The Russian writer was born in 1744. He spent his early years in Moscow. His father was a soldier in the Moscow garrison, so Mikhail Chulkov was familiar with military service firsthand. He studied at the gymnasium, which was attached to the university. Thanks to this, it can be argued that he received a good education.
Creative biography of Mikhail Dmitrievich Chulkov
1760 - the beginning of the career of Mikhail Chulkov. He becomes a lackey at the royal court. Then he moves up the career ladder, and becomes a camera footman. After some time, Mikhail takes the post of court quartermaster. During his work, he meets more than once with the heir to the royal throne - Paul. Chulkov hoped that the future ruler would be able to change the political system to Russia. He had many hopes, since, first of all, he saw in the heir the grandson of Peter, who at one time was able to change Russia for the better, strengthen its defenses, improve foreign political relations, and Mikhail also hoped that Pavel would be able to develop the navy, which was created by his grandfather. He hoped to create new reforms that would help in the further development of the country.
In the same year, 1760, but in its second half, the literary and publishing activities of the writer began. This year will be the most productive. During this time, Mikhail Chulkov publishes many collections and works. More specifically, in just a year, Mikhail managed to publish four collections of stories and fairy tales. He will release the fifth collection only in 1789, which will be called Mockingbird, or Slavic Tales. In this collection, the patriotic notes that the writer experienced while writing his works are clearly felt. These works primarily reflect the reality, reality, life difficulties that people experienced in Russia. He described their life and everyday problems.
The year 1767 was marked by the publication of a book called A Brief Mythological Lexicon. In his new book, the writer tried to explain all the ancient names that are found in myths and legends. He also explained some of the terms.
Two years later, in 1769, after the release of the book, Mikhail Chulkov publishes a magazine called “This and that”. But it was not his only journal. The second one was called "Parnassian squealer". Both, first of all, were designed for the middle class, especially the merchants, since in his journals he tried to reflect precisely their way of life, their political views, attitudes towards the state and society. Also, Mikhail Chulkov, together with N.I. Novikov releases their joint work called "Collection of different songs". Here, first of all, folk songs were collected, but apart from them, Mikhail also included songs by M.V. Zubova and some other authors. The writer is called the very first author of the Russian novel, which is called "A Pretty Cook, or the Adventures of a Depraved Woman." He writes it in 1770, where he describes the life of the widow of a sergeant. Here he was able to show the attitude towards widows on the part of society, how it affects the individual.
In the same year, Mikhail enters the public service. So, by 1779 he became a secretary at the College of Commerce. Then he was promoted up the career ladder. He became a collegiate assessor, after some time he became a court adviser. At the same time, the writer does not stop his creative activity. But this time he focuses on a completely different topic. Now he is interested in the history and economy of the country. On duty, he often came across legislative papers and contracts. Chulkov also had access to the archives, thanks to which he had a clear idea of the state and development of Russia. Some writers claim that the writer thought about creating a history of Russian trade, even at the beginning of his career takeoff. The work itself was called "Description of the exact state and properties of Russian bargaining from the possession of Peter the Great to the present prosperous time of the reign of the great Empress Catherine II." In it, he described the events of the 1720s-1760s. The work of the writer consisted of two parts. The first part included legislative materials that the writer managed to collect. The second part consisted entirely of documents. First of all, it is worth saying that this work is something like a draft version, and Chulkov did not want to publish it. This work was primarily intended for employees of the College of Commerce. It was rather a reference material that only knowledgeable people could work with, but not ordinary citizens.
1774 - A.R. Vorontsov takes the place of the President of the Commerce Colleague, who assisted Chulkov in writing his work. It was Vorontsov who was able to ensure that the writer could easily be in any archives and read many secret documents. Mikhail hoped to create a reference book on the history of Russian trade since ancient times. The writer had to do a lot of work in order to systematize all the materials that he needed to create his guide. First of all, he had to analyze a lot of legislative acts, and choose those that were useful for his work. Then - the search for relevant documents. The whole problem was that there were a lot of materials, and it was almost impossible to select the most important. A lot of time was spent on the creation of this work.
