The clan of Aksakovs or Oksakovs, as they were called in the old days, was ancient and ascended to a noble Varangian who moved to Rus' in the 11th century with his squad. Among the Aksakovs were boyars, governors, generals, but the most famous was the name of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, a Russian writer.
Seryozha Aksakov was a very gifted boy. At the age of four, he already read well, and at the age of five he recited the poems of Sumarokov and Kheraskov by heart, retelling in his own way and even playing out the tales of "A Thousand and One Nights."
Aksakov was fond of literature and theater both in his student years at Kazan University and in the first years of service in St. Petersburg. Later, having already moved to Moscow, being a censor of the Moscow Censorship Committee and an employee of the Moskovsky Vestnik magazine, he became a famous theater critic and was the first to appreciate the talent of M.S. Shchepkin and P.S. Mochalov.
Sergei Timofeevich realized his literary vocation very late and wrote his first books when he was already well over fifty. At that time, S.T. Aksakov was the father of a large and friendly family, the hospitable owner of the house, where all the literary, theatrical and musical Moscow gathered. Friends (and among them were N.V. Gogol, M.N. Zagoskin, I.S. Turgenev, young L.N. Tolstoy) admired the stories of Aksakov Sr. about Russian antiquity, about family traditions, about the beauty of the land that he , a passionate hunter and fisherman, knew better than anyone. 
To the invention of the author "the soul did not lie", and therefore in his books S.T. Aksakov simply told about what he knew and loved best of all. “Notes on Uzhenie” (1847) and “Notes of a Rifle Hunter of the Orenburg Province” (1852) captivated readers and critics with the accuracy and subtlety of observations of the life of nature and the poetic nature of the language.
Anyone who wants to know what Russia was like in the old days should read the books by S.T. Aksakov "Family Chronicle" (1856) and "The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson, Serving as a Continuation of the Family Chronicle" (1858).
The writer, without inventing anything, slowly and simply tells about the history of his family. About how freely people once lived in the Ufa steppes, how bright and transparent the rivers were, how fresh and green the forests were, and how the nightingales sang all night long in the spring, not letting them fall asleep ... People also lived in harmony with God's whole world - the old Russian district nobility who knew a lot about work, and fun, and in every business.
In the appendix to "Children's Years ...", the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower" was given - perhaps the most kind and wise of all fairy tales written in Russian.
Fate left Aksakov quite a bit of time for creativity. Health was leaving, eyes were weakening (I had to dictate). On the other hand, inner vision became brighter, language became more and more flexible and expressive.
S.T. Aksakov died without completing everything he had planned. But what he did was enough. He was loved by his contemporaries and loved by his descendants. Everyone who reads his books gains peace of mind and joy. And the more time passes, the stronger the anxiety for the fate of the Earth and people, the more valuable Aksakov’s word is for us and his advice is more important:
From a message to M.A. Dmitriev, 1850
COLLECTED WORKS: In 3 volumes - M .: Khudozh. lit., 1986.
Everyone knows S.T. Aksakov - "singer of native nature" and storyteller. But few people know his most interesting Literary and Theatrical Memoirs, which sound unexpectedly modern now that the Russian theater is 250 years old. Do not miss also the "History of my acquaintance with Gogol", which contains not only memories of the great friend of Sergei Timofeevich, but also correspondence with him. And therefore - read all three volumes from cover to cover.
SCARLET FLOWER: The Tale of the Housekeeper Pelageya // Tales of Russian Writers. - M.: Reading Circle, 2001. - S. 64-89.
SCARLET FLOWER: The Tale of the Housekeeper Pelageya / Foreword. A. Sharova; Rice. L. Ionova. - M.: Det. lit., 1985. - 32 p.: ill.
“In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent person.
... and that merchant had three daughters, all three beauties are hand-written, and the smallest is the best ... "
A merchant met overseas for business and promised each of his daughters the gift she wanted. And the smaller, the most beloved, - "A little scarlet flower, which would not be more beautiful in this world ..."
CHILDHOOD YEARS OF BAGROV-GRANDSON; THE SCARLET FLOWER. - M.: AST: Olimp, 1998. - 553 p. - (School of the classics: Book for student and teacher).
CHILDHOOD YEARS OF BAGROV-GRANDSON: Tale / Khudozh. A. Itkin. - M.: Det. lit., 2001. - 349 p.: ill. - (School library).
Aksakov's memory preserved all the events of his childhood: from the first infancy to the time of early adolescence. Mother's love and affection, "hunting trips" with his father, all the sounds, smells and colors of the steppe region live in the book, as if two centuries had not passed since then ...
STORIES ABOUT NATIVE NATURE / Intro. Art. N. Pakhomova; Rice. G. Nikolsky. - M.: Det. lit., 1988. - 142 p.: ill. 
An early essay by S.T. Aksakov "Buran", chapters from the story "Childhood of Bagrov-grandson", chapters from "Notes on catching fish" and "Notes of a rifle hunter of the Orenburg province" are very good for a first acquaintance with the writer's prose.
FAMILY CHRONICLE; CHILDHOOD YEARS BAGROV-GRANDSON / Entry. Art. A. Khomyakova; Artistic I. Falaleev. - M.: Novator, 1996. - 387 p.
"Family Chronicle" tells about two generations of the Aksakov family, called Bagrovs here, with their children and household members, peasants and courtyards. At the end of the 18th century, family traditions, the way of life of the Russian estate were still majestic and unshakable. The author conveyed priceless details of antiquity carefully and lovingly.
Abramtsevo: State. ist.-art. or T. museum-reserve. - M.: Sov. Russia, 1981. - 217 p.: ill.
Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich // Theatre: Encyclopedia. - M.: OLMA-PRESS, 2002. - S. 12-13.
Arzumanova O. Abramtsevo of the time of the Aksakovs // Museum-Reserve "Abramtsevo": Essay-guide. - M.: Depict. art, 1984. - S. 15-72.
Bogdanov V. Formation of man // Aksakov S. Childhood years of Bagrov-grandson; Garin-Mikhailovsky N. Childhood of Tyoma; Stanyukovich K. Stories; Mamin-Sibiryak D. Stories. - M.: Det. lit., 1994. - S. 3-13. - (B-ka world lit. for children).
