Radishchev the main points of his life and creative path. Life and work of A.N. Radishchev

Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev (1749-1802) grew up in a wealthy landowner family, in a village in the Saratov province. His father was an educated man and not lacking in humane sentiments; he did not oppress his peasants unduly. When R. was 8 years old, he was taken to Moscow. Here he lived with a relative, M.F. Argamakov Yu, and studied with his children. His teachers were professors Mosk. university.

From the very early years Russian progressive social thought was the soil on which Radishchev’s self-awareness and worldview grew.

In 1762, Radishchev was granted a page. The Corps of Pages was, to a lesser extent, general education educational institution than a school for future courtiers.

In the fall of 1766, R. was sent to Leipzig as part of a group of young nobles to study law at the university. In addition to legal sciences, R. studies philosophy and natural sciences. He spent 5 years in Leipzig, where his friendship began with Ushakov (died in Leipzig) and A.M. Kutuzov. Catherine sent students abroad under the supervision of Major Bokum, who put money in his pocket, starved the students, and mocked them. Leipzig Univ. gave R. a scientific school.

R. had to serve in Russia and was assigned to the Senate as a protocol officer. He left the service and entered another place; as a lawyer, he became a chief auditor, i.e. military prosecutor on the staff of General Bruce.

In 1775 he retired and married. Two years later he began serving again; he entered the Commerce College, which was in charge of trade and industry.

From 1780, R. became an assistant to the manager of the St. Petersburg customs, soon he began to actually perform the position of its manager, and finally in 1790 he was officially appointed to this position. He was a fairly prominent official, a well-connected man, a man well-known in the capital.

A few months after R. returned to his homeland from Leipzig, an anonymous excerpt from “Travel to ** I** T***” was published in Novikov’s magazine “Zhivopiets”. This was the first work in Russian literature of the 18th century, which gave a true picture of the horror of serfdom. (Gukovsky writes that “Soviet science recognizes that the “Excerpt” was written by Radishchev).

Other literary works by R. that have come down to us date back to the first half of the 1770s: the translation of a special military work “Officer Exercises” and the writing artistic essay"Diary of one week." In the 1780s, Radishchev worked on “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” and wrote other works in prose and poetry.

In 1789, the semi-mystical, semi-liberal “Society of Friends of Verbal Sciences” was formed in St. Petersburg, uniting young writers, officers (mainly sailors), and officials.

R. entered this society and carried out his propaganda in it. It became one of the centers of the society. In the magazine “Conversing Citizen” (the society’s printed organ), he published his article “A Conversation about Being a Son of the Fatherland.” The magazine entered into relations with the city duma, established three years earlier. In May 1790 naval war with Sweden took a turn dangerous for St. Petersburg. And at this moment Radishchev turned out to be the initiator of organizing a militia of volunteers of various kinds of people, armed to take over the city. Implemented this initiative city ​​council. At the same time, peasants running away from the landowners were also taken into the militia.

In 1789, R. again appeared in print after a break of more than ten years. This year his anonymous brochure “The Life of Fyodor Vasilyevich Ushakov” appeared. The brochure consisted of two parts: in the first, R. gave an artistically written essay describing a friend of his youth and talked about the life of Russian students in Leipzig; the second consisted of translations of Ushakov’s philosophical and legal sketches made by R. The first part is a very subtly and deeply conceived story about youth. “The Life of Ushakov” - a life on new way. His hero is by no means a saint. He is not a famous nobleman or military leader. He is an inconspicuous young man, an official, and then a student. But he is a man of the future century, a young man devoted to science and the ideas of freedom, and he is more valuable to R. than all generals and dignitaries. In addition, he is R.’s friend (the theme of exalted friendship).

That propaganda effect, cat. R.'s book produced, in the presence of a tense social atmosphere in 1789, on the one hand, stimulated him to further activity, on the other hand, made the reaction wary.

Meanwhile, in 1789, R. completed his long-term work “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.” He submitted the manuscript to the censor, and the St. Petersburg Chief of Police Ryleev let it through without reading it. However, attempts to publish it led nowhere. Then R. set up a small printing house at his home. First, for experience, he published his brochure “Letter to a Friend Living in Tobolsk” in it; it was an article written back in 1782, dedicated to a description of the opening of the monument to Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, and concluded an analysis of Peter’s reform activities. The article ended with a definite indication of the hopelessness of hopes for improving the situation from above, from the throne, and with a greeting to the French Revolution.

In May 1790 25 copies of the book “Journey...” appeared. The author's name was not on the book. At the end of the book there was a note that the police censorship had allowed it. R. kept the remaining copies of the book (600 in total) for now.

A search began immediately. The author was soon found. Having learned that he was in danger, R managed to burn all the remaining copies of the book, and on June 30 he was arrested. The investigation lasted less than a month. R. sat in Peter and Paul Fortress. While in prison, R. began to write a story about Saint Philaret the Merciful. In appearance it was precisely the “life of the saint”; but its meaning was different. Under the guise of Filaret, he portrayed himself, and the life was supposed to appear as a half-encrypted autobiography. He portrayed himself as a righteous man.

All R. On July 1790, R.'s case came to trial at the St. Petersburg Criminal Chamber. On July 24, the chamber sentenced him to death. On September 4, Catherine signed a decree replacing his execution with exile to Siberia, in Ilimsky fort, for ten years.