In addition to archival materials, Mikhail also searched for published ones. He looked through already published books and reference books in order to avoid ridiculous mistakes in his work. The writer had to copy a lot of data, since he could not take out the documents themselves from the archive. He had to resort to the help of scribes who helped him in this difficult work. The foundations of his work were data for the 17th-18th century. Many documents of this time were included in his work in their entirety. The work was published from 1780 to 1788. He used all the data that was available to him: historical, ethnic, geographical... He used the writings of the most famous historians and economists.
In the last years, before his death, Chulkov was able to carry out many of the plans that he had. This became possible also due to the fact that his financial situation improved. Now he could afford what he could only dream of before.
Chulkov did not forget about his creative activity. He published some ethnographic materials. So, in 1786, his new work, entitled "Dictionary of Russian Superstitions", was published. Here he tried to describe traditional rites, customs, folk holidays - everything that could characterize the people. The writer was very sensitive to the principle of equality of all peoples. He believed that no one could be superior to others. Every faith is worthy of respect. Each of them is interesting in its own way. The faith of others must be respected.
The writer was very kind to the peasants, realizing how hard it was for them. That is why he created the "Rural Medical Book, or Dictionary of Healing Diseases", thanks to which now everyone will be able to provide at least first aid if one of the relatives gets sick. So there was at least a small chance of a favorable outcome.
A lot of time was also taken by the publication of another work by Chulkov called "Legal Dictionary". Its practical value was very great. This work was the only one where legal data, legislative acts were systematized ... everything that was necessary for a lawyer. Also, the writer was engaged in the publication of a work called "A Dictionary of Agriculture, Housebuilding and Cattle Breeding." This work took about 10 years, from 1780 to 1790. He worked together with M.I. Popov on compiling a dictionary of the Russian language. Also in his last years, the writer was able to publish the fifth and last part of the work called "Mockingbirds". It collected the most, perhaps, the most successful stories, among them - "Bitter Fate", "Precious Pike" and much more.
It can be argued that Chulkov made his unique contribution to the development of not only literature, but also history. He always fought against the ignorance of citizens, believing that people are the face of the country. He was able to do many things, and thanks to good luck in his work, he was able to achieve what he dreamed of. He was able to combine creative work and career. And in both he was able to advance and become famous.
Chulkov's ideal in relation to the economy was Peter I, who was able to change Russia. When Catherine II ascended the throne, the writer frankly said that he was against her policy, since it was at that time that Russia was constantly under fire from other countries. He also opposed the reorganization of the state apparatus. Perhaps that is why his works have ceased to be reprinted. In the 19th century, his writings were considered simply immoral.
We draw your attention to the fact that the biography of Chulkov Mikhail Dmitrievich presents the most basic moments from life. Some minor life events may be omitted from this biography.
Dmitrievich, 1740 - 1793) - a wonderful writer. There is very little information about his life. In the preface to the 2nd edition of his Notes on Economics, it is said that Ch. "studied at Moscow University as a child and, having studied only one elementary basis of the verbal sciences, was taken from it with others by a memorable decree and assigned to the service." To these data we can only add that in 1790 Ch. was a court adviser and secretary of the Senate. From early youth, he was distinguished by an extraordinary love of literature and "wrote almost incessantly works of all kinds." Ch. was one of the most prolific and versatile writers of the XVIII century, and not untalented. Metropolitan Eugene testifies that Ch. "about 20 years of his age (hence in 1760) already distinguished himself by many hefty poems and novels." Ch.'s first experiments remain unknown to us; we only know that in 1767 he published a "Short Mythological Lexicon", yes, according to Sopikov, in 