Probably the most accurate example of Russian literature of the Enlightenment is D.I. Fonvizin, the biography of this man is vivid evidence of this. Fonvizin chose comedy with his weapon, his sharp satirical works reflect the state of affairs in the Russian Empire of that period. The views of Fonvizin significantly influenced the minds of the young generation of the 19th century, in particular A.S. Pushkin, who considered Fonvizin "a friend of freedom."
Childhood and youth
In April 1745, D.I. Fonvizin was born, the biography of an outstanding writer began in Moscow. The surname Fonvizin came from an ancient knightly family. The ancestor of Denis Ivanovich had German roots and was a knight who fell into Russian captivity during the Livonian War. The father of the future writer was a man of honor and did not tolerate lies and ignorance. It was the father who gave the son the initial home education, taking this very seriously.
At the age of ten, Denis Fonvizin enters the nobility gymnasium, and then at the recently opened MV Lomonosov Moscow University. During these years, D.I. Fonvizin, the biography of the young man has such information, was fond of translations from foreign languages and the theater. These hobbies will affect the entire life of the writer. Together with translations, Fonvizin absorbed the ideas of European Enlightenment, and the theater aroused a literary gift in the youth.
At the age of 17, Fonvizin moved to St. Petersburg and entered the service of a foreign college as a translator. Since now he has become a court servant, according to his status, he was obliged to attend all entertainment events, such as
balls, masquerades. This duty greatly weighed the young man, as evidenced by numerous letters.
In the service of Count Panin
In 1769, Fonvizin transferred to the service of the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and the heir educator Count Panin. At that time, the count was known as a democrat and put a lot of effort to mitigate the autocratic despotism. Catherine II in words advocated an "enlightened" monarchy, but in fact her actions testified to
the opposite. Having fallen into disgrace, Count Panin died in 1783, leaving on his own a “political testament” written down by his secretary, like-minded person and friend D. I. Fonvizin.
Conflict with Catherine II
Leaving the service after the death of the count, D.I. Fonvizin began working on the creation of a dictionary of the Russian language, namely its part related to synonyms. Performing this work, D.I. Fonvizin, the biography unequivocally speaks about this fact, could not resist, so as not to let go of the pangs about the style of government, as well as jokes about courtiers. These articles were published in the journal “Interlocutor of the lovers of the Russian word”, where the empress was also published under the pseudonym. A dispute arose between her and Fonvizin, the result of which was a ban on printing any works of Fonvizin.
last years of life
All misfortunes fell on the head of D.I. Fonvizin overnight. Deprived of the opportunity to publish his work, having experienced the bitterness of defeat in the political struggle, the ruined and seriously ill Fonvizin slowly faded away. Died, as evidenced by a brief biography, D.I. Fonvizin December 1, 1792 in St. Petersburg.