Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov is a Russian writer of the 19th century, according to many, the most national writer of Russia. Leskov was born on February 16, 1831 in the village of Gorohovo (Oryol province) in a spiritual environment. The writer's father was an official of the criminal chamber, and his mother was a noblewoman. Nikolai spent his childhood years in the family estate in Orel. In 1839 the Leskov family moved to the village of Panino. Life in the village left its mark on the writer's work. He studied the people in everyday life and conversations, and also considered himself one of his own among the people.
From 1841 to 1846 Leskov attended the Oryol Gymnasium. In 1848 he lost his father, and their family property burned down in a fire. Around the same time, he entered the service of the criminal chamber, where he collected a lot of material for his future work. A year later he was transferred to the state chamber of Kyiv. There he lived with his uncle Sergei Alferyev. In Kyiv, in his free time, he attended lectures at the university, was fond of icon painting and the Polish language, and also attended religious and philosophical circles and talked a lot with the Old Believers. During this period, he developed an interest in Ukrainian culture, in the works of Herzen and Taras Shevchenko.
In 1857, Leskov retired and entered the service of Scott, his aunt's English husband. While working for Schcott & Wilkens, he gained vast experience in many sectors, including industry and agriculture. For the first time, as a publicist, he showed himself in 1860. A year later, he moved to St. Petersburg and decided to devote himself to literary activity. His works began to appear in the Notes of the Fatherland. Many of his stories were based on the knowledge of Russian original life, and were saturated with sincere participation in the needs of the people. This can be seen in the stories "Extinguished Business" (1862) and "Musk Ox" (1863), in the story "The Life of a Woman" (1863), in the novel "The Bypassed" (1865). One of the most popular works of the writer was the story "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865).
In his stories, Leskov also tried to show the tragic fate of Russia and the unpreparedness for the revolution. In this regard, he was in conflict with the revolutionary democrats. Much has changed in the writer's work after meeting Leo Tolstoy. In his works of 1870-1880, national-historical issues also appeared. During these years he wrote several novels and short stories about artists. Among them are "Islanders", "Cathedrals", "The Sealed Angel" and others. Leskov always admired the breadth of the Russian soul, and this theme was reflected in the story "Lefty". The writer died in St. Petersburg on March 5, 1895 at the age of 64. He was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.
Video short biography of Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Semenovich Leskov is a writer whose works, according to M. Gorky, should be on a par with the works of L. Tolstoy, I. Turgenev, N. Gogol. All his writings are true, as the author knew and understood the life of the people well.
This article provides a brief biography of Leskov, the most important and interesting about his creative heritage.
Childhood and education
Nikolai Semenovich was born in the Oryol region (years of life - 1831-1895). His father is a petty official who came from the clergy, his mother is the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. He received his first education in a family of wealthy relatives on his mother's side, and two years later he became a student at a gymnasium in Orel. Always distinguished by good abilities, but did not accept cramming and rods. As a result, following the results of the training, it was necessary to retake exams for the fifth grade, which the future writer considered unfair and left the gymnasium with a certificate. The lack of a certificate did not allow him to receive further education, and his father placed his son in the chamber of the criminal court in Orel. Life dramas will subsequently be resurrected in numerous works of the writer. This is a brief biography of Leskov during his childhood and adolescence.
Service
In 1849, Nikolai Semenovich moved to Kyiv and settled with his uncle, a professor of medicine. It was a time of communication with university youth, who often visited the teacher's house, learning languages - Ukrainian and Polish, attending lectures, and independently exploring literature. As a result, the formation of spiritual interests and the mental development of the young man took place.
The year 1857 also became important for the writer. Leskov, whose biography and work are inextricably linked with the life of the Russian people, switched from public service to private. He started working in the commercial company of his uncle, A. Shkott, and in a few years visited many corners of Russia. Subsequently, this will allow Nikolai Semenovich to say that he studied life "not at school, but on barges." And personal observations and accumulated material will form the basis of more than one work.
Publicistic activity
Leskov's subsequent biography and work (this will be briefly discussed below) are associated with St. Petersburg and Moscow. In the 61st, he leaves Kyiv and, having moved to the capital, begins to cooperate with the Russian Speech. By this time, Nikolai Semenovich had already acted as a publicist in Modern Medicine, Saint Petersburg Vedomosti, and Economic Index. Now the writer's articles appear in the Book Bulletin, Fatherland Notes, and Vremya.
