Saltykov-shchedrin, Mikhail Evgrafovich. Saltykov-Shchedrin: a list of fairy tales

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (real name Saltykov, pseudonym Nikolai Shchedrin). Born January 15 (27), 1826 - died April 28 (May 10), 1889. Russian writer, journalist, editor of the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine, Ryazan and Tver vice-governors.

Mikhail Saltykov was born into an old noble family, in the estate of his parents, the village of Spas-Ugol, Kalyazinsky district, Tver province. He was the sixth child of a hereditary nobleman and collegiate adviser Evgraf Vasilyevich Saltykov (1776-1851).

The writer's mother, Zabelina Olga Mikhailovna (1801-1874), was the daughter of the Moscow nobleman Mikhail Petrovich Zabelin (1765-1849) and Marfa Ivanovna (1770-1814). Although Saltykov-Shchedrin asked not to be confused with the personality of Nikanor Shabby, on behalf of whom the story is being told, in the footnote to "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" Saltykov-Shchedrin asked not to be confused with the identity of much of what is reported about Shabby with the undoubted facts of the life of Saltykov-Shchedrin suggests that "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" is partly autobiographical.

The first teacher of Saltykov-Shchedrin was the serf of his parents, the painter Pavel Sokolov; then his elder sister, a priest of a neighboring village, a governess and a student of the Moscow Theological Academy studied with him. Ten years old, he entered the Moscow Noble Institute, and two years later he was transferred, as one of the best students, to a state-owned pupil at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. It was there that he began his career as a writer.

In 1844 he graduated from the lyceum in the second category (that is, with the rank of X class), 17 out of 22 students, because his behavior was certified no more than “quite good”: to the usual school misconduct (rudeness, smoking, carelessness in clothes) he "writing poetry" of "disapproving" content was added. In the lyceum, under the influence of Pushkin's legends, fresh even then, each course had its own poet; in the thirteenth year, this role was played by Saltykov-Shchedrin. Several of his poems were placed in the "Library for Reading" in 1841 and 1842, when he was still a lyceum student; others, published in Sovremennik (edited by Pletnev) in 1844 and 1845, were also written by him while still in the Lyceum; all these poems are reprinted in Materials for the Biography of I. E. Saltykov, attached to the complete collection of his works.

Not a single one of Saltykov-Shchedrin's poems (partly translated, partly original) bears traces of talent; the later ones are even inferior in time to the earlier ones. Saltykov-Shchedrin soon realized that he had no vocation for poetry, stopped writing poetry and did not like being reminded of them. However, in these student exercises, one can feel a sincere mood, mostly sad, melancholy (at that time, Saltykov-Shchedrin was known to his acquaintances as a “gloomy lyceum student”).

In August 1844, Saltykov-Shchedrin was enrolled in the office of the Minister of War and only two years later he received his first full-time position there - assistant secretary. Literature already then occupied him much more than service: he not only read a lot, being especially fond of the French socialists (a brilliant picture of this hobby was drawn by him thirty years later in the fourth chapter of the collection Abroad), but also wrote - at first small bibliographic notes (in Otechestvennye Zapiski, 1847), then the novels Contradictions (ibid., November 1847) and A Tangled Case (March 1848).

Already in the bibliographic notes, despite the unimportance of the books about which they are written, one can see the author's way of thinking - his aversion to routine, to conventional morality, to serfdom; in some places there are also sparkles of mocking humor.

In the first story of Saltykov-Shchedrin, "Contradictions", which he never subsequently reprinted, sounds, stifled and muffled, the very theme on which the early novels of J. Sand were written: recognition of the rights of life and passion. The hero of the story, Nagibin, is a man, exhausted by greenhouse upbringing and defenseless against the influences of the environment, against the "little things of life." The fear of these trifles both then and later (for example, in "The Road" in "Provincial Essays") was apparently familiar to Saltykov-Shchedrin himself - but with him it was that fear that serves as a source of struggle, and not despondency. Thus, only one small corner of the author's inner life was reflected in Nagibin. Another protagonist of the novel - the “female fist”, Kroshina - resembles Anna Pavlovna Zatrapeznaya from Poshekhonskaya Antiquity, that is, it was probably inspired by Saltykov-Shchedrin's family memories.