1766-1768. published in 4 parts "Mockingbird, or Slavic Tales" (Eugene indicates only one second edition, 1783 - 1789). In the first period of his activity Ch. felt a penchant for fiction and satire. In the era of satirical magazines, Ch. published two small satirical magazines: Both this and that (1769) and The Parnassian Scribbler (1770), in which there are many traces of a polemical struggle with literary opponents: the novelist F.A. Emin and V.I. Maikov. He also ridiculed them in the satirical poem "The Lamentable Fall of the Poets" (subsequently, this poem was published as a separate book in St. During the period of fascination with satire, Ch. published the first (no longer) part of the unusually popular among our ancestors novel, A Handsome Cook, or The Adventures of a Depraved Woman (Part I, St. Petersburg, 1770). In its outward plot, it is a relic of French adventure novels; the types displayed in the novel (Ahal's suitor, Sveton, secretary) are often found in satirical magazines. It must be assumed that the atmosphere of Ch.'s life contributed to the emergence in him of a tendency to study songs, fairy tales, rituals and folk superstitions. In his journals noteworthy are the style, the abundance of proverbs and sayings approaching folk, and frequent ethnographic notes, folk songs. After the publication of journals, Ch. turns to large consolidated works of an ethnographic nature. The first such work was "Collection of various songs". We know that the first two parts of this collection were printed by order of Empress Catherine II and were ready in 1776 (the indication given everywhere that the collection of Ch.'s songs in 4 parts was printed in 1770 - 1775 is incorrect , because on July 19, 1776, Ch. petitioned for permission from the empress to print the remaining parts of the collection; see "Archive of the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres", section II, p. 101, St. Petersburg, 1892). The first edition of the songs, made by Ch. with the collaboration of Mikhail Popov, is not currently found and we know about it only from subsequent ones. The second edition was made by N.I. Novikov in 1780 - 1781; it was supplemented by two parts and is known in literature as "Novikov's Songbook" ("A new and complete collection of Russian songs, containing love songs, shepherd's, playful, folk songs, choral wedding, Yuletide, with the addition of songs from various Russian operas and comedies" ; subsequently reprinted). Ch. entered into his collection not only folk songs, which, one might guess, he did not write down from words, but copied from literate notebooks, but also fashionable romances by contemporary authors and arias from comic operas. The value of Ch.'s collection is great: before him such a wealth of folk songs did not appear, and he was the first to print songs without changes and amendments in style. Ch. has a place of honor in the history of the study of the Russian people. Collecting songs to his contemporaries seemed at least a completely unnecessary, if not harmful thing: even Metropolitan Platon spoke about the songs republished by N.I. Novikov, as "about dubious". In 1780, Ch. began a new ethnographic collection, much lower in its scientific value. In 1780 - 1783. Novikov's university printing house printed in 10 parts "Russian fairy tales containing ancient stories about glorious heroes, folk tales and other adventures remaining through retelling in memory." Ch. was distinguished by a great love for the monuments of folk art, but did not have an ethnographic understanding, which, however, had not yet taken root at that time; he considered it quite possible to deal with epics and folk stories at his own discretion. None of those stories "that are told in the tavern" are not brought by him in their original form: he changed, reworked, supplemented them according to chivalric novels, according to editions of the Bibliotheque bleue. In 1782, his "Dictionary of Russian Superstitions" was published, which was republished in 1786 under the title: "Abevega of Russian superstitions, idolatry, sacrifices, wedding, common folk rites, witchcraft, shamanism, and so on." For its time, it was a remarkable ethnographic work, which A.N. Afanasiev in his Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature. Ch. moved from ethnography to industrial history and jurisprudence. The works of Ch. on the history of trade are still completely unappreciated. He wrote and, at the behest of the Empress, at the expense of her cabinet, published a huge "Historical Description of Russian Commerce at All Ports and Borders from Ancient Times to the Present, and All