Voitolovskaya E. S. T. Aksakov in the circle of classic writers: Doc. essays. - M.: Det. lit., 1982. - 220 p.: ill.
A brief chronicle of the life and work of S.T. Aksakov; Materials for the biography of S.T. Aksakov; Criticism about the work of S.T. Aksakov // Aksakov S. Childhood years of Bagrov-grandson; The Scarlet Flower. - M.: AST: Olimp, 1998. - S. 356-482.
Mann Yu. Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich // Russian Writers: Biogr. Dictionary: In 2 volumes - M .: Education, 1990. - T. 1. - S. 22-24.
Mann Yu. Aksakov family: East.-lit. feature article. - M.: Det. lit., 1992. - 384 p.
Mashinsky S. S. T. Aksakov: Life and work. - Ed. 2nd. - M.: Artist. lit., 1973. - 575 p.: ill.
Nizovsky A. Abramtsevo // Estates of Russia. - M.: Veche, 2005. - S. 3-9.
Pakhomov N. Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov // Russian Writers in Moscow. - M.: Mosk. worker, 1987. - S. 147-165.
Sokolov-Mikitov I. Word of honor // Sokolov-Mikitov I. Sobr. cit.: In 4 volumes - L .: Khudozh. lit., 1987. - T. 4. - S. 214-219.
Starodub K. Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich // Starodub K. Literary Moscow: Historical Local History. encyclopedia for schoolchildren. - M.: Enlightenment, 1997. - S. 17-19.
Sharov A. Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov // Sharov A. Wizards come to people. - M.: Det. lit., 1985. - S. 21-49.
- ART FILMS -
Scarlet Flower: Based on the fairy tale of the same name by S.T. Aksakov. Scene. N. Ryazantseva. Dir. I. Povolotskaya. Comp. E.Denisov. USSR, 1977. Cast: L. Durov, A. Demidova, A. Abdulov and others.
The Tale of the Merchant's Daughter and the Mysterious Flower: Based on the fairy tale by S.T. Aksakov "The Scarlet Flower". Dir. V. Grammatikov. Comp. A. Muravlev. USSR-Germany-Denmark, 1991. Cast: E. Temnikova, R. Shegurov, L. Ovchinnikova, I. Yasulovich and others.
- CARTOONS -
Scarlet Flower: Based on the fairy tale of the same name by S.T. Aksakov. Scene. G. Grebner. Dir. L. Atamanov. Comp. N. Budashkin. USSR, 1952. Voiced by: S. Lukyanov, A. Konsovsky and others.
Father of Ivan and Konstantin Sergeevich Aksakov, b. September 20, 1791 in the mountains. Ufa, died April 30, 1859 in Moscow. In the "Family Chronicle" and "The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson" S. T. Aksakov left a true chronicle of his childhood, as well as a description of his parents and relatives: the first are depicted under the surname Bagrovs, the second - the Kuroyedovs - under the surname Kurolesovs. The initial upbringing of S. T. Aksakov was led by his mother, nee Zubova, a very educated woman at that time; At the age of four he could already read and write.
S. T. Aksakov received further upbringing and education at the Kazan Gymnasium and at the Kazan University, which he described in such detail in his “Memoirs”. The mother hardly decided to part from her beloved son, and this separation almost cost the life of both the son and the mother. Having initially entered the gymnasium in 1799, S. T. Aksakov was soon taken back by his mother, since the child, generally very nervous and impressionable, began to develop, from the anguish of loneliness, something like an epilepsy, according to S. T. Aksakov’s own statement . He lived for a year in the village, but in 1801 he finally entered the gymnasium. Speaking in his “Memoirs” in general disapprovingly about the level of the then gymnasium teaching, S. T. Aksakov notes, however, several outstanding teachers, such as: pupils of Moscow University I. I. Zapolsky and G. I. Kartashevsky, warden V. P. Upadyshevsky and Russian language teacher Ibragimov. Aksakov lived with Zapolsky and Kartashevsky as a boarder. In 1817, Kartashevsky became related to him by marrying his sister Natalya Timofeevna, that beautiful Natasha, whose story is the plot of an unfinished story of the same name, dictated by the author shortly before his death.
In the gymnasium, S. T. Aksakov passed to some classes with awards and certificates of merit, and at the age of 14, in 1805, he entered the number of students of the newly founded Kazan University. Part of the gymnasium was allotted for the premises of the latter, and some teachers were appointed professors, and the best students of the senior classes were promoted to students. Listening to university lectures, S. T. Aksakov at the same time continued to study in some subjects at the gymnasium. There was no division into faculties in the first years of the existence of Kazan University, and all 35 first students listened indifferently to the most diverse sciences - higher mathematics and logic, chemistry and classical literature, anatomy and history. In March 1807, S. T. Aksakov left Kazan University, having received a certificate with the prescription of such sciences, which he knew only by hearsay and which had not yet been taught at the university.
In his "Memoirs" S. T. Aksakov says that in his university years "childishly carried away in different directions by the passion of his nature." These hobbies, preserved for almost a lifetime, were hunting in all its forms and the theater. In addition, from the age of 14 he began to write, and soon to publish his works. His first poem was placed in the gymnasium's handwritten journal The Arcadian Shepherds, whose staff tried to imitate Karamzin's sentimentality and signed with mythological shepherd names: Adonisov, Irisov, Daphnisov, Amintov, etc. The poem "To the Nightingale" was a success, and, encouraged With this, S. T. Aksakov, together with his friend Alexander Panaev and the later famous mathematician Perevozchikov, founded in 1806 the Journal of Our Studies. In this journal, S. T. Aksakov was already an opponent of Karamzin and a follower of A. S. Shishkov, the author of "Discourses on the old and new style", defending the ideas of the first pioneer of Slavophilism. Passion for the theater was reflected even at the university by the fact that S. T. Aksakov organized a student troupe, among which he himself stood out with his undoubted stage talent. In 1807, the Aksakov family, who received a large inheritance from their aunt, Kuroyedova, moved from the village, first to Moscow, and the next year to St. Petersburg, for the better education of their daughter in the capital's educational institutions: here, too, stage interests completely captured S. T. Aksakov , who, on the advice of Kartashevsky, was a translator in the commission for drafting laws.
