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Nikolai Semenovich Leskov

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (1831 - 1895) - prose writer, the most folk writer Russian playwright. Author famous novels, novels and short stories such as: "Nowhere", "Lady Macbeth Mtsensk district”, “On knives”, “Cathedrals”, “Lefty” and many others, creator theatrical play"Waster".

early years

He was born on February 4 (February 16), 1831 in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, in the family of an investigator and the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. They had five children, Nikolai was the eldest child. The childhood of the writer passed in the city of Orel. After the father left the position, the family moved from Orel to the village of Panino. Here the study and knowledge of the people by Leskov began.

Education and career

In 1841, at the age of 10, Leskov entered the Oryol Gymnasium. The future writer did not work out with his studies - in 5 years of study he graduated from only 2 classes. In 1847, thanks to the help of his father's friends, Leskov got a job as a clerical clerk in the Oryol Criminal Chamber of the court. When Nikolai was 16 years old, his father died of cholera, and all his property burned down in a fire.
In 1849, with the help of his uncle, a professor, Leskov transferred to Kyiv as an official of the Treasury, where he later received the post of clerk. In Kyiv, Leskov developed an interest in Ukrainian culture and great writers, painting and architecture of the old city.
In 1857, Leskov left his job and entered the commercial service in the large agricultural company of his English uncle, on whose business he traveled most of Russia in three years. After the closing of the company, in 1860 he returned to Kyiv.

creative life

1860 is considered the beginning creative way Leskov, at this time he writes and publishes articles in various journals. Six months later, he moves to St. Petersburg, where he plans to engage in literary and journalistic activities.
In 1862, Leskov became a permanent contributor to the Severnaya Pchela newspaper. Working in it as a correspondent, visited Western Ukraine, Czech Republic and Poland. He was close and sympathetic to the life of Western twin nations, so he delved into the study of their art and life. In 1863 Leskov returned to Russia.
Having studied and observed the life of the Russian people for a long time, sympathizing with their sorrows and needs, Leskov wrote the stories “Extinguished Business” (1862), the stories “The Life of a Woman”, “Musk Ox” (1863), “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” (1865).
In the novels Nowhere (1864), Bypassed (1865), On Knives (1870), the writer revealed the theme of Russia's unpreparedness for revolution.
Having disagreements with the revolutionary democrats, Leskova refused to publish many magazines. The only one who published his work was Mikhail Katkov, editor of the Russky Vestnik magazine. It was incredibly difficult for Leskov to work with him, the editor of the rules almost all of the writer's works, and some even refused to print.
In 1870 - 1880 he wrote the novels "Cathedrals" (1872), " seedy kind"(1874), where he revealed the national and historical issues. The novel "The Seedy Family" was not completed by Leskov due to disagreements with the publisher Katkov. Also at this time, he wrote several stories: "The Islanders" (1866), "The Sealed Angel" (1873). Fortunately, "The Sealed Angel" was not affected by the editorial revision of Mikhail Katkov.
In 1881, Leskov wrote the story “Lefty (The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and steel flea)" - an old legend about gunsmiths.
The story "Hare Remise" (1894) was the last great work writer. In it he criticized political system Russia of that time. The story was published only in 1917 after the Revolution.

Writer's personal life

Leskov's first marriage was unsuccessful. The writer's wife in 1853 was the daughter of a Kyiv merchant Olga Smirnova. They had two children - the firstborn, son Mitya, who died in infancy, and daughter Vera. My wife fell ill with a mental disorder and was treated in St. Petersburg. The marriage broke up.
In 1865 Leskov lived with his widow Ekaterina Bubnova. The couple had a son Andrei (1866-1953). He divorced his second wife in 1877.

Last years

The last five years of Leskov's life were tormented by asthma attacks, from which he later died. Nikolai Semenovich died on February 21 (March 5), 1895 in St. Petersburg. The writer was buried at the Volkovo cemetery

The Enchanted Wanderer ( 1873 )

Summary stories

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On the way to Valaam on Lake Ladoga, several travelers meet. One of them, dressed in a novice cassock and looking like a “typical hero,” says that, having “ God's gift” to tame horses, he, according to his parental promise, died all his life and could not die in any way. At the request of the travelers, the former koneser (“I am a koneser,<…>I am a connoisseur in horses and was with the repairmen to guide them, ”the hero himself says about himself) Ivan Severyanych, Mr. Flyagin, tells his life.