Much larger is A Tangled Case (reprinted in Innocent Tales), which was heavily influenced by The Overcoat, perhaps Poor People, but contains some remarkable pages (for example, the image of a pyramid of human bodies that is dreamed of by Michulin). “Russia,” the hero of the story reflects, “is a vast, plentiful and rich state; yes, a person is stupid, he is starving to himself in a rich state. “Life is a lottery,” tells him the familiar look bequeathed to him by his father; “It is so,” answers some unfriendly voice, “but why is it a lottery, why shouldn’t it just be life?” A few months earlier, such reasoning would perhaps have gone unnoticed - but The Tangled Case appeared just when the February Revolution in France was reflected in Russia by the establishment of the so-called Buturlin Committee (named after its chairman D. P. Buturlin), endowed with special powers to curb the press.

As a punishment for freethinking, already on April 28, 1848, he was exiled to Vyatka and on July 3 he was appointed a clerical officer under the Vyatka provincial government. In November of the same year, he was appointed senior officer for special assignments under the Vyatka governor, then twice served as governor of the governor's office, and from August 1850 he was an adviser to the provincial government. Little information has been preserved about his service in Vyatka, but, judging by the note on the land unrest in Sloboda district, found after the death of Saltykov-Shchedrin in his papers and set out in detail in the “Materials” for his biography, he warmly took his duties to heart when they brought him into direct contact with the masses of the people and enabled him to be useful to them.

Saltykov-Shchedrin learned provincial life in its darkest sides, which at that time easily eluded the gaze, as well as possible, thanks to business trips and the consequences that were assigned to him - and a rich stock of observations made by him found their place in the "Provincial Essays". He dispersed the heavy boredom of mental loneliness with extracurricular activities: fragments of his translations from Tocqueville, Vivienne, Cheruel and notes written by him about the famous book of Beccaria have been preserved. For the Boltin sisters, daughters of the Vyatka vice-governor, of whom one (Elizaveta Apollonovna) became his wife in 1856, he compiled a Brief History of Russia.

In November 1855, he was finally allowed to leave Vyatka (from where, until then, he had only once gone to his village in Tver); in February 1856 he was assigned to the Ministry of the Interior, in June of the same year he was appointed an official for special assignments under the minister, and in August he was sent to the provinces of Tver and Vladimir to review the paperwork of the provincial militia committees (convened, on the occasion of the Eastern War, in 1855). In his papers, there was a draft note drawn up by him in the execution of this assignment. She certifies that the so-called noble provinces appeared before Saltykov-Shchedrin in no better shape than the non-noble, Vyatka; Abuses in the equipment of the militia were found to be numerous. Somewhat later, he compiled a note on the structure of the city and zemstvo police, imbued with the then little widespread idea of ​​decentralization and very boldly emphasizing the shortcomings of the existing order.

Following the return of Saltykov-Shchedrin from exile, his literary activity resumed with great brilliance. The name of the court adviser Shchedrin, who signed the Gubernskie Ocherki, which appeared in Russkiy vestnik since 1856, immediately became one of the most beloved and popular.

Collected into one whole, "Provincial Essays" in 1857 withstood two editions (subsequently - many more). They laid the foundation for a whole literature, called "accusatory", but they themselves belonged to it only in part. The outer side of the world of slander, bribes, all sorts of abuses fills entirely only some of the essays; the psychology of bureaucratic life comes to the fore, such large figures as Porfiry Petrovich, as a “mischievous man”, the prototype of the “pompadours”, or “torn”, the prototype of the “Tashkent”, like Peregorensky, come forward, with whose indomitable snitching even administrative sovereignty must be considered.

Born into a wealthy family of Evgraf Vasilyevich Saltykov, a hereditary nobleman and collegiate adviser, and Olga Mikhailovna Zabelina. He was educated at home - his first mentor was the serf painter Pavel Sokolov. Later, young Michael was educated by a governess, a priest, a seminary student, and his older sister. At the age of 10, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin entered the Moscow Noble Institute, where he demonstrated great academic success.

In 1838, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin entered the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. There, for his academic success, he was transferred to study at public expense. In the lyceum, he began to write "free" poetry, ridiculing the surrounding shortcomings. Poems were weak, soon the future writer stopped doing poetry and did not like being reminded of the poetic experiences of his youth.

In 1841 the first poem "Lyra" was published.

In 1844, after graduating from the Lyceum, Mikhail Saltykov entered the service of the Office of the War Ministry, where he wrote free-thinking works.

In 1847 the first story "Contradictions" was published.

On April 28, 1848, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin was sent to a service transfer to Vyatka for the story "A Tangled Case" - away from the capital into exile. There he had an impeccable working reputation, did not take bribes and, enjoying great success, was well received in all houses.

