Literary and historical notes of a young technician. Travel to Europe

2. The most significant moments of Karamzin’s pedigree are as follows. His most distant ancestor was one of the Tatar princes, named Kara-Murza, or Black Murza, from whom the nickname Karamzins was preserved. He, like his brothers, “came out” to Moscow, voluntarily accepted the Orthodox faith and for his faithful service received from the Moscow sovereign, along with the title of nobility, land in the Nizhny Novgorod province. A certain Semyon Karamzin was listed among the nobles under Ivan the Terrible, his three sons at the beginning of the 16th century. owned lands on the Volga. One of the great-great-great-grandsons, retired captain Mikhail Egorovich Karamzin, the writer’s father, served in Orenburg in a field battalion under I.I. Neplyuev, a student of Peter the Great. The writer's father, Mikhail Yegorovich, retired as a captain and received an estate in the Simbirsk province, where Kolya Karamzin spent his childhood.

3. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin did not know the exact year of his birth for a long time.

4. Nikolai Mikhailovich lost his mother early.

5. The first spiritual food of the 8-9 year old boy Karamzin was ancient novels, which developed his natural sensitivity.

6. Nikolai Karamzin “... loved to be sad, not knowing what,” and “could play with his imagination for two hours and build castles in the air.”

7. In childhood, an incident occurred with Nikolai Mikhailovich that became key in his life.

Nikolai loved to read under an oak tree on the banks of the Volga on a fine day. Reading absorbed him, and he forgot about everything. So one day, having forgotten himself with a book in his hands, he did not notice how a thunderstorm approached. Everyone knows very well that it is very dangerous to be under an oak tree or near a river during a thunderstorm (a thunderstorm attracts lightning). It was too late to run somewhere, it started to rain, and he stayed under the oak tree. The thunderstorm got serious, and suddenly a huge bear, crazy because of the thunderstorm, jumps out of the forest. The bear, in order to escape from the thunder, ran out of the forest to the oak tree. I haven’t read Karamzin anymore. Hearing some stomping, he came out from behind the oak tree and saw a terrible bear rushing towards him. There is nowhere to run, the bear is also confused, because he did not expect to see a person here. He stopped abruptly, stood up on his hind legs, literally three or four steps from Karamzin. And at that moment lightning struck the bear, and he fell at Karamzin’s feet. Otherwise Karamzin would have died. This incident greatly shocked Karamzin. He then realized that there is divine providence, there is a God who protects man. And not everything is the will of man, there is something that is not subject to man. And then he thought, if he didn’t die, then he had some purpose, that means he had to do something in life.

8. Nikolai Mikhailovich showed linguistic abilities, having learned the Church Slavonic language in a month, began to read fluently, and later learned to write.

9. The first secular book that Karamzin read was Aesop’s “Fables.”

10. I read a lot and constantly. Nikolai was simply overwhelmed by reading.

12. In 1773, Pugachev’s gang visited Mikhailovskoye, but the peasants, who loved their landowners, warned the Karamzins, and the family managed to escape. The Pugachevites were unable to capture the Karamzins.

13. Nikolai Karamzin received a good education at home. He had a French tutor.

14. As a teenager he already knew several foreign languages- German, English, French and Italian.

15. In the winter of 1773, N.M. Karamzin was assigned to the best Noble private boarding house of the Frenchman Pierre Fauvel in Simbirsk.

16. Twelve-year-old Nikolai Karamzin is sent to distant Moscow to the boarding school of Moscow University professor Johann Schaden, who was widely famous.

17. Karamzin, as one of his most excellent students, Schaden gave the best works of European authors, especially French, to read.

18. At the age of fifteen, Nikolai Karamzin, at the request of his father, entered the service. In 1781 Nikolai Karamzin began serving in the Preobrazhensky Regiment in St. Petersburg.

19. After the death of his father, Karamzin retired as a lieutenant and never served again, which was perceived in the society of that time as a challenge.

20. While staying in Simbirsk, he joined the Golden Crown Masonic Lodge.

21. After arriving in Moscow, for four years (1785-1789) he was a member of the Friendly Scientific Society.

22. In 1783, Karamzin first appeared in print, publishing a prose translation from German of S. Gesner’s idyll “The Wooden Leg.”

24. Cooling towards Freemasonry was one of the reasons for Karamzin’s departure to Europe.

25. At the age of 23, Karamzin undertook a trip to Europe (1789-1790).

26. Visits Germany, France, Switzerland, England. This trip finally shaped Karamzin as a writer.

27. During the trip I wrote letters to friends. The letters were written in duplicate. One was sent by mail, the drafts were kept for myself. Upon arrival, he supplements his draft letters with historical facts, statistical, geographical data, and information material about Europe. And these are no longer small notes, but work.

28. During the trip, “I deprived myself of dinner and with this money (books are cheap abroad) I bought a lot of books. Thus, I felt healthier and returned home with a library,” Karamzin wrote in letters to friends.

29. According to contemporaries, “Karamzin was handsome and very kind; upon returning from foreign lands, he assumed German pedantry, smoked a lot, talked about everything, loved to stay up long after midnight, talk, listen to stories, eat well and drink tea to his heart's content... He occupied a tiny room in the outhouse, there were mountains of books... There was no person more courteous and kinder in his manner than Karamzin. The voice of our most eloquent writer was loud and euphonious. He spoke with extraordinary clarity; He argued heatedly, but logically, and never got angry at contradictions.”

30. Karamzin considered the main concern of the state to be the eradication of illiteracy. “The establishment of rural schools is incomparably more useful than all lyceums, for there is much more distance between people who can only read and write and the completely illiterate than between the unlearned and the first metaphysicians in the world.”

31. Nikolai Karamzin was very irritated by the dominance of foreign mentors in Russia: “We will not have a completely moral education until there are good Russian teachers... A foreigner will never understand our national character and, therefore, cannot conform to it in education.”

32. Nikolai Mikhailovich was opposed to noble children receiving education abroad: everyone should grow up in their Fatherland and get used to its climate, customs, national character, way of life and government; Only in Russia can you become Russian.

33. Nikolai Karamzin divided love for the Fatherland into three types: physical, moral and political.

34. On October 31, 1803, Alexander I signed a decree appointing Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin as a court historiographer with a salary of two thousand rubles in banknotes per year. Karamzin gained access to the most important historical sources.

35. Karamzin the historian began in Paris in l790. Not yet foreseeing his fate, he placed in the “Letters of a Russian Traveler” the most important prophecy, as if addressed not to himself: “It hurts, but it must be said in fairness that we have so far there is no time for good Russian history, i.e. written with a philosophical mind, with criticism, with noble eloquence.”

36. On January 8, 1804, Nikolai Mikhailovich married 24-year-old Ekaterina Andreevna Kolyvanova. Karamzin was 14 years older than his wife.

37. “Life is sweet,” writes Karamzin, “when a person is happy at home and knows how to work without boredom.”

38. From 1803 until the end of his days, Karamzin worked on the “History of the Russian State,” writing 12 volumes alone. Young Pushkin said: “Ancient Russia seemed to be found by Karamzin, like America by Columbus.” Karamzin - Columbus, i.e. the very first.

39. Volumes of “History of the Russian State” were bought in great demand, they were of interest both at court and in all layers of educated society. Pushkin wrote: “This is topical, like a fresh newspaper.” And this was the merit of Karamzin the historian.

40. When the French occupied Moscow, Karamzin’s rich book depository, which he had been compiling, according to him, for a whole quarter of a century, burned down in a terrible fire.

41. At the beginning of 1810, Nikolai Karamzin became a close and beloved guest of the royal family.

42. The Emperor assigned the historiographer 60 thousand rubles for the publication of “History” so that it would be published in St. Petersburg. In the spring and summer, Nikolai Karamzin was given a dacha in Tsarskoe Selo. He was allowed to publish his work without censorship. The king took on the duties of censor of the History, constantly reading it in manuscript.

43. Karamzin spent the last ten years of his life at court: he is the emperor’s constant interlocutor in his “green office,” i.e. during morning walks along the alleys of Tsarskoye Selo Park, a frequent guest of the Dowager and Reigning Empresses and Grand Dukes.

44. The first sketches of the plan “History of the Russian State” date back to 1800.

45. In addition to state archives, Karamzin used the treasures of a number of private collections of Musin - Pushkin, Rumyantsev, Turgenev, Muravyov, Tolstoy, Uvarov, as well as a collection of books and manuscripts of the university and synodal libraries.

46. ​​The wife, Ekaterina Andreevna, helped in rewriting the finished chapters, later proofreading the first edition of “History...”, and most importantly, provided that peace of mind and conditions for creativity, without which the enormous work of her husband would have been simply impossible.

47. Karamzin was offered to become the Minister of Public Education, they were offered ranks, titles, and awards. The writer refused everything, agreeing to accept the title of historiographer.

48. Karamzin’s title was so outlandish in Russia that a servant once wrote it down in the visitor’s book: “Count of History.”

49. N.M. Karamzin for “History ...” was awarded the rank of state councilor and the Order of St. Anna 1st degree.

50. Karamzin read excerpts from “History...” with great success in some private houses, in particular at S.P. Svechina’s.

51. Nikolai Karamzin disapproved of the Decembrist uprising, but was one of the few who made an attempt to intercede for those convicted before Nicholas I, telling him that “the errors and crimes of these young people are the errors and crimes of our century.”

52. Even during Karamzin’s lifetime, his works, including “History...”, were translated into foreign languages.

53. A special stage in the development of Russian culture is associated with the name of Karamzin. He led an entire literary movement in Russia - sentimentalism. Karamzin’s historiography, combined with artistic creativity, constantly attracted the attention of N.V. Gogol, M.Yu. Lermontov, I.S. Turgeneva, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy.

54. A.S. Pushkin dedicated his tragedy “Boris Godunov” to the “precious memory for Russians” of N.M. Karamzin.

55. In February 1818, Karamzin released the first eight volumes of “History of the Russian State,” the three thousand copies of which sold out within a month.

56. “The History of the Russian State” expressed Nikolai Karamzin’s two main life ideas: education and patriotism.

57. Having delved into work on “History,” Karamzin, as contemporaries aptly noted, seemed to have taken monastic vows. He said goodbye in print to the subscribers of Vestnik Evropy, stopped appearing in social drawing rooms, and hosted almost no one. His life took place in libraries, archives, among chronicles and ancient manuscripts.

58. In 1818, Nikolai Karamzin was elected a member of the Russian Academy. That same year he became a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

60. In 1810, Karamzin was declared a French spy. This denunciation was refuted, but it delayed work on “History...”.

61. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin did not approve of radical views and political freethinking. He was sure that autocracy is the foundation on which Russia rests.

62. Each volume of the “History of the Russian State” consists of two parts: in the first - a detailed story written by a great master - this is for the common reader; in the second there are detailed notes, links to sources - this is for historians.

63. Nikolai Karamzin wrote to his brother: “History is not a novel: a lie can always be beautiful, but only some minds like the truth in its garb.”

64. Karamzin’s room in Ostafyevo looked more like a cell than an office. Professor M.N. Pogodin described Karamzin’s office as follows: “Bare plastered walls, a wide pine table, a simple rustic chair, several trestles with overlaid boards on which manuscripts, books, notebooks, and papers are laid out; there was not a single wardrobe, no armchair, no sofa, no bookcase, no music stand, no carpets, no pillows. Several shabby chairs near the walls are in disarray.” Such a Spartan atmosphere corresponded to the character and habits of the owner of the office. Nikolai Mikhailovich complained that “my only business and main pleasure” was progressing difficultly and slowly.

65. Nikolai Karamzin, as a state historiographer, was exempt from censorship.

66. “Without good fathers there is no good education, despite all the schools, institutes and boarding schools.” N.M. Karamzin.

67. In August 1819, putting the ninth volume of “History...” into print, Karamzin wrote to Dmitriev: “It’s difficult for me to decide to publish the 9th volume: it contains horrors, and my conscience censors. I talked about this with the Emperor: he is not inclined to interfere with historical frankness, but something is stopping me.”

68. In 1821, the publication of Volume IX of “History” aroused unprecedented public interest, its success exceeded all expectations. At that time, there was a joke that the streets were empty because everyone was deep in the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

69. In 1824, Karamzin received the title of actual state councilor. Alexander I knew Karamzin’s dislike for ranks and awards and emphasized that the award was given to the historiographer, not Karamzin.

70. In 1792, Nikolai Karamzin wrote the story “Natalya, the Boyar’s Daughter.” This is one of the first attempts to create a national historical story in Russian literature.

71. In 1991, a USSR postage stamp and 10 kopecks dedicated to N.M. Karamzin were issued.

72. In 1818, Karamzin took the initiative to organize memorials and erect monuments to outstanding figures of Russian history, in particular, K. M. Minin and D. M. Pozharsky on Red Square.

73. In 1787, fascinated by the work of Shakespeare, Nikolai Karamzin published his translation of the original text of the tragedy “Julius Caesar”.

74. Nikolai Karamzin had 10 children.

Sofya Nikolaevna (1802-1856), maid of honor since 1821, close acquaintance of Pushkin and friend of Lermontov.

Natalya Nikolaevna (30.10.1804-05.05.1810)

Ekaterina Nikolaevna (1806-1867), St. Petersburg acquaintance of Pushkin; from April 27, 1828, she was married to retired lieutenant colonel of the guard, Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Meshchersky (1802-1876), who married her for the second time. Their son is writer and publicist Vladimir Meshchersky (1839-1914)

Andrey Nikolaevich (20.10.1807-13.05.1813)

Natalya Nikolaevna (05/06/1812-10/06/1815)

Andrei Nikolaevich (1814-1854), after graduating from the University of Dorpat, was forced to stay abroad due to health reasons, and later became a retired colonel. He was married to Aurora Karlovna Demidova. He had children from an extramarital affair with Evdokia Petrovna Sushkova.

Alexander Nikolaevich (1815-1888), after graduating from the University of Dorpat, served in the horse artillery, in his youth he was a magnificent dancer and a merry fellow, and was close to Pushkin’s family in his last year of life. Married to Princess Natalya Vasilievna Obolenskaya (1827-1892), there were no children.

Nikolai Nikolaevich (03.08.1817-21.04.1833)

Vladimir Nikolaevich (1819-1879), graduated from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University in 1839, later a member of the consultation under the Minister of Justice, senator. He was distinguished by his wit and resourcefulness. He was married to Baroness Alexandra Ilyinichna Duka (1820-1871), daughter of General I. M. Duka. They left no offspring.

Elizaveta Nikolaevna (1821-1891), maid of honor since 1839, was not married. Having no fortune, she lived on a pension, which she received as Karamzin’s daughter. She lived in the family of Princess Meshcherskaya’s sister, where she was affectionately called Babu. She was distinguished by her intelligence and boundless kindness, taking all other people's sorrows and joys to heart. The writer L.N. Tolstoy called her “an example of self-sacrifice.”

75. Alexander Vyazemsky wrote: “Karamzin is our Kutuzov of the twelfth year, he saved Russia from the invasion of oblivion, called it to life, showed us that we have a Fatherland, as many learned about it in the twelfth year.”

76. His wife’s brother P.A. Vyazemsky, who lived for many years in the same house with Karamzin, recalled: “Karamzin was very abstinent in food and drink. However, he was like that in everything in his material and mental life: he did not go to any extremes; he had his own innate and acquired diet in everything. He got up quite early, went for walks on an empty stomach or rode horseback at any time of the year and in whatever weather. Returning, he drank two cups of coffee, followed by a pipe of tobacco (an ordinary knaster, it seems) and sat down until lunchtime at work, which for him was also spiritual food and daily bread. At dinner he started with boiled rice, a plate of which always stood by his appliance, and often mixed it with soup. At dinner he drank a glass of port wine and a glass of beer, and this glass was made of bitter Quassia wood. In the evening, around 12 o'clock, he always ate two baked apples. This whole order was observed strictly and inviolably, and mainly for hygienic purposes: he took care of his health and watched over it not just out of fear of illness and suffering, but as a tool necessary for unhindered and free work.”

77. Nikolai Mikhailovich complained that “my only business and main pleasure” was progressing difficultly and slowly. He wrote to his brother: “I am now writing an introduction, that is, a brief History of Russia and the Slavs up to the very time from which our own chronicles begin. This first step is the most difficult for me; I need to read and think a lot; and there I will describe the morals, government and religion of the Slavs, after which I will begin to process the Russian Chronicles... Everything goes slowly and at every step forward you need to look back. The goal is so far away that I’m afraid to even think about the end.”