Coming from the yard people of Count K. from the Oryol province, Ivan Severyanych has been addicted to horses since childhood and once “for fun” beats a monk to death on a wagon. The monk appears to him at night and reproaches him for taking his life without repentance. He also tells Ivan Severyanych that he is the “promised” son of God, and gives a “sign” that he will die many times and will never die before the real “death” comes and Ivan Severyanych goes to Chernetsy. Soon, Ivan Severyanych, nicknamed Golovan, saves his masters from inevitable death in a terrible abyss and falls into mercy. But he cuts off the tail of the owner's cat, which drags pigeons from him, and as punishment he is severely flogged, and then sent to "an English garden for a path to beat stones with a hammer." The last punishment of Ivan Severyanych "tormented", and he decides to commit suicide. The rope prepared for death is cut off by the gypsies, with whom Ivan Severyanych leaves the count, taking horses with him. Ivan Severyanych breaks up with the gypsy, and, having sold a silver cross to an official, he receives a leave of absence and is hired as a "nanny" to the little daughter of a gentleman. For this work, Ivan Severyanych is very bored, leads the girl and the goat to the river bank and sleeps over the estuary. Here he meets the lady, the mother of the girl, who begs Ivan Severyanych to give her the child, but he is relentless and even fights with the current husband of the lady, an officer-lancer. But when he sees the angry approaching owner, he gives the child to his mother and runs with them. The officer sends the passportless Ivan Severyanych away, and he goes to the steppe, where the Tatars drive horse shoals.

Khan Dzhankar sells his horses, and the Tatars set prices and fight for horses: they sit opposite each other and whip each other with whips. When a new handsome horse is put up for sale, Ivan Severyanych does not hold back and, speaking for one of the repairmen, traps the Tatar to death. According to "Christian custom", he is taken to the police for murder, but he runs away from the gendarmes to the very "Ryn-Sands". The Tatars "bristle" Ivan Severyanych's legs so that he does not run away. Ivan Severyanych moves only by crawling, serves as a doctor among the Tatars, yearns and dreams of returning to his homeland. He has several wives "Natasha" and children "Kolek", whom he regrets, but he admits to the listeners that he could not love them, because they are "unbaptized". Ivan Severyanych completely despairs of getting home, but Russian missionaries come to the steppe "to establish their faith." They preach, but refuse to pay a ransom for Ivan Severyanych, arguing that before God "everyone is equal and it's all the same." Some time later, one of them is killed, Ivan Severyanych buries him in Orthodox custom. He explains to the listeners that "the Asian must be brought to faith with fear," because they "will never respect a humble god without a threat." The Tatars bring two people from Khiva who come to buy horses in order to "make war." Hoping to intimidate the Tatars, they demonstrate the power of their fiery god Talafy, but Ivan Severyanych discovers a box with fireworks, introduces himself as Talafy, converts the Tatars to Christianity and, having found “caustic earth” in the boxes, heals his legs.

In the steppe, Ivan Severyanych meets a Chuvash, but refuses to go with him, because he simultaneously honors both the Mordovian Keremeti and the Russian Nicholas the Wonderworker. Russians come across on the way, they cross themselves and drink vodka, but drive away the "passportless" Ivan Severyanych. In Astrakhan, the wanderer ends up in prison, from where he is taken to native city. Father Ilya excommunicates him for three years from communion, but the count, who has become devout, releases him “for quitrent”, and Ivan Severyanych settles in the horse section. After he helps the peasants to choose a good horse, he is famous as a magician, and everyone demands to tell the "secret". Including one prince, who took Ivan Severyanych to his post as a koneser. Ivan Severyanych buys horses for the prince, but from time to time he has drunken “exits”, before which he gives the prince all the money for the purchases to be safe. When the prince sells a beautiful horse to Dido, Ivan Severyanych is very sad, "makes a way out", but this time he keeps the money to himself. He prays in church and goes to a tavern, where he meets an “over-empty-empty” person who claims that he drinks because he “voluntarily took weakness on himself” so that it would be easier for others, and Christian feelings do not allow him to stop drinking. A new acquaintance imposes magnetism on Ivan Severyanych to free him from "zealous drunkenness", and at the same time gives him extra water. At night, Ivan Severyanych finds himself in another tavern, where he spends all his money on the beautiful gypsy singer Grushenka. Having obeyed the prince, he learns that the owner himself gave fifty thousand for Grushenka, bought her out of the camp and settled in his house. But the prince is a fickle person, he gets tired of the “love word”, he gets sleepy from “yakhont emeralds”, besides, all the money ends.

