Vera Figner is one of the most famous revolutionaries of the "old guard".
During her incredible life, the woman managed to be a feminist, a revolutionary, a regicide, a prisoner, a convict, a wife. From her youth, she stood on the positions of radical humanism. She always stood up for freedom and equality for everyone, she was an absolutely altruistic person, ready to go to the scaffold for the sake of bright ideas.
Vera Figner: biography
She was born on the seventh of July (according to the new style), 1852 in the Kazan Province.
Her family occupied high position in society and was quite prosperous. Father worked as an official in the Ministry of State Property. He made a good career and was respected throughout the province. He had his own estate, in which Vera grew up. In addition to her, the family had five more children. Elementary education received at home. My father was a man of rather progressive views, so Vera Nikolaevna studied all the basic sciences. At the age of eleven, she entered Kazan. It was the standard school for girls from wealthy families. There they were taught various "feminine" wisdom, in addition to studying ordinary subjects. In addition, in this particular institute, a huge place was given to religion. Girls were brought up in the spirit of Christian humility. However, the more Vera Figner studied theology, the more atheistic she became. But at the same time, she retained faith in some biblical virtues. It was the sense of altruism instilled in childhood that helped to forge the steel will of the future revolutionary.
Independent life
At the age of eighteen, Vera decides to get married. In those days, this was the only way out for girls who wanted to get away from parental care. In some ways, the girl’s marriage can be called fictitious. On October 18, Vera Figner married Alexei Filippov. After a while they emigrate to Switzerland. This "escape" is a consequence of Figner's feminist beliefs. In Zurich, she enters the medical faculty of the local university. There he makes his first acquaintances with Russian revolutionaries.
Acquaintance with the revolutionaries
Vera joins the populist company led by Sophia Bardina. Together with other girls she discusses revolutionary ideas and the role of women in modern society. Even then, the features of her strong-willed character were noticeable. According to various people, student years Vera Figner was very popular among classmates. She knew how to gather people around her and instill confidence in them. common cause. In Zurich, he actively studies the history of the development of the socialist and revolutionary movement in Europe.
Always ready!
In the seventy-fourth year he moved to Bern, where he entered another university. Here he meets with the activists of the organization "Narodnaya Volya".
He devotes more and more time to the study of left-wing political movements. Often communicates with Mikhail Bakunin. Around this time, he finally decides to become thorny path revolutionaries. At the request of the organization, Vera Nikolaevna Figner returns to Russia. There she gets a job as a paramedic in the simple village of Vyazmino. He moves to the wilderness in order to be closer to the people and to conduct revolutionary agitation among the masses. The husband does not share Vera's beliefs, and they divorce. Working in the village, Vera sees other revolutionaries. Participates in all congresses of socialist parties.
In the seventy-ninth fully devotes himself revolutionary activity. Moves to St. Petersburg to campaign among local students and the military. Participates in the preparation of the assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II. The Narodnaya Volya believed that it was the assassination of the tsar that would become the catalyst, the starting point that would launch the revolution in Russia. There was also a connection with the Polish intelligentsia, which stood on the positions of separatism and promised to act in the event of the death of the king.
assassination attempt
Various radical groups have repeatedly staged assassination attempts on the imperial person. Alexander II, despite a number of reforms, among which was the abolition of serfdom, was considered the culprit of all the troubles of the people. For the assassination attempt on Alexander, his visit to St. Petersburg to participate in various ceremonies was chosen. "Narodnaya Volya" decided to blow up the emperor's carriage during his journey along the Catherine Canal. The preparations took quite a long time. In advance, the revolutionaries bought a shop, from which they dug a tunnel under the bridge. There was a plan to plant a bomb.
However, during the king's visit, his itinerary changed. The Narodnaya Volya had to urgently change the plan. As a result, two revolutionaries, Grinevitsky and Rysakov, got their hands on homemade bombs and took their places on the street along which Alexander was supposed to pass. When the imperial carriage drove up, Rysakov threw a bomb, but wounded only the guards of the king. After that, Alexander got out of the carriage to look at the wounded Cossacks. It was at this point that Grinevitsky detonated his bomb, killing himself and the Tsar.
Arrest
Vera Figner did not personally participate directly in the assassination attempt. However, she collected information and was engaged in the preparation of this terrorist act. After the execution of the leaders of Narodnaya Volya, Figner leaves for Kharkov.
But in the eighty-third year, she is found on a tip from one of the embedded agents. The Russian revolutionary is behind bars. A high-profile lawsuit begins. Despite the closed nature, many representatives of the intelligentsia and foreign emigration are closely following the progress of the case. As a result, in the fall of 1844, Vera Nikolaevna was sentenced to death penalty. She accepted the verdict with cold contempt and said that she did not think that her life could end differently.
However, later the court replaced the execution with life imprisonment. Being in difficult conditions of imprisonment, Figner wrote poetry and even continued political activities. She got in touch with many prisoners and organized strikes. In 1904, her punishment was slightly changed and she was sent into exile. After the revolution of 1905, the tsarist regime began to be wary of revolutionaries who might take the form of martyrs. Therefore, Vera is allowed to go abroad for treatment.
Second emigration
Having left for Paris, Figner continues to conduct social activities. Personally creates a committee to help political prisoners. Travels around Europe raising money to help Russian victims of the regime.
He often writes articles and notes about life in his homeland in foreign newspapers, trying to draw public attention to this problem. In the fifteenth year, the First World War rages in Europe. Vera Nikolaevna decides to return to Russia. At the border, she is detained and again sent into exile. However, after a while, she is allowed to live in the capital after the guarantee of her brother.
wind change
After the start of the February Revolution, he took part in several demonstrations. However, he does not take an active part. He devotes more and more time to the problems of former political prisoners.
Compiles lists of exiles and convicts, then to transfer to the Provisional Government. Stands up for equal rights for women and demands the opportunity to be elected to the Constituent Assembly.
Vera Nikolaevna also did not support the October Revolution. After establishing Soviet power kept away from politics. The revolutionary lived a long life. On birthdays and anniversaries, the authorities organized events in her honor. Despite her aloofness from politics, everyone in the party knew who Vera Figner was. The memoirs of the revolutionary were reprinted several times. Vera Nikolaevna died on the fifteenth of June 1942.