78. In June 1813, Nikolai Karamzin visited Moscow. The sight of the burned capital shocked him. “I cried on the way, I cried here too; There is no Moscow: only a corner of it remains. Not only houses burned down, the very morality of people changed for the worse, as they say. Bitterness is noticeable; one can also see audacity that has never happened before,” he wrote to I.I. Dmitriev.

79. In 1812, Russia entered the war with Napoleonic France. Unable to take part in the battles himself, Karamzin considered it his duty not to leave Moscow. “At least I won’t become like cowards... My soul is disgusted by the idea of ​​being a fugitive,” he wrote in those days.

80. Despite the fact that the Karamzin family lived modestly, it made its contribution by equipping more than 70 militias at its own expense.

81. In November 1925, Emperor Alexander I died. This death was a severe shock for Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. It seemed to the historiographer that it was this monarch who could realize his dream of an ideal reign.

82. Of the Russians, only N.M. Karamzin, who had access to the sovereign, dared to put in a word about the Decembrists, saying: “Your Majesty! the errors and crimes of these young people are the errors and crimes of our century!”

83. The night spent on Senate Square caused a severe cold, from which Nikolai Mikhailovich never recovered. At the beginning of 1826, the cold gradually became complicated by pneumonia. Doctors advised him to go to Europe for treatment.

84. In 2011, a documentary film “There is no flattery in my tongue” was shot about Nikolai Karamzin. http://chtoby-pomnili.com/page.php?id=1444) It consists of four parts.

85. “Karamzin freed the language from the alien yoke and returned its freedom, turning it to the living sources of the people’s word” A.S. Pushkin.

86. “Whoever does not respect himself will not be respected by others” N.M. Karamzin.

87. In April 1801, Karamzin married Elizaveta Ivanovna Protasova, whom he had known and loved for 13 years. She appeared in his works under the name Aglaya.

88. The transformation of Russian written speech was Nikolai Karamzin’s first step in literature. The prince and poet P. Vyazemsky said this very accurately:

First an attempt at art
Having set the speech in a new way,
To clothe with transparent charm.
Russia was captivated by this speech,
And with a new diploma in hand
I learned to read and think
In Karamzin language.

Dear friend Katenka! Yesterday I received your most kind letter from Yaroslavl and I thank God that you arrived safely at your destination. Tears flow from me several times a day, especially when I read your letters, imagining your love and sorrow. Take comfort in our children and pray: I never cease to hope for God’s mercy, although I do not like to deceive myself cowardly, like others who either turn pale with fear or see Napoleon at their feet.
My hope is based on the heartfelt assurance that the Lord can change everything in an instant, shame our enemy and save Russia. Fate has not yet been decided: we are waiting for the battle, which should be 117 versts from Moscow, if the French want to attack us in this place. I seem to myself to be quite calm, my appetite and sleep are good, and therefore my health. I try to follow your orders: think less, distract myself from the heart and not irritate my sensitivity; but I demand, dear, that you do the same. I have imposed upon myself a difficult penance by separation from my priceless friend; however, even now I think that I could not have acted differently, although my stay here is useless for the Fatherland: at least I will not become like cowards and serve as an example of state, so to speak, morality. Our good Muscovites express their readiness to die for the honor of the ancient capital: they arm themselves with sabers and pikes. Merchants, artisans, tradesmen, factory workers. However, God forbid that the army does not need their assistance. The Count, my master, stays awake from morning to evening. Yesterday Platov came here for several hours, thinking to find the Emperor here, and at night he left again for the army. All the Cossacks are moving from the Don to Moscow. Today we will see a ball on which one German worked for a long time in Vorontsov and with which they hope to do great harm to the enemy: I am not gullible. Moscow is emptying: people are leaving and being taken away. The Orphanage, the Armory, the archives, the boundary line, everything is sent. About three thousand wounded have already been brought to us. Meanwhile, the city is calm and quiet surprisingly. Yesterday S.S. Kunnikov dined with us, sending his wife and children; and now I’m going to have dinner with him. The prince writes to me that he himself will visit you.
I think that you have not yet seen the Grand Duchess: tell me a few words about her when you see her. I wish, my dear, that you can live some peace in your clean house. Notify that it costs you to maintain people and the table. But how long will we write to each other? I surrender to the will of God. I don’t know what I’ll do and in what case and where I’ll be; but I promise you, my dear, not to sacrifice yourself recklessly: the Lord will protect us all. Don’t let the horses go to the village, keep them with you, and be ready to leave just in case. If (which God forbid) the enemy reaches Moscow, then you should not stay in Yaroslavl, but go through Kostroma to Nizhny, as soon as the Grand Duchess leaves Yaroslavl; as long as it is in place, then you are safe; but don't be alone. Having fulfilled my duty of honor and love for the Fatherland, I will look for you: the rest depends on God. I kiss you tenderly, tenderly, and then our little ones. I bless you from the heart that lives by you. Children! Respect your mother: be smart and obedient to her. Someday God tells us to unite! Prince Peter goes to his general Miloradovich; we have already said goodbye.
Katya is priceless! I press you to my heart: may the Lord watch over you! Small image, sent by you, I carry on myself. I mentally hug the Princess: teach her to be firm. God with you. I’m going to give the letter to the post office myself. I also especially bless you, my only friend. Bow to Lenger and thank him in my name.”

90. Nikolai Karamzin’s attitude towards Peter the Great and his reforms changed significantly over time. In “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” the historian spoke enthusiastically about transformations and the transformer. He, for example, believed that the path traveled by Russia under Peter in a quarter of a century would have taken six centuries without him. Now, two decades later, Karamzin writes: “We have become citizens of the world, but in some cases we have ceased to be citizens of Russia. It is Peter’s fault.” Nikolai Mikhailovich blamed the reformer Tsar for the eradication of ancient customs. The innovations introduced by Peter affected only the nobility and did not affect the masses of the people, thereby the tsar erected a wall between the nobles and the rest of the population. The historian condemned Peter's despotism, his cruelty, the zeal of the Preobrazhensky order, in whose dungeons people died for their beards and Russian caftans. Nikolai Mikhailovich also denied the wisdom of moving the state capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg - to a city built in a swamp, in an area with a bad climate, “on tears and corpses.”

91. "Peter Rossam gave the body, Catherine - the soul." This is how the famous verse defined the mutual relationship between the two creators of the new Russian civilization. The creators of new Russian literature: Lomonosov and Karamzin are in approximately the same attitude. Lomonosov prepared the material from which literature is formed; Karamzin breathed into him living soul and made the printed word an exponent of spiritual life and partly the leader of Russian society.

92. Vissarion Grigorievich Belinsky believed: “In Russia, Karamzin was the first to write for children, just as he was the first to write many beautiful things...”

93. In 1792 N.M. Karamzin wrote the fairy tale “The Beautiful Princess and Happy Karla”. Read http://az.lib.ru/k/karamzin_n_m/text_1060-1.shtml

94. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was keenly interested in public education and reading issues and devoted a number of articles to this. He wrote: “Whoever wants the public good, let Enlightenment be his first law.” The poet dreamed of the time “when the light of teaching, the light of truth, will illuminate the entire earth and penetrate into the darkest caves of ignorance.”

95. Nikolai Karamzin was greatly impressed by Goethe’s work “The Sorrows of Young Werner,” which opened to Karamzin a whole world of sadness, sadness, joy, and all this must be experienced.

96. Belinsky wrote that Nikolai Karamzin created a Russian public, which did not exist before him, created readers - and since literature is unthinkable without readers, we can safely say that literature, in modern meaning this word, began with us from the era of Karamzin and began precisely thanks to his knowledge, energy, delicate taste and extraordinary talent.

97. “Travel is nourishing for our spirit and heart. Travel, hypochondriac, to heal from your hypochondria! Travel, misanthrope, to love humanity! Travel whoever you can! From “Letters of a Russian Traveler” by N.M. Karamzin.

98. On behalf of Nicholas I, Karamzin drew up a manifesto on his accession to the throne.

99. In the last months of his life, Nikolai Karamzin sought the position of Russian consul in Florence, which meant giving up the post of historiographer

100. V.V. Sipovsky wrote that “the Russian public, accustomed to comforting endings in old novels, for the first time in the story” Poor Lisa“I met the bitter truth of life.”

101. The story “Poor Liza” by Karamzin gave rise to numerous imitations: “Poor Masha” by A.E. Izmailov, “Unhappy Liza” by I.M. Dolgorukov, “Poor Lily” by A. Popov, “Unhappy Margarita” by an unknown author.

102. In 1792, N. Karamzin wrote the story “Natalya, the Boyar’s Daughter.” One of the first attempts to create a national historical story in Russian literature. Read http://az.lib.ru/k/karamzin_n_m/text_0070.shtml

103. In 1793 N. Karamzin wrote a story. Read http://lib.ru/LITRA/KARAMZIN/kar_sm.txt

104. In 1793, the story “Bornholm Island” was written. The most mysterious work. Read http://az.lib.ru/k/karamzin_n_m/text_0100.shtml

105. In 1796, Karamzin wrote the story “Julia”. Read http://az.lib.ru/k/karamzin_n_m/text_0990.shtml

106. In 1802, N. Karamzin wrote a historical story.

107. In 1803, Karamzin wrote the story “Sensitive and Cold.” Read http://az.lib.ru/k/karamzin_n_m/text_0350.shtml

108. In 1803, an unfinished psychological story by N.M. was published. Karamzin "Knight of our time".

109. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was a poet.

110. N.M. Karamzin was one of the first to use the letter.

112. In 1791-1792 N.M. Karamzin editor of the Moscow Journal.

113. “Reading and writing opens up a new world for a person, especially in our time, with the current successes of the mind” N.M. Karamzin.

114. In 1802-1803. N. Karamzin editor of the journal “Bulletin of Europe”.

115. In 1789, Karamzin publishes his first story, “Eugene and Yulia.” Read http://az.lib.ru/k/karamzin_n_m/text_0980.shtml

116. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin enriched the Russian language with tracing words such as “impression”, “influence”, “falling in love”, “touching” and “entertaining”.

117. N. Karamzin gave the shortest description of the social life of Russia. "They're stealing."

The phrase “They are stealing!..”, uttered by Karamzin during a trip to Europe, in response to a compatriot’s question about his homeland, became famous. As presented by Sergei Dovlatov, this historical anecdote goes like this: “Two hundred years ago, the historian Karamzin visited France. Russian emigrants asked him:
- What, in a nutshell, is happening in your homeland?
Karamzin didn’t need two words. “They steal,” answered Karamzin...”

118. Nikolai Karamzin argued that the path to people’s happiness and the common good is in the education of feelings. Love and tenderness, as if flowing from person to person, turn into kindness and mercy. “The tears shed by readers,” wrote Karamzin, “always flow from love for good and nourish it.”

119. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin put forward a requirement - to write “as they say,” but he was guided by the colloquial speech of an educated noble class, clearing the language not only of archaisms, but also of common words. He considered it legitimate to enrich the Russian language through the assimilation of individual foreign words and new forms of expression.

120. In 1816, N. Karamzin was awarded the rank of state councilor and the Order of St. Anna, 1st degree.

121. In 1810, Karamzin began work on “A Note on Ancient and New Russia in its Political and Civil Relations.”

122. At the beginning of 1811, the “Note...” was ready. After reading it, Alexander I sharply changed his attitude towards Karamzin; he was dissatisfied with the critical direction of the “Notes...”, especially since the facts cited by the historiographer were irrefutable, the criticism was thorough, the arguments were logical. The disgrace lasted five years, and only in 1816 Alexander I returned his “favor” to Karamzin... In the “Note...” Karamzin gave a brief overview of Russian history and the activities of its rulers - princes and tsars... Karamzin criticizes the measures of the government of Alexander I, but still concludes that with a reasonable government, Russia can prosper and prosper... The “Note...” makes it possible to most fully and accurately present Karamzin’s views... Karamzin called on Alexander I to make every effort to avoid a military clash with Napoleon, foreseeing that the war would be difficult and Russia not ready for it...

123. In 1971-1972, N. Karamzin’s story “Letters of a Russian Traveler” was published

124. In Veliky Novgorod, on the Monument “1000th Anniversary of Russia”, among the 129 figures of the most outstanding personalities in Russian history (as of 1862), there is the figure of N. M. Karamzin.

125. Greater role in improvement human nature Karamzin devoted art, which shows a person worthy ways and means of achieving happiness, as well as forms of rational enjoyment of life - through the elevation of the soul.

126. In 1810 Karamzin was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir III degrees

127. Observing the events of 1789 in Paris, listening to the speeches of O. Mirabeau at the Convention, talking with J. Condorcet and A. Lavoisier, plunging into the atmosphere of the revolution, Karamzin welcomed it as a “victory of reason.” However, he later condemned sansculottism and the Jacobin terror as the collapse of the ideas of the Enlightenment.

128. When the German translation of “Letters of a Russian Traveler” was published, Tumansky not only banned the import of the book into Russia, but also submitted a denunciation to his superiors, pointing out what he considered to be dangerous places in the book. Since Tumansky’s denunciations went to the St. Petersburg Censorship Council, and it slavishly passed them on to the emperor himself, the fate of not only the publication, but also the writer, could depend on Pavel’s whim and mood. Fortunately, the denunciation went to the emperor through Count Fyodor Vasilyevich Rostopchin, who was then at the zenith of his favor. And Rostopchin, married to Nastasya Ivanovna Pleshcheyeva’s cousin (later, when Karamzin married Pleshcheyeva’s sister Elizaveta, they became brothers-in-law), simply lost the paper, which he himself boasted of in a conversation with Dmitriev.

129. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin spent the last ten years of his life at court: he is the emperor’s constant interlocutor in his “green office.”

But Karamzin did not like the courtyard. “I am not a courtier! - he wrote. “It’s more natural for a historiographer to die on a cabbage patch, cultivated by him, than on the threshold of a palace, where I am no stupider, but also no smarter than others... It used to be very hard for me, but now it’s easier from habit.”

131. N. Karamzin’s attitude towards Paul I is sharply negative and, above all, for his disdain for the nobles, for the humiliation to which he subjected them. Pavel wanted to be Ivan IV, but after Catherine it was difficult. The king “took away the shame from the treasury, and the beauty from the reward.” He dreamed of building himself an impregnable palace, but he built a tomb.

132. When starting the “History of the Russian State,” Karamzin followed his goal. There are three of them. He formulated the first as follows: “Human wisdom needs experience, and life is short-lived. One must know what rebellious passions agitated civil society and by what systems the beneficial power of the mind curbed their stormy desire to establish order, harmonize the benefits of people and give them the happiness possible on earth.” The second goal of studying history is consonant with what M.V. wrote on this subject. Lomonosov: “History gives sovereigns examples of rule, subjects - obedience, warriors - courage, judges - justice, the young - old wisdom, the elderly - extreme firmness in advice.” Karamzin, as if continuing and developing what was said, considered it necessary to know the history of common people. How is it useful to ordinary residents of the country? The answer is curious: history, Nikolai Mikhailovich believed, “reconciles ordinary citizens with the imperfection of the visible order of things, as with an ordinary phenomenon in all centuries, consoles them in state disasters, testifying that there have been similar ones before, there have been even more terrible ones, and the state did not collapse.” But Karamzin also put a new demand before history, which turned out to be beyond the capabilities of most scientists of the previous and current centuries. It can be called aesthetic. History should be fun and enjoyable. That is why he attached such exceptional importance to the art of presentation.

133. The last unfinished work in verse by Nikolai Karamzin was the heroic fairy tale “Ilya Muromets”, after which he took up history.

134. “A people who despised their history is contemptuous because they are frivolous - their ancestors were no worse than them” - the conviction of Nikolai Karamzin.

135. Nikolai Mikhailovich, advocating that “young people can read with passion,” became one of the editors of the first Russian magazine for teenagers, “Children’s Reading for the Heart and Mind.” This publication published the best works of classical writers, stories about nature, stories about history, stories about children, interesting puzzles about the world around us...

136. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, working on “History,” found the Ostromir Gospel of 1056 - 1057 (this is still the oldest dated Russian book), the Ipatiev and Trinity Chronicles. Code of Law of Ivan the Terrible, a work of ancient Russian literature “The Prayer of Daniil the Zatochnik”, a new chronicle - Volynskaya and much more.

137. To write “History” Nikolai Karamzin literally combs through all the archives and book collections of the Synod, the Hermitage, the Academy of Sciences, Public library, Moscow University, Alexander Nevsky and Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At his request, they are looking for it in monasteries, in the archives of Oxford, Paris, Venice, Prague and Copenhagen. And how many things were found!