The journey itself lasted more than a year. Radishchev lived well in Ilimsk thanks to Vorontsov’s material support and connections. Radishchev spent six years in Siberia. Here he wrote a discussion on an economic topic, “Letter on Chinese Bargaining,” addressed to A.R. Vorontsov. Here he published an extensive philosophical treatise “On Man, His Mortality and Immortality.” The treatise is divided into 4 books:

1 – sets general provisions and the starting points of reasoning, determines the place occupied by man in nature, examines his mental abilities in terms of posing the problem of the theory of knowledge.

2 – provides evidence in favor of the mortality of the soul, in favor of materialism

3, 4 – evidence in favor of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, idealism.

Pavel 1 allowed Radishchev to return to European Russia, however, so that he lives in the village under police supervision and without the right of movement. He wrote the poem “Bova” here, of which only the introduction and the first song have reached us; here he began to write “Description of My Domain,” an agronomic and economic treatise in which, as can be seen from the beginning that has come down to us, he wanted to scientifically prove the need for freedom for the peasants.

In 1801 the new Tsar Alexander 1 freed Radishchev completely, returned to him the nobility, rank and order, taken away by the verdict of 1790.

A.R. Vorontsov began to play a role in the government at this time. Vorontsov recruited R. to work in the Law Drafting Commission. In the Commission, R. courageously pursued his independent line.

Apparently, his two wonderful poems (both unfinished) “Ancient Songs” and “Historical Song” date back to this time. In the first, built partly on the basis of the study of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” the central episode of the poem is the depiction of the invasion of Slavic land barbarian Celts, the enemies attacked Novgorod by surprise, in the absence of troops there, and killed people, seized them as slaves, and robbed them. But courageous Slavic warriors rush to save their homeland. They managed to capture enemies in Novgorod.

In the “Historical Song,” an extensive poetic story about world history, presented from the position of love of freedom and tyranny, R. wrote about the death of Tiberius, clearly recalling the death of Paul 1 and referring to his successor.

In the Commission, R.'s firmness and his free views led to friction with the authorities, for whom Radishchev was a rebel, a cat. and for the second time he may end up in Siberia. Life represented nothing for R. in the name of which one could fight. September 11, 1802 he committed suicide. Shortly before his death, he said: “Posterity will avenge me.”

“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.” (hereinafter – P)

The narrative opens with a letter to friend Alexei Mikhailovich Kutuzov, in which Radishchev explains his feelings that forced him to write this book. This is a kind of blessing for work.
Departure
Having said goodbye to his friends, the author-narrator leaves, suffering from separation. He dreams that he is alone, but, fortunately, there was a pothole, he woke up, and then they arrived at the station.
Sofia
Having taken the travel document, our traveler goes to the commissar for horses, but they don’t give them horses, they say that they don’t have them, although there are up to twenty nags in the stable. Twenty kopecks had an effect “on the coachmen.” They harnessed the troika behind the commissar's back, and the traveler set off further. The cab driver sings a mournful song, and the traveler reflects on the character of the Russian man. If a Russian wants to disperse his melancholy, he goes to a tavern; whatever doesn’t suit him, he gets into a fight. The traveler asks God why he turned away from people?
Tosna
Discussion about a disgusting road that cannot be overcome even in summer rains. In the station hut, the traveler meets a failed writer - a nobleman who wants to give him his literary work“about the loss of privileges by the nobles.” The traveler gives him copper pennies, and offers to give the “labor” by weight to the peddlers so that they can use the paper for “wrapping”, since it is not suitable for anything else.
Lyubani
A traveler sees a peasant plowing on a holiday and wonders if he is a schismatic? The peasant is Orthodox, but he is forced to work on Sunday, because... goes to corvée six days a week. The peasant says that he has three sons and three daughters, the eldest is only ten years old. To keep his family from starving, he has to work at night. He works diligently for himself, but only barely for his master. He is the only worker in the family, but the master has many. The peasant envies the quitrent and state peasants, their lives are easier, then he re-harnesses the horses so that they can rest, while he himself works without rest. The traveler mentally curses all the exploiting landowners and himself for offending his Petrushka when he was drunk.
Miracle
The traveler meets with a university friend, Chelishchev, who talks about his adventure in the raging Baltic, where he almost died because an official refused to send help, saying: “It’s not my position.” Now Chelishchev is leaving the city - “a host of lions”, so as not to see these villains.
Spasskaya field
The traveler got caught in the rain and asked to go into the hut to dry off. There he hears his husband's story about an official who loves “oysters” (oysters). For fulfilling his whim - delivering oysters - he gives ranks and awards from the state treasury. The rain has stopped. The traveler continued his journey with a companion who had asked for it. A fellow traveler tells his story of how he was a merchant, trusted dishonest people, was put on trial, his wife died during childbirth, which began due to worries a month earlier. A friend helped this unfortunate man escape. The traveler wants to help the fugitive, in a dream he imagines himself as an all-powerful ruler, whom everyone admires. This dream reveals to him the wanderer Straight-View, she removes the thorns from his eyes that prevent him from seeing the truth. The author states that the tsar was known among the people as “a deceiver, a hypocrite, a pernicious comedian.” Radishchev shows the discrepancy between Catherine's words and deeds; the ostentatious splendor, the lush, decorative façade of the empire hides behind itself terrible pictures oppression. Pryovzora turns to the king with words of contempt and anger: “Know that you are... the first robber, the first traitor of general silence, the fiercest enemy, directing his anger at the inside of the weak.” Radishchev shows that good kings no, they pour out their favors only on the unworthy. Podberezye The traveler meets a young man going to St. Petersburg to study with his uncle. Here are the young man's thoughts about the detrimental lack of an education system for the country. He hopes that the descendants will be happier in this regard, because... will be able to study. Novgorod The traveler admires the city, remembering its heroic past and how Ivan the Terrible set out to destroy the Novgorod Republic. The author is outraged: what right did the tsar have to “appropriate Novgorod”? The traveler then goes to his friend, Karp Dementich, who married his son. Everyone sits at the table together (host, young people, guest). The traveler draws portraits of his hosts. And the merchant talks about his affairs. Just as he was “launched around the world,” now the son is trading. Armored Women The traveler goes to the sacred hill and hears the menacing voice of the Almighty: “Why did you want to know the secret?” “What are you looking for, foolish child?” Where the “great city” once was, the traveler sees only poor shacks. In Zaitsev, the Traveler meets his friend Krestyankin, who once served and then retired. Peasant, very conscientious and warm-hearted man, was the chairman of the criminal chamber, but left his position, seeing the futility of his efforts. Krestyankin talks about a certain nobleman who began his career as a court stoker, and tells about the atrocities of this unscrupulous man. The peasants could not stand the bullying of the landowner's family and killed everyone. The peasant justified the “guilty” who had been driven to murder by the landowner. No matter how hard Krestyankin fought for a fair solution to this case, nothing happened. They were executed. And he resigned so as not to be an accomplice to this crime. The traveler receives a letter that tells about a strange wedding between “a 78-year-old young man and a 62-year-old young woman,” a certain widow who was engaged in pimping, and in her old age decided to marry the baron. He marries for money, and in her old age she wants to be called “Your Highness.” The author says that without the Buryndas the light would not have lasted even three days; he is outraged by the absurdity of what is happening.

