Turgenev's relationship with writers. The creative and life path of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev

Russian writer, corresponding member of the Puturburg Academy of Sciences (1880). In the cycle of stories “Notes of a Hunter” (1847 52) he showed the high spiritual qualities and talent of the Russian peasant, the poetry of nature. In the socio-psychological novels "Rudin" (1856), " Noble Nest" (1859), "On the Eve" (1860), "Fathers and Sons" (1862), the stories "Asya" (1858), "Spring Waters" (1872) created images of the passing noble culture and new heroes of the era - commoners and democrats, images of selfless Russian women. In the novel “Smoke” (1867) and “Nov” (1877) he depicted the life of Russian peasants abroad, the populist movement in Russia. In his later years he created the lyrical and philosophical “Poems in Prose” (1882). And psychological analysis. Turgenev had a significant influence on the development of Russian and world literature.

Biography

Born on October 28 (November 9 n.s.) in Orel into a noble family. Father, Sergei Nikolaevich, a retired hussar officer, came from an ancient noble family; mother, Varvara Petrovna, from the wealthy landowner family of the Lutovinovs. Turgenev spent his childhood on the family estate Spasskoye-Lutovinovo. He grew up in the care of “tutors and teachers, Swiss and Germans, home-grown uncles and serf nannies.”

When the family moved to Moscow in 1827, the future writer was sent to a boarding school and spent about two and a half years there. Further education continued under the guidance of private teachers. Since childhood, he knew French, German, and English.

In the fall of 1833, before reaching the age of fifteen, he entered Moscow University, and in next year transferred to St. Petersburg University, from which he graduated in 1936 in the verbal department of the Faculty of Philosophy.

In May 1838 he went to Berlin to attend lectures on classical philology and philosophy. I met and became friends with N. Stankevich and M. Bakunin, meetings with whom were of much greater importance than the lectures of Berlin professors. Spent more than two years abroad academic years, combining classes with long travels: he traveled around Germany, visited Holland and France, and lived in Italy for several months.

Returning to his homeland in 1841, he settled in Moscow, where he prepared for master's exams and attended literary clubs and salons: he met Gogol, Aksakov, and Khomyakov. On one of the trips to St. Petersburg with Herzen.

In 1842 he successfully passed his master's exams, hoping to get a position as a professor at Moscow University, but since philosophy was taken under suspicion by the Nicholas government, philosophy departments were abolished in Russian universities, and he failed to become a professor.

In 1843, Turgenev entered the service as an official of the “special office” of the Minister of Internal Affairs, where he served for two years. In the same year, an acquaintance with Belinsky and his entourage took place. Turgenev's social and literary views during this period were determined mainly by the influence of Belinsky. Turgenev published his poems, poems, dramatic works, stories. The critic guided his work with his assessments and friendly advice.

In 1847, Turgenev went abroad for a long time: his love for the famous French singer Pauline Viardot, whom he met in 1843 during her tour in St. Petersburg, took him away from Russia. He lived for three years in Germany, then in Paris and on the estate of the Viardot family. Even before leaving, he submitted the essay “Khor and Kalinich” to Sovremennik, which was a resounding success. The following essays from folk life published in the same magazine for five years. Came out in 1852 a separate book called "Notes of a Hunter".

In 1850, the writer returned to Russia and collaborated as an author and critic with Sovremennik, which became a kind of center of Russian literary life.

Impressed by Gogol's death in 1852, he published an obituary, prohibited by censorship. For this he was arrested for a month, and then sent to his estate under police supervision without the right to travel outside the Oryol province.

In 1853 it was allowed to come to St. Petersburg, but the right to travel abroad was returned only in 1856.

Along with “hunting” stories, Turgenev wrote several plays: “The Freeloader” (1848), “The Bachelor” (1849), “A Month in the Country” (1850), “Provincial Girl” (1850). During his arrest and exile, he created the stories “Mumu” ​​(1852) and “The Inn” (1852) on a “peasant” theme. However, he was increasingly occupied by the life of the Russian intelligentsia, to whom the stories “Diary” are dedicated extra person"(1850); "Yakov Pasynkov" (1855); "Correspondence" (1856). Working on the stories made the transition to the novel easier.

In the summer of 1855, the novel “Rudin” was written in Spassky, and in subsequent years the novels: in 1859 “The Noble Nest”; in 1860 “On the Eve”, in 1862 “Fathers and Sons”.

The situation in Russia was changing quickly: the government announced its intention to free the peasants from serfdom, preparations for reform began, giving rise to numerous plans for the upcoming restructuring. Turgenev took an active part in this process, became an unofficial collaborator of Herzen, sending incriminating material to the magazine Kolokol, and collaborated with Sovremennik, which gathered around itself the main forces of advanced literature and journalism. Writers of different directions initially acted as a united front, but sharp disagreements soon emerged. There was a break between Turgenev and the Sovremennik magazine, the reason for which was Dobrolyubov’s article “When will the real one will come day?", dedicated to the novel Turgenev's "On the Eve", in which the critic predicted the imminent appearance of the Russian Insarov, the approaching day of the revolution. Turgenev did not accept this interpretation of the novel and asked Nekrasov not to publish this article. Nekrasov took the side of Dobrolyubov and Chernyshevsky, and Turgenev left Sovremennik. His polemic with Herzen on the issue of further paths development of Russia, which led to a divergence between them. Placing hopes on reforms “from above,” Turgenev considered Herzen’s faith in the revolutionary and socialist aspirations of the peasantry unfounded.

