What prize was Ostrovsky awarded in 1863. Biography - Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich

Date of birth: April 12, 1823
Date of death: June 14, 1886
Place of birth: Moscow

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky- famous Russian playwright, Ostrovsky A.N.- public figure, born April 12, 1823. His father was an ordinary judicial officer in Moscow and lived in Zamoskvorechye. He was an enlightened man, he graduated from the seminary of Moscow and the seminary of Kostroma, but his career as a priest did not go uphill and he worked as a court lawyer, in charge of commercial and property matters.

Alexander's mother came from a poor family and died when he was only 7 years old. In addition to Alexander, the family had three more children. After the death of his mother, his father remarried Baroness Emilia Andreevna von Tessin, who took care of the upbringing and education of the children.

In 1835, Alexander entered the Moscow gymnasium, and in 1840 he entered the department of jurisprudence at the University of Moscow. He immediately showed great interest not only in Russian literature, but also in the theater.

He was a regular at the Petrovsky and Maly theatres. His education was interrupted by a quarrel with a teacher, after which Alexander left the university of his own free will. He got a job as a scribe in a Moscow court. His activities concerned property litigation between children and parents.

In 1845 he moved to the commercial court, where he continued to work in the office. For a long time he collected information for his subsequent literary activity. Around the same time, he wrote the comedy "Own people - let's settle!", Which was staged and immediately received success.

This success became the impetus for Ostrovsky to devote himself to drama and literature. His first publication was several scenes from the comedy "Waiting for the Groom" ("Insolvent Debtor"), which appeared on the pages of the "Moscow City List" in 1847. These scenes became the basis for the comedy "Own People - Let's Settle!". Many researchers believe that his first dramatic creations were written in the period from 43 to 47 years of the nineteenth century, but the drafts were not preserved, and they did not get into print.

Comedy "Own people - let's settle!" It was an undeniable success. Society and independent critics reacted to it with great warmth, but at the same time, the oppositional nature and outright satire caused persecution by the authorities. This play was forbidden to be performed on the stage of all theaters, and the playwright himself was under the supervision of censors and the police for five whole years. This play was republished in 1859, but after significant alterations, including a completely different ending.

Ostrovsky in 1850 joined the circle of writers of the magazine "Moskvityanin" and received the unspoken title "singer untouched by falsity of civilization." In the same year, the Moskvityanin published the first edition of the comedy "Own people - let's settle!" It is noteworthy that the draft of this work was named "Bankrupt". Since 1853, his plays have been staged on various theatrical stages.

In 1856, the Sovremennik magazine included him among its regular contributors. Together with his colleagues in the magazine in the same year, he went on an ethnographic expedition organized by the Naval Ministry. The main task of this expedition was to describe the peoples of Russia who lived on the shores of the seas and rivers of the European part of Russia.

Ostrovsky himself studied the life of the upper reaches of the Volga. At this time, he wrote an extensive research article "Journey along the Volga from its sources to Nizhny Novgorod", which reflected the main ethnic features of the inhabitants of these places, their way of life and work. The playwright collected a huge amount of information, which later became an important part of his literary work. In 1860, the most famous play by the master, The Thunderstorm, was released, about the heroine of which Dobrolyubov wrote A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom. This play was completed in October 1859, but it took a long time to pass censorship. The action of this play takes place on the banks of the Volga.

Ostrovsky was married twice. His first wife was Agafya Ivanovna, a trick from the common people, history has not preserved her last name. Ostrovsky lived with her in a civil marriage for twenty years. Unfortunately, the children from the first marriage died when they were children. He married a second time to Maria Vasilyevna Bakhmetyeva two years after the death of his first wife. The second marriage was official, he married Bakhmetyeva. He had six children from his second marriage - four sons and two daughters.

On June 14, 1886, Ostrovsky died and was buried in the village of Nikolo-Berezhki. Despite early persecution by the authorities, his influence on the development of the Russian theater can hardly be overestimated. His dramatic talent was appreciated during his lifetime. In 1863 he received the Uvarov Prize and also became a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.

In 1865, under the leadership of Ostrovsky, an artistic circle was created, which produced many talented theater actors. In 1870, he created the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers, in which he himself presided until his death.

