Interesting facts about literature. A selection of amazing facts from the life of Russian writers

There are many interesting facts associated with Russian poets and writers that shed light on this or that event. It seems to us that we know everything, or almost everything, about the lives of great writers, but there are pages unexplored!

So, for example, we learned that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was the initiator of the fatal duel and did everything possible to make it happen - it was a matter of honor for the poet... And Leo Tolstoy, due to his passion for gambling lost his house. And we also know how the great Anton Pavlovich loved to call his wife in correspondence - “the crocodile of my soul”... Read about these and other facts of Russian geniuses in our selection of “the most interesting facts from the life of Russian poets and writers.”

Russian writers came up with many new words: substance, thermometer ( Lomonosov), industry ( Karamzin), bungling ( Saltykov-Shchedrin), fade away ( Dostoevsky), mediocrity ( Northerner), exhausted ( Khlebnikov).

Pushkin was not handsome, unlike his wife Natalya Goncharova, who, in addition to everything, was 10 cm taller than her husband. For this reason, when attending balls, Pushkin tried to stay away from his wife, so as not to once again draw the attention of others to this contrast.

During the period of courtship for your future wife Natalya Pushkin told his friends a lot about her and usually said: “I am delighted, I am fascinated, In short, I am enchanted!”

Korney Chukovsky- it is a nickname. Real name (according to available documents) of the most published in Russia children's writer- Nikolai Vasilievich Korneychukov. He was born in 1882 in Odessa out of wedlock, was recorded under his mother’s surname, and published his first article in 1901 under the pseudonym Korney Chukovsky.

Lev Tolstoy. In his youth, the future genius of Russian literature was quite passionate. Once upon a time in card game with his neighbor, the landowner Gorokhov, Leo Tolstoy lost the main building of the inherited estate - the estate Yasnaya Polyana. The neighbor dismantled the house and took it 35 miles away as a trophy. It is worth noting that this was not just a building - it was here that the writer was born and spent his childhood years, it was this house that he remembered warmly all his life and even wanted to buy it back, but for one reason or another he did not.

Famous Soviet writer and public figure burr, that is, did not pronounce the letters “r” and “l”. This happened in childhood when, while playing, he accidentally cut his tongue with a razor, and it became difficult for him to pronounce his name: Kirill. In 1934 he took the pseudonym Konstantin.

Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov were natives of Odessa, but met only in Moscow immediately before starting work on their first novel. Subsequently, the duo worked together so well that even Ilf’s daughter Alexandra, who is involved in popularizing the writers’ heritage, called herself the daughter of “Ilf and Petrov.”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn communicated more than once with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. For example, Yeltsin asked his opinion about the Kuril Islands (Solzhenitsyn advised giving them to Japan). And in the mid-1990s, after Alexander Isaevich returned from emigration and restored his Russian citizenship, by order of Yeltsin, he was given the Sosnovka-2 state dacha in the Moscow region.

Chekhov sat down to write, dressed in full dress. Kuprin, on the contrary, he loved working completely naked.

When a Russian satirist-writer Arkady Averchenko during the First World War, he brought a story to one of the editors military theme, the censor deleted the phrase from it: “The sky was blue.” It turns out that from these words, enemy spies could guess that the matter was happening in the south.

The real name of the satirical writer Grigory Gorin There was Ofstein. When asked about the reason for choosing the pseudonym, Gorin replied that it was an abbreviation: “Grisha Ofshtein decided to change his nationality.”

Initially at the grave Gogol in the monastery cemetery lay a stone nicknamed Golgotha ​​because of its resemblance to Mount Jerusalem. When they decided to destroy the cemetery, during reburial in another place they decided to install a bust of Gogol on the grave. And that same stone was subsequently placed on Bulgakov’s grave by his wife. In this regard, the phrase is noteworthy Bulgakov, which he repeatedly addressed to Gogol during his lifetime: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat.”

After the outbreak of World War II Marina Tsvetaeva They were sent for evacuation to the city of Elabuga, in Tatarstan. Boris Pasternak helped her pack her things. He brought a rope to tie up the suitcase, and, assuring of its strength, joked: “The rope will withstand everything, even if you hang yourself.” Subsequently, he was told that it was on her that Tsvetaeva hanged herself in Yelabuga.

The famous phrase “We all came out of Gogol’s overcoat,” which is used to express humanistic traditions Russian literature. The authorship of this expression is often attributed to Dostoevsky, but in fact the first person to say it was the French critic Eugene Vogüet, who discussed the origins of Dostoevsky’s work. Fyodor Mikhailovich himself cited this quote in a conversation with another French writer, who understood it as own words writer and published them in this light in his work.

As a remedy for a “big belly” A.P. Chekhov prescribed a milk diet to his obese patients. For a week, the unfortunate people had to eat nothing and extinguish attacks of hunger with hundred-gram doses of regular milk. Indeed, due to the fact that milk is quickly and well absorbed, a glass of the drink taken in the morning reduces appetite. So, without feeling hungry, you can hold out until lunch. This property of milk was used by Anton Pavlovich in his medical practice...

Dostoevsky made extensive use of the real topography of St. Petersburg in describing the places in his novel Crime and Punishment. As the writer admitted, he compiled a description of the yard in which Raskolnikov hides the things he stole from the pawnbroker’s apartment from personal experience- when one day, while walking around the city, Dostoevsky turned into a deserted courtyard to relieve himself.

Do you know what Pushkin received as a dowry for N.N. Goncharova bronze statue? Not the most convenient dowry! But still in mid-18th century century Afanasy Abramovich Goncharov was one of richest people Russia. The sailing fabric produced at his Linen Factory was purchased for the British Navy, and the paper was considered the best in Russia. The best society came to the Linen Factory for feasts, hunts, and performances, and in 1775 Catherine herself visited here.

In memory of this event, the Goncharovs bought bronze statue Empress, cast in Berlin. The order was delivered already under Paul, when it was dangerous to honor Catherine. And then there was no longer enough money to install the monument - Afanasy Nikolaevich Goncharov, Natalia Nikolaevna’s grandfather, who inherited a huge fortune, left his grandchildren debts and a disorganized household. He came up with the idea of ​​giving the statue to his granddaughter as a dowry.

The poet's ordeal with this statue is reflected in his letters. Pushkin calls her “copper grandmother” and tries to sell her to the State mint for remelting (scrap non-ferrous metals!). In the end, the statue was sold to the foundry of Franz Bard, apparently after the poet's death.

The bard sold the long-suffering statue to the Ekaterinoslav nobility, who erected a monument to the founder of their city on the Cathedral Square of Ekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). But when she finally got to the city named after her, the “copper grandmother” continued to travel, changing 3 pedestals, and after the fascist occupation she disappeared completely. Has “grandmother” found peace, or continues her movements around the world?