In January 1962, Nikolai Semyonovich moved to the "Northern Bee": he was in charge of the department of internal life in it. For two years he has covered the most pressing social problems in his articles, and entered into disputes with Sovremennik and The Day. Thus, Leskov's biography took shape at the beginning of his career.
Interesting facts from his journalistic activities were related to the topic of fires in St. Petersburg (1862). Nikolai Semenovich spoke about the alleged organizers, nihilist students, and called on the authorities to confirm or refute these data. As a result, a lot of criticism fell upon him both from the side of progressive writers, who accused the author of denunciation and slander, and from the government. And the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky, with which he used to sign his works until that time, became so abusive that the writer had to abandon it.
There is also a note from the office in St. Petersburg, which notes that Leskov "sympathizes with everything anti-government."
In general, it can be argued that journalistic activity prepared the further work of the writer.
New challenges
Leskov's biography, the summary of which you are reading, was not simple. After an article about fires, the writer left the capital. As a correspondent, he went on a trip to Europe, which gave him a lot of interesting information about life in other countries. And Leskov began work on the first novel, Nowhere, the heroes of which were all the same nihilists. The work was not allowed to go to print for a long time, and when it finally reached the readers in 1964, the democrats again attacked the writer.
Debut in fiction
A brief biography of Leskov the writer originates in the 62nd year, when the story-essay "Extinguished Case" appeared in print. He was followed by the works "The Robber", "In the tarantass", the story "The Life of a Woman" and "Stingy". All of them resembled an artistic essay, which at that time was popular with raznochintsy. But a feature of the writings of Nikolai Semenovich has always been a special approach to depicting folk life. Many of his contemporaries believed that it should be studied. Nikolai Semenovich, on the other hand, was convinced that the life of the people must be known, "not by studying, but by living it." Such views, along with excessive vehemence in journalism, led to the fact that Nikolai Leskov, whose brief biography is given in the article, was excommunicated from progressive Russian literature for a long time.
The story “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District”, published in 1964, as well as “The Warrior Girl” published two years later, writers and critics preferred to ignore. Although it was in them that the individual style and humor of the writer were manifested, which later experts will highly appreciate. This is how Leskov's creative biography developed in the sixties, the summary of which amazes with the writer's amazing stamina and incorruptibility.
70s
The new decade was marked by the release of the novel "Knives". The author himself called it the worst in his work. And Gorky noted that after this work, the writer abandoned the theme of nihilists and set about creating the “iconostasis of the saints and righteous” of Russia.
A brief biography of Leskov of the new period begins with the novel "Cathedrals". He was a success with readers, but the opposition in the work of official Christianity to the true again led the writer to conflict, now not only with the authorities, but also with the church.
And then the author publishes "The Sealed Angel" and "The Enchanted Wanderer", reminiscent of ancient Russian walking and legends. If the first story "Russian Bulletin" was published without corrections, then disagreements arose again on the second. The free form of the work and several storylines were at one time not understood by many critics.
In 1974, due to the difficult financial situation, Leskov entered the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Education, where he studied books published for the people. A year later, he briefly goes abroad.
80-90s
The collection of short stories "The Righteous", the satirical works "Dumb Artist" and "Scarecrow", rapprochement with Tolstoy, anti-church "Notes of the Unknown" (not completed due to the ban on censorship), "Midnight Offices", etc. - this is the main thing that he did in the new decade Leskov.
A short biography for children necessarily includes a story about the adventures of Lefty. And although many critics believed that the writer in this case simply retelled the old legend, today this is one of the most famous and original works of Nikolai Semenovich.
The event was the publication of ten volumes of the collected works of the writer. And here it was not without trouble: the sixth volume, which included church works, was completely withdrawn from sale, and later reformed.
The last years of his life for the writer were also not very joyful. None of his major works ("Devil's Dolls", "Invisible Trace", "Falcon Binding") were published in the author's version. On this occasion, Leskov wrote that it was not his task to please the public. He saw his destiny in scourging and tormenting the reader with frankness and truth.