Sacrum
Seeing the separation of the father from his sons going to work, the traveler recalls that out of one hundred serving nobles, ninety-eight “become rakes.” He grieves that he too will soon have to part with his eldest son. The author’s reasoning leads him to the conclusion: “Tell the truth, loving father, tell me, true citizen! Don't you want to strangle your son rather than let him go into service? Because in the service everyone cares about their own pockets, and not about the good of their homeland.” The landowner, calling on the traveler to witness how hard it is for him to part with his sons, tells them that they do not owe him anything, but must work for the good of the fatherland, for this he raised and cared for them, taught them sciences and forced them to think. He admonishes his sons not to stray from the true path, not to lose their pure and high souls.
Yazhelbitsy
Driving past the cemetery, the traveler sees a heartbreaking scene when a father, rushing at his son’s coffin, does not allow him to be buried, crying that they are not burying him with his son in order to stop his torment. For he is guilty that his son was born weak and sick and suffered so much as long as he lived. The traveler mentally reasons that he, too, probably passed on to his sons diseases with the vices of his youth.
Valdai
This ancient town is famous for its love unmarried women. The traveler says that everyone knows “Valdai bagels and shameless girls.” Next, he tells the legend of a sinful monk who drowned in a lake during a storm while swimming to his beloved.
Edrovo
The traveler sees many elegant women and girls. He admires their healthy appearance, reproaching the noblewomen for disfiguring their figures by wearing corsets, and then dying from childbirth, because they have been spoiling their bodies for years for the sake of fashion. The traveler talks to Annushka, who at first behaves sternly, and then, getting into conversation, said that her father died, she lives with her mother and sister, and wants to get married. But they ask a hundred rubles for the groom. Vanyukha wants to go to St. Petersburg to earn money. But the traveler says: “Don’t let him go there, there he will learn to drink, get out of the habit of peasant labor" He wants to give money, but the family won’t take it. He is amazed by their nobility.
Khotilov
Project in the future
Written on behalf of another traveler, even more progressive in his views than Radishchev. Our traveler finds papers left by his brother. Reading them, he finds arguments similar to his thoughts about the harmfulness of slavery, the evil nature of landowners, and the lack of enlightenment.
Vyshny Volochok
The traveler admires the locks and man-made canals. He talks about a landowner who treated peasants like slaves. They worked for him all day, and he gave them only meager food. The peasants did not have their own plots or livestock. And this “barbarian” flourished. The author calls on the peasants to destroy the estate and tools of this nonhuman, who treats them like oxen.
Vydropusk (again written from someone else’s notes)
Project of the future
The author says that the kings imagined themselves to be gods, surrounded themselves with a hundred servants and imagined that they were useful to the fatherland. But the author is sure that this order needs to be changed. The future is education. Only then will there be justice when people become equal.
Torzhok
The traveler meets a man who wants to open a free printing house. What follows is a discussion about the harmfulness of censorship. “What harm will it do if books are printed without a police stamp?” The author claims that the benefit of this is obvious: “Rulers are not free to separate the people from the truth.” The author in “A Brief Narrative of the Origin of Censorship” says that censorship and the Inquisition have the same roots. And tells the history of printing and censorship in the West. And in Russia... in Russia, what happened with censorship, he promises to tell “another time.”
Copper
The traveler sees a round dance of young women and girls. And then there is a description of the shameful public sale of peasants. A 75-year-old man is waiting to see who will give it to him. His 80-year-old wife was the nurse of the mother of a young master who mercilessly sold his peasants. There is also a 40-year-old woman, the master’s own nurse, and all peasant family, including a baby, going under the hammer. It is scary for a traveler to see this barbarity.
Tver
The traveler listens to the arguments of the tavern interlocutor “at lunch” about the poetry of Lomonosov, Sumarokov and Trediakovsky. The interlocutor reads excerpts from Radishchev’s ode “Liberty,” allegedly written by him, which he is taking to St. Petersburg to publish. The traveler liked the poem, but he did not have time to tell the author about it, because... he left quickly.
Gorodnya
Here the traveler sees a recruitment drive, hears the screams and cries of the peasants, and learns about the many violations and injustices happening during this process. The traveler listens to the story of the servant Vanka, who was raised and taught together with a young master, called Vanyusha, and sent abroad not as a slave, but as a comrade. But the old master favored him, and the young master hated him and was jealous of his success. The old man died. The young master got married, and his wife hated Ivan, humiliated him in every possible way, and then decided to marry him to a dishonored courtyard girl. Ivan called the landowner an “inhuman woman,” and then he was sent to become a soldier. Ivan is happy about this fate. Then the traveler saw three peasants whom the landowner sold as recruits, because... he needed a new carriage. The author is amazed at the lawlessness happening around.

