Where was my mother's Siberian born? Mamin - Siberian Dmitry Narkisovich

Mamin-Sibiryak earned the reputation of a truly popular and one of the most optimistic writers of his time. In his creativity he is extraordinary honestly portrayed the true Russian spirit, with its difficult centuries-old fate and unique national characteristics - cheerfulness, love of work, power and scope.

Life path: family, children's interests, education

Dmitry Narkisovich was born on November 6, 1852 in the family of a poor factory priest and a simple teacher. In the Perm Province the family lived, although modestly, but raised their children in an atmosphere of love for Ural nature and literature. There, in his own home, he received his first education. Later, the boy graduated from a local school, spiritual educational institutions - the Yekaterinburg School, the Perm Seminary. In addition, the biography of the future writer even includes the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy and the legal department, which was not completed due to money problems.

Creative milestone: first attempts, basic principles of work, key features of children's works

Having dreamed of becoming a writer since childhood, Dmitry Narkisovich published his first stories while working as a reporter for the St. Petersburg newspaper in 1875. The years 1877-1891 saw the heyday of his work.- at this time, the most interesting works were created with a uniquely depicted nature of the Urals, where the author then lived, with a demonstration of the local way of life and irreconcilable inter-class enmity. At the same time, his “Russian Thought”, “At the Border of Asia”, “The Blessed”, “Translator in the Mines”, as well as his first novels - “Privalov’s Millions”, “Mountain Nest”, “On the Street”, “Three Ends” - were published. .

A special place is occupied by works for children written at the turn of the century, which, without exaggeration, have become classics of literature. Who doesn't know "The Gray Neck"?

The writer sought to create truly sincere books for the little ones, who could tell the true story of the people - this is how the collection “Children's Shadows” turned out. And in “Alyonushka’s Tales,” in which animals become the heroes, he, skillfully using his talent for clear presentation, talks about the aspirations of ordinary people. A story for senior schoolchildren entitled “Emelya the Hunter” about the work of workers and peasants was highly appreciated by an international award.

The total literary heritage of Mamin-Sibiryak includes about 150 stories and fairy tales, essays and novellas- not only for the little ones, but also for the adult generation. The main features of his works are deep sincerity and honesty.

1. Writer had a special passion for surnames, collecting them. And he created his literary pseudonym by adding a fictitious name to Mamin’s real surname.
2. Dmitry Narkisovich did not live up to his parents' hopes, which were aimed at his son becoming a clergyman.
3. “Alyonushka’s Tales” were written specifically for the writer’s seriously ill daughter, whom he loved very much.
4. In 2002 there was a prize named after the writer was established, which is awarded for works about the Urals.

Mamin-Sibiryak ended his life in St. Petersburg in November 1912, 6 days after his 60th birthday as a result of illness. But the memory of him is still alive: the Writer’s House-Museum was created in his small homeland, streets and libraries are named after him. And his works still live - bright and real.

If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you

The article is dedicated to the popular writer-storyteller - D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak. You will learn biographical information about the author, a list of his works, and also get acquainted with interesting annotations that reveal the essence of some fairy tales.

Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak. Biography. Childhood and youth

Dmitry Mamin was born on November 6, 1852. His father Narkis was a priest. His mother paid a lot of attention to Dima's upbringing. When he grew up, his parents sent him to school, where the children of workers of the Visimo-Shaitansky plant studied.

Dad really wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. At first everything was as Narkis had planned. He entered the theological seminary in Perm and studied there for a whole year as a student. However, the boy realized that he did not want to devote his entire life to the work of a priest, and therefore decided to leave the seminary. The father was extremely dissatisfied with his son's behavior and did not share his decision. The tense situation in the family forced Dmitry to leave home. He decided to go to St. Petersburg.

Trip to St. Petersburg

Here he wanders around medical institutions. For a year he studies to become a veterinarian, after which he transfers to the medical department. Then he entered St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, after which he began to study law.

As a result of six years of “walking” through different faculties, he never received a single diploma. During this period of time, he realizes that with all his heart he wants to become a writer.

From his pen the first work is born, which is called “Secrets of the Dark Forest”. Already in this essay his creative potential and extraordinary talent are visible. But not all of his works immediately became masterpieces. His novel “In the Whirlpool of Passions,” which was published in a small-circulation magazine under the pseudonym E. Tomsky, was criticized to the nines.

Homecoming

At the age of 25, he returns to his homeland and writes new works under the pseudonym Sibiryak, so as not to be associated with the loser E. Tomsky.

In 1890, his divorce from his first wife followed. He marries the artist M. Abramova. Together with his new wife, Dmitry Narkisovich Mamin-Sibiryak moves to St. Petersburg. Their happy marriage did not last long. The woman died immediately after the birth of her daughter. The girl was named Alyonushka. It was thanks to his beloved daughter that Mamin-Sibiryak revealed himself to readers as a charming storyteller.

It is important to note this interesting fact: some of Mamin-Sibiryak’s works were published under the pseudonyms Onik and Bash-Kurt. He died at the age of sixty.

