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Saltykov Shchedrin is a very short biography. Saltykov-Shchedrin - biography and facts

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (real name Saltykov, pseudonym "N. Shchedrin") was born on January 27 (January 15 according to the old style), 1826 in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province (now the Taldom district of the Moscow region). He was the sixth child of a hereditary nobleman collegiate adviser, his mother came from a family of Moscow merchants. Until the age of 10, the boy lived on his father's estate.

In 1836, Mikhail Saltykov was enrolled in the Moscow noble institute, where the poet Mikhail Lermontov had previously studied, in 1838, as the best student of the institute, he was transferred to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Saltykov was known as the first poet on the course, his poems were published in periodicals.

In 1844, after graduating from the lyceum, he was appointed to serve in the office of the military ministry in St. Petersburg.

In 1845-1847, Saltykov attended meetings of a circle of Russian utopian socialists - "Fridays" of Mikhail Butashevich-Petrashevsky, whom he met at the Lyceum.

In 1847-1848, Saltykov's first reviews were published in the journals Sovremennik and Domestic Notes.

In 1847, Saltykov's first story, Contradictions, dedicated to the economist Vladimir Milyutin, was published in Otechestvennye Zapiski.

The release of this work coincided with the tightening of censorship restrictions after the French Revolution and the organization of a secret committee chaired by Prince Menshikov; as a result, the story was banned, and its author was exiled to Vyatka (now Kirov) and appointed to the position of scribe in the provincial government.

In 1855, Saltykov received permission to return to St. Petersburg.

In 1856-1858, he was an official for special assignments in the Ministry of the Interior, participated in the preparation of the peasant reform of 1861.

From 1856 to 1857 Saltykov's Provincial Essays were published in Russkiy Vestnik under the pseudonym N. Shchedrin. "Essays" were marked by the attention of Nikolai Chernyshevsky and Nikolai Dobrolyubov, who devoted articles to them.

In March 1858, Saltykov was appointed vice-governor of the city of Ryazan.

In April 1860, in connection with a conflict with the Ryazan governor, Saltykov was appointed vice-governor of Tver, and in January 1862 he resigned.

In 1858-1862, the collections "Innocent Stories" and "Satires in Prose" were published, in which the city of Foolov appeared for the first time - a collective image of modern Russian reality.

In 1862-1864, Saltykov was a member of the editorial board of the Sovremennik magazine.

In 1864-1868 he served as chairman of the Penza Treasury Chamber, manager of the Tula Treasury Chamber and manager of the Treasury Chamber of Ryazan.

Since 1868, he collaborated with the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski, since 1878 he was the editor-in-chief of the journal.

While working in Otechestvennye Zapiski, the writer created his significant works - the novels The History of a City (1869-1970) and The Golovlevs (1875-1880).

In parallel, the writer worked on journalistic articles, in the 1870s he published collections of stories "Signs of the Times", "Letters from the Province", "Pompadours and Pompadours", "Lords of Tashkent", "Diary of a provincial in St. Petersburg", "Well-meaning speeches", become a noticeable phenomenon not only in literature, but also in socio-political life.

In the 1880s, the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin saw the light of day, the first of which were published in 1869.

In 1886, the novel "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" was written.

In February 1889, the writer began preparing the author's edition of the collected works in nine volumes, but only one volume was published during his lifetime.

On May 10 (April 28, old style), 1889, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin died in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Literary bridges of the Volkovsky cemetery.

In 1890, the complete works of the writer were published in nine volumes. From 1891 to 1892, a complete collection of works in 12 volumes was published, prepared by the author's heirs, which was repeatedly reprinted.

Saltykov-Shchedrin was married to Elizaveta Boltina, whom he met during the Vyatka exile, the son Konstantin and the daughter Elizaveta were born in the family.

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (1826-1889) - prose writer, publicist, critic.