Important milestones in the life of Alexander Ostrovsky:

Born 12 April 1823
- Began studying at the Moscow gymnasium in 1835
- Publication of scenes from the comedy "Insolvent Debtor" in 1847
- Started working with the magazine "Moskvityanin" and published the comedy "Own people - let's settle!" in 1850
- Began cooperation with the Sovremennik magazine and went on an ethnographic expedition in 1856
- Publication of the play "Thunderstorm" in 1860
- European travel in 1862
- Receiving the Uvarov Prize and membership in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1863
- Creation of the Artistic Circle in 1865
- Foundation of the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers in 1874
- Work in the commission for the revision of the laws on the imperial theaters in 1881-1884

Interesting facts from the biography of Alexander Ostrovsky:

The theater school founded by Ostrovsky developed further under the leadership of Bulgakov and Stanislavsky
- His conceptual view of the theatrical production was to build the theater on various conventions, use the richness of the Russian language, the correct use of native speech on stage and a deep analysis of the psychology of the characters
- Ostrovsky was deeply convinced that acting is the most important part of the theater, because the play can be read
- Some actors and theater directors were against Ostrovsky's innovations, Ostrovsky's contemporary actor M.S. Shchepkin left the dress rehearsal of the thunderstorm, which was held under the direction of the playwright.

Nikolai Ostrovsky is the author of the immortal work "How Steel Was Tempered". The events of this book and its protagonist have long been strongly associated with selfless heroism, courage and unbending fortitude. The book was disassembled into quotes and aphorisms, and Korchagin's statements about life and struggle still remain relevant. However, few people know that the very writing of the novel for Ostrovsky was no less a test than those that befell his characters.

Childhood and youth

The future writer was born on September 29, 1904 in the small village of Viliya, in the Volyn province (now it is the territory of Ukraine). Nikolai's father was a retired military man, he worked at a distillery, his mother was a cook. Six children grew up in the Ostrovsky family: Ostrovsky had two older sisters, an older brother and two younger sisters. True, the two younger girls died at an early age.

The Ostrovskys lived in need - a large family required a lot of money, so the children began to earn money quite early, helping their parents. When Nikolai went to the parochial school, his older sisters were already working as teachers. The school immediately noted the extraordinary abilities of Ostrovsky: the boy grasped any material on the fly. Already at the age of 9, Nikolai received a school leaving certificate and a certificate of merit.

After that, the Ostrovsky family moved to the city of Shepetovka, where Nikolai was able to enter the school. Two years later, in 1915, the young man received a diploma and went to work. Ostrovsky had to accept the positions of a kitchen assistant, a stoker, a cupmaker in order to earn at least a little and help his parents. However, the young man did not leave his intention to study further and in 1918 he entered the Higher Primary School.

Student acquaintances confirmed Nikolai in the justice of the Bolshevik ideas, the young man became an activist and even participated in underground activities, distributing leaflets and acting as a messenger. Revolutionary moods completely captured Ostrovsky, and in 1919 the young man joined the ranks of the Komsomol organization. Then Nikolai went to the front, was seriously wounded in the stomach and head, and falling from a horse, severely injured his spine. The state of health did not allow Nikolai to remain in the army, and the young man was demobilized.

However, Ostrovsky was not the kind to complain about fate and sit idle. In the rear, the young man helped the organs of the Cheka, and then moved to Kyiv, where he found a job as an assistant electrician. In parallel, Nikolai again went to study, this time choosing an electrical engineering school.

Unfortunately, Ostrovsky's misadventures were not limited to injuries: in 1922, a young man, saving a timber rafting, spent several hours in icy water. This did not pass without a trace for the health of Nikolai Alekseevich, the next day he fell ill with a fever, then began to suffer from developed rheumatism, and later, a weakened body caught typhus, which almost brought Ostrovsky to the grave.

Fortunately, Nikolai Alekseevich recovered from typhus and fever, but the injuries and illnesses he suffered finally crippled the young man's health. Ostrovsky began to develop muscle paralysis, which was complicated by joint disease. It became more and more difficult to move, and doctors gave disappointing forecasts.

Literature

The creative biography of Nikolai Ostrovsky began in the truest sense of the word in a hospital bed. From childhood, Nikolai Alekseevich loved to read: works, and were literally “swallowed” by a boy greedy for books.

Ostrovsky later named Ethel Voynich's The Gadfly and Raffaello Giovagnoli's Spartacus as his favorite works. Gradually, the hobby grew into his own work: Ostrovsky, in order to pass the time in hospitals, began to write short stories and plays, following the path of his eminent namesake writer.

Since 1927, Ostrovsky could no longer walk on his own, the prose writer was diagnosed with Bechterew's disease, as well as polyarthritis. Nikolai Alekseevich underwent several operations, but even this did not alleviate his condition. It soon became clear that there would be no improvement. The writer at that moment was only 23 years old.

However, Nikolai Alekseevich began to study hard and even graduated from the correspondence department of Sverdlovsk University. In parallel, the young man wrote a lot, around this time the manuscript "Born by the Storm" appeared, which became the first version of the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered." The writer devoted six months to this work, and then the handwritten version was lost during shipment.