Main plot immortal work N.V. Gogol’s “The Inspector General” was suggested to the author by A.S. Pushkin. These great classics were good friends. Once Alexander Sergeevich told Nikolai Vasilyevich an interesting fact from the life of the city of Ustyuzhna, Novgorod province. It was this incident that formed the basis of the work of Nikolai Gogol.

Throughout the time he was writing The Inspector General, Gogol often wrote to Pushkin about his work, told him what stage it was in, and also repeatedly announced that he wanted to quit it. However, Pushkin forbade him to do this, so “The Inspector General” was still completed.

By the way, Pushkin, who was present at the first reading of the play, was completely delighted with it.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in correspondence with his wife Olga Leonardovna, Knipper used standard compliments and kind words very unusual: “actress”, “dog”, “snake” and - feel the lyricism of the moment - “the crocodile of my soul”.

Alexander Griboyedov was not only a poet, but also a diplomat. In 1829, he died in Persia along with the entire diplomatic mission at the hands of religious fanatics. To atone for their guilt, the Persian delegation arrived in St. Petersburg with rich gifts, among which was the famous Shah diamond weighing 88.7 carats. Another purpose of the embassy's visit was to mitigate the indemnity imposed on Persia under the terms of the Turkmanchay Peace Treaty. Emperor Nicholas I went to meet the Persians halfway and said: “I consign the ill-fated Tehran incident to eternal oblivion!”

Lev Tolstoy was skeptical about his novels, including War and Peace. In 1871, he sent Fet a letter: “How happy I am... that I will never write verbose rubbish like “War” again.” An entry in his diary in 1908 reads: “People love me for those trifles - “War and Peace”, etc., which seem very important to them.”

The duel, in which Pushkin was mortally wounded, was not initiated by the poet. Pushkin sent a challenge to Dantes in November 1836, the impetus for which was the spread of anonymous lampoons exposing him as a cuckold. However, that duel was canceled thanks to the efforts of the poet’s friends and the proposal made by Dantes to Natalya Goncharova’s sister. But the conflict was not settled, the spread of jokes about Pushkin and his family continued, and then the poet sent Dantes’ adoptive father Heckern an extremely offensive letter in February 1837, knowing that this would entail a challenge from Dantes. And so it happened, and this duel became Pushkin’s last. By the way, Dantes was a relative of Pushkin. At the time of the duel, he was married to the sister of Pushkin’s wife, Ekaterina Goncharova.

Having fallen ill, Chekhov sent a messenger to the pharmacy for castor oil capsules. The pharmacist sent him two large capsules, which Chekhov returned with the inscription “I am not a horse!” Having received the writer’s autograph, the pharmacist happily replaced them with normal capsules.

Passion Ivan Krylov there was food. Before dinner at a party, Krylov read two or three fables. After the praise, he waited for lunch. With the ease of a young man, despite all his obesity, he went to the dining room as soon as it was announced: “Dinner is served.” The Kyrgyz footman Emelyan tied a napkin under Krylov’s chin, spread the second one on his knees and stood behind the chair.

Krylov ate a huge plate of pies, three plates of fish soup, huge veal chops - a couple of plates, a fried turkey, which he called “Firebird”, and also a pickle: Nezhin cucumbers, lingonberries, cloudberries, plums, eating Antonov apples, like plums, finally began to eat Strasbourg pate, freshly prepared from the freshest butter, truffles and goose livers. After eating several plates, Krylov drank kvass, after which he washed down his food with two glasses of coffee with cream, into which you stick a spoon - it stands.

Writer V.V. Veresaev recalled that all the pleasure, all the bliss of life for Krylov lay in food. At one time he received invitations to small dinners with the Empress, about which he later spoke very unflatteringly because of the meager portions of the dishes served to the table. At one of these dinners, Krylov sat down at the table and, without greeting the hostess, began to eat. The poet who was present Zhukovsky exclaimed in surprise: “Stop it, let the queen at least treat you.” “What if he doesn’t serve you?” answered Krylov, without looking up from his plate. At dinner parties he usually ate a dish of pies, three or four plates of fish soup, several chops, roast turkey and a few "trifles." Arriving home, I ate it all in a bowl. sauerkraut and black bread.

By the way, everyone believed that the fabulist Krylov died of volvulus due to overeating. In fact, he died from double pneumonia.

Gogol had a passion for handicrafts. I knitted scarves, cut out dresses for my sisters, wove belts, and sewed scarves for myself for the summer.

Did you know that the typical Russian name Svetlana is only 200 years old? Before it was invented in 1802 by A.Kh. Vostokov, such a name did not exist. It first appeared in his romance “Svetlana and Mstislav”. Then it was fashionable to call literary heroes pseudo-Russian names. This is how Dobrada, Priyata, Miloslava appeared - purely literary, not listed in the calendar. That’s why they didn’t call children that.

Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky took the name for the heroine of his ballad from Vostokov’s romance. "Svetlana" has become very popular work. In the 60s and 70s of the 19th century, “Svetlana” stepped into the people from the pages of books. But in church books there was no such name! Therefore, girls were baptized as Photinia, Faina, or Lukerya, from Greek and Latin words meaning light. It is interesting that this name is very common in other languages: Italian Chiara, German and French Clara and Claire, Italian Lucia, Celtic Fiona, Tajik Ravshana, ancient Greek Faina - all mean: light, bright. Poets simply filled a linguistic niche!

After October revolution a wave of new names swept over Russia. Svetlana was perceived as a patriotic, modern and understandable name. Even Stalin named his daughter that. And in 1943, this name finally made it into the calendar.

Another interesting fact: this name also had men's uniform-Svetlana and Svet. Demyan Poor Light named his son.

How many monuments to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin are there in the world? The answer to this question is contained in the book of the Voronezh postcard collector Valery Kononov. All over the world there are them - 270 . No literary figure has ever been awarded so many monuments. The book contains illustrations of one hundred best monuments to the poet. Among them are monuments of the era Tsarist Russia and Soviet times, monuments erected abroad. Pushkin himself was never abroad, but there are monuments to him in Cuba, India, Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Spain, China, Chile and Norway. There are two monuments each in Hungary and Germany (in Weimar and Dusseldorf). In the USA, one was staged in 1941 in Jackson, New Jersey, the other in 1970 in Monroe, New York. V. Kononov drew one pattern: monuments to Pushkin are usually erected not in large squares, but in parks and squares.

I.A. Krylov in everyday life he was very unkempt. His disheveled, unkempt hair, stained, wrinkled shirts and other signs of sloppiness caused ridicule from his acquaintances. One day the fabulist was invited to a masquerade. - How should I dress to remain unrecognized? - he asked a lady he knew. “Wash yourself, comb your hair, and no one will recognize you,” she answered.