The great Russian satirist Saltykov-Shchedrin was born and raised in a wealthy landowner's family, but there was an atmosphere of stinginess, mutual enmity, hypocrisy and inhumanity in the house.

Saltykov studied first at the Moscow Noble Institute and, as an excellent student, was sent to St. Petersburg, to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. In 1844, Saltykov graduated from the Lyceum and entered the military ministry.

In his first works, the writer opposed social inequality. The hero of his story "A Tangled Case" (1848) imagined the social system of Russia as a huge pyramid of people, at the base of which are the poor, hunted down by the unbearable hardships of life. Nicholas I found in the story "the desire to spread revolutionary ideas", so in 1848 the young writer was exiled to Vyatka, where he spent 8 years. Only after the death of the tsar, in 1855, the writer was able to return to St. Petersburg.

In 1857, the writer's new book, Provincial Essays, was published. The work was directed against the oppression of the landowners and bureaucratic arbitrariness.

In the 60s, the great satirist resolutely opposed the autocracy in his remarkable book "The History of a City" (1869-1870), in which he sought to destroy the people's faith in the "good king". In this work, Shchedrin painted a horrifying picture of people's lack of rights, grief and poverty (see "History of a City").

From 1868 to 1884, he prints all his works only on the pages of Otechestvennye Zapiski. The readers of the magazine get acquainted with the series of satirical stories and essays by Saltykov: "Pompadours and Pompadours" (1863-1874), "Letters about the Province" (1868), "Signs of the Times" (1868), "Lords of Tashkent" (1869-1872), " Well-intentioned speeches" (1872-1876), "In the midst of moderation and accuracy" (1874-1877), "The Refuge of Monrepos" (1878-1879), "Letters to Auntie" (1881-1882), novels "Golovleva" (1875 -1880) and "Modern Idyll" (1877-1883). Saltykov creates a kind of satirical encyclopedia of Russian life.

The fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are the most popular. His first fairy tales were published in 1869: "The Wild Landowner", "How One Man Feeded Two Generals".

Fairy tales are the result of many years of life observations of the writer. In them, he acts as a defender of popular interests, an exponent of popular ideals, advanced ideas of his time (see "Tales of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin").

In the novel "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" the writer painted terrible pictures of serf life, and in the book "Little Things in Life" (1886) Shchedrin showed the tragedy of the life of "small", ordinary people.

Many of Shchedrin's satirical types have survived both their era and their creator. They have become common nouns, denoting new and at the same time having their own long-standing pedigree social phenomena in Russian and world life.

Throughout his life, Saltykov-Shchedrin retained faith in his people, his history. "I love Russia to the point of pain in my heart, and I can't even conceive of myself anywhere but Russia."

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin is a well-known Russian writer, journalist, editor, government official. His works are included in the compulsory school curriculum. The writer's tales are called so for a reason - they contain not only caricature ridicule and grotesque, thus the author emphasizes that a person is the arbiter of his own destiny.

Childhood and youth

The genius of Russian literature comes from a noble family. Father Evgraf Vasilyevich was a quarter of a century older than his wife Olga Mikhailovna. The daughter of a Moscow merchant got married at the age of 15 and left for her husband in the village of Spas-Ugol, which was then located in the Tver province. There, on January 15, 1826, according to the new style, the youngest of six children, Mikhail, was born. In total, the Saltykov family (Shchedrin is part of the pseudonym that followed over time) grew up three sons and three daughters.

According to the descriptions of the researchers of the writer's biography, the mother, who eventually turned from a cheerful girl into an imperious mistress of the estate, divided the children into favorites and hateful ones. Little Misha was surrounded by love, but sometimes he even got hit with rods. At home there was constant screaming and crying. As Vladimir Obolensky wrote in his memoirs about the Saltykov-Shchedrin family, in conversations the writer described his childhood in gloomy colors, once he said that he hated "this terrible woman", talking about his mother.