The work had to be started anew, but then a new misfortune awaited Ostrovsky: the writer began to lose his sight. This seriously crippled the moral strength of Nikolai Alekseevich, the prose writer even thought about suicide, but the steel will won out, and Ostrovsky continued to write. At first, the book was created blindly, periodically Nikolai Alekseevich dictated the text to relatives and his wife, who looked after him. And then I came up with a stencil that allowed me to work a little faster.

After some time, the manuscript was ready. Ostrovsky sent the work to the Leningrad publishing house, but did not wait for an answer. Then Nikolai Alekseevich sent the work to the publishing house "Young Guard", from where he was refused due to the "unreality of the characters."

But even here the will and purposefulness of the writer did not allow him to retreat. Ostrovsky got the manuscript re-reviewed. This time the work was sent to print, but before that the editors added, and in some places rewrote the original text.

Thus, for the writer, a new stage of the battle for the book began: literally every paragraph had to be defended. Nevertheless, in 1932 the first part of the book “How the Steel Was Tempered” was published, and some time later the end of the novel was printed.

The success exceeded even Ostrovsky's wildest expectations: queues began to appear in libraries for his work, people gathered in groups and read their favorite passages aloud.

During the life of Nikolai Alekseevich, “How the Steel Was Tempered” was reprinted 41 times. Ostrovsky began to think about the continuation of the novel, and also planned to write the work "Pavka's Childhood" for children. The new book, on which the writer began to work, received the already familiar name "Born in the Storm." The draft of the work was even discussed at a meeting of the Writers' Union. Unfortunately, the novel was never finished.

Personal life

Despite the illness, the personal life of Nikolai Ostrovsky developed happily. Raisa Matsyuk, an old friend of the Ostrovsky family, became the writer's wife.

The woman supported her lover in the most difficult moments and helped Nikolai Alekseevich to continue working and not lose faith in himself. After the death of her husband, Raisa Porfirievna headed the Ostrovsky Museum in Moscow, preserving biography details, rare photos and interesting facts from the life of the writer.

Death

Nikolai Ostrovsky devoted the last month of his life to a new novel. The writer spent days and nights making corrections, adding and rewriting the chapters of this book. Unfortunately, he was not destined to put an end to it: on December 22, 1936, Nikolai Alekseevich died. Modern doctors called the cause of Ostrovsky's death multiple sclerosis, as well as progressive Bechterew's disease.

On December 26, the day of Ostrovsky's funeral, the unfinished book came out of the publishing house: the work was typed and printed in record time.

The grave of the writer is located at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. After the death of Nikolai Ostrovsky, several monuments were opened in different cities, as well as museums named after the writer in Moscow, Sochi, Shepetovka. The events of the life of Nikolai Alekseevich were reflected in the documentary film "The Mysterious Life of Nikolai Ostrovsky".

Bibliography

• 1927 - "The Tale of the" Kotovtsy "(autobiographical story, the manuscript was lost during shipment)
• 1934 - "How the steel was tempered"
• 1936 - Born of the Storm

Quotes

“The most precious thing for a person is life. It is given to him once, and it must be lived in such a way that it is not excruciatingly painful for the aimlessly lived years.

"Man rules the habit, not the other way around."

“Know how to live even when life becomes unbearable. Make it useful."

“Yes, it’s scary to die at sixteen! After all, death is not living forever.

"To fight alone - you can't turn life upside down."

It is the name of A. N. Ostrovsky that stands at the origins of the development of the Russian drama theater. His dramas to this day are very popular due to the extraordinary flavor of his talent as a writer and playwright, who always felt what the secular audience expected from him. Therefore, it is interesting to know what kind of person Alexander Ostrovsky was. His books contain a huge creative heritage. Among his most famous works: “Guilty Without Guilt”, “Dowry”, “Thunderstorm”, “Wolves and Sheep”, “Snow Maiden”, “Hangover at someone else's feast”, “What you go for, you will find”, “Your people - let's settle", "Mad money", etc.

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky. short biography

Alexander Nikolaevich was born in the spring of March 31 (April 12), 1823. He grew up on Malaya Ordynka in Moscow. His father was the son of a priest, and his name was Nikolai Fedorovich. Having received a seminary education in Kostroma, he went to study at the Moscow Theological Academy. But he never became a priest, but began to practice as a lawyer in judicial institutions. Over time, he rose to the rank of titular adviser and received a title of nobility.

