Russian writer Veresaev Vikentiy Vikentievich (Smidovich) occupies a special place in the galaxy of Russian prose writers. Today he is lost in the background of his outstanding contemporaries L.N. Tolstoy, M. Saltykov-Shchedrin, A. Chekhov, M. Gorky, I. Bunin, M. Sholokhov, but he has his own style, his highest services to Russian literature and a number of excellent works.
Family and childhood
Veresaev Vikentiy Vikentievich was born, whose biography was associated with two vocations: a doctor and a writer, January 4, 1867 in Tula. The family of the future writer was a lot of nationalities. My mother’s parents were Mirgorod Ukrainian and Greek, on the paternal side in the family were Germans and Poles. The family name of the writer - Smidovich, belonged to the ancient Polish noble family. His father was a doctor, he founded the first city hospital in Tula, initiated the creation of a sanitary commission in the city, and stood at the origins of the Tula Society of Doctors. Mother Vincent was a highly educated noblewoman, she was the first in the city to open a kindergarten in her house, and then an elementary school. The family had 11 children, three died in childhood. All children were given a high-quality education, representatives of the local intelligentsia were constantly in the house, discussions were held about the art of politics and the fate of the country. In this atmosphere a boy grew up, who in the future himself will become a prominent representative of the Russian educated nobility. Since childhood, Vincent has been reading books, they especially loved the adventure genre, especially Mine Reed and Gustave Emar. Starting from adolescence, the future writer actively helped the family every summer, he worked on a par with the peasants: mowing, plowing, and carrying hay, so he knew firsthand the severity of agricultural work.
Study
Vincent Veresaev grew up in a family where education was compulsory for everyone. The boy’s parents themselves were enlightened people, had an excellent library and instilled a love of learning for children. Veresaev had very good natural humanitarian inclinations: excellent memory, interest in languages ​​and history. He studied very diligently in the gymnasium, and each class finished with an award among the first students, he achieved particular success in knowledge of ancient languages ​​and from the age of 13 he began to engage in translations. He graduated from high school Veresaev with a silver medal. In 1884, he enters the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, which he graduates with a Ph.D. in history. But the fascination with the ideas of Narodism, the influence of the views of D. Pisarev and N. Mikhailovsky inspired him to enter the Faculty of Medicine in 1888 at the University of Derpt (Tartu). The young man rightly believed that the profession of a physician would allow him to "go to the people" and benefit him. While still a student, in 1892 he traveled to the Yekaterinoslav province, where he worked as the head of the sanitary barrack during the cholera epidemic.
Life ups and downs
In 1894, after graduating from university, Veresaev returned to Tula, where he began to work as a doctor. Vikenty Veresaev, whose biography is now connected with medicine, during his medical practice carefully watched the lives of people and took notes, which then became literary works. So in his life two of the most important deeds of life intertwined. Two years later, Veresaev moved to St. Petersburg, he was invited as one of the best graduates of the medical faculty to work in the St. Petersburg barracks (future Botkin) hospital for acute patients. Five years he works there as a resident and head of the library. In 1901, he embarked on a long trip across Russia and Europe, he talks a lot with leading writers of that time, and watches the life of people. In 1903 he moved to Moscow, where he intended to devote himself to literature. With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Vikentiy Vikentyevich was mobilized as a doctor, and he became a junior resident in a mobile field hospital in Manchuria. The impressions of that time will later become the subject of several of his works. During the First World War, he was also a military doctor in Kolomna, was involved in organizing the work of the Moscow military-sanitary detachment.
The progressively-minded Veresaev accepted both Russian revolutions; he saw them as a blessing for the country. After the October Revolution, he became chairman of the Art and Education Commission at the Council of Workers' Deputies in Moscow. From 1918 to 1921 he lived in the Crimea and was an eyewitness to the fierce battles between white and red, this period of deprivation and hardship will also become a source of stories for literary works. Since 1921, the writer lives in Moscow, writes and actively participates in educational and organizational activities.
