Shmelev Ivan Sergeevich. Biography of Shmelev

Ivan Shmelev is a Russian writer, publicist, Orthodox thinker from the Moscow merchant family of the Shmelevs, a representative of the conservative Christian direction of Russian literature.

In 1931, Shmelev was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

During the biography period 1912-1914. Ivan Shmelev published several stories, including “Grapes”, “Wolf Roll”, “Rosstani”, “The Man from the Restaurant” and others. In them he described the life and culture of people belonging to different social strata.

Later, 2 prose collections were published: “Carousel” and “The Hidden Face”. Over time, Shmelev increasingly begins to describe the difficult life of peasants forced to live in difficult conditions.

Revolution

Shmelev greeted the February Revolution of 1917 with jubilation. He thought political change would make people's lives better.

However, after confusion and outright violence began in the country, Ivan Shmelev changed his mind.

Moreover, even then it became clear to him that in the near future he would have to endure many troubles and misfortunes.

After this, Shmelev moves to Crimea, where he writes the story “How It Was.” In it, he shares with readers the events taking place during the Civil War of 1918-1922.

Shooting of son

Shmelev's son Sergei was an officer in the tsarist army, so when the Bolsheviks occupied Crimea, they arrested him.

Despite Shmelev's petitions, he was never able to free his son, who was soon shot. This loss became one of the most difficult in his biography.

The writer was in a difficult mental state for a long time and could not come to terms with the death of his 25-year-old son.

Shmelev's works

After 2 years, Ivan Shmelev decides to leave for Paris, where he will live for the rest of his life. In France, he wrote the famous epic “The Sun of the Dead,” in which he described the horrors and consequences of the revolution.

This work received many positive reviews from critics. In particular, it was appreciated by Thomas Mann and.

Later, from the pen of Shmelev, the story “Bogomolye” and the novel “The Summer of the Lord” came out, which became especially popular among Russian emigrants. These works will be published only the day before.

In the late period of his biography, Shmelev published works in which his longing for his homeland is clearly visible. For example, in his novel “Nanny from Moscow,” he describes a grandmother who was forced to go abroad.

An interesting fact is that Shmelev had such aversion to the Bolsheviks that he perceived the invasion of the German army as “God’s providence.”

He hoped that the communist regime in Russia would be overthrown and would be replaced by spiritual and moral liberation.

Personal life

The only wife in the biography of Ivan Shmelev was Olga Okhterloni, whom he met during his student years.

They lived a long and happy family life. In this marriage they had a boy, Sergei, who was shot, as mentioned above.

When Olga Shmeleva passed away in 1936, the writer lived for another 14 years.

Death

In the last years of his biography, Shmelev had health problems and also experienced serious financial difficulties.

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev died on June 24, 1950 at the age of 76 years. The cause of his death was a heart attack.

Shmelev was buried in the Paris cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois, but 50 years later the writer’s remains, in accordance with his dying will, were reburied in the necropolis of the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.

Later, the remains of his wife and son will be reburied next to him.

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His books attract attention literally from the first lines. Moreover, it seems that the writer does not seem to pay attention to the reader at all. It draws him right into the thick of what is happening, and everything you read about happens directly to you. In simple words, it touches the most distant corners of our heart and soul. We are talking about the Russian writer Ivan Shmelev. In the article we will talk about his life and work.

Ivan Shmelev: biography

He was born on September 21, 1873 in Zamoskvorechye. His family was from the merchant class. My father had a carpenter's artel and bathhouses. The family lived very well, there was plenty of everything. Religious traditions were revered and respected in the house. The younger ones unquestioningly obeyed the elders, respected and loved each other. Ivan was taught to read and write by his mother. She introduced him to the best works of Russian classics: Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev. Later, he himself enjoyed reading their books.

At the age of ten, Ivan Shmelev entered the Moscow gymnasium. Strict discipline discouraged the desire to study, despite the boy's great abilities. He spent all his free time reading books and textbooks. The work of Alexander Pushkin had a great influence on his creative growth. While still in high school, he began to try to write. These were short stories, sketches from life and poems.

At the age of twenty-two, Ivan Shmelev got married. Olga Alexandrovna Okhterloni became his life partner. She was a very serious and well-read girl. The newlyweds went on their honeymoon to the holy places of Valaam.

• Ivan Shmelev’s favorite writers are Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Nikolai Leskov, Vladimir Korolenko.
• During my childhood I spent most of my time communicating with working people. From them he learned to understand the beauty and power of Russian speech.
• Elder Barnabas of Gethsemane blessed Ivan Shmelev to write during his honeymoon in Valaam.
• He lived in Paris for 27 years, although he loved Russia with all his heart, but during the civil war he was forced to leave it.
• The writer’s ashes were transported to his homeland and buried in Moscow (Donskoy Monastery).

The beginning of creativity

The first work of Ivan Shmelev was published in 1895. It was the story "At the Mill". What is this work about? The miller and his wife ruined the landowner and dishonestly took possession of the mill that belonged to him. But in the end, unable to bear their atrocities, they commit suicide. In his story, Ivan Shmelev showed that the evil committed does not allow a person to live in peace. Retribution will definitely come.

