Short biography of Alexander Radishchev: life story, creativity and books

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

Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev became famous as a talented prose writer and poet, but on a par with this he was a philosopher and held a good position at court. Our article presents a brief biography of Radishchev (for grade 9, this information can be very useful).

Childhood. Moving to Moscow

Alexander Nikolaevich was the son of a we althy landowner Nikolai Afanasyevich Radishchev. He was born in the Saratov province, in the village of Verkhny Oblyazovo in 1749. His father was a man of culture, so he tried to give his son an excellent education. Radishchev's mother was Thekla Savvichna. She was from a family of Moscow noble intelligentsia. Her maiden name is Argamakova.

It is noteworthy that Radishchev's parents treated their serfs very well, which they also taught their son. The childhood of Alexander Nikolaevich passed in Oblyazovo. It is known that their house was rich and large, there were always many people in it. Radishchev had four sisters and six brothers, the children communicated with the serfs on an equal footing, rushing around the village with them. Radishchev's teacher was, apparently, also a serf, his name was Pyotr Mamontov. Radishchev fondly recalled how his uncle told fairy tales.

When the boy was 7 years old, his parents took him to Moscow. There he lived in the care of a relative of his mother. Along with the master's children, he studied with a university professor and French teacher. It was an old Frenchman who had fled his country.

The boy's environment was unusual. He listened to lectures by leading thinkers, disputes about serfdom, construction, education, and bureaucracy. The guests of the Argamakovs were dissatisfied with the government of Elizabeth, and under Peter the Third there was no detente, on the contrary, the indignation only grew. Alexander Nikolaevich grew up in such an environment.

Page Corps

When the boy was 13 years old, he was granted a page. This was done by Empress Catherine II. Little Radishchev was molested by his relatives, the Argamakovs.

Until 1764, Catherine, together with the government, was in Moscow, where the coronation took place, and then, together with her pages, including Radishchev, returned to St. Petersburg.

The Page Corps was not a "decent" educational institution in those years. All the boys were trained by only one teacher - Moramber, who was obliged to show them how to properly serve the Empress at balls, in the theater, on trains.

A short biography of Radishchev, the most important place in which is given to his creative successes, will not describe those experiences of the boy whothe atmosphere of serious conversations and public interests was transferred to the court environment. Of course, he had already absorbed all the hatred for despotism, lies, flattery, and now he saw it all with his own eyes, and not just anywhere, but in all the splendor of the palace.

It was in the Corps of Pages that Alexander Nikolayevich met Kutuzov, who would become his best friend for many years. And although their paths will subsequently part, the commander will not say a single bad word about Radishchev. A brief biography of the latter is a direct confirmation of this.

In Leipzig

Two years after moving to St. Petersburg, Radishchev, along with five other young men, was sent to Germany to study at the university. Catherine II wanted them to become educated lawyers and serve in the judiciary.

Slowly their little group grew. For example, Fyodor Ushakov, who at that time was a young official, arrived in Leipzig. He left the service for the sake of university knowledge. Fedor was the oldest and quickly became the leader of the group of young men.

Radishchev spent almost five years in a foreign land. All this time he studied hard and almost received a medical education, but still literature attracted him most of all. A brief biography of Radishchev indicates his interest in the pre-romantic movement emerging in Germany.

The country was shaken by the Seven Years' War, which ended quite recently, so many ideological ideas developed in society, one might say, free-thinking, if not revolutionary. And Russiansstudents were at the center of it all. Together with them, Goethe studied at the university, they listened to lectures by the outstanding philosopher Platner, who was a supporter of liberalism.

In Germany, young men did not live very well, because their boss Bokum, assigned by the Empress, was a real tyrant and greedy. He took away from young people all the money sent for maintenance. And then the students decided to rebel. This decision backfired on them, as they would have been arrested and would have been put on trial. But the Russian ambassador intervened.

Bokum was fired much later, just before Radishchev left for his homeland.

Return

A brief biography of Radishchev mentions that in 1771 he came to St. Petersburg with Kutuzov and Rubanovsky. Young people were full of optimism and determination, imbued with advanced social ideals, they wanted to serve society.

It seems that during the years they spent in Germany, the Empress completely forgot about the purpose of sending pages abroad. Radishchev was appointed to work in the Senate as a recorder. This caused a sea of indignation in the young man, and he soon left the service.

In 1773 he entered the headquarters of General Bruce, where he was appointed military prosecutor. This work also did not inspire Alexander Nikolaevich, but he had an outlet. Thanks to his charm and education, he became well received in high-society living rooms and writers' offices. Alexander Nikolayevich never for a moment forgot about his literary hobbies. Even a very brief biography of Radishchev is not able to keep silent about his work. Yes, this is not necessary.

Literary Path

For the first time, Alexander Nikolaevich turned to literary work in Leipzig. It was a translation of a political-religious pamphlet. But his young page did not finish, because another, less sharp passage was printed in Vedomosti.

In St. Petersburg, he met the publisher of the magazine "Painter" Novikov. Soon there appeared an essay called "Fragment of a Journey", but it was published anonymously. A brief biography of Radishchev, the most important thing in which is always on the surface, confirms the fact that the writer almost never indicated his name on the works.

The "Fragment" vividly showed the life of a fortress village, with all its gloomy events. Of course, the top authorities did not like this, and the landowners were offended. But neither the author nor the publisher was afraid. And soon the same magazine published an article "English Walk", defending the previous edition. And then the continuation of "Excerpt".

Actually, Radishchev's tragic career began with this publication.

