More than 2200 years ago, the great Carthaginian commander Hannibal was born. When he was nine years old, he swore that he would always oppose Rome, with which Carthage had been at war for many years at that time. And he followed his word, devoting his whole life to the struggle. What's up here short biography Turgenev? - you ask. Read on and you will surely understand.

In contact with

Hannibal's Oath

The writer was a great humanist and did not understand how it is possible to deprive a living person of the most necessary rights and freedoms. And in his time it was even more common than it is now. Then the Russian analogue of slavery flourished: serfdom. He hated him, and he devoted his struggle to him.

Ivan Sergeevich was not as brave as the Carthaginian commander. He would not fight a bloody war with his enemy. Yet he found a way to fight and win.

Sympathizing with the serfs, Turgenev writes his "Notes of a Hunter", which draws public attention to this problem. Emperor Alexander I. I. himself, after reading these stories, was imbued with the seriousness of this problem and about 10 years later abolished serfdom. Of course, it cannot be argued that only the Hunter's Notes were the reason for this, but it is also wrong to deny their influence.

This is how a simple writer can play such a big role.

Childhood

Ivan Turgenev was born on November 9, 1818 in the city of Orel.. The biography of the writer begins from this moment. Parents were hereditary nobles. His mother had a greater influence on him, since his father, who married for convenience, left the family early. Ivan was then a child of 12 years old.

Varvara Petrovna (that was the name of the writer's mother) was difficult in character, because she had a difficult childhood - a drinking stepfather, beatings, an imperious and demanding mother. Now her sons had to experience a difficult childhood.

However, she also had advantages: an excellent education and financial security. What is worth only the fact that in their family it was customary to speak exclusively in French, according to the then fashion. As a result, Ivan received an excellent education.

Until the age of nine he was taught by tutors, and then the family moved to Moscow. Moscow at that time was not the capital, but the educational institutions there were first-class, and getting there from the Oryol province was three times closer than to the capital Petersburg.

Turgenev studied at the boarding houses of Weidenhammer and the director of the Lazarev Institute, Ivan Krause, and at the age of fifteen he entered the verbal department of Moscow University. A year later, he entered the capital's university at the Faculty of Philosophy: the family moved to St. Petersburg.

At that time, Turgenev was fond of poetry and soon attracted the attention of university professor Pyotr Pletnev to his creations. In 1838, he published the poems "Evening" and "To the Venus Mediciy" in the journal Sovremennik, where he was an editor. This was the first post artistic creativity Ivan Turgenev. However, two years earlier it had already been published: at that time it was a review of Andrey Muravyov's book On Journey to Holy Places.

Ivan Sergeevich gave great importance his activities as a critic and subsequently wrote many more reviews. He often combined them with his work as an interpreter. He wrote critical works on the Russian translation of Goethe's Faust, Schiller's William Tell.

The writer published his best critical articles in the first volume of his collected works, published in 1880.

academic life

In 1836 he graduated from the university, a year later he passed the exam and received the degree of candidate of the university. This means graduated with honors and, saying modern language- received a master's degree.

In 1838, Turgenev traveled to Germany, where he attended lectures at the University of Berlin on the history of Greek and Roman literature.

In 1842 he takes the exam for a master's degree in Greek and Latin philology, writes a dissertation, but does not defend it. His interest in this activity is cooling down.

Sovremennik magazine

In 1836, Alexander Pushkin organized the production of a magazine called Sovremennik. He was dedicated, of course, to literature. It contained both works contemporary the time of Russian authors, as well as journalistic articles. There were also translations of foreign works. Unfortunately, even during Pushkin's lifetime, the magazine was not very successful. And with his death in 1837, it gradually fell into decline, although not immediately. In 1846 Nikolai Nekrasov and Ivan Panaev bought it.

