one small place we found a great gathering of people. “What are you doing?” – I asked. “Your neighbor Andrei,” the young woman answered me, “the owner of the tavern under the sign of the Cross,” said yesterday, drunk in front of the whole world, that he spits on the nation. All the patriots became agitated and wanted to hang him, but they finally relented, let him sleep it off and now forced him publicly, in church, on his knees, to ask for forgiveness from the merciful Lord.” “I feel sorry for poor Andrei!” – concludes Karamzin.
Or another episode:
“In one village near Paris, peasants stopped a young, well-dressed man and demanded that he shout with them: “Vive la nation!” - “Long live the nation!” The young man carried out their will, waved his hat and shouted: “Vive la nation!” "Fine! Fine! - they said. - We are glad. You are a good Frenchman; go wherever you want. No, wait: explain to us first what... a nation is?”
In general, Karamzin’s conservatism stems from a pessimistic view of man and human society
In general, Karamzin’s monarchism and conservatism stems from a pessimistic view of man and human society. After all, in his opinion, why is monarchy preferable? I will quote his statement in full from a short note “The Fall of Switzerland”, written 10 years after the trip:
"People's virtues<...>, like people, live out their days in states; and without high popular virtue, a republic cannot stand. That's why monarchical rule much happier and more reliable: it does not require extraordinary things from citizens and can rise to the level of morality at which republics fall.”
The first Russian historian
– How does he become the first and main Russian historian who set the paradigm of Russian history?
– Pushkin called him “Columbus of ancient Russian history.” Interest in history (as well as in politics) was always characteristic of Karamzin, and he gradually prepared for writing his “History” for a long time. However, he began this grandiose work only in 1803, when he turned 37 years old. By this time he was already one of the leading Russian writers and a successful journalist. He has a lot of imitators and followers. And so, being at the pinnacle of success, having founded the magazine “Bulletin of Europe”, he suddenly leaves everything, ceases to be a writer and becomes a historian.
At that time he had no vocational education, no knowledge required languages, nor the ability to work with manuscripts. He will acquire all these skills during his work. And from that moment on, from 1803, Karamzin’s life was constant, methodical, long-term work. The first volumes of the History will be published only in 1818. Having parted in 1803 with literary creativity, he publishes almost nothing for 16 years. For a writer and journalist who constantly wrote and spoke in print, to practically remain silent for 16 years is very unusual.
Being at the pinnacle of success, he suddenly leaves everything and becomes a historian
Pushkin called this “a feat honest man", he admired Karamzin, who at that age when "for ordinary people the circle of education and knowledge has long been completed and the hassle of work replaces efforts in enlightenment," suddenly takes on a completely new business for himself, acquires a new "extensive scholarship." This is what Pushkin admires; perhaps he himself would have followed this example, but he was killed at that age - at 37 years old.
However, Karamzin would not have been able to work on “History” if not for some favorable external circumstances. In 1803, through the mediation of Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov, he presented his project to Emperor Alexander I, and he was appointed court historiographer. Neither before nor after anyone else had such a position. This was done so that Karamzin could receive a salary and work in peace. And he will work on his “History” until the end of his life.
Karamzin’s conservatism comes from a skeptical view of human life
– But how did he come to this decision?
- Because Karamzin was interested in the human soul. History interested him not from the point of view of knowledge of its patterns or curiosity about bloody incidents, but in order to delve into the ways of Providence and extract from there moral lessons. When the first volumes of “History” come out of print, and he himself is elected a member in 1819 Russian Academy, he will give a speech in which he will say:
“Is it for this reason that powers on the globe are formed, or for this reason that they rise, solely to amaze us with the formidable colossus of power and its sonorous fall; so that one, overthrowing the other, after several centuries, with its vast grave, serves instead as the foundation of a new power, which in its turn will inevitably fall? No! Both our life and the life of empires must contribute to the revelation of the great abilities of the human soul; here everything is for the soul, everything for the mind and feelings; all immortality lies in their successes!”
These words - “everything here is for the soul” - were later considered as the motto of Karamzin and the people spiritually close to him.
As a writer, as a thinker, Karamzin tried to avoid extremes, was very tolerant of other people's opinions and misconceptions, did not like controversy, and generally preferred to be aloof from the literary polemics of his time. In his “Moscow Journal” in 1791, he established a permanent department literary criticism, but 10 years later, in the journal “Bulletin of Europe”, he abandoned it, explaining that there was no need to write criticism, since we already have few writers. If a young author publishes a book and a critic scolds him, he may quit his job. And who will benefit from this?