Advantages, Laws, etc." (Moscow, 1781 - 1788, 7 parts, in 21 volumes; the greatest bibliographic rarity). Ch.'s work is based on the study of archival materials and is of great importance for the history of our commercial legislation. In 1788, an extract from this work appeared: "A Brief History of Russian Trade" (Moscow). From the "Description" are extracted "Dictionary of fairs established in Russia, published for circulation in trade" (Moscow, 1788) and "Instruction is necessary for merchants, and especially for young people" (Moscow, 1788). The field of practical economy includes "Economic Notes for the Everlasting Execution in the Villages to the Bailiff and the Prudent Economist" (Moscow, 1788, 2nd edition, 1790). Ch. was one of the first to come up with the idea of popularizing Russian laws and publishing a legal reference book. In 1791 - 1792 his "Legal Dictionary, or the Code of Russian Laws, Temporary Institutions of Court and Punishment" was published in 5 books. In the first part, the legalizations were arranged in alphabetical order, in the second - in chronological order, from the Code to 1790 (the first part was republished in Novgorod in 1796). Then Ch. began the "Rural Medical Book, or the Dictionary of Healing Diseases that occur in the human race, in the cattle race and domestic birds" (during Ch.'s lifetime, it was published in Moscow, in 1789 - 90, 4 parts; after his death, in 1803, 5th came out). Other published works of Ch.: "The Adventure of Achilles under the name of Pyrrhus before the siege of Troy" (St. Petersburg, 1709, 2nd edition, Moscow, 1788, according to Sopikov); "Oberon, Wieland's poem in 14 songs" (translated from German, Moscow, 1787); "Arrangement in verse of a prose translation from French of Petrarch's letters to his mistress Lori" (instruction of Ch. himself; this book is not known from Sopikov's manuscript). Many of Ch.'s works remained in manuscripts: as a project of eternal peace, notes on economic peasants, a project on establishing a merchant bank, a dictionary of the Russian language, a dictionary of agriculture, cattle breeding and house-building, a poem in nine songs about the Pretender Grishka Otrepiev, etc. Let's add: another message from Ch. that his comedy, which has not come down to us, under the title: "Call it as you like," was presented repeatedly at the court theater in St. Petersburg. There is no general assessment of Ch.'s activity. Ch. was a kind of Lomonosov, of course, smaller. His works of an encyclopedic nature were of great benefit to Russian society; works on the history of Russian trade constitute a solid scholarly study; its ethnographic codes played a big role in the history of the study of the Russian people. Biographical information about Ch .: Novikov "Experience of a Historical Dictionary" (reprinted in the book by P.A. Efremov "Materials on Russian Literature"); preface to the 2nd edition of Economic Notes (Moscow, 1791; reprinted by Zabelin in Chronicles of Russian Literature and Antiquity, Volume I, Moscow, 1859, pp. 198 - 200); note by A. Fomin "To the biography of Ch." ("Knigovedenie", 1894, No. 7 - 8, p. 16); "Dictionary" of Metropolitan Eugene (1845, part 2; reprinted in Vengerov's "Russian Poetry", issue V, p. 872; here is a reprint of A.N. Tsypin's review of Ch.; historical, literary and bibliographic notes by A. Lyashchenko , issue VI, p. 408); note in the "Historical Bulletin" (December, 1893). Evaluation of the ethnographic works of Ch. by A.N. Pypin, in "History of Russian Ethnography" (vol. I, pp. 65 - 69). Information about Ch. is scattered in Afanasiev, "Russian satirical magazines" (pp. 7 - 10, 258, etc.), in Galakhov in the "Historical Reader" and "History of Russian Literature"; in Bulich "Sumarokov and contemporary criticism" (pp. 269, 272). See also Longinov "Bibliographic Notes" ("Contemporary", 1856, July, No. 8, p. 19); his own note ("Russian Archive", 1870, p. 1348; addition to it, ibid., p. 1935); M.A. Dmitriev "Little things from the reserve of my memory" (pp. 9, 28); Batyushkov "Works", edition of L. Maykov (vol. II, p. 398); Derzhavin "Works", edition of Grot (vol. II, 214; III, 117, 119, IV, 49, 746). Bibliographic indications of Ch.'s works; see Guberti (Vol. I, No. 166; Vol. II, No. 27, 129), Ostroglazov (No. 196, 264, 291), and Burtsev. Recently reprinted: "The deplorable fall of the poets", in "Russian Poetry", Vengerov (issue V) and "The Handsome Cook", in Burtsev's "Comprehensive bibliographic description" (volume V, St. Petersburg, 1901, p. 156 and following ). Portrait - at Rovinsky, "Dictionary" (volume III). P. Schegolev.
Biographical Dictionary. 2000 .
