Alexey Alekseevich Perovsky (pseudonym - Anthony Pogorelsky) - a romantic writer, by origin the illegitimate son of a wealthy Catherine nobleman, Count Alexei Kirillovich Razumovsky and Maria Mikhailovna Sobolevsky (later by her husband - Denisyeva). A thorough and versatile education received by Pogorelsky in his father's house was completed at Moscow University, where the young man entered in 1805 and graduated in 1807 with a doctorate in philosophy and literature. Pogorelsky’s passion for the natural sciences, in particular botany, dates back to this time, which resulted in three public lectures published in 1808 in a separate book (“How to Distinguish Animals from Plants”, “On the Purpose and Benefits of the Linear System of Plants” and “On Plants , which would be useful to propagate in Russia"). These lectures can be considered a kind of approach to serious literary works, the orientation to the narrative techniques of N. M. Karamzin, whose ardent admirer the young author was, so clearly emerges in them. In the possessions of A. K. Razumovsky, and after the death of the latter in the estate Pogoreltsy inherited from him in the Chernihiv province (from the name of this estate the pseudonym of the writer is formed), most of the life of A. Pogorelsky passed.
His literary inclinations manifested themselves from childhood. In the home archive of N. V. Repnin (at the direction of the biographer A. Pogorelsky V. Gorden) there was a notebook with a children's essay by Alexei, presented to his father on his name day. But the writer's talent was fully revealed much later, already in the 1920s, as he entered the circles of Moscow and St. Petersburg writers. Acquaintance with N. M. Karamzin the prose writer, personal communication with the writer determined the direction of A. Pogorelsky's artistic orientations and the nature of his literary contacts. In the first place among them should be put friendship with P. A. Vyazemsky, which began in 1807. Somewhat later (apparently, in 1810) Pogorelsky met V. A. Zhukovsky, who brought him closer to A. I. Turgenev and A. F. Voeikov. These new acquaintances, as well as Pogorelsky’s characteristic tendency to joke and hoax, it would seem, provided him with far from the last place in Arzamas, however, Pogorelsky did not become an Arzamas, because he saw the main meaning of his life not in literature, but in active state activity for the benefit of the fatherland . Already in January 1808 we find him in St. Petersburg, where he, with the rank of collegiate registrar, enters the 6th department of the Senate. Seconded to P. A. Obrezkov, he participates in a semi-annual official trip to the central provinces of Russia with the aim of revising them, closely observes the life of remote provinces, gets acquainted with the way of Kazan and Perm provinces.
Returning to Moscow in 1810, Pogorelsky served for two years as an executor in one of the departments of the 6th Department and joined the Moscow cultural life. He becomes a member of a number of scientific and literary societies ("Society of Nature Lovers", "Society of Russian History and Antiquities", "Society of Lovers of Russian Literature"). In the prim and monotonous activities of the last of them, Pogorelsky is trying to introduce some variety by offering the chairman of the Society, A. A. Prokopovich-Antonsky, his humorous poems ("Abdul-Vizier") for public readings. At the beginning of 1812, Pogorelsky was again in St. Petersburg as secretary of the Minister of Finance, but he did not stay in this position for long. With the beginning of the events of the Patriotic War of 1812, he dramatically changes his life. Fascinated by the general patriotic impulse, the young man, against the will of his father, enters military service: with the rank of captain, he was enlisted in the 3rd Ukrainian Cossack regiment, in which he went through the most difficult military campaign in the autumn of 1812, took part in partisan actions and in the main battles of 1813 (near Leipzig and Kulm). Distinguished by his courage and ardent patriotic disposition, Pogorelsky went through the military path typical of the advanced Russian officers, liberated his homeland and Europe from the invasion of Napoleonic hordes, shared the hardships of military service with his comrades, fought enemies, lived in poverty, won.
After the capture of Leipzig, he was noticed by N. G. Repnin (Governor-General of the Kingdom of Saxony) and appointed to him as a senior adjutant. In May 1814, Pogorelsky was transferred to the Life Guards Ulansky Regiment, stationed in Dresden. Pogorelsky stayed here for about two years, during which he was able to closely get acquainted with the work of E. T. A. Hoffmann, who had a very significant influence on him. One of the first in Russia, Pogorelsky used the traditions of the remarkable German romantic in his stories.
In 1816, Pogorelsky retired and returned to St. Petersburg in order to continue his civil service, this time as an official for special assignments in the Department of Religious Affairs of Foreign Religions. Here the circle of literary acquaintances of the future writer expands significantly; he communicates with N. I. Grech, Arzamas, and also with A. S. Pushkin, who settled after graduating from the Lyceum in St. Petersburg. It was in the first post-war years that Pogorelsky tried his hand at poetry (the translation of one of Horace's odes was published in Grech's magazine "Son of the Fatherland" (1820, Ch. 65), participates in literary controversy, defending the poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" from attacks conservatively The service, which took a lot of strength from Pogorelsky, nevertheless allowed him to leave St. Published in A. F. Voeikov’s journal Novosti Literature in 1825, it seemed so unusual that it prompted a special explanation by the editor, the so-called “Decoupling,” in which a rationalistic explanation of fantastic motives and Pogorelsky introduced an ironic polemic with Voeikov, who did not accept the innovative features of the romantic story "Lafertovskaya poppy-tree", in his collection "The Double, or My Evenings in Little Russia" (1828), which also included "Lafertovskaya poppy-tree": ".. .who certainly wants to know the denouement of my story, - the author wrote in the "Double", - let him read the "Literary News" 1825 r. There he will find a denouement composed by the respected publisher of Invalid, which I didn’t tell you because I don’t want to appropriate someone else’s property. Immediately after the appearance in print of Lafertovskaya Poppy House, Pushkin met her, writing to his brother from Mikhailovsky on March 27, 1825 d. "My soul, what a charm granny's cat is! I re-read the whole story twice and in one breath, now I’m only raving about Tri (background) Fal (eleich) Murlykin. I step forward smoothly, closing my eyes, turning my head and arching my back. Pogorelsky is Perovsky, isn't it?"
This was the literary debut of Perovsky (Pogorelsky), and from that moment on this new literary name gained fame and wide recognition. Even greater success fell to Pogorelsky's The Double: The Prussian Invalid (1828, part 83) commented sympathetically on the book, noting that "not many stories are so entertaining, so witty. Not many are told and connected with such art." "The Northern Bee" wrote: "The author skillfully took advantage of various beliefs, dark rumors and superstitious stories about unrealizable incidents and conveyed them to us even more skillfully, being able to arouse curiosity and maintain it until the very end" (SPch. 1828. No. 38). The children's fantasy story The Black Hen (St. Petersburg, 1829) dates back to 1829, and some magazines, such as the Moscow Telegraph (1829. Part XXV. No. 2), published favorable reviews.
Beginning in 1830, the writer actively collaborated in the Literary Gazette, where the first part of Pogorelsky's most significant, final work, the novel The Monastery, was published, which was then published in two parts in St. Petersburg and caused a lively controversy in magazines. “This novel,” the Russian Invalid noted, “is an unusual, pleasant phenomenon in our literature. It is rich in entertaining incidents and vividly depicted characters, and therefore is alive and curious” (1830, No. 17). The reviewer of the "Moscow Telegraph" saw in the "Monastyrka" only "a pleasant description of family pictures", "a good friend's story about kind people who sometimes met with trouble" (1830. Ch. XXXII. No. 5). "The real and first novel of manners in our country" was called "Monastyrka" in the "Literary Gazette", which actively supported Pogorelsky (1830).
From 1826, Pogorelsky again and for a long time lived in St. Petersburg, holding a number of prominent positions and being a member of the Commission for the Arrangement of Educational Institutions. He still spends the summer months in Pogoreltsy. In the spring of 1827, the writer went on a trip abroad, which lasted about a year. Pogorelsky's official activity, which proceeded very successfully, did not bring satisfaction in the conditions of ever-increasing public reaction and ended with his resignation in 1830. The writer spends the last years of his life in Pogoreltsy, however, visiting Moscow. He devotes all his time to literary work, as well as to the education of his nephew (the son of the writer's sister, Countess A. A. Tolstoy), the future famous poet, prose writer and playwright A. K. Tolstoy.
Shortly before Pogorelsky's death, Pushkin visited his Moscow apartment, vividly describing this meeting in a letter to his wife: "I was at Perovsky, who showed me the unfinished paintings of Bryulov. Bryulov, who was in his captivity, ran away from him and quarreled with him. Perovsky showed me the Capture of Rome by Genzerik (which is worth the Last (his) day Pomp (s)), saying: "Notice how beautifully this scoundrel painted this horseman, such a swindler" (Pushkin. T. XVI. P. 115). , drawn by Pushkin, subtly noticed Pogorelsky's humor, which colored many of his works.The originality of his writing style was appreciated by the writers of Pushkin's circle, who contributed to the success of his works among his contemporaries.
July 21, 1836 in Warsaw, on the way to Nice, where he was going to treat tuberculosis, Pogorelsky died.
Anthony Pogorelsky (1787–1836)
Russian writer, prose writer, statesman. One of the first Russian writers turned to the science fiction genre.
Real name - Alexey Alekseevich Perovsky. The exact date of birth has not been established. He came from a very famous family. Illegitimate son of Count Alexei Kirillovich Razumovsky, brother of the statesmen Counts Perovsky, uncle of A. K. Tolstoy and the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers. He spent his childhood on the Razumovsky estate in Ukraine, where he received his primary education. In 1805 he entered Moscow University, graduating two years later with a doctorate in philosophy and literature.
Since childhood, he had the ability to write and was familiar with many famous writers of that time (Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Turgenev), but he saw his destiny in public service. From 1808 to 1812 he served in various positions in the provinces and St. Petersburg. When the Patriotic War of 1812 began, Pogorelsky, contrary to the will of his father, left the post of secretary of the Minister of Finance and went into the army. He served in the third Ukrainian Cossack regiment, took part in partisan actions and major battles (near Leipzig and Kulm). Until 1816 he served in Saxony occupied by the Allies as adjutant of Prince. N. G. Repnina. Here Pogorelsky got acquainted with the work of Hoffmann, which had a significant influence on him.