Two years after the publication of the story, the writer’s first book, “On the Rocks of Valaam,” was published. It was written under the impression of a trip to these places. It glorified the feat of the people inhabiting this holy land. But censorship forced Ivan Shmelev to greatly change the book, cutting out entire pieces from it. In their opinion, she carried seditious thoughts. Shmelev was very worried that due to the changes the book had lost its originality. Readers coolly accepted the revised version, and Shmelev abandoned writing for many years.

Change of activity

Having decided that it is not worth wasting his energy and time on literature, Ivan Shmelev enters Moscow University at the Faculty of Law. It was necessary to get a profession to support your family. Son Sergei was born. In the family he was the only and dearly beloved child.

After graduating from university, Shmelev serves as a tax inspector. Due to the nature of his activity, he has to communicate with a large number of people; later these meetings will be reflected in his books.

Ivan Shmelev: books

The revolution of 1917 changed the writer's life, but despite this, he always showed interest in man, in his spiritual life. Let's remember the best works of the writer:

• "The Lord's Summer" (Ivan Shmelev). One of the writer's brightest books. Through the eyes of a child, the way of life of peasants and merchants is shown. Shmelev masterfully recreates pictures of work and life in Russia at the end of the 19th century. A special place in the book is occupied by the description of holidays.
• "Sun of the Dead" (Ivan Shmelev). The writer’s personal impressions of the revolution and the Civil War. This is a tragic book about the "Red Terror". The book has been translated into many foreign languages ​​and is considered one of the author's best works.
• "The Man from the Restaurant" The story shows the dramatic fate of an ordinary person. Waiter Yakov Skorokhodov suffers insults and humiliation from visitors every day. But it is he who can be called a Man with a capital M, unlike other characters. The hero's inner world is revealed deeply and fully.
• "Heavenly Ways" This novel is the last major work of Ivan Shmelev. He dedicated it to his beloved wife. In the image of the main character - engineer Weidenhammer - Olga Shmeleva's uncle is described. The main idea of ​​the novel is that the soul must necessarily go through suffering in order to be reborn to a new life. The heroes go through a difficult path of spiritual development.

Tragedy in the family. Emigration

The events of 1917 shook the soul of Ivan Shmelev. Although at first he gladly spoke at rallies and accepted the ideas of the socialists. When Ivan Shmelev saw that the revolution breaks a person and deals a strong blow to his morality, he leaves for Crimea. Here, Wrangel’s son Sergei serves in the military commandant’s office. When the city was captured by the Bolsheviks, Sergei was arrested, and after some time he was shot. Parents had a hard time with the death of their beloved child.

After some time, the difficult decision to emigrate was made. At first, Ivan Shmelev and his wife lived in Berlin, and then moved to Paris. The writer has to endure another tragic loss - the death of his wife. On June 24, 1950, Ivan Shmelev died of a heart attack.

Conclusion

The works of Ivan Shmelev must be read and re-read so as not to become hardened in soul. His books are like a sip of cold water on a hot day. How are his books different? Love for Russia, its history, way of life, faith in the triumph of goodness and justice, humanism, the beauty of spiritual values. The contribution of this remarkable Russian writer to the history of world literature has yet to be assessed.

Biography, life story of Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev

Years of study and first literary experiments

At first, Ivan was educated at home, with his mother as a teacher, and then he studied at the sixth Moscow gymnasium. After graduating from high school, Shmelev entered Moscow University in 1894 to study at the Faculty of Law. “At the Mill,” Shmelev’s first story, was published in 1895 in the Russian Review magazine. Together with Olga Alexandrovna, his young wife, in October 1895, Shmelev went to Valaam on a honeymoon. After this trip, Ivan Sergeevich wrote the essays “On the Rocks of Valaam.” This book, by order of Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev, chief prosecutor of the Synod, was detained by censorship. In 1897, the significantly revised work sold unsuccessfully and Shmelev abandoned literary studies for some time.

After graduating from the university in 1898, Shmelev completed military service, then served as an official for several years. Shmelev settled in Moscow, receiving his resignation in 1907.

Active literary activity

Ivan again took up literary creativity. His works, which he wrote in the period 1906-1907, immediately after the first Russian revolution ("Disintegration", "Sergeant", "On a Urgent Business") gained particular popularity. He began publishing in the magazines “Russian Thought”, “Russian Wealth”, and in collections of the publishing house “Znanie”, which was organized by Maxim Gorky. In 1911, Ivan Sergeevich wrote one of his most striking works - the story “The Man from the Restaurant,” which was a significant success among the democratic public.

In 1912, Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev became a contributing member of the new publishing house - the Book Publishing House of Moscow Writers (which also included Vikenty Veresaev and Boris Zaitsev). It was this publishing house that published the 8-volume collected works of the writer.

CONTINUED BELOW

During the years of revolutions

Ivan Sergeevich enthusiastically accepted the February Revolution, but reacted to the October Revolution with true intransigence. The story “The Inexhaustible Chalice” also revealed the writer’s confusion, which these days so often overwhelmed him. In the period 1918-1923, Shmelev wrote a cycle of 7 fairy tales, as well as the story “Alien Blood” based on materials from the First World War.

In the fall of 1918, the writer left for Alushta. In 1920, Sergei, his son, returned from Denikin’s Volunteer Army and began undergoing treatment for tuberculosis in the Feodosia hospital. In 1920, in November, Sergei was arrested by security officers and the sick young man spent about three months in stuffy prison cellars, and at the beginning of 1921, in January, he was shot without trial. Ivan Sergeevich did not know about what had happened for a long time and hoped for the best. Only in 1922 did a certain person witness the death of the writer’s son.