A passionate desire to improve in recitation led him to a close acquaintance with the actor Ya. E. Shusherin, a celebrity of the end of the past and the beginning of this century, with whom the young theater-goer spent most of his free time talking about the theater and reciting. Subsequently, S. T. Aksakov spoke about this in an essay entitled: “Yakov Emelyanovich Shusherin and contemporary theatrical celebrities”, like Dmitrevsky, Yakovlev, Semenova and others. This essay, like other theatrical memoirs (1812-1830), is concluded in a lot of valuable data for the history of the Russian theater in the first third of this century. In addition to theatrical acquaintances, S. T. Aksakov acquired other acquaintances - with Martinists V. V. Romanovsky, an old friend of the Aksakov family, and Labzin, as well as with the famous admiral A. S. Shishkov. Freemasonry did not attract S. T. Aksakov, but the rapprochement with Shishkov was very successful, which was greatly facilitated by the declamatory talent of the young writer. Shishkov was introduced to S. T. Aksakov by one of his colleagues on the commission for drafting laws - A. I. Kaznacheev, later known for his literary connections, the admiral’s nephew. In the house of Shishkov, S. T. Aksakov repeatedly staged performances. Leaving in 1811 the service in the commission, which did not attract a young theatergoer, he left first in 1812 for Moscow, and then for the village, where he spent the time of Napoleon's invasion, enrolling with his father in the police. During his last Moscow stay, S. T. Aksakov, through Shusherin, became closely acquainted with a number of Moscow writers - Shatrov, Nikolev, Ilyin, Kokoshkin, S. N. Glinka, Velyashev-Volyntsev and others. A little earlier than this time, he began to translate Laharpov's arrangement the tragedy of Sophocles "Philoctetes", intended for the benefit of Shusherin. This tragedy was published in 1812. ST Aksakov spent the years 1814-1815 in Moscow and St. Petersburg. On one of his visits to Petersburg, he became close friends with Derzhavin, again thanks to his ability to read expressively. In 1816, S. T. Aksakov wrote the "Message to A. I. Kaznacheev", published for the first time in the "Russian Archive" in 1878. In it, the author is indignant at the fact that the French invasion did not reduce the gallomania of the then society.
In the same year, S. T. Aksakov married the daughter of the Suvorov General, Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina. The mother of the latter was a Turkish Igel-Syuma, taken 12 years old during the siege of Ochakov, baptized and raised in Kursk, in the family of General Voinov, Igel-Syuma died 30 years old. O. S. was born in 1792. Immediately after the wedding, S. T. Aksakov went with his young wife to the Trans-Volga estate of his father Timofey Stepanovich. This Trans-Volga fiefdom - the village of Znamenskoye or Novo-Aksakovo - is described in the "Family Chronicle" under the name of New Bagrov. There, the young son Konstantin was born the following year. For five years, S. T. Aksakov lived without a break in his parents' house. The family grew every year. In 1821 Tim. Art. finally agreed to allocate his son, who already had four children, and assigned him the village of Nadezhino, in the Belebeevsky district of the Orenburg province, as his patrimony. This very village is found in the "Family Chronicle" under the name of Parashina. Before moving there, S. T. Aksakov went with his wife and children to Moscow, where he spent the winter of 1821. In Moscow, he resumed his acquaintance with the theatrical and literary world, having struck up a close friendship with Zagoskin, the vaudevillian Pisarev, the theater director and playwright Kokoshkin, the playwright Prince. A. A. Shakhovsky and others, and published a translation of the 10th satire of Boileau, for which he was elected a member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. In the summer of 1822, S. T. Aksakov again went with his family to the Orenburg province and remained there without a break until the autumn of 1826. Housekeeping did not work out for him; moreover, children grew up, they had to be taught; in Moscow it was possible to look for a position.
In August 1826, S. T. Aksakov said goodbye to the village forever. From that time until his death, that is, for thirty-three years, he was in Nadezhina only on a run-in only three times. Having moved with 6 children for permanent residence in Moscow, S. T. Aksakov renewed his friendship with Pisarev, Shakhovsky and others with even greater intimacy. He undertook the prose translation of Molière's "The Miserly" (1828), having translated even earlier, in 1819, in verse the "School of Husbands" by the same author; he was an active defender of his friends from the attacks of Polevoy, persuaded Pogodin - who published the Moscow Bulletin at the end of the twenties and from time to time already devoted space to S. T. Aksakov's theatrical notes - to start a special "Dramatic addition", which was written all over them alone. S. T. Aksakov also quarreled with Polev on the pages of Pavlov's Athenaeum and Raich's Galatea. Finally, in the "Society of Lovers of Russian Literature" S. T. Aksakov read his translation of the 8th satire of Boileau (1829), turning harsh verses from it to the same Polevoy. S. T. Aksakov transferred his enmity with Polev from the pages of magazines to the soil of censorship, becoming, from 1827, the censor of the newly established separate Moscow censorship committee; he received this position thanks to the patronage of A. S. Shishkov, who was then the Minister of Public Education. S. T. Aksakov served as censor for 6 years, several times while temporarily correcting the position of chairman of the committee. In 1834 he moved to serve in the land surveying school. This service also lasted 6 years, until 1839. At first, S. T. Aksakov was the inspector of the school, and then, when it was transformed into the Konstantinovsky Land Survey Institute, he was its director. In 1839, S. T. Aksakov, upset by the service, which had a bad effect on his health, finally retired and began to live quite richly and openly as a private person, having received a significant inheritance after his father, who died in 1837 (mother died in 1833 .).
