Shmelev Ivan Sergeevich biography personal life. The book that brought disappointment

Ivan Shmelev. Biography of Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev(September 21, 1873 - June 24, 1950) - the greatest Russian writer. In his works, a unique world of a simple Russian person, a believing Christian, is revealed, whose whole life is imbued with the gospel spirit, warmed by a childish, simple and deep faith.

The writer was born in the Kadashevskaya settlement of Zamoskvorechye. The writer's father was from the merchant class. Sergei Ivanovich performed the work of a contractor, owned a large carpentry artel, and kept bathhouses. The family was patriarchal, religious. The boy lost his father at the age of seven, and it is his writer Shmelev who will so often mention in his works.

After graduating from high school, in 1894 Shmelev entered the law faculty of Moscow University. Shmelev's first story "At the Mill" appeared in the magazine " Russian review» in 1895. In October 1895, together with his young wife Olga Alexandrovna, Shmelev went to Honeymoon to Valaam. After the trip, Shmelev will write a book of essays "On the rocks of Valaam." By order of the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, K. Pobedonostsev, the book was detained by censors. After the publication in 1897 of a significantly revised work and an unsuccessful sale, Shmelev for some time did not dare to write books again. However, before their first honeymoon, Shmelev and his wife visited Elder Barnabas of Gethsemane. And he blessed the writer, foreseeing the future creative work of Ivan Sergeevich, which would become the work of his life.

After graduating from university in 1898, he military service, later served for several years as an official. Having received his resignation in 1907, Shmelev began to live in Moscow.

Particularly popular were his works written in 1906-1907. after the events of the first Russian revolution (“In a hurry”, “Disintegration”, “Wahmister”). He has been published in magazines Russian wealth”, “Russian Thought”, in the collections of the publishing house “Knowledge”, organized by M. Gorky. In 1911, he wrote one of his brightest works - "The Man from the Restaurant", which was a significant success. Critics compared this success with the debut of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky.

In 1912, Shmelev became a contributor to a new publishing house, the Book Publishing House of Writers in Moscow (I. Bunin, B. Zaitsev, V. Veresaev were also members there). It was in it that a collection of his works was published in eight volumes.

During World War I, Shmelev wrote a collection of short stories, Harsh Days.

Shmelev accepted February revolution enthusiastically, but by the time the October war began, he showed true intransigence. The confusion of the writer, which also overwhelmed him in those days, is seen in the story "The Inexhaustible Chalice". At the same time, a cycle of seven fairy tales and the story “Alien Blood” (1918-1923) written on the material of the First World War were created.

In the autumn of 1918 he leaves for Alushta. His son Sergei returned from Denikin's Volunteer Army in 1920 and was treated for tuberculosis at the Feodosia hospital. In November 1920, he was arrested by the Chekists and the sick young man spent about three months in stuffy prison cellars. In January 1921, he was shot without trial or investigation. For a long time Shmelev did not know about what had happened and hoped for the best, but in 1922 one person witnessed the death of the writer's son.

The events of this time were reflected in the autobiographical story " sun of the dead"(1923). At the end of 1922, Shmelev and his wife Olga Alexandrovna left for Berlin, from where he moved to Paris two months later. Abroad, he is often published, one after another his works are published (more than twenty books in total). The writer has a loyal reader - the believing Russian emigration. In his works, through the description of the holidays of the Russian Orthodox Church, the joyful moments of Russian nature and Moscow antiquity, the reader is introduced to Russian spirituality.

However, the writer lived the poorest among the Russian emigration - the family often did not have enough money for heating, new clothes. Ivan Sergeevich did not know how and did not want to curry favor with wealthy publishers, did not look for patrons.

In 1934, the writer fell ill with a severe form of gastric disease, he had to be operated on, which he could not decide on. On the very day when the doctor said that the operation would not be needed, Ivan Sergeevich dreamed of x-ray images and on them the words: “St. Seraphim. Shmelev believed that it was the Monk Seraphim of Sarov who helped him recover. After that, the writer will write the essay “Grace Reverend Seraphim» (1935). The experience of a miracle was reflected in many of the writer's works.

After the death of his wife in 1936, Shmelev visited the Pskov-Caves Monastery, which was then on the territory of Estonia. The writer himself died of a heart attack while visiting the monastery of the Intercession of the Mother of God of Bussy-en-Otte (140 km from Paris) in order to take a blessing to continue working on the book “The Ways of Heaven”. In May 2001, at the initiative of the Russian public, the spouses were reburied in the necropolis of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.

Fascinating novels, novels and stories of Ivan Sergeevich fell in love with the modern reader. Publishing house "Russian Palomnik" with big love refers to the work of the writer and tries to offer you the best of his creations.

I. S. Shmelev is a Russian writer who reflected in his work the life of all strata of society, but especially sympathetically - the life of a “little man”.

Childhood

The future writer Ivan Shmelev was born on 21.09. 1873 in the family of Zamoskvoretsky merchants. Trade, however, was of little interest to his father, he maintained an artel of carpenters and numerous baths, which he was pleased with. The family was Old Believer with a peculiar democratic way of life. The Old Believers, both owners and workers, lived in a friendly community, observed the same rules for all, moral and spiritual principles. In an atmosphere of friendliness and universal consent, the boy grew up, absorbing the best in human relations. This life was reflected years later in the works of the writer Shmelev.

Education

Ivan was mainly educated at home by his mother, she taught him to read a lot, so from childhood he got acquainted with the work of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Gogol, Turgenev and other prominent Russian writers, the study of which continued throughout his subsequent life. Later, Shmelev studied at the gymnasium, where he continued to deepen his literary knowledge, enthusiastically reading the books of Korolenko, Melnikov-Pechsky, Uspensky, which became in a certain sense his literary idols. But at the same time, of course, Pushkin's influence on the formation of the future writer did not stop. This is evidenced by his later works: "The Secret of Pushkin", "The Treasured Meeting", "The Eternal Ideal".

