Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich: biography, personal life, cause of death

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

Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich is a famous Russian poet, writer, thinker and publicist. Founder of a circle of like-minded people named after him. This group has played a fairly important role in the history of social thought in Russia. In different years, it included Vissarion Belinsky, Mikhail Bakunin, Konstantin Aksakov, Vasily Botkin.

Writer biography: early years

Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich was born in 1813 in the small town of Ostrogozhsk in the Voronezh province. His father was a we althy and we althy nobleman. Vladimir Ivanovich from 1837 to 1841 served as the local marshal of the nobility.

The hero of our article grew up in a friendly and large family, graduated from the Ostrogozhsk school, after which he studied for five years in a private boarding school in Voronezh itself. Known for his younger brother Alexander, who also became a writer. Among his most famous works are the stories "Evening Visits", "Fomushka","From the Notes of a Road Man", "Idealist", Hypochondriac", "From the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies", a large number of critical articles and reviews. Alexander Vladimirovich also became famous as a biographer and publisher of the complete works of the domestic medievalist historian Timofei Nikolaevich Granovsky, who studied Western European Middle Ages.

Education

Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich published his first work at the age of 16. These were poems that had a pronounced patriotic character.

In 1830, Stankevich entered the verbal department of Moscow University, it was there that his convictions were formed, and interest in national history was born. At this time, he lives with Professor Pavlov, thanks to whom he is imbued with an interest in the philosophy of the German thinker Friedrich Schelling. He meets the poet Alexei Koltsov, who gives him his poems. The hero of our article manages to publish one of them in the Literary Gazette already in 1831.

A circle of like-minded people

Since 1831, a circle of his like-minded people began to form around Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich. Together they discuss issues of art, religion, moral concepts. The very first meetings are attended by Ivan Obolensky, Yakov Pocheka, teacher and memoirist Yanuariy Neverov, poet and teacher of Turgenev Ivan Klyushnikov, master of literature and Russian language, poet Vasily Krasov, archeographer and historian Sergey Stroev. Soon this meeting was called "The CircleStankevich".

In 1833, Neverov leaves him, other participants appear together with him. These are Alexander Efremov, Alexei Topornin, Pavel Petrov, critic and publicist, ideologist of Slavophilism Konstantin Aksakov, statesman and military leader, participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 Alexander Keller, philologist, archeographer and historian Osip Bodyansky, literary critic Vissarion Belinsky. V. G. Belinsky generally for many years becomes one of the brightest and most significant figures during these meetings.

The heyday of the circle is considered to be 1833-1837, until Stankevich leaves. After that, like-minded people gather for another two years, but not in such a large composition, by that time their influence is significantly reduced. Members of this community discuss the problems of history, philosophy, they are especially attracted by the idea of complete freedom of the human person. Art issues are often at the center of disputes and discussions.

As V. G. Belinsky and other members of this circle later recalled, there were no hierarchical relations in it, which were so common during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I. In the same period, Stankevich himself had the idea to write a textbook dedicated to questions of world history.

Return to Voronezh province

Russian writer Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich leaves for some time back to the Voronezh province, having graduated from Moscow University. Here he begins to work as an honorary caretaker. He manages to introduce several important andnecessary innovations, but at the same time he feels that he cannot be fully realized here, so in 1835 he returns to Moscow.

By that time, there are many new significant personalities among the members of his circle. The leading roles are played by the historian Granovsky and the critic Belinsky, whom it was Stankevich who nicknamed "the frantic Vissarion." Under this nickname, he was known to many at that time. In the middle of 1835, the circle begins educational activities, starting to publish a magazine called "Telescope".

He alth problems

There were many problems and difficulties in the biography of Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich. He never managed to realize his potential due to constant he alth problems. For most of his mature life, Stankevich was tormented by tuberculosis, which was constantly progressing. At that time, the disease was called consumption.

He tried to improve his he alth in the Caucasus, but a trip to the resort did not bring practically any results. In 1837, the hero of our article leaves for Karlovy Vary, a resort located near the University of Berlin. Neverov and Granovsky were studying there at the time. However, Stankevich left the spa just three weeks after he began treatment.

Recent years

The hero of our article settles with his sister, returning to student life. He again organizes around him a circle of like-minded people, which includes both old and new participants. Among the latestthe writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev stands out in particular.