“We must revive and nourish - welcome the love of fame, not frighten it, for it leads to glory, and the glory of the author belongs to the Fatherland.”
This is what Karamzin writes and draws a practical conclusion: “Where there is no subject for praise, there we will say everything - in silence.”
Karamzin has a rather skeptical view of man, hence his conservatism in many ways. He has a poem “Message to Dmitriev in response to his poems, in which he complains about the transience of happy youth.” There we read the following:
But time and experience destroy
Castle in the air youth;
Beauty and magic disappear...
Now I see a different light, -
And I see clearly that with Plato
We cannot establish republics,
With Pittacus, Thales, Zeno
The hearts of the cruel cannot be softened.
Oh! evil under the sun is endless,
And people will be - people forever.
Let thunder shake the sky,
Villains oppress the weak
Madmen praise their intelligence!
My friend! It's not our fault.
We did not oppress the weak here
And they wished everyone good luck:
We don't have black hearts!
And so without trepidation and fear
We can expect the end
And lie down in the coffin, the dwelling place of dust.
Isn't it true, this is not the most optimistic view of human life? Karamzin specifically polemicized with the philosophy of optimism, with Leibniz and his followers in some articles and stated that “this world remains a school of patience,” but we cannot be in this world forever. Karamzin’s human ideal was a sage and righteous man, who “with his body on earth, but his heart in heaven” (the poem “The Experienced Wisdom of Solomon, or Thoughts Selected from Ecclesiastes”).
– How did Karamzin feel about Orthodoxy?
- Of course, he belonged to Orthodox Church, but did not specifically speak out on theological issues. In his time it was believed that this was not appropriate for a secular writer. Secular theology was then carried out by the Freemasons, with whom Karamzin broke up in his youth and whose activities he was skeptical about, calling their activities “theosophical dreams.” He apparently understood Christianity, first of all, as a moral teaching that ennobles man, and with sympathy cited the statement of one German author: “Everything that is good in me, I owe everything to Christianity.”
IN state life, as he believed, it was impossible to fulfill Christian commandments
According to Karamzin, Christianity is a “secret union of the soul with God,” a personal matter for each person. In political and state life, as he believed, it was impossible to fulfill Christian commandments. Talking with Alexander I and trying to teach him, he said that the Tsar could not turn the other cheek if his country was attacked, that the laws of politics did not change with the coming of Christ, that the Tsar’s duty was to protect his subjects. In the article “On Love of the Fatherland and National Pride,” he says that we are too humble in our opinions about our national merits, and humility in politics is harmful. Karamzin, of course, is a Christian, and in his judgments about the inapplicability of Christian principles in politics one can hear bitter disappointment in political life as such. Which does not negate the need for those who are called from above to do this, that is, the Kings, to engage in it. As a political thinker and historian, he ultimately places his trust in Divine Providence:
“Let us betray ourselves, my friends, let us surrender ourselves to the power of Providence: it, of course, has its own plan; in his hand are the hearts of the Sovereigns - and that’s enough.”
– Why does his “Note on Ancient and New Russia” continue to remain a relevant monument to the history of Russian thought?
– “Note on Ancient and New Russia” is a text that was not intended by Karamzin for publication, but written personally for Emperor Alexander I. He transmitted this note through Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, the Emperor's sister. In it, Karamzin was much more frank than he could have allowed himself in a printed text. Karamzin considered anarchy to be the most terrible thing and said that one should be surprised not that there is some kind of disorder somewhere, but to be surprised that at least somewhere there is at least some order.
In this note, Karamzin gave a condensed outline of the entire Russian history, up to his contemporary Russia. In “History of the Russian State” the story is brought to the Time of Troubles. And in the “Note” there were his judgments about the 18th century, and sharp criticism of the reforms of Alexander I. It is here that Karamzin writes that the time now requires from the Sovereign “more protective wisdom than creative.” Here he criticizes Peter the Great, who “limited his transformation to the nobility,” as a result of which “ higher degrees separated from the lower classes, and the Russian farmer, tradesman, and merchant saw Germans in the Russian nobles, to the detriment of the fraternal, popular unanimity of state states.”
“Russian clothes, food, and a beard did not interfere with the establishment of schools,” Karamzin rightly notes.