Seven years before death Gogol in his will he warned: “I bequeath my body not to be buried until obvious signs of decomposition appear.” They did not listen to the writer, and when the remains were reburied in 1931, a skeleton with a skull turned to one side was found in the coffin. According to other data, the skull was completely absent.

The duels were quite diverse both in weapons and in form. For example, few people know that there was such a interesting shape like a "quadruple duel". In this type of duel, their seconds fired after the opponents.

By the way, the most famous quadruple duel was over the ballerina Avdotya Istomina: the opponents Zavadovsky and Sheremetev had to shoot first, and the seconds Griboyedov and Yakubovich - second. That time, Yakubovich shot Griboyedov in the palm of his left hand. It was from this wound that it was later possible to identify the corpse of Griboyedov, who was killed by religious fanatics during the destruction of the Russian embassy in Tehran.

An example of the wit of a fabulist Krylova serves famous case V Summer Garden where he liked to walk. Once he met a group of young people there. One of this company decided to make fun of the writer’s physique: “Look what a cloud is coming!” Krylov heard, but was not embarrassed. He looked at the sky and added sarcastically: “It’s really going to rain. That’s why the frogs started croaking.”

Nikolay Karamzin belongs to the briefest description of social life in Russia. When, during his trip to Europe, Russian emigrants asked Karamzin what was happening in his homeland, the writer answered with one word: “they are stealing.”

Leo Tolstoy the handwriting was terrible. Only his wife could understand everything that was written, who, according to literary researchers, rewrote his “War and Peace” several times. Perhaps Lev Nikolaevich simply wrote so quickly? The hypothesis is quite realistic, given the volume of his works.

Manuscripts Alexandra Pushkina always looked very beautiful. So beautiful that it is almost impossible to read the text. Vladimir Nabokov also had the most terrible handwriting, whose sketches and famous cards could only be read by his wife.

Sergei Yesenin had the most legible handwriting, for which his publishers thanked him more than once.

The source of the expression “No brainer” is a poem Mayakovsky(“It’s clear even to a no brainer - / This Petya was a bourgeois”). It became widespread first in the Strugatskys’ story “The Country of Crimson Clouds”, and then in Soviet boarding schools for gifted children. They recruited teenagers who had two years left to study (classes A, B, C, D, D) or one year (classes E, F, I). Students of the one-year stream were called “hedgehogs”. When they came to the boarding school, the two-year students were already ahead of them in the non-standard program, so at the beginning school year The expression “no brainer” was very relevant.

Determination of Agnia Barto. She was always determined: she saw the goal - and forward, without swaying or retreating. This trait of hers appeared everywhere, in every little detail. Once upon a time in torn Civil War Spain, where Barto went to the International Congress for the Defense of Culture in 1937, where she saw firsthand what fascism was (congress meetings were held in the besieged, burning Madrid), and just before the bombing she went to buy castanets. The sky howls, the walls of the store bounce, and the writer makes a purchase! But the castanets are real, Spanish - for Agnia, who danced beautifully, this was an important souvenir. Alexei Tolstoy later asked Barto sarcastically: had she bought a fan in that store to fan herself during the next raids?..

One day Fyodor Chaliapin introduced his friend to the guests - Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin.“Meet, friends, Alexander Kuprin - the most sensitive nose in Russia.” Contemporaries even joked that Kuprin had something “of a big beast.” For example, many ladies were very offended by the writer when he actually sniffed them like a dog.

And once, a certain French perfumer, having heard from Kuprin a clear layout of the components of his new fragrance, exclaimed: “Such a rare gift and you are just a writer!” Kuprin often admired his colleagues incredibly precise definitions. For example, in an argument with Bunin and Chekhov, he won with one phrase: “Young girls smell like watermelon and fresh milk. And the old women, here in the south, use wormwood, chamomile, dry cornflowers and incense.”

Anna Akhmatova I composed my first poem at the age of 11. After re-reading it “with a fresh mind,” the girl realized that she needed to improve her art of versification. Which is what I began to actively do.

However, Anna's father did not appreciate her efforts and considered it a waste of time. That is why he forbade using his real last name - Gorenko. Anna decided to choose a pseudonym maiden name his great-grandmother - Akhmatova.

Interesting facts about age in literature:
. Juliet was 14 years old and Romeo was 16 years old.
. Juliet's mother, Senora Capulet, was 26 years old at the time of the events described in the play.

Marya Gavrilovna from Pushkin’s “The Snowstorm” was no longer young: “She was in her 20th year.”
. “Balzac age” is 30 years.

From the notes of 16-year-old Pushkin: “An old man of about 30 years old entered the room” (it was Karamzin).
. Ivan Susanin was 32 years old at the time of the feat (he had a 16-year-old daughter of marriageable age).

At the time of her death, Anna Karenina was 28 years old, Vronsky was 23 years old, Anna Karenina’s old husband was 48 years old (at the beginning of the events described in the novel, everyone was 2 years younger).

The old man Cardinal Richelieu was 42 years old at the time of the siege of the La Rochelle fortress described in The Three Musketeers.
. But old woman Nilovna (play “Mother” by Maxim Gorky) is 40.

From Tynyanov: “Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was older than all those gathered. He was thirty-four years old - the age of extinction”

What circumstances led to the mathematician Alexander Volkov becoming a writer?
The fairy tale "The Wise Man of Oz" American writer Frank Baum was not published in Russian until 1991. At the end of the 30s, Alexander Volkov, who was a mathematician by training and taught this science at one of the Moscow institutes, began to study English language and for practice I decided to translate this book in order to retell it to my children. They really liked it, they began to demand a continuation, and Volkov, in addition to the translation, began to come up with something of his own. This was the beginning of it literary path, which resulted in “The Wizard of Oz” and many other fairy tales about the Magic Land.

In which work was the Kasparo-Karpov system mentioned long before Kasparov and Karpov became known to the world?
The Strugatsky brothers' story "Noon, XXII Century" mentions the Kasparo-Karpov system - a method that was used to make a "copy" of the brain and build its mathematical model. The story was published in 1962 - Anatoly Karpov was only 11 years old at the time, and Garry Kasparov had not yet been born.

Where does the word "miniature" come from?
The word "miniature" comes from the Latin name for red paint "minium" and in the original means antique or medieval paintings in the genre of illuminated manuscript. Due to the small size of these paintings and the presence of the prefix “mini” in the word, an etymological metamorphosis later occurred, as a result of which any small drawings, especially portrait miniatures, began to be called miniatures. From painting, the term penetrated into literature, where it refers to works of small format.

Who came up with the plot of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo?
Alexandre Dumas, when writing his works, used the services of many assistants - the so-called “literary blacks”. Among them, the most famous is Auguste Macquet, who invented the plot of “The Count of Monte Cristo” and made a significant contribution to “ Three Musketeers».

