Nikolai Alekseevich Plescheev, whose biography will be summarized in the article, is a prominent representative of the 19th century Russian intelligentsia. He was a prose writer, poet, translator, literary critic, public figure and revolutionary.
The beginning of life
Plescheev’s life was full of events, rich in memorable facts. The writer was born in a family that belonged to an old noble family. This joyful event took place at the beginning of the winter of 1825 in Kostroma. Since 1826, the family lived in Nizhny Novgorod, where the father of the future poet was transferred to public service. However, soon the head of the family dies, and the boy remains in the care of his mother.
In 1839, the future poet Pleshcheev moved with her to live in St. Petersburg. Here he decides to devote his life to military service and enters to study at the School of Guard Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. But, after studying at the school for two years, the young man realizes that this is not his destiny. He leaves his studies and enters the University of St. Petersburg at the Faculty of History and Philosophy. The subject of his study is the eastern languages.
Plescheev’s circle of acquaintances by this time is already very wide, despite his young age. He is familiar with such famous people as Pletnev, Grigorovich, Kraevsky, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, Saltykov-Shchedrin.
Social work
In the middle of the XIX century, among the noble youth it was considered prestigious to be in various social movements, circles, parties. The young Pleshcheyev did not stay away from modern trends. The poet’s biography is full of information about his participation in such organizations, including revolutionary ones. All these hobbies were passionate and had a direct impact on the fate of the poet.
So, for example, being influenced by Beketov, who led one of the student circles, Pleshcheyev lost interest in his studies and left the university in 1845 without completing his studies. At the same time, he began to attend meetings of the Petrashevsky circle. But the young poet was especially attracted to the circle of Durov, where not so much political as literary interests prevailed.
Early work
Plescheyev’s poems began to appear in print from 1844, mainly in such well-known publications at that time as Domestic Notes, Sovremennik, Literaturnaya Gazeta, and Reading Library. In the verses related to the early period of creativity, the influence of the works of Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov is clearly felt.
Pleshcheyev’s poetry has inherent motives of sadness, loneliness, and romance. In the second half of the forties, the poet’s lyrics were filled with energy of protest, a call to fight injustice, oppression. The revolutionary nature of Pleshcheyev’s poems did not go unnoticed by fans of his talent, or by the authorities.
Years of reference
In 1849, in Moscow, together with other freethinkers belonging to the Petrashevites, Plescheev was arrested. The poet's biography was replenished with another page of life. After his arrest, he was taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, where he was imprisoned for about eight months. On December 22, at the Semenovsky parade ground, he was awaiting execution, which at the very last moment was replaced by four-year hard labor, depriving all of his rights to inherit his estate and military rank.
Pleshcheyev was sent to the city of Uralsk, in a separate Orenburg building, as an ordinary. Since 1852, the service took place in Orenburg, where for special merits he was elevated to the rank of non-commissioned officer, and in 1856 the officer rank was restored. In 1857, the title of a nobleman was returned to Nikolai Alekseevich Plescheev.
Over the years of exile, the poet draws close to people close to him in spirit, such as Taras Grigorievich Shevchenko, poet Mikhailov, Polish revolutionaries. The poet’s lyrics also change. In the verses, sincerity appears, one feels one's own view on some aspects of life. At the same time, a cycle of verses related to love lyrics is born. They were dedicated to the future wife of Nikolai Alekseevich.
After link
The years of life of the poet Pleshcheev can be divided into two periods - before and after exile. Time spent in harsh conditions only tempered the character of the poet, but did not force him to change progressive ideas.
In 1858, Pleshcheyev came to Petersburg and met here with Dobrolyubov, Chernyshevsky, Nekrasov. In 1859 he moved to live in Moscow. Here he is actively engaged in literary activities. At the creative evenings that Pleshcheyev arranged in his house, there were the most famous representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, such as Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Nekrasov, Ivan Turgenev, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and many other writers, poets, actors, musicians.
Educational work
Many years of Pleshcheyev’s life were devoted to educational activities, which had a pedagogical orientation. In 1861, together with Berg, he published the children's book The Children's Book, and in 1873, together with Alexandrov, a collection for children appeared, which contains the best works of Russian classical and modern literature. In addition to literary publications, at the initiative of Pleshcheyev, educational and educational collections in geography are issued. In total, seven books of various subjects were prepared and published.
Writer and translator
In those years of Pleshcheyev’s life, when he worked as a translator, all his literary talent showed up. Many poetic translations from French, German, English, Slavic languages, made by Nikolai Alekseevich, are still considered the best. Often the poet undertook works that no one had translated into Russian before him . Per Plescheyev also owns some scientific translations on historical and sociological topics. Literary criticism also interested Nikolai Alekseevich, she has a special place in his work.
Throughout his creative career, the poet did not leave work on prose. But it must be said that the works he created did not go beyond the framework of the traditions existing at that time. Some of the stories and stories can be called autobiographical.
Speaking about the fact that the years of the poet’s life, Pleshcheyev were filled with vivid events, meetings, acquaintances, hobbies, one cannot but say about Nikolai Alekseevich’s addiction to the theater. Pleshcheyev himself was an excellent reader. He understood and loved theatrical art. From under the pen of the poet came the plays that were staged on the stages of the country's leading theaters.
Literary heritage
Nikolai Alekseevich Plescheev, whose biography can only cause admiration for the descendants, left behind a rich cultural heritage.
Pleshcheyev’s original and translated poems fascinate with their melody. That is why they did not go unnoticed by such great composers as Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Cui, Grechaninov, Rachmaninov. More than a hundred poetic works of the poet are put to music, being examples of art. About 13 original and 30 translated theater plays belong to Nikolai Alekseevich. Some of them are still included in the repertoire of theaters of the country.
Hundreds of Pleshcheyev's poetic works are published in collections. Many, having become classical, are included in literary reading anthologies.
Plescheev’s life ended on September 26, 1893 in Paris, but Nikolai Alekseevich was buried in Moscow.