He also considered Peter’s mistakes to be the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, to the outskirts of the state, and church reform, the abolition of the Patriarchate, because the subordination of spiritual power to secular power leads to the idea that this spiritual power is not needed at all. According to Karamzin,
“Spiritual power must have a special range of action outside of civil power, but act in close alliance with it.”
However, Karamzin did not think like some later Slavophiles; he was not at all a sweeping detractor of Peter and his transformations, but tried to draw lessons from history for the current monarch, for Alexander I. He tried to understand and close to him historical examples show what to do and what not to do. Let me remind you that Karamzin will conclude his dedication to the “History of the Russian State” with the famous saying: “The history of the people belongs to the Tsar.”
– What was Karamzin’s attitude towards the Decembrists?
– Karamzin was an eyewitness to the French Revolution, its initial stage. And, judging by “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” even then he perceived it not at all enthusiastically. Later news received in Russia about revolutionary terror in France led Karamzin to complete disappointment in violent social transformations. He later repeated more than once: “every rebel prepares a scaffold for himself” and
“lack of authority is worse than any power.”
The uprising of December 14, 1825 naturally evoked associations with the French Revolution. In addition, just then he was working on the history of the Time of Troubles in Russia at the beginning of the 17th century. The uprising horrified him because eerie historical analogies immediately arose in his mind. On the day of the uprising, he was near Senate Square and later admitted: “My soul was hungry for cannon thunder.” That is, he, a kind, tolerant, not at all militant writer, wanted the rebels to be shot from cannons. But when the uprising was suppressed, Karamzin tried to intercede for these so-called “Decembrists,” saying that “the delusions and crimes of these young people are the delusions and crimes of our century.”
Karamzin was very interested high position by that time. It was he who was first entrusted with writing the Manifesto for the accession to the throne of Nicholas I. He wrote it, but the text was eventually rewritten by Speransky, and Karamzin preserved his text of the Manifesto with his comments for posterity. He died shortly thereafter, peacefully and quietly. He was 60 years old. Nicholas I said that “Karamzin died like an angel.”
Karamzin, not only as a writer and author of the “History of the Russian State,” had a huge influence on his contemporaries. As a person, he was a kind of moral standard - primarily for the Pushkin circle of writers, including for such representatives of this circle as Gogol. The latter, in his “Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends,” dedicated a special chapter to Karamzin. For Gogol, he is a writer “with a well-ordered soul,” “with the purest desire for good,” independent and truthful, but able to speak in such a way that everyone, even those who disagree with him, listens to him “with love.” I think in conclusion it’s worth citing this Gogol characterization of Karamzin. Here are Gogol's words about him:
“Karamzin represents, for sure, an extraordinary phenomenon. Here is one of our writers who can be said to have fulfilled his entire duty, buried nothing in the ground, and with the five talents given to him, truly brought another five. Karamzin was the first to show that a writer can be independent and respected by everyone, as the most eminent citizen in the state. He was the first to solemnly announce that a writer cannot be constrained by censorship, and if he has already been filled with the purest desire for good to such an extent that this desire, having occupied his entire soul, has become his flesh and food, then no censorship is strict for him, and he is everywhere spacious, he said it and proved it. No one except Karamzin spoke so boldly and nobly, without hiding any of his opinions and thoughts, although they did not correspond in every way to the government of that time, and you can’t help but hear that he alone had the right to do so. What a lesson for our brother writer!<...>Have such a pure, such a well-ordered soul as Karamzin had, and then proclaim your truth: everyone will listen to you, from the Tsar to the last beggar in the state. And he will listen with such love, with which neither a parliamentary defender of rights, nor the best current preacher, gathering around himself the top of fashionable society, is listened to in any land, and with which only our wonderful Russia, about which there is a rumor that it is rumored, can listen doesn’t like the truth at all.”
Born on December 12, 1766 in the village of Znamenskoye, Simbirsk province. Father - Mikhail Egorovich Karamzin (1724-1783), military man, nobleman. He studied in Moscow, at the boarding school of Moscow University professor I. Schaden. In 1783 he entered service in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, but soon retired. From 1789 to 1790 he traveled around Europe. In 1803 he was appointed by Alexander I to the post of historiographer. In 1818 he published the first eight volumes of “History of the Russian State”. He was married twice and had 10 children. He died on June 3, 1826 in St. Petersburg at the age of 59. He was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. Main works: “History of the Russian State”, “Poor Liza”, “Natalia, the Boyar’s Daughter”, “Letters of a Russian Traveler” and others.