In 1855, having received permission to leave Vyatka, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin left for St. Petersburg, where a year later he became an official for special assignments under the Minister of the Interior.

In 1858, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin was appointed vice-governor in Ryazan.

In 1860 he was transferred to Tver as vice-governor. During the same period, he actively collaborated with the magazines Moskovsky Vestnik, Russkiy Vestnik, Library for Reading, Sovremennik.

In 1862, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin retired and tried to found a magazine in Moscow. But the publishing project failed and he moved to St. Petersburg.

In 1863, he became an employee of the Sovremennik magazine, but due to microscopic fees, he was forced to return to the service again.

In 1864, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin was appointed chairman of the Penza State Chamber, and was later transferred to Tula in the same position.

In 1867 he was transferred to Ryazan as head of the Treasury.

In 1868, he again retired with the rank of a truly state councilor and wrote his main works “History of a City”, “Poshekhonskaya Antiquity”, “Diary of a Provincial in St. Petersburg”, “History of a City”.

In 1877, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin became the editor-in-chief of Otechestvennye Zapiski. He travels around Europe and meets Zola and Flaubert.

In 1880, the novel "Lord Golovlev" was published.

In 1884, the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine was closed by the government, and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin's health deteriorated sharply. He is ill for a long time.

In 1889, the novel "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" was published.

In May 1889, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin fell ill with a cold and died on May 10. He was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (1826 - 1889) - a famous writer - satirist.

The famous satirist writer Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov (pseudo-N. Shchedrin) was born on January 15 (27), 1826 in the village. Spas-Angle of the Kalyazinsky district of the Tver province. A native of an old noble family, by his mother - a merchant family.

Under the influence of socialist ideas, he came to a complete rejection of the landlord way of life, bourgeois relations and autocracy. The first major publication of the writer - "Provincial essays" (1856-1857), published on behalf of the "court councilor N. Shchedrin".

After a decisive rapprochement with the Social Democrats in the early 1860s. was forced in 1868 to temporarily withdraw from large-scale activities in the editorial office of the Sovremennik magazine in connection with the crisis of the democratic camp; from November 1864 to June 1868 he was engaged in provincial administrative activities successively in Penza, Tula and Ryazan.

In Tula he served from December 29, 1866 to October 13, 1867 as the manager of the Tula State Chamber.

The peculiar features of Saltykov's character, shown by him during the leadership of an important government agency in Tula, the most expressive features of his personality were captured by the Tula official I.M. Mikhailov, who served under him, in an article published in the Historical Bulletin in 1902. in Tula, Saltykov vigorously and in his own way fought against bureaucracy, bribery, embezzlement, stood for the interests of the lower Tula social strata: peasants, handicraftsmen, petty officials.

In Tula, Saltykov wrote a pamphlet on Governor Shidlovsky, "A Governor with a Stuffed Head."

Saltykov's activities in Tula ended with his removal from the city due to sharply conflicting relations with the provincial authorities.

In 1868, this "restless man" was finally dismissed by order of Emperor Alexander II as "an official imbued with ideas that do not agree with the types of state benefits."

Continuing his writing activity, Saltykov opened the 1870s with the work "The History of a City", where, according to the assumptions of Tula local historians, in the portrait of the mayor Pryshch there are living features of the governor Shidlovsky.

Tula and Aleksin are mentioned by Saltykov in his works Diary of a Provincial in Petersburg and How One Man Feeded Two Generals. Saltykov, apparently, relied on practical experience in Tula in one of his Letters from the Province. However, local historians agree that it is difficult to take into account with documentary accuracy in what other works of Shchedrin's Tula impressions were reflected.

The stay of Saltykov-Shchedrin in Tula is marked by a memorial plaque on the building of the former Treasury Chamber (43, Lenin Ave.). Documents about the official activities of the writer are stored in the State Archives of the Tula Region. The Tula artist Y. Vorogushin created eight etchings-illustrations for "The History of a City" in memory of the satirist.

Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin (real name Saltykov, pseudonym "N. Shchedrin") was born on January 27 (January 15 according to the old style), 1826 in the village of Spas-Ugol, Tver province (now the Taldom district of the Moscow region). He was the sixth child of a hereditary nobleman collegiate adviser, his mother came from a family of Moscow merchants. Until the age of 10, the boy lived on his father's estate.

In 1836, Mikhail Saltykov was enrolled in the Moscow noble institute, where the poet Mikhail Lermontov had previously studied, in 1838, as the best student of the institute, he was transferred to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Saltykov was known as the first poet on the course, his poems were published in periodicals.