What is the name of the main character of Pushkin's story? Queen of Spades»?
The main character of Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades" is not called Herman. His name is generally unknown, and Hermann (precisely with two n) is the surname of the hero, German by origin, which is quite common in Germany. But in the opera “The Queen of Spades” Tchaikovsky removed one n, turning the surname Hermann into the name Hermann.

How did they translate a French novel into Russian, in which there is not a single letter e?
The novel was published in 1969 French writer Georges Perec "La disparition". One of key features the novel was that it did not contain a single letter e - the most commonly used letter in French. Using the same principle - without the letter e - the book was translated into English, German and Italian languages. In 2005, the novel was published in Russian, translated by Valery Kislov, under the title “Disappearance.” In this variant you cannot find the letter o, since it is the most common in the Russian language.

Which literary hero began to use many forensic methods before the police?
Arthur Conan Doyle in the stories about Sherlock Holmes, he described many forensic methods that were still unknown to the police. These include collecting cigarette butts and cigarette ashes, identifying typewriters, and examining traces at the crime scene with a magnifying glass. Subsequently, the police began to widely use these and other Holmes methods.


Which book was published under different titles in different countries formed on the basis of currency exchange rates?
In 2000, Frederic Beigbeder’s novel “99 Francs” was published, recommended for sale in France at exactly that price. The same principle was the reason why publications in other countries were published under a different name, corresponding to the exchange rate: “39.90 marks” in Germany, “9.99 pounds” in the UK, “999 yen” in Japan, etc. In 2002, the book was republished in connection with the introduction of the euro and was called “14.99 euros.” After some time, the peak of the book’s popularity passed, and it was discounted to the title and corresponding price of “6 euros.”

How were Dostoevsky’s real walks around St. Petersburg reflected in the novel “Crime and Punishment”?
Dostoevsky made extensive use of the real topography of St. Petersburg in describing the places in his novel Crime and Punishment. As the writer admitted, he drew up the description of the courtyard in which Raskolnikov hides the things he stole from the pawnbroker’s apartment from personal experience - when one day, while walking around the city, Dostoevsky turned into a deserted courtyard to relieve himself.

Where and when did Baron Munchausen live?
Baron Munchausen was a very real historical figure. In his youth, he left the German town of Bodenwerder for Russia to serve as a page. He then began a career in the army and rose to the rank of captain, after which he went back to Germany. There he became famous for telling extraordinary stories about his service in Russia: for example, entering St. Petersburg on a wolf harnessed to a sleigh, a horse cut in half in Ochakovo, fur coats going crazy, or a cherry tree growing on the head of a deer. These stories, as well as completely new ones attributed to the baron by other authors, led to the emergence of Munchausen as a literary character.

Where and when was a concept book made entirely of blank pages sold?
When asked what 5 books you would take with you to a desert island, Bernard Shaw replied that he would take 5 books with blank pages. This concept was embodied in 1974 by the American publishing house Harmony Books, releasing a book called “The Book of Nothing,” which consisted exclusively of 192 blank pages. She found her buyer, and subsequently the publishing house republished this book more than once.

Which literary character Was Dumas invented only to increase the fee?
When Alexandre Dumas wrote “The Three Musketeers” in serial format in one of the newspapers, the contract with the publisher stipulated line-by-line payment for the manuscript. To increase the fee, Dumas invented a servant of Athos named Grimaud, who spoke and answered all questions exclusively in monosyllables, in most cases “yes” or “no.” The continuation of the book, entitled “Twenty Years Later,” was paid by the word, and Grimaud became a little more talkative.

Which Kipling characters changed gender in the Russian translation?
In the original Jungle Book, Bagheera is a male character. Russian translators changed Bagheera's gender, most likely because the word "panther" is female. The same transformation occurred with another Kipling character: the cat became, in the Russian translation, “The cat that walks by itself.”

Which writer got the stone that lay on Gogol's first grave?
Initially, on Gogol’s grave in the monastery cemetery there was a stone nicknamed Golgotha ​​because of its resemblance to Mount Jerusalem. When they decided to destroy the cemetery, during reburial in another place they decided to install a bust of Gogol on the grave. And that same stone was subsequently placed on Bulgakov’s grave by his wife. In this regard, Bulgakov’s phrase, which he repeatedly addressed to Gogol during his lifetime, is noteworthy: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat.”

Which famous English-language literary dystopia contains many words of Russian origin?
In the dystopian film A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess put into the mouths of the teenage characters a jargon he invented called Nadsat. Most of Nadsat's words had Russian origin- for example, droog (friend), litso (face), viddy (see). The word Nadsat itself is formed from the ending of the Russian numerals from 11 to 19, its meaning is the same as that of the word teenager (“teenager”). Translators of the novel into Russian faced the difficulty of how to adequately convey this slang. In one version of the translation such words were replaced in English words, written in Cyrillic (men, face, etc.). In another version, the jargon words were left in their original form in Latin letters.

Which writer, at the end of his life, acknowledged the harm caused to nature by his own work?
Peter Benchley, author of the novel Jaws, later filmed by Steven Spielberg, in last years life has become ardent defender sharks and the marine ecosystem as a whole. He wrote several works in which he criticized the negative attitude towards sharks, inflated in mass consciousness thanks in part to Jaws.

Which words from Pushkin's poem "Monument" were cut out by censors in 1949?
In 1949, Pushkin's 150th anniversary was celebrated. A report on his life and work was given on the radio by Konstantin Simonov. In one Kazakh town, people gathered at the loudspeaker big number Kalmyks deported here from their historical homeland. Somewhere in the middle of the report, they lost all interest in him and left the square. The thing was that while reading Pushkin’s “Monument,” Simonov stopped reading right at the moment when he was supposed to say: “And a friend of the steppes, the Kalmyk.” This meant that the Kalmyks were still in disgrace and censorship excluded any mention of them even in such harmless cases.

Why did the author of Peter Pan give him the property of never growing up?
James Barrie created the image of Peter Pan - the boy who will never grow up - for a reason. This hero became a dedication to the author’s older brother, who died the day before he turned 14 years old, and forever remained young in the memory of his mother.

Who is awarded and for what? Ig Nobel Prize?
At the beginning of October of each year, when the Nobel Prize laureates are named, a parody Ig Nobel Prize is awarded in parallel for achievements that cannot be reproduced or there is no point in doing so. In 2009, among the laureates were veterinarians who proved that a cow with any name gives more milk than a nameless one. The Literature Prize went to the Irish police for issuing fifty traffic fines to a certain Prawo Jazdy, which means “driving license” in Polish. And in 2002, the Gazprom company received a prize in the field of economics for its application of the mathematical concept of imaginary numbers in business.