Zavidovo
The traveler sees a warrior in a grenadier's hat, who, demanding horses, threatens the headman with a whip. By order of the headman, the traveler's fresh horses were taken away and given to the grenadier. The traveler is outraged by this order of things. What can you do?
Wedge
The traveler listens to the mournful song of the blind man, and then gives him a ruble. The old man is surprised by the generous alms. He's more excited about the birthday cake than the money. For the ruble can lead someone into temptation, and it will be stolen. Then the traveler gives the old man his scarf from his neck.
Pawns
The traveler treats the child with sugar, and his mother tells her son: “Take the master’s food.” The traveler is surprised why this is bar food. The peasant woman replies that she has nothing to buy sugar with, but they drink it at the bar because they don’t get the money themselves. The peasant woman is sure that these are the tears of slaves. The traveler saw that the owner's bread consisted of three parts of chaff and one part of unsown flour. He looked around for the first time and was horrified by the wretched surroundings. With anger he exclaims: “Cruel-hearted landowner! Look at the children of the peasants who are under your control!”, calls on the exploiters to come to their senses.
Black mud
The traveler meets the wedding train, but is very sad, because... They are going down the aisle under the compulsion of their master.
A word about Lomonosov
The author, passing by the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, entered it in order to honor the grave of the great Lomonosov with his presence. He remembers life path a great scientist striving for knowledge. Lomonosov eagerly studied everything that could be learned at that time and studied poetry. The author comes to the conclusion that Lomonosov was great in all matters that he touched.
And now it’s Moscow! Moscow!

The first, main task of P is the fight against serfdom, the fight against human oppression in general. R. proves that serfdom It is unprofitable from the point of view of the national economy that it reduces the amount of material goods obtained by a given people, in particular in Russia. He puts forward the thesis that forced labor is free, that a person works for himself better than for the oppressor. R. fundamentally denies the right of one person to oppress another.

The idea of ​​the corruption of landowners precisely because they are landowners is carried out throughout P. When depicting landowners, R. does not give exceptional figures; These are not rare individuals, not random phenomena in the class of “slave owners,” but rather normal cases, typical phenomena. Moral corruption has poisoned this class. In the entire book, with the exception of the old master in the chapter “Pride”, who is only briefly mentioned, and, of course, the ideal father in “Krestsy”, necessary for the presentation of Radishchev’s principles of education, there are only 2 noblemen who violate general rule: this is the traveler himself and Mr. Krestyankin from the chapter “Zaitsevo”. The landowner class in R.'s depiction consists mainly of creatures who have lost the right to the title of man and citizen.

R. contrasts the decay of the landowner class with an enthusiastic assessment of the merits folk character. The peasants are strong in spirit, they are healthy both morally and physically.

R. shows serfdom as a terrible evil from the very different points views. He shows that it is unfair, paints cruel pictures of the wild tyranny of the landowners, abuse of the serfs, and their unlimited exploitation. He proves that serfdom is illegal.

The solution to the issue of serfdom determines Radishchev’s attitude to the problems of the poetic existence of Russia. The bureaucracy, the various links of the government machine and its various representatives pass through a whole string of images and sketches. R. emphasizes the inhumanity, stupidity, and cruelty of the entire system of power in Russia.

Born in 1769 in Moscow. Young Krylov studied little and unsystematically. He was ten years old when his father, Andrei Prokhorovich, who was at that moment a minor official in Tver, died. Andrei Krylov “didn’t study science,” but he loved to read and instilled his love in his son. He himself taught the boy to read and write and left him a chest of books as an inheritance. Further education Krylov received thanks to the patronage of Nikolai Alexandrovich Lvov, who read the poems of the young poet. In his youth, he lived a lot in Lvov’s house, studied with his children, and simply listened to the conversations of writers and artists who came to visit. At the age of fourteen he ended up in St. Petersburg, where his mother went to ask for a pension. Then he got a job in the St. Petersburg Treasury Chamber. However, he was not too interested in official matters. In first place among Krylov’s hobbies were literary studies and visiting the theater. Librettos came from his pen comic operas Coffee pot And Rabid Family, tragedy Cleopatra (has not reached us) And Philomel, comedy Writer in the hallway. These works did not bring the young author either money or fame, but helped him get into the circle of St. Petersburg writers. He was patronized famous playwright Ya.B. Knyazhnin, however, a proud young man, deciding that they were mocking him in the “master’s” house, broke up with his older friend.

