Glinka Fedor Nikolaevich, whose biography is the subject of this review, was a versatile person. He was a poet, writer, prose writer, officer, publicist. His creative heritage occupies a prominent place in Russian literature of the 19th century and was highly appreciated by Pushkin, as well as by a number of contemporaries.
Features of the era
Creativity should be seen in the context of the era. Fedor Nikolayevich Glinka lived a long life, he became a witness and participant in the major events of the century. His worldview was determined by the socio-political thought of the era when the educated part of society was in an active search for new ideas and directions. In addition, at this time discussions began on the ways of development of our country and its comparison with the peculiarities of Western European history.
The events of the indicated time contributed a lot to this. Fedor Nikolaevich Glinka was born in the reign of Catherine II, when Russia took the place of one of the leading world powers. He became an eyewitness and participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, and subsequently - the Decembrist movement. All these events influenced the thinking of the intelligentsia of the 19th century.
Briefly about the biography
Fedor Nikolaevich Glinka was born in 1786 in the current Smolensk region. He received a cadet education and was a soldier by profession. He was an adjutant to General Miloradovich and, together with the Russian army, participated in major military events of the beginning of the century. During these years, our country was at war with Napoleonic France, and he took an active part in it. Fyodor Nikolayevich Glinka, whose brief biography includes this most important stage in his life, subsequently issued letters that were, in fact, memoirs about the military campaign of the beginning of the century. At the end of hostilities, he retired, led the noble militia, traveled to different provinces.
Participation in public life
When the war of 1812 began, he returned to military service and again became adjutant of Miloradovich. Fedor Nikolaevich Glinka participated in the largest battles of this war, as well as in foreign campaigns of the Russian army. Subsequently, he published his recollections of these events, which brought him his first literary fame. Subsequently, he moved to the capital and entered the service of the office of its Governor General. However, then he became a member of the Decembrist societies. Glinka Fedor Nikolaevich, a biographical note about which includes this, in fact, a crucial stage in his life, nevertheless adjoined the moderate wing of this movement. He himself was a supporter of the constitutional monarchy, so he soon left these societies because of their radical views. After the defeat of the Decembrists, he was exiled to Petrozavodsk, where he entered the clerical service.
A new stage of literary activity
Here Fedor Nikolaevich Glinka began studying local folklore, the result of which was the translation of several folk works and poems. He also wrote an essay in poetic form "Karelia", which was subsequently published. Being disgraced, he soon settled in Tver, where he married. He continued his literary studies, engaging in topography, archeology, and geography. The results of his scientific research were highly appreciated, published, for which he received an award from the geographical society. The above facts prove how versatile a man Fedor Nikolayevich Glinka was. Moscow subsequently became his place of residence. During these years he became close to the Slavophiles, participated in editorial activities, and actively published his poetic works and essays.
Friendship with Pushkin
Interesting facts from his life include the author’s relationship with Pushkin. The latter highly appreciated his work, as can be seen from his correspondence with friends. Both supported each other in difficult circumstances. For example, when Alexander Sergeyevich was exiled, Glinka supported him with a poetic appeal. He, in turn, visited him during the years of exile and contributed to the publication of his works. He appreciated in his works the freshness of thought and the immediacy of the poetic form, although he sometimes noted some lexical inaccuracy. After the death of the poet, he wrote memories of his life and work. Another interesting fact in his biography is that he became close to the prominent historian of the time Pogodin and collaborated with his journal. The prose writer Fedor Nikolaevich Glinka lived a long life. In recent years, he remained in Tver and, despite his advanced age, was elected at one time a vowel. He died in 1880.
Creation
As mentioned above, the author was a very versatile person. In addition to writing his own essays, he was engaged in publishing and translation activities, was fond of natural science research, and took an active part in the socio-political life of the country. Fedor Nikolayevich Glinka, poet, prose writer and publicist, took a prominent place in Russian literature. Of particular importance is his civic lyrics. Perhaps she was especially popular among his contemporaries. In addition, he wrote a number of poems, which were subsequently put on music and became popular folk songs: “Three”, “Song of the Prisoner”. An interesting fact is that in a free paraphrase, the last work was later quoted by Blok in his poem.
About some works
Fedor Nikolayevich Glinka, biography, creativity, the prose of which is an important stage in the history of Russian literature, is also known for his spiritual poetry. Religious themes occupy a prominent place in his work. But to the general reading public he is known primarily as the author of the famous "Letters of the Russian Officer", in which, as mentioned above, it was about memories of military operations during the Napoleonic Wars. He also owns a number of other historical works, for example, “Zinovy-Bogdan Khmelnitsky”. He also wrote works for popular reading ("Gift to the Russian soldier" and others).
Value
The activities of the author should be considered as one of the prominent stages in the history of Russian literature. It is significant that, like many of his contemporaries, he devoted himself to several branches of knowledge at once, being engaged in both literature and the natural sciences. In addition, he took an active socio-political position, although he sided with the moderate wing and advocated the preservation of the monarchy in Russia and the moderate nature of the reforms.
The most popular was his civic activism, which, however, is not surprising: he was a participant in the Patriotic War, so his patriotic poems sounded especially lively and convincing. He left a mark after himself as a public figure. He was engaged in publishing magazines, was chairman of the society of lovers of Russian literature, a member of the Green Lamp. His military activity coincided with the time of Russia's active foreign policy, which, of course, affected the tone of his compositions. His name is not as widely known as others, however, at one time it was a prominent figure. His versatile interests and undoubted literary talent have earned him wide popularity in the educated circles of Russian society. Glinka Fedor Nikolaevich, whose collected works was reprinted in Soviet times, occupies a prominent place in the history of not only literary, but also the socio-political life of Russia in the 19th century.