And from that moment on, Ivan Turgenev, who was brought by Nekrasov, joined the magazine. The Sovremennik publishes the first chapters of the Hunter's Notes. By the way, this title was originally a subtitle of the first story, and Ivan Panaev came up with it in the hope of getting the reader interested. The hope was justified: the stories were very popular. So the dream of Ivan Turgenev began to come true - to change public consciousness, to introduce into it the idea that serfdom is inhuman.

In the magazine, these stories were published one at a time, and censorship was lenient towards them. However, when in 1852 they came out as a whole collection, the official who allowed the printing was fired. They justified this by the fact that when the stories are collected all together, they direct the reader's thought in a reprehensible direction. Meanwhile, Turgenev never called for any revolutions and tried to be at odds with the authorities.

But sometimes his works were interpreted incorrectly, and this led to problems. So, in 1860, Nikolai Dobrolyubov wrote and published in Sovremennik a laudatory review of Turgenev's new book, On the Eve. In it, he interpreted the work in such a way that supposedly the writer was looking forward to the revolution. Turgenev adhered to liberal views and was offended by this interpretation. Nekrasov did not take his side and Ivan Sergeevich left Sovremennik.

Turgenev was not a supporter of revolutions for a reason. The fact is that he was in France in 1848, when the revolution began there. Ivan Sergeevich saw with his own eyes all the horrors of a military coup. Of course, he did not want a repeat of this nightmare in his homeland.

Seven women are known in Turgenev's life:

It is impossible to ignore the relationship of Ivan Turgenev with Pauline Viardot. He first saw her on stage in 1840. She performed leading role in the opera production of The Barber of Seville. Turgenev was subdued by her and passionately wanted to get to know her. The occasion presented itself three years later, when she again came on tour.

On the hunt, Ivan Sergeevich met her husband, a well-known art critic and theater director in Paris. Then he was introduced to Polina. Seven years later, he wrote to her in a letter that the memories associated with her were the most precious in his life. And one of them - how he first spoke to her on Nevsky Prospekt, in the house opposite Alexandrinsky Theater.

Daughter

Ivan and Polina became very close friends. Polina raised Turgenev's daughter from Avdotya. Ivan was in love with Avdotya in the 41st, he even wanted to marry, but his mother did not bless, and he backed down. He left for Paris, where he lived for a long time with Polina and her husband Louis. And when he came home, a surprise awaited him: an eight-year-old daughter. It turns out that she was born on April 26, 1842. The mother was unhappy with his passion for Polina, did not help him financially and did not even announce the birth of her daughter.

Turgenev decided to take care of the fate of his child. He agreed with Polina that she would be raised by her, and on this occasion he changed his daughter's name to French - Polinette.

However, the two Polinas did not get along with each other, and after some time Polinette went to a private boarding school, and then began to live with her father, which she was very glad about. She loved her father very much, and he, too, did not miss the opportunity to write to her in letters of instructions and remarks about her shortcomings.

Pauline had two children:

1. Georges Albert;
2. Zhanna.

Writer's death

After the death of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, all his property, including intellectual property, went to Pauline Viardot by will. Turgenev's daughter was left with nothing and had to work hard to provide for herself and her two children. Besides Polinette, Ivan had no children. When she died (like her father - from cancer) and her two children, there were no descendants of Turgenev.

He died on September 3, 1883. Next to him was his beloved Polina. Her husband died four months before Turgenev, the last almost ten years of his life being paralyzed after a stroke. Many people accompanied Ivan Turgenev on his last journey in France, among them was Emile Zola. Turgenev was buried, according to his desire, in St. Petersburg, next to a friend, Vissarion Belinsky.

The most significant works

1. « Noble Nest»;
2. "Notes of a hunter";
3. "Asya";
4. "Ghosts";
5. "Spring Waters";
6. "A month in the village".

And van Turgenev was one of the most important Russians writers of the 19th century. Created by him art system changed the poetics of the novel both in Russia and abroad. His works were praised and severely criticized, and Turgenev spent his whole life looking for a path in them that would lead Russia to well-being and prosperity.