Emigration

Ivan Sergeevich reflected the terrible events of this time in an autobiographical story entitled “Sun of the Dead,” published in 1923. Shmelev and his wife at the end of 1922 first left for Berlin, and only then two months later they reached Paris. Shmelev often published abroad, his works were published one after another (in total, more than twenty books were written and published). The writer has finally found his faithful reader - the believing Russian emigration.

Nevertheless, the writer lived the poorest of all among the Russian emigration - his family often lacked money even for heating and new clothes. Ivan Sergeevich did not look for patrons; he did not want and did not know how to curry favor with publishers.

In 1934, Shmelev fell ill with a serious stomach disease, he was threatened with surgery, he could not make up his mind... Ivan Sergeevich had a dream, he saw x-rays with the caption “St. Seraphim” and on the same day the doctor announced to him that surgery was not required. Shmelev believed that St. Seraphim of Sarov helped him recover. He wrote an essay after this in 1935 - “The Grace of St. Seraphim.”

The end of creativity and life

After his wife died in 1936, Shmelev visited the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, which was located in Estonia in those years. Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev died of a heart attack in 1950 on June 24 while visiting the monastery of the Intercession of the Mother of God, located 140 kilometers from Paris in Bussy-en-Otte. He wanted to receive a blessing there to continue working on his book “The Ways of Heaven.” The great Russian writer was reburied at the initiative of the Russian public in May 2011 in Moscow in the necropolis of the Donskoy Monastery.

Years of life: from 09/21/1873 to 06/24/1950

Russian writer, publicist, Christian philosopher.

Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev was born in the Kadashevskaya settlement of Zamoskvorechye on September 21 (October 3), 1873 into a deeply Orthodox, patriarchal merchant family. Ivan Sergeevich's grandfather - a state peasant from Guslitsy, Bogorodsky district, Moscow province - settled in Moscow after the fire of 1812. The writer's father, Sergei Ivanovich (+ 1880), was a contractor, the owner of a large carpentry artel, and owned bathhouses, bathhouses, and port washrooms. The owners and workers lived not just next to each other, but also together. They fasted together, observed the rituals and moral precepts of antiquity together, and went on pilgrimages. His childhood spent in Zamoskvorechye later became the main source of the writer’s creativity.

Ivan Shmelev studied literacy at home, his mother acted as a teacher. His first teacher was his mother. Together with her, he first became acquainted with the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Turgenev. In 1884, he entered the sixth Moscow gymnasium, then, in 1894, to the law faculty of Moscow University. The literary debut of the future writer was the story "At the Mill", published in 1895 in the magazine "Russian Review". In the autumn of the same year, Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev marries Olga Aleksandrovna Okhterloni and, after a honeymoon trip to the island of Valaam, writes his first book - “On the Rocks of Valaam. Beyond the World. Travel Stories.” The book was not a success and was received rather coolly by critics and censors. After graduating from the University and a year of military service, Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev works as an official in remote places of the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. And since 1907, he devoted himself entirely to literary creativity. By that time, he was actively publishing in “Children’s Reading”, in the magazine “Russian Thought” and in collections of the publishing house “Knowledge” organized by M. Gorky. Shmelev's first real success as a writer came from a story written in 1910. Critics even compared her appearance to the debut of F.M. Dostoevsky. Later, Poe’s story, they say, saved the writer from death: in 1920, as a reserve officer in the tsarist army, he was awaiting execution, but the commissar recognized him as the author of the story about the waiter and released him. The work was filmed in the USSR in 1927.

Shmelev greeted the February Revolution of 1917 with enthusiasm like all the democratic intelligentsia, but after the events of October his attitude towards the new government became deeply critical. In the very first acts of the new government, he sees serious sins against morality. In the fall of 1918, he and his family left for Crimea and bought a small estate in Alushta. The Shmelevs’ twenty-five-year-old son, Sergei Shmelev, enlists in the Volunteer Army. After Wrangel fled in the spring of 1920, he was arrested and executed without trial or investigation, along with forty thousand other participants in the White movement. After the death of their son, the family faced another terrible test - the tragic famine of 1921, which claimed the lives of 5.5 million people.

Returning from Crimea to Moscow in the spring of 1922, Shmelev began to bother about going abroad, and on November 20 of the same year, he and his wife left for Berlin. Then, in January 1923, with the support of Bunin, they moved to Paris, where the writer lived for 27 long years.

Shmelev's first work of the immigrant period was a tragic autobiographical epic, first published in 1923 in the emigrant collection "Window", and in 1924 published as a separate book. Immediately followed by translations into French, German, English, and a number of other languages, which was very rare for a Russian emigrant writer, and even unknown in Europe. The Russian philosopher Ivan Ilyin wrote that Shmelev’s grief is “spiritually sighted grief,” and called the feeling of love for God the dominant feature of his work.

In his speech “The Soul of the People” (1924), Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev said that the work of a writer who was forced to leave his homeland is “Russia’s justification.” Shmelev tried to solve this problem in a series of works, the genre of which he himself defined as a “spiritual novel.” Of the planned tetralogy, the author managed to finish only the first two volumes of the novel “Heavenly Paths” (1937, 1948). In (1936) the writer tries to explore the secret paths leading a believer - a doubting intellectual and rationalist. Remembering his childhood, which for him ended at the age of seven with the tragic death of his father, Shmelev, in accordance with the church calendar, recreated the unchanging circle of existence of Holy Rus'."