138. Nikolai Karamzin writes about Russian literature of the 18th century to a friend: “I am deprived of the pleasure of reading much in my native language. We are still poor in writers. We have several poets who deserve to be read.” Of course, there are already writers, and not just a few, but Lomonosov, Fonvizin, Derzhavin, but there are no more than a dozen significant names. Are there really not enough talents? No, they exist, but it became a matter of language: the Russian language has not yet adapted to convey new thoughts, new feelings, or describe new objects.

140. “Poor Liza” by N. Karamzin is the first bestseller of Russian literature. Over the course of ten years, the story was republished ten times. The circulation amounted to more than 1000 copies, which was a fabulously large number at that time. But even so, there were not enough copies and it was copied by hand.

141. Rousseau, Richardson, Cervantes, Voltaire - Karamzin was brought up on the books of these writers.

142. Fairy tale " Dense forest“N. Karamzin composed in one day the following given words: balcony, forest, ball, hut, horse, meadow, raspberry bush, oak, Ossian, source, coffin, music. Read .

143. In 1810, Karamzin almost became a victim of the intrigues of P.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, a trustee of Moscow University. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, in a denunciation addressed to the Minister of Education Razumovsky, wrote that Karamzin’s works were filled with the poison of freethinking and Jacobinism. The informer wrote that Karamzin must be unmasked as a person harmful to society. The denunciation was left without consequences, but a new one soon followed. This time Golenishchev-Kutuzov declared Karamzin a French spy. This denunciation was also refuted.

144. V.G. Belinsky wrote: “The main merit of Karamzin as a historian of Russia is not at all that he wrote the true history of Russia, but that he created the possibility of a true history of Russia in the future. There were also attempts to write history before Karamzin, but nevertheless for the Russians the history of their fatherland remained a secret, about which only scientists and writers interpreted one way or another. Karamzin revealed to the whole Russian society that he has a fatherland that has a history, and that the history of his fatherland should be interesting for him, and knowledge of it is not only useful , but also necessary. A great feat! "

145. Soon after leaving abroad, Nikolai Karamzin begins to test his strength in poetry; Rhyme was not easy for him, and in his poems there was no so-called soaring at all, but here too his syllable is clear and simple. His “Autumn” at one time amazed with its extraordinary simplicity and grace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2717W6zFO4

146. Under Paul I, Nikolai Karamzin was ready to leave literature and sought mental rest in studying the Italian language and reading ancient monuments. From the beginning of the reign of Alexander I, Karamzin, while still a writer, occupied an unprecedentedly high position: he became not only “Alexander’s singer” in the sense that Derzhavin was “Catherine’s singer,” but became an influential publicist, whose voice was listened to and government, and society.

“ The word about Igo-re-ve’s regiment” as a memory, which can be combined with you and yourself -mint-ni-ka-mi mi-ro-howl cul-tu-ry.

148. Complete collection poems by N. Karamzin http://rvb.ru/18vek/karamzin/1bp/toc.htm

149. Karamzin’s first wife E.I. Protasova died a year after the wedding. For his second marriage, Karamzin was married to P. A. Vyazemsky’s half-sister, E. A. Kolyvanova (1804), with whom he lived happily until the end of his days, finding in her not only a devoted wife and caring mother, but also a friend and assistant in historical studies .

150. Interest in world and domestic history, ancient and new, events today prevails in the publications of Russia’s first socio-political, literary and artistic magazine “Bulletin of Europe”. He also published here several essays on Russian medieval history (“Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagorod”, “News about Martha the Posadnitsa, taken from the life of St. Zosima”, “Journey around Moscow”, “Historical memories and notes on the way to the Trinity” etc.), testifying to the plan of a large-scale historical work, and the readers of the magazine were offered its individual plots, which made it possible to study the reader’s perception, improve the techniques and methods of research, which would then be used in the “History of the Russian State”.

151. Karamzin did not have a very enthusiastic opinion about English parliamentarism (perhaps following in the footsteps of Rousseau), but he very highly valued the level of civilization at which English society as a whole was located.

153. All 3,000 copies of the “History of the Russian State” of the first edition were sold out in 25 days.

154. In 1824 Karamzin became a full state councilor.

155. Karamzin’s response to the coup of March 11, 1801 and the accession to the throne of Alexander I was perceived as a collection of examples for the young monarch “Historical eulogy to Catherine the Second” (1802), where Karamzin expressed his views on the essence of the monarchy in Russia and the duties of the monarch and his subjects .

156. Karamzin’s activities made sentimentalism the leading direction of Russian literature, and the writer himself became the called leader of this direction. The collections published by him marked the beginning of the era of sentimentalism in Russian literature.

157. Karamzin is perhaps the only example in the history of Russian culture of a person about whom his contemporaries and descendants did not have any ambiguous memories. Already during his lifetime, the historiographer was perceived as the highest moral authority; this attitude towards him remains unchanged to this day.

158. A significant place in Karamzin’s heritage is occupied by works dedicated to history and the current state of Moscow. Many of them were the result of walks around Moscow and trips around its environs. Among them are the articles “Historical Memoirs and Notes on the Way to Trinity”, “On the Moscow Earthquake of 1802”, “Notes of an Old Moscow Resident”, “Travel Around Moscow”, “Russian Antiquity”, “On the Light Clothes of Fashionable Beauties of the Nine-Nine century."

159. N. Karamzin had a tender platonic friendship with N.I. Pleshcheeva for many years.

160. Gradually, Karamzin’s interests shift from the field of literature to the field of history. In 1803 he published the story “Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagorod”, and in next year the writer practically stops literary activity, concentrating on creating the fundamental work “History of the Russian State”.

161. Work on the “History of the Russian State” took up the last 23 years of Karamzin’s life.

162. The first eight volumes of the “History of the Russian State” generated an unprecedented excitement. Not a single work by Karamzin had previously achieved such stunning success. “Everything,” Pushkin recalled, “even secular women, rushed to read the history of their fatherland, hitherto unknown to them.”

163. Karamzin’s “History” was not the first description of the history of Russia; before him there were the works of V.N. Tatishchev and M.M. Shcherbatov. But it was Karamzin who opened the history of Russia to a wide educated public.

164. A.S. Pushkin called his work not only the creation of a great writer, but also “the feat of an honest man.”

165. In 1792, N. M. Karamzin translated a wonderful monument of Indian literature (from English) - the drama “Sakuntala” (“Shakuntala”), authored by Kalidasa.

166. Some philologists believe that modern Russian literature dates back to Karamzin’s book “Letters of a Russian Traveler.”

167. “Karamzin’s influence on literature can be compared with Catherine’s influence on society: he made literature humane,” wrote A. I. Herzen.

168. Karamzin died in St. Petersburg as a result of complications after suffering from pneumonia. He was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

169. The following are named after the writer: Karamzin Passage in Moscow, Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital in Ulyanovsk. A monument to N. M. Karamzin was erected in Ulyanovsk.

Karamzin Public Library in Simbirsk, created in honor famous fellow countryman, opened to readers on April 18, 1848.

170. Karamzin’s prose and poetry had a decisive influence on the development of the Russian literary language. Karamzin purposefully refused to use Church Slavonic vocabulary and grammar, bringing the language of his works to the everyday language of his era and using the grammar and syntax of the French language as a model.

171. Changes in language proposed by Karamzin caused heated controversy in the 1810s. The writer A. S. Shishkov, with the assistance of Derzhavin, founded in 1811 the society “Conversation of Lovers of the Russian Word”, the purpose of which was to promote the “old” language, as well as criticize Karamzin, Zhukovsky and their followers. In response, in 1815, the literary society “Arzamas” was formed, which ironized the authors of “Conversation” and parodied their works. Many poets of the new generation became members of the society, including Batyushkov, Vyazemsky, Davydov, Zhukovsky, Pushkin. The literary victory of “Arzamas” over “Beseda” strengthened the victory of the linguistic changes that Karamzin introduced.

Despite this, Karamzin later became closer to Shishkov, and, thanks to the latter’s assistance, Karamzin was elected a member of the Russian Academy in 1818.

172. Karamzin introduced many new words into the Russian language - as neologisms (“charity”, “freethinking”, “attraction”, “responsibility”, “suspiciousness”, “industry”, “refinement”, “first-class”, “humane”) , and barbarisms (“sidewalk”, “coachman”).

173. "Moscow Journal", which at that time had a very significant success: already in the first year it had 300 "subscribers", the magazine, which did not have full-time employees and was filled by Karamzin himself, existed until December 1792.

174. With the help of the Moscow Journal, Karamzin intended to acquaint his compatriots with Russian and foreign literature, instilling a taste for the best examples of poetry and prose, to present “critical reviews” of published books, to report on theatrical premieres and everything else that is connected with literary life in Russia and Europe.

175. Before Karamzin, there was a widespread belief in Russian society that books were written and published for “scientists” alone, and therefore their content should be as important and practical as possible. In fact, this led to the fact that the prose turned out to be heavy and boring, and its language - cumbersome and grandiloquent.

176. The well-written and interestingly written “Moscow Journal” successfully instilled a taste for reading and became the publication around which the reading public first united. It became a significant phenomenon for many other reasons. In addition to his own works and the creations of famous Russian writers, in addition to a critical analysis of works that were on everyone’s lips, Karamzin placed in it extensive and detailed articles about famous European classics: Shakespeare, Lessing, Boileau, Thomas More, Goldoni, Voltaire, Sterne, Richardson. He also became the founder of theater criticism. Analysis of plays, productions, actors' performances - all this was an unheard-of innovation in Russian periodicals. According to Belinsky, Karamzin was the first to give the Russian public true magazine reading. This was a reform of enormous importance - one might say that our modern literary language first emerged on the pages of Karamzin’s magazine.

177.V fiction At that time, many Old Church Slavonic words continued to be used, which had long since fallen out of use. Karamzin was the first of the Russian prose writers to change the tone of his works from solemn and instructive to sincerely inviting. He also completely abandoned the stilted, pretentious style and began to use a lively and natural language, close to colloquial speech.

178. Writer's awards: Honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences (1818), full member of the Imperial Russian Academy (1818). Knight of the Order of St. Anne, 1st degree, and St. Vladimir, 3rd degree.

179. After the arrest of the satirist and publisher of the Masonic circle N.I. Novikov and the printing of the ode “To Mercy”, Karamzin almost came under investigation on suspicion that the Freemasons had sent him abroad. In 1793-1795 he spent most of his time in the village.

180. Karamzin’s Masonic mentors were I. S. Gamaleya and A. M. Kutuzov.

181. For the editorial office of Russia’s first private literary and political magazine, “Bulletin of Europe,” Karamzin subscribed to 12 of the best foreign magazines.

182. Karamzin attracted G.R. to collaborate in the journal “Bulletin of Europe”. Derzhavin, Kheraskova, Dmitrieva, V.L. Pushkin, brothers A.I. and N.I. Turgenev, A.F. Voeykova, V.A. Zhukovsky. Despite the large number of authors, Karamzin had to work a lot on his own and, so that his name would not flash before the eyes of readers so often, he invented a lot of pseudonyms.

183. The motto of the magazine "Bulletin of Europe" was "Russia is Europe." It set the task of forming national identity through Russia’s assimilation of the civilizational experience of the West and, in particular, the experience of modern European philosophy (from F. Bacon and R. Descartes to I. Kant and J.-J. Rousseau).

184. In 1802, Karamzin became a popularizer of Benjamin Franklin in Russia.

185. The 12th volume of “History...” was never completed (after Karamzin’s death it was published by D.N. Bludov).

186. Karamzin associated social progress with the successes of education, the development of civilization, and the improvement of man. During this period, the writer, generally in the position of conservative Westernism, positively assessed the principles of the theory of the social contract and natural law.

187. Karamzin was a supporter of freedom of conscience and utopian ideas in the spirit of Plato and T. More; he believed that in the name of harmony and equality, citizens can give up personal freedom. As skepticism towards utopian theories grew, Karamzin became more convinced of the enduring value of individual and intellectual freedom.

188. “Poor Lisa” is short essay, which took only a few pages, became a real discovery for our young literature. The life of the human heart, unfolding so vividly before readers for the first time, was a stunning revelation for many of them. A simple, and, in general, uncomplicated love story of a simple girl for a rich and frivolous nobleman, which ended in her tragic death, literally shocked her contemporaries, who read it to the point of oblivion. In the story “Poor Liza,” Karamzin asserted the intrinsic value of the human personality as such, regardless of class. It was here, for the first time in Russian literature, that the discovery of the human spiritual world took place.

189. Karamzin’s innovation also manifested itself in another area: he published one of the first Russian historical stories, “Natalia, the Boyar’s Daughter,” which serves as a bridge from “Letters of a Russian Traveler” and “Poor Lisa” to Karamzin’s later works, “Marfa the Posadnitsa.” and “History of the Russian State”. The plot of "Natalia", unfolding against the backdrop of the historical situation of the times of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, is distinguished by its romantic poignancy. It has everything - sudden love, secret wedding, escape, search, return and a happy life until death.

190. Karamzin called for the development of the European philosophical heritage in all its diversity - from R. Descartes to I. Kant and from F. Bacon to C. Helvetius.

191. In social philosophy, he was a fan of J. Locke and J. J. Rousseau. He adhered to the conviction that philosophy, having gotten rid of scholastic dogmatism and speculative metaphysics, is capable of being “the science of nature and man.”

192. True patriotism, Karamzin believed, obliges a citizen to love his fatherland, despite its delusions and imperfections.

193. Karamzin took an important place in the history of Russian culture thanks to the fortunate circumstances that developed for him, as well as his personal charm and erudition.

194. In 1818, a historical and literary work was written: “A Note on Moscow Monuments” (the first cultural and historical guide to Moscow and its environs).

195. Karamzin saw the historical purpose of the Russian autocracy in maintaining public order and stability. From a paternalistic position, the writer justified serfdom and social inequality in Russia.

196. In the 1790s, he was the inspirer of the movement for the emancipation of Russian prose, which was stylistically dependent on the Church Slavonic liturgical language.

197. The historical story “Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novgorod” asserted the inevitability of the victory of the autocracy over the free city.

198. Karamzin was a supporter of religious tolerance, however, in his opinion, each country should adhere to its chosen religion, therefore in Russia it is important to preserve and support the Orthodox Church.

199. Karamzin considered the Catholic Church as a constant enemy of Russia, striving to “plant” a new faith. In his opinion, contacts with the Catholic Church only damaged the cultural identity of Russia.

200. Karamzin subjected the Jesuits to the greatest criticism, in particular for their interference in domestic policy Russia during the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century.

201. Letters from Karamzin:

to A.F. Malinovsky" (published in 1860),

to I.I. Dmitriev (published in 1866),

to N.I. Krivtsov, to Prince P.A. Vyazemsky (1810-1826; published in 1897),

to A.I. Turgenev (1806-1826; published in 1899),

correspondence with Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich (published in 1906).

202. In 2000, Slava Tsukerman, a Russian-American film director, screenwriter and film producer, directed the American Feature Film Poor Lisa stars Ben Gazzara and Oscar winner Lee Grant. “Poor Liza” received the “Pomegranate Bracelet” Grand Prix at the VII Russian Film Festival “Literature and Cinema” in Gatchina, and in April 2001 received the prize for best director at the “Kinotavr” festival in New York.

203. In 2007-2013, director Valery Babich filmed and released the series History of the Russian State - Istorija gosudarstva Rossijskogo.

Country Ukraine

Genre: documentary

Duration: 500+ episodes

Translation: Ukrainian, Russian (Original)

Cast: Yuri Shevchuk

Description of the Series: This historical television film was created on the basis of the fundamental 12-volume work of the same name by the famous Russian historian Nikolai Karamzin. Each episode, which will last 4 minutes, is made using 3D computer animation. The series covers a huge historical period from Slavic Rus' to the Time of Troubles.

204. His family descended from the Crimean Tatars, his father was an average landowner, retired officers, his mother died when Nikolai Mikhailovich was still just a child. His father was involved in his upbringing, and he also hired tutors and nannies. Karamzin spent his entire childhood on the estate, received an excellent education at home, and read almost all the books in his mother’s extensive library.

205. Love for foreign progressive literature had a great influence on his work. The future writer, publicist, famous critic, honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, historiographer and reformer of Russian literature, loved to read F. Emin, Rollin and other European masters of words.