In 1816, Pogorelsky left the army and returned to St. Petersburg, where he continued his civil service. At this time, the circle of his literary acquaintances expanded significantly, Pogorelsky entered the environment of Arzamas, got acquainted with Pushkin. In particular, Pogorelsky actively defended Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" from criticism. In addition, Pogorelsky becomes the tutor of his nephew A.K. Tolstoy, whose mother (Pogorelsky's sister) left her husband shortly after the birth of her son. In 1822, the writer's father died and Pogorelsky inherited the Pogoreltsy estate in Ukraine, where he lived for a long time and from whose name he took his pseudonym. Under this pseudonym, in 1825, Pogorelsky's first significant artistic work was published - the story "Lafertovskaya Poppy Plant", highly appreciated by Pushkin, and then the collection "Double, or My Evenings in Little Russia" (1828). By 1829, the children's fantasy story "The Black Hen" dates back, and since 1830, the publication of Pogorelsky's largest work, the novel "The Monastery", begins. All Pogorelsky's works were innovative for their time and caused extensive discussions. In 1830 Pogorelsky finally resigned. The writer lived on his estate Pogoreltsy (although he traveled a lot around Europe and Russia), devoting a lot of time to raising his nephew. Pogorelsky died of tuberculosis on the way to Nice to the place of his treatment.
The romantic writer who stood at the origins of the fantastic genre of Russian literature is the famous Anthony Pogorelsky. The biography, collected from numerous sources, tells a lot of interesting facts about this famous person. His real name was Alexey Perovsky. And the pseudonym was formed from the name of the estate of the writer's father Pogoreltsy, located in the Chernihiv region.
Anthony Pogorelsky. Biography for children and adults
By origin, Alexei was an illegitimate descendant of a very rich and influential Count Razumovsky. And the baby's mother was Maria Mikhailovna Sobolevskaya, who later became Denisyeva, taking her husband's surname. This connection became so strong that it lasted almost until the count's death.
In addition to legitimate children from his wife, Razumovsky had ten more from Maria Mikhailovna. In the 1800s, the emperor granted titles of nobility to all the illegitimate children of the count. They received the surname Perovsky - from the name of the estate Perovo.
Childhood years and influential acquaintances
The writer's childhood was spent in Razumovsky's family estate in Ukraine, where he received an excellent education at home. Already in those years, many observed his great craving for creativity, writing essays. In many ways, this was influenced by acquaintance with such famous Russian writers as Turgenev, Karamzin, Zhukovsky.
Unfortunately, the biography of Anthony Pogorelsky briefly tells only about the general features of this brilliant and comprehensively developed person. With his beautiful appearance and slightly noticeable limp, he resembled Byron. He was a wonderful friend of Pushkin and Vyazemsky, and also held the position of an influential dignitary.
Further education and personality formation
After the future writer is awarded the title of nobility, he immediately gets the opportunity to continue his studies in higher institutions, and in August 1805 he enters the university. And after a couple of years he finishes it and receives a Ph.D.
In the same period, the first literary experience of the young Alexei manifests itself. In 1807, he set about translating Karamzin's "Poor Lisa" into German. Then the future writer Anthony Pogorelsky directs all his skills and knowledge to the bureaucratic service. First of all, thanks to his father, whose connections and position made it possible for Alexei to achieve excellent prospects.
Recognition in public circles or Razumovsky's connections
After graduating, Perovsky went to St. Petersburg. There, in January 1808, he receives a very high position in the department. The father of the young man at that time was already the Minister of Education.
But Aleksey Alekseevich does not want to remain in the service and use the authoritative connections of his family. In 1809, he leaves the cheerful capital and goes to the Russian province. Pictures of provincial life gave the future writer great food for thought.
When he returns from this trip to St. Petersburg, he realizes that Moscow attracts him like a magnet. And in November 1810, Anthony Pogorelsky, whose biography is still associated only with official service, moves to his favorite places and takes the post of executor in the department department.
The first steps in creativity and the search for your own "I"
At the same time, Alexei Alekseevich's first poems appeared, in which there is a tradition of playful poetry. But not only cheerfulness distinguishes Perovsky. He has a very sharp and penetrating mind, which helps him to observe everything that happens around him and decide on the choice of his future position in life.
At some point, Aleksey Perovsky even intends to become a member of the Masonic lodge, but he encounters unexpected and categorical resistance from his father, who himself was a fairly influential Freemason. The young man continues his activities in the public arena, but not finding satisfaction, in January 1812 he returns to St. Petersburg.
This time he took the position of Secretary to the Minister of Finance. But he did not have a chance to serve in this place for too long. This was due to the invasion of Napoleon's troops.
Participation in hostilities
In July, carried away by a patriotic impulse, in defiance of his father, who even promised to deprive him not only of his maintenance, but also of his inheritance, Captain Anthony Pogorelsky appears in the Ukrainian Cossack regiment. The biography of the writer tells about the numerous battles in which he took part.
The military service of Alexei Alekseevich lasted until 1816. He went through a very difficult combat path of an ordinary officer. He defended his homeland from the invasion of Napoleonic troops, fought, won and lived in misery. He proved himself as a valiant and courageous person.
Petersburg again or the resumption of service and creativity
After the end of the war, Alexei Perovsky came to St. Petersburg and received the position of an official for special assignments, and worked under the leadership of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. Here he resumes his literary connections. He meets Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and again tries his hand at art.
But now he writes some more serious works. and "Friend of my youth". Unfortunately, these creations do not provide enough opportunity for any assessments, but, nevertheless, they are written quite talentedly.
Alexey Perovsky gains his first fame when writing articles where he defends the work of Alexander Pushkin. It was in these essays that many noticed his sharp judgments and accuracy of statements. All critical speeches were highly appreciated, and becomes a member of the "Free Society".
and the resignation of Alexei
In 1822 Count Razumovsky dies. Now Anthony Pogorelsky, whose biography was so closely connected with the career of an official, resigns and settles in the family estate. It was here that he began to write his famous works. One of them is "Lafertovskaya poppy flower", which is already signed by a pseudonym known today.
These works represent the unusual nature of fantasy, borrowed from folk tales and whose work at the beginning of the nineteenth century was carried away by almost all of Russia. Then Pogorelsky writes several more works, but, nevertheless, he still does not have wide reader success.
Underground inhabitants of Pogorelsky
But here comes Anthony Pogorelsky, whose "Underground inhabitants" interested not only the younger audience, but also the older generation. And all this thanks to a fairy tale that he wrote for his little nephew, who later became the great writer Alexei Tolstoy. It is called or Underground inhabitants.
This work is written in the genre of a fairy tale. It is charming and surprising in its immediate instructiveness and naivety of meaning. It very plausibly reveals the inner world of the child, there is an unobtrusive note of morality and a significant amount of humor and magical fiction. The tales of Anthony Pogorelsky acquire a special and unique character, which makes it difficult to compare them with any other creations.
In 1836, Alexei Alekseevich's chronic illness worsened - tuberculosis, which at that time was still incurable, and he went to Nice for treatment. But, unfortunately, he does not have time to get there. On July 9, the writer died in Warsaw.
So the life of a descendant of Count Razumovsky passed, full of interesting and even heroic events, and the biography of Anthony Pogorelsky appeared. Briefly speaking about the works of this writer, it is necessary to note his special ability to capaciously and wisely describe the elusive movements of the child's soul. It is thanks to this that he became so famous and popular among young readers.
POGORELSKY, ANTONY(pseudo; real name and surname Perovsky, Alexei Alekseevich) (1787–1836), Russian writer. Illegitimate son of Count A.K. Razumovsky. He was educated at home, in 1805–1807 he successfully graduated from Moscow University, receiving a doctorate in philosophy and literature for three lectures (subsequently published as a separate brochure) read in German, French and Russian. For five years he served in various departments; organized at Moscow University the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature (1811–1830), which published collections on literature and folklore and took part in organizing literary and musical evenings and popular lectures. During the Patriotic War of 1812 he was in the army, having shown extraordinary courage in the battles near Dresden and Kulm. From 1816 he served for several years as an official for special assignments at the Department of Spiritual Affairs. From 1820 he was a member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature.
In 1822, after the death of his father, he inherited the village of Pogoreltsy, Chernihiv Province. and, having retired, settled in it with his sister, Countess A.A. Tolstoy, and her son, the future writer A.K. Tolstoy. In 1825–1830 he was a trustee of the Kharkov educational district, who contributed greatly to the improvement of the educational process.
In 1825, in the March issue of A.F. Voeikov’s magazine “News of Literature”, a fantastic story by Pogorelsky was published Lafertovskaya poppy plant- the first in Russian literature, where the desire characteristic of romanticism to recreate the national poetic element, perceived through the living life of the people and fairy-tale fiction, was affected. In Lefortovo, inhabited by small Moscow people, in the wretched house of the retired postman Onufrich, the reader meets with the image of the Lafertovskaya poppy woman - an old sorceress who chooses a postman for her daughter, and for her granddaughter, a dowry Masha, the groom Aristarkh Falaleevich (Faleleevich), who turns out to be a beloved black cat fortune-telling grandmothers. Having destroyed the witchcraft spell and refusing the unrighteous wealth left by her grandmother, Masha marries the handsome inmate she loves, as if as a reward to the girl who turned out to be a rich heir. Humorous features in the guise of a cat-official, the motif of the evil spirit of money, characteristic of the romantics of the “mercantile” era, anticipate the poetics of N.V. Gogol in Pogorelsky. A.S. Pushkin wrote to his brother about this story: “What a charm Grandma's Cat is! I re-read it twice and in one breath the whole story, and now I am only raving about Aristarkh Falaleevich Murlykin. I perform smoothly, closing my eyes, turning my head and arching my back.
In 1828 Pogorelsky's collection was published. Double, or My Evenings in Little Russia(besides poppy seeds, included stories Isidore and Anyuta, The Harmful Consequences of Unbridled Imagination And Stagecoach travel), largely inspired by the writer’s interest in these years in education, directed against the egoism and emptiness of the “generally accepted” style of noble life, revealing the author’s plot and psychological ingenuity and bearing obvious traces of the influence of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s fiction, with that However, the difference is that Pogorelsky's skeptical Double, the second "I" of the narrator, seeks to solve the problem of the supersensible with a natural-scientific explanation.