In 1935, a re-release of his first book “Old Valaam” was published, then a novel (1936), where all the events were conveyed through the mouth of an old Russian woman, Daria Stepanovna Sinitsina.

On July 22, 1936, a new test awaits Ivan Sergeevich. After a short illness, his wife, Olga Alexandrovna, dies.

In his last novel (1948), Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev tried to embody the theme of the reality of God's providence in the Earthly World through the destinies of people. The third book in the “Heavenly Paths” series was never written. On June 24, 1950, the writer moved to the monastery of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bussy-en-Haute, 140 kilometers from Paris, and died of a heart attack on the same day. He was buried in the Parisian cemetery of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois. On May 30, 2000, the ashes of the Shmelev couple, according to the writer’s last will, were transported to Russia and buried next to the graves of their relatives in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.

In the Donskaya Sloboda of Moscow. His grandfather was a state peasant originally from the Guslitsky region of the Bogorodsky district of the Moscow province, who settled in the Zamoskvoretsky district of Moscow after a fire set by the French in 1812. Father, Sergei Ivanovich, already belonged to the merchant class, but was not engaged in trade, but owned a large carpentry artel, which employed more than 300 workers, and bathhouse establishments, and also took contracts. He identified the teacher (uncle) of his son as a devout old man, former carpenter Mikhail Pankratovich Gorkin, under whose influence Shmelev developed an interest in religion. As a child, a considerable part of Shmelev’s environment were craftsmen, whose environment also greatly influenced the formation of his worldview.

Biography

Ivan Shmelev received his primary education at home, under the guidance of his mother, who paid special attention to literature and, in particular, to the study of Russian classics. Then he entered the sixth Moscow gymnasium, after graduating from which he became a student at the Faculty of Law of Moscow University in 1894. In 1898 he graduated from this educational institution, served a year in the army, then received a position as an official on special assignments of the Vladimir Treasury Chamber of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in which he was a member for eight years and during this time he repeatedly visited various remote places of the Vladimir province on duty; His family then lived in Vladimir on Tsaritsynskaya Street (now Gagarin Street).

Creation

Early creativity

Shmelev's first literary experiments date back to his time studying at the Moscow gymnasium. His first published work was the sketch "At the Mill" in 1895 in the magazine "Russian Review"; in 1897, a collection of essays “On the Rocks of Valaam” appeared in print, which was soon banned by tsarist censorship.

In 1907, Shmelev, then an official in the Vladimir province, was in active correspondence with Maxim Gorky and sent him his story “Under the Mountains” for review. After a positive assessment of the latter, Shmelev completed the story “To the Sun”, begun back in 1905, followed by “Citizen Ukleikin” (1907), “In the Hole” (1909), “Under the Sky” (1910), “Treacle” ( 1911). The writer's works of this period are characterized by a realistic style and the theme of the “little man”.

In 1909, Shmelev joined the literary circle "Sreda". In 1911, his story “The Man from the Restaurant” appeared in print. Since 1912, Shmelev has been collaborating with Bunin, becoming one of the founders of the Writers' Book Publishing House in Moscow, with which his subsequent work was associated for many years.

In 1912-14, several of his novellas and stories were published: “Grapes”, “The Wall”, “Shy Silence”, “Wolf Roll”, “Rosstani”, dedicated to describing the life of the merchants, peasants, and the emerging bourgeoisie. Subsequently, two collections of prose were published, “The Hidden Face” and “Carousel,” as well as a collection of essays “Harsh Days” (1916); they were followed by the story “How It Was” (1919), telling about the events of the Civil War, and the story “Alien Blood” (1918-23).

Creativity of 1920-1930

A new period in the writer’s work begins after his emigration from Russia in 1922.

"Sun of the Dead" (1923).

The work of the first years of emigration is represented mainly by pamphlet stories: “The Stone Age” (1924), “Two Ivans” (1924), “On the Stumps” (1925), “About an Old Woman” (1925); These works are characterized by motives for criticism of the “lack of spirituality” of Western civilization and pain for the fate that befell the writer’s homeland after the Civil War.

In works written a few years later: “Russian Song” (1926), “Napoleon. My Friend's Story" (1928), "Lunch for Different People" - pictures of the "old life" in Russia in general and Moscow in particular come to the fore. They are characterized by colorful descriptions of religious festivals and rituals, glorification of Russian traditions. In 1929, the book “Entry into Paris” was published. Stories about foreign Russia”, dedicated to the difficult fate of representatives of the Russian emigration. In 1930, Shmelev’s popular popular novel “Soldiers” was published, the plot of which was based on the events of the First World War.

Shmelev’s greatest fame was brought to him by the novels “Pilgrim” (1931) and “Summer of the Lord” (1933-1948), which give a broad picture of the life of old, “patriarchal” Russia, Moscow and the writer’s favorite Zamoskvorechye region. These works were very popular among the Russian diaspora.