206. After receiving home education, Karamzin entered a noble boarding school in Simbirsk; in 1778, his father assigned him to an army regiment, which gave Karamzin the opportunity to study at the most prestigious Moscow boarding school at Moscow University. He was in charge of the boarding house I.I. Schaden, under his strict guidance, Karamzin studied the humanities and also attended lectures at the university.

207. My father was confident that Nikolai should continue to serve his fatherland in the army, and then Karamzin found himself in active service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. A military career did not attract the future writer, and he almost immediately took a year's leave, and in 1784 he received a decree on his retirement with the rank of lieutenant.

208. Karamzin was one of the fundamentalists of Russian sentimentalism, reformed the Russian language, added many new words to the vocabulary. He was one of the first creators of a comprehensive general work on the history of Russia.

209. Karamzin, whose books left no one indifferent, was always restrained in response to criticism, calmly accepting both ridicule and praise.

210. Student's essay

Comparative analysis of Lisa and Annushka from the story by N.M. Karamzin “Poor Liza” and the head of “Edrovo” A.N. Radishcheva (“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”)

Liza from Karamzin’s story lives in one of the villages near Moscow with her mother, takes on any job to feed her family, since her father, a kind and hardworking peasant, died. She takes care of her mother and follows her advice: not to take anything for nothing, to behave modestly and honestly.

The author does not give a complete description of Lisa’s appearance, but mentions her tender youth, rare beauty and sensitivity. When Erast visits Lisa, he notices her neatness and delicacy. The beauty and chastity of the girl already at the first meeting impresses the young nobleman.

The narrator from the chapter “Edrovo” also talks about the attractiveness of a peasant girl. Annushka answers the master incredulously and sternly when she talks to him. As usual, the nobles could indulge in offensive jokes when communicating with village girls.

Anyuta’s father died, and she lives with her mother and sister. The family has five horses, three cows, small livestock and poultry. It is difficult to cope with such a farm without male power, without a worker. And so the girl dreams of marrying a peasant who is accustomed to work. But the groom is asked for a hundred rubles, and he is forced to go to the capital to earn money. When the narrator offers money, the mother and groom refuse to take it. The nobility of the peasants surprises the narrator, and for a long time he remembers his acquaintance with Annushka, who “took everything”, “spit everything in front of her”: she is a master of dancing, and how she goes into the field to reap is a sight for sore eyes.

At Lisa and Annushka's different traits character. The heroine Karamzin is more open and trusting than Anyuta. Lisa hides her love for Erast from her mother, but she used to trust her with her deepest secrets. She finds herself defenseless when her loved one betrays her, suffers, tries to regain Erast’s affection, but “tender passion” leads her to death.

Could Annushka act like Lisa? No, she would not have paid off her mother by handing over ten imperials, nor would she have thrown herself into the pond to hide her sin. Annushka knows too well the gentlemen who can deceive and dishonor a peasant girl to trust them. She behaves strictly and reproaches the narrator, who flirts with her. Annushka chooses an equal for her husband: “I was wooed into a rich house for a ten-year-old guy, but I didn’t want to.” She refuses three young men. who wooed her: “Ivan fought off everyone, they did this and that, but that’s not the case.” Annushka’s mother doesn’t take the money because they don’t give a dowry for free, and you never know what people will think about.

It is no coincidence that Karamzin writes about Lisa, calling her “poor”: he sympathizes with her grief and regrets her unfortunate fate. And Radishchev admires Annushka’s frankness and chastity.

211. As a writer, Nikolai Mikhailovich showed by his own example that a real writer must be incorruptible and independent in his judgments.

212. In 1798, Karamzin wrote to Dmitriev: “While I don’t give away my own trinkets, I want to serve the public with a collection of other people’s plays, written in a not quite ordinary Russian, that is, not quite dirty style.”

214. On September 1, 1812, he left Moscow for Nizhny Novgorod a few hours before the French entered.

215. Knight of the Order of St. Anne, 1st degree.

216. “We have become citizens of the world, but have ceased to be, in some cases, citizens of Russia.”

217. “There must be honor the main reward! (From “Notes on ancient and modern Russia in its political and civil relations”).

218. Like in a garden, where a rose with a delicate cranium,

Narcissus and anemone, auricula with yasmin

And thousands of flowers dapple on the banks of crystal streams,

You don’t know what to praise, what to stop at,

What to look at, what to marvel at - So I get lost in the beauty

Your lovely souls (From “Message to Women”).

219. Puppet production of N. M. Karamzin’s story “Poor Liza” (cartoon, USSR, 1978, 19 min., director I. Garanina)

220. Vyazemsky P. A. about Karamzin:

"First an attempt at art

Having set the speech in a new way,

He managed his thought from feeling

To clothe with transparent charm.

Russia was captivated by this speech,

In the Karamzin language."

221. Prose of N.M. Karamzin:

Letters of a Russian traveler, 1791-1792

The Beautiful Princess and the Happy Karla, 1792

Sensitive and Cold, 1803

About friendship, 1827

Evgeny and Yulia, 1789

Poor Lisa, 1792

Natalya, boyar's daughter, 1792

Sierra Morrena, 1793

Bornholm Island, 1793

Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagorod, 1802

Knight of Our Time, 1803

222. Journalism of N.M. Karamzin:

Melodorus to Philalethes, 1794

Philalethes to Melodore, 1794

On the wealth of language, 1795

My Confession, 1802

About love for the fatherland and national pride, 1802

Politics, 1802

Pleasant Views, Hopes and Desires of the Present Time, 1802

About the Kidnappers, 1802

General view, 1802

Thoughts on Solitude, 1802

On incidents and characters in Russian history that can be the subject of fiction, 1802 Historical memories and remarks on the way to Trinity, 1802

Fall of Switzerland, 1802

Letter from a Villager, 1803

The news about Martha the Posadnitsa, taken from the life of St. Zosima, 1803

Articles from the "Bulletin of Europe", 1804

Note on ancient and new Russia in its political and civil relations, 1811

Note about N. I. Novikov, 1818

Speech delivered at the ceremonial meeting of the Imperial Russian Academy December 5, 1818, 1818

Thoughts on True Freedom, 1826

223. In Ulyanovsk there is Karamzinskaya street and Karamzin lane. In 2011, Ulyanovsk-Central Airport was named after N. M. Karamzin.

224. The plan for the release of commemorative and investment coins into circulation in 2016 by the Bank of Russia in the series “Outstanding Personalities of Russia” included the release of a two-ruble coin made of 925 silver, with a circulation of up to 3 thousand copies.

225. In 1991, on the initiative of Ulyanovsk local historians, the passenger motor ship of the Moscow River Shipping Company received the name “Nikolai Karamzin”.

226. The creation of the website “KARAMZIN250.RU” is timed to coincide with Karamzin’s anniversary, as well as the organization of the social and humanitarian All-Russian Karamzin Movement in order to preserve and enhance the historical memory and cultural heritage of the country.

227. Karamzin’s worldview, which experienced significant evolution throughout his life, developed in a complex attraction to two ideological and theoretical poles: utopianism and skepticism - and in repulsion from them.

228. In 1790 he returned from London to St. Petersburg. I met G.R. Derzhavin.

229. Karamzin adhered to food restrictions. This fact was recalled by his wife’s brother P. A. Vyazemsky, who lived for many years in the same house with Karamzin: “Karamzin was very abstinent in food and drink. Returning from his morning walk, he drank two cups of coffee, followed by a pipe of tobacco. At dinner he started with boiled rice, a plate of which always stood by his appliance, and often mixed it with soup. I drank a glass of port and a glass of beer. In the evening, around 12 o’clock, he always ate two baked apples.”

230. In 1810, Karamzin almost became a victim of the intrigues of P.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, a trustee of Moscow University. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, in a denunciation addressed to the Minister of Education Razumovsky, wrote that Karamzin’s works were filled with the poison of freethinking and Jacobinism. The informer wrote that Karamzin must be unmasked as a person harmful to society. The denunciation was left without consequences, but a new one soon followed. This time Golenishchev-Kutuzov declared Karamzin a French spy. This denunciation was also refuted.

231. Knight of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree.

232. “Travel is nourishing for our spirit and heart. Travel, hypochondriac, to heal from your hypochondria! Travel, misanthrope, to love humanity! Travel, whoever you can!” (From “Letters of a Russian Traveler”).

233. Translations:

Julius Caesar (Shakespeare/Karamzin), 1786

Sakuntala (Kalidasa/ Karamzin), 1792

On prejudices in relation to civil society and politics, 1803

The Tale of Igor's Campaign (retelling by Karamzin), 1816

234. In Veliky Novgorod, on the monument “1000th Anniversary of Russia”, among 129 figures of the most outstanding personalities in Russian history (as of 1862), there is the figure of N. M. Karamzin.

235. “Karamzinists” were V. A. Zhukovsky, K. N. Batyushkov, young A. S. Pushkin.

236. Karamzin argued that the well-being of Russia can be ensured only by the inviolability of the autocratic system.

237. Nadezhda Kondakova “Karamzin”:

And met Attila's gloomy gaze

His is that city, gloomy and sick,

Where Asia corrupted Europe

The senseless daring of the steppe.

Where is the faithful son of Catherine's time,

Already in the hope of glory and goodness,

Above a lace stearic candle

He didn’t choose Pugachev, but Peter.

When would everyone in this world be given

So it was a choice - for a century to come,

What would our children tell us later?

When would it be their turn to say?

238. An unknown letter from Karamzin was found in Penza http://tass.ru/kultura/219578236

239. On the Presidential Library portal, publications such as “Historical eulogy to Catherine the Second” of 1802 are available http://www.prlib.ru/Lib/pages/item.aspx?itemid=131101

240. The famous Russian historian S.M. Solovyov once recalled: “The History of Karamzin fell into my hands, until I was thirteen years old, that is, before I entered the gymnasium, I read it at least twelve times...”

241. Criticism:

"Emilia Galotti". Tragedy in five acts, composed by Mr.

Lessing; translation from German, 1791

On the comparison of ancient, and especially Greek, with German and modern literature. Essay by Groddeck, Ph.D., 1791

Philosopher Raphael Hythlode's wanderings in the New World and a description of the curiosity worthy of notes and prudent regulations of the life of the peace-loving people of the island of Utopia. Translation from English. Essay by Thomas (Morus). In St. Petersburg at Shnor 1790, 1791

Goldoniev's notes containing the history of his life and theater, 1791

"Henriada", 1791

"Furious Roland", 1791

"Sid", 1791

"The experience of the present natural, civil and political

state of Switzerland; or letters of William Cox", 1791

The Memorable Life of the Maiden Clarissa Garlov, 1791

From Publisher to Readers, 1791

About the publication of the Moscow Journal, 1791

<О Стерне>, 1792

(On Kalidasa and his drama "Sakonthala"), 1792

Dramatic outlines of ancient northern mythology, 1792

"Cadmus and Harmony, an ancient narrative, in two parts", 1792

“Virgilius’s Aeneid, Turned Inside Out”, 1792

Something about the sciences, arts and education, 1793

(“To find the pyitic side in the most ordinary things”), 1797

A few words about Russian literature, 1797

242. The Karamzin Public Library in Simbirsk was created in honor and memory of the famous fellow countryman, the first Russian historiographer N.M. Karamzin and opened for readers on April 18, 1848. The library occupied three rooms in the left wing of the building of the Noble Assembly.

243. The basis of the book wealth of the Karamzin Public Library was 2325 tons of the personal library of Nikolai Mikhailovich Yazykov. They were transferred after the death of the poet by his brothers - Peter and Alexander, who took an active part in the establishment of the library in Simbirsk.

244. The memorial exhibition “Karamzin Public Library” is part of the structure of the department of rare books and manuscripts of the Ulyanovsk Regional Scientific Library, its funds are available to library users during the operation of the department’s reading room. Excursion services are provided by prior arrangement.

245. In 1848, the widow of the writer E.A. Karamzin donated several dozen volumes of works by N.M. to the Karamzin Library. Karamzin.

246. “Life is sweet,” wrote Karamzin, “when a person is happy at home and knows how to work without boredom.”

247. Professor M.N. Pogodin described Karamzin’s office as follows: “Bare plastered walls, a wide pine table, a simple rustic chair, several trestles with overlaid boards on which manuscripts, books, notebooks, and papers are laid out; there was not a single wardrobe, no armchair, no sofa, no bookcase, no music stand, no carpets, no pillows. Several shabby chairs near the walls are in disarray.”

248. Nikolai Mikhailovich was attracted to people’s homes, historical monuments, factories, universities, street celebrations, taverns, and village weddings.

249. Friend of Karamzin and former teacher young emperor M.N. Muravyov petitioned for Nikolai Mikhailovich to be appointed to the post of court historiographer.

250. Karamzin had an order ribbon, which he, however, always treated with slight irony and humor.

Both as a person and as a scientist, he did not separate himself from either pre-revolutionary Russia, nor from the Soviet period. A man of blood and flesh of his age, born in an Altai village with a wonderful name - Rodino, he, together with the power, experienced its ups and downs of the power, sins and delusions, hopes and disappointments of the Russian restless soul. At the age of 15 he became a school history teacher, at 17, when the war began, he went to an artillery school, fled to the front, was returned and severely punished, but all his life he remembered “the forties thunderstorms, lead, gunpowder...”, he studied as an external student while being an officer . But science called more and more powerfully. The first historical research was related to the historical destinies of the peoples of Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland. The “rebellious” and fateful 19th century, the golden age of Russian culture, Russian thought, Anatoly Filippovich not only knew it thoroughly, one might say, he lived in it!

He did not look for easy and “successful” topics; it was difficult for him to limit his thoughts and simply cultivate a narrow plot of land on the academic field - the thirst for activity that filled his nature was too creative, and, probably, that’s why he successfully mastered more and more new areas: from classical history and Russian philosophy to Slavic studies, the history of the liberation movement of the 19th century, to the history of Russian legal thought and the history of the formation of democratic institutions in Russia - the State Council and the State Duma and - through everything and invariably - the thought of the Russian peasant, of the Russian world, of conscience, about God.

A.F. Smirnov turned out to be one of the very few historians who studied revolutionary and Soviet issues, whose consciousness turned out to be beyond the “Marxist-Leninist” total nihilism towards everything Russian, Orthodox and traditional.

Having retained his independence and breadth of thinking, he was spiritually, intellectually and academically ready to open new horizons. His level did not require the deliberate renunciation and self-betrayal that was so widely manifested in academic circles, which had no core and were faced with the drama of ideological emptiness. Smirnov, as a scientist, did not stoop so far as to reject the value of the socio-economic dimension of historical processes, with which the Marxist method undoubtedly enriched scientific approaches, and the disgusting rejection of the entire Soviet history in which many “Doctors of Science” tried to find themselves was completely alien to him. , turning out to be sterile or omnivorous.

Having been engaged for a long time, deeply and thoughtfully in revolutionary movements, which are a fact of our long-suffering history, Smirnov in his understanding of them rose above the imposed class schemes. As it turned out, he was among the very few who was able to continue the study of the revolutionary situation in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, without repeating ritual clichés, but also without following the fashion of easily refuting all previous accents. He delved too deeply and complicitly into the split in Russian society at the turn of the twentieth century. He too conscientiously, and without formally following dogmas, studied the drama of Russian history against the broadest background of national tradition, religious and philosophical foundations of history, national consciousness and political theories, and could not help but understand: no matter how our attitude towards the revolution changes, the scale of the processes and dramas of destruction historical state Russian, the impact on world history is so enormous that this does not allow us to turn its discussion into a farce.

Anatoly Filippovich Smirnov was fully characterized by what is called national identity. This is not a populist idolization of the “lower classes”, this is not admiring the smoking hut and confinement in ethnographic features, which he warned against, is not a nostalgic and today extravagant sectarian pose - romanticization of pre-Petrine institutions, or insistence on loyalty Soviet period- this is simply an ineradicable feeling of belonging not only and not so much to the present day of one’s Fatherland, but to its entire centuries-old past and to its future. In such a consciousness, the frame of perception is able to embrace and accept everything, “what we have created, and therefore ours,” which Anatoly Filippovich loved to quote, and the eternal Fatherland is not identical to the state - an imperfect and sinful institution - the creation of human hands.

And it was precisely in the 80-90s, these dramatic years for the country, that the period of Smirnov’s true maturity as a historian-thinker and the marvelous, rare at this age, bright rise of his creativity occurred. The range of his scientific interests and activities is rapidly expanding. He dives deeper and deeper into the study not of facts, but of the very processes and ideological foundations of the formation of statehood and its various interpretations.