Figner Vera Nikolaevna
1852-1942
GRAPHIC INDEXBiographical index
Figner Vera Nikolaevna (1852, village of Nikiforov, Kazan province - 1942, Moscow) - populist. Genus. V noble family. She studied at home, in 1863 she entered the Rodionovsky Institute in Kazan - a closed educational institution that did not satisfy Figner with the education she received. The gospel made a huge impression on the staunch atheist Figner. (“Some of the principles of which - like giving oneself wholly once to a chosen goal - still retain their great value in my eyes. Yes, and all the other highest moral values \u200b\u200bI received from this book,” she wrote in her autobiography.) After completing the course, Figner returned home, married the forensic investigator A.V. Filippova, with whom she left for Switzerland. There she studied at the medical f-those in Zurich, then Bernese high fur boots. Here Figner became interested in social. learning, got to know P.L. Lavrov, M.A. Bakunin. In 1875 she returned to Russia at the call of the roar. organizations and, having passed the exams for the title of paramedic, divorcing her husband, took an active part in the roar. movement. Participated in the Kazan demonstration in St. Petersburg, led the roar. propaganda in the Samara and Saratov provinces., being a member of the society "Land and Freedom". In 1879, after a split in the organization, Figner joined the Executive Committee of the People's Will. N.K. Mikhailovsky wrote about her: “What this strength consisted of, this charm that she used, it’s hard to say. She was smart and beautiful, but it wasn’t all about the mind, and beauty didn’t play big role in her circle; She had no special gifts. She captivated with her wholeness, visible in her every word, in her every gesture: for her there was no hesitation and doubt. Active participant preparing a series of assassination attempts Alexander II, after killing imp. in 1881 and the defeat of the Figner organization, the only member remaining at large Executive Committee, tried to restore the "People's Will", led the roar. work in Odessa and Kharkov, but in 1883 was issued to the police by S. P. Degaev. After 20 months conclusions in Peter and Paul Fortress Figner was sentenced to death, commuted to indefinite hard labor. She served her sentence in solitary confinement in one of the most terrible Russian. prisons - Shlisselburg fortress - for 20 years. In 1964 she was exiled to the Arkhangelsk, and then to the Kazan province. In 1906 she received permission to travel abroad. In 1907 she joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, but later wrote that "she could not merge with them and felt superfluous and useless in their midst." In 1908, after being exposed E.F. Azef, Figner withdrew from the party. Organized a lot of work to raise funds for Russian. exiles and convicts. Not wanting to stay in a foreign land during the outbreak of the First World War, Figner returned to Russia in 1915 and was arrested; was in Nizhny Novgorod under police surveillance. At the end of 1916 she arrived in Petrograd and witnessed the February roar. 1917. Participated in the work of the educational society "Culture and Freedom". She was elected a member of the Executive Committee of the All-Russian. Council of Peasant Deputies and signed the "Appeal of the old revolutionaries to all citizens of Russia" with a call to continue the war to a victorious end. Not accepting the October Revolution, having experienced a feeling of deep humiliation after being dispersed by the Bolsheviks Constituent Assembly, a member of which she was, Figner nevertheless did not go abroad, she remained loyal to the Bolsheviks, as her life experience and watered, sobriety suggested to her. Headed or participated in the work of more than 15 public organizations related to historical enlightenment, public education, assistance to the starving, etc. In 1927 Figner with a group of old roars. turned to the Sov. to the government with a demand to stop polit, repressions and release political prisoners. Most time gave Lit. classes (see: Poln. sobr. soch. 2nd ed. M. 1932. Vol. 1 - 7). Used materials of the book: Shikman A.P. Figures national history. Biographical guide. Moscow, 1997Figner Vera Nikolaevna (June 25, 1852, Mamadysh district of Kazan province, - June 15, 1942, Moscow). From nobles. In 1871 she studied at Kazan, un-those. In 1872-75 she studied at the Zurich and Bern Universities, was a member of the roar. Russian circle. female students. Dec. In 1875 she returned to Russia, in 1876 she passed the exam for a paramedic. Participated in "going to the people." Member "Lands and freedom". From sept. 1879 members executive committee of "Narodnaya Volya" and its military center, participant in assassination attempts Alexander II in Odessa (1880) and St. Petersburg (1881). Dec. 1881 in Odessa organized an attempt on the military. prosecutor, set up the work of the printing house "Nar. Volya". Feb. 1883 arrested, until Sept. 1884 was in Petropavl. fortress: sentenced to death, replaced by indefinite hard labor: served 20 years in solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress. In 1904-1906 in exile in Arkhangelsk, Kazan. lips., N. Novgorod. Emigrated in 1906. All R. 1907 joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, after the exposure of the provocateur E.F. Azef came out in Jan. 1908 from the party. In 1910, he was the initiator of the creation of the Paris Committee for helping watered convicts. Feb. 1915 when returning to Russia, she was arrested and deported to Nizhny Novgorod. Dec. 1916 arrived in Petrograd. After Feb. revolution of 1917 from the beginning. March before to the Society for Assistance to the Liberated Political, which organized the reception of donations, set up hostels, and provided honey. and jurid. help, issued a lump sum. den. allowances and free tickets home. On March 19, a participant in the demonstration of soldiers and workers demanding equal rights for women and the protection of their interests. On March 21, at a reception hosted by the Min. G.E. Lvov delegation of the Women's Equality League, delivered a speech on giving women the vote. rights for elections to the Const. Sobr. March 31 at the organizational meeting of the Society for the distribution of desks. Liter-ry Socialist-Revolutionaries elected honorary before. 7 Apr. honorary member Vseros. congress of teachers (in a speech she outlined the position of the beginning of education in Russia). 8 Apr. on the 2nd All-Russian. Congress of the Labor Group called for the unification of all populists. groups into one batch. 11 Apr. into gas. "Rech" was evicted for the creation of a house-museum in memory of the fighters for the freedom of Russia. May 4 at Vseros. Congress of Representatives of the Councils of the KD was elected an honorary chairman. (along with V.M. Chernov And E.K.Breshko-Breshkovskoy) and said hello. speech. May 19 elected member. Executive Committee of the All-Russian Council of KD. On July 18, she signed the "Appeal of the old revolutionaries to all citizens of Russia" for the continuation of the war to a victorious end. On July 27, the Executive Committee of the All-Russian Council of the CD elected candidate. in ch. Const. Sobr. September 21, during the work of Democ. meetings, wrote to cousin N.P. Kupriyanova: " Everyone is tired of phrases, inaction and hopelessly stuck in the quagmire of our differences. Only the Bolsheviks swim like a pike in the sea, not realizing that with their unbridled and unrealizable bait of the dark masses they are shamefully betraying their homeland to the Germans, and freedom to the reaction.". And further: " No one has a trace of the rise of noble feelings, the desire for sacrifice. For some, because they do not have these feelings and aspirations at all, while for others, because they are exhausted spiritually and bodily, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tasks and the insignificance of human and material means to fulfill them. I personally, of course, from the fact that in the past I had a huge, difficult experience that shattered useless illusions about the spiritual image of average people - from the very beginning there was no joyful excitement, great hope that freedom would be established without serious upheavals, and Russia did not crushed by an unfortunate war"(TsGALI, f. 1185, op. 1, D. 231, l. 115-16 v.). On October 7, she attended the opening of the Provisional Council of the Russian Republic. On October 24, at a meeting of the Pre-Parliament, she abstained from voting on the SR resolution ( adopted by the majority), which condemned the preparation of an uprising and blamed the Bolsheviks for the rampant counter-revolutionary forces and the disruption of the Constituent Beaver Figner did not accept the October Revolution. Sobr. "; January 5. 