Leskov's biography: interesting facts
Nikolai Semenovich was known as a vegetarian and even wrote an article on this subject. He, according to his own statement, was always against the slaughter, but at the same time he did not accept those who refused meat not out of pity, but for reasons of hygiene. And if Leskov's first calls to translate a book for vegetarians into Russian caused ridicule, then very soon such a publication really appeared.
In 1985, an asteroid was named after Nikolai Semenovich, which, of course, speaks of the recognition of his work by descendants.
This is a brief biography of Leskov, whom L. Tolstoy called the most Russian of the writers of Russia.
In the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, in the family of a petty official.
His father was the son of a priest and received the nobility only through his service as a noble assessor of the Oryol Chamber of the Criminal Court. Mother belonged to the noble family of the Alferyevs. Nikolay grew up in the wealthy home of one of his maternal uncles, where he received his early education.
Then he studied at the Oryol gymnasium, but the death of his father and the terrible Oryol fires of the 1840s, during which all the small property of the Leskovs perished, did not give him the opportunity to complete the course.
In 1847, Leskov left his studies at the gymnasium and entered the service of a clerk in the Oryol Chamber of the Criminal Court.
In 1849, he transferred to Kyiv as an assistant clerk of the recruiting presence. In 1857, he entered the private service of the Russian Shipping and Trade Society, and then worked as an agent managing the estates of Naryshkin and Perovsky. This service, connected with traveling around Russia, enriched Leskov with a reserve of observations.
Having published several articles in Modern Medicine, Economic Index and St. Petersburg Vedomosti in 1860, Leskov moved to St. Petersburg in 1861 and devoted himself to literary activity.
In the 1860s, he created a number of realistic stories and novellas: "Extinguished Case" (1862), "Stingy" (1863), "The Life of a Woman" (1863), "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865), "Warrior" (1866), the play "The Spender" (1867), etc.
His story The Musk Ox (1863), the novels Nowhere (1864; under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky) and The Bypassed (1865) were directed against the "new people". Leskov tried to show the futility and groundlessness of the efforts of the revolutionary camp, created caricatured types of nihilists in the story "The Mysterious Man" (1870) and especially in the novel "On Knives" (1870-1871).
In the 1870s, Leskov began to create a gallery of types of the righteous - powerful in spirit, talented patriots of the Russian land. This theme is devoted to the novel "Cathedrals" (1872), novels and short stories "The Enchanted Wanderer", "The Sealed Angel" (both 1873).
In 1874, Leskov was appointed a member of the educational department of the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Public Education, and in 1877, a member of the educational department of the Ministry of State Property. In 1880, Leskov left the Ministry of State Property, and in 1883 he was dismissed without a request from the Ministry of Public Education and devoted himself entirely to writing.
Leskov’s rapprochement with right-wing social circles belongs to this period: the Slavophiles and the government party of Katkov, in whose journal Russky Vestnik he was published in the 1870s. Essays from the life of the higher clergy "Trifles of Bishop's Life" (1878-1883) caused displeasure against Leskov in higher spheres, which caused the writer's dismissal "without a petition" from the scientific committee of the Ministry of Public Education.
The motives of the national identity of the Russian people, faith in their creative powers were reflected in Leskov's satirical story "Iron Will" (1876), "The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea" (1881). The theme of the death of folk talents in Rus' was revealed by Leskov in the story "Dumb Artist" (1883).
At the end of his life, intensifying social and national criticism, the writer turned to satire in the works "Zagon" (1893), "Administrative Grace" (1893), "Lady and Fefela" (1894), which sometimes had a tragic sound.
On March 5 (February 21, old style), 1895, Nikolai Leskov died in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Literary bridges of the Volkov cemetery.
Based on Leskov's story "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District", later the composer Dmitry Shostakovich created the opera of the same name (1934), which was resumed in 1962 under the title "Katerina Izmailova".
In 1853, Nikolai Leskov married the daughter of a Kyiv merchant, Olga Smirnova. His wife fell ill with a mental disorder and was treated in St. Petersburg. From this marriage, the writer had a son, Dmitry, who died in infancy, in 1856, a daughter, Vera, who died in 1918.