Since 1863, the writer settled with the Viardot family in Baden-Baden. At the same time he began to collaborate with the liberal-bourgeois "Bulletin of Europe", in which all his subsequent large works, including last novel"New" (1876).

Following the Viardot family, Turgenev moved to Paris. During the days of the Paris Commune he lived in London, after its defeat he returned to France, where he remained until the end of his life, spending the winters in Paris and the summer months outside the city, in Bougival, and making short trips to Russia every spring.

The writer met the social upsurge of the 1870s in Russia, associated with the attempts of the populists to find a revolutionary way out of the crisis, with interest, became close to the leaders of the movement, and provided financial assistance in the publication of the collection "Forward". His long-standing interest in folk theme, returned to “Notes of a Hunter,” supplementing them with new essays, wrote the stories “Punin and Baburin” (1874), “The Clock” (1875), etc.

Social revival began among students and among broad sections of society. Turgenev's popularity, at one time shaken by his break with Sovremennik, has now recovered again and began to grow rapidly. In February 1879, when he arrived in Russia, he was honored at literary evenings and gala dinners, with strong invitations to stay in his homeland. Turgenev was even inclined to end his voluntary exile, but this intention was not carried out. In the spring of 1882, the first signs of a serious illness were discovered, which deprived the writer of the ability to move (cancer of the spine).

August 22 (September 3, n.s.) 1883 Turgenev died in Bougival. According to the writer's will, his body was transported to Russia and buried in St. Petersburg.

Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich, whose stories, tales and novels are known and loved by many today, was born on October 28, 1818 in the city of Orel, into an old noble family. Ivan was the second son of Varvara Petrovna Turgeneva (née Lutovinova) and Sergei Nikolaevich Turgenev.

Turgenev's parents

His father served in the Elisavetgrad cavalry regiment. After his marriage, he retired with the rank of colonel. Sergei Nikolaevich belonged to an old noble family. His ancestors are believed to have been Tatars. Ivan Sergeevich’s mother was not as well-born as his father, but she surpassed him in wealth. The vast lands located in belonged to Varvara Petrovna. Sergei Nikolaevich stood out for his elegance of manners and secular sophistication. He had subtle soul, was beautiful. The mother's character was not like that. This woman lost her father early. She had to experience a terrible shock in adolescence, when her stepfather tried to seduce her. Varvara ran away from home. Ivan's mother, who experienced humiliation and oppression, tried to take advantage of the power given to her by law and nature over her sons. This woman was distinguished by her willpower. She loved her children despotically, and was cruel to the serfs, often punishing them with flogging for minor offenses.

Case in Bern

In 1822, the Turgenevs went on a trip abroad. In Bern, a Swiss city, Ivan Sergeevich almost died. The fact is that the father put the boy on the railing of the fence that surrounded a large pit with city bears entertaining the public. Ivan fell off the railing. Sergey Nikolaevich in last moment grabbed my son by the leg.

Introduction to fine literature

The Turgenevs returned from their trip abroad to Spasskoye-Lutovinovo, their mother’s estate, located ten miles from Mtsensk (Oryol province). Here Ivan discovered literature for himself: one of the servants from his mother’s serfs read the poem “Rossiada” by Kheraskov to the boy in the old manner, in a chanting and measured manner. Kheraskov in solemn verses sang the battles for Kazan of the Tatars and Russians during the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich. Many years later, Turgenev, in his 1874 story “Punin and Baburin,” endowed one of the heroes of the work with a love for the Rossiade.

First love

The family of Ivan Sergeevich was in Moscow from the late 1820s to the first half of the 1830s. At the age of 15, Turgenev fell in love for the first time in his life. At this time, the family was at the Engel dacha. They were neighbors with their daughter, Princess Catherine, who was 3 years older than Ivan Turgenev. First love seemed captivating and beautiful to Turgenev. He was in awe of the girl, afraid to admit the sweet and languid feeling that had taken possession of him. However, the end to joys and torments, fears and hopes came suddenly: Ivan Sergeevich accidentally learned that Catherine was his father’s beloved. Turgenev was haunted by pain for a long time. He will give his love story for a young girl to the hero of the 1860 story “First Love.” In this work, Catherine became the prototype of Princess Zinaida Zasekina.

Studying at universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg, death of father

The biography of Ivan Turgenev continues with a period of study. In September 1834, Turgenev entered Moscow University, the Faculty of Literature. However, he was not happy with his studies at the university. He liked Pogorelsky, a mathematics teacher, and Dubensky, who taught Russian. Most teachers and courses left student Turgenev completely indifferent. And some teachers even caused obvious antipathy. This especially applies to Pobedonostsev, who talked tediously and for a long time about literature and was unable to advance in his passions further than Lomonosov. After 5 years, Turgenev will continue his studies in Germany. About Moscow University he will say: “It is full of fools.”