The beginning of creativity

Shmelev made his debut in the Russkoye Obozreniye magazine in 1895 with the story “At the Mill”, which touched on the subject of personality formation, the path to creativity through life overcoming and understanding the characters and destinies of ordinary people.

"Unsuccessful" book

After the marriage, Shmelev and his young wife went to the island of Valaam, the land of ancient hermitages and monasteries. The result of a fascinating journey was a book called “On the rocks of Valaam. Beyond the world. Travel essays. The publication of the book brought many disappointments to the novice author. The fact is that the chief prosecutor of His Holiness the Pobedonostsev, through whom the book about the holy places was supposed to pass, found seditious reasoning in it.

As a result, Shmelev was forced to redo and shorten the text of the work, depriving it of the author's "zest". Such violence simply unsettled the young writer, and he decided that literary creativity was not his path. In fact, he hadn't written in almost ten years. But he had to support his family. So, you need to look for another source of income.

Legal profession

Shmelev entered Moscow University in order to master the profession of a lawyer. Since then, much has changed, and most importantly - his environment. A generation of new intelligentsia grew up here. Communication with smart people educated people developed and enriched personality, creative potential. After graduating from the university (1898), he worked for some time in Moscow in a small position as an assistant attorney, then moved to and worked there as a tax inspector. As a creative person, he also found his advantages in this routine work: during endless trips around the province, spending the night in crowded inns, and often wherever he had to, he drew impressions and life experience, accumulating ideas for his future books.

Return to creativity

In 1905 Shmelev returned to writing again. He has published in magazines Children's reading”, “Russian thought2. These were small works, timid tests, testing oneself in the writing field. Finally, the doubts disappeared. Shmelev finally established himself in his choice and left the service. He again came to the capital, having decided to start a new stage of his literary activity (1907).

Small prose

This is where the past experience of communicating with people came in handy while traveling through the cities and villages of the Vladimir province. Even then he understood that some kind of new power, there are protest moods, readiness for revolutionary changes. These observations are reflected in small prose Shmelev.

In 1906, his story "The Decay" was published, which tells the story of the relationship between father and son. The father is the owner of a brick factory, accustomed to working the old fashioned way and not wanting any changes. The son, on the contrary, strives for change, is full of new ideas. As a result, there is a conflict of two generations within the family. Circumstances lead to the death of both. And yet, the tragic ending does not inspire feelings of hopelessness and pessimism.

The next story "The Man from the Restaurant" became, as it were, calling card Shmelev as a writer (1910). The theme of fathers and children was also raised in it, and events are developing against the backdrop of stormy revolutionary sentiments in society. But not public problems became the focus of the writer's attention, and the eternal problem of human relations, life choices.

During Shmelev and his wife moved to the Kaluga estate. Here he made a new discovery for himself. It turns out that war disfigures a person not only physically, but also morally. The hero of the story "The Turn of Life" is a carpenter, and during the war his affairs improved markedly due to orders for coffins and crosses.

At first, the influx of profits amused the master, but over time, the understanding came to him that money earned on the grief of people does not bring happiness. Soon Shmelev's son Sergei went to the front. He served in the army of Wrangel, in the Alushta commandant's office. When the Reds took Alushta, he had already fled. So Sergei Shmelev was captured. The father did his best to save his son, but in vain. They shot him. For parents, this was a hard blow.

Emigration

Having survived the famine of 1921, Shmelev decided to emigrate. First, he and his wife settled in Berlin (1922), and then, at the invitation of I. A. Bunin, they moved to Paris (1923), where they lived until the end of their lives. The years of emigration are a new stage not only life history Shmelev, but also his creative biography. It was there that the epic novel "The Sun of the Dead" was written, which was translated into French, German, English and other languages.

This book was a discovery not only in Russian, but also in world literature. It traced an attempt at an honest look at the essence of the tragedy that befell our society. Next novel"Summer of the Lord" written by Shmelev based on impressions recent years held in Russia. In pictures Orthodox holidays the writer reveals the soul of the common people.

The novel "Nanny from Moscow" tells about the fate of an ordinary woman who, by the will of circumstances, ended up in Paris. The style of the book is in soft, sympathetic tones with notes light irony. At the same time, the reader feels copyright to what is happening great sorrow and pain. Shmelev worked on the novel Heavenly Ways and almost finished it when his beloved wife Olga passed away after an illness (1933). He couldn't imagine his existence without her.

Death

He had a lot more to go through. He was going to write a sequel to the novel "The Ways of Heaven", but a sudden heart attack stopped the life of Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev. This happened on 06/24/1950.

Intercession Monastery in Bussy-en-Aute, France

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev(September 21 (October 3), Moscow - June 24, Bussy-en-Ot near Paris) - Russian writer, publicist, Orthodox thinker. Bright representative conservative-Christian direction of Russian literature.

Biography

Childhood and youth

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev was born on October 3, 1873 in the Donskaya Sloboda of Moscow, in a house at the address: B. Kaluzhskaya, 13, in the well-known Moscow merchant family Shmelev. Ivan Sergeevich's grandfather - a state peasant from the Guslitsky region (Bogorodsky district of the Moscow province) - settled in Moscow, in Zamoskvorechye, after a fire in 1812. Sergei Ivanovich Shmelev (1842-1880) - the writer's father belonged to the merchant class, but was not engaged in trade, he was the owner of a large carpentry artel (more than 300 people), kept bathhouses and was a contractor. By nature, Sergei Ivanovich was a very cheerful person, which was positively reflected in the upbringing of the future writer. The tutor (uncle) under young Ivan was the old carpenter Mikhail Pankratovich Gorkin, a deeply religious person.