Born on February 4 (16 n.s.) in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, in the family of an official of the criminal chamber, who came from the clergy. Childhood years were spent in the estate of the Strakhovs' relatives, then in Orel. After his retirement, Leskov's father took up farming in the farm he acquired, Panin, Kromsky district. In the wilderness of Oryol, the future writer was able to see and learn a lot, which later gave him the right to say: "I did not study the people by talking with St. Petersburg cabmen ... I grew up among the people ... I was my own person with the people ... I was that people are closer than all priests ... "In 1841 1846 Leskov studied at the Oryol gymnasium, which he could not finish: in the sixteenth year he lost his father, and the family's property was destroyed in a fire. Leskov joined the Orel Criminal Chamber of the Court, which gave him good material for future works.
In 1849, with the support of his uncle, Kyiv professor S. Alferyev, Leskov was transferred to Kyiv as an official of the Treasury. In the house of his uncle, his mother's brother, a professor of medicine, under the influence of progressive university professors, Leskov's keen interest in Herzen, in the great poet of Ukraine Taras Shevchenko, in Ukrainian culture, awakened, he became interested in ancient painting and architecture of Kiev, later becoming an outstanding connoisseur of ancient Russian art.
In 1857, Leskov retired and entered the private service of a large trading company, which was engaged in the resettlement of peasants to new lands and on whose business he traveled almost the entire European part of Russia.
The beginning of Leskov's literary activity dates back to 1860, when he first appeared as a progressive publicist. In January 1861 Leskov settled in St. Petersburg with the desire to devote himself to literary and journalistic activities. He began to publish in the "Notes of the Fatherland".
Leskov came to Russian literature, having a large reserve of observations on Russian life, with sincere sympathy for the needs of the people, which was reflected in his stories "Extinguished Business" (1862), "The Robber"; in the stories "The Life of a Woman" (1863), "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865).
In 1862, as a correspondent for the newspaper Severnaya Pchela, he visited Poland, Western Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. He wanted to get acquainted with the life, art and poetry of the Western Slavs, with whom he was very sympathetic. The trip ended with a visit to Paris. In the spring of 1863 Leskov returned to Russia.
Knowing well the province, its needs, human characters, details of everyday life and deep ideological currents, Leskov did not accept the calculations of "theoreticians" cut off from Russian roots. He talks about this in the story "The Musk Ox" (1863), in the novels "Nowhere" (1864), "Bypassed" (1865), "On Knives" (1870). They outline the theme of Russia's unpreparedness for the revolution and the tragic fate of people who connected their lives with the hope of its speedy implementation. Hence the disagreement with the revolutionary democrats.
In 1870 1880 Leskov overestimated a lot; acquaintance with Tolstoy has a great influence on him. National-historical issues appeared in his work: the novel "Cathedrals" (1872), "The Seedy Family" (1874). During these years he wrote several stories about artists: "The Islanders", "The Sealed Angel".
The talent of a Russian person, the kindness and generosity of his soul always fascinated Leskov, and this theme found its expression in the stories "Lefty (The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea)" (1881), "Dumb Artist" (1883), "Man on clock" (1887).
Satire, humor and irony occupy a large place in Leskov's legacy: "Selected Grain", "Shameless", "Waste Dancers", etc. The story "Hare Remise" was the last major work of the writer.
Leskov died in St. Petersburg.
1831 - 1895 Prose writer.