Ivan Sergeevich studied in Moscow for only a year. Already in the summer of 1834 he moved to St. Petersburg. Here on military service was his brother Nikolai. Ivan Turgenev continued to study at His father died in October of the same year from kidney stones, right in Ivan’s arms. By this time he was already living apart from his wife. Ivan Turgenev's father was amorous and quickly lost interest in his wife. Varvara Petrovna did not forgive him for his betrayal and, exaggerating her own misfortunes and illnesses, presented herself as a victim of his heartlessness and irresponsibility.

Turgenev left a deep wound in his soul. He began to think about life and death, about the meaning of existence. Turgenev at this time was attracted by powerful passions, bright characters, throwing and struggling of the soul, expressed in an unusual, sublime language. He reveled in the poems of V. G. Benediktov and N. V. Kukolnik, and the stories of A. A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky. Ivan Turgenev wrote, in imitation of Byron (the author of "Manfred"), his dramatic poem called "The Wall". More than 30 years later, he will say that this is “a completely ridiculous work.”

Writing poetry, republican ideas

Turgenev in the winter of 1834-1835. seriously ill. He had weakness in his body and could not eat or sleep. Having recovered, Ivan Sergeevich changed greatly spiritually and physically. He became very stretched out, and also lost interest in mathematics, which had attracted him before, and began to become more and more interested in fine literature. Turgenev began to compose many poems, but still imitative and weak. At the same time, he became interested in republican ideas. Existed in the country serfdom he felt it was a shame and the greatest injustice. Turgenev’s feeling of guilt towards all the peasants strengthened, because his mother treated them cruelly. And he vowed to himself to do everything to ensure that there would be no class of “slaves” in Russia.

Meeting Pletnev and Pushkin, publication of the first poems

Student Turgenev in his third year met P. A. Pletnev, a professor of Russian literature. This literary critic, poet, friend of A. S. Pushkin, to whom the novel “Eugene Onegin” is dedicated. At the beginning of 1837, at literary evening with him, Ivan Sergeevich encountered Pushkin himself.

In 1838, two poems by Turgenev were published in the Sovremennik magazine (first and fourth issues): “To the Venus of Medicine” and “Evening.” Ivan Sergeevich published poems after that. The first samples of the pen that were printed did not bring him fame.

Continuing your studies in Germany

In 1837, Turgenev graduated from St. Petersburg University (literature department). He was not satisfied with the education he received, feeling gaps in his knowledge. German universities were considered the standard of that time. And so in the spring of 1838, Ivan Sergeevich went to this country. He decided to graduate from the University of Berlin, where Hegel's philosophy was taught.

Abroad, Ivan Sergeevich became friends with the thinker and poet N.V. Stankevich, and also became friends with M.A. Bakunin, who later became a famous revolutionary. Conversations on historical and philosophical topics he led with T.N. Granovsky, the future famous historian. Ivan Sergeevich became a convinced Westerner. Russia, in his opinion, should follow the example of Europe, getting rid of lack of culture, laziness, and ignorance.

Civil service

Turgenev, returning to Russia in 1841, wanted to teach philosophy. However, his plans were not destined to come true: the department to which he wanted to enter was not restored. Ivan Sergeevich was enlisted in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in June 1843. At that time, the issue of liberating the peasants was being studied, so Turgenev reacted to the service with enthusiasm. However, Ivan Sergeevich did not serve long in the ministry: he quickly became disillusioned with the usefulness of his work. He began to feel burdened by the need to follow all the instructions of his superiors. In April 1845, Ivan Sergeevich retired and was no longer a member of the public service never.

Turgenev becomes famous

Turgenev began to play the role in the 1840s socialite in society: always well-groomed, neat, with the manners of an aristocrat. He wanted success and attention.

In 1843, in April, the poem “Parasha” by I. S. Turgenev was published. Its plot is touching love the daughter of a landowner to a neighbor on the estate. The work is a kind of ironic echo of Eugene Onegin. However, unlike Pushkin, in Turgenev’s poem everything ends happily with the marriage of the heroes. Nevertheless, happiness is deceptive, doubtful - it is just ordinary well-being.

The work was highly appreciated by V. G. Belinsky, the most influential and famous critic that time. Turgenev met Druzhinin, Panaev, Nekrasov. Following "Parasha" Ivan Sergeevich wrote the following poems: in 1844 - "Conversation", in 1845 - "Andrey" and "Landowner". Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich also created short stories and tales (in 1844 - “Andrei Kolosov”, in 1846 - “Three Portraits” and “Breter”, in 1847 - “Petushkov”). In addition, Turgenev wrote the comedy "Lack of Money" in 1846, and the drama "Carelessness" in 1843. He followed the principles" natural school"writers, to which Grigorovich, Nekrasov, Herzen, Goncharov belonged. Writers belonging to this direction depicted "non-poetic" objects: daily life people, life, primary attention was paid to the influence of circumstances and environment on the fate and character of a person.

"Notes of a Hunter"

In 1847, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev published the essay “Khor and Kalinich,” created under the impression of hunting trips in 1846 through the fields and forests of the Tula, Kaluga and Oryol provinces. The two heroes in it - Khor and Kalinich - are presented not just as Russian peasants. These are individuals with their own complexities. inner world. On the pages of this work, as well as other essays by Ivan Sergeevich, published in the book “Notes of a Hunter” in 1852, the peasants have their own voice, different from the manner of the narrator. The author recreated the customs and life of landowners and peasants in Russia. His book was assessed as a protest against serfdom. Society received her with enthusiasm.