He approached the main work of his life - the analysis of Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State”. It’s amazing how Anatoly Filippovich himself defined his calling on this path: to reveal Karamzin to us the way he revealed himself to Pushkin...

The fight for the right to publish Karamzin’s work in the USSR took more than one year and took a lot of effort. Now, when, thank God, Karamzin is in every library, it is already difficult to imagine. In the mid-80s, when the magazine “Moscow” began to republish the great historiographer with several chapters in each issue with comments and accompanying text by Smirnov, this was an ideological breakthrough!

This is no coincidence, for Karamzin’s “ours, we” had already permeated his entire being, and a complicit, but not flattering, look at Russian history was extremely important for Anatoly Filippovich himself as a researcher. It manifested itself fully in his capital, rich work “The State Duma of the Russian Empire.” This work, a true encyclopedia of the political struggle at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, is distinguished by its penetration into the ideological discussion and the intensity of the clash of views on the future of the state, without which all attempts to explain the rapid fall into the cliff of the revolution are fruitless. In this work you can find so many lessons and so many parallels with the seething passions of the 90s!

His work on the State Duma is distinguished not only by its extraordinary richness in facts and documents, but also by its broad historical background, where the reader is immersed in the dense interweaving of ideas that excited Russian society, and feels how the edges of the political field are heating up from impatient and self-confident parties, which more needed the triumph of their speculative schemes than the state’s way out of the crisis.

Working on various kinds of historical documents for this fundamental monograph, he began to thoughtfully analyze the most serious projects that have ever matured among Russian statesmen and thinkers.

Thus, Smirnov considered the inability to find a form of involving the huge mass of peasants in the process of progressive state development as a fatal historical drama.

The landlessness of the peasants in a huge peasant country in itself created a charge of terrible destructive force at the foundation of the state.

Smirnov saw the roots and causes of the constantly recurring failures of all and every reform throughout Russian history right up to the present day - in the complete separation and distance of the peasant, and today, the broad mass of the people from managing even their own lives, an almost civilizational division of society. Distrust between the mass of the people and the authorities, the elite, the inability of the latter to perceive the social aspirations of the people and find a connecting lever, forever knocking out the ground from under the revolutionary unrest and preserving the national-cultural core of civilization, is the reason for most of our current disorder. Smirnov was by no means a utopian; he did not repeat the fruitless slogan “let the cooks run the state.”

He understood perfectly well that the centuries-long break in society had created a vicious circle in which it was necessary to overcome not only the unpreparedness of the elite, but also the unpreparedness for large-scale and responsible management activities of the mass of the people, burdened by private troubles. But Smirnov was convinced: bridging the gap is impossible without creating a mechanism for involving the people in self-government, which, without chaos and disintegration into localism, would give birth among the people to an ever-growing socially active layer that unites, renews and nourishes society from bottom to top. The foundations of such a mechanism had to be sought in one’s own historical experience and the world and European experience threaded onto it.

Smirnov’s view of centuries-old Russian history did not fit either into the Procrustean bed of Soviet official ideology or into the narrow logic of its contemptuous deniers. Smirnov rejected with all his being radical revolutionary nihilism in relation to domestic historical experience, equally characteristic of both the intelligentsia of the early twentieth century, the orthodox Marxists of the era of stagnation, and the post-Soviet gurus of perestroika. He belonged to those historians who, in their personal perception, realized and felt the continuity of the centuries-old history of Russia.

For him, who knew too well the successive, painful and still unresolved issues of Russian life, our history did not fall apart into incompatible Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet periods.

And this turned out to be given to few in the troubled 90s and in the encouraging but contradictory 2000s.

Peru A.F. Smirnov owns research not only in the historical works of N.M. Karamzin, but also such bright and different historiographers - N.I. Kostomarov and V.O. Klyuchevsky. Their biographies, created by Smirnov, allow us to imagine their era, their creative laboratory, the difficult fate of their works, the entire heated and enduring discussion about the historical destiny of Russia...

Those who happened to come into contact with him in an informal setting, especially at his home, could see what a hospitable host he was, a merry fellow who loved to share any event that excited him with like-minded people and friends. His house lived full life with his children and household members, and at the wide feast his inimitable voice thundered, plunging the guests into thunderous laughter of wit and metaphor.

Smirnov was so Russian! It was possible to write a Russian character from him. It was clear how all manifestations of his nature were difficult to curb. He did everything on a grand scale - he was angry, upset and happy, worked and celebrated. It was impossible to imagine him in a state of despondency.

His soul, truly, was a Christian from birth, and its path in his earthly life was a consistent search for the road to the Temple.

The historian Smirnov also came to the Temple - the pinnacle of it teaching activities became a brilliant course on the history of Russian civilization, which he taught for several years at the Sretensky Higher Theological School, despite the fatal illnesses that beset him. In this course, his extensive knowledge, his own spiritual reflections, parallel work on Karamzin and Speransky acquired the height and depth that made him a true historian-thinker, capable of characterizing the era in the fullness of its spiritual, worldview and event flows. Stringed on the city of Kitezh, which had long ago appeared to him at first, and the acquired spiritual core, his knowledge and thought systematically took shape into a block, and the word took on a minted form.

As a scientist who deeply rethought history from a Christian-Orthodox point of view, Smirnov passionately worried about the fate of the Slavic peoples, which he knew brilliantly, especially Serbia during the unfolding epochal drama of the Serbian people in the 90s. In his house, we told him about our experiences on trips to the Balkans, and together with his friends - the writer Yuri Loschits and the artist Sergei Kharlamov, we separately and together dreamed of the day of historical retribution.

His entire path is a constant increase in natural talent through work of exceptional scale and intensity, overcoming opposition from circumstances and illnesses, a path according to the favorite formula of his beloved Pushkin: “A person’s self-esteem is the key to his greatness...”

A new book by the outstanding historian Anatoly Filippovich Smirnov, which presents us with the gigantic result of his scientific searches and reflections on the thinkers, rulers and great historiographers of Russian history, was conceived by him himself. She was preparing for his 85th birthday, which he and we dreamed of celebrating in the circle of his wonderful, bright, talented and united family, and numerous friends and students. We celebrate this date with sadness without him, but his life, invincible will, selfless work and scientific feat will always be for us a bright source of our own will to independence.

Apparently, fate favored Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, writer, historiographer, and publisher.

To this we can add the magazines and almanacs published by Karamzin, where his works and translations were published, and in such quantities that it is sometimes difficult to say what we have in front of us: a collection of works by different authors or a collection of his works (it is no coincidence that Karamzin’s collection of works “My Trinkets” in G. Belinsky called it an almanac).

If we supplement this bibliographic list with books by foreign authors published in his translation, then in total the collection of Karamzin’s “lifetime” will form a sizeable library.

We will draw the readers' attention to some of Nikolai Mikhailovich's lifetime publications, which, from our point of view, are of particular value or, in any case, stand out from the general range of books of that time.

N.M. Karamzin was a member literary world gradually. A young writer, a member of the “Friendly Scientific Society” created by the enthusiastic educator N.I. Novikov, Karamzin actively collaborates in the Novikov magazine “Children’s Reading for the Heart and Mind”, and he himself acts as the publisher of the “Moscow Journal”, “Domestic Notes”.

Translations occupied a prominent place in the work of young Karamzin; it was on this material that he honed his literary style. Karamzin’s first translation, made by a young man who had not yet turned 17 years old, and published as a separate edition, was the short story “The Wooden Leg” by Salomon Gessner (The Wooden Leg, the Swiss idyll of Mr. Gessner. Translated from German by Nikol. Karamz. SPb.: V Type Breitkopf, 1783. - 18 p.). It was followed by the first two volumes of a voluminous translated collection-calendar (Reflections on the works of God in the kingdom of nature and Providence, for every day of the year, and conversations with God, or Reflections in the morning and evening hours. M.: In typographical company, 1787 –1788). But especially rare edition became Shakespeare's tragedy "Julius Caesar" in Karamzin's translation (M., 1787). In the wake of the repressions that befell the Freemasons in 1794, this publication, printed in Novikov’s printing house, was included in the list of prohibited publications, subject to confiscation and burning. But since the book was published seven years before this decision, we can assume that the sold-out part of the circulation was preserved, although early XIX century, bibliographer Sopikov pointed to it as a rarity.

Let us note that identifying Karamzin’s translations is not an easy task, since most publications were published without indicating the translator’s name.

The question arises: which work has every reason to be considered the first published? own composition Nikolai Mikhailovich? Having carefully studied the list of Karamzin’s lifetime publications, we can confidently say: such a book exists. The collections of the State Public Historical Library (GPIB) of Russia contain a copy of the anonymous edition of the poem “Song of the World” (Song of the World. B.M., B.G. 4 p.). There is a note on it in ink: “Karamz. Genv. 1792". Researchers have established that this is a poem by young Karamzin dedicated to the conclusion of peace with Turkey. The time of writing the poem was not easy for literary activity: Revolutionary events in France frightened Empress Catherine, and literature came under strict control. Yu.M. Lotman noted that since 1792, “literature has become a difficult and dangerous business”*. But it was at this time that young Karamzin wrote “Poor Liza” and published his first book, which reflected his educational sentiments: the author of the poem dreams of universal peace and harmony that should unite people.

The news from France comes one more alarmingly than the other, control over literature within the country is strengthening, repressions begin against people close to Karamzin from Novikov’s circle - the “Russian Martinists”, and Nikolai Mikhailovich leaves for several years for Znamenskoye - the Oryol estate of his friends Pleshcheevs. There he continued to write, and in 1796 he returned to Moscow with new finished works and intentions to expand publishing activities. Karamzin’s first separate book, published in 1796, is considered to be the story “Julia” (the author is indicated at the end of the preface) (Julia. M.: Univ. typ., in Ridiger and Claudia, 1796. 102 pp.). This small format book is a true rarity; suffice it to say that its copies are available only in two large book depositories: the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg and the State Public Historical Library of Russia in Moscow.

In November of the same 1796, the story “Poor Liza” was published as a separate book, which glorified the name of the author (Karamzin N. Poor Liza. Non la connobe il mondo mentre l'ebbe * From one of the trees surrounding the pond, which is near the Si * new monastery , going to Kozhukhovo. Dependent on a lover of literature. B.M., . 38 p.). An engraving with a view of “Lizinogo Pond” by N.I. Sokolov was made especially for this publication. This fact, in the eyes of bibliophiles, favorably distinguishes this publication from most of Karamzin’s lifetime books: among them there are very few that are equipped with full-fledged illustrations. We even find fully engraved title pages or at least vignettes in less than half of Karamzin’s books. Since the engraving was sold separately, it is not included in all copies, which makes the copy with the engraving especially valuable.

The book described contains another surprise. Since the story was written four years before its independent publication and was already published in a magazine, a separate edition was in high demand. Therefore, two more editions of this work were published almost immediately. Unlike the first edition, printed at the University Printing House, the second and third editions are printed by the printing house of S. Selivanovsky.

The presence of three simultaneous publications created big problems for modern bibliophiles. The differences between the editions are very minor: all copies do not contain imprint data (place and year of publication, name of the publisher or printing house), they all have the same format and number of pages. The fonts, type density and line spacing differ slightly - but all this can only be assessed by placing several copies side by side. Only by very carefully examining the copy that ends up in his hands will the bibliophile be able to understand which of the three editions it belongs to: in the “second” and “third” editions on the back title page there is the text: “This publication contains a picture representing an image of this sensitivity.”

It is even more difficult to distinguish between the “second” and “third” editions. As funny as it may seem, a small typo helps out: in the conventionally “second” edition, the last page number is designated as 83, whereas this is the 38th page. In the “third” the typo has been corrected: the number 38 is there.

Due to the fact that the first editions of “Poor Lisa” end up on the antique market extremely rarely, it is difficult to say which of them is considered the most valuable. In recent years, the only time “Poor Lisa” appeared at auction was in 2016, but the information provided by the auctioneer does not allow the specimen to be accurately identified.

On the antique market you can often find Karamzin’s most significant literary work, “Letters of a Russian Traveler.” It describes the writer and journalist's trip to Europe. Researchers agree that this is in fact more of a fictional work that opened a new genre in Russian literature, rather than factual notes by a Russian person who visited abroad. After the publication of the “Letters” in parts in the “Moscow Journal”, the first independent publication was undertaken by Nikolai Mikhailovich in 1797–1801 in the university printing house familiar to him “at Riediger and Claudia” (Letters of a Russian Traveler. Parts 1–6. M.: Univ . typ., in Riediger and Claudius, 1797–1801). The first edition was almost immediately followed by the second (the imprint remained the same). Like other Karamzin publications, the Travel books are devoid of decoration, but, published in a small format, dressed in the owner's leather bindings, they are pleasing to the eye and fit well in the hand. Undoubtedly, when choosing the format, Karamzin counted on the fact that readers would take these volumes with them on the road, and ladies would carry them in their reticules.

Next to such a famous work as “Letters,” the small book “Conversation about Happiness,” published in 1797, has remained underestimated to this day. But those who want to understand Karamzin’s inner world, to immerse themselves in his thoughts about the world and the human soul, will not pass by this “conversation.” Its plot is simple. Two friends, Melodorus and Philalethes, talk about what happiness is, who can achieve it and how. The heroes were already known to readers: they first appeared in 1794 in Karamzin’s almanac “Aglaya”, where the letters “Melodorus to Philalethes” and “Philalethes to Melodore” were published. Two friends reflected two sides inner world author: rational (Philalethes in Greek - “lover of truth”) and poetic (Melodor - “giver of melodies, songs”); they discussed the fate of Enlightenment ideas in the light of revolutionary events in France. Now they (more precisely, the author) are concerned with issues of social justice and everyone’s right to happiness: “The feelings of a noble lover and a young peasant are the same.”

After this series of published books, which aroused wide public interest and established Karamzin’s fame as one of the best Russian writers, Nikolai Mikhailovich, unexpectedly for his admirers, interrupted his writing, publishing and publishing activities and devoted all his energy to writing a grandiose historical work - “History of the Russian State.”

However, it cannot be said that during the thirteen years that he devoted to this work, no literary works came out or were published from the pen of our author. Over these years, the collected works of Karamzin were published in two editions (Works of Karamzin. In 8 vols. M.: In type. S. Selivanovsky, 1803–1804; The same. 2nd edition, revised and multiplied. In 9 vols. M .: In the type by S. Selivanovsky, 1814).

Based on the historical materials with which Karamzin worked, the drama “Marfa Posadnitsa” was written and published (Marfa Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagorod. Historical story, published by Nikolai Karamzin. Third edition. M.: In the typ. Platon Beketov, 1808. VI, 7–136 pp., 3 pp. ill.), one of the rarest publications on the antique market. Don’t let bibliophiles be confused by the “third edition” label: the previous publisher apparently took into account the published translations of this work into French and German, published in 1804–1805.

It is worth saying a few words about the little-appreciated, but at the same time very rare publications of Karamzin, published in the period from 1801 to 1814. These are panegyric poems by Nikolai Mikhailovich. Back in 1796, in the hope of more freedom press under the new emperor, Karamzin published “Ode on the occasion of the oath of Moscow residents to His Imperial Majesty Paul the First, the All-Russian autocrat” (M.: In the univ. typography, in Chr. Ridiger and Chr. Claudia, 1796. 14 p.: ill. ). Disappointment in the reign of Paul I made him respond with even greater enthusiasm to the accession of the new emperor, Alexander. Three whole odes were dedicated to him: “On the solemn coronation of His Imperial Majesty Alexander the First, Autocrat of All Russia” (M.: In univ. typ., in Chr. Claudia 1801. 10 p.); “On the arrival in Moscow of His Imperial Majesty Alexander the Great, Autocrat of All Russia” (M.: In univ. typ., in Chr. Claudia, . 7, p.) and “The Liberation of Europe and the Glory of Alexander I. Karamzin’s poem dedicated to Moscow residents "(M.: In type. S. Selivanovsky, 1814. 22 p.).

In 1802, having reconsidered his attitude towards the reign of the Empress, Karamzin wrote and published “The Lay” in honor of Catherine the Great (Historical eulogy to Catherine the Second. M.: In the univ. typ., in Lyubiy, Gariy and Popov, 1802. 187 p. ). Modest, in paper covers, not always with the author’s designation, these publications did not find buyers either at auctions or in antique shops and, in the end, were easily lost. And if we add to this considerations of ideological caution (“Ode” dedicated to Paul I, for obvious reasons, Karamzin did not include in the collected works, published already during the reign of Alexander Pavlovich), then the described publications can rightfully be considered among the indisputable bibliophile rarities. When examining and studying these brochures, one must remember that Karamzin, being a professional publisher and editor, paid great attention to the design of the book, and the lack of illustrations in it was compensated by the fact that he independently chose fonts and assessed the quality of the typesetting. So, in all respects, we have before us original books.