Having gone to the city, Ivan Severyanych overhears the prince's conversation with his former mistress Evgenia Semyonovna and learns that his master is going to marry, and wants to marry the unfortunate and sincerely loved Grushenka to Ivan Severyanych. Returning home, he does not find the gypsy, whom the prince secretly takes to the forest to the bee. But Grusha escapes from her guards and, threatening that she will become a "shameful woman", asks Ivan Severyanych to drown her. Ivan Severyanych fulfills the request, and in search of an imminent death, he pretends to be peasant son and, having given all the money to the monastery as a "contribution for Grushin's soul", he goes to war. He dreams of dying, but "neither earth nor water wants to accept", and having distinguished himself in business, he tells the colonel about the murder of a gypsy. But these words are not confirmed by the sent request, he is promoted to an officer and dismissed with the Order of St. George. Using the colonel's letter of recommendation, Ivan Severyanych gets a job as a "reference officer" at the address desk, but falls on the insignificant letter "fit", the service does not go well, and he goes to the artists. But the rehearsals take place during Holy Week, Ivan Severyanych gets to portray the “difficult role” of the demon, and besides, stand up for the poor “gentlewoman”, he “pulls the whirlwinds” of one of the artists and leaves the theater for the monastery.

According to Ivan Severyanych, monastic life does not bother him, he stays with horses there, but he does not consider it worthy to take senior tonsure and lives in obedience. To the question of one of the travelers, he says that at first the demon appeared to him in "seductive female image”, but after fervent prayers, only small demons, “children”, remained. Once Ivan Severyanych kills a demon with an ax, but he turns out to be a cow. And for another deliverance from demons, he is put in an empty cellar for a whole summer, where Ivan Severyanych discovers the gift of prophecy in himself. Ivan Severyanych ends up on the ship because the monks let him go to pray in Solovki to Zosima and Savvaty. The wanderer confesses that he expects imminent death, because the spirit inspires to take up arms and go to war, and he "wants to die for the people." Having finished the story, Ivan Severyanych falls into quiet concentration, again feeling the influx of a mysterious broadcasting spirit, which is revealed only to babies.

Nikolai Semenovich Leskov is one of the most amazing and original Russian writers, whose fate in literature cannot be called simple. During his lifetime, his works were mostly negative and were not accepted by most of the progressive people of the second half of the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy called him “the most Russian writer,” and Anton Pavlovich Chekhov considered him one of his teachers.

It can be said that Leskov's work was truly appreciated only at the beginning of the twentieth century, when articles by M. Gorky, B. Eikhenbaum and others were published. L. Tolstoy's words that Nikolai Semenovich is a "writer of the future" turned out to be truly prophetic.

Origin

The creative fate of Leskov was largely determined by the environment in which he spent his childhood and adulthood.
He was born in 1831, on February 4 (16 according to the new style), in the Oryol province. His ancestors were hereditary ministers of the clergy. Grandfather and great-grandfather were priests in the village of Leska, from which, most likely, the name of the writer came. However, Semyon Dmitrievich, the writer's father, broke this tradition and received the title of nobleman for his service in the Oryol Chamber of the Criminal Court. Marya Petrovna, the writer's mother, nee Alferyeva, also belonged to this estate. Her sisters were married to wealthy people: one - for the Englishman, the other - for the Oryol landowner. This fact in the future will also have an impact on the life and work of Leskov.

In 1839, Semyon Dmitrievich had a conflict in the service, and he and his family moved to Panin Khutor, where his son's real acquaintance with the original Russian speech began.