Ostrovsky's biography (short) says that Ostrovsky's mother, Lyubov Ivanovna, died when he was 7 years old. There are six children left in the family. In the future, their stepmother, Emilia Andreevna von Tesin, who was the daughter of a Swedish nobleman, took over the care of the family. The Ostrovsky family did not need anything, much attention was paid to the education and upbringing of children.

Childhood

Almost all of his childhood Ostrovsky spent in Zamoskvorechye. His father had a large library, the boy began to study Russian literature early and felt a craving for writing, but his father wanted his son to become a lawyer.

From 1835 to 1940 Alexander studied at the Moscow Gymnasium. Then he entered Moscow University and began to study as a lawyer. But a quarrel with a teacher did not allow him to finish his last year at the university. And then his father arranged for him to serve in the court. The first salary he received was 4 rubles, but then it grew to 15 rubles.

Creation

Further, Ostrovsky's biography (short) indicates that Alexander Ostrovsky's fame and popularity as a playwright was brought by the play “Our people - let's settle!”, Published in 1850. This play was approved by I. A. Goncharov and N. V. Gogol. But the Moscow merchants did not like it, and the merchants complained to the sovereign. Then, on the personal order of Nicholas I, its author was dismissed from service and taken under police supervision, which was removed only under Alexander II. And in 1861, the play again saw the stage.

During the disgraced period of Ostrovsky, the first staged play in St. Petersburg was called "Do not get into your sleigh." Biography of Ostrovsky (short) includes information that for 30 years his plays were staged at the St. Petersburg Alexandrinsky and Moscow Maly Theaters. In 1856, Ostrovsky began working for the Sovremennik magazine.

Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich. Artworks

In 1859, Ostrovsky, with the support of G. A. Kushelev-Bezborodko, published the first collection of works in two volumes. At this point, the Russian critic Dobrolyubov will note that Ostrovsky is an accurate depiction of the "dark kingdom".

In 1860, after the "Thunderstorm", Dobrolyubov will call him "a ray of light in a dark kingdom."

Indeed, Alexander Ostrovsky knew how to captivate with his remarkable talent. The Thunderstorm became one of the most striking works of the playwright, with the writing of which his personal drama is also associated. The prototype of the main character of the play was the actress Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya, with whom he had a close relationship for a long time, although they were both not free people. She was the first to play this role. Ostrov's image of Katerina made it tragic in its own way, so he reflected in it all the suffering and torment of the soul of a Russian woman.

Cradle of Talents

In 1863, Ostrovsky was awarded the Uvarov Prize and became an elected corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Later, in 1865, he organized the Artistic Circle, which became the cradle of many talents.

Ostrovsky received in his house such eminent guests as F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy, P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, I. S. Turgenev, etc.

In 1874, the writer-playwright founded the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers, whose chairman remained Ostrovsky until his death. He also served on a commission related to the revision of the theater management regulations, which led to new changes, thanks to which the position of artists was significantly improved.

In 1881, a benefit performance of the opera The Snow Maiden by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov took place at the Mariinsky Theater. Ostrovsky's (short) biography testifies that at that moment Ostrovsky was unspeakably pleased with the musical accompaniment of the great composer.

Last years

In 1885, the playwright began to manage the repertoire of Moscow theaters and headed the theater school. Ostrovsky almost always had financial problems, although he collected good fees from plays, and there was a pension appointed by Emperor Alexander III. Ostrovsky had many plans, he literally burned at work, this affected his health and depleted his vitality.

On June 2, 1886, he died at his Shchelykovo estate near Kostroma. He was 63 years old. His body was buried next to the grave of his father at the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Kostroma province in the village of Nikolo-Berezhki.

The widow, actress Maria Andreevna Bakhmetyeva, three sons and daughter were granted a pension by Tsar Alexander III.

His estate in Shchelykovo is now a memorial and natural museum of Ostrovsky.

Conclusion

Ostrovsky created his own theater school with its holistic concept of theatrical production. The main component of his theater was that it did not contain extreme situations, but depicted life situations that go into the life and psychology of a person of that time, which Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky knew very well. A short biography describes that Ostrovsky's theater had many ideas, but new stage aesthetics and new actors were needed to bring them to life. All this was later brought to mind by K. S. Stanislavsky and M. A. Bulgakov.

Ostrovsky's dramas served as the basis for film adaptations of films and television series. Among them are the film "Balzaminov's Marriage", filmed in 1964 based on the play "For what you go, you will find" directed by K. Voinov, the film "Cruel Romance", filmed in 1984 based on "Dowry" directed by Eldar Ryazanov. In 2005, Evgeny Ginzburg made the film Anna based on the play Guilty Without Guilt.