The Shmelev family was prosperous, Orthodox with a patriarchal way. In the future, Ivan Shmelev will have a special craving for religion, which will affect his philosophical views and creativity.

The environment of little Ivan Shmelev was artisans, construction workers, with whom he closely communicated. Therefore, the “influence of the court”, where a rebellious spirit was felt and various songs, jokes, sayings with their rich language were heard, could not but be reflected in his attitude and later in his works. Later Shmelev will write: “Here, in the yard, I saw people. I'm used to it here ... ".

Initially, Shmelev was educated at home, where his mother acted as a teacher, who gradually introduced young writer into the world of literature (the study of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, etc.) Further studies at the sixth Moscow gymnasium. After graduating, in 1894 he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. And then, 4 years later, after graduating from it, he does military service for 1 year and then serves as an official in remote places in the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. “I knew the capital, small handicraft people, the way of merchant life. Now I recognized the village, the provincial bureaucracy, the petty nobility, ”Shmelev will say later.

Revolution period

In Paris, Shmelev begins to communicate closely with the Russian philosopher I. A. Ilyin. For a long time there was correspondence between them (233 letters from Ilyin and 385 letters from Shmelev). It is an important piece of political and literary process times of Russian emigration of the first wave.

Death

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev died in 1950 as a result of a heart attack. The death of the writer, who loved monastic life so much, became deeply symbolic: on June 24, 1950, on the name day of Elder Barnabas, who had previously blessed him “on the way,” Shmelev arrived at the Russian Monastery of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Bussy-en-Aute and on the same the day is dying.

He was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery in Paris. In 2000, Shmelev's wish was fulfilled: the ashes of his and his wife were transported to their homeland and buried next to the graves of their relatives in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.

The results of life

I. S. Shmelev lived a very difficult life. He suffered from a serious illness, which sometimes almost led the writer to death, experienced material crises that even reached a beggarly state. World War II, which he experienced in occupied Paris, slander in the press and an attempt to slander Shmelev further aggravated his mental and physical suffering [ clarify] .

“According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Shmelev was a man of exceptional spiritual purity, incapable of any bad deed. He was characterized by a deep nobility of nature, kindness and cordiality. The appearance of Shmelev spoke about the suffering experienced - thin man with the face of an ascetic, furrowed with deep wrinkles, with large gray eyes, full of affection and sadness.

This magnificent, vernacular admired and continues to admire. “Shmelev is now the last and only of the Russian writers from whom one can still learn the wealth, power and freedom of the Russian language,” A. I. Kuprin noted in 1933. “Shmelev is the most disrespectful of all Russians, and even a native, born Muscovite, with a Moscow dialect, with Moscow independence and freedom of spirit.”

If we discard the unfair and offensive for the rich domestic literature generalization - "the only one" - this assessment will turn out to be true in our days.

Language, that great Russian language that helped Turgenev in the days of "doubts and painful thoughts," supported Shmelev in his love for Russia. Until the end of his days, he felt the aching pain from the memories of the Motherland, its nature, its people. In his recent books- the strongest infusion of original Russian words, landscapes-moods that amaze with their high lyrics, the very face of Russia, which he now sees in her meekness and poetry: “This spring splash remained in my eyes - with festive shirts, boots, horse neighing, with smells spring chill, warmth and sun. He remained alive in his soul, with thousands of Mikhails and Ivanovs, with all the spiritual world of the Russian peasant, sophisticated to the point of simplicity and beauty, with his slyly cheerful eyes, now clear as water, now darkening to black turbidity, with laughter and a lively word, with caress and wild rudeness. I know I'm connected with him forever. Nothing will splash out of me this spring splash, the bright spring of life ... It has entered - and it will leave with me ”(“ Spring Splash ”, 1928).

Shmelev family

Creation

Early work

Committed to literary creativity I.S. Shmelev woke up early, while still studying at the Moscow gymnasium. Shmelev's first printed experience - a sketch from folk life"At the Mill", published in 1895 in the journal "Russian Review", the author himself told about the history of the creation and publication of which in later story"How I Became a Writer". Later, in 1897, a book of essays "On the rocks of Valaam" was published. However, the first entry into literature was unsuccessful for Shmelev. The book was banned by the censors and did not sell at all.

After graduating from the university () and military service, Shmelev returns to Moscow again and devotes himself to literary creativity. These years enriched Shmelev with knowledge about wide world county Russia. In 1907, he actively corresponded with M. Gorky, Shmelev sent him his story "Under the Mountains". M. Gorky's support strengthened his self-confidence. Shmelev writes stories and novels "To the Sun" (1905-1907), "Citizen Ukleykin" (1907), "In the Hole" (), "Under the Sky" (), "Molasses" (). The works of these years are characterized by a realistic orientation, in the already new established historical conditions Shmelev raises the theme of the "little man".

In 1909 he became a member of the Wednesday literary circle; it also included A.P. Chekhov, M. Gorky, L. Andreev. In 1911, the story "The Man from the Restaurant" was published, where Shmelev depicts the world through the eyes of a waiter. Later, in 1912, Shmelev collaborated with I. A. Bunin and became one of the founders of the “Book Publishing House of Writers in Moscow”, whose members are V. V. Veresaev, B. K. Zaitsev, S. A. Naydenov, brothers I. A. and Yu. A. Bunina. All subsequent work of Shmelev will be associated with this publishing house.

In the period from to 1914, the novels and stories “Grapes”, “The Wall”, “Fearful Silence”, “Wolf Roll”, “Rostani” were published. The works of these years are distinguished by a wide thematic variety, an abundance picturesque landscapes, sketches of the patriarchal merchant life, in addition, Shmelev depicts the phases of transformation simple peasant into a new type of capitalist. Later, two collections of prose “Hidden Face” and “Carousel” and a book of essays “Hard Days” () are published, then the story “How It Was” () is published, in which Shmelev opposes the fratricidal civil war and the story “Alien Blood” (- ). In the works of this time, the problems of his work during the emigration period are already clearly visible.