List of works by Mamin-Sibiryak

• "Alyonushka's Tales".
• "Balaburda."
• "Spit."
• "In a stone well."
• "Wizard".
• "In the mountains".
• "In learning."
• "Emelya the Hunter."
• "Green War".
• Series “From the Distant Past” (“The Road”, “The Execution of Fortunka”, “Illness”, “The Story of a Sawyer”, “The Beginner”, “The Book”).
• Legends: “Baymagan”, “Maya”, “Swan of Khantygay”.
• "Forest Tale".
• "Medvedko".
• "On a way".
• "About Nodi."
• "Fathers".
• "First correspondence".
• "Steady."
• "Underground".
• "Foster child."
• "Siberian Stories" ("Abba", "Despatch", "Dear Guests").
• Fairy tales and stories for children: “Akbozat”, “The Rich Man and Eremka”, “In the Wilderness”, “Winter Quarters on Studenoy”.
• "Gray neck"
• "Stubborn goat."
• "Old Sparrow"
• "The Tale of the Glorious King Pea."

Annotations to the tales of Mamin-Sibiryak

A truly talented storyteller is Mamin-Sibiryak. The fairy tales of this author are very popular with children and adults. They feel soulfulness and special penetration. They were created for a beloved daughter whose mother died during childbirth.

He was like a piece of jasper,
beautiful, patterned jasper,
brought far from his native mountains.

A lot of people talked about Mamin-Sibiryak, especially after his death. Some with admiration, some with obvious irritation, and some with mockery. This man gave rise to very diverse judgments.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with an open face and “wonderful, slightly thoughtful eyes”, he stood out in any crowd. And his “the unforced grace of a young, free-trained bear” only strengthened the general impression of some kind of bewitching wild force. Mamin's character matched his appearance. The same unbridled, hot-tempered. His harsh judgments, his full-fledged witticisms, his harsh assessments often offended people, giving rise to ill-wishers. But more often Dmitry Narkisovich was forgiven for something that would not have been forgiven for someone else. So great was the charm of this big, strong, but in some ways very vulnerable and touching man.
His kindness and gentleness were not immediately revealed to everyone. Although even the pseudonym, firmly fused with the surname - “Mamin-Sibiryak” - sounded somehow warm, homely.
Strictly speaking, this pseudonym was not entirely accurate. The old wooden house of the factory priest, where the future writer was born, was located on the very border of Europe and Asia. "Watershed of the Ural Mountains" passed only 14 miles. There, in the Urals, Dmitry Narkisovich spent his childhood and youth. His best books have been written about the Urals, about its extraordinary nature and people.
What about Siberia? It lay further to the east. And it was not the writer’s favorite theme and the main content of his works. To be fair, he should have chosen a different pseudonym. For example, Mamin-Uralsky or Mamin-Uralets. But the sound wouldn't be the same.
Ural - the body is stone, the heart is fiery. He always stayed with Mom. Even when he moved to St. Petersburg and became a full-fledged resident of the capital, or went with his daughter to relax at some fashionable resort, none of the beauties and miracles there pleased him. Everything seemed dull, devoid of brightness and color.
Why, striving with all his heart to go to the Urals, did he spend almost half of his life away from it? There was a reason. Sad reason. Daughter Alyonushka was born a weak, sickly girl. She lost her mother in infancy. And all the care for her fell on her father’s shoulders. Mamin devoted the last years of his life entirely to his daughter. Doctors forbade Alyonushka to travel long distances, and Dmitry Narkisovich had to come to terms with this. But having taken the Urals from her father, Alyonushka gave him something else.
And not only him. “Alyonushka’s Tales” (1894-96) are touching, poetic, achingly beautiful. They were written with such selfless love and tenderness that they still make young readers, the same age as little Alyonushka, laugh and cry. And Mamin-Sibiryak himself once admitted: “This is my favorite book, it was written by love itself, and therefore it will outlive everything else.”.
By and large, this is what happened. More than a century has passed since the appearance of fairy tales. And although “adult” novels and stories by Mamin-Sibiryak are still published, for most readers he remains precisely a children’s writer, the creator of the marvelous “Alyonushka’s Fairy Tales.”

Irina Kazyulkina

WORKS OF D.N. MAMINA-SIBIRYAK

COMPLETE WORKS: in 20 volumes / D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. - Ekaterinburg: Bank of cultural information, 2002-.
The publication is not finished.

COLLECTED WORKS: in 6 volumes / D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. - Moscow: Fiction, 1980-1981.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the famous publisher Marx published the collected works of D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak, which included about 250 (!) works. Moreover, it did not include stories and fairy tales for children (about 150 titles) and about a hundred works, "lost" in various periodicals or not yet published at that time (journalism, essays, newspaper reports, scientific articles).
This collection of works, although it does not pretend to be exhaustive, represents the work of D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak in a fairly diverse way. It includes not only novels that brought the author fame as an accurate writer of everyday life and ethnographer of the Urals, but also numerous stories, essays, articles and, of course, works for children.

SELECTED WORKS: in 2 volumes / D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. - Moscow: Fiction, 1988.
Mamin-Sibiryak is a Uralian. He was one both in life and in his work. Every page of his Ural stories and essays preserves the mysterious charm of this region, so unlike others. At times it seems that the resinous aroma of fir and spruce forests emanates from these pages, and the Chusovaya and Kama rivers roll out their heavy waves onto them.