"Poet, talent, aristocrat, handsome"

The family of Ivan Turgenev came from an old family of Tula nobles. His father, Sergei Turgenev, served in the cavalry guard regiment and led a very wasteful lifestyle. To improve his financial situation, he was forced to marry an elderly (by the standards of that time), but very wealthy landowner Varvara Lutovinova. The marriage became unhappy for both of them, their relationship did not work out. Their second son, Ivan, was born two years after the wedding, in 1818, in Orel. Mother wrote in her diary: “... on Monday, the son Ivan was born, 12 inches tall [about 53 centimeters]”. There were three children in the Turgenev family: Nikolai, Ivan and Sergey.

Until the age of nine, Turgenev lived in the Spasskoe-Lutovinovo estate in the Oryol region. His mother had a difficult and contradictory character: her sincere and cordial concern for children was combined with severe despotism, Varvara Turgeneva often beat her sons. However, she invited the best French and German tutors to her children, spoke exclusively in French with her sons, but at the same time remained a fan of Russian literature and read Nikolai Karamzin, Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin and Nikolai Gogol.

In 1827 the Turgenevs moved to Moscow so that their children could receive a better education. Three years later, Sergei Turgenev left the family.

When Ivan Turgenev was 15 years old, he entered the verbal department of Moscow University. At the same time, the future writer fell in love with Princess Ekaterina Shakhovskaya for the first time. Shakhovskaya exchanged letters with him, but reciprocated Turgenev's father and thus broke his heart. Later, this story became the basis of Turgenev's story "First Love".

A year later, Sergei Turgenev died, and Varvara and her children moved to St. Petersburg, where Turgenev entered the Faculty of Philosophy at St. Petersburg University. Then he became seriously interested in lyrics and wrote the first work - the dramatic poem "The Wall". Turgenev spoke of her like this: “A completely absurd work in which, with furious ineptness, a slavish imitation of Byron's Manfred was expressed”. In total, during the years of study, Turgenev wrote about a hundred poems and several poems. Some of his poems were published by the Sovremennik magazine.

After his studies, 20-year-old Turgenev went to Europe to continue his education. He studied ancient classics, Roman and Greek literature, traveled to France, Holland, Italy. The European way of life struck Turgenev: he came to the conclusion that Russia should get rid of unculturedness, laziness, ignorance, following the Western countries.

Unknown artist. Ivan Turgenev at the age of 12. 1830. State Literary Museum

Eugene Louis Lamy. Portrait of Ivan Turgenev. 1844. State Literary Museum

Kirill Gorbunkov. Ivan Turgenev in his youth. 1838. State Literary Museum

In the 1840s, Turgenev returned to his homeland, received a master's degree in Greek and Latin philology at St. Petersburg University, even wrote a dissertation - but did not defend it. Interest in scientific activity replaced the desire to write. It was at this time that Turgenev met Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Aksakov, Alexei Khomyakov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Afanasy Fet and many other writers.

“The other day the poet Turgenev returned from Paris. What a man! Poet, talent, aristocrat, handsome, rich, smart, educated, 25 years old - I don’t know what nature denied him?

Fyodor Dostoevsky, from a letter to his brother

When Turgenev returned to Spasskoe-Lutovinovo, he had an affair with a peasant woman, Avdotya Ivanova, which ended in the girl's pregnancy. Turgenev wanted to marry, but his mother sent Avdotya to Moscow with a scandal, where she gave birth to a daughter, Pelageya. Avdotya Ivanova's parents hastily married her off, and Turgenev recognized Pelageya only a few years later.

In 1843, under the initials of T. L. (Turgenez-Lutovinov), Turgenev's poem "Parash" was published. She was highly appreciated by Vissarion Belinsky, and from that moment their acquaintance grew into a strong friendship - Turgenev even became the godfather of the critic's son.

"This man is extraordinarily intelligent ... It is gratifying to meet a man whose original and characteristic opinion, colliding with yours, extracts sparks."