See what "Chulkov Mikhail Dmitrievich" is in other dictionaries:
Russian writer, journalist. A native of the "soldier's children"; was an actor, a court footman, an official of the Senate; served (in 1779) hereditary nobility. In his work, he focused on ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- (1743 or 1744 92) Russian writer, historian, ethnographer, economist. He published a satirical magazine I this and that, the Parnassian scribbler, compiled a Collection of Various Songs (vols. 1 4, 1770 74), Abeweg's dictionary of Russian superstitions ... (1786). A picaresque novel ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (1740 1793) a wonderful writer. There is very little information about his life. In the preface to the 2nd edition of his Notes on Economics, it is said that Ch. "studied at Moscow University in his youth and, having studied one ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia
- (1743/1744 1792), Russian writer, historian, ethnographer, economist. He published the satirical magazines “And this and that”, “Parnassian scribbler”, compiled “Collection of various songs” (vol. 1 4, 1770 74), dictionary “Abevega of Russian superstitions ...” (1786). Plutovskaya ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Mikhail Dmitrievich Chulkov Date of birth ... Wikipedia
Mikhail Dmitrievich Chulkov Date of birth: 1743 (1743) Place of birth: Moscow Date of death: October 14, 1793 Chulkov Mikhail Dmitrievich (1743, Moscow October 14, 1793) Russian publisher, writer, historian ... Wikipedia
- (1740 1793) a wonderful writer. There is very little information about his life. In the preface to the 2nd edition of his Notes on Economics, it is said that Ch. studied at Moscow University in his infancy and, having studied only one elementary ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
Mikhail Dmitrievich Chulkov (1743-1792) was born, apparently, in the family of a merchant. In 1755-1758 he studied at the gymnasium for raznochintsy at Moscow University, in 1761-1765 he served as an actor in the court theater, but without success and therefore moved to the position of court footman. He began his literary activity with the composition of the comedy Call It What You Like (1765). He worked with particular success in narrative genres. The collection of everyday and adventure stories prepared by him, The Mockingbird, or Slavensky Tales (the first four parts were published in 1766-1768, the fifth in 1789) enjoyed great success. In 1770, the novel "A Pretty Cook, or the Adventures of a Depraved Woman" was published. The image of modern life from its everyday side is also given in Chulkov's journals - the weekly "This and that" (1769) and the monthly "Parnassian scribbler" (1770).
In 1770-1774, Chulkov’s “Collection of Various Songs” (four parts) was published, which, along with the songs of Russian writers, included a significant number of folk songs, in particular, songs about Stepan Razin were published. Back in 1767, Chulkov compiled a “Short Mythological Lexicon”, in which he tried to systematize Slavic mythology. Later, he continued this work, preparing the book Dictionary of Russian Superstitions (1782). In 1786 it was republished under the title "Abevega of Russian Superstitions".
From the end of 1770, Chulkov moved away from active literary work, moving to the civil service. Starting with the post of collegiate registrar in the College of Commerce, already in 1786 he was awarded the rank of court councilor, which gave him the right to personal nobility. After retiring, he became the owner of a small estate.
Mikhail Dmitrievich Chulkov(1743-1792) - Russian publisher, writer, historian. Author of "Historical Description of Russian Commerce".
early years
Mikhail Dmitrievich was born in Moscow in 1744 into the family of a soldier in the Moscow garrison. In 1755-1758. studied at the raznochinny gymnasium at Moscow University and was an actor in the university theater, and from the middle. 1761 - actor of the Russian court theater in St. Petersburg. M. D. Chulkov’s career began at the beginning. 1765, when he entered the court service as a footman, then became a footman and court quartermaster, while for some time under the heir to the throne, Paul. Chulkov's political hopes were connected with his reign. He wanted to see in Paul a “grandson of Peter”, who would continue the reforms and exercise strong military power.
The beginning of Chulkov's literary and publishing activity dates back to the second half of the 1760s. At this time, he creates many works of art, publishes 4 collections of stories and fairy tales. His fifth collection was published in 1789 under the title "Mockingbird, or Slavic Tales" (four - 1766-1768; fifth - 1789), filled with patriotic feeling. In his stories, written on the basis of folk art, Chulkov reflected the real life of Russia.
In 1767, Chulkov's book "A Brief Mythological Lexicon" was published, which explained the names and terms of Greek, Roman, Slavic myths and legends.
In 1769, Chulkov began to publish the magazine "And this and that." Then his second magazine, The Parnassian Scribbler, comes out. Both of these magazines were designed for the middle strata of the townspeople, primarily the merchants, and reflected their social views and attitudes.
In 1770, he and N. I. Novikov published a joint collection of various songs, which included, in addition to folk, author's works by M. V. Zubova and others.
Chulkov - the author of the first Russian novel "A Pretty Cook, or the Adventures of a Depraved Woman" (1770) - a story about the "involuntary lot" of a sergeant's widow: the interaction of the social environment and human nature, the inconsistency of the nature of society's impact on the individual.
Chulkov wrote an adventurous chivalric novel, The Tale of Siloslav.
In 1770, Chulkov entered the civil service, becoming a collegiate registrar in the Senate Chancellery. In 1771, he moved to the King of Arms office with the rank of registrar. In 1772, he entered the service of a collegiate registrar in the position of secretary at the College of Commerce, where he served until 1779. After which he was promoted. He began work in the Chief Magistrate with the rank of collegiate assessor, where he rose to the rank of court counselor.
