Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin is a famous Russian writer and historian, famous for his reforms of the Russian language. He created the multi-volume "History of the Russian State" and wrote the story "Poor Lisa". Nikolai Karamzin was born near Simbirsk on December 12, 1766. The father was retired at the time. The man belonged to a noble family, which, in turn, came from the ancient Tatar dynasty of Kara-Murza.
Nikolai Mikhailovich began to study in a private boarding school, but in 1778 his parents sent the boy to the boarding school of Moscow University professor I.M. Shaden. Karamzin had a desire to learn and develop, so for almost 2 years Nikolai Mikhailovich attended the lectures of I.G. Schwartz in an educational institution in Moscow. Father wanted Karamzin Jr. to follow in his footsteps. The writer agreed with the parental will and entered the service in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment.
Nicholas was not a military man for long, he soon resigned, but he learned something positive from this period of his life - the first literary works appeared. After his resignation, he chooses a new place of residence - Simbirsk. Karamzin at this time becomes a member of the Golden Crown Masonic lodge. Nikolai Mikhailovich did not stay long in Simbirsk - he returned to Moscow. For four years he was a member of the Friendly Scientific Society.
Literature
At the dawn of his literary career, Nikolai Karamzin went to Europe. The writer met with, looked at the Great French Revolution. The result of the trip was "Letters from a Russian Traveler". This book brought fame to Karamzin. Such works had not yet been written before Nikolai Mikhailovich, therefore philosophers consider the creator to be the founder of modern Russian literature.
Returning to Moscow, Karamzin begins an active creative life. He not only writes stories and short stories, but also manages the Moscow Journal. The publication published works by young and famous authors, including Nikolai Mikhailovich himself. During this period of time, “My trifles”, “Aglaya”, “Pantheon of foreign literature” and “Aonides” came out from under the pen of Karamzin.
Prose and poetry alternated with reviews, analyzes of theatrical productions and critical articles that could be read in the Moscow Journal. The first review, created by Karamzin, appeared in the publication in 1792. The writer shared his impressions of the ironic poem Virgil's Aeneid, Turned Inside Out, written by Nikolai Osipov. During this period, the creator writes the story "Natalya, the boyar's daughter."
Karamzin achieved success in poetic art. The poet used European sentimentalism, which did not fit into the traditional poetry of that time. No odes or, with Nikolai Mikhailovich, a new stage in the development of the poetic world in Russia began.
Karamzin praised the spiritual world of man, ignoring the physical shell. "Language of the heart" was used by the creator. Logical and simple forms, meager rhymes and the almost complete absence of paths - that's what the poetry of Nikolai Mikhailovich was.
In 1803, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin became officially a historian. The corresponding decree was signed by the emperor. The writer became the first and last historiographer of the country. Nikolai Mikhailovich devoted the second half of his life to the study of history. Karamzin was not interested in government posts.
The first historical work of Nikolai Mikhailovich was "Note on ancient and new Russia in its political and civil relations." Karamzin presented the conservative strata of society, expressed their opinion on the emperor's liberal reforms. The writer tried to prove with creativity that Russia does not need transformations. This work is a sketch for a large-scale work.
Only in 1818 did Karamzin publish his main work, The History of the Russian State. It consisted of 8 volumes. Later, Nikolai Mikhailovich released 3 more books. This work helped bring Karamzin closer to the imperial court, including the tsar.
From now on, the historian lives in Tsarskoe Selo, where the sovereign gave him a separate apartment. Gradually, Nikolai Mikhailovich went over to the side of the absolute monarchy. The last, 12th volume of the "History of the Russian State" was never completed. In this form, the book was published after the death of the writer. Karamzin was not the founder of descriptions of the history of Russia. According to researchers, Nikolai Mikhailovich was the first to be able to reliably describe the life of the country.
“Everyone, even secular women, rushed to read the history of their fatherland, hitherto unknown to them. She was a new discovery for them. Ancient Russia seemed to be found by Karamzin, like America - ", - said.
The popularity of history books is due to the fact that Karamzin acted more as a writer than a historian. He respected the beauty of the language, but did not offer readers personal assessments of the events that happened. In special manuscripts for volumes, Nikolai Mikhailovich made explanations and left comments.
Karamzin is known in Russia as a writer, poet, historian and critic, but little information remains about Nikolai Mikhailovich's translation activities. In this direction, he worked for a short time.