Saltykov knew French and German, received an excellent primary education at home, which allowed him to enter the Moscow Noble Institute. From there, the boy, who showed remarkable diligence, ended up on full state support in the privileged Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, in which education was equated to university, and graduates were assigned ranks according to the Table of Ranks.

Both educational institutions were famous for graduating the elite of Russian society. Among the graduates are Prince Mikhail Obolensky, Anton Delvig, Ivan Pushchin. However, unlike them, Saltykov turned from a wonderful smart boy into an untidy, foul-mouthed boy, often sitting in a punishment cell, who never made close friends. It is not without reason that Mikhail's classmates nicknamed him "The Gloomy Lyceum Student".

The atmosphere within the walls of the lyceum contributed to creativity, and Mikhail, in imitation of his predecessors, began to write free-thinking poetry. Such behavior did not go unnoticed: a graduate of the Lyceum, Mikhail Saltykov, received the rank of collegiate secretary, although for academic success he was given a higher rank - a titular adviser.

At the end of the lyceum, Mikhail got a job serving in the office of the military department and continued to compose. In addition, he became interested in the works of the French socialists. The themes raised by the revolutionaries were reflected in the first stories "A Tangled Case" and "Contradictions".

But the novice writer did not guess with the source of the publication. The journal Otechestvennye Zapiski at that time was under tacit political censorship and was considered ideologically harmful.

By decision of the supervisory commission, Saltykov was sent into exile in Vyatka, to the office under the governor. In exile, in addition to official affairs, Mikhail studied the history of the country, translated the works of European classics, traveled a lot and communicated with the people. Saltykov almost stayed to vegetate in the provinces for good, even if he rose to the rank of adviser to the provincial government: in 1855 he was crowned on the imperial throne, and they simply forgot about the ordinary exile.

Peter Lanskoy, a representative of a noble noble family, the second husband, came to the rescue. With the assistance of his brother, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mikhail was returned to St. Petersburg and given the position of an official for special assignments in this department.

Literature

Mikhail Evgrafovich is considered one of the brightest satirists of Russian literature, masterfully fluent in the Aesopian language, whose novels and stories have not lost their topicality. For historians, the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin are a source of knowledge of the mores and customs common in the Russian Empire in the 19th century. Peru of the writer owns such terms as "bungling", "soft-bodied" and "stupidity".

Upon returning from exile, Saltykov reworked his experience of communicating with officials of the Russian hinterland and, under the pseudonym Nikolai Shchedrin, published a cycle of stories “Provincial Essays”, recreating the characteristic types of Russian residents. The writings were a great success, the name of the author, who subsequently wrote many books, will be primarily associated with the Essays, researchers of the writer's work will call them a landmark stage in the development of Russian literature.

In the stories, ordinary working people are described with particular warmth. Creating images of nobles and officials, Mikhail Evgrafovich spoke not only about the basics of serfdom, but also focused on the moral side of the representatives of the upper class and the moral foundations of statehood.

The pinnacle of creativity of the Russian prose writer is considered to be "The History of a City". The satirical story, full of allegory and grotesque, was not immediately appreciated by contemporaries. Moreover, the author was initially accused of mocking society and trying to denigrate historical facts.

The main characters-town governors show a rich palette of human characters and social foundations - bribe-takers, careerists, indifferent, obsessed with absurd goals, outright fools. The common people, on the other hand, appear as blindly obeying, ready to endure everything, the gray mass, which acts decisively only when it is on the verge of death.

Saltykov-Shchedrin ridiculed such cowardice and cowardice in The Wise Scribbler. The work, despite the fact that it is called a fairy tale, is not addressed to children at all. The philosophical meaning of the story about a fish endowed with human qualities lies in the fact that a lonely existence, closed only on its own well-being, is insignificant.

Another fairy tale for adults is “The Wild Landowner”, a lively and cheerful work with a slight touch of cynicism, in which the simple working people are openly opposed to the tyrant landowner.