In the early thirties, the circle of acquaintances of S. T. Aksakov changed. Pisarev died, Kokoshkin and Shakhovskoy faded into the background, Zagoskin maintained a purely personal friendship. S. T. Aksakov began to fall under the influence, on the one hand, of the young university circle, which consisted of Pavlov, Pogodin, Nadezhdin and his son, Konstantin Sergeevich, on the other hand, under the beneficial influence of Gogol, acquaintance with whom began in 1832 and lasted 20 years, until the death of the great writer. In the house of S. T. Aksakov, Gogol usually read his new works for the first time; in turn, S. T. Aksakov was the first to read his fiction to Gogol at a time when neither he nor those around him suspected him of the future famous writer. Friendship with Gogol was maintained both by personal relations and correspondence. Excerpts from the memoirs of S. T. Aksakov about Gogol are published in the 4th volume of the complete works, under the title: "Acquaintance with Gogol." Under the same title in the "Russian Archive" in 1889, and then in a separate edition, rough materials for memoirs, extracts from letters, many of Gogol's letters to S. T. Aksakov, in their entirety, etc. appeared in a separate edition. in the almanac "Dennitsa", published by Maksimovich, a famous scientist and friend of Gogol, S. T. Aksakov placed a short story "Buran", which testified to a decisive turn in his work: S. T. Aksakov turned to living reality, finally freeing himself from pseudo-classical tastes . Walking steadily along the new path of realistic creativity, already in 1840 he began to write the "Family Chronicle", which, however, appeared in its final form only in 1846. Excerpts from it were published without the name of the author in the "Moscow Collection" in 1846 Then, in 1847, "Notes on Fishing" appeared, in 1852 - "Notes of a Rifle Hunter of the Orenburg Province.", in 1855 - "Stories and Memoirs of a Hunter". All these hunting "Notes" by S. T. Aksakov were a huge success. The name of the author became known throughout reading Russia. His presentation was recognized as exemplary, descriptions of nature - poetic, characteristics of animals, birds and fish - masterful images. "There is more life in your birds than in my people," said S. T. Aksakov Gogol.I. S. Turgenev in his review of "Notes of a rifle hunter" ("Sovremennik", 1853, v. 37, pp. 33-44) recognized the descriptive talent of S. T. Aksakov as first-class.
Encouraged by such success, already in his declining years, S. T. Aksakov appeared before the public with a number of new works. He set to work on memoirs of a literary and, mainly, family nature. In 1856, the Family Chronicle appeared, which was an extraordinary success. Criticism differed in understanding the inner meaning of this best work by S. T. Aksakov. Thus, the Slavophiles (Khomyakov) found that he was “the first of our writers to look at our life from a positive, and not from a negative point of view”; publicist critics (Dobrolyubov), on the contrary, found negative facts in the Family Chronicle. In 1858, a continuation of the "Family Chronicle" appeared - "Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson", which had less success. “Literary and theatrical memoirs attracted little attention, although they contain a lot of valuable material for both the historian of literature and the historian of the theater. To characterize the last years of S. T. Aksakov’s life, the information in “Literary Memoirs” by I. I. Panaev and the memoirs of M. N. Longinov (“Russian Bulletin”, 1859, No. 8, as well as an article in “Encyclopedia. Words.”, published by Russian writers and scientists, vol. II). Longinov says that S. T. Aksakov's health deteriorated 12 years before his death. An eye disease forced him to lock himself in a dark room for a long time, and, not accustomed to a sedentary life, he upset his body, having lost, moreover, one eye.In the spring of 1858, S. T. Aksakov's illness took on a very dangerous character and began to cause him severe suffering, but he endured them with firmness and patience.
He spent the last summer at a dacha near Moscow and, despite his serious illness, had the strength, in rare moments of relief, to dictate his new works. This includes "Collecting Butterflies", which appeared in print after his death in "Bratchina" - a collection published by former students of Kazan University, edited by P. I. Melnikov, at the end of 1859. In the autumn of 1858, S. T. Aksakov moved to He spent Moscow and the whole next winter in terrible suffering, despite which he still sometimes continued to engage in literature and wrote "Winter Morning", "Meeting with the Martinists" (the last of his works published during his lifetime, which appeared in the "Russian Conversation" in 1859) and the story "Natasha", which is published in the same magazine.
The works of S. T. Aksakov were published many times in separate editions. Thus, the “Family Chronicle” went through 4 editions, “Notes on Fishing” - 5, “Notes of a Rifle Hunter” - 6. The first complete collection of works, constituting an almost complete autobiography of S. T. Aksakov, appeared at the end of 1886 in 6 -ty volumes, published by the bookseller N. G. Martynov and edited in part by I. S. Aksakov, who provided him with valuable notes, and in part by P. A. Efremov, who informed the publication of significant bibliographic completeness.
The article presents the biography of Aksakov, a famous Russian writer. He is known to many as the author of a fairy tale and also as the creator of the "Family Chronicle", "Notes of a rifle hunter" and other works.
Aksakov's biography begins on September 20, 1791, when Sergei Timofeevich was born in the city of Ufa. In the family chronicle "Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson", the author spoke about his childhood, and also compiled a description of his relatives. If you want to get to know the first stage of the life path of such a writer as Sergey Aksakov better, the biography for children and adults presented in this work will surely interest you.
S. T. Aksakov was educated first at the Kazan gymnasium, and then at Kazan University. He spoke about this in his memoirs. It was very difficult for the mother to be separated from Sergei, and she almost cost her life, as well as the writer himself. In 1799 he entered the gymnasium S. T. Aksakov. His biography is marked by the fact that soon his mother took him back, because in an impressionable and nervous child, from loneliness and longing, she began to develop, as Aksakov himself admitted.
During the year the writer was in the village. However, in 1801 he finally entered the gymnasium. Aksakov's further biography is connected with this educational institution. Sergei Timofeevich spoke disapprovingly of the level of teaching at this gymnasium. However, he had great respect for several teachers. This, for example, Kartashevsky. In 1817, this man married the writer's sister, Natalia Timofeevna. During his studies, Sergei Timofeevich was awarded certificates of merit and other awards.
In 1805, at the age of 14, Aksakov became a student at the newly founded Kazan University. Part of the gymnasium, where Sergei Timofeevich studied, was assigned to a new educational institution. Some teachers from it became university professors. The students were selected from among the best pupils of the gymnasium.
Passing a course of university lectures, at the same time Aksakov continued his studies at the gymnasium in some subjects. In the early days of the university's existence, there was no division into faculties, so all 35 first students studied many sciences: logic and higher mathematics, chemistry and anatomy, classical literature and history. In 1709, in March, Aksakov completed his studies. He received a certificate, which indicated, among other sciences, which Sergei Timofeevich knew only by hearsay. These subjects have not yet been taught at the university. During his studies, Aksakov developed a passion for hunting and theater. These passions continued throughout his life.
