The writer, philosopher and journalist Nikolai Chernyshevsky was popular during his life in a narrow readership. With the advent of Soviet power, his work (especially the novel "What to do?") Became a textbook. Today, his name is one of the symbols of Russian literature of the 19th century.
Childhood and youth
Nikolai Chernyshevsky, whose biography began in Saratov, was born in the family of a provincial priest. The father himself was engaged in the education of the child. From him Chernyshevsky passed on religiosity, which came to naught in his student years, when the young man was carried away by revolutionary ideas. Since childhood, Kolenka read a lot and swallowed a book for a book, which surprised everyone around him.
In 1843 he entered the Saratov Theological Seminary, but, without finishing it, continued his education at the University of St. Petersburg. Chernyshevsky, whose biography was related to the humanities, chose the Faculty of Philosophy.
At the university, the future writer formed socio-political views. He became a Utopian socialist. His ideology was influenced by members of the circle of Irinarch Vvedensky, with whom the student talked and argued a lot. At the same time, he began his literary work. The first works of art were just training and remained unpublished.
Teacher and journalist
After receiving education, Chernyshevsky, whose biography was now associated with pedagogy, became a teacher. He taught in Saratov, and then returned to the capital. In the same years, he met his wife Olga Vasilyeva. The wedding took place in 1853.
The beginning of journalistic activity of Chernyshevsky was connected with Petersburg. In the same 1853, he began to be published in the newspapers Otechestvennye Zapiski and Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti. But most of all, Nikolai Gavrilovich was known as a member of the editorial board of Sovremennik magazine. There existed several circles of writers, each of which defended his position.
Work in the "Contemporary"
Nikolai Chernyshevsky, whose biography was already known in the literary environment of the capital, became most close to Dobrolyubov and Nekrasov. These authors were passionate about revolutionary ideas that they wanted to express in Sovremennik.
Several years before, civil riots took place throughout Europe, which echoed throughout Russia. For example, Louis-Philippe was overthrown in Paris by the bourgeoisie. And in Austria, the nationalist movement of the Hungarians was suppressed only after Nicholas I came to the rescue of the emperor, who sent several regiments to Budapest. The tsar, whose reign began with the suppression of the Decembrist uprising, was afraid of revolutions and strengthened censorship in Russia.
This aroused the concern of the liberals in Sovremennik. They (Ivan Turgenev, Vasily Botkin, Alexander Druzhinin and others) did not want the radicalization of the magazine.
Chernyshevsky’s activities increasingly attracted the attention of the state and officials responsible for censorship. A striking event was the public defense of the dissertation on art, in which the writer delivered a revolutionary speech. In protest, the Minister of Education Avraam Norov did not give the award to Nikolai Gavrilovich. Only after he was replaced in this position by the more liberal Evgraf Kovalevsky, did the writer become a master of Russian literature.
Views Chernyshevsky
It is important to note some features of Chernyshevsky's views. They were influenced by schools such as French materialism and Hegelianism. As a child, the writer was a zealous Christian, but in adulthood he began to actively criticize religion, as well as liberalism and the bourgeoisie.
Especially violently he branded serfdom. Even before the Manifesto on the Liberation of the Peasants of Alexander II was published, the writer described the future reform in many articles and essays. He proposed radical measures, including the transfer of land to peasants at no cost. However, the manifesto had little to do with these utopian programs. Since redemption payments were established that prevented the peasants from becoming completely free, Chernyshevsky regularly scolded this document. He compared the situation of Russian peasants with the life of black slaves in the USA.
Chernyshevsky believed that already 20 or 30 years after the liberation of the peasants, the country would get rid of capitalist agriculture, and socialism with a communal form of ownership would come. Nikolai Gavrilovich advocated the creation of phalanxes - premises in which residents of future communes would work together for mutual benefit. This project was utopian, which is not surprising, because its author was Charles Fourier. The phalanx was described by Chernyshevsky in one of the chapters of the novel "What to do?"
"Earth and will"
The propaganda of the revolution continued. One of her inspirers was Nikolai Chernyshevsky. A brief biography of the writer in any textbook necessarily contains at least a paragraph stating that it was he who became the founder of the famous movement “Earth and Freedom”. It really is. In the second half of the 50s, Chernyshevsky began to have a lot of contact with Alexander Herzen. This journalist went to emigration due to pressure from the authorities. In London, he began to publish the Russian-language newspaper The Bell. She became the mouthpiece of the revolutionaries and socialists. Her secret circulations were sent to Russia, where the numbers were very popular among radical students.