Among the works is a translation of the original tragedy "", written. This book, translated into Russian, was not censored, so it was sent to be burned. Karamzin attached prefaces to each work, in which he assessed the work. For two years, Nikolai Mikhailovich worked on the translation of the Indian drama "Sakuntala" by Kalidas.
The Russian literary language changed under the influence of Karamzin's work. The writer deliberately ignored the Church Slavonic vocabulary and grammar, giving the works a touch of vitality. Nikolai Mikhailovich took the syntax and grammar of the French language as a basis.
Thanks to Karamzin, Russian literature was replenished with new words, including “attraction”, “charity”, “industry”, “love”. There was also a place for barbarism. For the first time, Nikolai Mikhailovich introduced the letter "ё" into the language.
Karamzin as a reformer caused a lot of controversy in the literary environment. A.S. Shishkov and Derzhavin created the Conversation of Russian Word Lovers community, whose members tried to preserve the "old" language. Members of the community loved to criticize Nikolai Mikhailovich and other innovators. The rivalry between Karamzin and Shishkov ended in a rapprochement between the two writers. It was Shishkov who contributed to the election of Nikolai Mikhailovich as a member of the Russian and Imperial Academy of Sciences.
Personal life
In 1801, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was legally married for the first time. The wife of the writer was Elizaveta Ivanovna Protasova. The young woman was a longtime lover of the historian. According to Karamzin, he loved Elizabeth for 13 years. The wife of Nikolai Mikhailovich was known as an educated citizen.
She helped her husband when needed. The only thing that worried Elizaveta Ivanovna was her health. In March 1802, Sofia Nikolaevna Karamzina was born, the daughter of a writer. Protasova suffered from postpartum fever, which turned out to be fatal. According to researchers, the work "Poor Lisa" was dedicated to the first wife of Nikolai Mikhailovich. Daughter Sophia served as a maid of honor, was friends with Pushkin and.
Being a widower, Karamzin met Ekaterina Andreevna Kolyvanova. The girl was considered the illegitimate daughter of Prince Vyazemsky. In this marriage, 9 children were born. At a young age, three descendants died, including two daughters of Natalia and son Andrei. At the age of 16, the heir Nikolai died. In 1806, a replenishment happened in the Karamzin family - Catherine was born. At 22, the girl married a retired lieutenant colonel, Prince Peter Meshchersky. The son of the spouses Vladimir became a publicist.
Andrey was born in 1814. The young man studied at Dorpat University, but then went abroad due to health problems. Andrei Nikolaevich resigned. He married Aurora Karlovna Demidova, but no children appeared in the marriage. However, Karamzin's son had illegitimate heirs.
After 5 years, replenishment happened again in the Karamzin family. Son Vladimir became the pride of his father. A witty, resourceful careerist - this is how the heir Nikolai Mikhailovich was described. He was witty, resourceful, reached serious heights in his career. Vladimir worked in consultation with the Minister of Justice, a senator. Owned the estate of Ivnya. Alexandra Ilyinichna Duka, the daughter of a famous general, became his wife.
The maid of honor was the daughter of Elizabeth. The woman even received a pension for being related to Karamzin. After her mother died, Elizabeth moved in with her older sister Sophia, who at that time lived in the house of Princess Catherine Meshcherskaya.
The fate of the maid of honor was not easy, but the girl was known as a good-natured and sympathetic, intelligent person. Even considered Elizabeth "an example of selflessness." In those years, photos were rare, so portraits of family members were painted by special artists.
Death
The news of the death of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin spread around Russia on May 22, 1826. The tragedy occurred in St. Petersburg. The official biography of the writer says that the cause of death was a cold.
The historian fell ill after visiting Senate Square on December 14, 1825. The funeral of Nikolai Karamzin took place at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Bibliography
- 1791-1792 - "Letters from a Russian Traveler"
- 1792 - "Poor Lisa"
- 1792 - "Natalia, the boyar's daughter"
- 1792 - "The Beautiful Princess and the Happy Karla"
- 1793 - "Sierra Morena"
- 1793 - "Bornholm Island"
- 1796 - "Julia"
- 1802 - "Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novgorod"
- 1802 - "My confession"
- 1803 - "Sensitive and cold"
- 1803 - "Knight of our time"
- 1816-1829 - "History of the Russian State"
- 1826 - "On Friendship"
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin is a great Russian writer, the greatest writer of the era of sentimentalism. He wrote fiction, poetry, plays, articles. Reformer of the Russian literary language. The creator of the "History of the Russian State" - one of the first fundamental works on the history of Russia.