Creativity 1920-1930

The departure of I. S. Shmelev in 1922 to emigrate (to Berlin, and then to Paris) marks new period his creative way. From here, from a foreign country, he sees Russia with extraordinary clarity. Here Shmelev collaborates with such émigré publications as Vozrozhdenie, Latest News, Illustrated Russia, Modern notes”, etc., where he publishes his works. Shmelev creates stories-pamphlets " Stone Age(1924) and Two Ivans (1924), Stone Age, On Stumps (1925), About an Old Woman (1925), The work of these years is imbued with acute pain for the motherland, notes of condemnation of the European world are heard, Western civilization, its lack of spirituality, earthiness, pragmatism. The author tells about the bloody fratricidal civil war that brought down suffering on the Russian people.

In his subsequent works “Russian Song” (1926), “Napoleon. The story of my friend "(1928)," Dinner for Different ", Shmelev to a greater extent develops the problems of the old patriarchal Russia, glorifies the simple Russian person, creates pictures of religious festivities, depicts rituals glorifying Rus', becomes a singer of old Moscow.

Book entry to Paris. Stories about Russia abroad” (1929) is imbued with deep sorrow, tells about the broken fates of Russian exiles. Based on the material of the First World War, Shmelev creates a popular popular novel "Soldiers" (1930).

"Praying Man" (1931) and "Summer of the Lord" (1933-1948) were enthusiastically received in the circles of Russian emigration. Continuing the tradition of Leskov, Shmelev depicts the life of patriarchal Russia. The images of Moscow and Zamoskvorechye are deeply poetic and colorful. Shmelev depicts in the novel the worldview of a kind, pure, naive child, which is so close to the people's. This is how an integral artistic world arises, glorifying the Motherland. Until the end of his days, Shmelev felt aching pain and longing from the memories of Russia.

The last period of creativity

All these years, Shmelev dreamed of returning to Russia. He was always distinguished by a special love for the solitary monastic life. In 1935, his autobiographical essay “Old Valaam” was published, where the author recalls his trip to the island, depicts the measured life of an Orthodox Russian monastery, deeply filled with an atmosphere of holiness. Then comes the novel Nanny from Moscow (1936), entirely built on a tale, where all the events are conveyed through the mouths of an old Russian woman, Daria Stepanovna Sinitsina.

In the novel The Ways of Heaven (1948), the theme of the reality of God's providence in the earthly world is embodied. The novel depicts the fate of real people of the positivist skeptic, engineer V. A. Weidenhammer and the deeply religious novice of the Passion Monastery - Daria Koroleva. However, Shmelev's death interrupted the work on the third volume of the novel, but the two published books fully embodied Christian ideas about the world, the struggle against sin and temptations, moments of bright insights of an unshakably believing heart...

Artworks

• On the rocks of Valaam 1897
• On urgent business, 1906
• Wahmistr, 1906
• Decay, 1906
• Ivan Kuzmich, 1907
• Citizen Ukleykin, 1907
• In a hole, 1909
• Under the Sky, 1910
• Molasses, 1911
• Restaurant Man, 1911
• The Inexhaustible Chalice, 1918
• Carousel, 1916
• Harsh Days, 1916
• The hidden face, 1917
• Steppe miracle, fairy tales, 1921

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev is an outstanding Russian writer, whose entire work is permeated with love for Orthodoxy and his people.

Different stages of Shmelev's biography coincide with different stages his spiritual life. It is customary to divide life path writer into two radically different halves - life in Russia and in exile. Indeed, Shmelev's life, his mindset, and the manner of writing changed most dramatically after the revolution and the events that the writer experienced during the civil war: the execution of his son, hunger and poverty in the Crimea, and departure abroad. However, even before his departure from Russia and in Shmelev's emigrant life, several other such sharp turns can be distinguished, which primarily concerned his spiritual path.

Shmelev's great-grandfather was a peasant, grandfather and father were engaged in contracts in Moscow. The scope of the events that the writer's father organized in his time can be imagined from the descriptions in "The Year of the Lord".

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev was born on September 21 (October 3), 1873. When Shmelev was seven years old, his father died - a man who played a major role in the life of little Ivan. Shmeleva's mother Evlampia Gavrilovna was not close to him. How willingly all his life later he remembered his father, talked about him, wrote, just as unpleasant were the memories of his mother - an irritable, domineering woman, who beat a playful child for the slightest violation of order.

About Shmelev's childhood, we all have the clearest idea of ​​the "Leto God" and "Praying Mantis" ... The two foundations laid in childhood - love for Orthodoxy and love for the Russian people - actually formed his worldview for the rest of his life.

Shmelev began to write while still studying at the gymnasium, and the first publication came at the beginning of his stay at law faculty Moscow University. However, no matter how happy the young man was to see his name on the pages of the magazine, but "... a series of events - university, marriage - somehow obscured my undertaking. And I did not give special meaning what he wrote."

As it often happened to young people in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, in gymnasiums and student years Shmelev departed from the Church, carried away by fashionable positivist teachings. New turn in his life was associated with marriage and honeymoon: "And so we decided to go on a honeymoon. But - where? Crimea, the Caucasus? .. The forests of the Trans-Volga region beckoned," mine stopped in the North, Petersburg? Valaam Monastery?.. Should I go there? I have already staggered away from the Church, I was, if not an atheist, then no one at all. I enthusiastically read Buckle, Darwin, Sechenov, Letourneau... Stacks of pamphlets where students demanded information "about the latest achievements of science." I had an insatiable thirst to "know". And I learned a lot, and this knowledge took me away from the most important knowledge - from the source of Knowledge, from the Church. And in some kind of semi-godless mood, and even on a joyful journey, on a honeymoon trip, I was drawn ... to the monasteries!