1918 participated in his work. Later she recalled: "The coup of October 25. Art. Art., to which our social revolution began, and everything that followed then I experienced extremely painfully. To the struggle of the social parties - these brothers - I was unprepared ... I was a member. "Pre-Parliament", assessed it as a talking shop, which should be destroyed, however, when the soldiers came with the order to clear the Mariinsky Palace, I felt deeply humiliated and was among the minority who voted not to disperse and be removed by force. Dissolution of the Const. Sobr. was a new humiliation cherished dream pl. generations and the naive reverence of the masses who believed in him..." (Garnet. p. 253-54). M. Gorky) Society "Culture and Freedom", created in memory of Feb. roar-tion. 7 Apr. prev. first public meeting about-va, defined its task - to become a cult.-clearance. center for the propaganda of the history of the rev. movement in Russia. Figner retired from politics and devoted herself to lit. classes. In 1926 special by decree of the Council of People's Commissars Figner, a personal pension was appointed. The materials of the article by L.I. Demina in the book were used: Political figures Russia 1917. biographical dictionary. Moscow, 1993. Figner, Vera Nikolaevna. (06/24 (07/07). 1852 - 06/15/1942) From the nobility. She studied at the university in Switzerland. There she joined one of the Russian socialist circles. In 1877 she participated in Samara, and from the autumn of 1878 to the spring of 1879, in the Novosaratov settlement. In 1875 she left for Russia to work among the people. Seeing the impossibility of revolutionary work under the conditions of tsarism and the unpreparedness of the peasantry for the ideas of socialism and revolution, Figner, after the split of Zemlya and Volya, joined Narodnaya Volya. She took part in all the terrorist enterprises of the party, as well as in its propaganda work. After March 1, she worked to restore the center of the party. When in 1882 the leaders of Narodnaya Volya were arrested, the whole burden of work fell on Figner, who escaped arrest. She organized an assassination attempt on Strelnikov, set up a printing house in Odessa. Arrest. February 10, 1883. On the trial of 14 in September 1884, she was sentenced to death, commuted to indefinite hard labor, which she served in Shlisselburg until 1904. She went abroad in 1906. She performed various tasks of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party in different countries. After the Azef case, she left the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. In early 1910, she founded the Paris Committee for Assistance to Political Convicts in Russia. In 1911 she wrote the pamphlet "Les prisons russes". She returned to Russia in February 1915 without government permission, but thanks to the efforts of her brother, soloist of the Imperial Theaters Nikolai Figner, she managed to avoid repression. After the revolution, she lived in Moscow, was engaged in literary work. V.N. Figner:"Both father and mother were very energetic, active and hardworking people; physically strong, they were also distinguished by strong-willed temperament. In this respect, they gave us a good legacy." 1872 Zurich
"On arrival in Zurich, I was absorbed in one idea - to devote myself entirely to the study of medicine - and stepped over the threshold of the university with reverence. For two years I cherished the same thought ... I was 19 years old, but I thought to give up all pleasures and amusements, even the most innocent ones, so as not to lose a moment of precious time, and set about lectures, textbooks and practical exercises with a fervor that did not weaken for more than three years.
1876 "The past was irrevocably put an end to. And since the age of 24 my life has been connected exclusively with the fate of the Russian revolutionary party" In my development and spiritual life in general, Saltykov-Shchedrin had no influence ..." And further: "The novel" What do?" [Chernyshevsky] did not make any impression on me. Interested only Rakhmetov, his asceticism... Later, Ch. Iv. Uspensky: sincerity and heartfelt love for the peasant, for the village made him related to us ... "Work in the Saratov province:" The poor people flocked to me, as to a miraculous icon, by tens and hundreds; a whole convoy stood near the paramedic's house from morning until late in the evening; soon my fame crossed the limits of the three volosts that I was in charge of, and then the limits of the county. Soon the first school was opened, “25 people gathered at once, students and pupils ... In all three volosts of my site there was not a single school.”
“Every minute we felt that we were needed, that we were not superfluous. This consciousness of our usefulness was the attractive force that attracted our youth to the village; only there could we have pure soul and a calm conscience
1879 Voronezh Congress M.R. Popov:"... Vera Nikolaevna's mere consent is enough for her to become a member of the organization .... he suggested that she go to Voronezh and prepare everything necessary for the reception of the landowners who were coming to the congress." 1879 Organization of the "Narodnaya Volya" "... Since I was not among the persons appointed to organize the assassination attempts that I approved, and since the thought was unbearable for me that I would bear only moral responsibility, but not participate materially in an act for which the law threatens comrades with the heaviest punishments, then I have made every effort to get the organization to give me some function in the fulfillment of its plans.
"Process 14": " The last word! How much value, and what value, this short formula! The defendant is given a case, the only one in an unusual, tragic situation, and the last, perhaps the last case in his life - to reveal his moral character, find out the moral justification for his actions and his behavior and publicly say what he wants to say, what he should say and what he can say.
...Could my life go differently than it did, and could it end in anything other than the dock? And every time I answered myself: No! N. K. Mikhailovsky:“What this strength consisted of, this charm that she used, it’s hard to say. She was smart and beautiful, but it wasn’t just the mind that mattered, and beauty didn’t play a big role in her circle; she didn’t have any special talents. She captured with her wholeness, which was evident in her every word, in her every gesture: for her there was no hesitation and doubt. However, there was not in her the ascetic severity that is often characteristic of people of this type. I.I. Popov:“From the end of 1881, the name of V.N. Figner was already the property of wide circles of society and was surrounded by a special halo. For us, who joined the revolution, V.N. was, I would say, a super-revolutionary. Much was said about her beauty, grace, good breeding, intelligence, ability to behave in all circles of society, not excluding the aristocratic.As a revolutionary, she was an ideal for us, a woman with an iron will, one, and since 1882 the only leader and driver of the Narodnaya Volya party, not who wish to leave Russia and doomed themselves to the service of the people." Stogova I.E., mother of A. Akhmatova, member of "NV":"Vera Nikolaevna was so beautiful, as chiseled, she had to go - I gave her my Parisian fur coat." L.A.Tikhomirov: Figner herself was a very sweet and convinced terrorist to the marrow of her bones. She captivated people a lot, more with her sincerity and beauty. it was good only in the hands of smart people (like A. Mikhailov or Zhelyabov.) The "old" leaders of terrorism would have been horrified at the mere thought that Figner was in charge of affairs.