During the period of the “literary pause”, another important thing was written, not so much for Karamzin himself, but for the fate of the reform efforts of Alexander I small work- notes “On ancient and new Russia in its political and civil relations.” This was not only the result of the author’s historical research, but also the fruit of Karamzin’s thoughts about what the policy of an autocratic sovereign should be, which would ensure the prosperity of the Russian Empire. The “Note” was compiled at the request of the emperor’s sister, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna. Being a constant interlocutor of Catherine and being part of her inner circle, which included her husband, Prince George of Oldenburg, and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Karamzin, undoubtedly, not only talked about his historical research, but also took part in the discussion of current political events: M.’s reform projects. M. Speransky and the results of the innovations of Alexander I. In the “Note” Karamzin, giving an overview of Russia’s past and presenting the reign of Catherine the Great as an example of enlightened autocracy, dared to express a critical attitude towards the reforms of the last sovereign. The “note” was handed over to the emperor, and he was dissatisfied with the audacity of the historiographer. However, the reform initiatives soon came to an end.

Naturally, the question of publishing the “Note” was not raised in those years, but copies of it in manuscripts were distributed in society. For the first time, a fragment of the “Note” was published in Pushkin’s Sovremennik (volume 5) in 1837. The entire “Note” was published only in 1914 with the active assistance of Karamzin’s great-granddaughter Countess M.N. Tolstoy (Karamzin N.M. Note on Ancient and New Russia / Edited by Prof. V.V. Sipovsky. St. Petersburg: Type. A.F. Dressler; Edition of Countess M.N. Tolstoy, 1914. XIV, , 133 pp.).

The main work of Karamzin the historian, “History of the Russian State” (1st edition: History of the Russian State. In 8 volumes. St. Petersburg, - 1817), already at the time of publication became, speaking modern language, a real bestseller. After thirteen years of work, Karamzin handed over all volumes for publication at the same time. In order for the passage of censorship not to delay the release of the publication, Karamzin had to receive the “highest command” - the emperor’s direct consent to publication. Nevertheless, the publishing process was not easy: the Minister of Internal Affairs, Count A.A. Zakrevsky, offended that the historiographer bypassed government censorship, in every possible way prevented the printing of the book in the Military Printing House of the General Staff entrusted to him and even ordered the cheapest paper to be allocated for the book. Karamzin was forced to distribute the printing of the book among several printing houses: the 2nd, 4th and 6th volumes were published in the Medical Printing House. But in the end, all volumes were published simultaneously.

The popularity of the book prompted professional publishers to begin commercially publishing a multi-volume book. The following publications were printed at the Grech printing house (“at the expense of the Slenin brothers”) and at Smirdin.

“The History of the Russian State” is complex in its structure: each chapter is accompanied by extensive notes, which contain excerpts from chronicles and fragments of scientific works. The publication included genealogical tables and maps. All this led to the fact that each publisher himself decided what was available to include in his publication and what not. The most authoritative is considered (and deservedly) the fifth edition of “History” (History of the Russian State. In three books, containing twelve volumes with full notes, decorated with a portrait of the author, engraved on steel in London. Einerling edition. Books 1–3. St. Petersburg .: In Type E.Praca, 1842). This is the most complete and verified edition, supplemented by previously unknown materials; suffice it to say that in the appendix to it are given fragments of the “Notes on Ancient and New Russia” and it includes the “Key, or Alphabetical Index to the History of the Russian State, N.M. Karamzin,” created by the outstanding archaeographer Pavel Mikhailovich Stroev.

Thanks to the wide public resonance of “History” and the popularity of its publications, we can observe a kind of continuation of the publishing fate of this book, which no longer depended on the will of the author. In 1819, the German pastor, theologian and gymnasium teacher August Tappe translated selected passages from the “History of the Russian State” into German and French and published them as a manual for studying the Russian language for German youth (Abridged Russian History by N.M. Karamzin. For the benefit of youth and students of the Russian language... / Ed. August Wilhelm Tappe, Doctor of Theology and Philosophy. In 2 hours. St. Petersburg: Gedruсkt bei Nicolai v. Gretsch, 1819). As in other cases, the popularity of Karamzin’s books prompted the publisher “Nikolai von Grech,” as he is indicated on the titles, to release a second edition, following the first, by two factories. And yet, the book for young people did not escape the fate of most textbooks: it became a rarity on the antique market. The “Unified Catalog of Russian Books of 1801–1825” indicates only two libraries that have copies of the first edition - GPIB and RNL.

The independent journey of Karamzin’s text continued in the future. An important step in disseminating Karamzin’s interpretation of Russian history was the publication of another publication for youth based on History. This is “Picturesque Karamzin” (Picturesque Karamzin, or Russian history in pictures, published by Andrey Prevost, in three parts. St. Petersburg: In the type. H. Ginze and E. Pratsa and Co., 1836–1838), in which engravings, dedicated to historical events, were accompanied by a brief summary of plots drawn from the Karamzin multi-volume book. The retelling of the stories was carried out by a journalist and historian, the younger brother of P.M. Stroev, Vladimir Mikhailovich Stroev. The publisher A. Prevost invited artists Chorikov, Beggrov, Anderson, Belousov, Razumikhin and others to work on the illustrations, and lithographs were made from their drawings. The book was so popular that today a complete set of three volumes in good condition is very rare. Particularly rare are copies in the publisher's cover with the original title of the book: “Children's Karamzin”.

The editors express gratitude to collectors S.A. and A.A. Vengerov for assistance in preparing this publication.

Russian writer, historiographer Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin lived in the 18th century - at the same time as the commander Suvorov and the poet Derzhavin.

Karamzin’s main work is “History of the Russian State.” During the author's lifetime, 11 volumes of his History were published. He talked about the first Russian princes and principalities, about the 17th century, the “time of troubles.”

In the 12th volume, the historian wanted to describe the role of the people's militia with Minin and Pozharsky in the struggle for the liberation of the fatherland against foreign invaders. But in 1826 Karamzin died...

Twenty years of his life were spent compiling this monumental historical work. Two decades of perseverance and inspiration! In the preface, the author shared with readers that in the narration of distant times there was some inexplicable charm for him: “There is the source of poetry!”, “... love for the fatherland gives heat, strength, charm to the brush.”

“The History of the Russian State” was often reprinted and read again and again by new generations. Karamzin’s book called for faithful service to the Motherland and convinced that the people and the Russian state had not made their thorny path in history in vain. Anything has happened in history: both glory and tragic mistakes.

Many people recognize that “The History of the Russian State” is an action-packed work of art, like a series of novels with historical characters. Here the writer talks about the Moscow Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The strength of character and intelligence of the king, unfortunately, did not overcome the fatal passions and cruelty of his time. John's uncontrolled autocracy cost the people dearly. The tsar dealt with the Novgorod freemen, executed priests, boyars, and commoners. But Ivan the Terrible won victories over the Tatar khans near Kazan and Astrakhan!

Karamzin's book invites reflection on historical facts and lessons that cannot be forgotten. The historian did not hide his attitude to the fact. According to the writer, the historian “... must convey everything unpleasant, everything shameful in the history of his people with sadness, and speak with joy and enthusiasm about what brings honor, about victories, about a flourishing state.”

The author's views showed monarchical inclinations: in each of the Russian tsars he found something of his own, sometimes even sympathetic, and dreamed of an enlightened, philanthropic ruler and of his subjects zealous for the good of the fatherland. And today in the “History of the Russian State” there are thoughts, facts and feelings that correspond to the needs of our time.

Many literary artists found subjects and characters for their works in Karamzin. Pushkin, for example, wrote “Boris Godunov” the way the historian Karamzin explained this historical figure.

The sentimental travel notes “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” written by twenty-three-year-old Nikolai Karamzin when he was traveling through European countries, are interesting and instructive. He published “Letters” in the Moscow Journal, which he himself founded and edited. There is so much information in these “Letters”! You can learn a lot about Prussia, Switzerland, France, England, Holland. And they are written by a well-educated, intelligent young man from Russia who speaks all European languages.

In the ninth grade they study the short but touching story “Poor Liza.” How sincerely the author worries about the fate of a simple girl, how he grieves over the unhappy life of the nobleman Erast! Love story The heroes had no hope for a happy ending.

Student essay

Comparative analysis of Lisa and Annushka from the story by N.M. Karamzin “Poor Liza” and the head of “Edrovo” A.N. Radishcheva

(“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”)

Liza from Karamzin’s story lives in one of the villages near Moscow with her mother, takes on any job to feed her family, since her father, a kind and hardworking peasant, died. She takes care of her mother and follows her advice: not to take anything for nothing, to behave modestly and honestly.

The author does not give a complete description of Lisa’s appearance, but mentions her tender youth, rare beauty and sensitivity. When Erast visits Lisa, he notices her neatness and delicacy. The beauty and chastity of the girl already at the first meeting impresses the young nobleman.

The narrator from the chapter “Edrovo” also talks about the attractiveness of a peasant girl. Annushka answers the master incredulously and sternly when she talks to him. As usual, the nobles could indulge in offensive jokes when communicating with village girls.

Anyuta’s father died, and she lives with her mother and sister. The family has five horses, three cows, small livestock and poultry. It is difficult to cope with such a farm without male power, without a worker. And so the girl dreams of marrying a peasant who is accustomed to work. But the groom is asked for a hundred rubles, and he is forced to go to the capital to earn money. When the narrator offers money, the mother and groom refuse to take it. The nobility of the peasants surprises the narrator, and for a long time he remembers his acquaintance with Annushka, who “took everything”, “spit everything in front of her”: she is a master of dancing, and how she goes into the field to reap is a sight for sore eyes.

Lisa and Annushka have different character traits. The heroine Karamzin is more open and trusting than Anyuta. Lisa hides her love for Erast from her mother, but she used to trust her with her deepest secrets. She finds herself defenseless when her loved one betrays her, suffers, tries to regain Erast’s affection, but “tender passion” leads her to death.

Could Annushka act like Lisa? No, she would not have paid off her mother by handing over ten imperials, nor would she have thrown herself into the pond to hide her sin. Annushka knows too well the gentlemen who can deceive and dishonor a peasant girl to trust them. She behaves strictly and reproaches the narrator, who flirts with her. Annushka chooses an equal for her husband: “I was wooed into a rich house for a ten-year-old guy, but I didn’t want to.” She refuses three young men. who wooed her: “Ivan fought off everyone, they did this and that, but that’s not the case.” Annushka’s mother doesn’t take the money because they don’t give a dowry for free, and you never know what people will think about.

It is no coincidence that Karamzin writes about Lisa, calling her “poor”: he sympathizes with her grief and regrets her unfortunate fate. And Radishchev admires Annushka’s frankness and chastity.

Literature

1. Goryshin G. “Where there is no love, there is no soul...” To the 225th anniversary of the birth of N.M. Karamzina / Iskorka. - 1991. - No. 12.

2. Lotman Yu.M. The Creation of Karamzin. - M.: Young Guard, 1998.

3. “Centuries will not be erased...”: Rus. classics and their readers. - M.: Book, 1989.

M. T. Kachenovsky

History of Russian Goverment. VolumeXII

Sine ira et studio (*)