Before leaving on their honeymoon, Shmelev and his wife head to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to receive a blessing from the elder Barnabas of Gethsemane. However, the elder Shmelev blessed not only for the upcoming trip. The Monk Barnabas miraculously foresaw the future writing work of Shmelev; something that will become the work of his whole life: "Looks inside, blesses. A pale hand, like the one in early childhood that gave a cross ... He puts his hand on my head, thoughtfully says:" You will exalt yourself with your talent. "Everything. In me passes by a timid thought: "What talent ... this, writing?"

The trip to Valaam took place in August 1895 and was the impetus for Shmelev's return to church life. A significant role in this re-churching of Shmelev was played by his wife Olga Alexandrovna, the daughter of General A. Okhterloni, a participant in the defense of Sevastopol. When they met, Shmelev was 18 years old, and his future wife was 16. Over the next 50-odd years, until the death of Olga Alexandrovna in 1936, they almost did not part with each other. Thanks to her piety, he remembered his childhood sincere faith, returned to it already at a conscious, adult level, for which he was grateful to his wife all his life.

The feelings of a person who turns from lack of faith and skepticism to the knowledge of the Church, monastic life, asceticism, are reflected in a series of essays that were written by Shmelev immediately after returning from their honeymoon (later, already in the 30s, they were rewritten in exile). The very title of the book - "Old Valaam" - implies that Shmelev writes about the already lost, about the world that existed only before the revolution, but nevertheless the whole story is very joyful and lively. The reader not only sees bright pictures nature of Ladoga and monastic life, but imbued with the very spirit of monasticism. Thus, the Jesus Prayer is described in a few words: “Great power from this prayer,” one of the monks tells the author, “but one must be able to make the heart murmur like a brook ... Only a few ascetics are able to do this. And we, spiritual simplicity, so , in passing for the time being, we absorb it into ourselves, we get used to it. Even from a single sound, even that can be salvation.

The fact that Shmelev's book contains not just a list of the author's superficial impressions, but rich material that acquaints the reader with all aspects of Valaam life - from the charter of the elder Nazarius to the technical arrangement of the monastery water supply - is explained by his approach to creativity in general. While writing both "Old Valaam", and "Praying Man", and his last novel "The Ways of Heaven", Shmelev read heaps of special literature, using the library of the Theological Academy, constantly studying the Book of Hours, Octoechos, Cheti-Minei, so that in the end, ease and the elegance of the style of his books is combined with their enormous information content.

First literary experiments Shmelev were interrupted for ten years by everyday life, worries about their daily bread, the need to support a family. However, one should not think that they passed for the writer absolutely without a trace. In "Autobiography" he characterizes this time as follows: "... I entered the service in the Treasury. I served in Vladimir. Seven and a half years of service, traveling around the province confronted me with a mass of people and situations in life. ... My service was a huge addition to what I knew from books. It was a vivid illustration and spiritualization of previously accumulated material. I knew the capital, small artisan people, the way of merchant life. Now I have learned the village, provincial officials, factory districts, the small estate nobility. "

In addition, the gift of writing, the spark of God, was always felt by Shmelev, even when he did not come to the desk for years: "It seems to me sometimes that I did not become a writer, but as if I had always been one." Therefore, Shmelev's entry into the literary life Russia of the pre-revolutionary period. Having published in 1905-1906, after a long break, a number of stories "On Hasty Business", "Sergeant", "Crook", the witty and ingenuous Ivan Sergeevich quickly became an authoritative person among writers, whose opinion was considered even by the most fastidious critics.

The period up to 1917 was quite fruitful: a huge number of stories were published, including the story "The Man from the Restaurant", which brought the writer world fame.

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Shmelev and his wife felt the drama of events in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century with the outbreak of World War I, seeing off their only beloved son Sergei to the front in 1915. Shmelev was very upset by this, but, of course, he never doubted that his family, like all others, must fulfill their duty to Russia. Perhaps even then he had terrible premonitions about the fate of his son. The deterioration in Shmelev's state of mind was observed by his friends, in particular Serafimovich, who noted in one of his letters in 1916: "Shmelev was extremely depressed by the departure of his son for military service, he was unwell." Almost immediately after the revolution, the Shmelevs moved to the Crimea, to Alushta - a place with which the most tragic events in the writer's life.

The son, who returned sick from Denikin's Volunteer Army and was being treated for tuberculosis in a hospital in Feodosia, was arrested in November 1920 by Bela Kun, who was then in charge of the Crimea. The sick young man spent almost three months in overcrowded and stinking prison cellars, and in January 1921 he, like forty thousand other participants " white movement", were shot without trial or investigation - despite the fact that they were officially granted an amnesty! The citizens of the "country of Soviets" did not learn the details of this execution.

For a long time, Shmelev had the most conflicting information about the fate of his son, and when he arrived in Berlin at the end of 1922 (as he believed, for a while), he wrote to I.A. Bunin: "1/4% of the hope remains that our boy was saved by some miracle." But in Paris he was found by a man who was sitting with Sergei in the Vilna barracks in Feodosia and who witnessed his death. Shmelev did not have the strength to return to his homeland, he remained abroad, having moved from Berlin to Paris.