The literary work of Saltykov-Shchedrin received additional nourishment when the prose writer began working in the editorial office of the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine. The general management of the publication since 1868 belonged to the poet and publicist.

At the personal invitation of the latter, Mikhail Evgrafovich headed the first department dealing with the publication of fiction and translated works. The bulk of Saltykov-Shchedrin's own writings also appeared on the pages of Zapiski.

Among them - "The Refuge of Mon Repos", according to literary critics - a tracing paper of the family life of the writer who became vice-governor, "The Diary of a Provincial in St. Petersburg" - a book about adventurers who are not translated in Rus', "Pompadours and Pompadourses", "Letters from the provinces".

In 1880, the epoch-making sharply social novel “Lord Golovlevs” was published in a separate book - a story about a family in which the main goal is enrichment and an idle lifestyle, children have long become a burden for their mother, in general, the family does not live according to God's law and, not noticing moreover, is heading towards self-destruction.

Personal life

Mikhail Saltykov met his wife Elizabeth in Vyatka exile. The girl turned out to be the daughter of the immediate boss of the writer, Vice-Governor Apollon Petrovich Boltin. The official made a career in education, economic, military and police departments. At first, an experienced campaigner was afraid of the freethinker Saltykov, but over time, the men became friends.

In the family, Lisa was called Betsy, the girl called the writer, who was 14 years older than her, Michel. However, Boltin was soon transferred to work in Vladimir, and the family left for him. Saltykov was forbidden to leave the Vyatka province. But, according to legend, he twice violated the ban to see his beloved.

The writer's mother, Olga Mikhailovna, categorically opposed the marriage with Elizaveta Apollonovna: not only is the bride too young, but also the dowry for the girl is not solid. The difference in years also raised doubts among the Vladimir vice-governor. Mikhail agreed to wait one year.

The young people got married in June 1856, the groom's mother did not come to the wedding. Relations in the new family were difficult, the spouses often quarreled, the difference in characters affected: Mikhail was direct, quick-tempered, they were afraid of him in the house. Elizabeth, on the contrary, is soft and patient, not burdened with knowledge of the sciences. Saltykov did not like the affectation and coquetry of his wife, he called the ideals of his wife "not very demanding."

According to the memoirs of Prince Vladimir Obolensky, Elizaveta Apollonovna entered into a conversation at random, made remarks that were not relevant to the case. The nonsense uttered by the woman baffled the interlocutor and angered Mikhail Evgrafovich.

Elizabeth loved a beautiful life and demanded appropriate financial support. In this, the husband, who had risen to the rank of lieutenant governor, could still contribute, but he constantly got into debt and called the acquisition of property a careless act. From the works of Saltykov-Shchedrin and studies of the life of the writer, it is known that he played the piano, understood wines and was known as a connoisseur of profanity.

Nevertheless, Elizabeth and Michael lived together all their lives. The wife copied the works of her husband, turned out to be a good housewife, after the death of the writer she competently disposed of the inheritance, thanks to which the family did not feel the need. The marriage produced a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Konstantin. The children did not show themselves in any way, which upset the famous father, who loved them boundlessly. Saltykov wrote:

"My children will be unhappy, no poetry in their hearts, no rosy memories."

Death

The health of the middle-aged writer, who suffered from rheumatism, was greatly undermined by the closure of the Notes of the Fatherland in 1884. In a joint decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Justice and Public Education, the publication was recognized as a distributor of harmful ideas, and the editorial staff were recognized as members of a secret society.

Saltykov-Shchedrin spent the last months of his life in bed, asking the guests to convey: "I am very busy - I am dying." Mikhail Evgrafovich died in May 1889 from complications caused by a cold. According to the will, the writer was buried next to the grave at the Volkovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

According to one source, Mikhail Evgrafovich does not belong to the aristocratic boyar family of the Saltykovs. According to others, his family is the descendants of an untitled branch of the family.
Mikhail Saltykov - Shchedrin coined the word "softness".
Children in the writer's family appeared after 17 years of marriage.