Relationship with Pauline Viardot, death of mother

In 1843, a young opera singer from France, Pauline Viardot, arrived on tour. She was greeted enthusiastically. Ivan Turgenev was also delighted with her talent. He was captivated by this woman for his entire life. Ivan Sergeevich followed her and her family to France (Viardot was married) and accompanied Polina on a tour of Europe. His life was now divided between France and Russia. Ivan Turgenev's love has stood the test of time - Ivan Sergeevich waited two years for his first kiss. And only in June 1849 Polina became his lover.

Turgenev's mother was categorically against this connection. She refused to give him the funds received from the income from the estates. Their death reconciled: Turgenev’s mother was dying hard, suffocating. She died in 1850 on November 16 in Moscow. Ivan was notified of her illness too late and did not have time to say goodbye to her.

Arrest and exile

In 1852, N.V. Gogol died. I. S. Turgenev wrote an obituary on this occasion. There were no reprehensible thoughts in it. However, it was not customary in the press to recall the duel that led to and also to recall the death of Lermontov. On April 16 of the same year, Ivan Sergeevich was put under arrest for a month. Then he was exiled to Spasskoye-Lutovinovo, without being allowed to leave the Oryol province. At the request of the exile, after 1.5 years he was allowed to leave Spassky, but only in 1856 was he given the right to go abroad.

New works

During the years of exile, Ivan Turgenev wrote new works. His books became increasingly popular. In 1852, Ivan Sergeevich created the story "The Inn". In the same year, Ivan Turgenev wrote “Mumu,” one of his most famous works. In the period from the late 1840s to the mid-1850s, he created other stories: in 1850 - "The Diary of an Extra Man", in 1853 - "Two Friends", in 1854 - "Correspondence" and "Quiet" , in 1856 - “Yakov Pasynkov”. Their heroes are naive and lofty idealists who fail in their attempts to benefit society or find happiness in personal life. Criticism called them "superfluous people." Thus, the creator of a new type of hero was Ivan Turgenev. His books were interesting for their novelty and relevance of issues.

"Rudin"

The fame acquired by Ivan Sergeevich by the mid-1850s was strengthened by the novel "Rudin". The author wrote it in 1855 in seven weeks. Turgenev, in his first novel, attempted to recreate the type of ideologist and thinker modern man. Main character- “an extra person”, who is depicted as both weak and attractive at the same time. The writer, creating him, endowed his hero with the features of Bakunin.

"The Noble Nest" and new novels

In 1858, Turgenev’s second novel, “The Noble Nest,” appeared. Its themes are the history of an old noble family; the love of a nobleman, hopeless due to circumstances. Poetry of love, full of grace and subtlety, careful depiction of the characters’ experiences, spiritualization of nature - these are distinctive features Turgenev's style, perhaps most clearly expressed in "The Noble Nest". They are also characteristic of some stories, such as “Faust” of 1856, “A Trip to Polesie” (years of creation - 1853-1857), “Asya” and “First Love” (both works written in 1860). "The Nobles' Nest" was received kindly. He was praised by many critics, in particular Annenkov, Pisarev, Grigoriev. However next novel A completely different fate awaited Turgenev.

"The day before"

In 1860, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev published the novel “On the Eve”. Summary its next. In the center of the work is Elena Stakhova. This heroine is brave, determined, devoted loving girl. She fell in love with the revolutionary Insarov, a Bulgarian who dedicated his life to liberating his homeland from the power of the Turks. The story of their relationship ends, as usual with Ivan Sergeevich, tragically. The revolutionary dies, and Elena, who became his wife, decides to continue the work of her late husband. This is the plot of the new novel created by Ivan Turgenev. Of course, we described its brief content only in general terms.

This novel caused conflicting assessments. Dobrolyubov, for example, in an instructive tone in his article reprimanded the author where he was wrong. Ivan Sergeevich became furious. Radical democratic publications published texts with scandalous and malicious allusions to the details of Turgenev’s personal life. The writer broke off relations with Sovremennik, where he published for many years. The younger generation stopped seeing Ivan Sergeevich as an idol.

"Fathers and Sons"

In the period from 1860 to 1861, Ivan Turgenev wrote “Fathers and Sons,” his new novel. It was published in the Russian Messenger in 1862. Most readers and critics did not appreciate it.

"Enough"

In 1862-1864. a miniature story “Enough” was created (published in 1864). It is imbued with motives of disappointment in the values ​​of life, including art and love, so dear to Turgenev. In the face of inexorable and blind death, everything loses its meaning.

"Smoke"

Written in 1865-1867. The novel "Smoke" is also imbued with a gloomy mood. The work was published in 1867. In it, the author tried to recreate the picture of modern Russian society, the ideological sentiments that prevailed in him.

"Nove"

Turgenev's last novel appeared in the mid-1870s. It was published in 1877. Turgenev presented in it the populist revolutionaries who are trying to convey their ideas to the peasants. He assessed their actions as a sacrificial feat. However, this is a feat of the doomed.

The last years of the life of I. S. Turgenev

Since the mid-1860s, Turgenev lived abroad almost constantly, visiting his homeland only on short visits. He built himself a house in Baden-Baden, near the house of the Viardot family. In 1870, after the Franco-Prussian War, Polina and Ivan Sergeevich left the city and settled in France.