Who did the old woman from the fairy tale about the Goldfish by the Brothers Grimm want to become?
The basis for Pushkin’s “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” was the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Fisherman and His Wife.” Pushkin’s old woman finds herself broke after she wanted to become the mistress of the sea, and her German “colleague” at this stage became the Pope. And only after the desire to become the Lord God I was left with nothing.

How did cabin boy Richard Parker repeat the sad fate of his literary namesake?
In Edgar Poe's 1838 story The Narrative of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym, there is an episode where the ship is caught in a storm and four sailors are saved on a raft. Having no food, they decide to eat one of them by lot - and that victim is Richard Parker. In 1884, a real yacht sank, and four people on one boat also survived. They hardly read that story, but in the end they ate the cabin boy, whose name was Richard Parker.

Why is Isaev not the real name of Stirlitz?
Stirlitz's real name is not Maxim Maksimovich Isaev, but Vsevolod Vladimirovich Vladimirov. Isaev is the first operational pseudonym of the intelligence officer, introduced by Yulian Semyonov in the first novel “Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat,” and Stirlitz is already the second pseudonym. This is not reflected in the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring”.

What insect actually is the dragonfly from Krylov's fable?
In Krylov’s fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant” there are the lines: “The jumping dragonfly sang the red summer.” However, it is known that the dragonfly does not make sounds. The fact is that at that time the word “dragonfly” served as a general name for several types of insects. And the hero of the fable is actually a grasshopper.

What violent scenes were removed from folk tales Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm?
Most of the fairy tales known to us by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm and other storytellers arose among the people in the Middle Ages, and their original stories sometimes they are distinguished by the cruelty and naturalness of everyday scenes. For example, in the tale of Sleeping Beauty, the foreign king does not kiss her, but rapes her. The wolf eats not only the grandmother, but half the village in addition, and before eating Little Red Riding Hood, he first raped her. Our folklore could not bear this, and this detail disappeared. Little Red Riding Hood then lures him into a pit of boiling tar. In the fairy tale about Cinderella, the sisters still manage to try on the shoe, for which one of them cuts off her toe, the other her heel, but then they are exposed by the singing of pigeons.

What topic in Soviet science fiction was so hackneyed that stories on it were not accepted by magazines for publication?
Subject Tunguska meteorite was very popular with Soviet science fiction writers, especially beginners. In the 1980s, the literary magazine “Ural Pathfinder” even had to write a separate paragraph in its requirements for publications: “Works that reveal the secret of the Tunguska meteorite will not be considered.”

Why do we have a tradition of signing the spines of books from bottom to top, while Europeans do the opposite?
IN Western Europe And in America, book spines are signed from top to bottom. This tradition goes back to the times when there were few books: if the book is lying on the table (or in a small stack), the reader should be able to easily read the title. And in Eastern Europe and Russia has adopted the tradition of signing the spines from bottom to top, because it is more convenient to read when the books are on the shelf.

Where did the expression “no brainer” come from?
The source of the expression “It’s a no brainer” is a poem by Mayakovsky (“It’s even a no brainer - / This Petya was a bourgeois”). It became widespread first in the Strugatskys’ story “The Country of Crimson Clouds”, and then in Soviet boarding schools for gifted children. They recruited teenagers who had two years left to study (classes A, B, C, D, D) or one year (classes E, F, I). Students of the one-year stream were called “hedgehogs”. When they arrived at the boarding school, the two-year students were already ahead of them in the non-standard program, so at the beginning of the school year the expression “no brainer” was very relevant.

Which book was imprisoned in the Bastille?
The prisoners of the Bastille were not only people. Once upon a time a famous woman was imprisoned French Encyclopedia, compiled by Diderot and D'Alembert. The book was accused of harming religion and public morality.

What it really sounded like Lenin's phrase about the cook and the state?
“Any cook is capable of ruling the state,” Lenin never said. This phrase was attributed to him, taken from Mayakovsky’s poem “Vladimir Ilyich Lenin”. In fact, he wrote this: “We are not utopians. We know that any laborer and any cook are not capable of immediately entering into government... We demand that training government controlled was carried out by class-conscious workers and soldiers and should be started immediately.”

Which science fiction writer wrote reviews of non-existent books?
Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem wrote a collection of short stories called Absolute Emptiness. All the stories are united by the fact that they are reviews of non-existent books written by fictitious authors.

How did Leo Tolstoy feel about his novels?
Leo Tolstoy was skeptical about his novels, including War and Peace. In 1871, he sent Fet a letter: “How happy I am... that I will never write verbose rubbish like “War” again.” An entry in his diary in 1908 reads: “People love me for those trifles - “War and Peace”, etc., which seem very important to them.”

What is the meaning of the word peace in War and Peace?
In the title of Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace,” the word world is used as an antonym to war (pre-revolutionary “mir”), and not in the meaning of “the world around us” (pre-revolutionary “mir”). All lifetime editions of the novel were published under the title “War and Peace,” and Tolstoy himself wrote the title of the novel in French as “La guerre et la paix.” However, due to typographical errors in different editions, different time, where the word was written as “mir”, disputes about true meaning title of the novel.

Which writer encouraged readers to use their own punctuation?
The American extravagant writer Timothy Dexter wrote a book in 1802 with very peculiar language and the absence of any punctuation. In response to reader outcry, in the second edition of the book he added a special page with punctuation marks, asking readers to arrange them in the text to their liking.

Why didn’t poets like Mayakovsky for writing poetry with a ladder?
When Mayakovsky introduced his famous poetic “ladder” into use, fellow poets accused him of cheating - after all, poets were then paid for the number of lines, and Mayakovsky received 2-3 times more for poems of similar length.

What pessimist died of laughter?
The Cuban poet Julian del Casal, whose poems were distinguished by deep pessimism, died of laughter. He was having dinner with friends, one of whom told a joke. The poet began to have an attack of uncontrollable laughter, which caused aortic dissection, bleeding and sudden death.

What was the name of the city where Anna Karenina threw herself under a train?
In the novel by Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina threw herself under a train at the Obiralovka station near Moscow. IN Soviet time this village became a city and was renamed Zheleznodorozhny.

Where a radio drama was mistaken for a real Martian invasion?
On October 30, 1938, a radio dramatization of H. G. Wells's War of the Worlds was broadcast in New Jersey as a parody of a radio report from the scene. Of the six million people who listened to the broadcast, one million believed in the reality of what was happening. Mass panic arose, tens of thousands of people abandoned their homes (especially after President Roosevelt’s alleged call to remain calm), the roads were clogged with refugees. Telephone lines were paralyzed: thousands of people reported allegedly seeing Martian ships. It subsequently took authorities six weeks to convince the population that the attack had not occurred.