Education and early service

The writer N. S. Leskov began to study in the family of wealthy relatives of the Strakhovs, who hired German and Russian teachers for their children, a French governess. Already then fully manifested extraordinary talent little Nicholas. But he never received a "big" education. In 1841, the boy was sent to the Oryol provincial gymnasium, from which he left five years later with two classes of education. Perhaps the reason for this lay in the peculiarities of teaching, built on cramming and rules, far from the lively and inquisitive mind that Leskov possessed. The biography of the writer includes further service in the Treasury, where his father served (1847-1849), and translation according to own will after it tragic death as a result of cholera to the state chamber of the city of Kyiv, where his maternal uncle S.P. Alferyev lived. The years of stay here gave a lot to the future writer. Leskov, as a free listener, attended lectures at Kiev University, independently studied Polish language, for some time he was fond of icon painting and even attended a religious and philosophical circle. Acquaintance with the Old Believers, pilgrims also influenced the life and work of Leskov.

Work at Schcott & Wilkens

A real school for Nikolai Semenovich was the work in the company of his English relative (aunt's husband) A. Shkott in 1857-1860 (before the collapse of the trading house). According to the writer himself, these were best years when he "saw a lot and lived easily." By the nature of his service, he had to constantly wander around the country, which gave huge material in all spheres of Russian society. “I grew up among the people,” Nikolai Leskov wrote later. His biography is an acquaintance with Russian life firsthand. This is a stay in a truly popular environment and personal knowledge of all the hardships of life that have fallen to the lot of a simple peasant.

In 1860, Nikolai Semenovich returned to Kyiv for a short time, after which he ended up in St. Petersburg, where his serious literary activity began.

Creativity Leskov: formation

The writer's first articles on corruption in medical and police circles were published back in Kyiv. They caused a storm of responses and became the main reason that future writer was forced to leave the service and go in search of a new place of residence and work, which became Petersburg for him.
Here Leskov immediately declares himself as a publicist and is published in Otechestvennye Zapiski, Severnaya Pchela, Russkaya Speech. For several years he signed his works with the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky (there were others, but this one was used most often), which soon became rather scandalous.

In 1862, there was a fire in the Shchukin and Apraksin courtyards. Nikolai Semenovich Leskov responded vividly to this event. A brief biography of his life includes such an episode as an angry tirade on the part of the king himself. In an article about the fires published in the Northern Bee, the writer expressed his point of view on who could be involved in them and what purpose he had. He blamed the nihilistic youth, who had never enjoyed his respect, to blame. The authorities were accused of not paying enough attention to the investigation of the incident, and the arsonists were not caught. The criticism that fell immediately on Leskov, both from democratically inclined circles and from the administration, forced him to leave St. Petersburg for a long time, since no explanations of the writer about the written article were accepted.

The western borders of the Russian Empire and Europe - Nikolai Leskov visited these places during the months of disgrace. Since then, his biography has included, on the one hand, the recognition of an absolutely unlike writer, on the other hand, constant suspicions, sometimes reaching insults. They were especially pronounced in the statements of D. Pisarev, who considered that the name of Stebnitsky alone would be enough to cast a shadow on the magazine publishing his works, and on writers who found the courage to publish together with the scandalous author.

Novel "Nowhere"

The attitude towards Leskov's damaged reputation did little to change his first serious piece of art. In 1864, the Reading Magazine published his novel Nowhere, which he had begun two years earlier during a western trip. It satirically depicted representatives of the nihilists who were quite popular at that time, and in the appearance of some of them the features of real people were clearly guessed. And again attacks with accusations of distorting reality and that the novel is the fulfillment of the “order” of certain circles. Nikolai Leskov himself was also critical of the work. His biography, primarily creative, for many years was predetermined by this novel: his works for a long time refused to be published by the leading magazines of that time.

The origin of the tale form

In the 1860s, Leskov wrote several stories (among them, “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District”), in which the features of the new style are gradually defined, which later became a kind of hallmark of the writer. This is a tale with amazing, unique humor and a special approach to depicting reality. Already in the twentieth century, these works will be highly appreciated by many writers and literary critics, and Leskov, whose biography is constant clashes with leading representatives of the second half of the nineteenth century, will be put on a par with N. Gogol, M. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov. However, at the time of publication, they were practically ignored, as they were still under the impression of his previous publications. The staging of the play "The Spender" about Russian merchants at the Alexandria Theater and the novel "On the Knives" (all about the same nihilists), because of which Leskov entered into a sharp polemic with the editor of the magazine "Russian Messenger" M. Katkov, caused negative criticism, where most of his works were published.