Brief biography (details)
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin is an outstanding Russian writer and historian, a representative of the era of sentimentalism, honorary member Imperial Academy of Sciences, reformer of the Russian language. Born on December 12, 1766 on a family estate in the Simbirsk province. The father was a retired captain and nobleman. Until 1778, Nicholas was on homeschooling, then entered the Moscow boarding school at the university. A few years later he was sent to serve in a guards regiment in St. Petersburg. The first literary essays date specifically to the time of military service.
After resigning, the writer went to Simbirsk. There he joined the Masonic lodge. After some time, he moved to Moscow, where he met such writers as N. I. Novikov, A. A. Petrov and others. From 1789 to 1790 he traveled around Europe, where he met with I. Kant. The result of this trip was “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” which immediately glorified Karamzin as a writer. Returning to his homeland, he settled in Moscow and worked professional writer and a journalist.
The story “Poor Liza,” written in 1792, brought him real fame. It was followed by a number of collections, including “Pantheon of Foreign Literature” and “Anoids”. It was Karamzin’s works that turned sentimentalism into a leading literary movement in Russia. In 1803, Emperor Alexander I granted him the title of historiographer. Soon a “Note on ancient and new Russia in its political and civil relations" With this work, the writer tried to prove that the country does not need any reforms or transformations.
In 1818, the book “History of the Russian State” was published, subsequently published in many European languages. Work on the history of the country brought the writer closer to the tsar, so he soon moved closer to the court in Tsarskoe Selo. By the end of his life, Karamzin became an ardent follower of absolute monarchy. The writer died as a result of a severe cold on May 22 (June 3), 1826 in St. Petersburg.
Karamzin Nikolai Mikhailovich (1766 - 1826)
Born on December 1 (12 NS) in the village of Mikhailovka, Simbirsk province, in the family of a landowner. Received a good home education.
At the age of 14 he began studying at the Moscow private boarding school of Professor Schaden. After graduating in 1783, he came to the Preobrazhensky Regiment in St. Petersburg, where he met the young poet and future employee of his “Moscow Journal” Dmitriev. At the same time he published his first translation of S. Gesner’s idyll “The Wooden Leg”. Having retired with the rank of second lieutenant in 1784, he moved to Moscow, became one of the active participants in the magazine “Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind,” published by N. Novikov, and became close to the Freemasons. He began translating religious and moral works. Since 1787, he regularly published his translations of Thomson's The Seasons, Genlis's Country Evenings, W. Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar, Lessing's tragedy Emilia Galotti.
In 1789, Karamzin’s first original story, “Eugene and Yulia,” appeared in the magazine “Children’s Reading...”. In the spring, he went on a trip to Europe: he visited Germany, Switzerland, France, where he observed the activities of the revolutionary government. In June 1790 he moved from France to England.
In the fall he returned to Moscow and soon undertook the publication of the monthly "Moscow Journal", in which most of the "Letters of a Russian Traveler", the stories "Liodor", "Poor Liza", "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter", "Flor Silin", essays, stories, criticism and poems. Karamzin attracted Dmitriev and Petrov, Kheraskov and Derzhavin, Lvov Neledinsky-Meletsky and others to collaborate in the magazine. Karamzin’s articles asserted new literary direction- sentimentalism. In the 1790s, Karamzin published the first Russian almanacs - "Aglaya" (parts 1 - 2, 1794 - 95) and "Aonids" (parts 1 - 3, 1796 - 99). The year 1793 came, when at the third stage of the French Revolution the Jacobin dictatorship was established, which shocked Karamzin with its cruelty. The dictatorship aroused in him doubts about the possibility for humanity to achieve prosperity. He condemned the revolution. The philosophy of despair and fatalism permeates his new works: the story “The Island of Bornholm” (1793); "Sierra Morena" (1795); poems “Melancholy”, “Message to A. A. Pleshcheev”, etc.
By the mid-1790s, Karamzin became the recognized head of Russian sentimentalism, which opened new page in Russian literature. He was an indisputable authority for Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, and young Pushkin.