Ostrovsky created an extensive repertoire for the Russian theater stage, which included 47 very original plays. He worked in collaboration with talented young playwrights, including P. M. Nevezhin and N. Ya. Solovyov. Ostrovsky's dramaturgy became national due to its origins and traditions.

Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich was born on March 31, 1823. In the big city - Moscow. In a merchant family. At the age of 8, his mother dies. His father's dream was to see his son as a lawyer, but he began to show interest in literature. After graduating from high school, he enters the university at the Faculty of Law, but because of his love for theater and literature, he does not leave him. At his father's behest, he works as a court clerk.

Creative activity

The work "Own people - let's settle!" brought fame to the novice writer This creation was appreciated by the great writers of that time. Despite censorship, many books and plays under his authorship were released at that time.

The writer himself was very fond of the theater. He even created the Artistic Circle (1866), which helped develop many promising artists. He was very fond of the theater and everything connected with it.

Ostrovsky was the head of the community of Russian drama and opera writers (1874).

Ostrovsky was the head of the theater school, and also managed the repertoire of theaters in Moscow.

Death

Ostrovsky lived all his life in a lack of finances. He wanted to revive acting, but did not have time.

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Ostrovsky, Alexander Nikolaevich - famous dramatic writer. Born March 31, 1823 in Moscow, where his father served in the civil chamber, and then engaged in private advocacy. Ostrovsky lost his mother in childhood and did not receive any systematic education.

All his childhood and part of his youth were spent in the very center of Zamoskvorechye, which at that time, according to the conditions of his life, was a completely special world. This world populated his imagination with those ideas and types that he later reproduced in his comedies. Thanks to his father's large library, Ostrovsky got acquainted early with Russian literature and felt an inclination towards writing; but his father certainly wanted to make a lawyer out of him. After graduating from the gymnasium course, Ostrovsky entered the law faculty of Moscow University. He failed to complete the course due to some kind of collision with one of the professors. At the request of his father, he entered the service of a scribe, first in a conscientious, then in a commercial court. This determined the nature of his first literary experiments; in court, he continued to observe the peculiar Zamoskvoretsky types familiar to him from childhood, asking for literary processing. By 1846, he had already written many scenes from merchant life, and a comedy was conceived: "Insolvent debtor" (later - "Own people - let's settle"). A small excerpt from this comedy was published in No. 7 of the Moscow City Listk, 1847; under the passage are the letters: "A. O." and "D. G.", that is, A. Ostrovsky and Dmitry Gorev. The latter was a provincial actor (real name - Tarasenkov), the author of two or three plays already played on the stage, who accidentally met Ostrovsky and offered him his cooperation. It did not go beyond one scene, and subsequently served as a source of great trouble for Ostrovsky, as it gave his ill-wishers a reason to accuse him of appropriating someone else's literary work. In issues 60 and 61 of the same newspaper, without a signature, another, already completely independent work by Ostrovsky appeared - "Pictures of Moscow Life. A Picture of Family Happiness." These scenes were reprinted, in a corrected form and with the name of the author, under the title: "Family Picture", in Sovremennik, 1856, No. 4. Ostrovsky himself considered the "Family Picture" his first printed work, and it was from it that he began his literary activity. He recognized February 14, 1847 as the most memorable and dearest day of his life: on this day he visited S.P. Shevyrev and, in the presence of A.S. Khomyakov, professors, writers, employees of the Moscow City List, read this play, which appeared in print a month later. Shevyrev and Khomyakov, embracing the young writer, welcomed his dramatic talent. "From that day on," says Ostrovsky, "I began to consider myself a Russian writer, and without doubt or hesitation, I believed in my vocation." He also tried his hand in the narrative kind, in feuilleton stories from life outside Moscow. In the same "Moscow City List" (No. 119 - 121) one of these stories is printed: "Ivan Erofeich", with the general title: "Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky Resident"; two other stories in the same series: "The Tale of How the Quarter Warden Started to Dance, or From the Great to the Ridiculous One Step", and "Two Biographies" remained unpublished, and the last one was not even finished. By the end of 1849, a comedy was already written under the title: "Bankrupt". Ostrovsky read it to his university friend A.F. Pisemsky; at the same time he met the famous artist P.M. Sadovsky, who saw a literary revelation in his comedy and began to read it in various Moscow circles, among other things - with Countess E.P. Rostopchina, where young writers who were just starting their literary career usually gathered (B.N. Almazov, N.V. Berg, L.A. Mei, T.I. Filippov, N.I. Shapovalov, E.N. . Edelson). All of them had been on close, friendly terms with Ostrovsky since his student days, and all of them accepted Pogodin's offer to work in the updated Moskvityanin, making up the so-called "young editors" of this magazine. Soon a prominent position in this circle was taken by Apollon Grigoriev, who acted as a herald of originality in literature and became an ardent defender and praiser of Ostrovsky as a representative of this originality. Ostrovsky's comedy, under the changed title: "Own people - we will consider