Since the late 80s, the main activity has been in the field of journalism. In 1789, he published the magazine “Mail of Spirits” for eight months. He was 20 years old. PD, according to Gukovsky, is one of the most remarkable magazines of the 18th century. However, it doesn't look much like a magazine. This is a collection of essays in the form of correspondence between gnomes, sylphs, etc. and the wizard Malikulmulk. The entire magazine is anonymous. Most likely, it was written entirely by Krylov, or at least all the material was processed by him. There was an opinion that Radishchev collaborated in the PD. The names of Rachmaninov and Emin are also mentioned. The PD was an organ of radical ideology. Krylov attacks the entire system of power and culture in his journal. He exposes judges and officials, bigots and hypocrites, and is not afraid to attack the royal power itself. K also raises economic issues in the PD, and fights against the dominance of foreign goods, and in connection with this stands his fight against gallomania. However, Krylov also attacks Russian merchants. The democratic beliefs of the PD are manifested quite clearly. The magazine also attacks serfdom. In addition, he opposes the rationalism of the French enlighteners. PD did not look away from the topic of the day. Her satire hits on very specific facts social life Russia at the end of the reign of Catherine2. A lot of space in the PD is devoted to literary polemics, primarily with Knyazhnin. The extraordinary courage of the magazine and its radicalism could not help but attract the attention of the government. Krylov had to take care of preserving the magazine through literary cover-ups. At the end of the publication, he either writes a jingoistic feuilleton about the Turkish war, or glorifies Catherine in prose and even in poetry. In the PD there are bright and broad sketches of everyday life, the desire to build character, in some places even elements realistic novel about a poor, insignificant person. Of course, Krylov’s fantasy is not given seriously, but only as a compositional and satirical motif. PD ceased with the August issue of 1789. The magazine had few subscribers, but the reason for its closure, apparently, was government pressure.

In 1790 he retired, deciding to devote himself entirely to literary activity. He became the owner of a printing house and in January 1792, together with his friend the writer Klushin, began publishing the magazine “Spectator,” which was already enjoying greater popularity. Greatest success The “Spectator” was brought the works of Krylov himself Kaib, an eastern story, fairy tale Nights, Eulogy for my grandfather. In the story "Kaib" we see Rousseauistic motifs characteristic of the young Krylov: happiness and virtue flourish away from the world, in a deep forest, in solitude. It is emphasized here that withdrawal from the world is not at all a noble idyll. Krylov exposes this same noble idyll in Kaib’s meeting with the shepherd. Instead of a happy Arcadian shepherd, he shows a real and, of course, Russian peasant, hungry, poor and not at all complacent. in this story, Krylov also exposes the odic lies of the nobility. The main theme of the story is Russian autocracy the times of Krylov. Oriental flavor, moving the action to the east could no longer deceive anyone. In Kaiba, the issue of monarchy is brought to the fore. In "A Eulogy for My Grandfather"- in the foreground is the question of serfdom. The number of subscribers grew. In 1793 the magazine was renamed “St. Petersburg Mercury”. By this time, his publishers focused primarily on constant ironic attacks on Karamzin and his followers. The publisher of Mercury was alien to Karamzin’s reformist work, which seemed to him artificial and overly susceptible to Western influences. At the end of 1793, the publication of the St. Petersburg Mercury ceased, and Krylov left St. Petersburg for several years. Some fragmentary information suggests that he lived for some time in Moscow, where he played cards a lot and recklessly. Apparently, he wandered around the province, living on the estates of his friends. In 1797, Krylov went to the estate of Prince S.F. Golitsyn, where he apparently was his secretary and teacher of his children. It was for the Golitsyns’ home performance that the play was written in 1799-1800 Trumph or Podschipa . In the evil caricature of the stupid, arrogant and evil warrior Trump, one could easily discern Paul I, who did not like the author primarily for his admiration for the Prussian army and King Frederick II. The irony was so caustic that the play was first published in Russia only in 1871. Meaning Trumpha not only in its political overtones. What is more important is that the very form of “joke tragedy” parodied classical tragedy with its high style and in many ways meant the author’s rejection of those aesthetic ideas to which he had been faithful over the previous decades. After the death of Paul I, Prince Golitsyn was appointed governor-general of Riga, and Krylov served as his secretary for two years. In 1803 he retired again and, apparently, again spent the next two years in continuous travel around Russia and card game. It was during these years, about which little is known, that the playwright and journalist began to write fables. It is known that in 1805 Krylov in Moscow showed the famous poet and fabulist I.I. Dmitriev his translation of two fables by La Fontaine: Oak and cane And The picky bride. Dmitriev highly appreciated the translation and was the first to note that the author had found his true calling. The poet himself did not immediately understand this. In 1806 he published only three fables, after which he returned to dramaturgy. He stopped writing for the theater and every year he devoted more and more attention to working on fables. In 1808 he had already published 17 fables, including the famous Elephant and pug. In 1809, the first collection was published, which immediately made its author truly famous. In total, before the end of his life, he wrote more than 200 fables, which were combined into nine books. He worked until last days– the last lifetime edition of the fables was received by the writer’s friends and acquaintances in 1844, along with notice of the death of their author. At first, Krylov’s work was dominated by translations or adaptations of the famous French fables by La Fontaine, ( Dragonfly and ant, The Wolf and the Lamb), but gradually he began to find more and more independent plots, many of which were related to topical events Russian life. Thus, fables became a reaction to various political events Quartet, Swan, Pike and Cancer, Wolf at the kennel. More abstract subjects formed the basis Curious, Hermit and bear and others. However, fables written “on the topic of the day” very soon also began to be perceived as more generalized works. The events that gave rise to their writing were quickly forgotten, and the fables themselves turned into favorite reading in all educated families. Working in a new genre dramatically changed Krylov's literary reputation. If the first half of his life was spent practically in obscurity, complete material problems and hardships, then in maturity he was surrounded by honors and universal respect. Editions of his books sold in huge circulations for that time. On national character his language and his use of characters from Russian folklore attracted the attention of all critics. The writer remained hostile to Westernism throughout his life. It is no coincidence that he joined the literary society “Conversation of Lovers of Russian Literature,” which defended the ancient Russian style and did not recognize Karamzin’s language reform. In parallel with popular recognition, there was also official recognition. From 1810 Krylov was first an assistant librarian and then a librarian at the Imperial public library in St. Petersburg. At the same time, he received a repeatedly increased pension “in respect of his excellent talents in Russian literature" Was elected a member Russian Academy, was awarded a gold medal for literary merit and received many other awards and honors. One of the characteristic features of Krylov’s popularity is the numerous semi-legendary stories about his laziness, sloppiness, gluttony, and wit. Already celebrating the fiftieth anniversary creative activity the fabulist in 1838 turned into a truly national celebration. Krylov died in 1844 in St. Petersburg.