During World War II, an elderly writer was evacuated to Tbilisi. He managed to see the victory of the USSR in the war and died on June 3, 1945 in Moscow.
The first literary experiments
Veresaev Vincent begins to write at the gymnasium age, initially the young man saw himself as a poet. His first publication is the poem Meditation, published under the pseudonym V. Vikentiev in the magazine Fashion Light and Fashion Store in 1885. Two years later, in the magazine "World Illustration" under the pseudonym Veresaev, he publishes the story "Riddle", in which he gives his answers to the main questions of life: what is happiness and what is the meaning of life. Since that time, literature has become a permanent occupation of Vincent Vikentyevich.
Becoming a master
Vincent Veresaev from the very beginning of his path in literature defined his direction as the path of search, in his works he reflected the painful throwings of the Russian intelligentsia, which he himself experienced, going from a passion for populism and Marxism to moderate patriotism. Almost immediately, he realized that poetry was not his way, and turned to prose. At first he tries himself in small forms: he writes short stories, short stories. In 1892, he published a series of essays "Underground Kingdom" about the life and hard work of Donetsk miners. Then he first used the pseudonym Veresaev, which became his literary name. In 1894 he published the novel “Without a Road”, in which in a figurative form he narrates about the search for the way, the meaning of life, by the Russian public and the intelligentsia. In 1897, the novel "Poveritie" continues the same theme, recording the acquisition by the young generation of the leading social-democratic idea.
Years of fame
In 1901, Veresaev's Notes of a Doctor were published, which brought him fame throughout the country. In them, the writer talks about the path of the young doctor, about the realities of the profession that were usually hushed up, about experiments on patients, about the moral severity of this work. The work showed a great writing talent Veresaev, subtle psychologism and observation of the author. Since that time, he has been included in the galaxy of leading writers of the country, along with Garshin and Gorky. The progressive views of the writer did not go unnoticed, and authorities send him under supervision to Tula to reduce his activity.
In 1904-1906, his notes on the Japanese War were published, in which he spoke almost directly about the need to confront the rule of the autocracy. Veresaev Vincent is also engaged in book publishing, is a member of various literary associations. After the revolution, he actively participates in educational work, participates in the publication of new magazines. After the revolution, Veresaev Vincent Vikentyevich also turned to large forms and literary criticism. Works in the form of "critical research" about Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche became a new word in literary and fiction. The author has always sought to “educate young people”, to convey high ideals and educational ideas. Out of his pen are excellent critical biographical essays about I. Annensky, A. Chekhov, L. Andreev, V. Korolenko.
The writer pays a lot of time to translation activities, in his presentation many works from ancient Greek poetry were published. For them, Veresaev was even awarded the Pushkin Prize. Even on his last day, Vincent Vikentyevich was editing the translation of Homer's Iliad.
Writing method
Veresaev Vincent linked his writer's fate with the “new life”, in this he echoes M. Gorky. His writing style is distinguished not only by vivid realism, but also by the most subtle psychological observations of his own experiences. Autobiography has become a hallmark of his work. He outlined his impressions of life in an essay series of notes. Worldview searches found expression in the stories that Vincent Veresaev became famous. “Competition”, “Eitimia” and some other stories became his story about his personal life and thoughts about the female ideal.
Veresaev’s most creative essence was expressed in such works as the novels “At a Dead End” and “Sisters”.
Criticism and reviews
Veresaev Vincent during his life was rather favorably received by critics, he was noted as a relevant and advanced author. Modern literary scholars rarely turn to the writer's work, which, however, does not mean his lack of creative finds and talented works. Feedback from modern readers is also rare, but very supportive. Veresaev’s modern connoisseurs celebrate his magnificent style and consonance with the worldview aspirations of modern youth.
Private life
Veresaev Vincent Vikentyevich was constantly absorbed in his work. In life, he was a simple and very friendly and welcoming person. He was married to his second cousin Maria Germogenovna. The couple did not have children. In general, he lived a prosperous life, filled with work and participation in the organization of the educational and creative process in the country.