I", after long troubles with censorship, reaching the highest authorities, was published in the 2nd March book of "Moskvityanin" in 1850, but was not allowed to be presented; censorship did not even allow talking about this play in print. It appeared on the stage only in 1861, with a reworked ending against the printed ending.Following this first comedy by Ostrovsky, his other plays began to appear annually in The Moskvitian and other magazines: in 1850, The Morning of a Young Man, in 1851 - "An Unexpected Case", in 1852 - "The Poor Bride", in 1853 - "Do not get into your sleigh" (the first of Ostrovsky's plays that hit the stage of the Moscow Maly Theater on January 14, 1853) , in 1854 - "Poverty is not a vice", in 1855 - "Do not live as you want", in 1856 - "A hangover in someone else's feast". In all these plays, Ostrovsky was a depiction of such aspects of Russian life, which before him were almost completely untouched by literature and were not reproduced at all on the stage.Deep knowledge of the life of the depicted environment, the vivid vitality and truth of the image, a peculiar, lively and colorful language, clearly reflecting in itself that real Russian speech of the "Moscow prosvirens", which Pushkin learns advised Russian writers - all this artistic realism, with all the simplicity and sincerity, to which even Gogol did not rise, was met in our criticism by some with stormy enthusiasm, by others - with bewilderment, denial and ridicule. While A. Grigoriev, proclaiming himself the "prophet of Ostrovsky", tirelessly asserted that in the works of the young playwright, the "new word" of our literature, namely, "nationality", found expression in the works of the young playwright, critics of the progressive trend reproached Ostrovsky for gravitating towards pre-Petrine antiquity, to "Slavophilism" of the Pogostinian persuasion, they even saw in his comedies the idealization of tyranny, they called him "Gostinodvorsky Kotzebue". Chernyshevsky reacted sharply negatively to the play "Poverty is not a vice", seeing in it some kind of sentimental sweetness in the depiction of hopeless, allegedly "patriarchal" life; other critics were indignant at Ostrovsky for elevating some kind of chuyki and boots with bottles to the level of "heroes". Free from aesthetic and political bias, the theatrical public irrevocably decided the case in favor of Ostrovsky. The most talented Moscow actors and actresses - Sadovsky, S. Vasiliev, Stepanov, Nikulina-Kositskaya, Borozdina and others - until then forced to perform, with a few exceptions, either in vulgar vaudeville, or in stilted melodramas converted from French, written, moreover however, in barbaric language, they immediately felt in Ostrovsky's plays the breath of a living, close and dear to them Russian life and gave all their strength to its truthful depiction on stage. And the theatrical audience saw in the performance of these artists a truly "new word" in stage art - simplicity and naturalness, they saw people living on the stage without any pretense. With his works, Ostrovsky created a school of real Russian dramatic art, simple and real, as alien to pretentiousness and affectation as all the great works of our literature are alien to it. This merit of his was first of all understood and appreciated in the theatrical environment, the most free from preconceived theories. When in 1856, according to the idea of ​​Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, a business trip of outstanding writers took place to study and describe various areas of Russia in industrial and domestic terms, Ostrovsky took upon himself the study of the Volga from the upper reaches to the Lower. A short account of this trip appeared in the "Naval Collection" in 1859, the full one remained in the author's papers and was subsequently (1890) processed by S.V. Maksimov, but still remains unpublished. Several months spent in close proximity to the local population gave Ostrovsky a lot of vivid impressions, expanded and deepened the knowledge of Russian life in its artistic expression - in a well-aimed word, song, fairy tale, historical legend, in the customs and customs of antiquity that were still preserved in the backwoods. All this is reflected in later works.