Vissarion Belinsky

In the same year, Turgenev met Pauline Viardot. About true character their relationship is still disputed by researchers of Turgenev's work. They met in St. Petersburg when the singer arrived in the city on tour. Turgenev often traveled with Polina and her husband, art critic Louis Viardot, around Europe, visiting their Parisian house. His illegitimate daughter Pelageya was brought up in the Viardot family.

Fictionist and playwright

In the late 1840s, Turgenev wrote extensively for the theatre. His plays The Freeloader, The Bachelor, A Month in the Country and The Provincial Girl were very popular with the public and were warmly received by critics.

In 1847, Turgenev's short story "Khor and Kalinich" was published in the Sovremennik magazine, inspired by the writer's hunting trips. A little later, stories from the collection "Notes of a Hunter" were published there. The collection itself was published in 1852. Turgenev called him his "Annibal Oath" - a promise to fight to the end with the enemy, whom he hated since childhood - serfdom.

The Hunter's Notes is marked by such a power of talent that it has a beneficial effect on me; the understanding of nature is often presented to you as a revelation.”

Fedor Tyutchev

It was one of the first works that spoke openly about the troubles and dangers of serfdom. The censor, who allowed the "Notes of a Hunter" to be published, was dismissed from the service by personal order of Nicholas I with deprivation of his pension, and the collection itself was forbidden to be republished. The censors explained this by the fact that Turgenev, although he poeticized the serfs, criminally exaggerated their suffering from the oppression of the landlords.

In 1856, the writer's first major novel, Rudin, was published, written in just seven weeks. The name of the hero of the novel has become a household name for people whose word does not agree with the deed. Three years later, Turgenev published the novel The Nest of Nobles, which turned out to be incredibly popular in Russia: every educated person considered it his duty to read it.

“Knowledge of Russian life, and, moreover, knowledge is not bookish, but experienced, taken out of reality, purified and comprehended by the power of talent and reflection, is found in all the works of Turgenev ...”

Dmitry Pisarev

From 1860 to 1861, excerpts from the novel Fathers and Sons were published in Russkiy Vestnik. The novel was written on the "topic of the day" and explored the public mood of the time - mainly the views of nihilistic youth. The Russian philosopher and publicist Nikolai Strakhov wrote about him: “In Fathers and Sons, he showed more clearly than in all other cases that poetry, while remaining poetry ... can actively serve society ...”

The novel was well received by critics, however, did not receive the support of liberals. At this time, Turgenev's relations with many friends became complicated. For example, with Alexander Herzen: Turgenev collaborated with his Kolokol newspaper. Herzen saw the future of Russia in peasant socialism, believing that bourgeois Europe had outlived itself, and Turgenev defended the idea of ​​strengthening cultural ties between Russia and the West.

Sharp criticism fell upon Turgenev after the release of his novel "Smoke". It was a pamphlet novel that equally sharply ridiculed both the conservative Russian aristocracy and the revolutionary-minded liberals. According to the author, everyone scolded him: "both red and white, and from above, and from below, and from the side - especially from the side."

From "Smoke" to "Prose Poems"

Alexey Nikitin. Portrait of Ivan Turgenev. 1859. State Literary Museum

Osip Braz. Portrait of Maria Savina. 1900. State Literary Museum

Timothy Neff. Portrait of Pauline Viardot. 1842. State Literary Museum

After 1871, Turgenev lived in Paris, occasionally returning to Russia. He actively participated in the cultural life of Western Europe and promoted Russian literature abroad. Turgenev communicated and corresponded with Charles Dickens, George Sand, Victor Hugo, Prosper Merimee, Guy de Maupassant, Gustave Flaubert.

In the second half of the 1870s, Turgenev published his most ambitious novel, Nov, in which he portrayed members of the revolutionary movement of the 1870s in a sharply satirical and critical manner.

"Both novels [Smoke and Nov] only brought to light his ever-increasing alienation from Russia, the first with its impotent bitterness, the second with its lack of information and lack of any sense of reality in the depiction of the mighty movement of the seventies."