“He loved to be sad, not knowing what…”
Karamzin was born on December 1 (12), 1766 in the village of Mikhailovka, Buzuluk district, Simbirsk province. He grew up in the village of his father, a hereditary nobleman. It is interesting that the Karamzin family has Turkic roots and comes from the Tatar Kara-Murza (aristocratic class).
Little is known about the writer's childhood. At the age of 12, he was sent to Moscow to the boarding school of Moscow University professor Johann Schaden, where the young man received his first education, studied German and French. Three years later, he begins to attend lectures by the famous professor of aesthetics, educator Ivan Schwartz at Moscow University.
In 1783, at the insistence of his father, Karamzin entered the service of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, but soon retired and left for his native Simbirsk. An important event for the young Karamzin takes place in Simbirsk - he enters the Masonic lodge of the Golden Crown. This decision will play its role a little later, when Karamzin returns to Moscow and meets with an old acquaintance of their home - a freemason Ivan Turgenev, as well as writers and writers Nikolai Novikov, Alexei Kutuzov, Alexander Petrov. At the same time, Karamzin's first attempts in literature begin - he participates in the publication of the first Russian magazine for children - "Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind." The four years he spent in the society of Moscow Freemasons had a serious impact on his creative development. At this time, Karamzin read a lot of the then popular Rousseau, Stern, Herder, Shakespeare, trying to translate.
“In Novikov’s circle, Karamzin’s education began, not only as an author, but also moral.”
Writer I.I. Dmitriev
Man of pen and thought
In 1789, a break with the Masons follows, and Karamzin sets off to travel around Europe. He traveled around Germany, Switzerland, France and England, staying mainly in big cities, centers of European education. Karamzin visits Immanuel Kant in Koenigsberg, becomes a witness of the French Revolution in Paris.
It was on the basis of the results of this trip that he wrote the famous Letters of a Russian Traveler. These essays in the genre of documentary prose quickly gained popularity with the reader and made Karamzin a famous and fashionable writer. Then, in Moscow, from the pen of a writer, the story "Poor Lisa" was born - a recognized example of Russian sentimental literature. Many specialists in literary criticism believe that modern Russian literature begins with these first books.
“In the initial period of his literary activity, Karamzin was characterized by a broad and politically rather indefinite “cultural optimism”, a belief in the salutary influence of the successes of culture on man and society. Karamzin relied on the progress of science, the peaceful improvement of morals. He believed in the painless realization of the ideals of brotherhood and humanity that permeated the literature of the 18th century as a whole.
Yu.M. Lotman
In contrast to classicism with its cult of reason, in the footsteps of the French writers, Karamzin establishes in Russian literature the cult of feelings, sensitivity, compassion. New "sentimental" heroes are important, first of all, with the ability to love, to surrender to feelings. "Oh! I love those objects that touch my heart and make me shed tears of tender sorrow!”("Poor Lisa").
"Poor Lisa" is devoid of morality, didacticism, edification, the author does not teach, but tries to arouse the reader's empathy for the characters, which distinguishes the story from the old traditions of classicism.
“Poor Lisa” was received with such enthusiasm by the Russian public because in this work Karamzin was the first to express the “new word” that Goethe said to the Germans in his Werther.
Philologist, literary critic V.V. Sipovsky
Nikolai Karamzin at the Millennium of Russia monument in Veliky Novgorod. Sculptors Mikhail Mikeshin, Ivan Shroeder. Architect Viktor Hartman. 1862
Giovanni Battista Damon-Ortolani. Portrait of N.M. Karamzin. 1805. The Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin
Monument to Nikolai Karamzin in Ulyanovsk. Sculptor Samuil Galberg. 1845
At the same time, the reform of the literary language also begins - Karamzin refuses the Old Slavonicisms that inhabited the written language, Lomonosov's grandiloquence, and the use of Church Slavonic vocabulary and grammar. This made "Poor Lisa" an easy and enjoyable story to read. It was Karamzin's sentimentalism that became the foundation for the development of further Russian literature: the romanticism of Zhukovsky and early Pushkin repelled from it.
"Karamzin made literature humane."