In 1844, after graduating from the lyceum, he was appointed to serve in the office of the military ministry in St. Petersburg.

In 1845-1847, Saltykov attended meetings of a circle of Russian utopian socialists - "Fridays" of Mikhail Butashevich-Petrashevsky, whom he met at the Lyceum.

In 1847-1848, Saltykov's first reviews were published in the journals Sovremennik and Domestic Notes.

In 1847, Saltykov's first story, Contradictions, dedicated to the economist Vladimir Milyutin, was published in Otechestvennye Zapiski.

The release of this work coincided with the tightening of censorship restrictions after the French Revolution and the organization of a secret committee chaired by Prince Menshikov; as a result, the story was banned, and its author was exiled to Vyatka (now Kirov) and appointed to the position of scribe in the provincial government.

In 1855, Saltykov received permission to return to St. Petersburg.

In 1856-1858, he was an official for special assignments in the Ministry of the Interior, participated in the preparation of the peasant reform of 1861.

From 1856 to 1857 Saltykov's Provincial Essays were published in Russkiy Vestnik under the pseudonym N. Shchedrin. "Essays" were marked by the attention of Nikolai Chernyshevsky and Nikolai Dobrolyubov, who devoted articles to them.

In March 1858, Saltykov was appointed vice-governor of the city of Ryazan.

In April 1860, in connection with a conflict with the Ryazan governor, Saltykov was appointed vice-governor of Tver, and in January 1862 he resigned.

In 1858-1862, the collections "Innocent Stories" and "Satires in Prose" were published, in which the city of Foolov appeared for the first time - a collective image of modern Russian reality.

In 1862-1864, Saltykov was a member of the editorial board of the Sovremennik magazine.

In 1864-1868 he served as chairman of the Penza Treasury Chamber, manager of the Tula Treasury Chamber and manager of the Treasury Chamber of Ryazan.

Since 1868, he collaborated with the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski, since 1878 he was the editor-in-chief of the journal.

While working in Otechestvennye Zapiski, the writer created his significant works - the novels The History of a City (1869-1970) and The Golovlevs (1875-1880).

In parallel, the writer worked on journalistic articles, in the 1870s he published collections of stories "Signs of the Times", "Letters from the Province", "Pompadours and Pompadours", "Lords of Tashkent", "Diary of a provincial in St. Petersburg", "Well-meaning speeches", become a noticeable phenomenon not only in literature, but also in socio-political life.

In the 1880s, the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin saw the light of day, the first of which were published in 1869.

In 1886, the novel "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" was written.

In February 1889, the writer began preparing the author's edition of the collected works in nine volumes, but only one volume was published during his lifetime.

On May 10 (April 28, old style), 1889, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin died in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Literary bridges of the Volkovsky cemetery.

In 1890, the complete works of the writer were published in nine volumes. From 1891 to 1892, a complete collection of works in 12 volumes was published, prepared by the author's heirs, which was repeatedly reprinted.

Saltykov-Shchedrin was married to Elizaveta Boltina, whom he met during the Vyatka exile, the son Konstantin and the daughter Elizaveta were born in the family.

Fascinating fairy tales by Saltykov-Shchedrin are loved by both adults and children. The fact is that they are not like others, as they are rich in vivid images and original plots. The author actually founded a new genre of political fairy tale, in which he combined elements of fantasy with real life events. All the tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin are created on the basis of the traditions of Russian and Western European folklore, they are permeated with satire, the elements of which Shchedrin learned from the great fabulist Krylov.

Tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin read

In all his works, Saltykov-Shchedrin raises the problem of class inequality. His fairy tales also tell about this in an allegorical form. Here, the collective image of the oppressed working people is personified by the positive protagonist - a kind, harmless animal or a person whom the author simply calls "man". Shchedrin shows lazy and evil rich people in the images of predators or people representing the highest ranks (for example, generals).

Moreover, the author endows the man with kindness, intelligence, ingenuity, generosity and diligence. He clearly sympathizes with him and in his person all the poor people who are forced to work hard for rich tyrants all their lives. The peasant treats his masters with irony, without losing, however, his own dignity.

Also with sympathy in his fairy tales, Saltykov-Shchedrin describes kind, cute animals that suffer from evil predatory brethren. He endows the animals with human traits, making the fairy tales of Saltykov-Shchedrin even more interesting to read. And the thoughtful reader, having laughed enough at the comical deeds of animals, quickly realizes that everything happens in the same way in people's lives, and that the existing reality is sometimes cruel and unfair.