* * *

The tragedy of emigration is almost forgotten by us, the loss of Russia, on the one hand, and the torment of those left without a homeland and livelihood, on the other, rarely appear on the pages of the press or historical works. It is the works of Shmelev that remind us of how much Russia has lost. It is important how clearly Shmelev realizes that many people who remained in Russia accepted the crown of martyrdom. He feels the life of emigrants as flawed, primarily because in emigration the emphasis is on the personal survival of everyone: “Why now ... peace? - exclaims the heroine of one of his stories, - It is clear that then those victims, millions of tortured and fallen - are not justified ... We shed blood in battles, those - in basements! And they continue. Martyrs cry out to us. "

Nevertheless, Shmelev did not remain aloof from the pressing problems of the Russian emigration, which is reflected in the writer's numerous journalistic works. First of all, among them are calls for help to the invalids of the White Army, who lived in emigration almost total poverty and oblivion. In addition, Shmelev actively collaborated in the Russian Bell magazine published by Ivan Ilyin. It was one of the few magazines in the Russian emigration with a patriotic and Orthodox bias.

Ilyin's support and assistance were indeed very significant for Shmelev. He did not just write letters of encouragement to him and promoted Shmelev's works in his articles and speeches. Ilyin took on the hardest work - finding publishers, corresponding with them, discussing possible conditions. When in 1936 the Shmelevs were going on vacation to Latvia (the trip did not take place due to the sudden illness and death of Olga Alexandrovna), Ilyin dealt with almost all organizational issues, agreed on a series of evenings that Shmelev was supposed to give in Berlin. His concern extended to the point that he negotiated a dietary menu for Shmelev in the boarding house where the writer was going to stay! Therefore, it was not for nothing that Ilyin jokingly remade the famous Pushkin lines:

Listen, brother Shmelini,
How black thoughts come to you
Uncork a bottle of champagne
Or re-read - Ilya's articles about you ...

However, the severity of emigre life for the Shmelev family was intensified by constant grief: "Nothing can relieve our pain, we are out of life, having lost the closest, the only one, our son."

At the same time, a huge amount of energy and time from Shmelev was taken away by worries about the most pressing needs: what to eat, where to live! Of all the émigré writers, Shmelev lived the poorest, primarily because he was the least able (and willing) to curry favor with wealthy publishers, look for patrons, and preach ideas alien to him for the sake of a piece of bread. Without exaggeration, his existence in Paris can be called close to poverty - there was not enough money for heating, for new clothes, and rest in the summer.

The search for an inexpensive and decent apartment took a long time and was extremely tiring: "I was recalled by the hunt for an apartment. Tired of the dog - nothing. Can't afford it. Where are we going ?! I looked at my eternal ... / i.e. Olga Alexandrovna, wife Shmeleva / how exhausted! Both sick - we wander, paying visits to the concierges ... They returned, broken. Dog cold, in the bedroom + 6 C.! All evening he put the stove, and the cat wept coal. "

Nevertheless, in the end, the Shmelevs' French émigré life still resembled the life old Russia, With annual cycle Orthodox holidays, with many rituals, dishes, with all the beauty and harmony of the way of Russian life. The Orthodox way of life, preserved in their family, not only served as a great consolation for the Shmelevs themselves, but also pleased those around them. All the details of this life made an indelible impression on the Shmelevs' nephew Yves Zhantiyom-Kutyrin, who, being the writer's godson, partly began to replace his lost son.

"Uncle Vanya was very serious about the role godfather... - writes Gentilom-Kutyrin. - Church holidays noted in all respects. The post was strictly observed. We went to church on Daru Street, but especially often - to the Sergius Compound. "" Aunt Olya was the writer's guardian angel, took care of him like a mother hen ... She never complained ... Her kindness and selflessness were known to everyone. ...Aunt Olya was not only an excellent hostess, but also the first listener and adviser of her husband. He read aloud the newly written pages, presenting them to his wife for criticism. He trusted her taste and listened to her remarks."

For Christmas, for example, the Shmelev family prepared long before it came. And the writer himself, and, of course, Olga Alexandrovna, and little Yves did various decorations: gold paper chains, all kinds of baskets, stars, dolls, houses, golden or silver nuts. The Christmas tree was decorated in exile by many families. The Christmas tree in each family was very different from the others. Every family had its own traditions, its own secret of making Christmas decorations. There was a kind of rivalry: who had the most beautiful tree who managed to come up with the most interesting decorations. So, having lost their homeland, Russian emigrants found it in keeping rituals dear to their hearts.

The next colossal loss occurred in Shmelev's life in 1936, when Olga Alexandrovna died of a heart attack. Shmelev blamed himself for the death of his wife, convinced that, forgetting herself in worries about him, Olga Alexandrovna reduced own life. On the eve of the death of his wife, Shmelev was going to go to the Baltic States, in particular, to the Pskov-Caves Monastery, where emigrants at that time went not only on pilgrimage, but also to feel the Russian spirit, to remember their homeland.

The trip took place six months later. The quiet and fertile atmosphere of the monastery helped Shmelev survive this new test, and with redoubled energy he turned to writing "The Summer of the Lord" and "Praying", which at that time were still far from complete. They were completed only in 1948 - two years before the death of the writer.

The sorrows he experienced did not give him despair and bitterness, but almost apostolic joy for writing this work, that book, about which contemporaries said that it was kept in the house next to the Holy Gospel. Shmelev in his life often felt that special joy that is given by the grace of the Holy Spirit. So, in the midst of a serious illness, he almost miraculously managed to be in the church at the Easter service: “And so, Great Saturday came ... The pains that had stopped, it was, rose ... Weakness, neither hand nor foot ... I sat in the subway... At ten we reached Sergius Metochion. Holy silence enveloped my soul. The pains were gone. And now it began to rise, to be born... joy! Steadfastly, feeling neither weakness nor pain, in extraordinary joy listened to the Matins, confessed, we endured the whole Mass, partake ... - and such a wonderful inner light shone, such peace, such closeness to the inexpressible, God, I felt that I don’t remember - when I felt like that!