In 1882, Turgenev fell ill with spinal cancer. They were hard recent months His life and death were hard. The life of Ivan Turgenev was cut short on August 22, 1883. He was buried in St. Petersburg on Volkovsky cemetery, near Belinsky’s grave.

Ivan Turgenev, whose stories, novellas and novels are included in school curriculum and known to many, is one of the greatest Russian writers of the 19th century.

And Van Turgenev was one of the most important Russians writers of the 19th century century. Created by him art system changed the poetics of the novel both in Russia and abroad. His works were praised and harshly criticized, and Turgenev spent his entire life searching in them for a path that would lead Russia to well-being and prosperity.

“Poet, talent, aristocrat, handsome”

Ivan Turgenev's family came from old family Tula nobles. His father, Sergei Turgenev, served in a cavalry regiment and led a very wasteful lifestyle. For amendment financial situation he was forced to marry an elderly (by the standards of that time), but very wealthy landowner Varvara Lutovinova. The marriage became unhappy for both of them, their relationship did not work out. Their second son, Ivan, was born two years after the wedding, in 1818, in Orel. The mother wrote in her diary: “...on Monday my son Ivan was born, 12 inches tall [about 53 centimeters]”. There were three children in the Turgenev family: Nikolai, Ivan and Sergei.

Until he was nine years old, Turgenev lived on the Spasskoye-Lutovinovo estate in the Oryol region. His mother had a difficult and controversial nature: her sincere and heartfelt care for the children was combined with harsh despotism; Varvara Turgeneva often beat her sons. However, she invited the best French and German tutors to her children, spoke exclusively French to her sons, but at the same time remained a fan of Russian literature and read Nikolai Karamzin, Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol.

In 1827, the Turgenevs moved to Moscow so that their children could receive better education. Three years later, Sergei Turgenev left the family.

When Ivan Turgenev was 15 years old, he entered the literature department of Moscow University. It was then that the future writer first fell in love with Princess Ekaterina Shakhovskaya. Shakhovskaya exchanged letters with him, but reciprocated with Turgenev’s father and thereby broke his heart. Later, this story became the basis of Turgenev’s story “First Love.”

A year later, Sergei Turgenev died, and Varvara and her children moved to St. Petersburg, where Turgenev entered the Faculty of Philosophy at St. Petersburg University. Then he became seriously interested in lyricism and wrote his first work - the dramatic poem “Steno”. Turgenev spoke of her like this: “A completely absurd work, in which, with frenzied ineptitude, a slavish imitation of Byron’s Manfred was expressed.”. In total, during his years of study, Turgenev wrote about a hundred poems and several poems. Some of his poems were published by the Sovremennik magazine.

After his studies, 20-year-old Turgenev went to Europe to continue his education. He studied ancient classics, Roman and Greek literature, traveled to France, Holland, and Italy. The European way of life amazed Turgenev: he came to the conclusion that Russia must get rid of incivility, laziness, and ignorance, following the Western countries.

Unknown artist. Ivan Turgenev at the age of 12 years. 1830. State Literary Museum

Eugene Louis Lamy. Portrait of Ivan Turgenev. 1844. State Literary Museum

Kirill Gorbunkov. Ivan Turgenev in his youth. 1838. State Literary Museum

In the 1840s, Turgenev returned to his homeland, received a master's degree in Greek and Latin philology at St. Petersburg University, and even wrote a dissertation - but did not defend it. Interest in scientific activity replaced the desire to write. It was at this time that Turgenev met Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Aksakov, Alexei Khomyakov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Afanasy Fet and many other writers.

“The other day the poet Turgenev returned from Paris. What a man! Poet, talent, aristocrat, handsome, rich, smart, educated, 25 years old - I don’t know what nature denied him?”

Fyodor Dostoevsky, from a letter to his brother

When Turgenev returned to Spasskoye-Lutovinovo, he had an affair with a peasant woman, Avdotya Ivanova, which ended in the girl’s pregnancy. Turgenev wanted to get married, but his mother sent Avdotya to Moscow with a scandal, where she gave birth to a daughter, Pelageya. Avdotya Ivanova’s parents hastily married her off, and Turgenev recognized Pelageya only a few years later.

In 1843, Turgenev’s poem “Parasha” was published under the initials T.L. (Turgenesis-Lutovinov). Vissarion Belinsky appreciated her very highly, and from that moment their acquaintance grew into a strong friendship - Turgenev even became the godfather of the critic’s son.

“This man is unusually smart... It’s gratifying to meet a person whose original and characteristic opinion, when colliding with yours, produces sparks.”

Vissarion Belinsky

In the same year, Turgenev met Polina Viardot. Researchers of Turgenev’s work are still arguing about the true nature of their relationship. They met in St. Petersburg when the singer came to the city on tour. Turgenev often traveled with Polina and her husband, art critic Louis Viardot, around Europe and stayed in their Parisian home. The Viardot family brought him up illegitimate daughter Pelagia.

Fiction writer and playwright

In the late 1840s, Turgenev wrote a lot for the theater. His plays “The Freeloader”, “The Bachelor”, “A Month in the Country” and “Provincial Woman” were very popular with the public and warmly received by critics.