Advanced, progressive trends in the development of Russian social thought and literature of the second half of the 18th century, which laid the foundations of revolutionary ideology in Russia and accelerated the process of the formation of realism, found their most full expression in the works of the revolutionary writer A. N. Radishchev. Radishchev was the first Russian writer to connect literature with the liberation movement and revolutionary thought. It was necessary to have great courage, the courage of political thought, in order to make a revolutionary appeal addressed to the people during the reactionary period of Catherine’s reign.

In the line of continuity of revolutionary thought, Radishchev is the first “soothsayer” of freedom.

During Radishchev's life and up to 1905. his famous “Journey” was banned, and the first edition was mercilessly destroyed.

Since childhood, Radishchev knew the fortress village; having been granted a page, he learned about court life. The experience of Russian reality and 5 years abroad expanded the mental horizon of the future writer. He studied not only legal sciences, but also literature, natural sciences, and listened to lectures at the Faculty of Medicine.

An important point Radishchev's ideological formation was marked by the struggle of Russian students in Leipzig with the official Bokum, who for them was the personification of tyranny. The ignorant, despotic major constantly mocked the students, forbade them to attend lectures by the most advanced professors, encroaching on their spiritual freedom.

In November 1771 ᴦ. Radishchev returned to his homeland, full of hopes to serve for the glory of the Fatherland. Service in the Senate department (1771-1773) as a protocol officer introduced Radishchev to the appalling lack of rights of the peasantry, lawlessness in the courts, and the despotism of landowners and officials.

In 1773 he was transferred to serve at the headquarters of the Finnish division of Count Bruce. As a military prosecutor, he is again faced with the lack of rights in which soldiers find themselves, often illegally recruited by landowners. The Pugachev uprising dates back to the period of Radishchev’s service. Not wanting to participate in the reprisal against the “disturbers,” Radishchev resigned in March 1775 and did not serve anywhere for almost 3 years. Then he enters in 1777. to serve in the Commerce Collegium under Vorontsov, a liberal-minded nobleman, who later provided great support to Radishchev, who was exiled to Siberia.

He became close to the most prominent educator of that time, N.I. Novikov and Krylov.

Lit. Its activities began in the 70s. and was associated with an interest in historical works.

Interest in educational philosophy, in the social and political problems of Russian life led to an appeal to Mably’s work, which Radishchev translated under the title “reflections on Greek history, or On the causes of the prosperity and misfortune of the Greeks”. This was Radishchev’s first socio-literary speech, in which his critical attitude towards the pseudo-enlightened nature of the Russian autocracy was manifested.

IN early period Radishchev paid tribute to literary activity and love lyrics, having been influenced by the folk song tradition and book lyrics of Sumarokov. The poems “Song” and “Oh, How Happy I Was” convey the depth and drama of the feelings of a person yearning for happiness and sincere love. As Radishchev himself pointed out, his early poems bore the features of autobiography. In “Song,” Radishchev conveys the complexity of the feelings and experiences of a lover who moves from hope to despair. Exhausted by unrequited love, the poet hopes for pity and compassion from his beloved.

Subsequently, Radishchev, like Kantemir and Lomonosov, critically perceived love lyrics, believing that Russian reality requires social and historical themes.

The heyday of Radishchev's creative activity fell in the 80s, a time of rapid growth in social life in Europe and revolutionary upheavals.

Already in the ninth grade we become acquainted with Radishchev’s main work - the book “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.” Of course, it’s incredibly difficult to understand anything about her at that age. And the language is already archaic for our time...

Biography and work of Alexander Radishchev (1749-1802)

The first Russian Enlightener, undoubtedly, was. That is why one of the chapters of Radishchev’s “Travel...” is dedicated to this person. Radishchev was the first Russian writer to turn to inner world a person that brings him closer to sentimentalists. He is distinguished by a low degree of religiosity. In 1790, taking advantage of the decree of Empress Catherine II on the possibility of creating a private printing house, Radishchev began his own publishing activity - following the example of N.I. Novikov.

