Interesting facts from the life of S altykov-Shchedrin. Brief biography and works

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

Mikhail Evgrafovich is a great Russian prose writer and satirist. The life of S altykov-Shchedrin began in 1826, on January 27 (15), in the Tver province in the village of Spas-Ugol. He is a hereditary nobleman, and his family was we althy.

S altykov-Shchedrin: biography - a brief history of childhood

The future writer had a despotic mother. Zabelina Olga Mikhailovna was completely devoid of humanity, and her image would later be embodied in the "Lords of the Golovlevs". There were six children in the family, and, despite the fact that Misha was known as a favorite, he had seen family squabbles in full. But on the contrary, it seemed to temper the boy. The author will later describe the period up to ten years almost autobiographically in Poshekhonskaya Antiquity. S altykov always recalled his childhood with bitterness and, as a rule, did not like to talk about it. His childhood passed mostly in solitude, all the older children had already left to study. And little was really done to educate him.

Duality

Interesting facts from the life of S altykov-Shchedrin begin with his last name. Of its two parts, the real one is S altykov, and the second, Shchedrin, appeared later as a pseudonym. His life seems to be divided into two parts: S altykov is an official, andShchedrin is a writer, satirist, writer.

S altykov's career

S altykov Mikhail Evgrafovich began his career in exile. In August 1844, he was enrolled in the St. Petersburg Chancellery, in 1846 the young man was already able to get a position there as assistant secretary to the Minister of War. And at the age of 22, in 1848, he was exiled to Vyatka for his first literary research. However, he continued to serve, and his career was brilliant. He twice served as vice-governor: in the Ryazan province and in Tver.

Literary debut

In 1847, S altykov-Shchedrin made his debut as a writer. First, reviews, and then two stories published in the journal Domestic Notes. They went out under the pseudonyms M. Nepanov and M. S.

The real fame came to him in 1856, when he published his cycle "Provincial Essays", from that moment the pseudonym Nikolai Shchedrin, which later became part of his surname, entered into practice. And also there was a tradition to publish their works in cycles.

Features

Shchedrin's essays are primarily about state orders, about those who must fulfill these orders, enforce them. S altykov-Shchedrin Mikhail Evgrafovich specially dedicated his work to the image of Russian officials of the mid-60s.

Shchedrin the writer begins to prevail over S altykov the official. This is especially clearly happening at the moment when N. A. Nekrasov comes to the journal "Domestic Notes"and invites S altykov-Shchedrin as co-editor. In 1868, S altykov the official gave way forever to the writer Shchedrin.

Since 1878, after the death of Nekrasov, S altykov-Shchedrin became the sole editor of Otechestvennye Zapiski. It was a whole era in his life.

Interesting facts from the life of S altykov-Shchedrin as criticism

S altykov-Shchedrin himself perceives himself as a critic. Criticism of foundations, orders, officials. At the same time, in the 60s, he himself was under the "fire" of his fellow writers.

The fact is that the writer offers readers satire, but not from the point of view of an external observer, but of a person who is his own for this environment. That's why S altykov-Shchedrin was repeatedly reproached. And the most ardent critic was Dmitry Ivanovich Pisarev. He said that it is no longer enough just to mock the existing order, and in general, it is reprehensible to mock the state bureaucracy, being oneself a part of it. This is a moral paradox. Pisarev was generally convinced that literature should not give pleasure, but recipes for how readers should live. He said, for example, that Pushkin was useless. After all, what does "Eugene Onegin" teach?

Pisarev throws a stronger reproach to S altykov-Shchedrin. It is generally accepted that in the 60s two trends in Russian literature were opposed to each other: pure art, which serves eternal beauty, and civil literature. It seems that the works of S altykov-Shchedrin belong to the second of the indicated directions. But Pisarev says a terriblething: that S altykov-Shchedrin presents in literature a useless fashion for laughter, sneer, mockery, which has nothing to do with a genuine change in reality.

Changes in creativity

At the turn of the 60s - 70s, Mikhail Evgrafovich offers his readers something completely new - this is no longer just a series of essays, but a whole work - "The History of a City". It is a parody of blissful historical chronicles. The city acts as a model of the world. The city of Foolov is about Russia. Criticism of bureaucracy is of great importance in this work.

In the mid-80s, the works of S altykov-Shchedrin became completely new. He called them stories. There are about thirty of them. They are filled with political satire and were published in the Russkiye Vedomosti newspaper, which is strange in itself. After all, fairy tales are usually not printed in newspapers. But this is exactly what the author said he wanted: everything is not limited to a fairy tale. As in the usual fairy tales, there are no happy endings in his works. They are full of irony and more like stories and novels.

It is S altykov-Shchedrin who plays a big role in satirical Russian literature. A short biography is unable to convey the fullness of the mystery of such a phenomenon in Russian literature as Mikhail Evgrafovich. He was called the great diagnostician of evils and ailments.

Interesting facts from the life of S altykov-Shchedrin were told by people who worked with him. It was said that his character was very nervous and irritable. And thisaffects creativity. Therefore, it is difficult to read it. Artwork cannot be "swallowed".

“Golovlevs” is one of the darkest things in Russian literature. Unless Dostoevsky approached it by writing The Brothers Karamazov.

Interesting facts from the life of S altykov-Shchedrin include the fact that many of the words that we still use were invented and introduced into literature and life by him. For example, the word "softness". Mikhail Evgrafovich created and introduced his own system of ironic allegories into literature. The author also tried to write poetry, but after the first unsuccessful attempt at writing, he abandoned poetry forever. S altykov-Shchedrin studied at the same lyceum as Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, and it was there that they both began to write.

The writer lived for 63 years. He died in the spring of 1889.