There are several versions of the origin of the pseudonym Shchedrin. First: many peasants with such a surname lived on the Saltykov estate. Second: Shchedrin is the surname of a merchant, a member of the schismatic movement, whose case the writer investigated due to official duties. "French" version: one of the translations of the word "generous" into French is libéral. It was the excessive liberal chatter that the writer denounced in his works.

Bibliography

1857 - "Provincial essays"
1869 - "The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals"
1870 - "The history of one city"
1872 - "Diary of a provincial in St. Petersburg"
1879 - "The Refuge of Mon Repos"
1880 - "Lord Golovlevs"
1883 - "The wise scribbler"
1884 - "Karas-idealist"
1885 - Horse
1886 - "Crow petitioner"
1889 - "Poshekhonskaya antiquity"

Saltykov-Shchedrin was not only a talented writer, but also an organizer who tried to be useful for the Motherland and serve her. He was born in the Tver province 27 January 1826 d. He spent his childhood in his father's estate. This is reflected in his works.
Michael had an excellent education, thanks to which in 10 years, he enters the Moscow Institute and spends there 2 of the year. After that, he was transferred to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. The lyceum student was greatly influenced by the work of such great writers as Belinsky and Herzen.
After graduating from high school 1844 year, the young man becomes an assistant secretary and enters the service of the War Department. But he was drawn to another life. He liked to communicate with scientists, writers, philosophers. He began attending Petrashevsky "Fridays", where he frankly wafted an anti-serf mood. This led to the search for standards of a just society. Shchedrin reveals acute social problems in his first works "Contradiction" and "A Tangled Case". Frightened by the French Revolution, the authorities turned their attention to the writer and sent him to Vyatka.
There, in 1850, he received a councilor's seat in the provincial government. This makes it possible for Saltykov to often travel around the cities and see the world of officials and the life of peasants from the inside. The impressions received from these trips were reflected in the writings of the writer in the form of satirical remarks.
When Nicholas I died in 1855, Mikhail was allowed to live wherever he wanted, and he again goes to St. Petersburg.
In 1856 -1857 years, his work "Provincial Essays" was published. All reading Russia calls Shchedrin Gogol's heir.
Saltykov-Shchedrin married the vice-governor of Vyatka. He combines public service with writing.
WITH 1856 By 1858 Mikhail worked for a year in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He only did special assignments. At that time, it was there that the center for the preparation of the peasant reform was located.
In 1858 -1862 he lived in Ryazan, later in Tver. He served as Lieutenant Governor. The writer recruited educated and necessarily honest young people into his team.
During these years, Saltykov published articles reflecting peasant problems.
Saltykov resigns in 1862 year and moved to Petersburg. Gets to the editorial office of the magazine "Interlocutor" at the invitation of Nekrasov. At this time, the magazine is experiencing great difficulties. Shchedrin takes all responsibility, all writing and editing of articles. He devotes his main attention to the review of Our Social Life, which is published monthly. It subsequently became a monument to Russian journalism. 1860 of the year.
IN 1864 In the year Saltykov leaves the editorial staff due to disagreements that have appeared within the team. Disputes concerned questions of tactics of conducting public struggle in the changed conditions.
Returning to the municipal service, the writer becomes the head of the State Chambers, moving from Tula to Ryazan, and then to Penza. He closely observes the life that goes on in the cities. This becomes the main plot of the Letters on the Province.
in his grotesque pamphlets, Saltykov openly mocked the heads of the provinces. This was due to the frequent change of cities and places of his service. After another complaint to the Ryazan governor Saltykov, in the rank of acting state councilor, he is dismissed. The writer returns to St. Petersburg again and becomes one of the editors of the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine.
He devotes himself entirely to writing. During this period, the "History of a City" appears - which is the pinnacle of his satirical art.
In the last months of his life, the writer worked fruitfully. The writer died 1889 year.