She was an irreplaceable agitator. In the full sense of the beauty, charming, flirtatious manner, she captivated everyone she came across. Incidentally, she took great participation in the creation of the Petersburg military organization. But she had a complete lack of conspiratorial abilities. Passionate, carried away, she had no idea about caution. Degaev became her close friend, who subsequently betrayed her in the most shameless way. V.N. Figner:"Whoever is strict with others must be strict with himself, even stricter with himself than with others: you must be directly merciless with yourself ... To abandon the intended goal, to stop halfway - is not in my character." A.V. Tyrkov:“From my recollections of Vera Nikolaevna Figner, I will cite a small episode of meeting with her on the day of the act at the university, when the minister of public education, Saburov, was insulted. Walking along Nevsky, towards the university, I met Figner. “What are you doing here? After all, you should be at the university a long time ago. "I said that I don't like this story, so I'm not in a hurry ... "Don't like it? .." - she threw me decisively and briefly, turned and ran on. She always had cheerful, bold look, the pride of a woman combined in her with the pride of a fighter, her movements were quick and decisive, she had such a sonorous, musical colloquial contralto that her speech flowed like music, I never heard such a voice. he was given a character of special courage and depth to her whole being. All taken together was amazingly beautiful. " V.N. Figner:"After Shlisselburg, Alexandra Ivanovna Moroz brought me a beautiful large engraving from Surikov's painting" Boyar Morozova She brought it because she knew what great place In my imagination in Shlisselburg, the personality of Archpriest Avvakum and the sufferer for the old faith, the noblewoman Morozova, steadfastly firm and at the same time so touching in her death from starvation, occupied. N.A.Morozov:“Vera and I were friends from our very youth. I met her for the first time in Geneva, where I was the youngest of all political emigrants, and she was a student at the University of Bern. I immediately fell in love with her, but hid it from everyone and especially from I considered myself, first of all, unworthy of her and, moreover, already doomed to the scaffold or eternal imprisonment, since I certainly wanted to return to Russia and continue with renewed vigor and with new knowledge the struggle begun against autocratic arbitrariness, which mercilessly strangled free thought Then we both met her in an illegal position in Russia and worked together in Land and Freedom and Narodnaya Volya, and, finally, we found ourselves side by side in the Shlisselburg prison. S. Ivanov:"There are natures that do not bend, they can only be broken, broken to death, but not tilted to the ground. Vera Nikolaevna belongs to them ... M.Yu Ashenbrenner:"The best, beloved, self-sacrificing comrade, whose moral influence was so saving for the exhausted ... G.A. Lopatin:"Vera belongs not only to friends - it belongs to Russia." V. Rozanov:"... Vera Figner was clearly a revolutionary "Mother of God", like Ekaterina Breshkovskaya or Sophia Perovskaya ... "Johnites", all "Johnites" near "Father John of Kronstadt", who this time was Zhelyabov. Colonel Kairov, report:“Prisoner No. 11 is, as it were, a cult for the entire prison, the prisoners treat her with the greatest respect and respect, she undoubtedly leads the public opinion of the entire prison, and everyone obeys her orders almost unquestioningly; with great certainty it can be said that those who appear in prison protests of prisoners in the form of general hunger strikes, refusals to walk, work, etc. are made according to her tuning fork " I.A. Bunin:"That's who you need to learn to write!" V. Veresaev:"V.N. Figner is a magnificent specimen of a falcon in human form." V.N. Figner - N.P. Kupriyanova, 21 September 1917, during the work of the Democrat. meetings:“Everyone is tired of phrases, inaction and hopelessly bogged down in the quagmire of our differences. Only the Bolsheviks swim like a pike in the sea, not realizing that with their unbridledness and unrealizable baits of the dark masses they are shamefully betraying their homeland to the Germans, and freedom - the reaction ... ... Neither who do not have a trace of an upsurge of noble feelings, striving for sacrifices, some because they don’t have these feelings and aspirations at all, while others because they are exhausted spiritually and bodily, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tasks and the insignificance of human and material means for fulfilling I personally, of course, from the fact that in the past I had a huge, difficult experience that shattered useless illusions about the spiritual image of average people - from the very beginning there was no joyful excitement, great hope that freedom would be established without serious shocks, but Russia is not crushed by the unfortunate war." V.N. Figner:"The coup of October 25, Art., to which our social revolution began, and everything that followed then I experienced extremely painfully. I was unprepared for the struggle of the social parties - these brothers ... I was a member." of the Pre-Parliament", assessed it as a talking shop, which should be destroyed, however, when the soldiers came with the order to clear the Mariinsky Palace, I felt deeply humiliated and was among the minority who voted not to disperse and be removed by force The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly was a new humiliation of the cherished dream of many generations and the naive reverence of the masses who believed in it..." P.N. Kropotkin - V.I. Lenin, 1918, after the announcement of the "Red Terror":"... In 1794," the terrorists of the Committee of Public Security turned out to be the grave-diggers of the people's revolution.
..Is there really no one among you to remind you that such measures represent a return to the worst of times medieval and religious wars- are unworthy of people who undertook to create a future society on a communist basis. Even kings and popes have abandoned such a barbaric method of self-defense as hostage. How can you, preachers of a new life and builders of a new society, use such weapons to protect yourself from your enemies? Isn't this a sign that you consider your communist experience a failure and you are saving the business of building a new life, which is no longer dear to you, but only yourself.
I believe that the future of communism is dearer to the best of you. own life. One thought of this future should make you reject such measures." V.N. Figner - P.A. Kropotkin, 12/20/1918:“I read your letter about the hostages and was surprised that you offered to make comments: for the letter is excellent. At first, when I read it only with my eyes, it did not strong impression, but yesterday I read it aloud, really, and it seemed to me beautiful. Such was the impression of the Muravievs - husband and wife, Kuskova and Prokopovich, and we unanimously say to you - you need to send him.