It was printed in it and Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky. The biography of the writer was known to any socialist in Russia. In 1861, with his passionate participation (as well as the influence of Herzen), the “Earth and Freedom” appeared. This movement united a dozen circles in the largest cities of the country. It included writers, students and other supporters of revolutionary ideas. It is interesting that Chernyshevsky even managed to drag the officers with whom he collaborated, being printed in military magazines.
Members of the organization were engaged in propaganda and criticism of the tsarist authorities. “Going to the people” over the years has become a historical joke. Agitators who tried to find a common language with the peasants, they themselves were given to the police. For many years, revolutionary views did not find a response in the common people, remaining the destiny of a narrow layer of intelligentsia.
Arrest
Over time, Chernyshevsky’s biography, briefly, became interested in secret investigation agents. He even went to Herzen in London for the affairs of the Bell, which, of course, only attracted more attention to him. Since September 1861, the writer was under secret surveillance. He was suspected of provocations against the authorities.
In June 1862, Chernyshevsky was arrested. Even before this event, clouds began to gather around him. In May, the journal Sovremennik was closed. The writer was accused of compiling a proclamation discrediting the government, which turned out to be in the hands of provocateurs. The police also managed to intercept Herzen's letter, where the emigrant again proposed to publish the closed "Contemporary", only in London.
"What to do?"
The accused was placed in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he was during the investigation. It went a year and a half. At first, the writer tried to protest against the arrest. He went on a hunger strike, which, however, did not change his position. In the days when the arrested person felt better, he took up a pen and began to work on a sheet of paper. So the novel “What to do?” Was written, which became the most famous work published by Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky. A brief biography of this figure, printed in any encyclopedia, necessarily contains information about this book.
The novel was published in the newly opened Sovremennik in three issues for 1863. Interestingly, no publication could exist. The only original was lost on the streets of St. Petersburg during transportation to the editor. A passerby found the papers and only by his kindness returned them to Sovremennik. Nikolai Nekrasov, who worked there and literally went crazy with loss, was overjoyed when the novel was returned to him.
Sentence
Finally, in 1864, the verdict was announced to the disgraced writer. He went to hard labor in Nerchinsk. Also, the verdict contained a paragraph on which Nikolai Gavrilovich was to spend the rest of his life in eternal exile. Alexander II changed the term of hard labor to 7 years. What else can tell us the biography of Chernyshevsky? Briefly, literally in a nutshell, let's say about the years spent by the materialistic philosopher in captivity. The harsh climate and harsh conditions greatly worsened his health. Despite this, the writer survived hard labor. Later he lived in several provincial towns, but never returned to the capital.
Even in hard labor, like-minded people tried to release him, who came up with various escape plans. However, they were never implemented. The time from 1883 to 1889, Nikolai Chernyshevsky (his biography says that it was at the end of the life of a revolutionary democrat) spent in Astrakhan. Shortly before his death, he returned to Saratov thanks to the patronage of his son.
Death and meaning
On October 11, 1889, N. G. Chernyshevsky died in his hometown. The biography of the writer has become the subject of imitation of many followers and supporters.
Soviet ideology put him on a par with the leaders of the XIX century, who were the forerunners of the revolution. The novel "What to do?" became a mandatory item in the school curriculum. In modern literature lessons, this topic is also studied, only less hours are devoted to it.
In Russian journalism and journalism there is a separate list of the founders of these areas. It included Herzen, Belinsky and Chernyshevsky. Biography, a summary of his books, as well as the impact on public thought - all these issues are investigated by writers today.
Quotes by Chernyshevsky
The writer was known for his sharp tongue and ability to build sentences. Here are the most famous quotes of Chernyshevsky:
- Personal happiness is impossible without the happiness of others.
- Youth is a time of freshness of noble feelings.
- Scientific literature saves people from ignorance, and graceful - from rudeness and vulgarity.
- Then they flatter to dominate under the guise of humility.
- Only in truth is the power of talent; wrong direction destroys the most powerful talent.