ALENUSHKIN'S TALES / D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak; artist S. Nabutovsky. - Moscow: Makhaon, 2011. - 125 p. : ill. - (For the little ones).
“Alyonushka’s Tales” were first published in 1894-96 on the pages of “Children’s Reading,” one of the best magazines of that time. It was published by the famous Moscow teacher D.I. Tikhomirov. The fairy tales were published as a separate edition in 1897 and have been constantly republished in Russia since then.

MOUNTAIN NEST / D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. - Moscow: Astrel: AST; Vladimir: VKT, 2011. - 416 p. : ill. - (Russian classics).
GOLD / Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak. - Moscow: AST: Astrel: Poligrafizdat, 2010. - 382 p. : ill. - (Russian classics).
PRIVALOV MILLIONS / D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. - Moscow: Meshcheryakov Publishing House, 2007. - 480 p. : ill.
“Privalov's Millions” (1883) and “Mountain Nest” (1984) are the most famous “adult” novels by Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak. They managed to step over a century, only to become strikingly and even frighteningly modern again at the beginning of our century.

GRAY NECK / Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak; artist Lyudmila Karpenko. - Moscow: TriMag, 2008. - 31 p. : ill.
GRAY NECK / D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak; [ill. V. Ermolaeva]. - Moscow: Meshcheryakov Publishing House, 2009. - 32 p. : ill.
There are books that seem to have always existed. This is one of them. They could cry over the story of the little duck just as sincerely and selflessly in the distant past, as they will probably cry in the equally distant future. After all, there is always a place for pity and compassion in a person’s soul.

FAIRY TALES. LEGENDS. STORIES / D. N. Mamin-Sibirk. - Moscow: New Key, 2003. - 368 p. : ill.
One person, remembering Mamin-Sibiryak, once said: “Children loved him and animals were not afraid of him.”. This book includes stories and fairy tales of the writer, which he dedicated to both.

Irina Kazyulkina

LITERATURE ABOUT THE LIFE AND WORK OF D.N. MAMINA-SIBIRYAK

Mamin-Sibiryak D. N. From the distant past: [memories] // Mamin-Sibiryak D. N. Stories, stories, essays. - Moscow: Moscow Worker, 1975. - P. 387-478.

Begak B. A. “After all, it’s happiness to write for children” // Begak B. A. Classics in the land of childhood. - Moscow: Children's literature, 1983. - P. 89-98.

Dergachev I. D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. Personality. Creativity / I. Dergachev. - Ed. 2nd. - Sverdlovsk: Central Ural Book Publishing House, 1981. - 304 p. : ill.

Green mountains, motley people: in search of connecting threads: following the travels of D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak / [authors of essays A. P. Chernoskutov, Yu. V. Shinkarenko]. - Ekaterinburg: Socrates, 2008. - 480 p. : ill.

Kireev R. I dreamed of happiness in a spring thunderstorm // Science and religion. - 2003. - No. 1. - P. 36-39.

Kitaynik M. G. Father and daughter: essay in letters // Mamin-Sibiryak D. N. Green Mountains. - Moscow: Young Guard, 1982. - P. 332-365.

Korf O. Children about writers: the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. - Moscow: Sagittarius, 2006.

Kuzin N. To suffer and rejoice with a thousand hearts // Our contemporary. - 2002. - No. 10. - P. 234-241.

D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak in the memoirs of contemporaries. - Sverdlovsk: Sverdlovsk Book Publishing House, 1962. - 361 p.

Pospelov G.N. Life and customs of the stone belt: “Privalov’s millions” by D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak / G.N. Pospelov // Peaks: a book about outstanding works of Russian literature. - Moscow: Children's literature, 1983. - P. 54-67.

Sergovantsev N. Mamin-Sibiryak / Nikolay Sergovantsev. - Moscow: Young Guard, 2005. - 337 p. : ill. - (Life of wonderful people).

Tubelskaya G.N. Children's writers of Russia: one hundred and thirty names: biobibliographic reference book / G.N. Tubelskaya. - Moscow: Russian School Library Association, 2007 - 492 p. : ill.
Read the biographical sketch about D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak on p. 201-203.

Chantsev A.V. Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. // Russian writers. 1800-1917: biographical dictionary. - Moscow: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1994. - T. 3. - P. 497-502.

Encyclopedia of literary heroes: Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century. - Moscow: Olympus: AST, 1997. - 768 p. : ill.
Read about the heroes of the works of D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak (including the Gray Neck) on p. 270-275.

I.K.

SCREEN ADAPTATIONS OF D.N. MAMINA-SIBIRYAK’S WORKS

- ART FILMS -

In the power of gold. Based on the play "Gold Miners". Dir. I.Pravov. Comp. E. Rodygin. USSR, 1957. Cast: I. Pereverzev, I. Kmit, V. Chekmarev and others.

Gold. Dir. A. Marmontov. Russia, 2012. Cast: S. Bezrukov, M. Porechenkov, I. Skobtseva and others.