It is a pity that three weeks have already passed since the time of this order. And when, having gathered for a council, we discussed what kind of speech we could make, it was decided not to speak now, since time had been lost. But henceforth it is the duty of the presidium to respond immediately. As for your letter - we all thought it was so good that it was necessary to put it into action, especially since it comes from you. E. Goldman, American anarchist:“I expressed my surprise at the fact that Korolenko was left at large, despite his frequent speeches against the authorities. Mrs. X (P.S. Ivanovskaya) did not find this strange. She explained to me that Lenin was a very intelligent person. He knew where he has trump cards - Pyotr Kropotkin, Vera Figner, Vladimir Korolenko - these names had to be reckoned with. Lenin understood that as long as he could point to them, remaining at large, he would be able to successfully refute the accusation that under his dictatorship they were using only with a gun and a gag. And the whole world swallowed this bait and was silent while the true idealists were crucified." P.A. Kropotkin, from the diary of July 15, 1920:"Just saw off Vera Figner. The same beautiful, worthy of worship!" V.N. Figner, February 8, 1922, on the anniversary of the death of P.A. Kropotkin:"I am ashamed in front of others, it hurts for myself that I was not able to take from him all that he could give." V.N. Figner, at the evening in memory of Kropotkin, December 9, 1924:“From the time of Christ, there are very few who follow the path outlined by Christ, who taught that self-sacrifice is the highest that a person is capable of. The basis of morality is the pursuit of the greatest happiness largest number people, and in order to implement such a system, some kind of internal serious work on oneself must take place in each person. V.N. Figner, January 27, 1924:"Today they buried Vladimir Ilyich, whose name and work excited the whole world, arousing great aspirations and enthusiasm in some, hatred and malice in others ..." V.N. Figner, April 11, 1925, the newspaper of the Russian workers' organizations of the USA and Canada "Dawn":“You ask what to do? We need a revolution. Yes, another revolution. But our task is too grandiose. The revolution is too unusual, and we must seriously prepare for it. , even, maybe worse. ... We need to start a serious and educational work above himself, to call others to her.... When a person understands in a person that he is a high individuality, that he is of great value, that he is free just like the other, then only our relationships will be renewed, only then will the last bright spiritual revolution take place and rusty chains will fall off forever. " V.N. Figner, E. Figner, M. Shebalin, L. Deutsch, M. Frolenko, A. Yakimova-Dikovskaya, statement to the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, late 1925: "Here in these solemn days of the centenary of the Decembrist uprising, coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the revolution of 1905, we turn to the Central Executive Committee of the USSR with our word, dedicated to what worries and worries every day and does not give rest.
Thousands of Russian citizens fill prisons and the most remote and deaf, devoid of the slightest signs of cultural life corners of our country, exile to which for political reasons under the old order was most emphatically condemned by the public opinion of the democratically minded progressive circles of all the states of the world. Hundreds, thousands of others are outside their homeland.
Therefore, we think that a general political amnesty is the best, most essential measure, most in keeping with the spirit of freedom, which inspired both the first organizers of the uprising against the autocracy in 1825 and those who raised the banner of the uprising in 1905.
The second problem is execution and, above all, execution without a public trial, and even without trial at all.
This order cannot and should not continue. This is not necessary for the Soviet government. This is unnecessary and interferes with its growth. This demoralizes the consciousness of citizens. This poisons and spoils the lives of the most sensitive and honest of them.
So, we, who fought for the revolution for a long time, endured many, many prisons and hard labor, sometimes were face to face with death itself, we, in the name of the same Revolution and its final triumph, ask: to abolish execution and at least its extrajudicial use . We ask for a wide pardon for all political prisoners, we ask for an easing of the regime of exile, we ask for the elimination of administrative repressions so that only the court appoints measures of social protection. V.N. Figner - E.E. Kolosov, 1930:“In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, the monarchy has fallen, a provisional government has been formed, but it does not declare a republic ... Well, are we revolutionaries going to praise it? Here are real public figures - not some Jacobins! Or , despite the age-old popular view that the land belongs to no one, God, and should belong to the one who cultivates it, despite the half-century groan of the people: "Lands, lands!" - in the midst of the revolution, when in fact he had already taken possession of the land - the provisional government, for fear of usurping the rights of the future popular representation, does not decide and does not decree that private property on the ground is abolished... What? Is this non-Jacobinism also most in line with true revolutionary consciousness?
If the voice of the people speaks clearly and definitely, then the revolutionary provisional government by its decree will only sanction Narodnaya Volya. Letter from the community of former Shlisselburg prisoners, 1932:“When, after the defeat of the revolution of the fifth year, we were thrown into the loners of the Shlisselburg fortress left by the Narodnaya Volya, when the servants of reaction fell upon us with their oppression and mockery, when the tsarist jailers wanted to kill the honor of a revolutionary in us, we always remembered you, Vera Nikolaevna, and your comrades. enthusiasm, your courage and endurance, your faith in the final triumph of ideals, for which dozens and hundreds of your friends went to the gallows and hard labor, instilled in us tremendous vigor, awakened in us a readiness to fight. F.I. Sedenko-Vityazev - V.N. Figner, May 1933:“You write about Shlisselburg. But you are an exception and your era is exceptional. And an exception cannot be the rule. And most importantly, why compare the incomparable? You fought, and the enemy’s blows are even sweet. meaning and meaning. I remember myself as a young man in 1902-1903. Oh, if you only knew what sweet, attractive romance Shlisselburg was wrapped in! How we were worried about your name, the name of a woman husky on a deserted island. And I well I remember how my high school comrades and I were terribly afraid that the autocracy would suddenly fall, and we would not have time to fight it, to suffer for the revolution. You see, we wanted suffering, for meaningful suffering is never terrible. Now take my position. I will never was not an enemy of either the revolution or the Soviet power.I, who published in 1919 at the height of civil war"Paris Commune" Lavrov40, and suddenly declared a counter-revolutionary! What an absurdity! I spent a lot of time under the autocracy and spent one night on death row, awaiting the verdict of a court-martial. But everything was clear there: I beat - they beat me. And here they beat me, imprison me, declare me their enemy - in fact, I am not an enemy at all, I never have been and never will be. I lived by the revolution and will die with the wish of the speedy realization of its ideals. Well, tell me - how could there be a more stupid and foolish situation? The psychology of Shlisselburg and my present one are incomparable, completely different things. Dear Vera Nikolaevna, I agree to endure anything, but meaningfully. To be an exhibit of human stupidity, forgive me - I am not fit for this role. You spent 22 years in Shlisselburg; deep meaning both in the past and today. For 22 years I sat behind Lavrov and ended up with the fact that these years turned out to be meaningless. "N.A. Ostrovsky - V.N. Figner, December 9, 1933:“I just want my letter to convey at least a part of that deep feeling of respect and pride for Vera Figner that I feel now when your books are being read to me.