Alexander Nikolaevich did a lot of translations, which were also published by Novikov. By order of Catherine, he translated the book "Reflections on Greek History" by Mably. But at the end he left a few notes of his own, thereby entering into a debate with the author, as well as several definitions (including the word "autocracy").

In 1789, the book "The Life of F. Ushakov" was published, which raised a lot of noise. She againIt was still published anonymously, but no one doubted the authorship of Radishchev. Everyone noticed that the book contains many dangerous expressions and thoughts. However, the authorities ignored her release, which served as a signal for the writer to take further action.

The brief biography of Radishchev for the 9th grade is not so informative, but it also notes that not only the authorities, but also members of the Russian Academy, and many nobles were dissatisfied with the work of this person.

Radishchev did not calm down. He wanted some radical action. Therefore, he began to speak in the Society of Friends of the Literary Sciences, which included many writers, as well as sailors and officers. And he got his way: his speeches were listened to.

The Society began to publish the magazine "Conversing Citizen", which published works imbued with Radishchev's ideas. An article by the philosopher himself was also published there, more like a campaign speech (“A Conversation about the Son of the Fatherland”). By the way, he had to try very hard to send it to print. Even his like-minded people understood how dangerous this could be.

The writer, it seemed, did not even notice how the clouds were gathering over him. But this is clearly described by the biography. Radishchev Alexander Nikolaevich, whose work did him a disservice, was under the guns of the authorities. His next post added fuel to the fire.

Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow

A short biography of Radishchev contains one amazing fact. His main work passed the censorship without any problems.check. It would seem that this is impossible, but it was so. The thing is that the Chief of Police of the Council of Piety was simply too lazy to read it. When he saw the title and the table of contents, he decided that it was just a guidebook. The book was printed in the author's home printing house, so no one knew about its contents.

The plot is quite simple. A certain traveler travels from one settlement to another and, passing by villages, describes what he saw. The book very loudly criticizes the autocratic power, tells about the oppressed peasants and the permissiveness of the landowners.

A total of six hundred copies were printed, but only twenty-five were sold. For a long time, readers who wanted to hold the revolutionary edition in their hands went to the seller.

Of course, such a work could not fail to find a response either from readers or from the ruling elite. The empress compared the writer with Pugachev, and it was the rebel who won in the comparison.

There were other people besides the authorities who did not appreciate Radishchev's work. For example, Pushkin spoke very coldly about the book, noting that it was a "mediocre work" written in a "barbaric style".

Arrest and exile

By order of Catherine the Second, Radishchev was arrested. This happened on June 30, 1790. According to official documents, the reason for the detention was only the authorship of "Journey". But, since the empress had long known about the nature of the ideas and activities of her subject, his other literary works were also attached to the case.

The Society of Friends was broken up due to a connection with the disgraced. The investigation was entrusted to the head of the secret police, Stepan Sheshkovsky, who was the personal executioner of the Empress. Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev somehow found out about this. A brief biography (9th graders consider this topic as part of the school curriculum) pointed to the fact that the remaining copies of the book were destroyed personally by the author, who was really scared.

Radischev was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. He escaped terrible torture only because his wife's sister took all her jewelry to the executioner. When the "rebel" realized how dangerous the game in which he got involved, he was seized with horror. The threat of the death pen alty hung over him, and his family was branded as traitors. Then Radishchev began to write letters of repentance, though not very sincere.

From the writer sought to name the names of accomplices and like-minded people. But Radishchev did not utter a single name. As a result of the trial, on July 24, the death sentence was pronounced. But since the writer was a nobleman, the approval of all state structures was required. Radishchev waited for him until August 19th. But for some reason, the execution was postponed, and on September 4, Catherine replaced the hanging with a link to Siberia.

Information about the ten years spent in the Ilmensky jail could fill up his brief biography. Alexander Radishchev, whose writers and friends turned their backs on the exile, lived there for only six years. In 1796, Emperor Paul, known for his confrontation with his mother, released the writer. And in 1801 he was amnestied.

Latestyears

Alexander the First summoned the writer to St. Petersburg and appointed him to a position in the Law Drafting Commission.

After the exile, Radishchev wrote several poems, but he no longer enjoyed writing. It was difficult for him to drown out his freedom-loving thoughts. In addition, life in Siberia greatly undermined his he alth, he was no longer young and unhappy. Perhaps all these moments made the writer die.

A brief biography of Radishchev contains information that there are two options for his death. The first is work related. Allegedly, he proposed introducing laws equalizing the rights of citizens, and the chairman reprimanded him, threatening Siberia. Alexander Nikolayevich took this to heart and poisoned himself.

The second version says that he mistakenly drank a glass of aqua regia and died in front of his son. But the funeral documents list natural death as the cause of death.

To this day, the grave of the writer has not survived.

The fate of literary heritage

Until the twentieth century, the writer's books could not be found. He was known only as a resident ("countryman") of the Penza region - Radishchev. The writer, whose biography (short in presentation, but so rich in events) was very tragic, was not appreciated by his contemporaries. All his books were burned. Only in 1888 a small edition of Journey was published in Russia. And already in 1907 - a collection of works by a prose writer and poet.

Family

The writer was married twice. With first wife AnnaRubanovskaya he had four children. But the woman died during the birth of the last son, Paul. Anna's sister Ekaterina agreed to look after the motherless children.

She became the second wife of Radishchev, following him into exile. Three more children were born in their marriage. On the way back to St. Petersburg, Catherine fell ill and died. This loss was hard for all the children and Radishchev.

The short biography and work of the writer are truly dramatic. Despite all the events of his life, he did not give up his views and followed them to the last breath. This is the strength of the human spirit!