The last period of creativity

The last period of Shmelev’s life was characterized by homesickness and a craving for monastic solitude. In 1935, his autobiographical essay “Old Valaam” about his long-standing trip to the island of Valaam appeared in print; a year later, the novel “Nanny from Moscow” (1936), based on the “tale,” was released, written on behalf of an elderly Russian woman Daria Stepanovna Sinitsina.

In the 1948 post-war novel “Heavenly Paths” about the destinies of real people, engineer V. A. Weidenhammer, a religious skeptic, and novice of the Holy Monastery Daria Koroleva, the “theme of the reality of God’s providence in the Earthly World” was reflected. The novel remained unfinished: death did not allow the writer to complete his third volume, so only the first two were published.

In 1931 and 1932 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Productions and film adaptations

• Silent Soviet film by Yakov Protazanov “The Man from the Restaurant” (1927).
• “The Man from the Restaurant” was staged in 2000 by director Marina Glukhovskaya at the Omsk State Chamber Theater “Fifth Theater”.
• The hand-drawn cartoon “My Love” based on the novel “Love Story” was created in 2006 by Yaroslavl resident Alexander Petrov.
• “The Man from the Restaurant” was staged in 2015 by director Egor Peregudov at the Satyricon Theater.

Bibliography

Books about Shmelev

• Wreath for Shmelev. Materials of the international scientific conference "Ivan Shmelev - thinker, artist and person" (2000). - M., 2001.
• Griko, T. Shmelevs [Text] / T. Griko // Moscow. 2000. - No. 6. - P. 174−187.
• Dzyga, Ya.O. Depiction of everyday life in “Love History” by I.S. Shmeleva: dialogue with tradition [Text] / Ya.O. Dzyga // Bulletin of Samara State University. - 2011. - No. 7 (88). - P. 106-110.
• Esaulov, I.A. Poetics of Russian literature abroad (Shmelev and Nabokov: two types of completion of tradition) / I.A. Esaulov. The category of conciliarity in Russian literature. - Petrozavodsk: Petrozavod Publishing House. University, 1995.
• I.S. Shmelev in the context of Slavic culture: VIII Crimean international Shmelev readings. - Simferopol: Tavria-Plus, 2000.
• I.S. Shmelev and spiritual traditions of Slavic culture: Sat. materials international scientific conf. 11-15 Sep. 2002, Alushta / XI Crimean International Shmelev Readings. - Alushta, 2004.
• I.S. Shmelev and Russian literature of the twentieth century. III Crimean Shmelev Readings: abstracts of scientific conference reports, September 19-26. 1994 - Alushta, 1994.
• Kiyashko, L.N. Autobiographical prose as a phenomenon of Russian literature abroad (I.S. Shmelev “Pilgrim” and “Summer of the Lord”) [Text] / L.N. Kiyashko // Issue. philology. – 2011. - N 2 (38). - pp. 124-132.
• Lyubomudrov, A.M. Intuitive and rational in the creative personality of I.S. Shmeleva // Bulletin of Volgograd State University. Episode 8: Literary Studies. Journalism. - 2007. - No. 6.
• Lyubomudrov, A.M. Spiritual realism in Russian literature abroad: B.K. Zaitsev, I.S. Shmelev / A. M. Lyubomudrov. - St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin, 2003.
• Nechaenko D.A. A fairy tale about Russia: “spiritual visions” and dreams in I.S. Shmelev’s novel “The Summer of the Lord” [Text] // Nechaenko D.A. History of literary dreams of the 19th-20th centuries: Folklore, mythological and biblical archetypes in literary dreams of the 19th-early 20th centuries. M.: University Book, 2011. pp. 744-753. ISBN 978-5-91304-151-7
• Osminina, E.A. Return of Ivan Shmelev [Text] / E. A. Osminina // Moscow. 2000. - No. 6. - P. 173-174.
• In memory of Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev: collection. articles and memoirs. - Munich, 1956.
• Popova, L.N. Shmelev in Alushta [Text] / L.N. Popova. - Alushta: Crimea. archive., 2000. - 83 p.
• Rudneva, E.G. Notes on the poetics of I.S. Shmeleva [Text] / E.G. Rudneva. M., 2002. - 128 p.
• Solntseva, N.M. Ivan Shmelev: Life and creativity: Biography. - M.: Ellis Luck, 2007. - 544 p. - ISBN 978-5-902152-45-3
• Sorokina, O.N. Moskoviana: The life and work of Ivan Shmelev. - M., 2000.
• Surovova, L. Living antiquity of Ivan Shmelev. – M., 2006. – 304 p.
• Chernikov, A.P. Prose of I.S. Shmeleva: The concept of the world and man. - Kaluga: Kaluga Regional Institute for Teacher Improvement, 1995. - 344 p.
• Shakhovskoy, D.A. I.S. Shmelev: Bibliography. - Paris, 1980.
• Sheshunova, S.V. The image of the world in the novel by I.S. Shmeleva “Nanny from Moscow” [Text] / S.V. Sheshunova. - Dubna, 2002.
• Sheshunova, S.V. Fate and books by Ivan Shmelev. A series of lectures on the radio "Grad Petrov". - M., 2010.

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Notes

Links

• in the library of Maxim Moshkov
• Solzhenitsyn A. . // New world. - 1998. - № 7
• Biography. Creation. How the writer's ashes were returned to Moscow from Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.