You probably get a lot of writing, and my letter may be lost in your memory. I write it as hello...
I am 29 years old. In the past, I am a stoker. Didn't finish primary school. Became a hired worker from the age of twelve. At the age of fifteen he joined the Komsomol and the Revolutionary Army. Two years of fighting. Two severe wounds, loss of an eye, severe concussion. Then again workshops, work in the Komsomol. Since the twenty-eighth year I have been paralyzed, immobile, I have lost my last eye. Five years of hard work, and as a result, two books about the past, about our rebellious youth. I am one of the Bolshevik Young Guard. The Iron Party brought us up. We are born of the storm...
Please accept this warm greeting from one of your "party grandchildren". The banner of Narodnaya Volya, drenched in the blood of the fighters, is our banner.
I squeeze your hands. N. Ostrovsky." When, at the beginning of the war, she was offered to evacuate and the doctors were worried about whether the ninety-year-old woman, who almost did not leave her bed, would survive the move, Vera Nikolaevna said: "Let them take care of the living." Compositions: Complete Works, 2nd ed., vols. 1-7, M., 1932. Literature: Pavlyuchenko Z.A., V.N. Figner, M., 1963; Voinovich V.N., Degree of confidence, M., 19721 Krasovsky Yu.A. Woman of the Russian Revolution. Literary and psychological aspects of Vera Figner's archive // Meetings with the past. M., 1982. Issue. 4; Uncaptured work: From the archive of V.N. Figner / Publ. I'M IN. Leontiev and K.S. Yurieva // Links: Historical almanac. M. - SPb., 1992. Issue. 2. Usedmaterial from the site "Narodnaya Volya" -
Famous Russian Opera singer(tenor). Sibling V. N. Figner, a descendant of the lateral line of the partisan Patriotic War 1812 A.S. Figner.
Nikolai Nikolaevich Figner was born on the small estate of his father, a forester. As a child, Figner failed the transitional exams at the gymnasium, after which he was sent to the Marine cadet corps Petersburg, in 1878 he became a naval officer (participated in world tour) and did not think about the scene. If not for “family troubles” (as Figner called his marriage to an Italian bonnet, which was forbidden in the officer class), he might not have become an artist.
Leaving the service with the rank of lieutenant, Figner studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (with IP Pryanishnikov, J. Everardi), but was expelled; the novice artist was assured that he lacked the talent of a vocalist. Using subsidies from various people, Figner twice visited Italy, where he studied at the Neapolitan Conservatory with Francesco Lamperti, whom he saved with his family during a fire in the theater, and with a certain choirmaster De Rocas.
He made his debut in Naples in 1882 in the opera Philemon and Baucis by Gounod, in a performance staged in a private circle. Then, in an open performance, the young artist successfully performs the part of Faust in opera of the same name C. Gounod. Thus, in 1882, the five-year foreign period of Figner's artistic career began. In 1883 he sang with success in Milan in the opera Fra Diavolo. First, he performs in theaters in Italy, both large and small, then sings in Madrid, Bucharest and many other cities. He performs on the same stage where the luminaries sing.
In 1887, Figner performed for the first time in St. Petersburg, on the stage of the Imperial Russian Opera. In 1887 - 1907 soloist of the Imperial Theaters.
In 1895, Figner received the title of Soloist of His Majesty.
After October 1917, N. N. Figner ended up in Ukraine, where he taught singing until his death.
Family
Several more came from his family famous figures. Among the artist's ancestors (on the lateral line) is the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 A. S. Figner (1786-1813), whose exploits and some personality traits were reflected in the epic of L. N. Tolstoy "War and Peace".
Nikolai's sister, Vera Figner, is a Russian revolutionary. In 1883 she was sentenced to life imprisonment in Shlisselburg. Only twenty years later, the singer managed to achieve her release. Three more sisters of the artist, also associated with the People's Will movement, spent many years in Siberian exile.
The second wife, Medea Figner (formerly May), is a famous Russian soprano, Italian by origin. In Italy, the famous couple - Nikolai Nikolaevich and Medea Figner - had a villa, which was often visited by the novice L. Sobinov, A. Vyaltseva, composers Puccini, G. Verdi.
Figner had a child from his first marriage and four from his second.
Creation
In 1887-1903 and in 1907 he sang at the Mariinsky Theatre.
The first performer of the roles of Hermann (Queen of Spades) and Vaudemont (Iolanthe) in operas by P. I. Tchaikovsky.
Figner's artistic talent was admired by P. I. Tchaikovsky, who dedicated six romances to him, opus 73. Figner is the first of the Russian opera singers combined dramatic, stage and vocal in single system opera action. This is how musicologists assessed Figner's work in the accompanying article to the giant record of the Melodiya company, published in the late 70s of the last century. According to an outstanding conductor Nicholas Malko Figner was an era, a school, a reformist and, perhaps, a revolutionary. Best years stage life the singer was anticipated and paved the way for the realistic art of F. I. Chaliapin, I. V. Ershov and their contemporaries. Particularly expressive dramatic art Figner appeared in the role of Herman in The Queen of Spades, which P. Tchaikovsky wrote especially for Nikolai Nikolaevich. Pyotr Ilyich inscribed the clavier to Nikolai Nikolaevich " Queen of Spades":" To the culprit of the existence of this opera from a grateful author.
The well-known lawyer A. Koni, much later in his memoirs, admitted that he was confident in the genius of Figner, who showed a very plausible picture of Herman's madness with obsessive ideas. From 1890 to 1900 in Russian theaters, according to contemporaries, no one could surpass Figner in the part of Herman.
According to ESBE, "Without having an outstandingly beautiful voice, Figner is gifted with a great talent to convey the performance."
Vera Nikolaevna Figner(after Filippov's husband; June 25 (July 7), 1852, the village of Khristoforovka, Tetyushsky district, Kazan province - June 15, 1942, Moscow) - Russian revolutionary, terrorist, member of the Executive Committee of the People's Will, later Social Revolutionary.
Brother Nikolai is an outstanding opera singer, younger sister Lydia is a revolutionary populist.
Biography
Born in the family of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Figner (1817-1870), a retired staff captain since 1847. He served in the Tetyushsky district of the Kazan province under the Ministry of State Property, received the rank provincial secretary, then a forester in Tetyushsky and Mamadyshsky forestries. He was married to Ekaterina Khristoforovna Kupriyanova (1832-1903). They had six children: Vera, Lydia, Peter, Nikolai, Evgenia and Olga.