What is the real name of Korney Chukovsky?
Korney Chukovsky's real name was Nikolai Vasilyevich Korneychukov.

Who preserved Kafka's works for the whole world?
Franz Kafka published only a few short stories during his lifetime. Being seriously ill, he asked his friend Max Brod to burn all his works after his death, including several unfinished novels. Brod did not fulfill this request, but, on the contrary, ensured the publication of the works that brought Kafka worldwide fame.

How long did Robinson Crusoe spend in Russia?
The novel about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe has a sequel, in which the hero is shipwrecked off the coast of Southeast Asia and is forced to get to Europe through all of Russia. In particular, he waits out the winter in Tobolsk for 8 months. There he teaches English literacy to local children. He eats crackers and drinks kvass. Poor…

When did the prologue “Near the Lukomorye green oak...” appear?
Pushkin wrote the prologue “There is a green oak at the Lukomorye...” of the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” for its second edition, released 8 years after the first publication.

What book did the writer ask to sell for exactly the same price as a bottle of vodka?
When the poem “Moscow - Petushki” was published as a separate book, at the request of the author Venedikt Erofeev, the price was set at 3 rubles 62 kopecks. This is how much a bottle of vodka cost at the time the poem was written.

How did Andrei Bitov learn about a new word in his work?
According to Andrei Bitov, he first learned about Zen Buddhism at the age of thirty, having read the dissertation of an English literary critic entitled “Zen Buddhism in early work Andrey Bitov."

Who came up with the name Svetlana?
The name Svetlana is not originally Slavic. It was invented and first used by the poet Vostokov in the romance “Svetlana and Mstislav”, and gained wide popularity after the publication of Zhukovsky’s ballad “Svetlana” in 1813.

Who predicted the sinking of the Titanic in a literary work?
14 years before the sinking of the Titanic, Morgan Robertson published a story that became her prediction. In the story, the ship Titan, much like the Titanic in size, also collided with an iceberg on an April night, killing most of the passengers.

Why was Winnie the Pooh named so?
Winnie the Pooh got the first part of his name from one of the real toys of Christopher Robin, the son of the writer Milne. The toy was named after a female bear at the London Zoo named Winnipeg, who came there from Canada. The second part - Pooh - was borrowed from the name of the swan of acquaintances of the Milne family.

Where did the expression “things smell like kerosene” come from?
Koltsov’s 1924 feuilleton talked about a major scam uncovered during the transfer of an oil concession in California. The most senior US officials were involved in the scam. It was here that the expression “things smell like kerosene” was used for the first time.

Where did the expression “let's go back to our sheep” come from?
In medieval French comedy A rich clothier sues a shepherd who stole his sheep. During the meeting, the clothier forgets about the shepherd and showers reproaches on his lawyer, who did not pay him for six cubits of cloth. The judge interrupts the speech with the words: “Let's return to our sheep,” which have become winged.

Which writer wrote a story about a religious feat based on a story about a campaign for vodka?
In Leskov's story, an Old Believer walks from one bank of the river to the other along the chains of an unfinished bridge during a stormy ice drift in order to return an icon confiscated from the Old Believers from the monastery. According to the author, the plot is based on real events, only a mason appears there, and he went not for the icon, but for cheaper vodka.

Who valued books more than people?
In 267, the Goths sacked Athens and killed many of the inhabitants, but did not burn the books.

How did Bernard Shaw react to receiving the Nobel Prize?
In 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Bernard Shaw, who called the event "a token of gratitude for the relief he has given the world by not publishing anything this year."

Who used "Albanian language" at the beginning of the 20th century?
In 1916, the futurist Zdanevich wrote a play without observing the normative rules of spelling and using “albanskava izyka”. The Padonki language, which appeared in the 2000s, whose spelling is based on similar principles, is sometimes called the “Albanian language,” but the coincidence with Zdanevich’s experience is accidental.

What pornographic scene is in "Woe from Wit"?
In the 19th century, actresses refused to play Sophia in “Woe from Wit” with the words: “I am a decent woman and I don’t play in pornographic scenes!” They considered such a scene to be a night conversation with Molchalin, who was not yet the heroine’s husband.

How were books protected in libraries before?
Historical fact: in Europe, until the 18th century, all library books were chained to shelves. So that they don't take it away.

Why did Daria Dontsova get a D in her essay?
Daria Dontsova, a well-known detective, is the daughter of the famous Soviet writer Arkady Vasiliev. She was familiar with V. Kataev, the author of the book “The Lonely Sail Whitens.” When it was necessary to write an essay on this work, Dasha turned to him for help - and as a result she received a bad mark with the words: “Kataev didn’t think about this at all when he wrote the book.”

The main character of Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades" is not called Herman. His name is generally unknown, and Hermann (precisely with two n) is the surname of the hero, German by origin, which is quite common in Germany. But in the opera “The Queen of Spades” Tchaikovsky removed one n, turning the surname Hermann into the name Hermann.

• How were Dostoevsky’s real walks around St. Petersburg reflected in the novel “Crime and Punishment”?

Dostoevsky made extensive use of the real topography of St. Petersburg in describing the places in his novel Crime and Punishment. As the writer admitted, he drew up the description of the courtyard in which Raskolnikov hides the things he stole from the pawnbroker’s apartment from personal experience - when one day, while walking around the city, Dostoevsky turned into a deserted courtyard to relieve himself.

• Where and when did Baron Munchausen live?

Baron Munchausen was a very real historical figure. In his youth, he left the German town of Bodenwerder for Russia to serve as a page. He then began a career in the army and rose to the rank of captain, after which he went back to Germany. There he became famous for telling extraordinary stories about his service in Russia: for example, entering St. Petersburg on a wolf harnessed to a sleigh, a horse cut in half in Ochakovo, fur coats going crazy, or a cherry tree growing on the head of a deer. These stories, as well as completely new ones attributed to the baron by other authors, led to the emergence of Munchausen as a literary character.

• Which writer got the stone that lay on Gogol's first grave?

Initially, on Gogol’s grave in the monastery cemetery there was a stone nicknamed Golgotha ​​because of its resemblance to Mount Jerusalem. When they decided to destroy the cemetery, during reburial in another place they decided to install a bust of Gogol on the grave. And that same stone was subsequently placed on Bulgakov’s grave by his wife. In this regard, Bulgakov’s phrase, which he repeatedly addressed to Gogol during his lifetime, is noteworthy: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat.”

• Which words from Pushkin's poem "Monument" were cut out by censors in 1949?