In 1847, Turgenev’s story “Khor and Kalinich” was published in the Sovremennik magazine, created under the impression of the writer’s hunting travels. A little later, stories from the collection “Notes of a Hunter” were published there. The collection itself was published in 1852. Turgenev called it his “Annibal's Oath” - a promise to fight to the end against the enemy he hated since childhood - serfdom.

“Notes of a Hunter” is marked by such a powerful talent that has a beneficial effect on me; understanding nature often appears to you as a revelation.”

Fedor Tyutchev

This was one of the first works that openly spoke about the troubles and harm of serfdom. The censor who allowed “Notes of a Hunter” to be published was, by personal order of Nicholas I, dismissed from service and deprived of his pension, and the collection itself was prohibited from being republished. The censors explained this by saying that Turgenev, although he poeticized the serfs, criminally exaggerated their suffering from landlord oppression.

In 1856, the writer’s first major novel, “Rudin,” was published, written in just seven weeks. The name of the hero of the novel has become a household name for people whose words do not agree with deeds. Three years later, Turgenev published the novel “The Noble Nest,” which turned out to be incredibly popular in Russia: every educated person considered it his duty to read it.

“Knowledge of Russian life, and, moreover, knowledge not from books, but from experience, taken from reality, purified and comprehended by the power of talent and reflection, appears in all of Turgenev’s works...”

Dmitry Pisarev

From 1860 to 1861, excerpts from the novel Fathers and Sons were published in the Russian Messenger. The novel was written on the topic of the day and explored the public mood of the time - mainly the views of nihilistic youth. Russian philosopher and publicist Nikolai Strakhov wrote about him: “In Fathers and Sons he showed more clearly than in all other cases that poetry, while remaining poetry... can actively serve society...”

The novel was well received by critics, although it did not receive the support of liberals. At this time, Turgenev's relations with many friends became complicated. For example, with Alexander Herzen: Turgenev collaborated with his newspaper “Bell”. Herzen saw the future of Russia in peasant socialism, believing that bourgeois Europe had outlived its usefulness, and Turgenev defended the idea of ​​strengthening cultural relations Russia and the West.

Sharp criticism fell on Turgenev after the release of his novel “Smoke”. It was a novel-pamphlet that equally sharply ridiculed both the conservative Russian aristocracy and revolutionary-minded liberals. According to the author, everyone scolded him: “both red and white, and above, and below, and from the side - especially from the side.”

From “Smoke” to “Prose Poems”

Alexey Nikitin. Portrait of Ivan Turgenev. 1859. State Literary Museum

Osip Braz. Portrait of Maria Savina. 1900. State Literary Museum

Timofey Neff. Portrait of Pauline Viardot. 1842. State Literary Museum

After 1871, Turgenev lived in Paris, occasionally returning to Russia. He actively participated in cultural life Western Europe, promoted Russian literature abroad. Turgenev communicated and corresponded with Charles Dickens, George Sand, Victor Hugo, Prosper Merimee, Guy de Maupassant, and Gustave Flaubert.

In the second half of the 1870s, Turgenev published his most ambitious novel, Nov, in which he sharply satirically and critically portrayed members of the revolutionary movement of the 1870s.

“Both novels [“Smoke” and “Nov”] only revealed his increasing alienation from Russia, the first with its impotent bitterness, the second with insufficient information and the absence of any sense of reality in the depiction of the powerful movement of the seventies.”

Dmitry Svyatopolk-Mirsky

This novel, like “Smoke,” was not accepted by Turgenev’s colleagues. For example, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote that Nov was a service to the autocracy. At the same time, the popularity of Turgenev’s early stories and novels did not decrease.

The last years of the writer’s life became his triumph both in Russia and abroad. Then a cycle of lyrical miniatures “Poems in Prose” appeared. The book opened with the prose poem “Village”, and ended with “Russian Language” - the famous hymn about faith in the great destiny of one’s country: “In days of doubt, in days of painful thoughts about the fate of my homeland, you alone are my support and support, oh great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language!.. Without you, how not to fall into despair at the sight of everything that is happening at home . But one cannot believe that such a language was not given to a great people!” This collection became Turgenev's farewell to life and art.

At the same time, Turgenev met his last love- actress of the Alexandrinsky Theater Maria Savina. She was 25 years old when she played the role of Verochka in Turgenev's play A Month in the Country. Seeing her on stage, Turgenev was amazed and openly confessed his feelings to the girl. Maria considered Turgenev more of a friend and mentor, and their marriage never took place.

IN last years Turgenev was seriously ill. Parisian doctors diagnosed him with angina pectoris and intercostal neuralgia. Turgenev died on September 3, 1883 in Bougival near Paris, where magnificent farewells were held. The writer was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovskoye cemetery. The writer's death came as a shock to his fans - and the procession of people who came to say goodbye to Turgenev stretched for several kilometers.

Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883) is a world-famous Russian prose writer, poet, playwright, critic, memoirist and translator of the 19th century, recognized as a classic of world literature. He is the author of many outstanding works that have become literary classics, the reading of which is mandatory for school and university curricula.