Born on February 4 (16 n.s.) in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, in the family of an official of the criminal chamber, who came from the clergy. Childhood years were spent in the estate of the Strakhovs' relatives, then in Orel. After his retirement, Leskov's father took up farming in the farm he acquired, Panin, Kromsky district. In the wilderness of Oryol, the future writer was able to see and learn a lot, which later gave him the right to say: “I did not study the people by talking with St. In 1841 - 1846 Leskov studied at the Oryol gymnasium, which he failed to graduate from: in the sixteenth year he lost his father, and the family's property was destroyed in a fire. Leskov joined the Orel Criminal Chamber of the Court, which gave him good material for future works. In 1849, with the support of his uncle, Kyiv professor S. Alferyev, Leskov was transferred to Kyiv as an official of the Treasury. In the house of his uncle, his mother's brother, a professor of medicine, under the influence of progressive university professors, Leskov's keen interest in Herzen, in the great poet of Ukraine Taras Shevchenko, in Ukrainian culture, awakened, he became interested in ancient painting and architecture of Kiev, later becoming an outstanding connoisseur of ancient Russian art. In 1857, Leskov retired and entered the private service of a large trading company, which was engaged in the resettlement of peasants to new lands and on whose business he traveled almost the entire European part of Russia. The beginning of Leskov's literary activity dates back to 1860, when he first appeared as a progressive publicist. In January 1861 Leskov settled in St. Petersburg with the desire to devote himself to literary and journalistic activities. He began to publish in Otechestvennye Zapiski. Leskov came to Russian literature, having a large reserve of observations on Russian life, with sincere sympathy for the people's needs, which was reflected in his stories "Extinguished Case" (1862), "The Robber"; in the stories "The Life of a Woman" (1863), "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865). In 1862, as a correspondent for the newspaper Severnaya Pchela, he visited Poland, Western Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. He wanted to get acquainted with the life, art and poetry of the Western Slavs, with whom he was very sympathetic. The trip ended with a visit to Paris. In the spring of 1863 Leskov returned to Russia. Knowing well the province, its needs, human characters, details of everyday life and deep ideological currents, Leskov did not accept the calculations of the "theoreticians" cut off from Russian roots. He talks about this in the story "The Musk Ox" (1863), in the novels "Nowhere" (1864), "The Bypassed" (1865), "On the Knives" (1870). They outline the theme of Russia's unpreparedness for the revolution and the tragic fate of people who connected their lives with the hope of its speedy implementation. Hence the disagreement with the revolutionary democrats. In 1870 - 1880 Leskov overestimated a lot; acquaintance with Tolstoy has a great influence on him. National-historical issues appeared in his work: the novel "Soboryane" (1872), "The Seedy Family" (1874). During these years he wrote several stories about artists: "The Islanders", "The Sealed Angel". The talent of a Russian person, the kindness and generosity of his soul always fascinated Leskov, and this theme found its expression in the stories “(The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea)” (1881), “Dumb Artist” (1883), “The Man on the Clock » (1887). Satire, humor and irony occupy a large place in Leskov's legacy: "Selective Grain", "Shameless", "Waste Dancers", etc. The story "Hare Remise" was the last major work of the writer. Leskov died in St. Petersburg.
Brief biography of N.S. Leskova - option 2
Nikolai Leskov was born in the village of Gorokhov, Oryol province, on February 4 (16 n.s.), 1831. He was the son of an official of the criminal chamber. Nikolai grew up on the estates of the Strakhovs, then in Orel. The father retires from the chambers and buys the Panin farm in the Kromsky district, where he begins to engage in agriculture. In 1841 - 1846, the young man studied at the Oryol gymnasium, but due to the death of his father and a fire on the farm, Nikolai could not graduate from it. The young man goes to serve in the Oryol criminal chamber of the court. In 1849 he was transferred to Kyiv as an official of the state chamber at the request of his uncle S. Alferyev. In his uncle's house, the writer develops an interest in Taras Shevchenko and Ukrainian literature. In 1857, Leskov, having retired, got a job in a large trading company that was engaged in the resettlement of peasants.
In 1860 Leskov acts as a progressive publicist, which gives rise to his activities. In January 1861, Nikolai moved to St. Petersburg and began publishing in Otechestvennye Zapiski. Observing the hard life of the people, the author gives birth to the stories “Extinguished Business” (1862), “The Robber”, the novella “The Life of a Woman” (1863), “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” (1865). In 1862 he visited Poland, western Ukraine, and the Czech Republic, working as a correspondent for the newspaper Severnaya pchela. At the end of the trip he visited Paris. In the spring of 1863 Leskov returned to Russia. Nikolai diligently took up writing, and after a while the world saw the story "The Musk Ox" (1863), the novels "Nowhere" (1864), "Bypassed" (1865), "On Knives" (1870). In 1870 - 1880 Leskov rethinks everything; communication with Tolstoy strongly influences him, as a result of which national-historical problems emerge: the novel "Soboryane" (1872), "The Seedy Family" (1874). Over the years, stories about artists have also been written: "The Islanders", "The Sealed Angel". Admiration for the Russian man, his qualities (kindness, generosity) and soul, inspired the poet to write the stories "Lefty (The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea)" (1881), "Dumb Artist" (1883), "The Man on the Clock" ( 1887). After himself, Leskov left many satirical works, humor and irony: "Selective Grain", "Shameless", "Empty Dance", etc. The final major masterpiece of the author was the story "Hare Remise".