On a golden day. TV version of the play by the Theater. E. Vakhtangov. Dir. M. Markova, A. Remezova. USSR, 1977. Cast: Y. Borisova, N. Gritsenko, V. Shalevich and others.

Under the linden tree. TV movie. Dir. S. Remmeh. USSR, 1979. Cast: N. Danilova, A. Leskov, V. Panina, I. Gorbachev and others.

Privalov's millions. Dir. Ya. Lapshin. Comp. Yu. Levitin. USSR, 1972. Cast: L. Kulagin, V. Strzhelchik, L. Khityaeva, A. Fait, L. Chursina, L. Sokolova and others.

Privalov's millions. TV series. Dir. D. Klante, N. Popov. Comp. S. Pironkov. Germany-Bulgaria, 1983. Cast: R. Chanev, G. Cherkelov, M. Dimitrova and others.

- CARTOONS -

Ruff and Sparrow. Based on “The Tale of Sparrow Vorobeich, Ruff Ershovich and the cheerful chimney sweep Yasha.” Dir. V. Petkevich. Belarus, 2000.

Once upon a time there lived the last fly. Based on “The Tale of How the Last Fly Lived.” Dir. V. Petkevich. Belarus, 2009.

Gray Neck. Dir. L. Amalrik, V. Polkovnikov. Comp. Yu. Nikolsky. USSR, 1948. The roles were voiced by: V. Ivanova, F. Kurikhin, V. Telegina and others.

A tale about Komar Komarovich. Dir. V. Fomin. Comp. V. Kazenin. USSR, 1980. The roles were voiced by: Z. Naryshkina, M. Vinogradova, Y. Volyntsev, B. Runge.

A tale about a brave hare. Dir. N. Pavlovskaya. USSR, 1978.

A fairy tale about a little booger. Dir. V. Petkevich. Artistic-post. A.Petrov. USSR, 1985. The text is read by G. Burkov.

Brave Bunny. Dir. I. Ivanov-Vano. Comp. Yu. Levitin. USSR, 1955. The roles were voiced by: Vitya Koval, V. Popova, V. Volodin, G. Vitsin and others.

I.K.

“Bay-bye-bye...
One of Alyonushka’s eyes is asleep, the other is watching; One ear of Alyonushka is sleeping, the other is listening.
Sleep, Alyonushka, sleep, beauty, and dad will tell fairy tales...”
How many of these fairy tales are there? Exactly ten:
"The Tale of the Brave Hare - Long Ears, Slanting Eyes, Short Tail"
"The Tale of Kozyavochka"
“About Komar Komarovich - a long nose and about shaggy Misha - a short tail,”
"Vanka's name day"
“The Tale of Sparrow Vorobeich, Ruff Ershovich and the cheerful chimney sweep Yasha”
"The Tale of How the Last Fly Lived"
“The fairy tale about Voronushka - a black little head and a yellow bird, Canary,”
"Smarter than everyone else"
"The Parable of Milk, Oatmeal Porridge and the Gray Cat Murka"
"It's time to sleep".
Since 1896, when “Alyonushka’s Tales” were first published, Dmitry Narkisovich Mamin-Sibiryak began to consider them his best work, and himself as a children’s writer. He chose the name for the fairy tales not by chance - Alyonushka was his daughter’s name. Dmitry Narkisovich lovingly called her "father's daughter"- She lost her mother at birth and from the cradle was surrounded only by his care. The girl had to endure many trials. Almost immediately it became clear that Alyonushka was seriously and hopelessly ill. And only thanks to her father’s enormous will and courage, over time she somewhat got used to it and adapted to life. And the disease, although it did not go away completely, receded.
Years will pass, and the grown-up Alyonushka, in turn, will take care of her paralyzed father. This will close this circle of love and self-sacrifice.
...The earth has long laid to rest both father and daughter. All their sorrows and troubles went with them. But love remained. Every page of “Alyonushka’s Tales” and “The Gray Neck” breathes with it - works in which the writer managed to forever preserve the features of his dear Alyonushka.

Portrait of father and daughter

This is one of the many joint photographs of Dmitry Narkisovich and Alyonushka. In pre-revolutionary times, they appeared more than once on the pages of children's and youth magazines.

From the latest editions:

Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. Alyonushka's tales / With forty-five figs. artist A. Afanasyeva [and others]. - Reprint. ed. - M.: IEOPGKO, 2006. - 131 p.: ill. - (B-ka of spiritual and moral culture).

Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. Gray neck / Fig. S. Yarovoy. - M.: Det. lit., 2006. - 16 p.: ill.

Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. Gray neck / Artist. D. Belozertsev. - M.: Aquilegia-M, 2007. - 48 p.: ill. - (Classics).

Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. Gray neck / Artist. L. Karpenko. - M.: TriMag, 2008. - 31 p.: ill.

Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. "The Gray Neck" and other tales. - M.: ROSMEN-PRESS, 2009. - 80 p.: ill. - (The best storytellers of Russia).

Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. A fairy tale about a brave Hare - long ears, slanting eyes, a short tail / Artist. V. Dugin. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2007. - p.: ill. - (Favorite book).

Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. A fairy tale about a brave Hare - long ears, slanting eyes, a short tail / Artist. S. Sachkov. - M.: AST: Astrel; Tula: Rodnichok, 2007. - 16 p.: ill.

Irina Kazyulkina

DMITRY NARKISOVICH MAMIN-SIBIRYAK

D.N.Mamin-Sibiryak

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the rosy perspective of childhood memories, it is not only people who are alive, but also those inanimate objects that were in one way or another connected with the small life of a beginning little person. And now I think about them as living beings, again experiencing the impressions and sensations of distant childhood.
In these silent participants in children's life, in the foreground, of course, is a children's book with pictures... It was that living thread that led out of the children's room and connected it with the rest of the world. For me, every children's book is still something alive, because it awakens a child's soul, directs children's thoughts in a certain direction and makes a child's heart beat along with millions of other children's hearts. A children's book is a spring ray of sunshine that awakens the dormant powers of a child's soul and causes the seeds thrown onto this grateful soil to grow. Thanks to this particular book, children merge into one huge spiritual family that knows no ethnographic and geographical boundaries.
<…>
Just now I see an old wooden house with five large windows looking out onto the square. It was remarkable in that on one side the windows looked out onto Europe, and on the other into Asia. The watershed of the Ural Mountains was only fourteen miles away.
“Those mountains are already in Asia,” my father explained to me, pointing to the silhouettes of distant mountains piled towards the horizon. - We live on the very border...
This “border” contained something especially mysterious for me, separating two completely incommensurable worlds. In the east the mountains were higher and more beautiful, but I loved the west more, which was completely prosaically obscured by the low Kokurnikova hill. As a child, I loved to sit by the window for a long time and look at this mountain. It sometimes seemed to me that she seemed to be deliberately blocking with herself all those miracles that seemed to a child’s imagination in the mysterious, distant west. After all, everything came from there, from the West, starting with the first children’s picture book... The East did not give anything, and in the child’s soul a mysterious craving for the West awoke, grew and matured. By the way, our corner room, which was called the tea room, although they didn’t drink tea in it, had a window facing the west and contained the treasured key to this west, and even now I think about it as one thinks about a living person with whom dear ones are connected. memories.
The soul of this tea room, so to speak, was the bookcase. In him, like in an electric battery, an inexhaustible, mysterious powerful force was concentrated, which caused the first fermentation of children's thoughts. And this closet also seems to me to be a living creature.<…>
“These are our best friends,” my father liked to repeat, pointing to the books. - And what dear friends... You just need to think how much intelligence, talent and knowledge it takes to write a book. Then it needs to be published, then it has to make a long, long journey until it gets to us in the Urals. Each book will pass through thousands of hands before it reaches the shelf of our closet.<…>
Our library was composed of classics, and in it - alas! - there wasn’t a single children’s book... In my early childhood, I didn’t even see such a book. Books were obtained through a long process of ordering from the capitals or accidentally arrived through book-sellers. I had to start reading straight from the classics, like grandfather Krylov, Gogol, Pushkin, Goncharov, etc. I saw my first children's book with pictures only when I was about ten years old, when a new factory manager from artillery officers, a very educated man, arrived at our factory. How I remember now this first children's book, the name of which I, unfortunately, forgot. But I clearly remember the drawings in it, especially the living bridge of monkeys and paintings of tropical nature. Of course, I have never seen a better book than this one.
The first children's book in our library was “Children's World” by Ushinsky. This book had to be ordered from St. Petersburg, and we waited for it every day for almost three months. Finally, she appeared and was, of course, eagerly read from board to board. A new era began with this book. Behind her came the stories of Razin, Chistyakov and other children's books. My favorite book became the stories about the conquest of Kamchatka. I read it ten times and knew it almost by heart. Simple illustrations were complemented by imagination. Mentally, I performed all the heroic deeds of the Cossack conquerors, swam in light Aleutian kayaks, ate rotten fish from the Chukchi, collected eider down from the rocks and died of hunger when the Aleuts, Chukchi and Kamchadals died. From this book on, travel became my favorite reading, and my favorite classics were forgotten for a while. The reading of “Frigate Pallas” by Goncharov dates back to this time. I waited impatiently for the evening, when my mother finished her day's work and sat down at the table with a treasured book. We were already traveling together, sharing equally the dangers and consequences of traveling around the world. Wherever we were, whatever we experienced, we sailed forward and forward, inspired by the thirst to see new countries, new people and forms of life unknown to us. There were, of course, many unknown places and incomprehensible words, but these pitfalls were avoided with the help of a dictionary of foreign words and common interpretations.<…>
We are now too accustomed to the book to even approximately appreciate the enormous power that it represents. What is more important is that this force, in the form of a traveling book in an ofeni box, itself came to the reader in that distant time and, moreover, brought other books with it - books travel around the world in families, and their family connection is preserved between them. I would compare these wandering books to migratory birds that bring with them spiritual spring. One might think that some invisible hand of some invisible genius carried this book across the vast expanse of Rus', tirelessly sowing “reasonable, good, eternal.” Yes, it is now easy to build a home library of the best authors, especially thanks to illustrated publications; but the book has already made its way into the darkest times, in the good old days of banknotes, tallow candles and any movement of the native “tug”. Here one cannot help but remember with a kind word the ancient book-carrier, who, like water, penetrated into every well. For us children, his appearance in the house was a real holiday. He also supervised the selection of books and gave, if necessary, the necessary explanations.<…>
So... we opened a whole warehouse of books, the container for which was a huge old chest of drawers with copper brackets. Kostya and I pounced on this treasure like mice on cereal, and in the very first steps we dug Ammalat-Bek himself out of the dust of oblivion.
For several months we simply raved about this book and when we met, we greeted each other with a mountain song:

<…>
“Writers” and “poetsers” constituted an insoluble riddle for us. Who are they, where do they live, how do they write their books? For some reason it seemed to me that this mysterious man who writes books must certainly be angry and proud. This thought saddened me, and I began to feel hopelessly stupid.
“The generals write all the books,” Roman Rodionich assured. - There is no less than the rank of general, otherwise everyone will write!
To prove his words, he referred to portraits of Karamzin and Krylov - both writers were among the stars.
Kostya and I still doubted the literary generalship and turned to Alexander Petrovich, who should have known everything, to resolve the issue.
“There are also generals,” he answered rather indifferently, straightening his bulges. - Why shouldn’t there be generals?
- All the generals?..
- Well, where should everyone be... There are also very simple ones, like us.
- They’re completely simple, and they make things up?
- And they make up things because they want to eat. If you walk into a bookstore in St. Petersburg, your eyes will widen. All the books are piled up to the ceiling, like we have firewood. If the generals wrote everything, there would be no way from them on the street. There are very simple writers, and they even often go hungry...
The latter no longer fit in at all with the idea we had about the author in our heads. It even seemed ashamed: here we are reading his book, and the author is starving somewhere in St. Petersburg. After all, he tries and composes for us, and we began to feel a little guilty.
“This can’t be,” Kostya decided. - They probably also receive their salary...
An even more insoluble question was where in the book is reality and where is the writer’s fiction.<…>
In our pantry and in Alexander Petrovich’s chest of drawers, we found, among other things, many books that were completely inaccessible to our children’s understanding. These were all ancient books, printed on thick blue paper with mysterious watermarks and bound in leather. They exuded indestructible strength, like well-preserved old men. Since childhood, I have developed a love for such an old book, and my imagination imagined a mysterious person who wrote a book a hundred or two hundred years ago for me to read now.<…>
Among the mysterious old books were those whose very title was difficult to understand: “The Key to the Mysteries of Science”, “The Theater of Judicial Science”, “A Short and Easiest Way to Pray, the Creation of Madame Gion”, “The Triumphant Chameleon, or the Image of Anecdotes and Properties Count Mirabeau”, “Three original human properties, or the Image of cold, hot and warm”, “Moral letters to Lida about the love of noble souls”, “Irtysh turning into Ipokrena” (scattered books of the first Siberian magazine), etc. We tried to read these sophisticated mysterious books and died in the most shameful way on the first pages. This only convinced us that these ancient books were the most intelligent, because only educated people, like our factory manager, could understand them.
<…>
The sixties were marked even in the most remote provinces by a huge influx of new, popular-scientific books. It was a clear sign of the times.<…>
I was about fifteen years old when I came across a new book. About ten miles from our plant there were famous platinum mines. Nikolai Fedorych, a former student of Kazan University, entered there as a manager, or, in factory terms, a trustee. Kostya and I had already wandered around the neighboring mountains with guns, visited a mine, met new people and found here a new book, a microscope, and completely new conversations. Another former student, Alexander Alekseevich, lived in the mine office, who, mainly, initiated us into the new faith. On the shelf in the office there were books unknown to us even by name. There were botanical conversations by Schleiden, Moleshot, Vogt, Lyell, and many other famous European names. A completely new world was opening up before our eyes, vast and irresistibly beckoning us with the light of real knowledge and real science. We were simply stunned and did not know what to take on, and most importantly, how to take on it “from the very beginning”, so that later we would not make a mistake and would not have to go back to the old way.
It was a naive and happy faith in the science that was supposed to explain everything and teach everything, and the science itself was contained in those new books that stood on the shelf in the mine office.<…>
And now, when I accidentally come across some book from the sixties somewhere at a second-hand bookstore, I have a joyful feeling, as if I’m going to find a good old friend.

NOTES

The essay “About the Book” is abbreviated according to the edition: Mamin-Sibiryak D.N. Collected works: in 8 volumes - M.: Goslitizdat, 1953-1955. - T. 8. - P. 553-570.

"Children's World" by Ushinsky- “Native Word” and “Children’s World” are the first Russian books for the primary education of children, published since the mid-1860s. in huge circulations and therefore publicly available. They consisted of stories and tales about nature and animals. The great Russian teacher, philosopher and writer Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky wrote them abroad, having studied schools in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy and other countries and summarizing his teaching experience.