A.I. Herzen
One of the most important merits of Karamzin is the enrichment of the literary language with new words: “charity”, “love”, “free-thinking”, “attraction”, “responsibility”, “suspicion”, “refinement”, “first-class”, “human”, “sidewalk ”, “coachman”, “impression” and “influence”, “touching” and “entertaining”. It was he who introduced the words "industry", "concentrate", "moral", "aesthetic", "epoch", "stage", "harmony", "catastrophe", "future" and others.
"A professional writer, one of the first in Russia who had the courage to make literary work a source of livelihood, who placed above all the independence of his own opinion."
Yu.M. Lotman
In 1791, Karamzin began his career as a journalist. This becomes an important milestone in the history of Russian literature - Karamzin founds the first Russian literary magazine, the founding father of the current "thick" magazines - "Moscow Journal". A number of collections and almanacs are published on its pages: "Aglaya", "Aonides", "Pantheon of foreign literature", "My trinkets". These publications made sentimentalism the main literary movement in Russia at the end of the 19th century, and Karamzin its acknowledged leader.
But Karamzin's deep disappointment in the former values soon follows. A year after Novikov's arrest, the magazine was closed, after Karamzin's bold ode "To Mercy", Karamzin himself was deprived of the mercy of the "powerful ones", almost falling under investigation.
“As long as a citizen can sleep peacefully, without fear, and freely dispose of life according to your thoughts to all your subjects; ... as long as you give freedom to everyone and do not darken the light in the minds; as long as the power of attorney to the people is visible in all your affairs: until then you will be sacredly revered ... nothing can disturb the tranquility of your state.
N.M. Karamzin. "To Mercy"
Most of the years 1793-1795 Karamzin spends in the countryside and publishes collections: "Aglaya", "Aonides" (1796). He plans to publish something like an anthology on foreign literature, "The Pantheon of Foreign Literature", but with great difficulty breaks through the censorship prohibitions that did not allow even Demosthenes and Cicero to be printed ...
Disappointment in the French Revolution Karamzin splashes out in verse:
But time, experience destroy
Castle in the air of youth...
... And I see clearly that with Plato
We shall not establish republics...
During these years, Karamzin increasingly moved from poetry and prose to journalism and the development of philosophical ideas. Even the "Historical eulogy to Empress Catherine II", compiled by Karamzin during the accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander I, is mainly journalism. In 1801-1802, Karamzin worked in the journal Vestnik Evropy, where he mainly wrote articles. In practice, his passion for education and philosophy is expressed in the writing of works on historical topics, increasingly creating the authority of a historian for the famous writer.
The first and last historiographer
By decree of October 31, 1803, Emperor Alexander I conferred on Nikolai Karamzin the title of historiographer. Interestingly, the title of historiographer in Russia was not renewed after Karamzin's death.
From that moment on, Karamzin ceased all literary work and for 22 years was exclusively engaged in compiling a historical work, familiar to us as The History of the Russian State.
Alexey Venetsianov. Portrait of N.M. Karamzin. 1828. The Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin
Karamzin sets himself the task of compiling a history for a wide educated public, not to be a researcher, but "choose, animate, color" All "attractive, strong, worthy" from Russian history. An important point is that the work should also be designed for a foreign reader in order to open Russia to Europe.
In his work, Karamzin used the materials of the Moscow Collegium of Foreign Affairs (especially the spiritual and contractual letters of the princes, and acts of diplomatic relations), the Synodal Depository, the libraries of the Volokolamsk Monastery and the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, private collections of manuscripts of Musin-Pushkin, Rumyantsev and A.I. Turgenev, who compiled a collection of documents from the papal archive, as well as many other sources. An important part of the work was the study of ancient chronicles. In particular, Karamzin discovered a chronicle previously unknown to science, called Ipatievskaya.
During the years of work on the "History ..." Karamzin mainly lived in Moscow, from where he traveled only to Tver and Nizhny Novgorod, while Moscow was occupied by the French in 1812. He usually spent his summers at Ostafyev, the estate of Prince Andrei Ivanovich Vyazemsky. In 1804, Karamzin married the prince's daughter, Ekaterina Andreevna, who bore the writer nine children. She became the writer's second wife. For the first time, the writer married at the age of 35, in 1801, to Elizaveta Ivanovna Protasova, who died a year after the wedding from postpartum fever. From his first marriage, Karamzin left a daughter, Sophia, a future acquaintance of Pushkin and Lermontov.