A year earlier, he had already published “The Life of Fyodor Vasilyevich Ushakov,” dedicated to memory untimely death of a university friend - in violation church canons, but not imitating Archpriest Avvakum, who wrote his own heretical life, essentially an autobiography. “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” was initially perceived by contemporaries on a par with “ A sentimental journey» English writer Laurence Stern - one of the founders European sentimentalism. Travel genre European literature arose back in the era of great geographical discoveries.

Talking about their travels to other countries, the authors shared their impressions with their contemporaries. Radishchev talks about his experiences and how they influence his behavior. The book is addressed to Radishchev's friend - A.M. Kutuzov. Radishchev's book might not have caused such a stir if it had appeared a year earlier, at the beginning of the Great French bourgeois revolution. And so - I was already scared by the scale revolutionary movement in France and began to “tighten the screws” in her Fatherland. In Russia, the impressions of the events in Paris were further aggravated by the fact that the Pugachevism had not long ago been suppressed.

Exists long tradition declare Radishchev the first Russian revolutionary from the nobility. However, a revolution is a radical revolution in social life, a broad movement masses. Radishchev doesn’t even mention anything like that. He appeals to the mercy of the landowners. Nevertheless, Catherine’s personal decree appeared, in which the book was declared an attack on the very foundations of Russian autocracy. In oral communication, Catherine declared Radishchev “a worse rebel.” After imprisonment in the fortress, interrogation of Sheshkovsky and the investigation, Radishchev was sentenced to death.

Catherine, still pretending to be an enlightened empress, of course, could not afford to approve Radishchev’s death sentence. Pugachev is one thing, the director of St. Petersburg customs (the position held by Radishchev) is quite another. And this despite the fact that Radishchev did not admit guilt. He claimed that he was misunderstood. Radishchev goes to Siberia until the end of Catherine's reign. Emperor Paul returned Radishchev from exile, and under his son - - Radishchev had already been returned to St. Petersburg, called for reform activities, to correct Russian laws and bring them into line with European ones. This activity turned out to be short-lived.

Radishchev's immediate superior, Count Zavadovsky, clearly hinted to Radishchev about the possibility of a new exile. Always distinguished by the subtlety of his mental organization, Radishchev took Zavadovsky’s words too close to his heart and, returning home, took poison. On a piece of paper before this, his hand wrote the words: “Posterity will avenge me.”

• Pushkin, who was always keenly interested in the personality and work of Radishchev, wrote his own ode “Liberty”, clearly in imitation of his older colleague. His legacy also includes an unfinished article “Journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg.” “Following Radishchev, I glorified freedom” - a variant of a line from the poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands...”

Radishchev's first literary experience dates back to his stay in Leipzig. This is the beginning of the translation of the brochure “The Desires of the Greeks for a Christian Europe”, which appeared in 1771. The author of this brochure Anton Ghika, a Greek-Albanian politician, was during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768 - 1774 at the headquarters of the Russian military leader Alexei Orlov and set himself the task of raising an uprising of the Balkan peoples against Turkey. The pamphlet called on European public opinion to stand up for the Greeks and their independence. Radishchev did not complete his translation because already in August of the same year this brochure was published in another translation in the “Addition to No. 65 of the St. Petersburg Gazette” under the title “Wail Greek people to European Christians” (with the mark “Translation from Italian”; Radishchev probably made his translation from the same language). It is noteworthy that Radishchev emphasized in his text the theme of oppression and slavery of the people. So, for example, he translates: “In a slave state, every virtue is a crime, which is considered a crime against a tyrant”; in Vedomosti’s translation this passage looks different, less harsh, politically vague: “All generous virtues are considered a crime in people of this condition.” On the contrary, Radishchev’s Christian “arguments” seem unconvincing, which he notes with a special note from the translator.

Returning from Leipzig to his homeland, Radishchev personally met Nikolai Novikov, who published “The Painter” in 1772. In the fifth issue of this magazine an essay entitled “Excerpt from a trip to ***I***T***” appeared. Scientists have argued for a long time about who was the author of the “Excerpt,” and only recently established that Radishchev wrote it. “Excerpt” is a bright but gloomy picture of a feudal village, full of pathos of denial of serfdom. "Excerpt" made a splash in society. Those at the “top” were extremely dissatisfied with him and accused the author of insulting “the entire noble corps.” But neither Novikov nor Radishchev were afraid. In the 13th issue of “The Painter,” Novikov published “An English Walk,” an article that defended “Excerpt” from the attacks of the landowners offended by him, and in the 14th issue he published a continuation of “Excerpt.” Radishchev’s first appearance in print was the beginning of his tragic journey as a writer - a preacher of freedom, and his first original work was a sketch of his main work - “Travels from St. Petersburg to Moscow.”

A.N. Radishchev. “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.” Title page, ed. 1790

Radishchev also published his translations from Novikov. Thus, in 1773, Radishchev’s translation of Mably’s book “Reflections on Greek History” was published. The translation itself was made by Radishchev for the “Meeting that is trying to translate foreign books into Russian”, founded in 1768 by order of Catherine II. Radishchev complied with the empress's order, but added seven of his notes to Mably's text, which contain not only a polemic with Mably, but also a political declaration of the radical educator. Translating the word despotisme (French) as “autocracy,” Radishchev explained this concept this way: “Autocracy is the state most contrary to human nature. Not only can we not give unlimited power over ourselves; but the lower law, informed by the general will, has no other right to punish criminals, apart from the right to its own safety. If we live under the rule of laws, then this is not because we absolutely must do it, but because we find benefits in it. If we give the law part of our rights and our natural power, then so that it can be used in our favor: about this we make a silent agreement with society. If it is violated, then we are released from our obligation. The injustice of the sovereign gives the people, their judges, the same and more rights over them that the law gives them over criminals. The sovereign is the first citizen of the people's society."