Excerpt characterizing Shmelev, Ivan Sergeevich

At the beginning of August, Helen's matter was completely determined, and she wrote a letter to her husband (who loved her very much, as she thought) in which she informed him of her intention to marry NN and that she had joined the one true religion and that she asks him to complete all the formalities necessary for divorce, which the bearer of this letter will convey to him.
“Sur ce je prie Dieu, mon ami, de vous avoir sous sa sainte et puissante garde. Votre amie Helene.”
[“Then I pray to God that you, my friend, will be under his holy, strong protection. Your friend Elena"]
This letter was brought to Pierre's house while he was on the Borodino field.

The second time, already at the end of the Battle of Borodino, having escaped from Raevsky’s battery, Pierre with crowds of soldiers headed along the ravine to Knyazkov, reached the dressing station and, seeing blood and hearing screams and groans, hastily moved on, getting mixed up in the crowds of soldiers.
One thing that Pierre now wanted with all the strength of his soul was to quickly get out of those terrible impressions in which he lived that day, return to normal living conditions and fall asleep peacefully in his room on his bed. Only under ordinary conditions of life did he feel that he would be able to understand himself and all that he had seen and experienced. But these ordinary living conditions were nowhere to be found.
Although cannonballs and bullets did not whistle here along the road along which he walked, on all sides there was the same thing that was there on the battlefield. There were the same suffering, exhausted and sometimes strangely indifferent faces, the same blood, the same soldiers' greatcoats, the same sounds of shooting, although distant, but still terrifying; In addition, it was stuffy and dusty.
Having walked about three miles along the big Mozhaisk road, Pierre sat down on the edge of it.
Dusk fell on the ground, and the roar of the guns died down. Pierre, leaning on his arm, lay down and lay there for a long time, looking at the shadows moving past him in the darkness. It constantly seemed to him that a cannonball was flying at him with a terrible whistle; he shuddered and stood up. He didn't remember how long he had been here. In the middle of the night, three soldiers, having brought branches, placed themselves next to him and began to make a fire.
The soldiers, looking sideways at Pierre, lit a fire, put a pot on it, crumbled crackers into it and put lard in it. The pleasant smell of edible and fatty food merged with the smell of smoke. Pierre stood up and sighed. The soldiers (there were three of them) ate, not paying attention to Pierre, and talked among themselves.
- What kind of person will you be? - one of the soldiers suddenly turned to Pierre, obviously, by this question meaning what Pierre was thinking, namely: if you want something, we will give it to you, just tell me, are you an honest person?
- I? me?.. - said Pierre, feeling the need to belittle his social position as much as possible in order to be closer and more understandable to the soldiers. “I am truly a militia officer, only my squad is not here; I came to the battle and lost my own.
- Look! - said one of the soldiers.
The other soldier shook his head.
- Well, eat the mess if you want! - said the first and gave Pierre, licking it, a wooden spoon.
Pierre sat down by the fire and began to eat the mess, the food that was in the pot and which seemed to him the most delicious of all the foods that he had ever eaten. While he greedily bent over the pot, picking up large spoons, chewing one after another and his face was visible in the light of the fire, the soldiers silently looked at him.
-Where do you want it? You tell me! – one of them asked again.
– I’m going to Mozhaisk.
- Are you now a master?
- Yes.
- What’s your name?
- Pyotr Kirillovich.
- Well, Pyotr Kirillovich, let’s go, we’ll take you. In complete darkness, the soldiers, together with Pierre, went to Mozhaisk.
The roosters were already crowing when they reached Mozhaisk and began to climb the steep city mountain. Pierre walked along with the soldiers, completely forgetting that his inn was below the mountain and that he had already passed it. He would not have remembered this (he was in such a state of loss) if his guard, who went to look for him around the city and returned back to his inn, had not encountered him halfway up the mountain. The bereitor recognized Pierre by his hat, which was turning white in the darkness.
“Your Excellency,” he said, “we are already desperate.” Why are you walking? Where are you going, please?
“Oh yes,” said Pierre.
The soldiers paused.
- Well, have you found yours? - said one of them.
- Well, goodbye! Pyotr Kirillovich, I think? Farewell, Pyotr Kirillovich! - said other voices.
“Goodbye,” said Pierre and headed with his driver to the inn.
“We have to give it to them!” - Pierre thought, taking his pocket. “No, don’t,” a voice told him.
There was no room in the upper rooms of the inn: everyone was occupied. Pierre went into the yard and, covering his head, lay down in his carriage.