(* Without anger and partiality (lat.).}

Few writers have so autocratically dominated the minds of their contemporaries as our late historiographer, and few have so constantly retained the right of enviable dominance in the field of literature. It was possible to have no idea about the immortal examples of ancient literature, about the sources of knowledge and taste: but not to read Karamzin meant not to like any reading; not talking about Karamzin was the same as not burning with zeal for his glory; talking about him without enthusiasm was the same as revealing (imaginary) ill-will towards his person; to find errors in his writings meant dooming oneself to become a victim of poisonous windbags or even frenzied persecutors. The gentlemen, the ladies, enchanted by the beauty of the most striking places in Poor Liza, in the boyar's daughter Natalya, kept the sweet impressions of their youth for a long, long time and passed on to the new generation feelings of unconditional surprise for the author of beautiful fairy tales. Everything in Karamzin’s hands turned into pure gold: an ordinary magazine article became an eternal monument to the transformation of the Russian language and literature; an inappropriate attempt in a historical novel to force a Muscovite and Novgorod citizen of the 15th century to speak like Livy's 6 and Sallust's 7 citizens ancient Rome, is accepted as an example of ornateness, and a dreamy picture of unprecedented and unrealizable morals is considered the greatest art of refreshing the color of antiquity in a work of blooming magical fantasy; a simple translation from the Olearian 8 notes on the Moscow rebellion under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was proclaimed an inimitable, incomparable passage worthy of the pen of Tacitov 9 ... And with our writer what was said by the Duke de la Rochefoucauld 10 about fashionable people came true: la plupart des gens ne jugent des hommes que par la vogue qu"ils ont, ou par leur fortune (Most people judge people only by their popularity and their wealth (French).) - came true, but only in relation to connoisseurs of his literary works; for the belief of fashion passes, but Karamzin is immortal. So, Karamzin is immortal! This very desire to talk about him, to praise or blame his works, to find beauties or shortcomings in them; the very disagreements, disputes, enmity between those who differ, patronage on the one hand, persecution on the other; the very suspicions falling on some in disrespect. On others, in their attachment to the name, fame and works of Karamzin - doesn’t all this serve as an irrefutable argument that his powerful talent, by his own strength, reached an unattainable height on the horizon of Russian literature, shone on it and attracted the eyes of his contemporaries? Similar phenomena in the world persist for centuries and are transmitted to distant offspring. It is necessary that the voice and opinion of people who, during the life of the famous writer, feared even the thought of seducing him with praise, sincere or feigned, have some weight, but after his death were not slow to take a heartfelt part in the general lamentation. Speaking unpleasant truths about the works of a living author is undoubtedly unprofitable in many respects, but it is not at all shameful if the judgments are supported by evidence; to pay tribute to the deceased, sine ira et studio, when neither fears nor hopes prevent one from acting with noble freedom, is a most pleasant duty for a person accustomed to being yourself always, invariably. Let us follow this rule and say frankly: Karamzin has no equal in the difficult field of everyday life writing in our fatherland - so, and those who are guilty before the memory of the unforgettable, firstly, are those who still attempt to base their ill-intentioned views on his glorious name; Guilty are those who frivolously pronounce a decisive judgment on his works, without thinking about either ancestors or descendants, without taking into account either the state of science in our fatherland, or the beginning of literature with its possible successes, or the course of events as active causes; Guilty are those who pronounce their verdict on the labors of a mind matured by the experiences of playful youth; Those who are guilty, with their praises and censures, are those who, not knowing the duties of a writer of everyday life, our contemporary, without studying the sources, without even reading the History of the Russian State itself, either with critical intelligibility or superficially, play with the gullibility of people who are ready to be deceived by everyone. Experience, I dare to think, has already proven to many the truth of the words of the unforgettable historiographer, who found pleasure preferably in his work, hoping to be useful, that is, to make Russian history more known to many, even to their strict judges(Preface to Ig R, vol. 1, ed. 2, page XXVI.). We know people who, studying the immortal work of Karamzin, out of love for the very truths of history, out of the habit of practicing essentially useful literature, out of preference for the good style of the author, finally, even out of duty itself, became more and more convinced from time to time of the significance of their new acquisitions, and in how important they should be later. Omnia vincit labor improbus (Hard work conquers everything) (lat.).). Karamzin worked, overcame great obstacles - for what? No doubt, in order to pave the way for younger ascetics. He has done enough for his glory, for the benefit of the fatherland; but his feat cannot serve as an excuse for inaction for us, for our sons and grandchildren. Without studying Karamzin, another recorded historian would not have learned many precious instructions, would not have comprehended another, perhaps better, more satisfactory way of presenting the events of the first centuries of our history, would not have distinguished what is necessary in it from what is unnecessary, reliable from doubtful, clear from hidden in thick darkness. And who more than Karamzin helped those studying Russian history to examine their subject from different sides - a subject that, being inaccessible to many without his help, would have remained so for them to this day! If the historiographer himself, borrowing thoughts from ancient monuments, not only did not neglect the works of other investigators of his predecessors - Müller 11, Thunmann 12, Schletser 13, Prince Shcherbatov 14 - but even used the instructions and advice of young ascetics; then we are even more in need of it History of the Russian state always have in front of you as a reference book, precious for reference and for enjoyable reading - so for enjoyable reading: for Karamzin wrote eternal pages when he was the complete master of the matter being presented. Let us not hide our regret that the wrong places were noticed by the calculating proclaimers of the glory of the unforgettable historiographer: in a hurry, acting at random, they did not know how to get to the exemplary pages in his narrative. Volume XII Stories of G.R., released after the death of Karamzin, it contains the reign of Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky and the disastrous time of the interregnum before Sapieha entered the Kremlin after the death of Lyapunov (1606-1611). Prince Shcherbatov stopped at the tonsure of the Tsar and Queen, and ended his work with a judgment about the qualities of Vasily. Despite the distance of time between the end of one work and the beginning of another, despite the difference in means, in the powers of mind, in the learning of Karamzin and Prince Shcherbatov, both writers have much in common with each other: the first very often followed the system of the second; Having the latest manuals at his disposal, he used the sources of Prince Shcherbatov - his instructions on foreign and his own books, his extracts from archival documents, from embassy files and papers of various kinds, which, otherwise, he would have to find himself, rummaging through the dust of the archive , parse an old letter, guess; and this would slow down the work of the Historiographer, and we would not have the pleasure of reading excellent passages written with complete freedom of talent, unconstrained by anything. Without a doubt, the blame falls on the predecessor (let’s say, not all) for some of the mistakes of his successor: for example, it has already been proven , that the spiritual certificate of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, attributed to both Shcherbatov and Karamzin grandson John the Great, who died in heavy imprisonment in Moscow on February 14, 1509, really does not belong to him at all, but to a third son the same Grand Duke, who died in his appanage city of Uglich on February 13, 1521 ( North Arch. 1823, No. 12, pp. 400 et seq.). The work of Prince Shcherbatov, forgotten by the public, will never cease to be useful and will never become superfluous for the student of the History of our Fatherland: judgments, considerations and views are scattered in it, often revealing the perfectly sharp mind of a diligent observer, extraordinary insight in a person who has not penetrated to the depths of the sanctuary Muses and Graces. Its volumes, enriched with extracts and references to sources, also provide an important convenience for finding the desired objects - a benefit that is valued by noted ascetics of literature, who have doomed themselves to patience, invincible by all possible stumbling blocks of the wrong, uneven , sluggish , colorless and characterless syllable. But we are exhausting the patience of readers by talking about the style of Prince Shcherbatov, when we should enliven their attention with examples of Karamzin’s style, the most beautiful of their kind - worthy of the famous author and belonging to him alone. I boldly name these places swan songs: they enchant the soul with the charm of harmony, elevating all other accessories of an elegant syllable - grammatical correctness, skillful choice and combination of words, bright liveliness of color, movement, and finally, tempting clarity of meaning and satisfactory expressiveness. The historiographer describes the displeasure that arose among the people soon after the accession of Vasily Ioannovich to the result of many fell, contrary to the given promise (page 8): “There was displeasure; they heard a murmur. Vasily, as a magnificent observer of thirty years of vile tyranny, he did not want to create silence with horror, which is a sign of secret and always dangerous hatred of cruel rulers; wanted to equal Boris in statesmanship and surpass False Dmitry in love of freedom, to distinguish the word from intent, to seek in immodest sincerity only instructions for the Government and to threaten only the seditious with the sword of the law. The consequence was an amazing freedom in judgments about the Tsar, special majesty in the Boyars, special courage in all official people; it seemed that they no longer had an autocratic Sovereign, but a half-Tsar. No one dared to argue about the crown with Shuisky, but many dared to envy him and denigrate his election as illegal. The most zealous minions of Vasily expressed indignation: for he, proving his moderation, impartiality and desire to reign not for minions, but for the good of Russia, did not give them any brilliant awards in satisfaction of their vanity and greed. We also noticed an unusual willfulness among the people and instability in the minds: for frequent changes state power give rise to distrust in its firmness and love for change: “Russia had a fourth autocrat within a year, celebrated two regicides and did not see the necessary general consent for the last election. Vasily’s old age, already almost sixty years old, his loneliness, the unknown of his heritage also produced despondency and anxiety In a word, the very first days of the new reign , always most favorable for popular jealousy, more darkened, rather than consoled the hearts of true friends of the fatherland." I distinguished two verbs with oblique letters; why is not difficult to guess: it is desirable that this barely noticeable shadow should not appear in a passage so brilliant, distinguished not only by the external grace of the syllable, but also by its pragmatic dignity. Those who do not follow Karamzin’s system regarding the character and actions of Boris might want to exclude the years of the reign of this ruler from thirty years of vile tyranny, but - this is not the place to enter into research on this subject..... Particularly remarkable in volume XII, for the beauty of the style or the strikingness of the content: suppression of sedition(page 23); description of the False Dimitriev phantom(page 26); presence of the deposed Job in the Assumption Cathedral(p. 48); state of affairs in Moscow(pp. 94, 95); feuds between Sigismund and the Confederates(pp. 180, 181). There are, no doubt, other passages that were worked with special care or happily poured out from the pen of a famous artist. But dealing with bright beauties , which present themselves to the reader’s eyes, we will not lose sight of them shadows U Of the great writers, everything is instructive - both their perfections and their shortcomings. Once upon a time, when analyzing the Laudatory Words of Lomonosov, they dared to point out the dark places in this radiant Sun and - no one thought to charge criminally with something that is not prohibited in any of the codes of literature. We dare to hope for equal mercy... Promising to show shadows in the Last Volume of the Historiographer's work, I set to work, and - soon I saw that I am too hastily putting myself in a rather difficult position. In Karamzin it is very easy to find the beauty of a syllable and extremely tedious to look for errors: the first, like the luminaries in the constellations, themselves appear in different sizes to the observant eye; the latter escape attention, tire the seeker's tension, and force the critic to be involuntarily affectionate, if he is afraid of falling under suspicion of servility based on calculation. What to do in the current fatigue from excessive efforts? Get down to easy work: copy out several beautiful passages from Volume XII; and there, having strengthened your strength with rest, rummage again, this time with the hope of better success. This is the pacification of sedition (pages 22 et seq.). "A few days later there was new confusion. They assured the people that the Tsar wanted to speak to them in frontal place. All of Moscow was in motion, and Red Square was filled with curious, partly malicious, people who, with crafty suggestions, incited the mob to revolt. The king was going to church; heard an extraordinary noise outside the Kremlin, learned about the convening of the people and ordered to immediately find out the perpetrators of such lawlessness; stopped and waited for the report, without moving from his place. - Boyars, courtiers, dignitaries surrounded him: Vasily, without timidity and anger, began to reproach them for inconstancy and frivolity, saying: I see your intent; but why be disingenuous? , what if I don't please you? Whoever you elect, you can overthrow. Rest assured: I won’t resist. - Tears flowed from the eyes of this unfortunate power-hungry. He threw the Royal staff, took the crown from his head and said: look for another King! - Everyone was silent in amazement. Shuisky put on the crown again, raised the staff and said: if I am the Tsar, then let the rebels tremble! What do they want? The death of all innocent foreigners, all the best, most famous Russians and mine, at least mine of violence and robbery. But you knew me electing a king: I have the power and will to execute evildoers. - Everyone answered unanimously: You are our legitimate Sovereign! We swore an oath to you and will not change it! Death to the seditious! - They announced a decree for citizens to disperse peacefully, and no one disobeyed; five people were seized in crowds as troublemakers of the people" and so on. The same incident is described by Shcherbatov (Vol. VII, Part II, page 144): both Historians follow Margeret, and put his words into their mouths actors; but what a difference there is in the living depiction of Karamzin and in the artless one of his predecessor! Tsar Vasily was destined to live and act in the wonderful times of impostors, almost incomprehensible to us. Prince Shakhovsky, the favorite of the first False Dmitry, spreads rumors in Putivl that his patron was saved from death. The cities of Seversk and all of Ukraine, then southern Russia, were separated from Moscow (p. 26). "Citizens, archers, Cossacks, Boyar people, peasants flocked in crowds under the banner of rebellion, put up by Shakhovsky and another, even more noble dignitary, the Chernigov Voivode, the Duma husband, once faithful to the law: Prince Andrei Telyatevsky. This amazing man, not wanting to surrender with his whole army to the living, triumphant Pretender, with gangs of seditionists surrendered to his shadow, a name without substance, blinded by delusion or hostility towards the Shuiskys: this is how people, except the truly magnanimous, change in state turmoil! They had not yet seen any Demetrius, neither his face nor his sword, and everything was burning with zeal for him, as in Boris’s and Feodorov’s times! This fatal name with wonderful ease defeated the legal power, no longer deceiving with mercy, as before, but frightening with torment and death. Those who did not believe the crude, shameless deception, those who did not want to betray Vasily, and dared to resist the rebellion: they were killed, hanged,” etc. This shadow new impostor, this name without essence remind us of the strong and sharp features by which we recognize the masterful brush of Tacitus! This extravagant zeal for Demetrius, who does not exist anywhere, the frantic zeal of people who have never seen faces, neither sword it perfectly expresses both the blindness of the deceived and the maliciousness of the seducers. Such places are noticed in Tacitus, Bossuet, Corneille, are fixed in memory and passed on to posterity. Gangs of villains nested in the Kaluga and Tula regions; in the districts of Arzamas and Alatyr, the rebellious mob raged and besieged Nizhny Novgorod, acting in the name of Demetrius; Astrakhan has changed; the pestilence exterminated the inhabitants of Novgorod: everything was in poverty in the tormented fatherland. Vasily did not sleep in inaction: putting barriers to the flowing streams of evil, he wanted to revive vigor and vigor in the hearts of people. moral strength. The Russian Church was shepherded by Hermogenes; but Job, the first Patriarch of Moscow, was still alive, deposed by the rebels. But the conference with the clergy, dignitaries and merchants , Vasily decided to call the former Patriarch from Staritsa to Moscow for great zemstvo cause. Job arrived and appeared in the Assumption Cathedral (page 47). “He stood at the Patriarchal seat in the form of a simple monk, in a poor robe, but exalted in the eyes of the audience by the memory of his celebrity and suffering for the truth, humility and holiness: a hermit, summoned almost from the grave to reconcile Russia with the law and Heaven.”.... "In the deep silence of general silence and attention, they brought a paper to Job and ordered the Patriarchal Deacon to read it on the pulpit. In this paper, the people - and only one people - prayed to Job to forgive him, in the name of God, all his sins before the Law, obstinacy, blindness, perfidy , and swore not to violate the oath in the future, to be faithful to the Sovereign; demanded forgiveness for the living and the dead, in order to calm the souls of perjurers in the other world; blamed himself for all the disasters sent by God to Russia, but did not blame himself for the regicides, attributing the murder of Theodore and Mary to Rasstriga alone; Finally, he begged Job, as a holy man, to bless Vasily, the Princes, the Boyars, the Christ-loving army and all Christians, may the Tsar triumph over the rebels and may Russia enjoy the happiness of silence." Job's response letter, prepared in advance by him, was also read: by the way, the Elder praised in it, the mind of Ivan the Terrible, condoled the consequences of the death of young Demetrius, which, however, was not attributed to Boris; recalled the unanimous election of Godunov as Tsar and the zeal of the people for him; marveled at the blindness of the Russians, seduced by the vagabond; everyone testified that the Pretender was killed and that even stingy his body was not left on earth. Finally (page 49), having counted all the perjury of the Russians, not excluding the oath given to the False Demetrius, Job, in the name of Heavenly mercy, his and the entire Clergy, declared permission and forgiveness for them, in the hope that they would not betray the lawful Tsar again, the virtue of fidelity, the fruit of pure repentance, they will appease the Almighty, may they defeat their enemies and return peace and silence to the State. - The action was indescribable. It seemed to the people that the heavy bonds of the oath had fallen from them and that the Almighty Himself, through the mouth of the Righteous One, had pronounced pardon on Russia. They cried and rejoiced - and were all the more moved by the news that Job, barely having time to get from Moscow to Staritsa, had died. In general, it should be said that Karamzin’s brush had a high gift for depicting majestic, solemn scenes, and his pen with amazing skill expressed words of the heart, They cried, they rejoiced- two features that perfectly depict in the eyes of the reader the spiritual tenderness of the people! In the same way in one big picture our artist represents the unhappy disposition of minds and the deplorable state of affairs in the capital. (Str. 94) “All the streets, walls, towers, earthen fortifications were filled with soldiers, under the command of the Duma men, who still encouraged them and the people with an air of zeal. But there was no longer any mutual trust between the state authorities and the subjects, no jealousy in the souls , as if exhausted by the exertion of strength in a constant struggle with menacing dangers. Everything weakened: reverence for the Tsar’s office, respect for the Synclite and the Clergy. The shine of Vasily’s magnanimous firmness was eclipsed in the eyes of suffering Russia by his misfortune, which was blamed on him and deception; for this The lover of power, accepting the scepter, promised prosperity to the State. They saw Vasiliev’s fervent prayer in the churches, but God did not listen to her - and the Tsar seemed ill-fated to the people, an unblessed Tsar and outcasts. The clergy glorified the high virtue of the Crown Bearer, and the Boyars still showed zeal for him; but the Muscovites remembered that Godunov’s clergy praised and cursed Otrepiev; that the boyars showed zeal for the Stripping on the eve of his murder. In confusion of thoughts and feelings, the good ones mourned, the weak were perplexed , the evil ones acted... and the vile betrayals continued!" This is where the Historiographer reveals himself to be a true pragmatist! Without updating this or that chronicler, without conveying to us the words almost always invented by them, without being carried away by their example into obvious contradictions, here Karamzin embraced with his gaze both the past and the present, he understood the actions with the reasons, everything, so to speak, he transformed harsh materials into a new, masterful work - and we enjoy the fruit of excellent talent. Having written out the selected places , after reading several others like this or almost equal dignity, I do not notice any fatigue or boredom in myself. But the word was given: I must subject myself to a severe test. History States can be divided into reign; And despite maintaining a character consistent with the title of the book. There is a difference between History States and History Sovereigns: in both cases, the writer of everyday life borrows information from almost the same sources, but arranges them differently. An enlightened reader, having opened the Statistics on Geographical Indications, does not change his thoughts about the contents of the book; remains confident that there is a description in front of him land, A States. The sources are the same, the matter is the same; but the location is different, and -- another title of the book. In history Sovereigns details of their lives, public and private, are allowed; the most reliable sources are undoubtedly official acts and documents; but perhaps the most interesting part of it consists of extracts from the notes of eyewitnesses, or at least contemporaries. Narration of affairs States, about events state, is extracted mainly from letters and archival files; private legends serve as nothing more than an addition, where there is a need to connect events, or to enliven the picture with the characters of the characters, or to explain the dark in reliable legends. However, one does not exclude the other: the only thing we wanted to say is that in one case we should know better acts of the Sovereigns, and in the other progress of state incidents. The Sovereign's marriage is discussed in History States not at all as a person’s need for any special relationship, if it did not cause important consequences: the marriage of an Autocrat is not only a family or family matter, but also state. Tsar Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky, already in his old age, amid constant anxiety, set out to get married, and in January 1608 he married Maria, daughter of Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Buinosov-Rostov. If throughout the entire continuation of his life, Shuisky is seen in History not at all as a voluptuous seeker of carnal pleasures; could he think about them amid incessant worries, oppressed by the burden of disasters? Should I have paid attention to the evidence? Pskov Leshotisi, where the motivating reason for Vasnliy’s intention is not the desire to give the State an Heir to the Throne and thereby strengthen one’s own and the common good, not this desire, which could act with even greater force in an elderly person under troubled circumstances - no: the impulse to marry is attributed to a suddenly born silent greed for pleasure (The chronicler expressed himself in his own way: it came to his attention that the devil since the King's lust.... Note 164.)? Vasily was not destined to represent the face of a hero in the local world; he did not belong to the small number of those chosen ones who, by the power of mind and character, give a different direction to the course of events and subordinate modern affairs to themselves - everything is true; however, History, seeing him as a sane man, rested in all other cases , has no right to accuse him of an incredible, unproven strangeness, and especially not associated with any consequences that would be important for the State. It is fair that Karamzin admits Vasilyevo’s hasty desire to taste the pleasure husband and father, although already in advanced years (T. XII, 63.), and does not trust the chronicler’s story too much; however, he has made it seem like it’s just a personal matter. Prince Shcherbatov, searching for the reasons for Vasily’s marriage to Mary in such troubled times, suggests not passion in the Tsar, but motives connected with benefits States(I.R.G.T. VII, Part II, 197.). Marina’s behavior, of course, is not connected with History with all the details of her existence States Russian, for many it seems inexplicable. Having lost my husband, having lost its essence and very hopes, protected only by the generosity of the Tsar in Moscow, she showed more arrogance than sorrow, and said to her neighbors: deliver me from your untimely consolations and tears of the faint-hearted! “They took from her treasures, rich clothes given to her by her husband: she did not complain out of pride (T. XII, 14.).” And this proud, unshakable Liar Queen, having been released from Moscow to her homeland, was not ashamed to solemnly go to Tushino to the second Impostor, looking for a secret meeting with him, to agree with him in deception and decide on an obvious crime, not only shameful, but also insane. Only one thing stopped her: the Impostor was disgusting in appearance, rude, low in soul; and she, still not dead to the feelings of a woman's heart, shuddered at the thought of sharing a bed with such a person. But it's too late! Mniszech and ambition convinced Marina to overcome weakness" (T. XII, 91.) And so it was a hindrance weakness- disgust from the ugly appearance of the second Pretender - and not the fear of disgracing oneself in front of the whole world! Be that as it may, Marina made up her mind and was acting so skillfully that the audience was touched by her tenderness for her husband: joyful tears, hugs and words inspired, it seemed, by true feeling - everything was used to deceive "... It was hardly necessary for the Pretender to teach hypocrisy to such a pretender, who was probably no longer out of piety she rejoiced at the sculptured face of St. Leonty, brought by Sapieha from Rostov, and valued at 50,000 rubles in the coins of that time. Whether she prayed in our churches, or venerated the relics of the Pleasants of God, there is little need for History; and no one can say for sure: for the intention (to visit the monastery) is not fulfillment (Ibid. 121, 122. Notes 299 and 303.) Mnishkovna appears several times, without any influence on the fate of Russia , solely as a figurine, suitable only for filling the stage: here she, shameless Marina, with her desecrated beauty, outwardly boasted the rank of the Theater Queen, but inwardly she was sad, without dominating, as she wanted, but servilely and tremblingly dependent on her barbarian husband, who denied her the means to shine with splendor (Ibid. 129, 130.)." And there, a little time later, after the flight of the Pretender to Kaluga, the same "Marina , abandoned by her husband and the Court, did not change her arrogance and firmness in misfortune" ... "she wanted to live or die as the Queen" ... gave courageous answers, wrote to Sigismund about rights their own to rule (Ibid. 189.). Or watch how she appears among the warriors with disheveled hair, with a pale face, deep sorrow and tears, among the worried Tushino camp, asking, convincing; walks from headquarters to headquarters, calls each of the officials by name, greets him affectionately, and begs to unite with her husband. “Everything was in motion: they tried to see and listen to a lovely woman, eloquent from living feelings and the striking circumstances of her fate” (Ibid. 192). The romantic Marina has already seen a lot and acted a lot; with all that, from her many adventures it would have been possible (of course, for a person with talent) to write a decent novel - let’s say, a moral and satirical one! So many interesting pictures" One adventure during her flight from Tushin to Kaluga would have filled a whole chapter of matter, interesting even without the cunningly woven title. Isn’t it nice to know how “Marina, in the clothes of a warrior, with a bow and a tulle over her shoulders, at night, in the bitter frost, galloped off on horseback to her husband, accompanied only by a servant and a maid (Ibid. 193.)” Meanwhile, in Tushino, Russian traitors and The Poles decided the fate of the State, Marina traveled; having lost her way, she ended up in Dmitrov instead of Kaluga; she took the German squad from Sapieha and galloped up to her husband, “who met her solemnly along with the people, admired by her beauty in the attire of a young knight” (Ibid. 200). No one will argue that the life of Panna Mniszkovna is rich in adventures, all of which can be extremely entertaining in a novel, seem tolerable in a biography, but that very few of them are suitable for History States Russian, and then with the condition that they take a place in a decent future. Should it be admitted into History? States siege of the Trinity Monastery of Sergius, the current Lavra, with all its details, with exaggerated circumstances, described by Palitsyn, and after him, from his own words, and others? This is what I cannot give myself a true account of: the unforgettable exploits of the defenders and the tempting story of the Historian speak in benefit of the siege; the lack of proportionality of the description, unnecessary and hardly fair details, the weak connection between the actions of the defense of the monastery and the course of the main incidents seem to require, so that this complex episode takes up less space in the book. However, isn’t it unnecessary affection on Kritika’s part? At least by shortening the description, it would be possible to avoid disagreements with the source , for example, telling about the actions of two Martyash: one was the trumpeter Sapieha, a Lutheran by faith; the other is a deaf-mute gentleman; both Lithuanians; the first was taken prisoner, the second himself was handed over to the besieged. Mute (for Palitsyn he is speechless German, and not by name) reveals to the Voivode the terrible intention of the trumpeter, etc. (page 114). We attribute to the untimely death of the Historiographer the irregularities in the style that he, in our opinion, overlooked. The author could destroy them with one hand; but they remain, and Criticism has the duty to notice them as a precaution. IN in another work they would have been completely hidden from the observant gaze; in Karamzin’s style, which is distinguished by its serviceability, in its constantly elegant style, they are more visible, although they are very rare. Country 54. "Shuisky again hesitated on the throne, but not in the soul." There is no error; but there is a pretension to panache with tinsel glitter. Country 96. “Vasily hesitated: he did not dare to be cruel to the extreme, like Godunov, and released to criminals..." Country 102... "so that with a clear conscience Don't be shy of death." Medium verbs do not require case. Country 117. "The monks and soldiers had a thanksgiving prayer service, after which A happy outing followed." Country 132. “What would happen then to Russia as a secondary vile prey of Imposture and his pestuns?" Page 175. "Prince Michael, multiplying, forming an army, and already covering both the Lavra and the capital with his shield..." Page 206. "Moscow again raised her head over the vast Kingdom, extended her hand to Ilmen and to the Yenisei And to the White and Caspian seas, - leaning within its wallsfor legions..." Country 287. "More" strongest battle boiled on Sretenka." Country 302. "Flew up into the air with children, estate-- and glory!" Country 325. "One Russian was the soul of everything , And fell, it seemed to the coffin of the fatherland. Right there. "Lyapunov acted under knives.- By the end of the Volume, the weakening hand of the Historiographer, perhaps, was not yet guarded against some temptations; but Criticism, herself weakened by intense attachment, willingly admits herself defeated and solemnly renounces persecution phrases doubtful. However, acting with sincerity, she does not want to hide the spoils of a few words, noticed during the continuation of the search, troublesome and tedious. She wonders: why the Greek name? strategist(pages 46, 174) is used in the Russian essay when there are equivalent ones: governor, leader, commander; can a word exhorted(page 147) to have a frequent sign in our language; is it necessary to write indiscriminately his instead of mine(And Lyakhov, stained with blood (Impostor), then looked for them more zeal for his villainy. Country 191.); Will the property of our language tolerate that the verb decide(News.... decided Lyapunov doesn’t hesitate. Country 298.) ever expressed the meaning of French, equal to two Russians, make one decide both together. Criticism is perplexed: is it more appropriate to use the names of the ranks to which Shuisky’s contemporaries belonged in their current meaning than in their then meaning: “from nobles to bourgeois", said in one place (page 30); but there were no bourgeois then, in the sense of lower class citizens. Equally nobleman, nobility, noblewoman, nobles(pages 43, 119, 193, 209) it meant something different in Russia, something different in Poland; different then, different in our time: in Poland, not every noble (gentry) was attached to Yard bonds of service and promotion; in Russia dvorlne undoubtedly belonged to the class of nobles, but not all nobles were nobles, for the one promoted from the nobles to Stolniki, in Okolnichye, had already ceased to bear the previous title (The then rank of rank can be seen from the charter printed in the Notes to the XII T. countries. 225 and so on: “Tsarevichs, and Boyars, and Okolnichy, and Chashniki, and Stolniks, and Nobles, and Solicitors, and Tenants, and Orderly people." The Moscow nobles were called Big ones and nonresidents are simply Nobles. Below them title was Children of the Boyars.). In short: to the word nobility the current meaning was assigned to the statehood of Peter the Great. Another note from that same discharge. In writing and in conversation we call Polyakov Poles- the name by which they call themselves, and by which all Europeans mean them, except for the Hungarians, Turks and a few Slavic tribes. There was a time when they all eastern neighbors were known by their name Lyakhov- a name that is loud in our ancient chronicles. The Zaporozhye Cossacks and Ukrainian Cossacks in general, often at odds with the Poles, and pronouncing their national name with displeasure, annoyance, or even bitterness, managed to get the name Lyakha combine the concept of reproach or ridicule. To our Chroniclers, contemporary to Shuisky, as the Notes to XII Tom Stories of Karamzin, name Poles, Polish people not only did it not seem alien, but apparently it was more familiar to their ears than the other ( Note countries 203, 210, 211, 212, 216, etc.). Knowing the similarities and differences between Poles And Lyakhami will notice without any doubt that the Historiographer uses with intent last name where a feeling of patriotism or other types of righteous indignation served as an incentive for him to give a name to the then enemies of Russia, for them it is unusual and may be unpleasant (T. XII. 94, 264, 274, 291, etc.); but for what purpose, by what calculation in many other places, and almost everywhere, are Poles(Pages 72, 73, 76, 79, 80, 96, 184, etc.), and Poles very rare? Is the first of these names more sonorous? is it more significant? Was it then used in preference to the latter? We don't see anything. The name of the Polish people also gives rise to comments about words in which we do not find the desired accuracy. Let us be clear: according to Karamzin, Poles took possession of many expensive things sent by the Tsar for the allied Swedes, a significant number of cannons, banners and velvet banner of Prince Dmitry Shuisky. This news was taken by our Author from a letter from Zholkiewski to Sigismund, where we really find banner, but not velvet, but Kamchatka, or even brocade (choręgiew adamaszkowa z zlotem). Let us offer another remark: “With the bright flames of burning Moscow,” writes the Historiographer, referring to Mashkevich, “it was as bright as day in the Kremlin; the horror of that night could have been liken to hell"- and for greater assurance of the accuracy of the translation, puts before the reader’s eyes the very words of the Polish Author: Tedyśmy juz" bezpleczni byli, bo ogien w koło nas strzegt (Note of countries. 212.). But these words have the following meaning: “then we were already in safety, for the fire around (blazing) guarded us." Now the readers should take their leave, weary, perhaps more than the Reviewer, perhaps too affectionate; but it is shameful to leave them in a bad mood after controversial remarks about bare words and their meaning. Let us allow ourselves to dispel them to some extent with a walk through the alleys of the historical helicopter town. The historiographer, having lifted the edge of the veil under which fate hid from mortals the secrets of possible unfulfilled accidents, shows us a picture that is extremely entertaining for the imagination: Delagardie had acted differently; (page 317) "then crown of Monomakhs, plucked from the hands of the Lithuanians, would probably return posterity Varyazhsky, and the brother of Gustav Adolf or Adolf himself, legally elected in liberated Moscow, legally confirmed on the throne by the Great Duma of the Zemskaya, would have included Russia in the system of Powers that , a few years later, the Peace of Westphalia founded the balance of Europe until modern times." This is what could have come true, and then, in all fairness, it should have become part of the History of the Swedish-Russian State! But having amused himself with the phantasmagoria, the Russian patriot, proud of his name and glory fatherland, comes to his senses, as if after a terrible dream, and in his soul thanks the Ruler of the destinies of kingdoms and peoples, that the poetic dream was and remains a dream. Leaving aside useless accidents, he can easily turn his attention to the dubious essentiality - to crown of Monomakhs(Str. 186, 189, 195, 317.), which no one had heard of until the second half of the 15th century; for identity Varyazhsky offspring in the surname of Gustav Adolf and in the dynasty of Russian Sovereigns, when the origin of Rus' from the Swedes has not only not yet been proven, but is becoming more suspicious from day to day; to ancient capital of Rurik(page 317), which he probably lived in some castle, in a fortification hastily made, for in those days it was not yet the custom to sit on thrones and live in capitals that did not exist anywhere in the North; he will pay attention to medals Vasilievs (Str. 186, 189, 195, 317.), about whom we have no idea and whom no one has seen; he may perhaps dwell on the fate of the man whom the Historiographer calls Otrepiev(Str.59, 92.) - over the fate of the one whose face, according to the previous instructions of our Genesis writer, strangely doubles in the reader's eyes. Reaching the pier, I turn my gaze back and see a vast space, on which there are barely glimpses of prominent stumbling blocks that swimmers would not want to encounter. Maybe perhaps my imagination enlarged them; in this case, I blame myself for not trusting myself... Let’s leave the allegory, and simply wish that such books would come out more often, worthy of strict and fair criticism. But almost pia disderia.. .. The last lines were written under the most disappointing omen: cries were heard - parturiunt montes!