Together with his nephew, young A.K. Tolstoy, Pogorelsky visited Italy; judging by some testimonies, he met with J.W. Goethe. In a fairy tale for children, as the author defined its genre, Black hen, or Underground inhabitants, written for a ten-year-old nephew, charming in its unsophisticated instructiveness and brightness of a naive fiction about a wonderful bird helping a kind and honest boy - and leaving him when he became a frivolous and conceited sloth, the life of old Petersburg is truthfully depicted, the inner world of the child is convincingly revealed, for the first time in Russian literature after Knight of our time N.M. Karamzin, who became the main character of the work, the moral is unobtrusively displayed and the organic interweaving of everyday life, humor and fantasy, characteristic of Pogorelsky, is subtly manifested. Subsequently, the tale was especially loved by L.N. Tolstoy, entered the golden fund of Russian children's literature, withstanding dozens of reprints in many languages of the world.
In 1830, Pogorelsky became an employee of A.A. Delvig's Literary Newspaper, published in it excerpts from the novel that remained unfinished Magnetizer and the beginning of the novel Monastery, in which sentimental didactics and adventurous-romantic effects are combined with a realistic description of the stagnant life of the provincial nobility in Ukraine and the difficult fate of a pupil of the Smolny Monastery who returned here, to her homeland, full of illusions and impulses for the ideal. In liberal literary circles, this work was favorably opposed to the naturalistic moralistic novels of F.V. Bulgarin and V.T. Narezhny, and Literaturnaya Gazeta called monastery"a real and probably our first novel of manners."
ANTONY POGORELSKY (1787-1836)
The writer Anthony Pogorelsky is perhaps hardly familiar to the modern general reader. The life fate of Aleksey Alekseevich Perovsky - such is his real name - due to the scarcity of surviving information, we know only in the most general outlines: a brilliant and comprehensively educated man, reminiscent of Byron with his beautiful appearance and slight lameness, an influential dignitary, friend of Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Zhukovsky ...
Delving into the history of literature, at the time of infancy of Russian prose, we often find the word “first” next to the name of Pogorelsky: from his pen comes the first Russian science fiction story, one of the first household, “family” novels.
"The best of the worst, that is, if you like, a very good writer ...". This paradoxical assessment, which belonged to N. G. Chernyshevsky, refers to Anthony Pogorelsky, who stood at the origins of Russian romantic prose.
The writer is not very zealous, one might say, absent-minded, creating a little and slowly, Pogorelsky nevertheless occupied a prominent place in the literature of the 1820-1830s. Researchers unanimously recognize him for a number of important merits in the development of Russian prose of the “pre-Pushkin” and “pre-Gogol” periods, in the formation and formation of the romantic trend.
The literary heritage is small, however, and it is hardly studied. His archive almost disappeared without a trace, carelessly left by the writer to the will of fate and the play of chance. In the last years of his life, having completely abandoned literary activity, indifferent to literary glory, Pogorelsky cared little about him. According to the legend, the manager of his estate, a passionate gourmet, exhausted the papers of his patron for his favorite food - cutlets in papillots...
Having entered literature as a “Karamzinist”, then involved in the Pushkin circle, Pogorelsky creatively continued not only in such closest younger contemporaries as Gogol or V. Odoevsky, but also to a large extent in the next literary generation - primarily in his nephew, his pupil Alexei Konstaninovich Tolstoy , on the creative formation of which he had a considerable influence.
Alexei Alekseevich Perovsky was born in the reign of Catherine the Great, in 1787, in the village of Perovo near Moscow. He was the illegitimate son of Count Alexei Kirillovich Razumovsky and the "maiden" Maria Mikhailovna Sobolevskaya. This union turned out to be lasting: it lasted until the death of Razumovsky and gave numerous and bright offspring. The count, in addition to his legal wife and offspring, had ten more children from the bourgeois Maria Sobolevskaya. In the 1810s, Emperor Alexander I, at the request of the count, granted all his “pupils” a noble title, however, he categorically refused to do the same for their mother. The illegitimate children of Alexei Kirillovich received the surname Perovsky - from the Razumovsky Perovo estate near Moscow, where once the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna secretly married their cousin grandfather and her favorite. The Razumovsky family itself could not boast of antiquity at all: only by the middle of the eighteenth century did it dizzily ascend from Chernigov peasants to the first approximate court and statesmen thanks to the favor of Elizabeth Petrovna to the handsome shepherd and singer of the rural church Alexei Rozum. The writer's father, Count Alexei Kirillovich Razumovsky, was the son of the President of the Academy of Arts and the last hetman of Ukraine Kirill Razumovsky, as well as the nephew of the Elizabethan favorite A. Razumovsky and the grandson of the registered Cossack Grigory Rozum.
I must say that the count's "pupils" turned out to be extremely worthy people. The sons were especially famous. So, Lev Perovsky was a military man, and later the Minister of the Interior and appanages. Vasily Perovsky also rose to the ranks, in the middle of the 19th century he served as governor-general of Samara and Orenburg. In 1833 he was visited in Orenburg by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, who collected materials in the Urals for the History of the Pugachev Rebellion. Somewhat later, in the Separate Orenburg Corps, which was also subordinate to V. Perovsky, the poet and artist Taras Shevchenko was exiled as an ordinary soldier. Our hero, Alexey Perovsky, became a prominent figure in public education and a romantic writer under the pseudonym Anthony Pogorelsky. As for the Perovsky daughters, for example, one of them, Anna, married Count Konstantin Tolstoy, brother of the outstanding artist and medalist Fyodor Tolstoy. In 1817, they had a son, a future wonderful poet, writer and playwright and author of the most interesting horror stories, Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy. The husband of another daughter, Olga, was the Novgorod landowner M. Zhemchuzhnikov. From this marriage there were two sons, who also later became famous ... The well-known terrorist-populist Sofya Perovskaya also came out of the Perovsky family.
The “random” offspring of one of the most famous “random” families in Russia, Alexei Perovsky spends his childhood in Pochep, the Bryansk estate of his father, where he, having retired from public affairs with the accession of Paul I, lives at this time. Children live in luxury, but in the position of orphans and pupils. The father - a haughty, bilious, devout Freemason - and a Voltairian, a misanthrope, equally capable of Christian humility and cruelty - acted at first as a benefactor, and it seems that the children were admitted to him infrequently. There is evidence that Count Alexei Kirillovich especially favored the eldest - Alexei.
Nevertheless, the Perovskys receive a brilliant, versatile home education. When Razumovsky - not without difficulty - achieves their elevation to the nobility, the future writer gets the opportunity to continue his education at Moscow University. This happened in August 1805. Two years later, in October 1807, he graduated from the university and received the highest academic degree - Doctor of Philosophy and Literary Sciences. The three obligatory trial lectures he gave at the same time (two of them Perovsky, in excess of the established requirements, read in German and French) were devoted to botany, the subject of a passion of the father grafted on to his son: 1) “How to distinguish animals from plants and what is their relationship to minerals" in German "Wie sind Thiere und Gewachse von einander unterschieden und welches ist ihr Verhaltnis zu den Mineralien" 2) "On the purpose and utility of the Linear System of Plants" in French "Sur le but et l'utilite du systeme des plautes de Linne » 3) "On plants that would be useful to propagate in Russia" in Russian. The appeal to the professors, which preceded the third, Russian lecture, exposed the young candidate for the doctorate as an admirer of Karamzin. These lectures can be considered a kind of approach to serious literary works, so clearly appears in them the orientation to the narrative techniques of Karamzin, whose ardent admirer was the young author. They also contained the grain of Perovsky's hobbies and agriculture, which was largely facilitated by his participation in the management of his father's huge estates. Perovsky's first literary experience also dates back to this time: in 1807 he translated Karamzin's "Poor Lisa" into German, considering it "a delightful work", "magnificent" and "beautiful" precisely "according to the way of its presentation". Perovsky dedicates his work, published in Moscow, "to His Excellency Mr. Privy Councilor and Real Chamberlain Count Alexei Razumovsky." The ceremony and “etiquette” of this dedication quite expressively depicts the nature of the relationship between father and son, there is also some kind of historical paradox in the fact of dedication: in the coming years, Razumovsky, already in his capacity as Minister of Public Education, will receive denunciations from P. I. Golenishchev- Kutuzov to the dangerous freethinker Karamzin. “If my experience had succeeded in the best possible way,” Perovsky wrote, “even then, without your approval, I would consider it very imperfect. My only wish is that you take these sheets as a sign of perfect respect and as the only proof available to me of the boundless gratitude that I owe you. Your Lordship's most devoted servant..."
A year after "Poor Lisa", in 1808, Perovsky's lectures read at the university were published as a separate book, this time with a dedication to Alexei Kirillovich's brother Lev Kirillovich Razumovsky. A tray copy of the book is also known to the count's sister Natalya Kirillovna Zagryazhskaya - the same Zagryazhskaya, with whom Pushkin later became related through his wife and whom he fell in love with so much. All this, it would seem, is secondary, but very revealing facts of the recognition of the illegitimate son of A.K. Razumovsky as the closest noble relatives. This undoubtedly had important and beneficial consequences for the young Perovsky. Lev Kirillovich lived in Moscow not only as a broad and wealthy gentleman, but was also close friends with Karamzin, the Vyazemsky family, and with a well-known music connoisseur, Count M. Yu. Vielgorsky. Then, in his university years, he becomes close to them, as well as to Zhukovsky and Perovsky. He also converges with the younger Vyazemsky (most likely in 1807). Together they "swam the stream of swift youth", together they went through life, maintaining closeness until the end of their days.
My friend, dear companion,
At the young dawn of the day,
With whom did I experience strength
new life for me
.....................................................
Somehow, I meet by chance,
We collided at a good hour
And sympathy with a secret connection
Souls have been born in us.
(P. A. Vyazemsky. "Commemoration")
The efforts and talents of the young Perovsky turned out to be primarily directed to bureaucratic service, and his father's extensive connections and increasing weight in government circles opened up wide opportunities for him to quickly advance his career. After graduating from the university in October 1807, Perovsky went to serve in St. Petersburg in January 1808, having received the rank of collegiate assessor in the sixth department of the Senate, which was quite high for a young age. By this time, his father was returning to state activity as a trustee of the Moscow educational district, and a few years later he became the Minister of Public Education.