In the 1770s, while serving at the College of Commerce, Chulkov focused his attention on historical and economic topics. As secretary of the College of Commerce, he dealt with many materials, including legislative acts and treaties of previous years, and also had access to the archive. Apparently, already at the beginning of his public service, he decided to write a history of Russian trade. The first version of the work "Description of the exact state and properties of Russian bargaining from the possession of Peter the Great to the now prosperous time of the reign of the great Empress Catherine II" covered the period from the 1720s to the mid-1760s of the 18th century. It consisted of two parts: the first contained legislative material, the second contained documents. The manuscript was intended not for printing, but for internal use in the College of Commerce as a reference material.
Historical description of Russian commerce
In 1774, A. R. Vorontsov was appointed president of the College of Commerce, who provided Chulkov with great help and support in his intention to create a history of Russian trade from ancient times. Vorontsov obtained permission for him to work in the Senate archives, allocated the necessary funds. Chulkov's work went in two directions: identification, collection, systematization of documentary materials extracted from archives, and study of published sources and literature.
(1792-11-04 ) (47 years old)
early years
Mikhail Dmitrievich was born in Moscow in 1744 into the family of a soldier in the Moscow garrison. He studied at the Raznochinsk department of the gymnasium at Moscow University (1755-1758), then listened to lectures by professors of Moscow University on "verbal sciences". During the years of study, he took part in student performances of the university theater, and from the middle of 1761 - an actor in the Russian court theater in St. Petersburg. M. D. Chulkov’s career began at the beginning of 1765, when he entered the court service as a footman, then became a footman and court quartermaster, while for some time under the heir to the throne, Paul. Chulkov's political hopes were connected with his reign. He wanted to see in Paul a “grandson of Peter”, who would continue the reforms and exercise strong military power.
The beginning of Chulkov's literary and publishing activity dates back to the second half of the 1760s. At this time, he creates many works of art, publishes 4 collections of stories and fairy tales. His fifth collection was published in 1789 under the title "Mockingbird, or Slavic Tales" (four - 1766-1768; fifth - 1789), filled with patriotic feeling. In his stories, written on the basis of folk art, Chulkov reflected the real life of Russia.
His Story "A Bitter Fate" (1789) from the fifth collection contains the first signs of a traditional detective story, where a murder is being investigated. S. V. Sapozhkov called "A Bitter Fate" the first example of the detective genre in domestic literature, which makes it a harbinger of the detective genre not only in domestic, but also in foreign literature.
In 1767, Chulkov's book "A Brief Mythological Lexicon" was published, which explained the names and terms of Greek, Roman, Slavic myths and legends.
In 1769, Chulkov began to publish the magazine "This and that". Then his second magazine, The Parnassian Scribbler, comes out. Both of these magazines were designed for the middle strata of the townspeople, primarily the merchants, and reflected their social views and attitudes.
In 1770, he and N. I. Novikov published a joint collection of various songs, which included, in addition to folk, author's works by M. V. Zubova and others.
Chulkov - the author of the first Russian novel "A Pretty Cook, or the Adventures of a Depraved Woman" (1770) - a story about the "involuntary lot" of a sergeant's widow: the interaction of the social environment and human nature, the inconsistency of the nature of society's impact on the individual.
Chulkov wrote an adventurous chivalric novel The Tale of Siloslav.
In 1770, Chulkov entered the civil service, becoming a collegiate registrar in the Senate Chancellery. In 1771, he moved to the King of Arms office with the rank of registrar. In 1772, he entered the service of a collegiate registrar in the position of secretary to the Commerce Collegium, where he served until 1779. After which he was promoted. He began to work in the Chief Magistrate with the rank of collegiate assessor, where he rose to the rank of court counselor.
In the 1770s, while serving at the College of Commerce, Chulkov focused his attention on historical and economic topics. As secretary of the College of Commerce, he dealt with many materials, including legislative acts and treaties of previous years, and also had access to the archive. Apparently, already at the beginning of his public service, he decided to write a history of Russian trade. The first version of the work “Description of the exact state and properties of Russian bargaining from the possession of Peter the Great to the now prosperous time of the reign of the great Empress Catherine II” covered the period from the 1720s to the mid-1760s of the 18th century. It consisted of two parts: the first contained legislative material, the second contained documents. The manuscript was intended not for printing, but for internal use in the College of Commerce as a reference material.