The manifestation of true talent

Only after going through numerous accusations, sometimes reaching direct insults, was N. S. Leskov able to find a real reader. His biography takes a sharp turn in 1872, when the novel "Cathedrals" is printed. Its main theme is opposition to the true Christian faith state, and the main characters are the clergy of the old time and the nihilists and officials of all ranks and areas, including church ones, opposed to them. This novel was the beginning of the creation of works dedicated to the Russian clergy and guardian folk traditions local nobles. Under his pen, a harmonious and original world arises, built on faith. Present in the works and criticism of the negative aspects of the system that has developed in Russia. Later, this feature of the writer's style will nevertheless open the way for him to democratic literature.

"The Tale of the Tula oblique left-hander ..."

Perhaps the most vividly, created by the writer, was Lefty, drawn in a work whose genre - a workshop legend - was determined by Leskov himself during the first publication. The biography of one has forever become inseparable from the life of another. Yes, and the writing style of the writer is most often recognized precisely by the story of a skilled craftsman. Many critics immediately seized on the version put forward by the writer in the preface that this work is just a retold legend. Leskov had to write an article stating that in fact "Lefty" is the fruit of his imagination and long observations of life common man. So briefly Leskov was able to draw attention to the giftedness of the Russian peasant, as well as to the economic and cultural backwardness of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Late creativity

In the 1870s, Leskov was an employee of the educational department of the Scientific Committee at the Ministry of Public Education, then an employee of the Ministry of State Property. The service never brought him much joy, so he accepted his resignation in 1883 as an opportunity to become independent. The main thing for the writer has always been literary activity. "The Enchanted Wanderer", "The Sealed Angel", "The Man on the Clock", "The Non-Deadly Golovan", " Toupee artist”, “Evil” is a small part of the works that Leskov N. S. writes in the 1870-1880s. Stories and novels combine the images of the righteous - heroes of straightforward, fearless, unable to put up with evil. Quite often, memoirs or surviving old manuscripts formed the basis of the works. And among the heroes, along with fictional ones, there were also prototypes of real people, which gave the plot a special authenticity and truthfulness. Over the years, the works themselves acquired more and more satirical and revealing features. As a result, short stories and novels late years, among which "Invisible trace", "Falcon flight", "Hare remise" and, of course, "Devil's dolls", where Tsar Nicholas I served as the prototype for the main character, were not printed at all or were published with large censorship edits. According to Leskov, the publication of works, always rather problematic, in his declining years became completely unbearable.

Personal life

Leskov's family life was not easy either. The first time he married in 1853 was O. V. Smirnova, the daughter of a wealthy and well-known businessman in Kyiv. Two children were born from this marriage: daughter Vera and son Mitya (he died in infancy). Family life was short-lived: spouses - initially different people became more and more distant from each other. The situation was aggravated by the death of their son, and already in the early 1860s they broke up. Subsequently, Leskov's first wife ended up in a psychiatric hospital, where the writer visited her until his death.

In 1865, Nikolai Semenovich got along with E. Bubnova, they lived in a civil marriage, but the common life did not work out with her either. Their son, Andrei, after the separation of his parents, remained with Leskov. He later compiled a biography of his father, published in 1954.

Such a person was Nikolai Semenovich Leskov, whose brief biography is interesting to every connoisseur of Russian classical literature.

In the footsteps of the great writer

N. S. Leskov died on February 21 (March 5, according to the new style), 1895. His body rests at the Volkovskoye Cemetery (on the Literary Stage), on the grave there is a granite pedestal and a large cast-iron cross. And Leskov's house on Furshtadskaya Street, where he spent last years life, can be recognized by a memorial plaque installed in 1981.

Truly, the memory of the original writer, who often returned to his native places in his works, was immortalized in the Oryol region. Here, in his father's house, the only Literary and Memorial Leskov Museum in Russia was opened. Thanks to his son, Andrei Nikolaevich, it contains a large number of unique exhibits related to the life of Leskov: a child, a writer, public figure. Among them are personal items, valuable documents and manuscripts, letters, including the writer's class journal, and watercolors depicting native home and relatives of Nikolai Semenovich.

And in the old part of Orel to anniversary date- 150 years from the date of birth - a monument to Leskov was erected by Yu. Yu. and Yu. G. Orekhovs, A. V. Stepanov. The writer sits on a pedestal-sofa. In the background is the Church of Michael the Archangel, which was mentioned more than once in Leskov's works.