In 1802 - 1803 Karamzin published the journal "Bulletin of Europe", in which literature and politics predominated. IN critical articles Karamzin, a new one was emerging aesthetic program, which contributed to the formation of Russian literature as nationally distinctive. Karamzin saw the key to the uniqueness of Russian culture in history. The most striking illustration of his views was the story “Marfa Posadnitsa”. In his political articles, Karamzin made recommendations to the government, pointing out the role of education.
Trying to influence Tsar Alexander I, Karamzin gave him his “Note on Ancient and New Russia” (1811), causing his irritation. In 1819 he submitted a new note - “Opinion of a Russian Citizen”, which caused even greater displeasure of the tsar. However, Karamzin did not abandon his belief in the salvation of an enlightened autocracy and later condemned the Decembrist uprising. However, Karamzin the artist was still highly valued by young writers, even those who did not share his political convictions.
In 1803, through M. Muravyov, Karamzin received the official title of court historiographer.
In 1804, he began to create the “History of the Russian State,” which he worked on until the end of his days, but did not complete. In 1818, the first eight volumes of History, Karamzin’s greatest scientific and cultural feat, were published. In 1821, the 9th volume, dedicated to the reign of Ivan the Terrible, was published, in 1824 - the 10th and 11th, about Fyodor Ioannovich and Boris Godunov. Death interrupted work on the 12th volume. This happened on May 22 (June 3, n.s.) 1826 in St. Petersburg.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin is a famous Russian writer, a representative of sentimentalism, an outstanding historian and thinker, and educator. His main service was to his native Fatherland, the pinnacle life path, is a 12-volume work “History of the Russian State”. Perhaps the only Russian historian who was treated kindly by the highest royal favor, who had the official status of a historiographer, created especially for him.
Biography of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (12/1/1776 - 22/5/1826) briefly
Nikolai Karamzin was born on December 1, 1766 in the family estate of Znamenskoye, not far from Simbirsk, into a wealthy noble family. Elementary education, very versatile, received at home. At the age of 13 he was sent to the private boarding school Schaden in Moscow. In 1782, his father, a retired officer, insisted that his son try himself military service, so Nikolai ended up in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment for two years. Realizing that a military career is not at all interesting to him, he retires. Not feeling the need to do something he doesn't like to earn his daily bread, he begins to do what interests him - literature. First as a translator, then he tries himself as an author.
Karamzin - publisher and writer
During the same period in Moscow, he became close to a circle of Freemasons and was friends with the publisher and educator Novikov. Is interested in studying the most different directions in philosophy and for a more complete acquaintance with French and German enlighteners, he travels to Western Europe. His journey coincided with the Great french revolution, Karamzin even witnesses these events and, at first, perceives them with great enthusiasm.
Returning to Russia, he publishes “Letters of a Russian Traveler.” This work is the reflections of a thinking person about the destinies European culture. The medieval dogma of man as subordinate to someone's supreme reason has been toppled from its pedestal. It is being replaced by the thesis about personal freedom as such, and Karamzin welcomes this theory with all his heart. In 1792, he published in his own literary magazine “Moscow Journal” the story “Poor Liza”, in which he develops the theory of personal equality, regardless of social status. In addition to the literary merits of the story, it is valuable for Russian literature because it was written and published in Russian.
The beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander I coincided with the beginning of Karamzin’s publication of the journal “Bulletin of Europe,” whose motto was “Russia is Europe.” The materials published in the magazine appealed to the views of Alexander I, so he responded favorably to Karamzin’s desire to write the history of Russia. He not only gave permission, but by personal decree appointed Karamzin as a historiographer with a decent pension of 2000 rubles, so that he could work with all dedication on a grandiose historical work. Since 1804, Nikolai Mikhailovich has been engaged only in compiling the “History of the Russian State”. The Emperor gives him permission to work to collect materials in the archives. He was always ready to provide an audience and be sure to report the slightest difficulties if they arose.
The first 8 volumes of “History” were published in 1818 and were sold out in just a month. Pushkin called this event “absolutely exceptional.” The interest in Karamzin’s historical work was enormous, and although he managed to describe historical events from the first mention of Slavic tribes only before the Time of Troubles, which amounted to 12 volumes, the significance of this historical work cannot be overstated. This grandiose work formed the basis of almost all subsequent fundamental works on the history of Russia. Unfortunately, Karamzin himself did not see his work published in full. He died from a cold, which he got after spending the whole day on Senate Square in St. Petersburg during the Decembrist uprising. This happened on May 22, 1826.