Historical description of Russian commerce
In 1774, A. R. Vorontsov was appointed president of the College of Commerce, who provided Chulkov with great help and support in his intention to create a history of Russian trade from ancient times. Vorontsov obtained permission for him to work in the Senate archives, allocated the necessary funds. Chulkov's work went in two directions: identification, collection, systematization of documentary materials extracted from archives, and study of published sources and literature.
Chulkov carefully studied and, with the help of scribes, copied legislative acts and extensive clerical material of the Senate and the collegiums in charge of the economy (Kommerts-, Berg-, Manufaktura-collegia) and foreign policy (Collegium of Foreign Affairs) of the country. Archival documents of the 17th-18th centuries, included in their entirety, in the presentation or in fragments in the "Historical Description of Russian Commerce", form the basis of this work. The author practically used all the historical, geographical, ethnographic literature available to him, both domestic and foreign. He refers to the works of Lyzlov, Prokopovich, Lomonosov, Tatishchev, Rychkov, Shcherbatov.
Chulkov's work, with the mediation and support of Vorontsov, was published in 1781-1788.
"Historical Description of Russian Commerce" consists of 7 volumes, including 21 books. The first 5 volumes contain an overview of the history of foreign trade in individual regions and countries, 6 and 7 volumes - a consistent presentation of the history of commerce throughout Russia in the second half of the 18th century.
The first describes the history of trade of Ancient Rus' (until the 16th century) in the Black, Caspian, Baltic, White seas, then trade through Arkhangelsk, Baltic ports, in Murmansk and on the Kola Peninsula at a later time. The 2nd is devoted to Russia's trade with Turkey, Italy, Poland, Danzig, Prussia, Leipzig, Transcaucasia, Iran, Khiva, Bukhara, India, etc. The 3rd gives an overview of trade relations with Siberia, China, Mongolia, Kamchatka, etc. The 4th volume examines the trade of the Petersburg and Kronstadt ports in 1703-1785. The 5th covers trade mainly in the Baltic ports in the 18th century. Volume 6 characterizes Russia's internal trade in the 18th century. It also provides data on the participation of different cities in the export and import of goods in monetary terms, assortment and prices, duties, etc. The author talks about the emergence and development of crafts, mining and light industry, provides data on the location of factories and plants, the and the cost of products produced at each of them annually, the social composition of the owners, the forms of employment in enterprises. The 7th volume contains the Merchant's Lexicon, or the General State of All Goods of Russian Trade.... That is, Chulkov under commerce understood not only trade, but also industry, transport, credit, money circulation and monetary business. Chulkov's work is a history of Russia's economic development.
As a spokesman for the interests of the merchant class, which in the second half of the 18th century began to invest its capital more in industrial development, Chulkov highly appreciates its social role. Trade and entrepreneurial activity of the merchants is the main factor of economic progress and prosperity, the first of the most important conditions for stability and political stability in the state. This work had practical purposes: it had to satisfy the needs of the merchants, to provide them with the necessary information about trade.
An analysis of this work suggests that the author has a certain system of historical views. The main object of Chulkov's research was the socio-economic processes of Russia's development. He considered these processes in historical sequence on the material of the formation of legislation and on the basis of the characteristics of the economic policy of the state as a whole. For the 18th century, Chulkov's plan was not only innovative, but also extremely difficult to implement. And yet Chulkov managed to embody it in the main points. The “Historical Description of Russian Commerce” gives a general periodization of the history of Russia, highlights the most important political events in terms of their impact on the country's economy, is the most complete Chulkov the historian worked on covering new topics in the historiography of his time, evaluating and using the material with which he worked. He was the first in Russian historical science to introduce act and office material as the main historical source.
In the 1780s, on the basis of this multi-volume work, “A Brief History of Russian Trade”, “A Dictionary of Fairs Established in Russia”, “Instructions Necessary for Russian Merchants, and More for Young People, Containing Accounting Rules”, “Economic Notes for the usual fulfillment in the villages to the clerk and diligent economy, etc.