The first works were written at the age of 14 by S. T. Aksakov. His biography is marked by early recognition of his work. The first poem by Sergei Timofeevich was published in a magazine called "The Arcadian Shepherds". His staff tried to imitate Karamzin's sentimentality and signed with shepherd names: Amintov, Daphnisov, Irisov, Adonisov, and others. Sergei Timofeevich's poem "To the Nightingale" was appreciated by contemporaries. Aksakov, encouraged by this, in 1806, together with Alexander Panaev and Perevozchikov, who later became a famous mathematician, founded the Journal of Our Studies. In it, Aksakov was already an opponent of Karamzin. He became a follower of A. S. Shishkov. This man created "Discourses on the old and new style" and was the initiator of Slavophilism.
As we have already said, Aksakov was fond of the theater. Passion for him prompted him to create a student troupe. Sergei Timofeevich himself performed in organized performances, and at the same time showed stage talent.
The Aksakov family received a decent inheritance in 1807, which they inherited from their aunt Kuroyedova. The Aksakovs moved to Moscow, and a year later - to St. Petersburg, so that their daughter would be educated in the best educational institutions of the capital. S. T. Aksakov was fully mastered at that time by stage passion. At the same time, Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov began working as a translator in the commission that drafted laws. His brief biography was marked at this time by new acquaintances.
Aksakov wanted to improve his declamation. This desire led him to meet Shusherin, a famous actor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The young theatre-goer spent much of his free time talking about the stage and reciting with this man.
S. T. Aksakov acquired, in addition to theatrical acquaintances, others. He got along with Romanovsky, Labzin and A. S. Shishkov. With the latter, he became very close. Shishkov's declamatory talent contributed to this. Sergei Timofeevich staged performances in Shishkov's house.
In 1811, Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov decided to leave his job on the commission, whose brief biography is marked by new attempts to find something to his liking, because the previous service did not attract him. First, in 1812, Aksakov went to Moscow. After some time he moved to the village. Here he spent the years of the invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte. Aksakov, together with his father, signed up for the police.
Having visited Moscow for the last time, the writer got acquainted through Shusherin with a number of writers who lived here - Kokoshkin, Ilyin, Shatrov and others. A little earlier, Aksakov began working on the translation of Sophocles' tragedy "Philoctetes" by Lagarpov. This translation was required for Shusherin's benefit performance. In 1812 the tragedy was released.
In the period from 1814 to 1815, Sergei Timofeevich was in St. Petersburg and Moscow. At this time, he became friends with Derzhavin. Aksakov created the "Message to A. I. Kaznacheev" in 1816. It was first published in 1878 in the "Russian archive". In this work, the writer is indignant that the gallomania of the society of that time did not decrease after the French invasion.
A brief biography of Aksakov continues with his marriage to O. S. Zaplatina, the daughter of a Suvorov general. Her mother was a Turkish woman who, at the age of 12, was taken prisoner during the siege of Ochakov. The Turkish woman was brought up and baptized in Kursk, in the Voinov family. In 1792, Olga Semyonovna, the wife of Aksakov, was born. At the age of 30, the woman died.
Immediately after the wedding, Sergei Timofeevich went to the estate of Timofey Stepanovich, his father. Here, next year, the son Konstantin was born to the young spouses. Sergei Timofeevich lived without a break in his parents' house for 5 years. There was an increase in the family every year.
Sergei Timofeevich in 1821 gave his son the village of Nadezhino in the Orenburg province. This place is found under the name of Parashina in the family chronicle. Before moving there, Aksakov went to Moscow. Here he spent the winter of 1821.
A short biography of Aksakov continues in Moscow, where he renewed his acquaintance with the literary and theatrical world. Sergei Timofeevich struck up a friendship with Pisarev, Zagoskin, Shakhovsky, Kokoshkin, and others. The writer published a translation of Boileau's tenth satire. For this, Sergei Timofeevich was honored to become a member of the famous "Society of Lovers of Russian Literature".
In 1822, in the summer, Aksakov again went with his family to the Orenburg province. Here he remained without a break until 1826. Aksakov was not given any housekeeping. His children grew up and needed to be taught. The way out for Aksakov was to return to Moscow to take up a position here.
In 1826, in August, Sergei Timofeevich said goodbye to the village forever. From that time until his death, that is, about 30 years, he was only 3 times, and even then by accident, was in Nadezhina.
S. T. Aksakov, together with his six children, moved to Moscow. He renewed his friendship with Shakhovsky, Pisarev, and others. The biography of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov was noted at that time by translation works. In 1828 he took up the prose translation of Molière's "The Miser". And even earlier, in 1819, he outlined in verse the "School of Husbands" by the same writer.
Aksakov actively defended his comrades from Polevoy's attacks. He persuaded Pogodin, who published the Moskovsky Vestnik in the late 1820s, to start a Dramatic Addendum, which Aksakov was working on, in the journal. Sergei Timofeevich and Polev also quarreled on the pages of Raich's Galatea and Pavlov's Athenaeus. In 1829, Sergei Timofeevich read his translation of Boileau's eighth satire in the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature.
After some time, Aksakov transferred his enmity with Polevoy to censorship. In 1827 he became one of the members of the Moscow censorship committee. Sergey Timofeevich took this position thanks to the patronage of his friend A.S. Shishkov, who at that time was the Minister of Public Education. Sergey Aksakov served as a censor for about 6 years. At the same time, he served as chairman of the committee several times.
The biography of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (the later years of his life) is represented by the following main events. Aksakov began working at the survey school in 1834. Work here also continued for six years, until 1839. Aksakov was at first an inspector of the school. Some time later, when it turned into the Konstantinovsky Land Survey Institute, he took the position of its director. Sergei Timofeevich became disillusioned with the service. It had a very bad effect on his health. So in 1839 he decided to retire. In 1837, his father died, leaving a significant inheritance, on which Aksakov lived.
The circle of acquaintances of Sergei Timofeevich changed in the early 1830s. Pisarev died, Shakhovskoy and Kokoshkin lost their former influence, Zagoskin maintained a purely personal friendship with Aksakov. Sergei Timofeevich began to fall under the influence of a young university circle, which included Pogodin, Pavlov, Nadezhdin, along with his son Konstantin. In addition, Sergei Aksakov became close friends with Gogol (his portrait is presented above). His biography is marked by his acquaintance with Nikolai Vasilyevich in 1832. Their friendship lasted 20 years, until (March 4, 1852).