There are discussions and discussions on the Moscow model. All this time, the disease continues to progress. In the middle of 1840, Stankevich went to Italy in the hope that the climate in that country would have a favorable effect on his condition. But this does not help, on the night of June 25, 1840, he dies in his sleep, practically in the arms of Mikhail Bakunin's sister, Varvara. The cause of death of Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich is tuberculosis. He died in the small town of Novi Ligure, which at that time was on the territory of the Sardinian kingdom, now it is located in the Piedmont region, in the province of Alessandria.

Private life

The personal life of Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich was not easy. His main passion was Bakunin's sister, whose name was Lyubov. They met in Moscow when the girl attended a philosophical circle. After some time, Mikhail invited the hero of our article to visit them at the estate in Pryamukhino, where the young people explained themselves to each other.

Relations between them did not stop even after Nikolai left for Moscow. Their romance continued in correspondence, they sent messages full of tenderness to each other. However, the nature of their relationship was very complex, which did not allow this union to be happily resolved. Stankevich went abroad for treatment, and Lyubov died of consumption in Pryamukhino. A few years later, the same ailment caused the death of the hero of our article. By that time, he was sure that he had fallen out of love with the girl, who remained his spiritual ideal.

Characteristic

Descriptions of Stankevich's appearance and character have been preserved by many members of his circle. Turgenev notes that he was of average height, and so well built that it was impossible to assume that he had a serious illness. A sloping forehead, black hair, brown eyes, a cheerful and affectionate gaze - all this has always distinguished Stankevich from those around him.

Contemporaries emphasize that he knew how to inspire the people around him, was a good mentor for them. In addition, he loved and knew how to play a joke, he was a very artistic person. At the same time, his character was quiet and dreamy.

He was especially fond of contemplation, he was not particularly interested in practical matters. Stankevich was a romantic, lured many into the image of idealism. He was passionate, hot-tempered. If he was disappointed in one philosophical system, he immediately took up another with interest. In addition, he was deeply religious.

His hallmark was his lack of authority. During Stankevich's absence, when he was abroad, Bakunin began to claim his place at the head of the circle, but Belinsky was indignant at this, noting that it was Stankevich who had always been an authority.

Activity Meaning

Stankevich wrote many poems that most critics and contemporaries rated as mediocre. His play "Vasily Shuisky" was not very popular either, almost all of its circulation had to be bought by him himself. At the same time, the influence of the hero of our article on the development of Russian literature and philosophy cannot be underestimated.

He succeededunite around him all the outstanding thinkers of that time, even if they held different views. Stankevich stood out for his idealism, the ability to always direct the conversation in the right direction, to delve into the very essence of any dispute or conversation, and, coupled with his charm, this made the hero of our article an unspoken leader.

The circle that formed around him was the focus of national cultural life at that time. Stankevich himself sought to captivate his friends with German philosophy, which he succeeded with many. So he carried the idea that the human mind is able to know the truth, awaken nobility in people, indicate the destination, call for good. At the same time, he himself sought by any means to find ways for the practical application of his theories. Everything that he did not have time to bring to life, his friends and followers did. They became the generation that actually paved the way for the reforms of the 1860s.

Among those who experienced Stankevich's influence are Granovsky, Belinsky, Herzen, Bakunin, Aksakov, Botkin, Keller, Turgenev, Klyushnikov, Bodiansky, Stroev. Granovsky, recalling Stankevich, wrote that he was a teacher and benefactor for many of them.

Stoppard Trilogy

An interesting fact about Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich is connected with the work of the English director and playwright Tom Stoppard. Stankevich became one of the characters in his play "Coast of Utopia".

This dramatic trilogy tells about Russia of the 19th century, among the characters there are a large number of real historicalpersonalities - Chernyshevsky, Belinsky, Chaadaev, Herzen, Marx, among them there is Stankevich.

Creativity

Among Stankevich's works there are a large number of poems, including "The strike of the clock on the Spasskaya Tower", "Consolation", "On the Grave of a Rural Maiden", "Feat of Life".

In 1830 he wrote the tragedy in five acts "Vasily Shuisky", in 1834 he published a collection of short stories. Among them are "A Few Moments from the Life of Count T.", "Three Artists". The romantic poem "Prisoner of the Caucasus" was written in collaboration with Nikolai Melgunov.