In 1863-1869 she studied at the Kazan Rodionov Institute for Noble Maidens. In this institution, special attention was paid to the religious education of students, but Vera becomes a staunch atheist, however, having taken out “certain principles” from the Gospel, such as “giving herself entirely to the chosen goal” and “other higher moral values”, which she subsequently linked since revolutionary work. Entered Kazan University.
Since October 18, 1870 (they got married in a rural church in Nikiforovo), she was married to the judicial investigator Alexei Viktorovich Filippov. Together with her husband, they went to Switzerland in order to complete her medical education there (marriage was a typical way for early Russian feminism to “escape” from their parents and choose their own path in life).
In 1872 Vera Finger entered the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich, where she met the populist Sofya Bardina and the circle of Russian students (the so-called “Friches”) that had formed around her. “All the students were crazy about her,” said V. K. Plehve, director of the Police Department and future Minister of the Interior. In 1873 she studied with them political economy, the history of socialist doctrines and revolutionary development in Europe. Claimed that her favorite literary hero- Rakhmetov.
There are natures that do not bend, they can only be broken, broken to death, but not tilted to the ground. Among them is Vera Nikolaevna...
S. Ivanov
“I just“ adored ”, literally adored to the point of religious ecstasy” Vera Figner Gleb Uspensky. The news of her arrest shocked him: "He even sobbed and could not calm down for a long time." On the day of the announcement of the verdict in the “14” case, the writer managed to pass a note to Vera Figner, who had just been sentenced to death: “How I envy you! Gleb Uspensky.
In 1874, she moved to study at the University of Bern, where she met P. L. Lavrov and M. A. Bakunin, after which the circle of "friches" became the core of the "All-Russian Social Revolutionary Organization". In 1875, without completing her education, at the request of her colleagues in the organization she returned to Russia, where she passed the exams for the title of paramedic and divorced her husband, who did not share revolutionary views.
Since 1876 - a participant in the "going to the people"; conducted propaganda among the peasants in the village of Studentsy, Samara province. In 1878, for 10 months she worked as a paramedic in the village of Vyazmino, Saratov province.
Formally Vera Figner was not a member of the Land and Freedom organization, but headed the autonomous circle of “separatists” created by her (Alexander Ivanchin-Pisarev, Yuri Bogdanovich, Alexander Solovyov, etc.), which shared the platform of the landowners and collaborated with them. In 1879 she participated in the Voronezh congress of the landowners. After the collapse of the "Land and Freedom" joined the Executive Committee of the organization "Narodnaya Volya", campaigned among students and the military in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt. Participated in the preparation of assassination attempts on Alexander II in Odessa (1880) and St. Petersburg (1881). The only bright memory of her stay in Odessa for her was a meeting with “Sasha the engineer” (F. Yurkovskiy, who committed the robbery of the Kherson treasury on behalf of the organization), who gave her the nickname “Stomp the Leg”. When the writer Veresaev asked about the origin of this nickname, Figner smiled slyly: “Because beautiful women have a habit of stamping their feet. After the assassination of Alexander II, she was able to escape, being the only member of the organization not arrested by the police. Having left for Odessa, she participated (together with Stepan Khalturin) in the attempt on the military prosecutor Strelnikov V.S.
In the spring of 1883, in Kharkov, she was extradited to the police by S.P. Degaev, arrested and put on trial. In September 1884, according to the “Process of 14”, Figner was sentenced to death by the St. Petersburg Military District Court.
I often thought, could my life have ended in anything other than the dock? And every time I answered myself: no!
After 9 days of waiting for the execution of the sentence, the execution was replaced by indefinite hard labor. In prison, she began to write poetry. She tried to establish contact with political prisoners in the fortress (in particular, with N. M. Morozov and others), to organize collective protests against the harsh conditions of detention.
In 1904 she was sent into exile - first to Nyonoksu, Arkhangelsk province, then to Kazan province, from there to Nizhny Novgorod.
In 1906 she received permission to travel abroad for medical treatment. In 1907, she joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, from which she left after the exposure of E.F. Azef.
In 1910, she initiated the creation of the "Paris Committee for Assistance to Political Prisoners", during its organization she became close to E. P. Peshkova. The committee aimed to organize public opinion in the West to protect political prisoners in Russia and at the same time provide them with material assistance, for which he worked in England, Belgium, Holland, and Switzerland. Monetary contributions came from Hamburg and Bucharest, Naples and Chicago. Figner herself, who has mastered English well and French, constantly spoke at rallies, in private homes, at student meetings. Published a number of topical articles on political topics in foreign journals. The style of her articles was approved by I. A. Bunin: “That’s who you need to learn to write from!”
In 1915, upon returning to Russia at the border, she was arrested, convicted and exiled under police supervision to Nizhny Novgorod. In December 1916, thanks to her brother Nikolai, a soloist at the Imperial Theatres, she received permission to live in Petrograd.
February Revolution 1917 Vera Figner met as chairman of the Committee for Assistance to Liberated Convicts and Exiles. In March 1917, she participated in a demonstration of soldiers and workers demanding equal rights for women. At a reception hosted by the Chairman of the Provisional Government, Prince G. E. Lvov, she demanded that women be given voting rights in elections to the Constituent Assembly. In April 1917 she was elected an honorary member of the All-Russian Congress of Teachers, a member of the Executive Committee of the All-Russian Council of Peasants' Deputies; At the Second Congress of the Labor Group, she called for the unification of the populist groups into one party.
In May 1917 on All-Russian Congress representatives of the Councils of the Party of Constitutional Democrats was elected its honorary member, became a member of the executive committee of this party. In June, she was elected by the Cadets as a candidate member of the Constituent Assembly. She was a member of the so-called Pre-Parliament.
On June 18, 1917, she signed the appeal of the old revolutionaries to all citizens of Russia for the continuation of the war "to a victorious end."
The October Revolution of 1917 was not accepted.
In May 1918, at the invitation of her niece Vera Sergeevna Stakhevich (daughter of Lydia's sister), she moved from hungry Petrograd to the village of Lugan (Sevsky district, Oryol province). After the loss of her loved ones (in Lugan in 1919-1920, the sisters Olga, Lydia, niece Vera Sergeevna Stakhevich died), Vera Nikolaevna was left alone with her one-year-old grand-nephew, the son of V. S. Stakhevich - Sergey. In March 1920, the wife of the famous scientist-chemist, former People's Will A. N. Bach arrived from Moscow and took Vera Nikolaevna to the capital. The child was taken and adopted by another niece of Vera Nikolaevna - Tatyana Sergeevna Stakhevich, who came for the boy from Ukraine.