In 1949, Pushkin's 150th anniversary was celebrated. A report on his life and work was given on the radio by Konstantin Simonov. In one Kazakh town, a large number of Kalmyks, deported here from their historical homeland, gathered at the loudspeaker. Somewhere in the middle of the report, they lost all interest in him and left the square. The thing was that while reading Pushkin’s “Monument,” Simonov stopped reading right at the moment when he was supposed to say: “And a friend of the steppes, the Kalmyk.” This meant that the Kalmyks were still in disgrace and censorship excluded any mention of them even in such harmless cases.

• Who did the old woman from the fairy tale about the Goldfish by the Brothers Grimm want to become?

The basis for Pushkin’s “The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish” was the Brothers Grimm fairy tale “The Fisherman and His Wife.” Pushkin’s old woman finds herself broke after she wanted to become the mistress of the sea, and her German “colleague” at this stage became the Pope. And only after the desire to become the Lord God I was left with nothing.

• What insect actually is the dragonfly from Krylov's fable?

In Krylov’s fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant” there are the lines: “The jumping dragonfly sang the red summer.” However, it is known that the dragonfly does not make sounds. The fact is that at that time the word “dragonfly” served as a general name for several types of insects. And the hero of the fable is actually a grasshopper.

• Why didn’t poets like Mayakovsky for writing poetry with a ladder?

When Mayakovsky introduced his famous poetic “ladder” into use, fellow poets accused him of cheating - after all, poets were then paid for the number of lines, and Mayakovsky received 2-3 times more for poems of similar length.

• When did the prologue “Near the Lukomorye green oak...” appear?

Pushkin wrote the prologue “There is a green oak at the Lukomorye...” of the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” for its second edition, released 8 years after the first publication.

• Who came up with the name Svetlana?

The name Svetlana is not originally Slavic. It was invented and first used by the poet Vostokov in the romance “Svetlana and Mstislav”, and gained wide popularity after the publication of Zhukovsky’s ballad “Svetlana” in 1813.

• In the comedy A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit” interjection"Oh!"used 54 times, and the exclamation"Oh!"appears on the pages of the work 6 times.

• In the novel “Eugene Onegin” there are the lines: “He settled in that chamber, // Where the village old-timer // For forty years, he was quarreling with the housekeeper, // He looked out the window and crushed flies.” The word fly in this context is not used in direct meaning, but for the metaphor of alcohol. There is also another metaphor used to designate a drunk person - “under the fly”, where the word fly is used in the same sense.

• Did you know that one of the ancestors of M.Yu. Lermontov was a legendary Scottish mystic poet? The poet always knew that his father, Yuri Petrovich Lermontov, traced his family back to the Scottish officer Georg Lermont. He served as a mercenary in the Polish army, and in 1613, while defending the White Fortress, he was captured and went over to the side of Russia, where he became the ancestor of numerous descendants. But about his most famous ancestor - Thomas Learmonth, a poet of ancient Scotland who lived in the 13th century, M.Yu. Lermontov most likely had no idea. Only a few poems by Thomas Learmonth have survived to this day, often framed as predictions; many more legends about him have survived. It is said that on the ancient Eildon Hill, where, according to legend, King Arthur and his knights rest, there stood the Eildon Oak, which contained the entrance to the kingdom of fairies. In his youth, Thomas fell in love with a fairy, and she took him to her kingdom for 7 years. There he received his prophetic gift, and, upon returning, prophesied about the outcome of wars, about the fate of kings and cities, and then again went to his fairy - forever.

• The fictional author of the “immortal” aphorisms, Kozma Prutkov, was not only perceived by many readers as a genuine person, but also managed to pass on his literary talent to inheritance. In 1854, the first poems of Kozma Prutkov were published in the Literary Jumble. Soon his sayings: “If you want to be happy, be happy,” or “Look at the root” were on everyone’s lips. To the “fathers” of this character A.K. Tolstoy, his cousins, the Zhemchuzhnikov brothers, and Pyotr Ershov even had to create his biography, from which it follows that Kozma Prutkov was born on April 11, 1801 near Solvychegodsk, was the director of the Assay Office with the rank of actual state councilor, and with his wife Antonida Proklevetanova had 10 children.20 years after his “death” (with the consent of his creators, he died in January 1863) it was published “ Complete collection works of Kozma Prutkov" with a portrait of the author, and in the 1910s his great-niece Angelika Safyanova, and also with great literary ambitions!

Illustration: Elizaveta Clover

The creators of the heritage of Russian literature evoke a lot of conflicting feelings, both with their works and personal successes. Sometimes authors inspire, sometimes disappoint, often make you laugh, sometimes sadden you, or make you sympathize with their plight. Disputes around the biographies of writers, as well as around their works, have not subsided for decades. No matter how complicated the lives of writers or the motives of their creations may be, only one thing is certain: Russian literature is famous a huge amount interesting facts framing immortal works.

Griboyedov and his grief from his sharp mind

The comedy in verse by Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov “Woe from Wit” made the writer a classic of Russian literature. It is interesting to know that the interjection “Oh!” appears on the pages of the work 6 times, and the exclamation “Ah!” Griboedov used it 54 times.

The first to see the comedy was the fabulist Krylov. The writer was afraid of Ivan Andreevich and highly valued his point of view, so he considered it necessary to appear before Krylov with a literary masterpiece. The man grumpily accepted the work from Griboedov’s hands, and at the end of the reading, he said that the censors would not be able to appreciate this work, moreover, Alexander Sergeevich faces a “ticket” to Siberia for what he wrote.

The many faces of Pushkin

Interest is aroused not only by life, but also by creative fruits. Few people know that the reader might never have seen the famous Mermaid in Chains, Koshchei and the Scientist's Cat. After all, the writer supplemented the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” with the poem “At the Lukomorye Green Oak” only 8 years after the first publication.

Eugene Onegin is no less interesting for researchers. The work contains the expression “...I looked out the window and crushed flies.”

“He settled in that peace,
Where is the village old-timer?
For about forty years he was quarreling with the housekeeper,
I looked out the window and squashed flies.”

This phrase should not be taken literally. Here we were not talking about annoying insects at all.

Squashing a fly has at least two meanings:

• drink wine, get drunk...
• an image of the stagnant life of a noble pastime and dull entertainment.

Most likely, the ironic metaphor that Pushkin used here illustrated the typical characteristic of a person who likes to drink. IN modern language there is a definition of “being under the influence,” in other words, “being not sober.” And this version is more appropriate. But we will never determine with absolute certainty what Pushkin meant...

In another Pushkin work, “The Queen of Spades,” an attentive reader must have noticed that the main character does not have a name, only his surname Hermann is known. An important nuance here is the double “n” at the end. When the story was presented in opera of the same name, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky changed the surname to the main name of the character, calling him Herman, with one “n” at the end.

Surprisingly, it is “The Queen of Spades” that is considered one of the first works in Russian that was successful in Europe.

