Prose writer-publicist A. I. Herzen: biography and creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The future great writer and thinker A. I. Herzen was born in the troubled year of 1812. The six-month-old baby even fell into the hands of the French when they searched his family's noble nest in Moscow. Tales of the war and the whole romantic era of Alexander's reign made an enthusiastic dreamer out of the child, whose only goal was to fight for a better Russia. Growing up, he did not change his ideals.

Childhood and education

A. I. Herzen was born into the family of a we althy nobleman Ivan Alekseevich Yakovlev. Interestingly, his we alth was confirmed by his famous origin. One of the ancestors of the family was Andrei Kobyla, from whom the royal Romanov dynasty also descended.

Mother was of humble German origin, besides she was only 16 years old. For these reasons, the father did not register the marriage with the girl, and the born son received an artificial surname invented by Ivan Alekseevich. Herzen in German means son of the heart.

This language generally played a big role in the life of a young man. Schiller became his favorite writer. So, for example, the play "The Robbers" was Herzen's reference book, and its main character, Karl Moor, was the idealand an example for young people. Also, the first serious literary experience of the future writer can be considered a review-reflection on "Wallenstein", the author of which was also Schiller.

As a child, Alexander Ivanovich Herzen met his colleague Nikolai Ogarev. The children were stunned by the news of the Decembrist uprising in 1825, after which they made a promise to each other to fight for the revolution.

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A utopian young man entered Moscow University, where he got into numerous circles of radical youth. In particular, they supported the events in France in 1830, when Charles X was overthrown as a result of the July Revolution.

In 1833, the student defended his thesis on Copernicus and received a Ph. D., as well as a silver medal. It seemed that he had a prosperous noble service life ahead of him. However, a year later, A. I. Herzen fell into disgrace and was sent into exile in the provincial Vyatka with the wording "for singing libelous poems." In the barracks of the Krutitsy Monastery, where he was kept during the investigation, the writer finished the story "The German Traveler".

In Vyatka, Herzen got a job in the local office as an interpreter. The life of a small town of ten thousand seemed terribly boring to him after his Moscow impressions. Everything changed when in 1837 the exile caught the eye of the heir to the throne, the future Alexander II. He procured for Herzen the relief of the regime and transfer to Vladimir. Then the writer met the poet VasilyZhukovsky, who had just witnessed the death of Alexander Pushkin.

Otechestvennye Zapiski and Westernizers

Finally, in 1838, Herzen ended up in Vladimir, where he married Natalya Aleksandrovna Zakharyina, and soon received his first child, Alexander. Then the writer managed to move to the capital, but he was again exiled to Novgorod for freethinking. But even there he did not stay long, returning to Moscow. During this time, he worked for the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine. Also, A. I. Herzen became one of the leaders of the movement of Westerners, agitating for the movement of Russia along the European path of development.

In 1845, the writer published the first chapters of his most famous work "Who is to blame?". Then Herzen decided to emigrate from the country due to the fact that the authorities did not like his views, in particular on the peasant issue. And although there was no persecution, he went to Europe, from where he never returned.

Europe

Very soon, in 1848, a general revolution began in Europe against the old authorities. Herzen Alexander Ivanovich took part in this movement, in particular in the Roman processions. When the revolution began in France, the writer's family moved to Paris. After Herzen took part in a demonstration against the local authorities, agitating for the return of constitutional order, the persecution of its participants began. The publicist fled to Switzerland. When the rebellion died down, he returned to Nice.

In 1850, a decree was issued in Russia that Herzen falls under "eternal exile." Causebecame his journalistic activity in many magazines, where he criticized the Nikolaev authorities. Despite the ban on printing in Russia, Herzen's books and articles were published in various European languages abroad.

In 1851, in a shipwreck, the writer's mother and his son Kolya tragically died. The following May, his wife and newborn child died in childbirth. Tragic events prompted him to begin his memoirs, which were published only in 1868 under the title Past and Thoughts. Then London became a permanent place of residence, which was chosen by Alexander Herzen. "The Past and Thoughts" eventually became a classic of its genre.

Bell

In 1853, the Free Russian Printing House appeared in London, founded by Alexander Ivanovich Herzen. The great thinker wanted to create a journalistic publication that would focus on the political and social events of his native country.

Nicholas I soon died, and Russia lost the Crimean War, after which a request for change appeared at home. By this time, for thirty years, no reforms had taken place in the country, and reaction reigned in response to the Decembrist uprising. When friend and colleague Ogarev moved to London, Herzen created the Kolokol newspaper in 1857, which became a real symbol of the era.

New materials of correspondents appeared in the edition, as well as small literary publications. The thickness of the number was 8–10 sheets. At first, a censored version of the newspaper was published in Russia. Herread by Alexander II himself. However, after secret documents about the forthcoming peasant reform were published in one of the issues in 1858, the Bell was banned. Nevertheless, the newspaper managed to get into the country illegally. The peak of success was 1861, when the Manifesto on the liberation of the peasants was published in Russia.

Recent years

After the writer supported the Polish uprising, interest in it was completely undermined. The Bell ceased printing in 1867. Switzerland became the new home where Alexander Herzen moved. Briefly: the rest of his life turned into wanderings and quarrels with like-minded people.

In 1870, Alexander Herzen died of pneumonia. "Who is guilty?" and publicistic activity have immortalized his name. In Soviet times, it was recognized as a symbol of the struggle for the revolution against the tsarist government. The writer was buried in Nice.