Shmelev considered his recovery in 1934 to be truly miraculous. He had a severe form of gastric disease, the writer was threatened with an operation, and he and the doctors feared the most tragic outcome. Shmelev could not decide on the operation for a long time. On the day when his doctor came to the final conclusion that it was possible to do without surgical intervention, the writer dreamed of his x-rays with the inscription "St. Seraphim". Shmelev believed that it was the intercession of St. Seraphim of Sarov saved him from surgery and helped him recover.

The experience of a miracle was reflected in many of Shmelev's works, including the last novel "The Ways of Heaven", in art form expounding the patristic teaching and describing the practice of everyday struggle with temptation, prayer and repentance. Shmelev himself called this novel a story in which "the earthly merges with the heavenly." The novel was not finished. Shmelev's plans were to create several more books "The Ways of Heaven", which would describe the history and life of Optina Hermitage (since one of the heroes, according to the author's intention, was to become a resident of this monastery).

In order to better feel the atmosphere of monastic life, on June 24, 1950, Shmelev moved to the monastery of Intercession Holy Mother of God in Bussy-en-Otte, 140 kilometers from Paris. On the same day, a heart attack ended his life. The nun mother Theodosia, who was present at the death of Ivan Sergeevich, wrote: "The mysticism of this death struck me - a person came to die at the feet of the Queen of Heaven, under her protection."

Almost all Russian emigrants, literally until the end of their lives, could not come to terms with the fact that they left Russia forever. They believed that they would definitely return to their homeland, and surprisingly, one way or another, this dream of Ivan Shmelev has already come true today. This return began for Shmelev with the publication of his complete collection compositions: Shmelev I.S. Sobr. cit.: In 5 volumes - M .: Russian book, 1999-2001.

This was followed by two other events of no less importance. In April 2000, Shmelev's nephew Yves Zhantiom-Kutyrin donated the archive of Ivan Shmelev to the Russian Cultural Foundation; thus, the writer's manuscripts, letters and library ended up in his homeland, and in May 2001, with the blessing His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus', the ashes of Shmelev and his wife were transferred to Russia, to the necropolis of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, where the Shmelev family burial was preserved. So after more than half a century from the date of his death, Shmelev returned from exile.

The confidence that he would return to his homeland did not leave him all. long years- read 30 years - exile, and even when many emigrants resigned themselves to the fact that they would have to die in a foreign land, this confidence did not leave Shmelev. “... I know: the time will come - Russia will accept me!” - Shmelev wrote at a time when even the name of Russia was erased from the map of the earth. A few years before his death, he made a spiritual will, in which he expressed his last will in a separate paragraph: “I ask, when it becomes possible, to transport my ashes and the ashes of my wife to Moscow.” The writer asked to be buried next to his father in the Donskoy Monastery. The Lord, according to his faith, fulfilled his cherished desire.

On May 26, 2000, a plane from France with the coffin of Ivan Sergeevich and Olga Aleksandrovna Shmelev landed in Moscow. It was transferred and installed in the Small Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery and for four days was in the temple, in which the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' every year prepares - cooks - Holy Miro, which is then sent to all the churches of the Russian Church to perform the sacrament of Chrismation. There is always an incomparable inexplicable unearthly aroma of the Holy World, as if the fragrance of Holy Rus'.

Early in the morning there was still no one in the temple. The young monk was lighting candles at the writer's coffin, which stood in the middle under the ancient vaults of the temple. Ivan Sergeevich visited this temple more than once, his father and other Shmelevs, who were buried here in the family plot of the monastery cemetery, were buried here.

Shmelev's coffin was covered with golden brocade, unexpectedly small - like a child's, about twenty meters - no more. Ivan Sergeevich and his wife Olga Alexandrovna were laid together in one coffin.

On May 25, in France, at the cemetery of Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois, the "acquisition" of the remains of Shmelev was made. The idea belongs to Elena Nikolaevna Chavchavadze, Deputy Chairman Russian fund culture. It took two years for appeals, approvals, paperwork and financial affairs. Permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France was received in the year of the 50th anniversary of the death of Shmelev. In the presence of police officials, the godson and heir of the writer and TV reporters, the grave of the great writer was opened. Under a large slab at a depth of almost two meters, the remains of Ivan Sergeevich and Olga Alexandrovna were discovered. From the dampness of the soil, the coffins decayed, but the bones remained intact. They were carefully collected in this small coffin, which was immediately sealed by the Parisian police authorities and sent to Russia.

Being buried side by side is considered a special blessing from God to spouses who have lived together all their lives. John and Olga were honored with more: they were buried in the same coffin.

In Moscow, on May 30, there was some amazing bright weather, a special "Shmelevsky" day - the sun shone like a golden Easter egg.

Using the example of Ivan Shmelev, we see how difficult it is for a Russian person to stay in a foreign land, to die in a foreign land. The Lord fulfilled the last will of the writer, or rather, his last cherished prayer. He eventually lay down in his native land, next to his father. From this alone, we can say that he was a righteous writer, whose prayers the Lord heard.

The last handful of earth thrown into the grave, Russian, Moscow, fatherly, - main award Russian writer. The Lord vouchsafed Shmelev that day one more consolation. During the burial, a man squeezed to the grave, who handed over a plastic bag with earth: “You can pour it into Shmelev’s grave. This is from the Crimea, from the grave of his son, the murdered warrior Sergius. year". It was Valery Lvovich Lavrov, chairman of the Society of Crimean Culture at the Tauride University, who specially came to the reburial of Shmelev with this land. Shmelev did not have a deeper non-healing wound than the murder of his son Sergius by the Bolsheviks in the Crimea. Shmelev even refused royalties for his books published in the Soviet Union, not wanting to accept anything from the authorities that killed his son.

