A significant event in domestic and world history is the invention of typography. In Russia, this innovation came in the region of the 16th century. One of the figures whose name is associated with the advent of printing in the time of Ivan the Terrible, is the famous Ivan Fedorov. The story of this man is familiar not only to adults and enlightened people. The biography of Ivan Fedorov , the first printer, is available for children to study at school.
How did it all start?
Each person in history has an interesting and unique line of his own destiny. Life sometimes takes unexpected turns. Everyone has come across this. And, of course, no exception - and a pioneer in the field of Russian printing.
The biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, begins with tradition. The chronological framework of his birth ranges from 1510 to 1530. Oddly enough, there was no reliable information about where exactly the first printer was born and spent his childhood. But, in all likelihood, this happened in the Kaluga province. There is information that he held the post of deacon of the church of St. Nicholas of Gostunsky. He taught literacy, like many clergymen in churches. Already in 1532 he graduated from the University of Cracow. This is evidenced by the fact that the first printer had a bachelor's degree.
Church service
As a result of his work, Metropolitan Makarii met the first printer Ivan Fedorov. A brief biography says that perhaps this was the impetus for the fact that soon the first Russian Tsar would entrust Fedorov with such an important matter as printing the first book - the Apostle.
As you know, Macarius was close to Ivan the Terrible, and, noticing a capable young man, could contribute to his future fate.
By order of the king in the 1550s, work began on the development of the first Moscow printing house. Fonts and other equipment necessary for the functioning of the printing business were selected in a special way. Initially, enterprises were anonymous. But then this business began to spread widely.
The birth of the first Russian book - The Apostle
The biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, prepared for children, mainly tells about the creation of the first printed book. In 1564, the first Russian printed book in the Slavic language, The Apostle, was published. An active part in her appearance was taken by Ivan Fedorov and his assistants - Peter Mstislavets and Marusha Nerefyev. Preparations for this event took about a year. The completion of the work was marked by success, since this copy was much better than previous books in terms of their qualities. This work received the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius, but, unfortunately, Macarius did not live up to the time when the Apostle was published.
That's what Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, is famous for. A biography for children, it happens, draws attention only to this.
But, of course, everything was not limited to one book. Typography has gained wider scope. In 1565, at the behest of Ivan the Terrible, another liturgical book was to be published under the title The Hourglass. This was done by Peter Mstislavets and Ivan Fedorov (first printer). The biography indicates that two copies were made. Subsequently, she rendered great benefit to society. Various prayers and songs were captured there. According to them, a daily church rite was performed. But the main thing is that it was through her that they began to teach reading.
Pursuit of the First Printers
But the situation actually worsened. Many were unprofitable development of typography. Firstly, the census takers, who, in fact, lost their position, and consequently, their monetary profit. The upper strata of the population were also dissatisfied, they were afraid that raising the level of public education would subsequently lead to the fact that they would lose their privileges. The people risked the appearance of ideas that would help to organize a rebellion against officials, landowners, clergy and so on. There was also an opinion that in manuscript books, since this is the hard work of a particular person, the soul was invested. And printing on machines did not carry such properties, and was taken for something unclean. The biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, talks about the difficult situation of the leader.
The culmination was a fire that occurred in 1566 in a printing house. Moreover, the activity of pioneers in typography began to be considered heresy. After this event, it was decided that the first printers, including Petr Mstislavets and Ivan Fedorov, should go to Lithuania.
Work in Lithuania
In Zabludov, the estate of Hetman Khodkevich, a printing house was organized. The first book to be published from this printing house was The Teaching Gospel. Subsequently, the book was given the name Zabludovsky. This momentous event took place in 1568-1569. Again the work was led by the very same first printers. But the further activities of these people are disconnected. As explained by a brief biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, he remains and continues to work in Zabludov. Peter Mstislavets goes to Vilna. As a result of his work in Zabludovo, Ivan Fedorov created the book "Psalter with the Theodore."
But here, fate brought another unpleasant surprise that Ivan Fedorov (first printer) encountered. The biography reads as follows. Khodasevich because of old age, unwillingness to participate in the organization of the printing yard, the lack of a lot of money decided to stop the functioning of the printing house. Khodasevich offers Ivan Fedorov to take up farming, but he refuses, for he considers himself not intended for such a thing. He leaves Zabludovo by 1573.
Moving to Lviv
A brief biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, indicates that he independently had to transport all the tools necessary for the functioning of the printing business. Here, the man managed to organize his own printing house. The work began again, and in 1574 the first printed book in Ukraine, the Apostle, was published with the same name as the Moscow one. In content, it is also similar to the one that was released back in 1564. True, something was added here. For example, a few introductory texts. At the end, there appeared a rather interesting afterword, which was personally composed by Ivan Fedorov, the first printer. The biography has kept the lines: "This story shows where this print started from and how it was created." This is what the title of the afterword looked like. Through the work of Ivan Fedorov, about a thousand reprints of The Apostle were accomplished. This meant that typography developed not only in Russia, but also on the territory of modern Ukraine.
In 1574, the printing house of Ivan Fedorov published the ABC - the first East Slavic textbook that we have heard about several times. Books were small in size and contained everything that was needed to study literacy.
Ostrog Bible
Next, the following event occurs. In 1575, Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, received an invitation from Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhsky. The biography of the prince calls him one of the richest personalities of the Polish-Lithuanian state. There was a proposal to arrange a new printing house in Ostrog in Volyn, that is, in the estate of Konstantin Ostrogsky. The prince himself took care of the development of science and education in his lands. An Orthodox school was even organized there. In 1578, the next ABC was published, for which the first printer Ivan Fedorov was responsible. A brief biography adds that a year earlier work began on the famous "Bible", which was released in 1580.
It is even more important in that it is the first fully published Bible written in Church Slavonic.
Sunset of life
In 1582, the first printer Ivan Fedorov returned to Lvov to his family. He wants to continue his work. But the plan cannot be fully implemented. In 1583, he leaves this world. He was buried in St. Onufrievsky Monastery, and over the grave they laid a slab with the inscription "Drukar (that is, the printer) of books that had never been seen before." It is this title that Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, secures for himself.
The biography for children and adults ends here. The memory of the great printer was forever preserved in Russian history.