In 1834, Aksakov published a short story called "Buran" in the almanac "Dennitsa". This work became a turning point in his work. Sergei Aksakov, whose biography until that time had not been marked by the creation of such works, decided to turn to reality, freeing himself completely from false classical tastes. Following the path of realism, the writer in 1840 set about writing the Family Chronicle. The work was completed in 1846. Excerpts from the work were published in the Moscow Collection in 1846.
In the following year, 1847, another work by Aksakov appeared - Notes on Fishing. And a few years later, in 1852 - "Notes of a rifle hunter". These hunting notes were a great success. The name of Sergei Timofeevich became known throughout the country. His style was recognized as exemplary, and the characteristics of fish, birds and animals were recognized as masterful images. Aksakov's works were recognized by I. S. Turgenev, Gogol and others.
Then Sergei Timofeevich began to create memories of a family and literary nature. The Family Chronicle was published in 1856 and was a great success. The opinion of critics differed about this work, which is considered one of the best in the work of Sergei Timofeevich. For example, Slavophiles (Khomyakov) believed that Aksakov was the first among Russian writers to find positive traits in contemporary reality. Publicist critics (for example, Dobrolyubov), on the contrary, found negative characteristics in the Family Chronicle.
A sequel to this work was published in 1858. It is called "Childhood of Bagrov-grandson". This work was less successful.
The biography of Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich for children and adults is marked by a serious illness with which he had to fight in recent years. The writer's health deteriorated about 12 years before his death. Due to an eye disease, he was forced to stay in a dark room for a long time. The writer was not accustomed to a sedentary life, his body fell into disarray. At the same time, Aksakov lost one eye. The writer's illness began to cause him severe suffering in the spring of 1858. However, he endured them with patience and firmness. Sergei Timofeevich spent the last summer at his dacha, located near Moscow. When the disease receded, he dictated new works. This, for example, "Collecting butterflies." The work was published after the death of the writer, at the end of 1859.
A brief biography of Sergei Aksakov is marked by a move to Moscow in the autumn of 1858. He spent the next winter in great suffering. However, despite this, he still sometimes engaged in literature. At this time, Aksakov created "Winter Morning", "Natasha", "Meeting with the Martinists". Aksakov's biography ends in 1859, when Sergei Timofeevich died.
Many times appeared in separate editions. In particular, "Family Chronicle" went through 4 editions, and "Notes of a rifle hunter" - as many as 6. And in our time, interest in the life and work of such a writer as S. Aksakov does not fade away. The biography for children and adults presented in this article only briefly introduces his creative heritage. Many of his works are included in the golden fund of Russian literature.
Russian literature of the 19th century
Biography
SERGEY TIMOFEEVICH
Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, Russian writer, literary and theater critic, author of the books Notes on Fishing (1847), Notes of a Rifle Hunter in the Orenburg Province (1852), Hunter's Stories and Memories of Various Hunts (1855), Family chronicle" (1856); memoirs "Literary and theatrical memories" (1858), "The story of my acquaintance with Gogol" (1880) and many others, is best known to the general reader as the author of the story "Childhood of Bagrov-Vkuk" (1858) and the fairy tale "The Scarlet Flower", which was originally an appendix to the story. Books A. occupy a special place in Russian literature of the nineteenth century. Their main subject is unpretentious (the natural world, the patriarchal life of several generations of a noble family, family traditions), their language, according to many, is perfect. “We should all learn from him,” wrote I. S. Turgenev, admiring the language of Aksakov’s prose.
A. was born in 1791 in Ufa. His father, Timofey Stepanovich, was a prosecutor, his mother, Maria Nikolaevna, came from a bureaucratic aristocracy and was distinguished by a rare mind and education. M. N. Aksakova had an exceptional influence on the formation of the future writer, a rare relationship of trust and friendliness developed between mother and son.
A. spent his early years in Ufa and in the family estate of Novo-Aksakovo in the Orenburg province. He graduated from the Kazan Gymnasium and entered the Kazan University. Even in the gymnasium, he began to write poetry, "verses without rhymes", in the spirit of sentimental poetry. At the university, he became interested in theater, actively participated in the work of the student theater, and had the gift of recitation. The glory of the A.-reader was wide that G. R. Derzhavin was looking forward to the young man's arrival in St. Petersburg in order to listen to his poems performed by him.
In 1808, Mr.. A. arrives in St. Petersburg and enters the service of a government official. He meets G. R. Derzhavin, A. S. Shishkov, takes part in a meeting of a literary circle headed by Shishkov, “Conversation of lovers of the Russian word.” It debuted in print in 1812 with the fable ‘Three Canaries’. In 1811 he moved to Moscow, became close to the Moscow theatrical circles, translated the plays of Schiller, Molière, Boileau, appeared in print as a theater critic.
From 1820-1830s. the house of A., who in 1816 married the daughter of the Suvorov general O. S. Zaplatina, becomes one of the centers of the literary and theatrical life of Moscow. For many years, the largest Moscow figures of culture and art have been regularly gathering at Aksakov's Subbotniks - actor M.S. Shchepkin, historian M.P. Pogodin, writer M.N. Zagoskin, professors of Moscow University S.P. Shevyrev and N. I. Nadezhdin. In the spring of 1832, Gogol began to visit the Aksakovs, who maintained friendship with A. throughout his life. When the sons Konstantin and Ivan grew up (and there were 14 children in the A. family), a circle of Slavophiles settled in the Aksakovs' house, which included K. and I. Aksakovs, A. S. Khomyakov, the Kireevsky brothers. A. took an active part in their conversations and disputes.
In 1837, Mr.. A. buys the estate of Abramtsevo, where he is taken to work on the materials of the "Family Chronicle". A noticeable weakening of vision prompted A. to intensive literary work. A passionate hunter, fisherman and A. decides to describe his experience of ‘life in nature’ and related experiences and impressions.
In 1847, “Notes on Fishing” was published, which was preceded by an epigraph that largely determined the further direction of A.’s work: “I am leaving for the world of nature, for the world of tranquility, freedom ...” The book was a great success. Then there are "Notes of a rifle hunter of the Orenburg province" (1852), "stories and memoirs of a hunter about different hunts" (1855). The hunting trilogy is a genre of free memories with incidents, anecdotes, hunting tales, etc. included in the narrative text.