The son of an influential nobleman, however, did not intend, following the example of others, to skimp on the service. Already in August 1809, he left the scattered and cheerful capital for six-month wanderings in the Russian provinces - he was seconded to Senator P. A. Obreskov, who was sent to revise the Perm, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir provinces. Pictures of Russian provincial life gave many impressions and considerable food to his sharp eye and mind. It is no coincidence that already after the death of a friend, returning in thought to this time, when in the future author of the "Monastery" "the artist is mature", Vyazemsky, a member of the same Commission, wrote:
You asked the life of the provinces,
Their quirks, fuss
And he was able from these thorns
Summon fresh flowers
Upon returning from the trip, Perovsky did not stay long in St. Petersburg - he was again drawn to cozy, native Moscow. In November 1810, he moved here to serve as an executor in one of the branches of the 6th Department of the Senate. It seems that Moscow friendly affections played an important role here, and this is not surprising: in Moscow, the idol Karamzin, the boiling of literary life, were attracted by a magnet, and the "senior" - Karamzin himself and his associates, looked with hope at the new literary generation, among which they had already declared Zhukovsky and Vyazemsky about themselves. Correspondence with the latter gives us direct evidence of such communication between Perovsky and this circle. It is not known whether Perovsky himself recognizes himself as a writer at this time - in any case, he is already the author of a literary translation and "sins" with poetry. In fact, his literary inclinations manifested themselves from childhood. In the home archive of N. V. Repnin (at the direction of the biographer A. Pogorelsky V. Gorden) there was a notebook with a children's essay by Alexei, presented to his father on his name day. Vyazemsky's verse appeals to Perovsky help to get some idea of the character and literary tastes of a young man who is accompanied by a "golden-winged genius." He is a secret writer of "idylls", but at the same time he is a constant participant in friendly meetings of the ironic and rampant Moscow youth, among whom Vyazemsky - "a madman, a young squanderer" - was the ringleader and a favorite. It is no coincidence that along with "idylls" Perovsky also appears at this time "ampfiguria" - a comic, poetic nonsense, often accompanied by a cheerful hoax. For Perovsky, the reputation of a “nice prankster” and a master of “joking” hoax is being strengthened - it’s not without reason that he writes down his poems in the album of another famous Moscow wit and amateur poet S. A. Neyolov. Eg:
Minister Pete is sitting in the corner
And plays on the whistle
But the pop comes in
And, having removed the coat
He sits politely.
Voltaire old man
Taking off your wig
Whisks eggs in it
And Jean Racine
Like a good son
Crying out of pity.
It is quite obvious, however, that in Perovsky these verses are not the fruit of "pure" literary creativity; they arise as a reflection of a certain way of life, a certain form of everyday behavior. Subsequently, this "everyday" hoax organically enters the literary method of the writer, constituting his original and distinctive feature. The tradition of "joking" poetry - of course, not without the direct influence of Perovsky - will resurrect with brilliance a few decades later and continue under the pen of his nephew - one of the co-authors of Kozma Prutkov.
However, Perovsky in these years is distinguished not only by gaiety, but also by a “sound” mind, an independent and penetrating look at “persons, customs and mores”, which he carefully watches “in private”. Internal formation, the choice of life position was not easy. so, in search of her, Perovsky repeatedly makes attempts to get closer to the Masons, wants to become a member of the lodge, and only the unexpected resistance of his father, a prominent and influential Freemason, prevented this intention: its beauty."
The young man is trying to occupy himself with activities in the public arena: he becomes a member of the Society of Naturalists, his signature is listed among the founders of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature (1811-1830). In the stiff and monotonous activities of the last of them, Perovsky tries to introduce some variety by offering the chairman of the Society, A. A. Prokopovich-Antonsky, his humorous poems “Abdul-Vizier” for public readings. Soon he was already mentioned among the full members of the Society of Russian History and Antiquities. But here, too, he obviously does not find satisfaction and in fact does not accept in the work of societies. Moscow did not live up to expectations, and in January 1812 Perovsky left her and again rushed to St. Petersburg, this time as Secretary of the Minister of Finance for the Department of Foreign Trade.
However, he did not have a chance to serve here for long - with Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Perovsky, like many, carried away by the general patriotic impulse, could no longer think of himself as a civilian official - in July, in defiance of his father, he became a Cossack officer. In the rank of headquarters captain, he was enrolled in the 3rd Ukrainian Cossack regiment. The very nature of the conflict with his father is very indicative: Razumovsky's son's ban on going to the theater of operations was so harsh and categorical that it was even accompanied by a threat to deprive the "illegal" heir of material support and estate. In response, Perovsky wrote to him: “Can you think, Count, that my heart is so low, my feelings are so mean, that I will decide to leave my intention not from fear of losing your love, but from fear of losing my property? These words will never be blotted out of my thoughts...
Perovsky's decision remained unchanged, and his military service lasted until 1816. As part of the 3rd Ukrainian Regiment, he went through the most difficult military campaign in the autumn of 1812, took part in partisan actions, fought near Tarutin, Losetsy, Morungen, Dresden and at Kulm. Distinguished by his courage and ardent patriotic disposition, Perovsky went through the military path typical of the advanced Russian officers, liberated his homeland and Europe from the invasion of the Napoleonic hordes, sharing the hardships of military service with his comrades, fought with enemies, lived in poverty, won. In October 1813, after the capture of Leipzig, a well-established young officer who also spoke German fluently was noticed by the Governor-General of the Kingdom of Saxony (Saxony fought on the side of Napoleon) Prince N. G. Repnin-Volkonsky and was appointed to him as a senior adjutant. In May 1814, Perovsky was transferred to the Life Guards Ulansky Regiment, stationed in Dresden. Here Perovsky lived for more than two years.
Life in Germany, entry into German culture, various artistic impressions, acquaintance with the novelties of German romantic literature seriously influenced the formation of the aesthetic tastes of the future writer. It is very likely that during these years he, following fresh tracks, got acquainted with the first collections of stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann: “Fantasy in the manner of Callot” (1814), “Night stories” (1816), the novel “Devil’s Elixir” (1815) . Many plots and motifs borrowed from just these works will be resurrected a decade later and for the first time will find life on Russian soil under the pen of the writer Anthony Pogorelsky. From now on, the bizarre fantasy of Hoffmann's fairy tales will both occupy and captivate Russian minds for a long time.
In 1816, Perovsky reappeared in St. Petersburg: parting with his military uniform, he received the rank of court adviser and became an official for special assignments in the department of religious affairs for foreign confessions, having entered here under the command of A. I. Turgenev. Here his literary ties are quickly renewed. Petersburg Zhukovsky, Karamzins. Perovsky plunges into the environment of the "Arzamas", for him, the "Arzamas" in spirit and temperament is undoubtedly close and consonant. The atmosphere of a cheerful and reckless crushing of archaic canons finds an undoubted response in it. In any case, he is clearly losing interest in the idea of public service - for all his connections, Perovsky has not received a single award during this time - and "turns" to literature.
At this time, an important event took place in the Perovsky family, which largely determined the course of his future life: his sister, the beautiful Anna Alekseevna Razumovskaya, who was married to Count K. P. Tolstoy, had a son, Alexei, the future writer Alexei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, well known to lovers horror genre based on such stories as "Ghoul" and "Ghoul Family". However, this marriage did not work out: immediately after the birth of the child, Anna Alekseevna leaves her husband, and Aleksey Perovsky takes his sister and one and a half month old nephew to his estate, the village of Pogoreltsy, Chernihiv province. From now until the end of his days, he devotes himself to caring for them and raising his beloved Alexasha.
In the coming years, Perovsky apparently divides his time between Pogoreltsy and St. Petersburg, where he is in the service. In any case, it is known that in the autumn of 1818 he was in the circle of St. Petersburg friends, visiting the Karamzins in Tsarskoye Selo the following summer.
At the same time, he also met Pushkin. He probably knew the name of the young poet even earlier. With the return to St. Petersburg, the circle of contacts turned out to be rather narrow: evenings at Zhukovsky, Alexander Turgenev, at the Perovskys themselves, at that time in St. Petersburg and Alexei's brother, Vasily Aleksevich, a friend of Zhukovsky, later the Orenburg military governor, who accompanied Pushkin to Pugachev places.
In 1820, Alexey Perovsky declares himself as a writer: he again tries his hand at poetry, this time “serious”. However, the experiences of that time that have come down to us - the not completely finished ballad "The Wanderer-Singer" and the message "Friend of My Youth", most likely addressed to my sister in connection with the birth of a nephew - do not provide sufficient material for any kind of assessment, especially that both poems remained in manuscript. His only poetic publication of this time was a translation of one of Horace's odes, published in Grech's magazine "Son of the Fatherland" (1820, Ch. 65). One way or another, these experiments, although written by a talented, but quite traditional pen, probably do not satisfy the author, and other samples of Perovsky's poetry are not known to us.
However, it was by no means an ode to Horace that drew attention to a new literary name.
In late July-early August 1820, Pushkin's first poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" was published as a separate edition, and fierce magazine battles unfolded around it. This controversy itself arose in the atmosphere of the active offensive of the zealots of the canons of classicism against the new-romantic-literary trend and was its direct consequence. Articles in Moscow and St. Petersburg magazines reproached Pushkin for violating the established norms of genre and style and for neglecting the laws of "morality." In defense of the poet on behalf of his like-minded people and friends, Alexei Perovsky spoke with brilliant articles - and these articles in the disputes around Ruslan and Lyudmila occupied a special place. In this first notable printed speech, Perovsky presented a certain literary position that expressed the views of the older "Arzamas", primarily Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky, Alexander Turgenev, and found in him not only a connoisseur and admirer of a rising poetic star, but also an adherent of a new direction, a writer Pushkin circle. Vivid sobriety, sharpness and accuracy of judgments, as well as the ability for literary mystification, successfully and subtly used as a polemical device - all this was fully revealed in Perovsky's articles.
The arena of the main battles was the magazine "Son of the Fatherland". Pushkin was opposed here by A.F. Voeikov, an “Arzamasian”, who, however, gravitated towards “classicist” normativity in his literary orientation, and D.P. Zykov, a friend of P.A. Katenin, an archaist and an open opponent of “Arzamas”, whom Pushkin and his friends considered the author of the article. Both Voeikov in his infamous "Analysis" and Zykov in the "questions" that made up the article and aimed at exposing the plot, compositional and artistic "absurdities" of "Ruslan and Lyudmila" - both spoke from the positions of normative poetics of the 18th century.