Radishchev wrote “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” for many years. His worldview changed under the influence of the books he read (and he followed the development of advanced thought in all areas of human knowledge and in all European peoples), but above all under the influence of the great historical events that he witnessed. The peasant war led by Pugachev did not frighten Radishchev, but, on the contrary, convinced him of the potential political activity of the enslaved peoples of Russia. Then the American Revolution began, and Radishchev enthusiastically welcomed it as the dawn of the liberation of mankind.

In 1789, Radishchev completed the book “The Life of Fyodor Vasilyevich Ushakov with the introduction of some of his works” and published it anonymously in the same year. The book attracted attention. Princess Dashkova noticed that she contained dangerous expressions and thoughts. Members of the Russian Academy were dissatisfied with the book. And yet she was a success 4 . The success of the book, the uproar it caused, and the fact that the government did not raise a case regarding its appearance - all this, no doubt, prompted Radishchev to make further speeches.

However, Radishchev was eager for practical revolutionary or at least radical social activity. At the end of the 1780s, Radishchev joined the Society of Friends of Verbal Sciences and immediately began to subject it to his influence. It was a fairly crowded circle that united officers, sailors, and young writers. The society worked quite hard; it occupied a special house, had meetings, and published the magazine “Conversing Citizen” in 1789. By the movement of the ideological direction of this magazine, one can trace the growth of Radishchev’s sentiments and ideas in the Society. The latest issue of the magazine published an article by Radishchev himself - “A conversation about being a son of the fatherland.” This is a very radical propaganda speech, for the publication of which Radishchev himself had to use his connections to overcome censorship. But the clouds were gathering.

A.N. Radishchev was the first writer in the 18th century who understood “the essence of social contradictions” and considered “the spirit of history itself, first of all popular movements" and moved on to "creating the concept of a revolutionary developing reality."
V.G. Bazanov

Radishchev lived in Leipzig for five years as a university student, and even then his first clash occurred with the personification of autocracy (in the person of the student mentor). From here, the future defender of the rights of peasants took away two basic truths for himself: “Hunger, thirst, sorrow, prison, bonds and death itself touch him [a person] little. Don’t push him to the extreme,” “Nothing, they say, brings people together, like a misfortune."

Radishchev's early works are among the first sentimental works in Russian literature. But the further he goes, the more social overtones his work acquires. The author often expressed his negative attitude towards autocracy and explained why the people could judge their sovereign as a criminal ("Letter to a friend living in Tobolsk, according to the duty of his rank"). Next, it was necessary to show how this should happen, and the author created the ode “Liberty,” glorifying the people's revolution. The reason for it was the success in the struggle of the American people for independence and the Pugachev uprising in Russia. However, Radishchev objectively assessed Russian reality, realizing that it was not yet time for revolution in the country:

But there is still time to come,
Fates were not fulfilled;
Far, far away there is still death,
When all the troubles are over!

He also paid great attention to the problem of educating a new person, a citizen and patriot, a fighter against oppressors. These ideas are expressed by him in “The Life of F.V. Ushakov.” For such a person to appear, the influence of circumstances and highly moral mentors are necessary.

It was from such ideas that “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” arose - a work about the author’s contemporary Russia, the situation of its people and their future. In it, Radishchev convincingly proves that the liberation of the people can only happen through revolutionary means, and this inevitably must happen.

What is so memorable about “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”?

It was the first to analyze and evaluate the most important state institutions from the political, economic, legal and moral sides. Most of the chapters of “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” are devoted to exposing the anti-people essence of autocracy and serfdom, which the author achieves by contrasting peasants and landowners, as well as revealing the real face of the sovereign, that is, again, the antithesis of an idyllic picture with true situation of things. He believed that changes should start from the “grassroots”; it is the people who take the initiative for change. But with all this, Radishchev denies the benefits of spontaneous rebellion, believing that it brings “more joy and vengeance than the benefit of shaking bonds.”

For the first time, Radishchev so openly advocated for a popular revolution, so vividly painted a picture of autocratic-serfdom oppression in Russia; At the same time, the author did not limit himself to empty statements; he also talked about means of eliminating this oppression. He made the Russian people, the serf peasants in the first place, the main hero of “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.” And he is not downtrodden and wild, but talented and has high morals. Radishchev also raised the question female beauty(giving preference to the “rural Nymphs” over secular beauties), and the musicality of the people (with what attention they listen to the blind old man singing folk song!). He's the deepest XVIII writers V. comprehended the qualities of national character.

What makes this work stand out from others?

Radishchev prepared a statement of realism in Russian literature, thanks to satirical image reality.

In general, in the literature of the last third of the 18th century. Romantic and realistic tendencies developed simultaneously, which can be clearly seen in the example of Radishchev’s work.

In addition, Radishchev, more than other writers, prepared the statement of realism in Russian literature, but his work can be called educational realism; researchers who claim that in Russian XVIII literature V. was present educational realism, considered him the highest manifestation creativity of Radishchev. But it also had a number of features - psychologism, lyricism, connection with folklore. That is literary creativity Radishchev went beyond the clear boundaries of any direction, it was original.