Autobiographical prose occupies the main place in A.'s artistic heritage. The "Family Chronicle" (1856) traces the life of three generations of the estate nobles of the Bagrovs. The book "Childhood of Bagrov-vkuk" (1858) is a continuation of the "Chronicle". At the same time, “childhood years” is a work written for children. In one of the letters to his granddaughter Olenka, his favorite, A. promises to compose a book for her “... about the young spring,// about the flowers of the fields, // about the little birds (...)// about the forest Mishka,// about the white mushroom (... )". In the process of work, the author's intention has significantly expanded and changed. A book appeared that described the life of a child from infancy to the age of nine against the backdrop of a carefully recreated life of a Russian estate of the late 18th century, against the backdrop of grandiose paintings of nature in terms of spirituality.
The main subject of the book was determined by the author himself - the life of a person in childhood, the children's world, created under the influence of daily new impressions ... The life of a person in a child. "Little Serezha grows, learns a world that seems bright, mysterious, endless to him. described in the book through the eyes of a little hero, feels the freshness and immediacy of children's perception.Everyday pictures, life, nature, experiences and impressions of Serezha, simple and important events of his life - conversations with his mother, the death of his grandfather, the birth of his brother are combined into a single canvas of the story book.
Seryozha Bagrov, of course, is an autobiographical hero, and, of course, inherits A.'s hallmark - a passionate love for nature, its deep understanding. So, the arrival of spring is an event of great importance in Serezha's life: "... everything was noticed by me accurately and attentively, and every moment of spring was celebrated by me as a victory." Nature is one of the main characters in the story. Her descriptions by A. are not paintings, not landscapes in the generally accepted sense, but life itself, breathing freely and manifesting itself in various ways. You need to have a special mentality, a special look, to feel it. The hero of the book has this gift to the fullest. “Finally, we drove into the urema (river floodplain - I.A.), a green, blooming fragrant urema. The merry singing of birds rushed from all sides (...) Whole swarms of bees, wasps and bumblebees curled and buzzed around the flowering trees. My God, what fun it was! - this is how Seryozha sees the Siberian spring.
The narrative is based on a leisurely, detailed and at the same time capacious oral story. The language of A. has long been recognized as a model of Russian literary speech. Gogol, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Belinsky, Tyutchev and others praised A.'s style. The book "Childhood of Bagrov-grandson" was very warmly received by critics and readers. In the history of Russian literature, A.'s story stood next to Tolstoy's trilogy "Childhood", "Adolescence", "Youth". Until now, the “childhood years of Bagrov the grandson” is one of the best works of autobiographical and memoir prose, in the center, of which the hero is a child.
Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich was born in the family of a prosecutor in 1791 on September 20 according to the old or October 1 according to the new calendar. His father's name was Timofey Stepanovich, and his mother was Maria Nikolaevna. The writer's parents were smart, educated and came from the bureaucratic aristocracy. Aksakov and his mother had an excellent relationship, they understood and trusted each other like no other. The family lived in the Orenburg province, Ufa, in their Novo-Aksakovo mansion. The guy began all his education with a gymnasium in Kazan, then he graduated from the university there. Started writing poetry. In 1808, the poet goes to serve in St. Petersburg. In 1811 he moved to Moscow, translating plays by German authors. Aksakov meets a girl - the daughter of General Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina, whom he marries in 1816. The Aksakov family becomes large, or rather 14 children. In 1837, the family bought the Abramtsev mansion, where he began his work on the Family Chronicle. Due to diligent writing, the author's eyesight noticeably sets. He begins to get involved in fishing and hunting. He sets out his observations in the book Notes on Fishing in 1847. Then he takes up writing books about hunting: "Stories and memories of a hunter about different hunts" and "Notes of a rifle hunter in the Orenburg province." Also, Aksakov’s book “I’m leaving for the world of nature, the world of tranquility, freedom ...” was a great success among Aksakov’s readers.
(1791-1859)
Famous Russian writer. The offspring of an old noble family, Aksakov undoubtedly received in childhood vivid impressions of the proud family consciousness of this generosity. Grandfather Stepan Mikhailovich dreamed that his grandson would become the successor of the “famous Shimon family” - the legendary Varangian, the nephew of the King of Norway, who left for Russia in 1027.
Love for nature - completely alien to his mother, a true city dweller - the future writer inherited from his father. In the initial development of his personality, everything fades into the background before the influence of the steppe nature, with which the first awakening of his observation, his first sense of life, his early hobbies are inextricably linked. Along with nature, peasant life intruded into the awakening thought of the boy. Peasant labor gave birth in him not only compassion, but also respect. The female half of the household, as always, the keeper of folk poetry, introduced the boy to songs, fairy tales, Christmas games. And the “Scarlet Flower”, written down many years later from memory from the story of the housekeeper Pelageya, is only a small fragment of that huge world of folk poetry, into which the boy was introduced to the household, the maiden, the village. But urban literature came earlier than folk literature. With his characteristic ecstasy, he plunged into Kheraskov's Rossiada and Sumarokov's works; he was “driven crazy” by the tales of “A Thousand and One Nights”, and along with them, Karamzin’s “My trifles” and his “Aonides” were read.
Quite early, the influences of the state school joined the domestic and rural influences. And the Kazan gymnasium, where Aksakov entered in the tenth year of his life, and the new teacher, the stern and intelligent Kartashevsky, and comrades, and new interests - all this was reduced to a whole world that had a beneficial effect on the soul open to impressions. The gymnasium was above the usual level; even according to the plan of the founders, it was supposed to be something like a lyceum. Aksakov spent only three and a half years at the gymnasium, the end of which was enriched with new literary interests. He spent only a year and a half at the university, also continuing to take lessons at the gymnasium, but these year and a half mean a lot in his development. It is even difficult to say what played a big role here: collecting butterflies or a comradely magazine that he published together with I. Panaev, a passion for the theater or literary disputes, the French lectures of the naturalist Fuchs undoubtedly played a major role in strengthening Aksakov’s innate observation skills, which later gave I.S. Turgenev has the right to place him in certain respects above Buffon. Here he comprehended his love for nature, here he consolidated his love for literature.