Perovsky's anti-critics were born in the circle of Pushkin's supporters and, apparently, were previously discussed there. In any case, Turgenev informed Vyazemsky about the first of them (against Zykov) even before publication, and about Voeikov’s article, which angered the “Arzamas”, he reported to the same correspondent: “I already wrote to you about criticism of Pushkin and spoke frankly to Voeikov, that such remarks will not move our literature. Yesterday Aleksey Perovsky brought me comments on criticism, and quite fair ones. I will send them to Son.
Parodying the comic side of the “interrogation” inflicted on the young poet Zykov, caustically mocking Voeikov’s petty pickiness, Perovsky, at the same time, opposes the very principles of classicist poetics that his literary opponents profess, hinting, among other things, at the unseemly attacks on the exiled poet. He demands for Pushkin, the “young giant”, not only “true”, but also benevolent criticism, thereby emphasizing the high authority of the new poetic genius, in whom, like the “Arzamas”, he sees the hope of Russian literature. “My officials: Voeikov (who also served at that time under Turgenev) and Aleksey Perovsky battlely swear for Pushkin,” A. Turgenev wrote these days to Vyazemsky.
Critical speeches by Alexei Perovsky were highly appreciated by Pushkin himself. Following the controversy from his southern exile and not yet knowing about the authorship of Perovsky, he wrote on December 4, 1820 to N. I. Gnedich: “... the one who took the trouble to answer him (Voyeikov) (gratitude and pride aside), smarter than all of them." Later, in 1828, in the preface to the second edition of Ruslan and Lyudmila, recalling Zykov's "questions", Pushkin called Perovsky's answer to him "witty and funny."
In the same 1820, Alexei Perovsky was elected a member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. By this time, Fyodor Glinka became its head, and the future Decembrists began to play a prominent role in society: K. F. Ryleev, Nikolai and Alexander Bestuzhev, V. Kuchelbecker. This also includes A. Delvig, A. Griboyedov. With many of them, Perovsky gets close personally. In any case, according to the important testimony of I. N. Loboiko, he met some of them at one of the soirées at Perovsky's. One should not, of course, exaggerate the significance and nature of these ties. As A. K. Tolstoy later recalled, the great trust that he had in his uncle was constantly “fettered by the fear of upsetting him, sometimes irritating him and the confidence that he would rebel with all his fervor against some ideas and some aspirations ... I remember , - writes Tolstoy, - how I hid from him the reading of some books, from which I then drew my puritanical principles, for those principles of love of freedom and the Protestant spirit were also contained in the same source, with which he would never reconcile ... ". Of course, Perovsky, a cheerful, sociable and intelligent man, first of all attracted to himself, according to the same Loboiko, "by his good-natured and entertaining manner." And yet, not only this explains his undoubted closeness at that time to the advanced Petersburg circles.
In the spring of 1822, Count A. K. Razumovsky died in Pochep, and already in July Perovsky resigned and settled in his now hereditary village Pogoreltsy. Anna Alekseevna lives with him with her son. Here, in the silence of a Ukrainian village, in solitude, brightened up by the presence of dear people, an excellent library and the refined furnishings of a manor house, the writer Anthony Pogorelsky was born.
For several years, Perovsky almost without a break lives in Pogoreltsy, then in another hereditary estate, Krasny Rog, is engaged in gardening, supplying ship timber to Nikolaev shipyards. At this time, apparently, he wrote his first stories, which later became part of the cycle “Double, or My Evenings in Little Russia”: “Izidora and Anyuta”, “The Harmful Consequences of Unbridled Imagination” and “Lafertovskaya Poppy Flower Pot”. In any case, going to St. Petersburg in January 1825, Perovsky already carries with him the last of these stories, and it appears in the March book of the St. Petersburg magazine A. F. Voeikov "News of Literature". For the same magazine, he also intended "Deadly Consequences ..." (under the original title "Unhappy Love"), but did not publish it and later revised it.
"Lafertovskaya poppy plant", signed by a new literary pseudonym Anthony Pogorelsky (from the Pogoreltsy estate), immediately attracted everyone's attention. The combination of a fantastic tale, told moreover mischievously and naturally, with a richly written life of the Moscow outskirts, was new; The author's impudent neglect of the "sensible" need for a "reasonable" explanation of the miraculous turned out again: the first fantastic story appeared in Russian literature. In Lefortovo, inhabited by small Moscow people, in the wretched house of the retired postman Onufrich, the reader meets with the image of Lafertov's poppy old sorceress, who chooses the postman for her daughter, and her granddaughter, dowry Masha, the groom Aristarkh Falaleevich, who turns out to be the beloved black cat of the grandmother-sorcerer . Having destroyed the witchcraft spell and refusing the unrighteous wealth left by her grandmother, Masha marries the handsome inmate she loves, as if as a reward for the girl who turned out to be a rich heir.
The unusual plot ending and the lack of a chord that would completely resolve the fantastic plan confused, first of all, the publisher of Novosti, the same Voeikov, who supplied the story with his Denouement. He considered it necessary to explain all the details and vicissitudes of a fantastic plot from the point of view of common sense, as well as everyday and psychologically justified realities. “The well-intentioned author of this Russian story probably intended to show here,” Voeikov wrote, “to what extent the frightened imagination, heated up and from childhood by fairy tales about witches, presents all objects in a wrong way.” From the point of view of Voeikov, the old woman’s wealth is nothing more than “a rich tribute from superstitious people” who came to her to guess, a black cat that turned into Mr. Murlykin is the fruit of Masha’s imagination, upset by the “imaginary magic of the poppy seedling”, Murlykin “for his own misfortune was dark-haired, round-faced and wore thick whiskers, etc. The publisher found an excuse for this in the “superstition of the Russian common people, little familiar with enlightenment,” especially since superstition, to indignation, spread even among enlightened Parisians. For the rationalist Voeikov, the tense and ironic romantic fantasy of Lafert's Poppy Plant turns out to be completely incomprehensible, alien and unacceptable. The new way of artistic thinking provokes opposition: in fact, his "publisher's note" was a continuation of the old dispute with Perovsky, which arose five years ago about "Ruslan and Lyudmila". It is no coincidence that when publishing The Double a few years later, Perovsky concludes the Lafertov Poppy Book, which was included there, with a polemical, completely in the spirit of his critical articles, an authorial dialogue filled with mocking irony with the Double, directly addressing the reader to Voeikov’s maxims: “... in vain, however, you haven't added a denouement,” says Double. - “Someone will really think that Granny Machine was a sorceress. - For superstitious people you will not get enough denouement, - I answered. - However, who certainly wants to know the denouement of my story, let him read the Literary News of 1825. There he will find a denouement, composed by the respected publisher of Invalid, which I didn’t tell you because I don’t want to appropriate someone else’s property.
The reaction to Pushkin's story is quite remarkable. “My soul, what a charm grandmother's cat is!” he wrote in admiration to his brother from Mikhailovsky on March 27, 1825. - I re-read the whole story twice and in one breath, now I’m only raving about Tr (ifon) Fal. (eleich) Murlykin. I perform smoothly, closing my eyes, turning my head and arching my back. Pogorelsky is Perovsky, isn't it? "(Pushkin made a reservation, calling the cat Tryphon. In fact, Aristarkh Faleleich). Much later, in The Undertaker, undoubtedly similar in style to Lafertovskaya Poppy Plant, Pushkin would compare his watchman Yurko with the postman Onufrich Pogorelsky.
The nature of fantasy in the story is a fusion of two traditions: folk tales and Hoffmann's motifs. The latter should be mentioned separately. The enthusiasm for Hoffmann's work in Russia in the first half of the 19th century was widespread, and A. Pogorelsky was one of the first to turn to his works as a source of literary devices, motives and plot situations. There is much in the story about Hoffmann. This is an old sorceress who combines her mystical craft with the ordinary trade in honey poppy seeds and paid fortune-telling, moreover, “prophecies about future blessings poured out of her eloquent lips, and visitors, intoxicated with sweet hope, when leaving the house often rewarded her twice as much as when entering ". At the same time, the reader of those years could not help but recall The Golden Pot and Louise Rauerin, who combined witchcraft with the sale of apples, and her black cat, capable, like the old woman’s cat from Lafert’s Poppy Plant, of reincarnation.
Even more important is the similarity of the basic structural principles: in Pogorelsky, like in Hoffmann, the narrative is built on the constant interweaving of the supernatural and the real. However, the artistic originality of the story lies in the use by the author of the so-called folk fiction. We are talking about popular superstitions, prejudices, features of a folk tale and the ideas of a simple person about good and evil, which create an unusual flavor of the story. Humorous features in the guise of a cat-official, the motif of the evil spirit of money, characteristic of the romantics of the "mercantile" era, anticipate the poetics of N.V. Gogol in Pogorelsky.
For example, the story mentions the number "three" several times in connection with the old woman's witchcraft. For the first time, in the story of the revenge of the sorceress to the policeman who wrote the denunciation against her, it is said that she took revenge on him three times: she accidentally slipped and sprained her leg; finally, on top of all the misfortunes, their best cow, without being sick with anything before, suddenly fell. You should pay attention to the last way of revenge: according to popular belief, if domestic animals, especially cows, began to die for no apparent reason, it means that they offended, angered the sorcerer. After all, the cow at that time was the breadwinner, without which a large family cannot survive.
Arriving in St. Petersburg, Perovsky not only enters the literary field and resumes literary ties; he also returns to public service: he was offered the position of trustee of the Kharkov educational district. Perovsky was in charge of not only Kharkov University, but also the Nizhyn Gymnasium of Higher Sciences, where Gogol studied at that time. However, the new official duties did not require his constant presence in Kharkov, and Perovsky again returned to Pogoreltsy, where, by the way, he devotes a lot of time to raising his nephew. A year later, he is again in St. Petersburg, where this time he is going to negotiate with the Minister of Public Education A.S. Shishkov about the disastrous state of the university entrusted to him. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Perovsky was also appointed a member of the Committee for the Arrangement of Educational Institutions and was made a full state councilor. In the same 1826, by order of Nicholas I, Perovsky wrote a note "On Public Education in Russia", which was a review of the report of the trustee of the Kazan educational district, M. L. Magnitsky, known for his reactionary ideas, "On the termination of the teaching of philosophy in all educational institutions." Recall that at the same time, also at the suggestion of Nicholas I, Pushkin also wrote his famous note on public education.