In 1920 she wrote the two-volume "Implemented Work" about the history of the Russian revolutionary movement.
In the mid-1920s, she took part in the creation of the All-Union Society of Political Prisoners and Exiled Settlers, as well as in organizing its activities (in 1928 there were at least 50 branches in different cities), as well as the activities of many other public organizations (about 15).
In 1927, as part of a group of "old revolutionaries," she turned to the Soviet government with a demand to stop political repression but her voice was not heard. On the day of her 80th birthday (1932), a complete collection of her works in 7 volumes was published - a story about the horrors of life in the "royal dungeons" just at the time when the new government was creating new prisons and a punitive apparatus for new oppositionists. Figner never became a member of the Communist Party, although people usually perceived her as a communist. They asked her for support during the years of repression, she wrote appeals to the authorities, trying in vain to save people from death, turned to M.I. Kalinin, Em. Yaroslavsky. She died on June 15, 1942 from pneumonia, was buried in Moscow on Novodevichy cemetery.
Appreciation of merit by the Soviet government
In 1926, by a special resolution of the Council of People's Commissars, signed by V. V. Kuibyshev, V. N. Figner, among eight other "participants in the regicide on March 1, 1881", a personal life pension was appointed.
In 1922, Vera Nikolaevna's 70th birthday was celebrated with a solemn meeting at the Museum of the Revolution.
On the day of her 80th birthday in 1932, veterans of the revolutionary movement F. Kohn and Yemelyan Yaroslavsky greeted the oldest revolutionary. Messages about honoring were placed in the central newspapers.
In 1933, by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the pension was increased:
The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR decides:
To increase the amount of personal pensions for participants in the terrorist act of March 1, 1881: Vera Nikolaevna Figner, Anna Vasilievna Yakimova-Dikovskaya, Mikhail Fedorovich Frolenko, Anna Pavlovna Pribyleva-Korba and Fani Abramovna Moreinis-Muratova - up to 400 rubles per month from January 1, 1933.
February 8, 1933, Moscow, Kremlin.
Addresses in St. Petersburg
The second half of August - mid-September 1879 - tenement house - Leshtukov lane, 15.
Beginning of January - April 3, 1881 - secret apartment of the Narodnaya Volya IK - embankment of the Ekaterininsky Canal, 78, apt. 8.
Memory
In 1928, a minor planet ((1099) Figneria) was named after Figner.
Memorial plaque on the house where V. N. Figner served her exile in 1904-1905. on the street named after her (Nyonoksa village).
Bibliography
She wrote the memoirs "The Imprinted Labor" in 3 volumes, which were republished in the USSR in the 1920-1930s.
Vera Figner. Selected works in 3 vols.
"The Imprinted Labor" Volume 1
"The Imprinted Labor" Volume 2 When the Clock of Life Has Stopped
After Shlisselburg (1929) Volume h
Vera Figner. Complete works in 7 volumes.
Volume 5 Essays, Articles, Speeches
Volume 6 Letters
Volume 7 Letters After Liberation
Poems V. Figner/Poets-Democrats of the 1870-1880s. Poet's Library. L., "Soviet writer", 1968
"Process of 14". The last word of V. N. Figner
Letter to V. N. Figner dated July 17, 1932
"Process of 14". Memories of Vera Figner
Artistic image
In 1885, Nadson, inspired by the image of Vera Figner and under the impression of the "Trial of 14", wrote a poem "By vague signs accessible to the few ..."
Barkova, Anna. "Vera Figner"
Voinovich, Vladimir. Degree of trust. The Tale of Vera Figner. M .: Politizdat, 1972. (Series "Fiery Revolutionaries"). Reissue: Voinovich V. The Wooden Apple of Freedom: A Novel about turning point in the history of Russia. M.: Eksmo, 2008. - 384 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-29401-5.
Evtushenko, Evgeny. Glaucus "Figner" from the poem "Kazan University" (1971)
Artsybashev, Boris. Portrait of V. N. Figner
February 21, 1857 - December 13, 1918
famous Russian opera singer
Biography
Nikolai Nikolaevich Figner was born on the small estate of his father, a forester. As a child, Figner failed the transitional exams at the gymnasium, after which he was sent to the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg, in 1878 he became a naval officer (participated in a round-the-world trip) and did not think about the stage. If not for “family troubles” (as Figner called his marriage to an Italian bonnet, which was forbidden in the officer class), he might not have become an artist.
Leaving the service with the rank of lieutenant, Figner studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory (with I.P. Pryanishnikov, J. Everardi), but was expelled; the novice artist was assured that he lacked the talent of a vocalist. Using subsidies from various people, Figner twice visited Italy, where he studied at the Naples Conservatory with Francesco Lamperti, whom he saved with his family during a fire in the theater, and with a certain choirmaster De Rocas.
Figner had a child from his first marriage and four from his second.
Addresses in St. Petersburg
1895-1905 - the house of O. A. Bilbasova - Liteiny Avenue, 36.
Creation
In 1887-1903 and in 1907 he sang at the Mariinsky Theatre.
The first performer of the roles of Herman ("The Queen of Spades") and Vaudemont ("Iolanthe") in the operas of P. I. Tchaikovsky.
Figner's artistic talent was admired by P. I. Tchaikovsky, who dedicated six romances to him, opus 73. Figner was the first Russian opera singer to combine drama, stage and vocal into a single system of opera action. This is how musicologists assessed Figner's work in the accompanying article to the giant record of the Melodiya company, published in the late 70s of the last century. According to the outstanding conductor Nikolai Malko, Figner was an era, a school, a reformist and, perhaps, a revolutionary. The best years of the singer's stage life preceded and prepared the ground for the realistic art of F. I. Chaliapin, I. V. Ershov and their contemporaries. Figner's dramatic art was especially expressive in the role of Herman in The Queen of Spades, which P. Tchaikovsky wrote especially for Nikolai Nikolaevich. Pyotr Ilyich inscribed to Nikolai Nikolayevich the score of The Queen of Spades: "To the culprit of the existence of this opera from a grateful author."
The lawyer and public figure A. Koni admitted much later in his memoirs that he was sure of the genius of Figner, who showed a very plausible picture of Herman's madness with obsessive ideas. From 1890 to 1900 in Russian theaters, according to contemporaries, no one could surpass Figner in the part of Herman.
According to ESBE, "Without having a voice of outstanding beauty, Figner [was] gifted with a great talent for translating what he sang."