yakh Ostrovsky and further strengthened their national significance. Not limited to the life of the Zamoskvoretsky merchants, Ostrovsky introduces the world of large and small officials, and then the landlords, into the circle of actors. In 1857, “Profitable Place” and “Festive Sleep Before Dinner” were written (the first part of the “trilogy” about Balzaminov; two further parts - “Your own dogs bite, don’t pester someone else” and “What you go for, you will find” - appeared in 1861), in 1858 - "The characters did not agree" (originally written in the form of a story), in 1859 - "The Pupil". In the same year, two volumes of Ostrovsky's works appeared, in the edition of Count G.A. Kusheleva-Bezborodko. This edition was the reason for the brilliant assessment that Dobrolyubov gave to Ostrovsky and which secured his fame as a depicter of the "dark kingdom". Reading now, after the expiration of half a century, Dobrolyubov's articles, we cannot fail to see their journalistic nature. Ostrovsky himself was by nature not a satirist at all, not even a humorist; with truly epic objectivity, caring only about the truth and vitality of the image, he "calmly matured at the right and the guilty, knowing neither pity nor anger" and not at all hiding his love for the simple "Russian girl", in whom, even among the ugly manifestations of everyday life, there is always was able to find certain attractive features. Ostrovsky himself was such a "Russian", and everything Russian found a sympathetic echo in his heart. In his own words, he cared first of all about showing a Russian person on stage: “let him see himself and rejoice. Correctors will be found even without us. Dobrolyubov, however, did not think of imposing certain tendencies on Ostrovsky, but simply used his plays as a truthful depiction of Russian life, for his own, completely independent conclusions. In 1860 the "Thunderstorm" appeared in print, prompting a second remarkable article by Dobrolyubov ("A Ray of Light in a Dark Realm"). This play reflected the impressions of a trip to the Volga and, in particular, a visit by the author to Torzhok. An even more striking reflection of the Volga impressions was the dramatic chronicle printed in No. 1 of Sovremennik in 1862: Kozma Zakharyich Minin-Sukhoruk. In this play, Ostrovsky for the first time took up the processing of a historical theme prompted to him both by Nizhny Novgorod legends and by a careful study of our history of the 17th century. The sensitive artist managed to notice the living features of folk life in the dead monuments and perfectly master the language of the era under study, in which he later, for fun, wrote entire letters. "Minin", which received the approval of the sovereign, was, however, banned by dramatic censorship and could appear on stage only 4 years later. On the stage, the play was not successful due to its length and not always successful lyricism, but criticism could not fail to notice the high dignity of individual scenes and figures. In 1863, Ostrovsky published a drama from folk life: "Sin and trouble does not live on anyone" and then returned to the pictures of Zamoskvorechye in comedies: "Hard Days" (1863) and "Jokers" (1864). At the same time, he was busy processing a large play in verse, from the life of the 17th century, begun during a trip to the Volga. She appeared in No. 1 of Sovremennik in 1865 under the title: Voyevoda, or Dream on the Volga. This excellent poetic fantasy, something like a dramatized epic, contains a number of vivid everyday pictures of the past, through the haze of which one feels in many places closeness to everyday life, and to this day has not yet completely receded into the past. The comedy In a Busy Place, published in No. 9 of Sovremennik in 1865, was also inspired by Volga impressions. From the mid-1960s, Ostrovsky diligently took up the history of the Time of Troubles and entered into a lively correspondence with Kostomarov, who at that time was studying the same era. The result of this work were two dramatic chronicles published in 1867: "Dmitry the Pretender and Vasily Shuisky" and "Tushino". In No. 1 of Vestnik Evropy in 1868, another historical drama appeared, from the time of Ivan the Terrible, Vasilisa Melentiev, written in collaboration with