Perovsky spends the autumn of 1826 and the winter of the next year between Petersburg and Moscow; Anna Alekseevna leaves for Moscow with her son, lives here in her second marriage, to General Mayr Denisiev, and the mother of the Perovskys. Maria Sobolevskaya lived in full prosperity, acquired a vast estate on Novaya Basmannaya in Moscow, and although she remained in the middle class, she later became the legal wife of Major General M. Denisyev. It is worth dwelling separately on the history of Basmannaya Street and the mansion of Perovsky's mother.
In modern Moscow, reserved corners have still been preserved, where, it would seem, time has stopped. One of these places is Basmannaya Sloboda. Its origin dates back to the second half of the 16th century, and it is traditionally believed that it got its name from the official bread “basman”, which was baked here and delivered exclusively to the royal table. However, this version seems doubtful. It is unlikely that there were so many bakers in Moscow who made special bread that they formed a whole settlement, and, moreover, a very considerable one (say, in 1679 there were 113 households here). Like other metropolitan settlements (Goncharnaya, Kuznechnaya, Kozhevennaya, etc.), Basmannaya arose on the site of a settlement of artisans, "basmans", who made patterned decorations on metal or leather. Such thin sheets were wrapped around - "basmils" - wooden crosses and rims of icons. “The cross is wooden, upholstered with copper, gilded basma,” says a certain inventory. And the bakers... Well, a certain number of bakers also lived here, and they really made a special kind of bread, marked with a brand. Recall that a message with an extruded seal of the Golden Horde Khan was also called basma. Thus, the development of the word could be as follows: khan's basma, then relief images in general, and finally, state-owned bread with a brand.
The first to form in the settlement was Staraya Basmannaya Street, then Novaya Basmannaya Street appeared. Until the end of the 17th century, both of them were separated by huge (about 4.5 hectares) vegetable gardens of the Ascension Convent located in the Kremlin. The importance of the streets especially increased during the reign of Peter I. The sovereign very often traveled along this road to the German Quarter and Lefortovo. And soldiers and officers of the newly formed regular regiments settled along both Basmanny steels, thanks to which this area at one time was called the Captain's Sloboda. At the same time, the Church of Peter and Paul appeared on Novaya Basmannaya, built by the architect I. Zarudny “according to the royal majesty’s personal decree and according to the drawing given by His Majesty’s own hand.”
By the middle of the 18th century, the social status of the former settlement changed dramatically. It becomes one of the places of residence of the noble aristocracy: the princes Golitsyns, Kurakins, Trubetskoys, counts Golovkins, Shuvalovs, Gudovichs, nobles Naryshkins, Golovins, Lopukhins, Demidovs, Eropkins, Sukhovo-Kobylins ... And to this day, former noble mansions and entire estates, many of which have recently been magnificently restored.
One such mansion (No. 27) rises on Novaya Basmannaya Street next to the former Basmannaya police station with a fire tower and not far from the famous Razgulay Square. The house is wooden, on a high foundation (as early as the 18th century); in the mezzanine there are elongated 8-glass windows, behind them there is a suite of front rooms. Above is a mezzanine with five windows under a triangular pediment. The center of the building is highlighted by a pilaster portico and modestly decorated with moldings.
The mansion was rebuilt after a fire in 1812, when Admiral N. S. Mordvinov, a prominent economist and supporter of liberal reforms, owned this site. He was the only one who did not sign the death warrant for five Decembrists in 1826. For some time this house was rented by the writer N. M. Karamzin. After Mordvinov, the mansion on Novaya Basmannaya passed to the new owner, and since then it has been called the "Perovskaya house" or "Denisiev's house". Thus, this Moscow mansion received a double and even triple name in everyday life. The Basmanny house was constantly full of people, the numerous Perovskaya relatives. So, the artist Lev Zhemchuzhnikov wrote: “I remembered the past: my childhood and mother, rooms, dressing table, courtyard and garden, surrounded by a fence, tower. The house, built of pine beams of horse-drawn wood, stood uncovered ... The estate was spacious; a crane walked in a large yard and a horse with tangled legs grazed; there was a pond in the garden. Since the 1860s, most of the buildings on Novaya Basmannaya passed from the nobility to the merchants. The same fate befell the possession of Perovskaya-Denis'eva. After the death of Vasily Alekseevich Perovsky (1857), large textile merchants Alekseevs became the owners of the estate. One of them is S. Alekseev wanted to build large shopping arcades here. However, on this quiet street, they would look out of place. Meanwhile, the maintenance of such an extensive area became unprofitable, and at the end of the 19th century, the son of S. Alekseev divided it into nine parts, which he sold, leaving only a small plot with a house.
In the future, the owners of the old building on Basmannaya changed many times, at one time there were even communal apartments and a kerosene shop in it. Well, now there is a commercial bank "Lights of Moscow".
So let's get back to our hero. In 1826, he resumed his acquaintance with Pushkin, who had returned from exile. With the onset of spring, Perovsky with his sister and nephew leave for Germany for almost six months. In Weimar they visit Goethe - A. K. Tolstoy later described this memorable visit in his autobiographical notes. Upon Perovsky's return from Germany in 1828, his first book, The Double, or My Evenings in Little Russia, was published. The Prussian Invalid (1828, part 83) commented sympathetically on the book, noting that “not many stories are so entertaining, so witty. Not many are told and associated with such art." The Northern Bee wrote: “The author skillfully took advantage of various beliefs, dark rumors and superstitious stories about unrealizable incidents and conveyed them to us even more skillfully, being able to arouse curiosity and maintain it until the very end” (SPCH. 1828. No. 38).
A cycle of stories - four short stories, united by a dialogic frame, the very nature and plots of the inserted stories, the content of the author's conversations with the Double - all this immediately addressed critics to the traditions of Western European romanticism, primarily to L. Tieck and Hoffmann with his No. Serapion brothers. In the future, the compositional construction of the "Double" - the first such experiment on Russian soil - became one of the favorite techniques of Russian romantics, having been continued and developed in such, for example, outstanding monuments of romanticism literature as "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" or "Russian Nights " V. F. Odoevsky or "Evenings on Khoper" M. N. Zagoskin. However, unlike Gogol and Odoevsky, whose narration is led by four heroes who spend time in extensive philosophical disputes and recreate an external, “philosophical” picture of the world, Pogorelsky’s two “leaders” are in fact the same person, one human consciousness, inside which rational-enlightenment and romantic beginnings oppose. It is no coincidence that in describing the appearance of the Double, Pogorelsky gives his exact self-portrait. This one, as well as other light and elegant autobiographical "medallions" in the cycle, once again involuntarily remind of a predilection for literary mystification. Both the “open” autobiographical beginning, depicting his own estate, and elegiac reflections on happiness, plot and figuratively resonating with the poetic message “Friend of my youth”, also, undoubtedly, having a purely personal character - all this to some extent exposes the writer in Pogorelsky a special kind, not alien to that degree of high artistic dilettantism, in which vital, situational or artistic stimuli play by no means the last role. Perhaps this feature of the writer's creative individuality will help us to some extent understand the fundamental features of his "Double".
Pogorelsky's book, born in the atmosphere of romanticism asserting itself in Russian literature, fully reflected this "scrapping" of directions, the movement of the writer - a sentimentalist of Karamzin orientation, who also shared educational ideas, towards a new artistic worldview. Pogorelsky's "doubleness" itself is a psychological duality of consciousness of precisely this kind. The author and the Double are talking about "newfangled" objects - premonitions, predictions, ghosts, magnetic force, and their discussion fluctuates all the time between two extreme points: a keen interest in these topics and attempts to rationally explain them. It is no coincidence that in these debates the Double's lengthy discourse on the properties of the human mind, which goes back to the philosophy of the materialist Helvetius, finds its place. These tendencies of “rational” fantasy, which differ precisely in their “rationality” from Western romantic models and were first formulated in the most elementary, and sometimes naive forms by Pogorelsky in The Double, were picked up and developed later in Russian romantic prose, and most fully in . Odoevsky. It was on this principle that the Russian fantasy story developed mainly. These features just give the “key” to reading the very diverse inserted short stories of the “Double”, each of which goes back to a specific literary source.
The first short story - "Izidor Anyuta" - directly addresses us to Karamzin's "Sensitive" story. Pogorelsky fully pays tribute to her and at the same time shakes her foundations. The romantic intensity of the action, unusual for this genre, the “mysterious” tragic ending, along with these excellent pictures of Moscow devastated by Napoleon, are all already obvious symptoms of a violation of the “purity” of the genre.
The second short story - "The Disastrous Consequences of Unbridled Imagination" - is also devoted to the story of unhappy love (as it was originally called), but it is told in a completely different way. In critical literature, beginning with lifetime responses, this story has been associated more than once with good reason with the name of Hoffmann. However, this observation is valid only up to certain limits. In fact, Pogorelsky so openly, in places almost verbatim repeats the plot collision of Hoffmann's The Sandman, that one cannot but see in this the conscious intention of the device. Here, just like in Hoffmann, the young man falls in love with a doll, his same tragic insight, madness and end. Nevertheless, the difference between the two works is very significant. Pogorelsky destroys the closed existence of Hoffmann's heroes in the world of dreams and poetry, in the world of half-sleep-half-awake, and unexpectedly translates the tonality of the narrative into a different, social and didactic register. It is true that the Russian "Hoffmanniana" began with Pogorelsky, for this is the first appeal of a Russian writer to Hoffmann, but it is also true that a special tradition of mastering the work of the great German romantic in Russia began with Pogorelsky. It is precisely along the path of introducing socio-didactic motives that the passionate admirer of the German writer N. A. Polevoy will go in his "Hoffmann" fantastic stories; the largest Russian romantic science fiction writer Odoevsky will interpret it in the same way - in particular, the motif of the “puppetry” of secular society will be repeated by him in “The Tale of How Dangerous It Is for Girls to Walk in a Crowd along Nevsky Prospekt”, in “The Same Tale, only twisted ”, included in the cycle of “Motley Tales” (1833).
As for the third short story of the "Double" - "Lafert's poppy flower", its "conditional plausibility", oriented towards the folklore element, turned out to be the most perfect and convincing in artistic terms: the story invariably stood out in the cycle as the most successful. As we remember, this part was released separately three years earlier.