By the way, the plot of “The Queen of Spades” was suggested to Pushkin by the young Prince Golitsyn, who, having lost, regained what he had lost by betting, on the advice of his grandmother, on three cards that had once been suggested to her by Saint Germain. This grandmother is the “mustachioed princess” N.P. Golitsyn, known in Moscow society, nee Chernysheva, the mother of Moscow governor D.V. Golitsyn.

Immediately after publication in 1834 mystical story gains remarkable success among the reading public. From diary entry Pushkin:

“My “Queen of Spades” is in great fashion. Players punt on three, seven, ace.”

Pushkin wrote more than 70 epigraphs to his works. For comparison: the number of epigraphs of Gogol and Turgenev is 20 each.

It is noteworthy that eldest daughter Pushkin - M.A. Hartung, became one of the most important prototypes of Anna Karenina for novel of the same name Lev Tolstoy. The writer met Maria Alexandrovna in 1868 in the house of General A. A. Tulubiev and, under the impression, described some of her features appearance: dark hair, white lace and a small purple garland of pansies.

The mystery of the prose writer Nikolai Gogol

Remembering the mystical, but at the same time very topical writer Nikolai Gogol, it is worth noting that this man was passionate about needlework. He enjoyed knitting, cutting, and sewing. The man skillfully made neckerchiefs, scarves, and dresses for his sisters. Surely so contradictory nature Nikolai Vasilyevich was also drawn by the creative endeavors of the master of the pen.

Fans of Russian literature will be interested to know that the play “The Inspector General” is based on real events. Alexander Pushkin told Gogol about what happened in the Novgorod province. It was this writer who insisted on completing The Inspector General, despite the fact that Gogol was going to stop the story. However, the play was destined to live. The result still pleases readers to this day.

Nikolai Vasilyevich’s whole life is a tangled mystery. Mysticism followed the author, and even after his death, heirs and researchers were left with more mysteries than answers. Nikolai Vasilyevich’s grave was covered with a stone, which was popularly called Golgotha ​​for its resemblance to Mount Jerusalem. When the time came to “relocate” the cemetery, the stone was moved to the grave of another mystic - Mikhail Bulgakov. Surprising in this story is Bulgakov’s phrase, which he repeated more than once to Gogol: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat.”

Dragonfly Krylova

In the fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant,” the fabulist Krylov describes the dragonfly as a singing creature, but everyone knows that this insect does not sing. It turned out that previously the dragonfly was common name for several types of insects, and Krylov actually wrote about the grasshopper.

Chukovsky is banned

The name of the master of Russian children's literature was actually different. The writer's real name is Nikolai Ivanovich Korneychukov. It is noteworthy that the real names in this connection are the first and last names. There is no middle name on the poet's birth certificate. He was illegitimate. Being already quite old, Chukovsky asked to be called simply Kolya.

It is known that the writer’s work was subject to very strict censorship. Chukovsky’s diary displayed extremely honestly full picture horror of that time. They are literally full of references to the desperate struggle against censorship, which from time to time banned almost everything that was written by the poet. Fairy tales were banned, entire pages from articles and books were thrown out. Today it is very difficult to believe the arguments of officials who are stunned by autocracy:

So, in “Moidodyr” for the words “God, God,” Chukovsky went to explain himself to the censor. In "Cockroach" they saw an anti-Stalinist subtext.

"Stash" by Raskolnikov

Made a huge contribution to the treasury of Russian literature

In the comedy A.S. Griboyedov “Woe from Wit” interjection "Oh!" used 54 times, and the exclamation "Oh!" appears on the pages of the work 6 times.

Pushkin wrote the prologue “There is a green oak at the Lukomorye...” of the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” for its second edition, which was released 8 years after the first publication.

In the novel “Eugene Onegin” there are the lines: “He settled in that chamber, // Where the village old-timer // For forty years, he was quarreling with the housekeeper, // He looked out the window and crushed flies.” The word fly in this context is not used in its literal meaning, but as a metaphor for alcohol. There is also another metaphor used to designate a drunk person - “under the fly”, where the word fly is used in the same sense.

Pushkin wrote more than 70 epigraphs to his works, Gogol used at least 20, and Turgenev used almost the same number.

The name of the main character of Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades" is unknown. In the work, the author used his last name Hermann (precisely with two n). This German surname, which is quite common in Germany. And the name Herman (with one n) began to dominate in the work after Tchaikovsky removed one n during the production of the opera “The Queen of Spades,” turning the surname Hermann into the name Herman.

In Krylov’s fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant” there are the lines: “The jumping dragonfly sang the red summer.” However, it is known that the dragonfly cannot make sounds. The fact is that at that time the word “dragonfly” served as a general name for several types of insects. And the hero of the fable is actually a grasshopper.

Korney Chukovsky's real name was Nikolai Vasilyevich Korneychukov.

Initially, on Gogol’s grave in the monastery cemetery there was a stone nicknamed Golgotha ​​because of its resemblance to Mount Jerusalem. When they decided to destroy the cemetery, during the reburial it was decided to install a bust of Gogol on the grave. And that same stone was subsequently placed on Bulgakov’s grave by his wife. In this regard, Bulgakov’s phrase, which he repeatedly addressed to Gogol during his lifetime, is noteworthy: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat.”

Dostoevsky made extensive use of the real topography of St. Petersburg in describing the places in his novel Crime and Punishment. As the writer admitted, he drew up the description of the courtyard in which Raskolnikov hides the things he stole from the pawnbroker’s apartment from personal experience - when one day, while walking around the city, Dostoevsky turned into a deserted courtyard.

When Mayakovsky introduced his famous poetic “ladder” into use, fellow poets accused him of cheating - after all, poets were then paid by the number of lines, and Mayakovsky received 2-3 times more for poems of similar length.

Prototype main character the novel “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy served as M.A. Hartung is the daughter of A.S. Pushkin: not by character, not by life, but by appearance. The author himself admitted this.

Daria Dontsova, whose father was Soviet writer Arkady Vasiliev, grew up surrounded by the creative intelligentsia. Once at school she was asked to write an essay on the topic: “What was Valentin Petrovich Kataev thinking about when he wrote the story “The Lonely Sail Whitens”?”, and Dontsova asked Kataev himself to help her. As a result, Daria received a bad grade, and the literature teacher wrote in her notebook: “Kataev was not thinking about this at all!”

If you want to get more specific information about the life and work of Russian poets and writers, to get to know their works better, online tutors We are always happy to help you. Online teachers will help you analyze a poem or write a review about the work of the selected author. Training is based on a specially developed software. Qualified teachers provide assistance in completing homework and explaining incomprehensible material; help prepare for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam. The student chooses for himself whether to conduct classes with the selected tutor for a long time, or to use the teacher’s help only in specific situations when difficulties arise with a certain task.

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