NOTES

For the first time: Bulletin of Europe. 1829. No. 17. P. 3--15; 94--121. Published based on the first publication (pp. 3--9). Kachenovsky Mikhail Trofimovich(1775--1842) - historian, translator, critic, publisher, public figure. In his lectures and articles on history, Kachenovsky developed the ideas of the so-called skeptical school, the founder of which in Russia he is considered along with N. S. Artsybashev. Believing that every nation has a “fabulous” period in its history, Kachenovsky demanded a critical attitude towards the most ancient written sources; based on the idea of ​​cultural backwardness Ancient Rus', he rejected the reliability of many of the news of “The Tale of Bygone Years” and “Russian Truth”. Kachenovsky considered Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State” to be an example of an unscientific approach to historical sources, and since 1818 he has been systematically criticizing this work. In “A Letter from a Kyiv Resident to His Friend” (Bulletin of Europe. 1819. No. 2-6) he criticized Karamzin’s “Preface” to his “History”. Kachenovsky rebelled against the “exaggerations” of Karamzin, who portrayed the past as “colossal”, “majestic”, “tried to bring Russian history to its natural dimensions, to remove from the eyes the blindfold that showed many things in a wrong way, and to return, or, more correctly, lead us to the view , equal to the time at which the events took place" (Kavelin K.D. Collection Op. St. Petersburg, 1897. T. 1. P. 100). But taking a “sound look at history”, fully understanding the falsity of Karamzin’s exaggerations, Kachenovsky himself “went to an extreme, which significantly damaged his cause.” “Instead of showing from the chronicle itself and the sources the infant state of our society in the 9th, 10th, 11th and subsequent centuries, he tried to refute the sources themselves” (Ibid.). Karamzin elected him a member of the Russian Academy and recognized his criticism as “very instructive and conscientious” (Letters from Karamzin to Dmitriev. St. Petersburg, 1866. P. 261). In addition, Kachenovsky willingly published polemical notes against Karamzin in the "Bulletin of Europe", for example, "Investigations regarding Russian history" signed by Z. Dolenga-Khodakovsky (Bulletin of Europe. 1819. No. 20). Karamzin did not answer Kachenovsky. Speeches against Karamzin and further journalistic activity Kachenovsky finally established his public reputation according to Pushkin’s epigram of 1821 “Slanderer without talent...”. After Kachenovsky’s speech criticizing “The History of the Russian State,” the Karamzinists stopped collaborating in “Bulletin of Europe.” P. A. Vyazemsky entered into polemics with Kachenovsky: epigrams of 1818 (see Russian epigram. No. 846--849); "Message to M. T. Kachenovsky", 1819 (Son of the Fatherland. 1821. No. 2); Kachenovsky reprinted it under the title “Message to me from Vyazemsky” with his caustic notes (Bulletin of Europe. 1821. No. 2), and then published S. T. Aksakov’s message to Vyazemsky, himself entitled “Message to Ptelinsky-Ulminsky” (Bulletin Europe. 1821. No. 9). Critical reviews of Kachenovsky as a critic of Karamzin appeared in “Blagomarnenny” (1818. No. 8. P. 219), “Son of the Fatherland” (N.D. Ivanchin-Pisarev - 1819. Part 57. No. 342), in “ Domestic notes"(1822. No. 27. P. 3--27, 99--109). 6 See note 7 on p. 876. 7 Sallust (86 - c. 35 BC) - Roman historian 8 Olearius Adam (1603-1671) - German traveler, author of "Description of a Journey to Muscovy". 9 See note 6 on page 878. 10 Rochefoucauld (La Rochefoucauld) Francois de (1613-1680) - French writer-moralist 11 Müller (Miller) Johann (1752-1809) - German historian 12 See note 7 on page 1013. 13 See note 6 on page 1013. 14 See note 7 on p. 907.