The last story of the "Double" - "A journey in a stagecoach" - was also the fruit of literary impressions. It was a kind of response to the fashionable story of the French writer and scientist Puzhan "Zhoko, an anecdote extracted from unpublished letters about the instinct of animals" (1824). The interest of the writer, a naturalist by education, in such topics is quite understandable. However, it is curious that Pogorelsky, starting from the plot collision of Puzhan's works, creates his own - polemical - version of the story about Zhoko. The melodramatic version of the primary source - the story of the love of a female orangutan with a man - he contrasts the Rousseau story about the maternal attachment of a monkey to a kidnapped child. True, Pogorelsky cannot do without some melodramatic intensity of passions - his hero himself kills his teacher Tuta, but this does not in the least reduce the polemical pathos of the Russian version. If we take into account that the translation of Puzhan's story appeared in the Moscow Telegraph in 1825, and in 1828 the melodrama written on its basis by Gabriel and E. Rochefort (Russian translation by R. M. Zotov) went on the Moscow stage, concluded in the last In the short story "Double", the hidden meaning becomes especially clear.
Pogorelsky's book did not have a wide readership and, in general, remained not fully understood. Even S.P. Shevyryov, who knew German romantic literature well, in particular Hoffmann, saw in the short stories about the doll and the monkey only “an extreme of wayward and even unbridled fantasy that transcended the boundaries of any possibility” (Moskovsky Vestnik, 1828, part 10, No. 14 ). However, in the responses to the "Double", everyone unanimously noted the beautiful, light and "tempting" style as a rare virtue in modern literature. The skill of an excellent oral storyteller, which Pogorelsky admired more than once, was fully reflected in his writing style. Vyazemsky later wrote that he "transfers himself very well in his style." One way or another, the "Double" remained not only a monument to the era of the literary "turnover", it was also a "visionary" book in its own way, because Pogorelsky's subtle literary instinct helped him accurately capture and outline a number of important trends developed by the literature of romanticism, and then found the most its perfect expression in Dostoevsky.
The following year, in 1829, two more “magical” works by Pogorelsky were published: the short story “The Magician’s Visitor” (according to the author’s note, translated from English) in the Butterfly magazine, with the legend of Ahasuerus, popular in Europe, and the children’s fairy tale “The Black Hen, or Underground inhabitants”, written by Pogorelsky, most likely for his nephew. Apparently, at the end of 1828, Zhukovsky wrote to Delvig, who published the almanac "Northern Flowers": "Perovsky has an amusing and, in my opinion, wonderful children's fairy tale" The Black Hen ". I have her. Get it for yourself." However, the tale came out as a separate edition, and it, which immediately won the hearts of readers, was destined to have a long life. Approving reviews about her were placed by some magazines, for example, the Moscow Telegraph (1829, Part XXV. No. 2).
A carriage rides along the cold streets of winter Petersburg. Her passenger - a gray-haired man with surprisingly kind and somehow childlike eyes - thought deeply. He thinks about the boy he is going to visit. This is his nephew, little Alyosha. After all, the passenger himself is also called Alyosha-Aleksey Alekseevich Perovsky. Perovsky thinks about how lonely his little friend is, whom his parents sent to a closed boarding school and rarely even visit. Only his uncle often goes to Alyosha, because he is very attached to the boy and also because he remembers well his loneliness in the same boarding school many years ago. Alexey Perovsky was the son of the nobleman Count Razumovsky, who owned countless land and fifty-three thousand serfs. The son of such a person could almost be a prince, but Alyosha was illegitimate. Only when he became an adult, the father decided to recognize his son. Count Razumovsky loved Alexei. But he was a hot-tempered man, capable of terrible outbursts of anger. And in one of these evil moments, he sent his son to a closed boarding school. How lonely Alyosha was in the cold state-owned rooms! He was very homesick and one day he decided to run away from the boarding house. The memory of the escape remained for the rest of his life lameness: Alyosha fell from the fence and injured his leg. Then Alyosha grew up. He fought against Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812 - even his lameness did not prevent him from being a brave military officer. Once Alyosha, the little one, told his uncle about one incident: how, while walking in the boarding house yard, he made friends with a chicken, how he saved her from the cook, who wanted to make broth out of her. And then this real case turned under the pen of Perovsky into a fairy tale, kind and wise. A fairy tale that taught the boy honesty and courage.
The author defined its genre as a fairy tale for children. The tale is charming in its unsophisticated instructiveness and the brightness of a naive fiction about a wonderful bird helping a kind and honest boy - and leaving him when he has become a frivolous and vain sloth. It truly depicts the life of old St. Petersburg, convincingly reveals the inner world of a child who became the main character of the work for the first time in Russian literature after the Knight of Our Time N.M. Subsequently, the tale was especially loved by Leo Tolstoy, entered the golden fund of Russian children's literature, withstanding dozens of reprints in many languages of the world. Its content is not limited to arguments that only what is obtained by labor is reliable, that it is not good to betray comrades and that it is terrible to commit irreparable acts. Firstly, Pogorelsky happily invented one of the most elegant literary plots. Secondly, now one can be surprised as much as one likes that he spoke so clearly and wisely about the almost imperceptible movements of the soul of a non-adult person: at that time, there were still 26 years before the appearance of L. N. Tolstoy’s Childhood, N. G. Garin-Mikhailovsky - 66, and "Childhood Luvers" by B. L. Pasternak - 96. If "The Double" is a collection of the first Russian science fiction stories, then "The Black Hen" is the first Russian author's fairy tale in prose for children.
In the same 1829, Perovsky was elected a member of the Russian Academy. He is in St. Petersburg, and the environment of his communication here is Pushkin's. With the poet himself, he is on short friendly terms and on “you”. According to Vyazemsky's memoirs, it is known, for example, that several years earlier Pushkin had read his "Boris Godunov" in Perovsky's house in St. Petersburg. At this time, he is approaching Delvig, and the editors of the Literaturnaya Gazeta, which is being prepared for publication, see him as a desired author. Perovsky enters great literature as a writer of the Pushkin circle.
From January 1830, the Literaturnaya Gazeta began to appear, and in its very first issues an excerpt from Pogorelsky's new novel The Magnetizer (which, however, had no continuation) appeared, where the “mysterious ". It seemed that Pogorelsky was clearly strengthening his reputation as a “fantastic” writer, but a month later the same “Literaturnaya Gazeta” announced another major work of his, in a completely different way, from the life of Maolorossia, in which “liveness of pictures, fidelity of descriptions, happily grasped traits of Little Russian morals and a beautiful style. It was about the most significant creation of Pogorelsky - the novel "Monastyrka".
His appearance had a certain prehistory, which explains the special intensity of passions in the controversy widely unfolded around him. The fact is that shortly before this, at the end of 1829, F.V. Bulgarin's novel "Ivan Vyzhigin" appeared on the book shelves. Written, like The Monastyrka, in the genre of a "moral descriptive novel," however, with its protective ideas, pseudo-historicity and pseudo-life writing, it aroused sharp opposition in progressive circles. Nevertheless, there was nothing to oppose him, and the readership success of Vyzhigin turned out to be enormous. The sharp rejection of Bulgarin's work by Pushkin's circle was both a consequence and a continuation of a sharp ideological and literary struggle. The story of the inexperienced pupil of the Smolny Monastery Anyuta, which appeared from the pen of Pogorelsky, was told simply, sincerely and not without psychological authenticity, convincing in its reality, correctly grasped the life of Ukraine - all this favorably distinguished his new novel from "Ivan Vyzhigin". Not alien to some sentimentality and artificiality of the plot, Romanian revealed the inner logic of the characters, and the pictures of life and customs acquired in him the power of life's truth. “Here is a real and probably our first novel of morals,” Vyazemsky wrote, introducing the reader to the first volume of “Monastery” and the heroes of the novel: Anyuta - “the prototype of all the sweet, simple-hearted, frank monasteries, past, present and future”; Klim Sidorovich Dyundik - “an original face, marked by sharp and funny features and suitable for studying morality”; Marfa Petrovna, “who is a woman of her own mind and, contrary to spiritual guidance, is not at all afraid of her husband, but on the contrary keeps him in a tight grip,” her two daughters, who “learned French from the book“ Jardin de Paradis pour lecon des enfants ... ”. In all these faces, not excluding “Marfa Petrovna’s nephew, Mr. Pryzhkov, nee Pryzhko,” who took it into his head to trade at the Romny fair with the fun of Parisian naughty people, Vyazemsky found that accuracy of psychological and everyday characteristics that makes them really recognizable figures of the provincial landowner environment. this, according to Vyazemsky, distinguished the “Monastyrka” from Bulgarin’s moral descriptions, which do not find direct correspondences in society and transfer ready-made schemes borrowed from foreign literatures to Russian life. The formula "the first novel of manners" was polemical in this respect; she contrasted the “Monastyrka” with both Bulgarin and Narezhny, who had only chronological superiority over Pogorelsky. “Narezhny was Tenier, and also the Russian Tenier of the novel.<...>Narezhny's novels douse us with varenukha, and wherever the author takes us, it seems you can't leave his tavern. The characters in the new novel will take on completely different characters. This review quite accurately captures the literary features of the Monastyrka: the everyday sphere, freed from insignificant, random features, taken in its characteristic manifestations, and, on the other hand, cleared of the naturalistic, “low”, “rude”. Let's say right away that this was both the strength and the weakness of "Monastyrka" in comparison with the mentioned novels of Narezhny, whose everyday life is brighter, bolder and freer. The "monastery" also largely depends on the sentimental and romantic tradition, which kept the idea of the domestic sphere as "low", requiring "purification". Pogorelsky's novel, of course, is not a realistic novel; it also contains traditionally romantic situations and faces: such, for example, is the noble gypsy Vasily, with whom a whole storyline is connected. But it was a significant step forward in comparison with the "moral-satirical" novel, and besides, Vyazemsky correctly noted that "his language and style" completely met the "requirements of nature and art." It was also an arrow shot at Bulgarin: he was accused precisely of the absence of a "syllable", of the lifeless correctness of literary speech.
To characterize the attitude towards the "Monastyrka" in Pushkin's circle, it is not without interest to recall the recognition of Baratynsky, a subtle connoisseur of literary style. After reading "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", he wrote: "I attributed them to Perovsky, although I did not recognize him at all."