Nikolai Semenovich Leskov - the son of an impoverished nobleman from the Oryol province, was born on February 4, 1831. His childhood was spent first in the city of Orel, and then in the village of Panino, where the future writer had the opportunity to get to know life closely. common people.

Childhood and youth

At the age of ten, Nikolai was sent to the gymnasium. Studying was hard for him. As a result, in five years of study, Leskov managed to complete only two classes.

When Nikolai was sixteen years old, his father helped him get a job in the criminal office of the Oryol court. In the same year, Leskov loses not only his father, who died of cholera, but also all the property that burned down in a fire.

The uncle comes to the aid of the young man, who contributed to his transfer to Kyiv to the position of an official in the state chamber. The ancient city enchanted young man. He liked his landscapes; special temper local residents. Therefore, even after a three-year period of work in his uncle's company, which required him to travel frequently in Russia and Europe, at the end of his career, he returned to Kyiv again. It was 1860 that can be considered the very "starting point" in his writing. Initially, these were periodical magazine articles. And after moving to St. Petersburg, a serious literary activity began in the newspaper "Northern Bee".

creative path

Thanks to his correspondent activities, Leskov managed to travel around the territory of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Western Ukraine. At this time, he carefully studies the life of the local population.

1863 was the year of the final return to Russia. Rethinking everything that he had to face during the years of wandering, Leskov is trying to present his vision of the life of the common people in the first large-scale works, the novels Nowhere, Bypassed. His position differs from the views of many writers of that time: on the one hand, Leskov does not accept serfdom, and on the other, he does not understand the revolutionary way to overthrow him.

Since the position of the writer was contrary to the ideas of the then revolutionary democrats, it was not particularly readily published. Only Chief Editor"Russian Messenger" Mikhail Katkov went to the meeting and helped the writer. Moreover, cooperation with him was incredibly difficult for Leskov: Katkov constantly corrected his works, practically changing their essence radically. In case of disagreement - simply did not print. It came to the point that Leskov simply could not finish some of his works precisely because of disagreements with the editor of Russkiy Vestnik. So it happened with the novel "The Seedy Family". The only story that Katkov did not correct at all was The Sealed Angel.

Confession

Despite the rich literary creativity, Leskov entered the history as the creator famous story"Lefty". It was based on the legend of the skill of the then gunsmiths. In the story, the oblique craftsman Lefty managed to skillfully shoe a flea.

The last large-scale work of the writer was the story "Hare Remise". She left the pen in 1894. But since it was based on criticism of the political structure of Russia at that time, the story could only be published after the October Revolution of 1917.

The personal life of the writer was not entirely successful either. His first wife, Olga Smirnova, suffered from a mental disorder, and his first-born son died young. Life did not work out with his second wife Ekaterina Bubnova, with whom he broke up after 12 years of marriage.

The writer died of asthma on February 21, 1895. He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovskoye cemetery. And today, admirers of the writer's talent can honor the memory at his grave.

Nikolai Leskov is a Russian writer, publicist and memoirist. In his works, he paid great attention to the Russian people.

In the late period of his work, Leskov wrote a series satirical stories, many of which have not been censored. Nikolai Leskov was a deep psychologist, thanks to which he masterfully described the characters of his heroes.

He is best known for famous work"Lefty", which surprisingly conveys the features of the Russian character.

There were many interesting events in Leskov, the main ones of which we will introduce you right now.

So in front of you short biography Leskova.

Leskov's biography

Nikolai Semenovich Leskov was born on February 4, 1831 in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province. His father, Semyon Dmitrievich, was the son of a priest. He also graduated from the seminary, but preferred to work in the Oryol Criminal Chamber.

In the future, the stories of the father-seminarian and the grandfather-priest will seriously affect the formation of the views of the writer.

Leskov's father was a very gifted investigator, able to unravel the most difficult case. Due to his merits, he was awarded the title of nobility.

The writer's mother, Maria Petrovna, was from a noble family.

In addition to Nikolai, four more children were born in the Leskov family.

Childhood and youth

When the future writer was barely 8 years old, his father had a serious quarrel with his management. This led to the fact that their family moved to the village of Panino. There they bought a house and began to live a simple life.

Having reached a certain age, Leskov went to study at the Oryol gymnasium. An interesting fact is that in almost all subjects the young man received low marks.