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev comes from the city of Orel, where he was born on November 9, 1818 into a noble family on the family estate of his mother. Sergei Nikolaevich, father is a retired hussar who served in a cuirassier regiment before the birth of his son, Varvara Petrovna, mother is a representative of an old noble family. In addition to Ivan, there was another eldest son in the family, Nikolai. The childhood of the little Turgenevs passed under the vigilant supervision of numerous servants and under the influence of the rather difficult and unbending disposition of their mother. Although mother was distinguished by her particular authority and severity of character, she was reputed to be a rather educated and enlightened woman, and it was she who interested her children in science and fiction.

At first, the boys were educated at home; after the family moved to the capital, they continued their education with teachers there. Then follows new round The fate of the Turgenev family is a trip and subsequent life abroad, where Ivan Turgenev lives and is brought up in several prestigious boarding houses. Upon his arrival home (1833), at the age of fifteen, he entered the Faculty of Literature of Moscow State University. After the eldest son Nikolai becomes a guards cavalryman, the family moves to St. Petersburg and the younger Ivan becomes a student at the philosophy department of the local university. In 1834, the first poetic lines, imbued with the spirit of romanticism (a trend fashionable at that time), appeared from the pen of Turgenev. Poetic lyrics were appreciated by his teacher and mentor Pyotr Pletnev (a close friend of A.S. Pushkin).

After graduating from St. Petersburg University in 1837, Turgenev left to continue his studies abroad, where he attended lectures and seminars at the University of Berlin, while simultaneously traveling around Europe. Having returned to Moscow and successfully passed his master's exams, Turgenev hopes to become a professor at Moscow University, but due to the abolition of philosophy departments in all Russian universities, this desire is not destined to come true. At that time, Turgenev became more and more interested in literature, several of his poems were published in the newspaper “Otechestvennye zapiski”, the spring of 1843 was the time of the appearance of his first small book, where the poem “Parasha” was published.

In 1843, at the insistence of his mother, he became an official in the “special office” at the Ministry of the Interior and served there for two years, then retired. An imperious and ambitious mother, dissatisfied with the fact that her son did not live up to her hopes both in career and in personal terms (he did not find a worthy match for himself, and even had an illegitimate daughter Pelageya from a relationship with a seamstress), refuses to support him and Turgenev has to live from hand to mouth and get into debt.

Acquaintance with the famous critic Belinsky turned Turgenev’s work towards realism, and he began to write poetic and ironic-descriptive poems, critical articles and stories.

In 1847, Turgenev brought the story “Khor and Kalinich” to the Sovremennik magazine, which Nekrasov published with the subtitle “From the Notes of a Hunter,” and thus Turgenev’s real literary activity began. In 1847, because of his love for the singer Pauline Viardot (he met her in 1843 in St. Petersburg, where she came on tour), he left Russia for a long time and lived first in Germany, then in France. While living abroad, several were written dramatic plays: “Freeloader”, “Bachelor”, “A Month in the Country”, “Provincial Woman”.

In 1850, the writer returned to Moscow, worked as a critic in the Sovremennik magazine, and in 1852 published a book of his essays entitled “Notes of a Hunter.” At the same time, impressed by the death of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, he wrote and published an obituary, officially prohibited by the tsarist caesura. This is followed by arrest for one month, deportation to the family estate without the right to leave the Oryol province, and a ban on traveling abroad (until 1856). During the exile, the stories “Mumu”, “The Inn”, “The Diary of an Extra Man”, “Yakov Pasynkov”, “Correspondence”, and the novel “Rudin” (1855) were written.

After the ban on traveling abroad ended, Turgenev left the country and lived in Europe for two years. In 1858, he returned to his homeland and published his story “Asya”; heated debates and disputes immediately flared up around it among critics. Then the novel “The Noble Nest” (1859) was born, 1860 - “On the Eve”. After this, Turgenev broke up with such radical writers as Nekrasov and Dobrolyubov, a quarrel with Leo Tolstoy and even the latter challenging him to a duel, which ultimately ended in peace. February 1862 - publication of the novel “Fathers and Sons”, in which the author showed the tragedy of the growing conflict of generations in the conditions of a growing social crisis.

From 1863 to 1883, Turgenev lived first with the Viardot family in Baden-Baden, then in Paris, never ceasing to be interested in current events in Russia and acting as a kind of mediator between Western European and Russian writers. During his life abroad, “Notes of a Hunter” was supplemented, the stories “The Hours”, “Punin and Baburin” were written, and the largest in volume of all his novels, “Nov”.

Together with Victor Hugo, Turgenev was elected co-chairman of the First International Congress of Writers, held in Paris in 1878; in 1879, the writer was elected honorary doctor of the oldest university in England - Oxford. In his declining years, Turgenevsky does not stop studying literary activity, and a few months before his death, “Poems in Prose” were published, prose fragments and miniatures differing high degree lyricism.

Turgenev died in August 1883 from a serious illness in Bougival, France (a suburb of Paris). In accordance with last will deceased, recorded in his will, his body was transported to Russia and buried in the Volkovo cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev is a famous Russian prose writer, poet, classic of world literature, playwright, critic, memoirist and translator. He is the author of many outstanding works. The fate of this great writer will be discussed in this article.