The next day after the burial in Moscow, a new temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was consecrated, erected on the site of the same temple that the boy Vanya had once visited, in which the famous Gorkin, who was sung in "The Year of the Lord", stood behind a candle box. That temple no longer exists, but a new one has risen in its place (in other forms). Who in this outwardly accidental coincidence, which neither the builders of the temple nor the organizers of the reburial knew about, will not see the sign of God! This is a kind of symbol: the old "Shmelev" Rus' no longer exists, but there is a new rising Orthodox Rus', in spite of any temptations of our time.

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev is a famous Russian writer. He was born in the Kadashev settlement of Zamoskvorechye on September 21 (October 3), 1873, in a traditionally exalted believer in Orthodox Christianity, merchant family.

The writer's grandfather was a peasant from the Moscow province, who arrived in Moscow after the burning of the city by Napoleon. Shmelev loved his father very much, having lost him at the age of 7, he remembered him in his works. The attitude towards the mother was the opposite, she was a nervous and domineering woman who flogged the boy for the slightest disobedience or non-observance of order.

Shmelev's father, Sergei Ivanovich, was a contractor, kept a considerable carpentry artel, owned bathhouses, bathhouses and port facilities. The workers lived with the owners. Together they observed the fast, together they went to church for prayers, together they carefully observed and cherished, like ancient covenants, Orthodox customs. A bright childhood, permeated with kindness, faith in people, tranquility and worship, left a bright imprint in the writer's works.

My writing activity Shmelev began while studying at the gymnasium, teacher Fedor Tsvetaev(uncle of the famous poetess Marina Tsvetaeva) for his comic writings he always put "5" with three pluses. These comic stories were with fantasy and even high school students read them. And the guys in his class called him a “Roman orator” for his talkativeness and imagination.

Its initial publication happened while studying at Moscow University at the Faculty of Law. “... a series of events - university, marriage, somehow obscured my undertaking. And I did not attach particular importance to what I wrote. All Russian youth at the beginning of the 20th century were fascinated by the positivist teachings that had come into vogue at that time.

As a student, Shmelev succumbed to this trend, no longer giving of great importance religiosity imbibed from adolescence. Feeling that the thirst for knowledge takes him away from the most important thing in life - faith, Shmelev decides to go on a honeymoon trip to Baalam. Just before leaving, the young writer is blessed on the road by the venerable elder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Barnabas of Gethsemane with the words: “You will exalt yourself with your talent.”

Writer's wife

Married early at 18 Olga Alexandrovna Okhterloni. She was from the old Scottish family of Stuarts in the male line. Her grandfathers served as generals. The future wife studied at the St. Petersburg Patriotic Institute, where all the girls from military families studied. Olga's parents rented an apartment in the Shmelevsky house, where the young people met during the holidays. They lived in marriage for 41 years. His wife died in exile, having not lived long after the death of her son.

After visiting the holy island of Baalam, the first work was written.

Writer and revolution

In 1915, the Shmelev couple escorted their only son Sergei to the front. The writer, like no one else, understands that the son is obliged to serve the fatherland, but the oppressive feeling does not leave him.

Shmelev accepted the revolution of 1917, like all the people's intelligentsia, but after the bloody October, his views on the communists changed dramatically. He sharply critically condemned the first actions of the authorities, calling them "serious sins against morality."

Immediately after the revolution on the 17th, the writer and his wife moved from Moscow to Alushta. The writer's son returned from Denikin's Volunteer Army, sick with tuberculosis, to Feodosia to be cured. Fate separated father and son, Sergei was arrested by the Chekists in 1920. The sick and infirm son of the writer spent about 3 months in overcrowded basements in conditions of complete unsanitary conditions, and in January 1921 he was shot without any trial or investigation, while officially, Sergei was amnestied. Subsequently, Ivan Sergeevich did not forgive the Soviets for the death of his son, and did not accept royalties for his books published in Soviet Russia.

After the loss of his son, Ivan Sergeevich and his relatives are experiencing another shock - the famine in 1920-1921. This disaster claimed about 5.5 million people.

Emigration

Being in the deepest stress, seeing all the horrors of the revolution in the Crimea, the writer returns to Moscow. But even in Alushta, he has thoughts about migration. In Moscow, this idea began to manifest itself more and more strongly under the influence of the promises of A.I. Bunin about support and initial assistance in emigration. In 1922, Ivan Sergeevich leaves Soviet Russia and leaves first for Berlin, and later for Paris.

In Paris, his friendship with an emigrated Russian philosopher was born. I.A. Ilyin. Here he began to be published in Russian-language emigrant publications. The writer's book "The Sun of the Dead", published in 1924, for the first time in the history of Russian literature, gained wide popularity among the European reader. Most of works of the writer written in exile.

Great Power of Spiritual Healing

In 1934, Shmelev fell seriously ill with an acute form of gastric disease, an urgent operation was required, but the writer did not dare to do it. Once Ivan Sergeevich dreamed that he was holding an X-ray in his hands, on which was written "St. Seraphim." The next day the doctor said that there was no need for surgery.

Homesickness

While in exile, like all perhaps the exiles of that time, Ivan Sergeevich passionately dreamed of returning to Russia. He even came to the Baltic states to pick a few Russian flowers across the border. In the Pskov-Caves Monastery (at that time considered part of Estonia) you can feel the power of the Russian faith, and the proximity to your roots and origins. All his longing for his homeland and faith was reflected in his novel "The Summer of the Lord."

Monastic attack

In 1950, Ivan Sergeevich dies of a heart attack. Death has become symbolic - on June 24, the name day of Hieromonk Barnabas, the writer arrives at the Russian monastery of the Intercession of the Mother of God in the town of Bussy-en-Otte. And on this day, in the bosom of the monastery, he serenely gives his soul to God.

Return

Only in 2000, the ashes of the writer and his wife Olga Alexandrovna, in order to fulfill last will was transferred to Russia. The remains of the couple were buried in the Donskoy Monastery near their relatives.