As soon as Pierre laid his head on the pillow, he felt that he was falling asleep; but suddenly, with the clarity of almost reality, a boom, boom, boom of shots was heard, groans, screams, the splashing of shells were heard, the smell of blood and gunpowder, and a feeling of horror, the fear of death, overwhelmed him. He opened his eyes in fear and raised his head from under his overcoat. Everything was quiet in the yard. Only at the gate, talking to the janitor and splashing through the mud, was some orderly walking. Above Pierre's head, under the dark underside of the plank canopy, doves fluttered from the movement he made while rising. Throughout the yard there was a peaceful, joyful for Pierre at that moment, strong smell of an inn, the smell of hay, manure and tar. Between two black canopies a clear starry sky was visible.
“Thank God this isn’t happening anymore,” thought Pierre, covering his head again. - Oh, how terrible fear is and how shamefully I surrendered to it! And they... they were firm and calm all the time, until the end... - he thought. In Pierre's concept, they were soldiers - those who were at the battery, and those who fed him, and those who prayed to the icon. They - these strange ones, hitherto unknown to him, were clearly and sharply separated in his thoughts from all other people.
“To be a soldier, just a soldier! - thought Pierre, falling asleep. – Enter into this common life with your whole being, imbued with what makes them so. But how can one throw off all this unnecessary, devilish, all the burden of this external man? At one time I could have been this. I could run away from my father as much as I wanted. Even after the duel with Dolokhov, I could have been sent as a soldier.” And in Pierre’s imagination flashed a dinner at a club, at which he called Dolokhov, and a benefactor in Torzhok. And now Pierre is presented with a ceremonial dining room. This lodge takes place in the English Club. And someone familiar, close, dear, sits at the end of the table. Yes it is! This is a benefactor. “But he died? - thought Pierre. - Yes, he died; but I didn't know he was alive. And how sorry I am that he died, and how glad I am that he is alive again!” On one side of the table sat Anatole, Dolokhov, Nesvitsky, Denisov and others like him (the category of these people was as clearly defined in Pierre’s soul in the dream as the category of those people whom he called them), and these people, Anatole, Dolokhov they shouted and sang loudly; but from behind their shout the voice of the benefactor could be heard, speaking incessantly, and the sound of his words was as significant and continuous as the roar of the battlefield, but it was pleasant and comforting. Pierre did not understand what the benefactor was saying, but he knew (the category of thoughts was just as clear in the dream) that the benefactor was talking about goodness, about the possibility of being what they were. And they surrounded the benefactor on all sides, with their simple, kind, firm faces. But although they were kind, they did not look at Pierre, did not know him. Pierre wanted to attract their attention and say. He stood up, but at the same moment his legs became cold and exposed.
He felt ashamed, and he covered his legs with his hand, from which the greatcoat actually fell off. For a moment, Pierre, straightening his overcoat, opened his eyes and saw the same awnings, pillars, courtyard, but all this was now bluish, light and covered with sparkles of dew or frost.
“It’s dawning,” thought Pierre. - But that’s not it. I need to listen to the end and understand the words of the benefactor.” He covered himself with his overcoat again, but neither the dining box nor the benefactor were there. There were only thoughts clearly expressed in words, thoughts that someone said or Pierre himself thought about.
Pierre, later recalling these thoughts, despite the fact that they were caused by the impressions of that day, was convinced that someone outside himself was telling them to him. Never, it seemed to him, had he been able to think and express his thoughts like that in reality.
“War is the most difficult task of subordinating human freedom to the laws of God,” said the voice. – Simplicity is submission to God; you can't escape him. And they are simple. They don't say it, but they do it. The spoken word is silver, and the unspoken word is golden. A person cannot own anything while he is afraid of death. And whoever is not afraid of her belongs to him everything. If there were no suffering, a person would not know his own boundaries, would not know himself. The most difficult thing (Pierre continued to think or hear in his sleep) is to be able to unite in his soul the meaning of everything. Connect everything? - Pierre said to himself. - No, don't connect. You can’t connect thoughts, but connecting all these thoughts is what you need! Yes, we need to pair, we need to pair! - Pierre repeated to himself with inner delight, feeling that with these words, and only with these words, what he wants to express is expressed, and the whole question tormenting him is resolved.
- Yes, we need to mate, it’s time to mate.
- We need to harness, it’s time to harness, your Excellency! Your Excellency,” a voice repeated, “we need to harness, it’s time to harness...
It was the voice of the bereitor waking Pierre. The sun hit Pierre's face directly. He looked at the dirty inn, in the middle of which, near a well, soldiers were watering thin horses, from which carts were driving through the gate. Pierre turned away in disgust and, closing his eyes, hastily fell back onto the seat of the carriage. “No, I don’t want this, I don’t want to see and understand this, I want to understand what was revealed to me during my sleep. One more second and I would have understood everything. So what should I do? Pair, but how to combine everything?” And Pierre felt with horror that the entire meaning of what he saw and thought in his dream was destroyed.
The driver, the coachman and the janitor told Pierre that an officer had arrived with the news that the French had moved towards Mozhaisk and that ours were leaving.
Pierre got up and, ordering them to lay down and catch up with him, went on foot through the city.
The troops left and left about ten thousand wounded. These wounded were visible in the courtyards and windows of houses and crowded in the streets. On the streets near the carts that were supposed to take away the wounded, screams, curses and blows were heard. Pierre gave the carriage that had overtaken him to a wounded general he knew and went with him to Moscow. Dear Pierre learned about the death of his brother-in-law and about the death of Prince Andrei.