Early childhood

Turgenev's biography (brief in our review, but very rich in reality) began in 1818. The future writer was born on November 9 in the city of Orel. His dad, Sergei Nikolaevich, was a combat officer in a cuirassier regiment, but retired soon after Ivan’s birth. The boy’s mother, Varvara Petrovna, was a representative of a wealthy noble family. It was on the family estate of this powerful woman - Spasskoye-Lutovinovo - that the first years of Ivan’s life passed. Despite her heavy, unbending disposition, Varvara Petrovna was very enlightened and educated person. She managed to instill in her children (in the family, besides Ivan, his older brother Nikolai was raised) a love of science and Russian literature.

Education

The future writer received his primary education at home. So that it could continue in a dignified manner, the Turgenev family moved to Moscow. Here Turgenev’s biography (short) took a new turn: the boy’s parents went abroad, and he was kept in various boarding houses. First he lived and was brought up in Weidenhammer's establishment, then in Krause's. At the age of fifteen (in 1833), Ivan entered Moscow State University at the Faculty of Literature. After the eldest son Nikolai joined the Guards cavalry, the Turgenev family moved to St. Petersburg. Here the future writer became a student at a local university and began studying philosophy. In 1837, Ivan graduated from this educational institution.

Trying out the pen and further education

Turgenev's work for many is associated with writing prose works. However, Ivan Sergeevich initially planned to become a poet. In 1934 he wrote several lyrical works, including the poem “The Wall,” which was appreciated by his mentor, P. A. Pletnev. Over the next three years, the young writer has already composed about a hundred poems. In 1838, several of his works (“To the Venus of Medicine,” “Evening”) were published in the famous Sovremennik. Young poet felt an inclination towards scientific activity and in 1838 went to Germany to continue his education at the University of Berlin. Here he studied Roman and Greek literature. Ivan Sergeevich quickly became imbued with the Western European way of life. A year later, the writer returned to Russia briefly, but already in 1840 he left his homeland again and lived in Italy, Austria and Germany. Turgenev returned to Spasskoye-Lutovinovo in 1841, and a year later he turned to Moscow State University with a request to allow him to take the examination for a master's degree in philosophy. This was denied to him.

Pauline Viardot

Ivan Sergeevich managed to obtain a scientific degree at St. Petersburg University, but by that time he had already lost interest in this type of activity. In search of a worthy career in life, in 1843 the writer entered the service of the ministerial office, but his ambitious aspirations quickly faded away. In 1843, the writer published the poem “Parasha,” which impressed V. G. Belinsky. Success inspired Ivan Sergeevich, and he decided to devote his life to creativity. In the same year, the biography of Turgenev (short) was marked by another fateful event: the writer met an outstanding French singer Pauline Viardot. Seeing the beauty in opera house St. Petersburg, Ivan Sergeevich decided to meet her. At first, the girl did not pay attention to the little-known writer, but Turgenev was so amazed by the singer’s charm that he followed the Viardot family to Paris. For many years he accompanied Polina on her foreign tours, despite the obvious disapproval of his relatives.

Creativity flourishes

In 1946, Ivan Sergeevich actively took part in updating the Sovremennik magazine. He meets Nekrasov, and he becomes his best friend. For two years (1950-1952), the writer was torn between abroad and Russia. During this period, Turgenev's creativity began to gain serious momentum. The series of stories “Notes of a Hunter” was almost entirely written in Germany and made the writer famous throughout the world. In the next decade, the classic author created a number of outstanding prose works: “The Noble Nest”, “Rudin”, “Fathers and Sons”, “On the Eve”. During the same period, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev quarreled with Nekrasov. Their controversy over the novel “On the Eve” ended in a complete break. The writer leaves Sovremennik and goes abroad.

Abroad

Turgenev's life abroad began in Baden-Baden. Here Ivan Sergeevich found himself in the very center of Western European cultural life. He began to maintain relationships with many world literary celebrities: Hugo, Dickens, Maupassant, France, Thackeray and others. The writer actively promoted Russian culture abroad. For example, in 1874 in Paris, Ivan Sergeevich, together with Daudet, Flaubert, Goncourt and Zola, organized the now famous “bachelor dinners at five” in the capital’s restaurants. Turgenev's characterization during this period was very flattering: he turned into the most popular, famous and read Russian writer in Europe. In 1878, Ivan Sergeevich was elected vice-president of the International Literary Congress in Paris. Since 1877, the writer has been an honorary doctor of Oxford University.

Creativity of recent years

Turgenev's biography - short but vivid - indicates that long years spent abroad did not alienate the writer from Russian life and its pressing problems. He still writes a lot about his homeland. So, in 1867, Ivan Sergeevich wrote the novel “Smoke,” which caused a large-scale public outcry in Russia. In 1877, the writer composed the novel “New,” which became the result of his creative reflections in the 1870s.

Demise

For the first time, a serious illness that interrupted the writer’s life made itself felt in 1882. Despite severe physical suffering, Ivan Sergeevich continued to create. A few months before his death, the first part of the book “Poems in Prose” was published. Great writer died in 1883, September 3, in the suburbs of Paris. Relatives carried out the will of Ivan Sergeevich and transported his body to his homeland. The classic was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkov cemetery. IN last way He was seen off by numerous admirers.

This is the biography of Turgenev (short). This man devoted his entire life to his beloved work and forever remained in the memory of his descendants as outstanding writer and a famous public figure.