Dmitry Svyatopolk-Mirsky

This novel, like "Smoke", was not accepted by Turgenev's colleagues. For example, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote that Nov was a service to the autocracy. At the same time, the popularity early stories and Turgenev's novels did not decrease.

The last years of the writer's life became his triumph both in Russia and abroad. Then a cycle of lyrical miniatures "Poems in Prose" appeared. The book opened with a poem in prose "The Village", and completed it with "Russian Language" - the famous anthem about faith in the great destiny of one's country: “In days of doubt, in days of painful reflections about the fate of my homeland, you are my only support and support, oh great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language! .. Without you, how not to fall into despair at the sight of everything that happens at home . But it is impossible to believe that such a language was not given to a great people!” This collection became Turgenev's farewell to life and art.

At the same time, Turgenev met his last love - the actress of the Alexandrinsky Theater Maria Savina. She was 25 years old when she played the role of Verochka in Turgenev's play A Month in the Country. Seeing her on stage, Turgenev was amazed and openly confessed his feelings to the girl. Maria considered Turgenev more of a friend and mentor, and their marriage never took place.

IN last years Turgenev was seriously ill. Parisian doctors diagnosed him with angina pectoris and intercostal neuralgia. Turgenev died on September 3, 1883 in Bougival near Paris, where lavish farewells were held. The writer was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovskoye cemetery. The death of the writer was a shock to his fans - and the procession of people who came to say goodbye to Turgenev stretched for several kilometers.

Among famous writers Russia of the XIX century stands out Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, who is not only a writer. He has dramatic, journalistic works and poetry. Critics recognized the writer as one of the best figures of the century, so his biography should be briefly studied.

The writer's life began in the city of Orel. This event took place on October 28, 1818. Parents were among the nobles. The place of residence of the family was the Spasskoe-Lutovinovo estate. Initially, the future literary figure studied at home with tutors of German and French origin.

When the family moved to Moscow in 1827, he was educated in private schools. Then there was admission to Moscow University, but after a while the figure transferred to St. Petersburg, where he began to study philosophy.

Ivan had the opportunity to study abroad, at the University of Berlin, which he took advantage of.

Important! The writer's relationship with his mother was not easy. Varvara Petrovna was an educated person, she loved literature and philosophy, especially foreign ones, but she was distinguished by a despotic character.

Studying at the University

Beginnings in literature

One of the most important aspects of Turgenev's biography is the beginning creative way. Interest in literary activity it arose in his institute time, in 1834. Ivan Sergeevich set to work on the poem "Steno". The first publication is dated 1836 - it was a review of the work of A.N. Muravyov "About the Journey to the Holy Places".

In 1837, at least one hundred poems and several poems were created:

• "The Old Man's Tale"
• "Dream",
• "Calm on the sea"
• "Phantasmagoria on a moonlit night."

In 1838, the poems "Evening", "To the Venus of Medicius" were published. On initial stage poetry was romantic. In the future, the author switched to realism. It is also very important that I.S. Turgenev was busy for some time scientific work. In 1841 he wrote a dissertation in philology and received a master's degree. But then he moved to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In the biography of I.S. Turgenev, it is mentioned that Belinsky strongly influenced his work. It is after meeting the critic that the author writes new poems, stories and poems. The works "Three portraits", "Pop", "Breter" are accepted for printing.

creative upsurge

The period of active creativity began in 1847, when the author was invited to the Sovremennik magazine. There were printed Contemporary notes and the beginning of the Hunter's Notes. These works were successful, so the writer continued to work on hunting stories. Then Turgenev, along with Belinsky, ends up in France, where the February revolution takes place.

In a brief biography of Turgenev, which is studied by schoolchildren in the 10th grade, it is indicated that in the late 40s and early 50s the figure wrote dramatic works. Then the plays “Bachelor”, “Freeloader”, “Provincial”, “A Month in the Village” were created. Many of the works are staged on the stage.