The main social event in the life of the writer during these years was the Note on Ancient and New Russia in its Political and Civil Relations, written in 1811. The "Note..." reflected the views of the conservative strata of society, dissatisfied with the emperor's liberal reforms. "Note..." was handed over to the emperor. In it, once a liberal and a “Westernizer”, as they would say now, Karamzin appears as a conservative and tries to prove that no fundamental changes are needed in the country.
And in February 1818, Karamzin puts on sale the first eight volumes of his History of the Russian State. The circulation of 3000 copies (huge for that time) is sold out within a month.
A.S. Pushkin
"History of the Russian State" was the first work focused on the widest readership, thanks to the high literary merit and scientific scrupulousness of the author. Researchers agree that this work was one of the first to contribute to the formation of national self-consciousness in Russia. The book has been translated into several European languages.
Despite many years of enormous work, Karamzin did not have time to complete the "History ..." before his time - the beginning of the 19th century. After the first edition, three more volumes of "History ..." were released. The last one was the 12th volume, describing the events of the Time of Troubles in the chapter "Interregnum 1611-1612". The book was published after Karamzin's death.
Karamzin was entirely a man of his era. The approval of monarchical views in him towards the end of his life brought the writer closer to the family of Alexander I, he spent the last years next to them, living in Tsarskoye Selo. The death of Alexander I in November 1825 and the subsequent events of the uprising on Senate Square were a real blow to the writer. Nikolai Karamzin died on May 22 (June 3), 1826 in St. Petersburg, he was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
A brief biography is set out in this article.
Nikolai Karamzin short biography
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin- historian, the largest Russian writer of the era of sentimentalism. Creator of the "History of the Russian State"
Was born December 12 (December 1 O.S.) 1766 in the estate, located in the Simbirsk district in a noble family. First he received a home education, after which he continued to study first at the Simbirsk noble boarding school, then from 1778 - at the boarding school of Professor Shaden (Moscow). During 1781-1782. Karamzin attended university lectures.
Since 1781, at the insistence of his father, he served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, where he began to write. In 1784, after the death of his father, having retired with the rank of lieutenant, he finally left military service. Living in Simbirsk, he joined the Masonic lodge.
From 1785 he moved to Moscow, where he met N.I. Novikov and other writers, joins the "Friendly Scientific Society", takes part in the publication of the magazine "Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind", which became the first Russian magazine for children.
During the year (1789-1790) Karamzin traveled around Europe, where he met not only with prominent figures of the Masonic movement, but also with great thinkers, in particular, with Kant, I.G. Herder, J. F. Marmontel. The impressions from the trips formed the basis of the future famous Letters of a Russian Traveler, which brought fame to the author.
The story "Poor Liza" (1792) strengthened the literary authority of Karamzin. Subsequently published collections and almanacs "Aglaya", "Aonides", "My trinkets", "Pantheon of Foreign Literature" opened the era of sentimentalism in Russian literature.
A new period in Karamzin's life is associated with the accession to the throne of Alexander I. In October 1803, the emperor appoints the writer as an official historiographer, and Karamzin is tasked with capturing the history of the Russian state. His genuine interest in history, the priority of this topic over all others was evidenced by the nature of the publications of Vestnik Evropy (this country's first socio-political, literary and artistic magazine Karamzin published in 1802-1803).
In 1804, literary and artistic work was completely curtailed, and the writer began to work on The History of the Russian State (1816-1824), which became the main work in his life and a whole phenomenon in Russian history and literature. The first eight volumes were published in February 1818. Three thousand copies were sold within a month. The next three volumes, published in the following years, were quickly translated into several European languages, and the 12th, final, volume was published after the death of the author.
05/22/1826 (4.06). - Died writer, historian Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, author of the 12-volume "History of the Russian State"
Karamzin: from freemasonry to monarchism
To the knowledge of Russia "from the opposite" - 8
A. Venetsianov. Portrait of Karamzin. 1828
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (December 1, 1766–May 22, 1826) was born in the Simbirsk province into the family of a poor landowner (from the ancient Crimean Tatar family of Kara-Murza). Having been educated in private boarding schools, Karamzin studied at, served for some time in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. After the death of his father, he retired in 1784 and became close to Novikov's "religious and educational" school, under whose influence his views and literary tastes were formed. He studied the literature of the French "enlightenment", German philosophers and romantic poets, was engaged in translations of religious and moral writings (he knew many ancient and new languages).