Having received a university certificate, Aksakov spent a year in the countryside and in Moscow, and then moved with his family to St. Petersburg. Kartashevsky had already prepared for his pupil a position of translator in the commission for drafting laws, where he himself was an assistant editor. In St. Petersburg, Aksakov became close friends with the artist Shusherin, visited Admiral Shishkov, met many actors and writers, was ardently fond of the theater, talked a lot about literature, but it is not clear that any kind of search in one area or another occupied him. There is nothing to say about political thought; she passed him, and he fully joined Shishkov's tastes. Prince Shikhmatov seemed to him a great poet. Derzhavin and Dmitriev, Count Khvostov, Prince Shakhovskoy and others gathered at Shishkov's, and later compiled the conservative Conversation of the Russian Word. During these years, Aksakov lived either in St. Petersburg, or in Moscow, or in the countryside. After his marriage (1816) to Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina, he tried to settle in the countryside. For five years he lived with his parents, but in 1820 he received the same Nadezhdino (Orenburg province), which had once been the field of villainy of Kuroyedov depicted by him, as a fiefdom.
In August 1826, Aksakov parted ways with the village - and forever. He visited here on a visit, lived for a long time in his suburban area, but, in essence, until his death he remained a resident of the capital. In Moscow, he met with his old patron Shishkov, now the Minister of Public Education, and easily received from him the position of censor. There are various opinions about Aksakov's censorship activities, but, in general, he was soft-spoken; formalism was not tolerated by his nature. Proximity with Pogodin expanded the circle of literary acquaintances. His “new and devoted friends” were Yuri Venelin, professors P.S. Shchepkin, M.G. Pavlov, then N.I. Nadezhdin. Theatrical connections have also been renewed; M.S. was a frequent guest. Shchepkin; there were Mochalov and others. In 1832 Aksakov had to change his service; he was dismissed from the post of censor because he missed I.V. Kireevsky "European" article "The Nineteenth Century". With Aksakov's connections, it was not difficult to settle down, and the following year he received the position of inspector of the land surveying school, and then, when it was transformed into the Konstantinovsky Land Survey Institute, he was appointed its first director and organizer. In 1839, Aksakov, now secured with a large fortune, which he inherited after the death of his father, left the service and, after some hesitation, did not return to it. All this time he wrote little, and what he wrote was very insignificant: a number of theater reviews and a few short articles. His translation of Molière's "The Miser" was shown at the Moscow theater for Shchepkin's benefit performance. In 1830, his story “The Minister's Recommendation” was published in the Moscow Bulletin (without a signature). Finally, in 1834, in the almanac "Dennitsa" appeared, also without a signature, his essay "Buran". This is the first work that speaks of the real Aksakov.
Sons grew up, little like Aksakov in temperament, mental disposition, ideological interests. The ardent youth, with its lofty intellectual aspirations, with its extreme seriousness, with its new literary tastes, could not have had an influence on a man of forty, who by nature was not inclined to change. Aksakov was born somewhat prematurely. His talent was created for new forms of literary creativity, but it was not in his power to create these forms. And when he found them - perhaps not only in Gogol, but also in The Captain's Daughter and Belkin's Tales - he was able to take advantage of the richness of expression that they provided to his natural powers of observation. A writer was born in him. This was in the mid-1930s, and since then Aksakov's work has developed smoothly and fruitfully. Following the “Buran”, the “Family Chronicle” was started.
Already in these years, a certain popularity surrounded Aksakov. His name was respected. The Academy of Sciences elected him more than once as a reviewer for awards. He was considered a man of council and reason; the liveliness of his mind, supported by closeness with young people, gave him the opportunity to move forward, if not in the socio-political or moral-religious worldview, the foundations of which, learned in childhood, he always remained true, then in concrete manifestations of these general principles. He was patient and kind. Not only being a scientist, but also not possessing sufficient education, alien to science, he nevertheless was a moral authority for his friends, many of whom were famous scientists. Old age was approaching, blooming, calm, creative.
Temporarily leaving the Family Chronicle, he turned to natural science and hunting memoirs, and his Notes on Fishing (1847) was his first wide literary success. The author did not expect him, and did not especially want to appreciate him: he simply “left” for himself in his notes. The ideological struggle, which captured everyone, reached extreme tension, and the rapidly aging Aksakov could not survive its ups and downs. He was ill, his eyesight was weakening, and in the village of Abramtsevo near Moscow, in the fishery on the idyllic Thief, he willingly forgot about all the wickedness of the day. “Notes of a rifle hunter of the Orenburg province” was published in 1852 and caused even more enthusiastic reviews. Among these reviews, the most interesting is the well-known article by I.S. Turgenev.
Simultaneously with hunting memories and characteristics, the ideas of stories about childhood and immediate ancestors matured. Shortly after the release of “ Notes of a rifle hunter”, new passages from the “Family Chronicle” began to appear in magazines, and in 1856 it was published as a separate book. Everyone was in a hurry to pay tribute to the talent, and this noisy unanimity of criticism was only an echo of the enormous success of the book in society. Everyone noted the truthfulness of the story, the ability to combine historical truth with artistic processing. The joys of literary success softened the hardships of these last years for Aksakov. The material well-being of the family was shaken; Aksakov's health was getting worse. He was almost blind - both with stories and dictation of memories he filled the time that not so long ago he gave to fishing, hunting and active communication with nature.
A number of works marked these last years of his life. "Family Chronicle" received its continuation in the "Childhood of Bagrov-grandson". A long series of minor literary works moved in parallel with the family memoirs. Partly, like, for example, “Remarks and Observations of a Hunter to Take Mushrooms”, they are adjacent to his natural scientific observations, while in a significant part they continue his autobiography. “Literary and theatrical memoirs” were published, included in “Various Works” (1858), “The History of My Acquaintance with Gogol”. These last works were written during the intervals of a serious illness from which Aksakov died in Moscow.
It has rightly been said about Aksakov that he grew up all his life, grew with his time, and that his literary biography is, as it were, the embodiment of the history of Russian literature during the time of his activity. Russian literature honors in him the best of its memoirists, an indispensable cultural historian of everyday life, an excellent landscape painter and observer of the life of nature, and finally, a classic of the language.