Ammalat-Bek- a story by Alexander Alexandrovich Bestuzhev-Marlinsky (1797-1837). A Decembrist writer, he was transferred from Siberian exile to the Caucasus, to the active army; He participated as a private in battles with the highlanders and died in the same year as A.S. Pushkin. Marlinsky’s romantic stories captivated readers in the late 1820s and 30s, but later the alien passions and pompous language of his characters were perceived rather as a parody of romanticism.

Kostya- son of a factory employee, childhood friend of D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak.

Stories by Razin, Chistyakov- in 1851-65. teacher and children's writer Mikhail Borisovich Chistyakov (1809-1885) published the "Magazine for Children", first together with Alexei Egorovich Razin (1823-1875), a journalist and popularizer, and then alone. The magazine published stories, short stories and essays in which the author told children in a fascinating way about history, geography, literature, famous people of Russia and other countries.

Schleiden's botanical conversations- Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804-1881), German biologist, botanist and social activist.

Moleshot - the works of the Dutch physiologist Jacob Moleschott (1822-1893) were well known in Russia in the second half of the 19th century.

Vogt - German naturalist, zoologist and paleontologist Karl Vogt (Vocht; 1817-1895).

Lyell - Charles Lyell (1797-1875), English geologist, founder of modern geology.

Date of birth: November 6, 1852
Date of death: November 15, 1912
Place of birth: Visimo-Shaitansky factory village, Perm province

Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak- a great prose writer, playwright and writer. Dmitry Narkisovich Mamin-Sibiryak born on November 6, 1852 in the small village of Visimo-Shaitan (now Visim in the Sverdlovsk region). His father was a member of the clergy and really wanted his son to also devote his life to serving the Lord. His family was enlightened, so the boy received an excellent secular education at home and entered a local school to continue his education.

Following the instructions of his father, he entered the theological school of Yekaterinburg in 1866, and then successfully transferred to the theological seminary of Perm. His character and unconventional mind already manifest themselves there; he participates in several circles, where he begins to become acquainted with the ideas of Herzen, Chernyshevsky, and Dobrolyubov. It was while studying at the seminary that he began to write short stories, showing, albeit uncouth, talent.

He successfully graduated from the seminary in 1871 and went to St. Petersburg. He was not attracted to the profession of a priest, and therefore he decided to continue his studies in the scientific field.

He entered the Medical-Surgical Academy, where he studied first in the veterinary and then in the medical department. Science became even more interesting for him; in 1874 he entered the University of St. Petersburg at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, and two years later he transferred to the Faculty of Law. At this time, he begins to have financial difficulties and develops tuberculosis.

During his student period, he was already published, wrote short stories, but received little payment. He described this period of poverty and passion for journalism in his autobiographical novel “Characters from the Life of Pepko.”

In 1877 he returned to the Urals, and in 1878 he buried his father and became the head of the family. He needed to provide education for his brothers and sisters. Earnings could only be found in a big city, and therefore in the same year his family moved to Yekaterinburg, where Dmitry met a beautiful woman, Maria Alekseeva.

She became his wife, as well as his partner in literary activities. Mamin-Sibiryak traveled a lot in the Urals and during his travels paid attention to the economy, regional history, and folklore. He collected a huge amount of material for his literary activities.

His travel notes are published in the collection “From the Urals to Moscow”, which were published in the newspaper “Russian Vedomosti”. It was an undoubted success, which attracted the attention of several publications at once, including the famous magazines "Domestic Notes", "Bulletin of Europe", "Russian Thought and others. At the same time, he took a double surname. Dmitry Sibiryak is his literary pseudonym, which became part of the surname.

The motives of his work remain unchanged; he continues to write about the life of the Russian people in the Urals. In 1883, Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak completed work on the great novel “Privalov's Millions,” which he wrote over the course of ten years. This novel brought him fame after its publication in the magazine "Delo". Then Otechestvennye Zapiski publishes his novel Mountain Nest, which was immediately accepted by the public and critics, who identified him as a very talented writer in the genre of realism.

In 1890, Dmitry separated from his first wife and married M. Abramova, an actress at the Yekaterinburg Drama Theater. Together with this woman he moved to St. Petersburg. His marital happiness was short-lived; his wife died just a year later after a very difficult birth. This tragedy left its mark on the life of the writer, who was left with his sick daughter Alena in his arms.

His depression did not stop him from concentrating on raising his daughter and starting writing children's stories. It was during this period that he wrote the very famous cycle “Alyonushka’s Tales,” which was written especially for his daughter. Over the next decade, he lived in St. Petersburg, paying as much attention to his daughter as possible. He also wrote many wonderful stories, novels and novels, among which the “Ural Stories” and the famous novel “Bread” stand out. Unfortunately, at the same time his health deteriorated due to developing tuberculosis.

He died of consumption on November 15, 1912, and his daughter died two years later. Mamin-Sibiryak left behind a huge literary legacy. His greatest achievement can be considered the use of unique characters and images that he created for children.

His tales are always permeated not only with love and understanding, but also with high morality. He defended his native nature and tried to teach readers the same, and also reflected many changes in the social life of Russia in his novels and stories.