"Historical Description of Russian Commerce" is the first generalizing work on the economic history of Russia in the XII-XVIII centuries. In it, economic development is considered in historical terms and in accordance with the periodization of domestic and world history adopted at that time. The author connects the ancient period of the history of commerce with the formation of the Old Russian state (with the beginning of the activity of the first princes) and ends it with the invasion of Batu. The medieval period covers the time from the 1230s to the end of the 17th century, and the new one opens at the beginning of the 18th century. In accordance with the theories of his time, the author assigns the state a decisive role in the development of the Russian economy in general, and trade in particular. Chulkov traces the impact of government policy and political events on the state of foreign and domestic trade. At the same time, he also notes the importance of such factors as natural geographical conditions, population size, etc.
Chulkov the historian worked on covering new topics in the historiography of his time, evaluating and using the material with which he worked in a new way. He was the first in Russian historical science to introduce act and office material as the main historical source.
However, in the true sense of the word, "Historical Description of Russian Commerce" is not a study, as it largely consists of documents and materials systematized by chronology and territories. Huge factual material exists by itself, because the author does not subject it to any critical reflection, analysis and evaluation, does not accompany it with comments and conclusions. Also, the minus of this work is that in many cases Chulkov does not give the dates and titles of documents, does not indicate the original or copy, draft or final edition. Chulkov himself soberly assessed the results of his work, realizing that he had done only the initial part of the scientific coverage of the new historical and economic topics. But despite this, the value of this edition is great. It should also be noted that without special education and experience in such work, Chulkov did a truly gigantic job. He himself believed that his main task was the selection and publication of an appropriate fund of documents, and in this he saw the basis of historical knowledge on the Russian economy. Before the publication of a set of documents, it was impossible to think about creating some kind of unified concept of the Russian historical and economic process.
Last years
In the last decade of his life, Chulkov, due to the improvement of his financial situation, was able to begin to implement many of his previously conceived plans. He continued the publication of ethnographic materials, the study and publication of which began in the 1760s. In 1783, he published " Dictionary of Russian Superstitions" (2nd edition was published in 1786 under the title "Abevega of Russian Superstitions"), where he described rituals, everyday customs, signs, etiquette and folk holidays. Chulkov adhered to the principle of equality of all peoples whose beliefs and traditions deserve equal attention and interest.
Wishing to help peasants who were deprived of any opportunity to receive medical care, Chulkov prepared and published the Rural Medical Book, or the Dictionary of Healing Diseases.
Most of the time in the last years of his life, Chulkov devoted to preparing for publication the "Legal Dictionary" - a multi-volume set of legislative acts, arranged in the first part alphabetically, and in the other chronologically. But the author failed to complete his work. The practical significance of the Dictionary of Laws, or the Code of Russian Laws, was great, because at that time it was the only pointer to laws scattered in various publications.
Also in the 1780s - early 1790s, Chulkov collected materials for the multi-volume Dictionary of Agriculture, Housing and Cattle Breeding, and together with M.I. Popov worked on compiling a dictionary of the Russian language.
In the last years of his life, Chulkov published the fifth part of The Mockingbird. It included the most successful stories in artistic terms: "Precious Pike", "Gingerbread Coin", "Bitter Fate", in which he refers to the theme of the sad fate of the peasantry.
Thus, we can say that M. D. Chulkov was a true son of his era, the era of Enlightenment. In his works, he reveals himself as a humanist, striving for the improvement of man and the world of his relations. Chulkov is fighting ignorance, superstition, and inertia. He was characterized by the versatility of interests and activities, the educational orientation of various activities. Chulkov acted as a writer, journalist, publisher of satirical magazines, collector and publisher of folk songs, fairy tales and beliefs, author of an extensive work on the economic history of Russia. Chulkov adopted from contemporary historiography the monarchical scheme of the development of the Russian historical process. What was new for him was the study of the economic life of Russia, the role of the merchants in the development of trade and industry, the widespread use of office documentation extracted from the archives of central institutions as the most important source.
The basis of his economic views is the idea of the historically progressive development of the Fatherland, which he inextricably linked with the expansion and strengthening of industry and trade, the rational use of natural resources and the attraction of hired labor. He paid special attention to the problems of raising the economic development of the outlying lands. In the sphere of social relations, he considered it necessary to ensure the independence of entrepreneurs and merchants, linking the progress of Russia with the growth of the third estate. He was a supporter of the introduction