X
On the 30th, Pierre returned to Moscow. Almost at the outpost he met Count Rastopchin's adjutant.
“And we are looking for you everywhere,” said the adjutant. “The Count definitely needs to see you.” He asks you to come to him now on a very important matter.
Pierre, without stopping home, took a cab and went to the commander-in-chief.
Count Rastopchin had just arrived in the city this morning from his country dacha in Sokolniki. The hallway and reception room in the count's house were full of officials who appeared at his request or for orders. Vasilchikov and Platov had already met with the count and explained to him that it was impossible to defend Moscow and that it would be surrendered. Although this news was hidden from the residents, officials and heads of various departments knew that Moscow would be in the hands of the enemy, just as Count Rostopchin knew it; and all of them, in order to relinquish responsibility, came to the commander-in-chief with questions about how to deal with the units entrusted to them.
While Pierre was entering the reception room, a courier coming from the army was leaving the count.
The courier hopelessly waved his hand at the questions addressed to him and walked through the hall.
While waiting in the reception area, Pierre looked with tired eyes at the various officials, old and young, military and civilian, important and unimportant, who were in the room. Everyone seemed unhappy and restless. Pierre approached one group of officials, in which one was his acquaintance. After greeting Pierre, they continued their conversation.
- How to deport and return again, there will be no trouble; and in such a situation one cannot be held accountable for anything.
“Why, here he is writing,” said another, pointing to the printed paper he was holding in his hand.
- That's another matter. This is necessary for the people,” said the first.
- What is this? asked Pierre.
- Here's a new poster.
Pierre took it in his hands and began to read:
“The Most Serene Prince, in order to quickly unite with the troops that were coming to him, crossed Mozhaisk and stood in a strong place where the enemy would not suddenly attack him. Forty-eight cannons with shells were sent to him from here, and His Serene Highness says that he will defend Moscow to the last drop of blood and is ready to fight even in the streets. You, brothers, don’t look at the fact that public offices have been closed: things need to be tidied up, and we will deal with the villain in our court! When it comes down to it, I need young people from both towns and villages. I’ll call the cry in two days, but now there’s no need, I’m silent. Good with an axe, not bad with a spear, but best of all is a three-piece pitchfork: a Frenchman is not heavier than a sheaf of rye. Tomorrow, after lunch, I’m taking Iverskaya to the Catherine Hospital, to see the wounded. We will consecrate the water there: they will recover sooner; and now I’m healthy: my eye hurt, but now I can see both.”
“And the military people told me,” said Pierre, “that there is no way to fight in the city and that the position...
“Well, yes, that’s what we’re talking about,” said the first official.
– What does this mean: my eye hurt, and now I’m looking at both? - said Pierre.
“The count had barley,” said the adjutant, smiling, “and he was very worried when I told him that people had come to ask what was wrong with him.” “And what, count,” the adjutant suddenly said, turning to Pierre with a smile, “we heard that you have family worries?” It’s as if the Countess, your wife...
“I didn’t hear anything,” Pierre said indifferently. -What did you hear?
- No, you know, they often make things up. I say I heard.
-What did you hear?
“Yes, they say,” the adjutant said again with the same smile, “that the countess, your wife, is going abroad.” Probably nonsense...
“Maybe,” said Pierre, looking around absentmindedly. - And who is this? - he asked, pointing to a short old man in a pure blue coat, with a large beard as white as snow, the same eyebrows and a ruddy face.
- This? This is one merchant, that is, he is an innkeeper, Vereshchagin. Have you heard perhaps this story about the proclamation?
- Oh, so this is Vereshchagin! - said Pierre, peering into the firm and calm face of the old merchant and looking for an expression of treason in it.
- This is not him. This is the father of the one who wrote the proclamation,” said the adjutant. “He’s young, he’s sitting in a hole, and he seems to be in trouble.”
One old man, wearing a star, and another, a German official, with a cross on his neck, approached the people talking.
“You see,” said the adjutant, “this is a complicated story. Then, two months ago, this proclamation appeared. They informed the Count. He ordered an investigation. So Gavrilo Ivanovich was looking for him, this proclamation was in exactly sixty-three hands. He will come to one thing: from whom do you get it? - That’s why. He goes to that one: who are you from? etc. we got to Vereshchagin... a half-trained merchant, you know, a little merchant, my dear,” the adjutant said, smiling. - They ask him: who do you get it from? And the main thing is that we know from whom it comes. He has no one else to rely on other than the postal director. But apparently there was a strike between them. He says: not from anyone, I composed it myself. And they threatened and begged, so he settled on it: he composed it himself. So they reported to the count. The count ordered to call him. “Who is your proclamation from?” - “I composed it myself.” Well, you know the Count! – the adjutant said with a proud and cheerful smile. “He flared up terribly, and just think: such impudence, lies and stubbornness!..
- A! The Count needed him to point to Klyucharyov, I understand! - said Pierre.
“It’s not necessary at all,” the adjutant said fearfully. – Klyucharyov had sins even without this, for which he was exiled. But the fact is that the count was very indignant. “How could you compose? - says the count. I took this “Hamburg newspaper” from the table. - Here she is. You didn’t compose it, but translated it, and you translated it badly, because you don’t even know French, you fool.” What do you think? “No,” he says, “I didn’t read any newspapers, I made them up.” - “And if so, then you are a traitor, and I will bring you to trial, and you will be hanged. Tell me, from whom did you receive it? - “I haven’t seen any newspapers, but I made them up.” It remains that way. The Count also called on his father: stand his ground. And they put him on trial and, it seems, sentenced him to hard labor. Now his father came to ask for him. But he's a crappy boy! You know, such a merchant's son, a dandy, a seducer, listened to lectures somewhere and already thinks that the devil is not his brother. After all, what a young man he is! His father has a tavern here near the Stone Bridge, so in the tavern, you know, there is a large image of the Almighty God and a scepter is presented in one hand, and an orb in the other; so he took this image home for several days and what did he do! I found a bastard painter...