By 1788, Karamzin sensed a danger in Freemasonry disguised by vague religious piety, and broke off relations with the lodge. In the spring of 1789, he went on a long trip abroad, where he stayed until the autumn of 1790, visited Austria, Switzerland, France, England, met with I. Kant, I. Goethe, in Paris he witnessed the events of the French Revolution. As a result of personal acquaintance with the West, he became more critical of his "advanced" ideas. “The age of enlightenment! I don’t recognize you - I don’t recognize you in blood and flames - I don’t recognize you among murders and destruction!” Karamzin wrote at that time (“Melodor to Philaletus”). Karamzin outlined his impressions of the trip to Western European countries in Letters from a Russian Traveler (published in the Moscow Journal, 1791–1792, which he founded), which brought him all-Russian fame.
When the French Revolution developed into a bloody Jacobin dictatorship, this aroused in Karamzin doubts about the possibility for mankind to achieve earthly prosperity in general. But the conclusion from this was not yet Orthodox. The philosophy of despair and fatalism permeates his new works: the stories "Bornholm Island" (1793); "Sierra Morena" (1795); poems "Melancholy", "Message to A.A. Pleshcheev", etc.
At this time, Karamzin published the first Russian almanacs - "Aglaya" (parts 1-2, 1794-1795) and "Aonides" (parts 1-3, 1796-1799), "Pantheon of Foreign Literature" (1798), magazine " Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind" (1799). As a writer, Karamzin creates a new trend in Russian literature - sentimentalism ("Poor Liza"), which was highly appreciated by K. Batyushkov, young. At the same time, Karamzin introduces a new form of the Russian language into literary circulation, freeing it from the Western pretentious imitation of the Petrine era, bringing it closer to live, colloquial speech.
In 1791, Karamzin wrote: “In our so-called good society, without the French language, you will be deaf and dumb. Aren't you ashamed? How not to have national pride? Why be parrots and monkeys together? And his story "Natalya, the Boyar's Daughter" (1792) began with the words: "Which of us does not love those times when Russians were Russians, when they dressed up in their own clothes, walked with their own gait, lived according to their custom, spoke their own language and to your heart..?"
For Karamzin's way of thinking during this period, it is significant that he is moving closer to a conservative-minded poet. In 1802, he published the "Historical eulogy, which was a mandate to the new Sovereign, in which he expressed the program and significance of the Autocracy. During this period, Karamzin began to publish the journal Vestnik Evropy, from the pages of which he acted as a political writer, publicist, commentator and international observer who defended Russian national interests. "The patriot is in a hurry to appropriate the fatherland beneficent and necessary, but rejects slavish imitations in trinkets ... It is good and should be studied: but woe ... to the people who will be the eternal student," wrote Karamzin on borrowing from the West.
In 1803, through M. Muravyov, Karamzin received the official title of court historiographer. From 1803 to 1811 he writes "The History of the Russian State" (until 1611, the 12th volume was published posthumously), for the first time using the sources kept under wraps. Each volume had extensive documentary appendices, not inferior in size to the main text. Karamzin, as a researcher, meticulously sought to comprehend events through the eyes of a contemporary, guided by the clarification of the truth of history, no matter how bitter it may be. This is what made his "History" very popular. Pushkin wrote: “Everyone, even secular women, rushed to read the history of their fatherland, hitherto unknown to them. She was a new discovery for them. Ancient Russia seemed to be found by Karamzin, like America by Colomb. They didn't talk about anything else for a while." (But unfortunately, the residual Westernism also affected this work: in particular, in recognition.)
It should be noted, however, that the idea runs through Karamzin's History: Russia's fate and greatness lie in the development of autocracy. With a strong monarchical power, Russia prospered, with a weak one, it fell into decline. So, under the influence of studies in Russian history, Karamzin becomes a convinced, ideological monarchist-statesman. Although it must be admitted that we do not find the proper coordinates of the Orthodox meaning of history in this period even among such outstanding representatives of Russian patriotic thought. History seemed to Karamzin a continuous movement towards progress, a struggle between enlightenment and ignorance; it is the activity of great men that directs this struggle.