Important milestones in the life of Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak:

Born November 6, 1852
- Admission to the Ekaterinburg religious school in 1866
- Admission to the Perm Theological Seminary in 1868
- Admission to the Medical-Surgical Academy of St. Petersburg in 1872
- Transfer to the Faculty of Law in 1876
- Married Maria Alekseeva and began traveling around the Urals after returning from St. Petersburg in 1877
- Publication of a series of essays “Prospectors” and work in the magazine “Russian Thought” in 1882
- Publication of the novel “Privalov’s Millions” in 1883
- Publication of the novel “Mountain Nest” in the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski” in 1884
- Married M. Abramova in 1890
- Moved to St. Petersburg, lost his wife and began working on fairy tales and children's stories in 1891
- Publication of the novel “Gold”, publication of “Okhon’s Eyebrows” in 1892
- Publication of the two-volume collection "Ural Stories", printing of the novel "Bread" in 1895

Interesting facts from the biography of Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak:

Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak is a Russian writer and playwright. He is known for his fairy tales, essays, and novels. His life was not easy and there was a lot of bad things in it, but this did not affect his creativity. Children read Mamin-Sibiryak in elementary school, adults know his novels.

The future writer was born into an intelligent family. His father and mother gave him an excellent education at home. The boy also attended educational institutions for the future clergy, but did not become a priest. Dmitry was looking for his way. He entered medical university, first to become a veterinarian and then to become a surgeon. Dissatisfied, he left there and entered law school, but did not finish that either.

Financial difficulties in the family and poor health prevented this from happening.
I had to return home to my parents. A new shock - the father dies. Dmitry needs to look for income and feed his family. He moves to Yekaterinburg and settles in there. Literary work brings money. First essays, then stories. Great success came to him with the novel Privalov's Millions. This work was popular at the time.

There is also success on the personal front. Dmitry has a woman, Maria Yakimovna Alekseeva, and this is an excellent choice. She is a wonderful wife, friend, and chief adviser on literary matters. Things are progressing, new novels are appearing. Dmitry goes to the Urals, studies literature on it, and gets acquainted with folk life.

Who knows why, but Dmitry is divorcing Maria. His new wife, Maria Abramova, gave birth to a daughter, but at the cost of her life. Dmitry was overtaken by deep depression. The daughter was excommunicated without giving her the right to raise her like a father. Only creativity saves. This is how “Alyonushka’s Tales” appeared, now a classic of children’s literature.

The depression passed, his daughter was returned, and he gave her the upbringing that a natural father could give. Daughter Elena did not survive the writer for long - tuberculosis killed her. She was still a teenager. It was not only consumption that finished off the writer. Stroke, paralysis, and pleurisy also took their toll. And he died. And we read his work to this day.

Biography of Mamin-Sibiryak about the main thing

Back in the nineteenth century, in the family of a clergyman who was barely making ends meet, as they say, an heir was born. This joyful event took place in November 1852 in a place that in modern geographical science is called the Perm region. The baby was baptized and named Dmitry.

Since Dima grew up in a family whose interests were related to Christianity, it is clear that in 1866 he was assigned to the theological seminary of Yekaterinburg. He graduated from it and continued his studies at the St. Petersburg Medical-Military Academy at the faculty where they trained veterinarians. But Dmitry did not study to become a “dog doctor” for long, since in 1876 he transferred to the Faculty of Law, where he studied for only 12 months.

In 1877, Dmitry moved permanently to the Urals, and in 1891 he moved again, but this time to St. Petersburg, and then to Tsarskoe Selo.

It is worth noting that Dmitry’s real name was Mamin. From early childhood he cherished the dream of becoming a creator of words, that is, a writer.

The year 1875 arrived. Mamin began to realize his cherished dream of writing - he began to compile notes for St. Petersburg newspapers. In his biography, researchers of Dmitry’s work call the same period the period of his formation as a writer. Around these years he writes short stories that are published in newspapers.

In 1881-82, the newspaper Russkie Vedomosti, popular at that time, published essays written by Mamin entitled “From the Urals to Moscow.” And from this time on, an addition to the surname Sibiryak appeared. In 1883, his novel was published, which brought him popularity, with the title “Privalov's Millions.”

If we analyze the texts of Mamin-Sibiryak, we can conclude that in them we can see the unique nature of the Urals. When you read, it’s as if you see how people live, how they talk. The 80s were a time of confrontation between workers and employers. This is reflected in such texts, for example, “Mountain Nest”, “Ural Stories”.

At the end of his life, as they say at the time of mature authorship, Mamin-Sibiryak turns to children's themes. Such works have been written that are known to everyone from school. These are collections for children, the well-known fairy tale about the duck “Grey Neck”.

Mamin-Sibiryak responded to revolutionary actions with his works “Crime” and “Mumma”.

In November 1912, Mamin-Sibiryak’s heart stopped beating forever. The ashes of Dmitry Narkisovich rest in one of the cemeteries in St. Petersburg.

If we talk about the literary heritage, then it should be noted that Dmitry Narkisovich made an invaluable contribution to the formation of the contemporary state of the Russian language.

If we talk about literary criticism, Mamin-Sibiryak developed various genres and adjusted their features. The main thing is that they are permeated to the “marrow of their bones,” as they say, with the “Russian spirit,” the Russian love for living things and life.

Interesting facts and dates from life