After 5 years of study, he was issued a certificate of completion of only 2 classes. Leskov's biographers suggest that teachers were to blame for this, who treated students harshly and often punished them physically.

After studying, Nikolai had to get a job. His father sent him to the criminal chamber as a clerk.

In 1848, a tragedy occurred in Leskov's biography. His father died of cholera, leaving their family without support and a breadwinner.

The following year, at his own request, Leskov got a job in the state chamber in Kyiv. At that time, he lived with his own uncle.

Being at a new workplace, Nikolai Leskov became seriously interested in reading books. He soon began attending the university as a volunteer.

Unlike most students, the young man listened attentively to the lecturers, eagerly absorbing new knowledge.

During this period of his biography, he became seriously interested in icon painting, and also made acquaintance with various Old Believers and sectarians.

Then Leskov got a job at the Schcott and Wilkens company, owned by his relative.

He was often sent on business trips, in connection with which he managed to visit different ones. Later, Nikolai Leskov would call this period of time the best in his biography.

Creativity Leskov

For the first time, Nikolai Semenovich Leskov wanted to take up a pen while working at Schcott and Wilkens. Every day he had to meet with different people and be a witness to interesting situations.

Initially, he wrote articles on everyday social topics. For example, he denounced officials for illegal activities, after which criminal cases were opened against some of them.

When Leskov was 32 years old, he wrote the story "The Life of a Woman", which was later published in a St. Petersburg magazine.

He then presented several more short stories, which were positively received by critics.

Inspired by the first success, he continued writing activity. Soon, very deep and serious essays “The Warrior” and “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” came out from Leskov’s pen.

An interesting fact is that Leskov not only masterfully conveyed the images of his heroes, but also decorated the works with intellectual humor. They often contained sarcasm and skilfully disguised parody.

Thanks to these techniques, Nikolai Leskov developed his own and unique literary style.

In 1867 Leskov tried himself as a playwright. He wrote many plays, many of which were staged in theaters. The play "The Spender", which tells about the merchant's life, gained particular popularity.

Then Nikolai Leskov published several serious novels, including "Nowhere" and "On Knives". In them he criticized different kind revolutionaries as well as nihilists.

Soon his novels caused a wave of discontent from the ruling elite. The editors of many publications refused to publish his works in their journals.

The next work of Leskov, which today is included in the mandatory school curriculum, became "Lefty". In it, he described the masters of weapons in paints. Leskov managed to present the plot so well that they began to talk about him as outstanding writer modernity.

In 1874, by decision of the Ministry of Public Education, Leskov was approved for the position of censor of new books. Thus, he had to determine which of the books was eligible for publication and which was not. For his work, Nikolai Leskov received a very small salary.

During this period of his biography, he wrote the story "The Enchanted Wanderer", which no publisher wanted to publish.

The story was different in that many of its plots deliberately did not have a logical conclusion. Critics did not understand Leskov's idea and were very sarcastic about the story.

After that, Nikolai Leskov released a collection of short stories "The Righteous", in which he described the fate of ordinary people met on his way. However, these works were also negatively received by critics.

In the 80s, signs of religiosity began to clearly appear in his works. In particular, Nikolai Semenovich wrote about early Christianity.

At a later stage of his work, Leskov wrote works in which he denounced officials, military personnel and church leaders.

To given period creative biography include such works as "The Beast", "Scarecrow", "Dumb Artist" and others. In addition, Leskov managed to write a number of stories for children.

It is worth noting that he spoke of Leskov as "the most Russian of our writers", and they considered him one of their main teachers.

He spoke about Nikolai Leskov as follows:

“As an artist of the word, N. S. Leskov is quite worthy to stand next to such creators of Russian as L. Tolstoy, Turgenev,. Leskov's talent, in strength and beauty, is not much inferior to the talent of any of the named creators. scripture about the Russian land, but by the breadth of coverage of the phenomena of life, the depth of understanding everyday riddles her, with a fine knowledge of the Great Russian language, he often exceeds the named predecessors and associates of his.

Personal life

In the biography of Nikolai Leskov there were 2 official marriages. His first wife was the daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur, Olga Smirnova, whom he married at the age of 22.

Over time, Olga began mental disorders. Later, she even had to be sent to a clinic for treatment.

In this marriage, the writer had a girl, Vera, and a boy, Mitya, who died at an early age.