theater director Gedeonov. Since that time, a series of Ostrovsky's plays began, written, in his words, in a "new manner". Their subject is the image of no longer merchant and petty-bourgeois, but noble life: "Each wise man has enough simplicity", 1868; "Mad Money", 1870; "Forest", 1871. Interspersed with them are everyday comedies of the "old style": "Hot Heart" (1869), "Not All the Cat's Carnival" (1871), "There was not a penny, but suddenly Altyn" (1872). In 1873, two plays were written that occupy a special position among Ostrovsky's works: "Comedian of the 17th century" (on the 200th anniversary of the Russian theater) and a dramatic fairy tale in verse "The Snow Maiden", one of the most remarkable creations of Russian poetry. In his further works of the 70s and 80s, Ostrovsky turns to the life of various strata of society - both noble, bureaucratic, and merchant, and in the latter he notes the changes in views and conditions caused by the requirements of the new Russian life. This period of Ostrovsky's activity includes: "Late Love" and "Labor Bread" (1874), "Wolves and Sheep" (1875), "Rich Brides" (1876), "Truth is good, but happiness is better" (1877), "The Last Victim" (1878), "Dowry" and "Kind Master" (1879), "The Heart is Not a Stone" (1880), "Slaves" (1881), "Talents and Admirers" (1882), "Handsome Man" (1883), "Guilty Without Guilt" (1884) and, finally, the last, weak in design and execution, play: "Not of this world" (1885). In addition, several plays were written by Ostrovsky in collaboration with other people: with N.Ya. Solovyov - "The Marriage of Belugin" (1878), "Wild Woman" (1880) and "Shines but does not warm" (1881); with P.M. Nevezhin - "Whim" (1881). Ostrovsky also owns a number of translations of foreign plays: Shakespeare's Pacification of the Wayward (1865), Italo Franchi's The Great Banker (1871), Teobaldo Ciconi's Lost Sheep (1872), Goldoni's Coffee House (1872), The Criminal's Family Giacometti (1872), a remake of The Slavery of Husbands from the French and, finally, a translation of 10 interludes by Cervantes, published separately in 1886. He wrote only 49 original plays. All these plays provide a gallery of the most diverse Russian types, remarkable in their vitality and truthfulness, with all the features of their habits, language and character. In regard to the dramatic technique proper and composition, Ostrovsky's plays are often weak: the artist, who is deeply truthful by nature, was himself aware of his impotence in inventing the plot, in arranging the plot and denouement; he even said that "the playwright should not invent what happened; his job is to write how it happened or could happen; that's all his work; when paying attention in this direction, living people will appear and speak themselves." Discussing his plays from this point of view, Ostrovsky confessed that the most difficult thing for him was "invention", because any lie was disgusting to him; but it is impossible for a dramatic writer to do without this conditional lie. That “new word” of Ostrovsky, for which Apollon Grigoriev so ardently advocated, in its essence lies not so much in “nationality”, but in truthfulness, in the artist’s direct attitude to the life around him with the aim of quite realistically reproducing it on stage. In this direction, Ostrovsky took a further step forward in comparison with Griboyedov and Gogol and for a long time established on our stage that "natural school" that, at the beginning of his activity, already dominated other departments of our literature. The talented playwright, supported by no less talented artists, aroused competition among his peers, who followed the same path: Pisemsky, A. Potekhin and other writers, less noticeable, but at one time enjoying well-deserved success, were the playwrights of the same direction. Dedicated to the theater and its interests with all his heart, Ostrovsky devoted a lot of time and labor to practical concerns about the development and improvement of dramatic art and about improving the financial situation of dramatic authors. He dreamed of the opportunity to transform the artistic taste of artists and the public and create a theater school equally useful for the aesthetic education of societies.

but also for the preparation of worthy stage figures. Amid all sorts of grief and disappointment, he remained true to this cherished dream until the end of his life, the realization of which was partly realized by the Artistic Circle he created in 1866 in Moscow, which later gave the Moscow stage many talented figures. At the same time, Ostrovsky took care of alleviating the financial situation of Russian playwrights: through his work the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers was formed (1874), of which he remained the permanent chairman until his death. In general, by the beginning of the 80s, Ostrovsky firmly took the place of the leader and teacher of Russian drama and stage. Working hard in the commission established in 1881 under the directorate of the Imperial Theaters "to review the legal provisions in all parts of the theater management", he achieved many changes that significantly improved the position of the artists and made it possible to more appropriately stage theatrical education. In 1885, Ostrovsky was appointed head of the repertoire of Moscow theaters and head of the theater school. His health, already shaky by this time, did not correspond to the broad plans of activity that he set for himself. Reinforced work quickly exhausted the body; On June 2, 1886, Ostrovsky died in his Kostroma estate, Shchelykovo, without having had time to realize his transformational assumptions.

Ostrovsky's writings have been published many times; the last and more complete edition - the Association "Enlightenment" (St. Petersburg, 1896 - 97, in 10 volumes, edited by M.I. Pisarev and with a biographical sketch by I. Nosov). Separately published "Dramatic translations" (M., 1872), "Intermedia Cervantes" (St. Petersburg, 1886) and "Dramatic works of A. Ostrovsky and N. Solovyov" (St. Petersburg, 1881). For the biography of Ostrovsky, the most important work is the book of the French scientist J. Patouillet "O. et son theater de moeurs russes" (Paris, 1912), where all the literature about Ostrovsky is indicated. See the memoirs of S.V. Maksimov in "Russian Thought" in 1897 and Kropacheva in "Russian Review" in 1897; I. Ivanov "A.N. Ostrovsky, his life and literary activity" (St. Petersburg, 1900). The best critical articles about Ostrovsky were written by Apollon Grigoriev (in "Moskvityanin" and "Time"), Edelson ("Library for Reading", 1864), Dobrolyubov ("Dark Kingdom" and "Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom") and Boborykin ("Word ", 1878). - Wed. also books by A.I. Nezelenov "Ostrovsky in his works" (St. Petersburg, 1888), and Or. F. Miller "Russian writers after Gogol" (St. Petersburg, 1887). P. Morozov.