Through his relative F.V. Rostopchina Karamzin meets the leader of the then "Russian Party" at the Court, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, and then with the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who has since become one of his patronesses. On the initiative of Ekaterina Pavlovna, Karamzin wrote and submitted in March 1811 to Alexander I a treatise "On ancient and new Russia in its political and civil relations" - a remarkable document of the resurgent Russian conservative thought, containing an integral and original concept of Autocracy as a typically Russian principle of power, closely associated with the Orthodox Church. Autocracy is the main reason for the power and prosperity of Russia - such was the conclusion of the Notes.
In the last years of his life, Karamzin lived in St. Petersburg, communicating with such prominent conservative figures as V.A. Zhukovsky, and others. In 1818, Karamzin was accepted as a member of the Russian Imperial Academy for his "History" compiled by him. The meaning of his work was accurately expressed: "Karamzin's creation is the only book we have, truly state, popular and monarchical."
Karamzin condemned, which demonstrated to him with his own eyes the danger of Freemasonry, from which he had so happily evaded in his youth. He went to the Senate Square on the side of the defenders of the legitimate monarchy and then wrote
Karamzin Nikolai Mikhailovich was born on December 12 (December 1), 1766 in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) into a noble family. The future writer received his primary education at home. Soon his father gave him to the Simbirsk noble boarding school, and in 1778 to a private boarding school in Moscow. In parallel, Karamzin was actively studying languages, attending lectures at Moscow University.
Military service
In 1781, Nikolai Mikhailovich, at the insistence of his father, entered the military service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 1783, the writer made his debut in print with the work "Wooden Leg". In 1784, Karamzin's brief biography as a military man ended, and he retired with the rank of lieutenant.
Early literary activity
In 1785, Karamzin, whose biography changed direction dramatically, moved from his native Simbirsk to Moscow. Here the writer meets N. I. Novikov and the Pleshcheev family. Carried away by Freemasonry, Nikolai Mikhailovich enters the Moscow Masonic circle, where he begins to communicate closely with I. S. Gamaleya, A. M. Kutuzov. At the same time, Karamzin participated in the publication of the first children's magazine in Russia - "Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind."
Travel to Europe
In 1789-1790 Karamzin traveled around Europe. The writer visited Germany, England, France, Switzerland, met many famous personalities of that era - C. Bonnet, I. Kant, J. F. Marmontel, J. G. Herder, I. K. Lavater, attended the performances of M. Robespierre , O. G. Mirabeau. During the trip, Nikolai Mikhailovich created the famous Letters of a Russian Traveler, which were published in 1791-1792 and brought the writer wide literary fame.
mature creativity. "History of Russian Goverment"
Upon returning to Moscow, Karamzin continues to engage in literary activities, writes works of art, critical articles and notes. In 1791, Nikolai Mikhailovich began publishing the literary Moscow Journal, in which he first published the stories Poor Lisa, Natalya, the Boyar's Daughter. Soon Karamzin published several sentimental almanacs - "Aglaya", "Aonides", "Pantheon of Foreign Literature", "My trinkets". In 1802, the story "Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novgorod" was published.
In 1803, Emperor Alexander I granted Karamzin the title of historiographer, all libraries and archives were opened to the writer.
Until the last day of his life, Nikolai Mikhailovich worked on his most important work - "The History of the Russian State." The book covers events from ancient times to the Time of Troubles and includes 12 volumes. The first eight volumes appeared in 1818, the next three were published in 1821-1824. The last part of the "History ..." saw the light after the death of Karamzin.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin died on May 22 (June 3), 1826 in St. Petersburg. The writer was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Other biography options
- Prose and poetry of Karamzin largely influenced the development of the Russian literary language, the writer was the first to use neologisms, barbarisms, and moved away from church vocabulary.
- Karamzin was married twice. The first wife, E. I. Protasova, was the sister of A. I. Pleshcheeva. The second wife, E. A. Kolyvanova, was the illegitimate daughter of Prince A. I. Vyazemsky.
- The story "Poor Lisa" by Karamzin is the most striking example of Russian sentimentalism and is studied by schoolchildren in the 9th grade.
- Karamzin was the first to discover a well-known literary monument - the work of Afanasy Nikitin "Journey Beyond the Three Seas".
- Thanks to Karamzin, such words as “moral”, “industry”, “scene”, “catastrophe”, “concentrate”, “aesthetic”, “future”, “era”, “harmony”, “love” appeared in the everyday life of the modern Russian language. ”, “entertaining”, “influence”, “impression”, “touching”.