Left virtually without a wife, Leskov began to cohabit with Ekaterina Bubnova. In 1866 their son Andrei was born. Having lived in a civil marriage for 11 years, they decided to leave.

An interesting fact is that Nikolai Leskov was a staunch vegetarian for almost his entire biography. He was an ardent opponent of killing for food.

Moreover, in June 1892, in the Novoe Vremya newspaper, Leskov published an appeal entitled “On the need to publish in Russian a well-composed detailed kitchen book for vegetarians.”

Death

Throughout his life, Leskov suffered from asthma attacks, which in recent years began to progress.

He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovskoye cemetery.

Shortly before his death, in 1889-1893, Leskov compiled and published by A. S. Suvorin " complete collection works" in 12 volumes, which included for the most part his works of art.

For the first time, a truly complete (30-volume) collected works of the writer began to be published by the Terra publishing house in 1996 and continues to this day.

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Born on February 4 (16 n.s.) in the village of Gorokhovo, Oryol province, in the family of an official of the criminal chamber, who came from the clergy. Childhood years were spent in the estate of the Strakhovs' relatives, then in Orel. After his retirement, Leskov's father took up agriculture in the farm he acquired, Panin, Kromsky district. In the wilderness of Oryol, the future writer was able to see and learn a lot, which later gave him the right to say: "I did not study the people by talking with St. Petersburg cabbies ... I grew up among the people ... I was my own person with the people ... I was that people are closer than all priests ... "In 1841 1846 Leskov studied at the Oryol gymnasium, which he failed to graduate from: in the sixteenth year he lost his father, and the family's property was destroyed in a fire. Leskov joined the Orel Criminal Chamber of the Court, which gave him good stuff for future works.

In 1849, with the support of his uncle, Kyiv professor S. Alferyev, Leskov was transferred to Kyiv as an official of the Treasury. In the house of his uncle, his mother's brother, a professor of medicine, under the influence of progressive university professors, Leskov's ardent interest arose in Herzen, in the great poet of Ukraine Taras Shevchenko, in Ukrainian culture, he became interested in old painting and architecture of Kyiv, becoming in the future an outstanding connoisseur of ancient Russian art.

In 1857, Leskov retired and entered the private service of a large trading company, which was engaged in the resettlement of peasants to new lands and on whose business he traveled almost the entire European part of Russia.

Start literary activity Leskova refers to 1860, when he first appeared as a progressive publicist. In January 1861, Leskov settled in St. Petersburg with a desire to devote himself to literary and journalistic activity. He began to publish in the "Notes of the Fatherland".

Leskov came to Russian literature, having a large stock of observations on Russian life, with sincere sympathy for the needs of the people, which was reflected in his stories "Extinguished Business" (1862), "The Robber"; in the stories "The Life of a Woman" (1863), "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1865).

In 1862, as a correspondent for the newspaper Severnaya Pchela, he visited Poland, Western Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. He wanted to get acquainted with the life, art and poetry of the Western Slavs, with whom he was very sympathetic. The trip ended with a visit to Paris. In the spring of 1863 Leskov returned to Russia.

Knowing well the province, its needs, human characters, details of everyday life and deep ideological currents, Leskov did not accept the calculations of "theoreticians" cut off from Russian roots. He talks about this in the story "The Musk Ox" (1863), in the novels "Nowhere" (1864), "Bypassed" (1865), "On Knives" (1870). They outline the theme of Russia's unpreparedness for the revolution and tragic fate people who connected their lives with the hope of its speedy realization. Hence the disagreement with the revolutionary democrats.

In 1870 1880 Leskov overestimated a lot; acquaintance with Tolstoy has a great influence on him. National-historical issues appeared in his work: the novel "Cathedrals" (1872), "The Seedy Family" (1874). During these years he wrote several stories about artists: "The Islanders", "The Sealed Angel".

The talent of a Russian person, the kindness and generosity of his soul have always admired Leskov, and this theme found its expression in the stories "Lefty (The Tale of the Tula Oblique Lefty and the Steel Flea)" (1881), "Dumb Artist" (1883), "Man on clock" (1887).

In Leskov's legacy great place occupied by satire, humor and irony: "Selective Grain", "Shameless", "Waste Dances", etc. The story "Hare Remise" was the last major work of the writer.

Leskov died in St. Petersburg.