Vyazemsky's article appeared in Literaturnaya Gazeta and sounded like a battle signal. Bulgarin had to answer and defend his principles of didactic description of life. Even before the release of Pogorelsky's novel, he was prejudiced against the author. On June 25, 1830, he wrote a complaint to the chief of the gendarmes, Benckendorff: “I am driven and persecuted by strong people at the court now: Zhukovsky and Alexei Perovsky, precisely because I do not want to be an instrument of any party.” One way or another, Bulgarin does not dare to openly attack the "strong at court" dignitary and "strong" literary competitor; in his "Northern Bee" (Nos. 32-37) he crowns the author of "The Monastery" with roses, which, however, had rather sharp thorns. Starting the article literally with the same assurances of his “non-Party” as in the letter to Benckedorff, Bulgarin regards The Monastery as a novel “more humorous than satirical”, one of those “nice” works in which “one should not look for any great truths, no strong characters, no sharp scenes, no poetic impulses”, which presents “ordinary cases of life, characters, it seems familiar, reasoning heard daily, but all this is so nicely put together, so skillfully distributed, so vividly drawn that the reader is involuntarily carried away ... ”In these forced praises, the remark about the “ordinary” of persons and life situations is very important, - it is this reproach, as you know, that A. Bestuzhev addressed to “Eugene Onegin”, and it is this “ordinary” that is unacceptable for a romantic aesthetics, opened new paths for Russian literature.
Along with dubious praise and recognition of the impeccability of the literary style, Bulgarin addresses a number of polemical attacks both directly to Pogorelsky and to the author of the article in Literaturnaya Gazeta; thus, he resolutely disagreed that The Monastyrka was "the only Russian novel that depicts mores in its present form." Bulgarin did not do without rather rude attacks of a personal nature.
Pushkin's group of writers continued their offensive. In the almanac "Northern Flowers for 1831", in the "Review of Russian literature for the second half of 1829 and the first half of 1830", Orest Somov already analyzes the works of Pogorelsky and Bulgarin side by side. Accusing the latter of anachronism and a complete misunderstanding of the "general character of the Russian people", believing that "Bulgarin writes like a foreigner who comprehended the mechanism of the Russian language", the critic, on the contrary, sees in Pogorelsky's novel essays of characters "grasped from nature itself" , and as a connoisseur of Little Russia "gives all justice to the author's observation and accuracy", the psychological and ethnographic fidelity of the novel.
Moscow magazines, keeping aloof from the St. Petersburg literary fights, greeted the Monastyrka with more restraint. Unanimously sharing the opinion about the skill of Pogorelsky as a storyteller, they nevertheless assessed The Monastery as an imitative novel. According to the critic of the Moscow Telegraph (part 32, no. 5), this is nothing more than “a pleasant description of family intrigues”, in which one should not look for “neither passions, nor thoughts, nor deep meanings.” The critic attributed the "immoderate" praise of the Literaturnaya Gazeta to the writer's personal friendships. The opinion of the Moscow Telegraph was fully shared by another magazine, Atheney (part 2, no. 7). Bulgarin's definition of "Monastyrka" as "Darling", an unpretentious novel, found sympathy and support among Muscovites; they did not miss the opportunity to offend the "literary aristocrats", which they considered the Pushkin-Delvigov circle and, of course, Pogorelsky was also reckoned with.
However, sharp and essentially "party" disputes did not prevent the novel's resounding success. They were read to in the capitals and in the provinces, and interest in its continuation did not wane for several years. Pogorelsky made himself wait quite a long time. But when, three years later, the second part of The Monastery finally came out, its appearance was perceived as a notable event not only in narrow literary circles: by that time the novel had gained a wide readership.
Critical responses to the already completed novel turned out to be calmer in tone and were not so clearly marked by the boiling of passions. The same Moscow Telegraph this time wrote that the "amusingness" of this "not lofty, not brilliant, but extremely pleasant, sweet" work "is so natural, so simple and consequently close to everyone that the author's art is almost imperceptible - and this is hardly if not more art. "This is a clear, simple story from an intelligent, educated man." Another Moscow publication, Molva, reminding readers, not without malice, of the “loud splash of a friendly newspaper” when the first part of the novel appeared, nonetheless spoke of The Monastyrka as a “pleasant literary phenomenon”.
Two decades later, already after the death of the writer, responding to the publication of a two-volume edition of his works, N. G. Chernyshevsky called the “Monastyrka” a “very remarkable phenomenon” for his time. According to him, unlike N. Polevoy or Marlinsky, Pogorelsky described not “passions”, but “mores”, and therefore their success, like the success of Zagoskin’s novels, “could not harm The Double” and “Monastyrka”; besides, the works of Pogorelsky, who, in his opinion, possessed a remarkable talent for storytelling, are "in a fictional sense incomparably higher than all these novels." This calm and objective assessment, which confirmed the view of the "monastery" of the Pushkin circle, was fully justified by time: throughout the 19th century, "The Monastery" remained one of the most widely read novels and even gave rise to literary imitations. From the point of view of literary history, this novel, still imperfect in many respects, was nevertheless the forerunner of that "family" realistic novel, which received further brilliant development in Russian literature right up to the novels of Leo Tolstoy.
"Monastery" was the last work of Anthony Pogorelsky. In the interval between its two parts, in 1830, in the Literary Gazette, his jokingly philosophical message to Baron Humboldt, “A new litigation about the letter Ъ”, was still printed. The writer's name did not appear on the pages of the press again.
Pogorelsky's official activity, which proceeded very successfully, did not bring satisfaction in the conditions of an ever-increasing public reaction and ended with his resignation in 1830. He also left the literary field and devoted himself entirely to raising his nephew. Using his full power of attorney and love, he carefully and seriously follows the first, still childhood, literary experiences of the future poet, gradually forms his literary taste, accustoms him to creative exactingness. Perovsky's letters to him are filled with literary advice. Very eloquent, for example, is the well-known case when Perovsky, apparently yielding to the author’s impatient desire, published his poem in one of the periodicals, placing strict criticism of it next to him in order to point out to the young writer the prematureness of his desire to publish his works. He introduces Perovsky's nephew into his literary circle, shows his experiments to Zhukovsky and Pushkin, whom Tolstoy met as a boy in his uncle's house.
In 1831, Perovsky set off with his pupil and sister on a trip to Italy. A great connoisseur and connoisseur of art, he reveals the world of old Italian masters to the future poet and, in a certain sense, his successor, and makes a number of significant acquisitions there for his art collection. In Rome, they met with Karl Bryullov, and Perovsky agreed that he would certainly paint portraits of all three. The promised one had to wait 4 years. And in December 1835, just before Christmas, a famous painter arrived in the ancient Russian capital. Moscow lay in the way of his triumphant return from Italy to St. Petersburg, where the entire educated society had been enthusiastically speaking about Bryullov's painting The Last Day of Pompeii for several months. At first, Karl Pavlovich stayed at a hotel on Tverskaya Street. In Moscow, the artist was reminded of his promise, promised a generous reward, but Perovsky, knowing about the capricious disposition of the "Great Charles", his inconstancy and intemperance, moved him from the hotel to his mother's house on Novaya Basmannaya and set the condition that until the end of the portraits the artist was in the house, did not take orders from outside. Bryullov first drew a young Alexei Tolstoy in a hunting suit and accompanied by a dog. This work of the master immediately received unequivocal recognition and is now an adornment of the collection of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Then Karl Pavlovich set about the portrait of Perovsky, but soon lost interest in work and began to disappear from the house. This is understandable: Bryullov always loved noisy companies, and in Belokamennaya he was constantly surrounded by people of art - Pushkin, artists V. Tropinin and E. Makovsky, sculptor I. Vitali, composer A. Verstovsky and others. Perovsky, learning about Bryullov's constant absences, aggravated courtesy, but then somehow could not stand it and "very gently read the father's instruction." This annoyed the painter so much that he somehow finished the portrait and fled the house without taking his suitcases and without starting the portrait of Anna Perovskaya-Tolstoy. Alexander Pushkin visited Perovsky in his Moscow apartment shortly before the death of the writer and in May 1836 he wrote with vivacity about this to his wife: “I really want to bring Bryullov to St. Petersburg. And he is a real artist, a kind fellow and ready for anything. Here Perovsky filled it in: he moved it to his place, locked it on a turnkey basis and forced him to work. Bryullov ran away from him by force.<...>I visited Perovsky, who showed me the unfinished paintings of Bryulov. Bryulov, who was in his captivity, ran away from him and quarreled with him. Perovsky showed me the Capture of Rome by Genzerik (which is worth the Last Day of Pompeii), saying: "Notice how beautifully this scoundrel painted this horseman, such a swindler."
Upon returning to Russia in 1831, Perovsky lives either in Pogoreltsy or in one of the capitals, almost without parting with his relatives, who actually replaced his family. At the same time, old friendships are maintained. His name during these years flashes more than once on the pages of Pushkin's letters.
In 1836, Perovsky's "chest disease" (obviously, tuberculosis) worsened, and at the beginning of summer, accompanied by Anna Alekseevna and his nephew, he went to Nice for treatment. But on the way there in Warsaw on July 9 (21), Aleksey Perovsky finds a sudden and imminent end.
Bibliography (fiction and first editions only)
- 1828 - Double, or My Evenings in Little Russia. Story cycle:
- Isidore and Anyuta
- The Harmful Consequences of Unbridled Imagination
- Lafertovskaya poppy plant
- Stagecoach travel
Pogorelsky was repeatedly republished both before the revolution and in the Soviet and post-perestroika times. A detailed bibliography can be found on Vitaliy Karatsupa's website "Fiction Archive".
Materials used in the preparation of the text:
- M. A. Turyan "The life and work of Anthony Pogorelsky"
- A. Aliev "Nest of Nobles (about the Pogorelovs)"
- S. Malaya "Pogorelsky Anthony"
- Russian Biographical Dictionary
- Literary encyclopedia in 11 volumes, 1929-1939
- Encyclopedia Around the World
- Anthony Pogorelsky - Biography. Website www. pogorelskiy. org. en
- Science fiction archive. archivesf. people. ru, article by Vitaly Karatsupa "Pogorelsky Anthony"
- R. V. Jezuitov "Russian fantastic prose of the era of romanticism"
- E. Pilyugina "The nature of the fantastic in A. Pogorelsky's story "Lafertovskaya poppy seed house"".
- Children's fairy tale magazine "Read it," article "Author of the" Black Hen "".