Very important feature Turgenev's biography is a link to the family estate for 2 years for an obituary written after Gogol's death. According to another version, the literary figure was exiled because of his radical views and negative attitude towards serfdom. Being in the village, the author creates a story

After returning, the novels “On the Eve”, “Rudin”, as well as “The Noble Nest”, published in the Sovremennik magazine, were written.

I.S. Turgenev "Rudin"

in number famous works also includes:

• "Spring Waters"
• "Smoke",
• "Asya"
• "Fathers and Sons",

The move to Germany took place in 1863. Here the writer communicates with the literary figures of Western Europe and disseminates information about Russian literature. He is mainly engaged in editing and translating Russian-language works into other languages ​​- French and German. Thanks to Turgenev, readers abroad learned about the works of Russian authors. A brief biography of Turgenev for children notes the rise in popularity of the author during this period. The literary figure is considered one of the best writers of the century.

Leaving poetry almost at the very beginning of his literary activity, Turgenev returned to it shortly before his death. At this time, he created a cycle of "Poems in Prose". And "Literary and everyday memories" are written in the genre of memoirs. The author seems to have a premonition of his imminent death and sums up the results in the works.

Useful video: briefly about the work of Turgenev

The main themes of the works

Considering the life and work of Turgenev, it is necessary to characterize the themes of his works. In the works much attention is paid to descriptions of nature and psychological analysis. They reveal the images of representatives of the nobility, which the author considers to be dying. The heroes of the new century are considered supporters of democracy and raznochintsy. Thanks to the works of the writer, the concept of "Turgenev's girls" came into literature. Another topic is the peculiarities of the life of Russian people abroad.

The most important thing is the writer's convictions. He had a negative attitude towards serfdom and sympathized with the peasants. Because of his hatred for the way of life in Russia, the literary figure preferred to live abroad. But at the same time he was not a supporter of revolutionary methods of solving the problem.

A short biography for children tells about the serious state of health of the author in the last few years of his life. Ivan Sergeevich suffers from gout, neuralgia and angina pectoris. Death came on August 22, 1883. The cause was sarcoma. He lived then in the Parisian suburbs. He was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Turgenev had a difficult personal life. In his youth, he unsuccessfully became interested in the daughter of Princess Shakhovskaya. His father was in love with the same girl, to whom Catherine reciprocated.

During his life in exile, he had a relationship with Avdotya Ermolaevna Ivanova (Dunyash's seamstress). Despite the girl's pregnancy, the writer never married because of the scandal arranged by his mother. Avdotya gave birth to a daughter, Pelageya. The girl was officially recognized as a father only in 1857.

After returning to Moscow, the writer developed friendly relations with Tatyana Bakunina. The girl had a serious feeling for him, which Ivan Sergeevich highly appreciated, but could not reciprocate.

In 1843, an acquaintance with the singer Pauline Viardot took place. She was married, but this did not prevent the writer from getting carried away seriously. Features of their relationship are unknown, but there is an assumption that for some time they lived as spouses (when her husband was paralyzed after a stroke).

The writer's daughter Pelageya was brought up in the Viardot family. Her father decided to change her name, calling her Polina or Polinet. The girl's relationship with Polina Viardot was not successful, so very soon she was sent to study at a private boarding school.

Maria Savina became his last love. The literary figure was almost 40 years older, but did not hide his feelings for the young actress. Maria treated the writer as a friend. She was supposed to marry someone else, but it didn't work out. Marriage with Ivan Sergeevich did not take place due to his death.

Useful video: interesting facts about Turgenev

Conclusion

In fact, it is impossible to briefly consider the life and work of Turgenev. He was a creative person with a wide range of interests. After him, a huge legacy was left in the form of poems, plays and prose works, which still belong to the classics of world and domestic literature.

In contact with

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was born on October 28 (November 9), 1818 in the city of Orel. His family, both maternal and paternal, belonged to the noble class.

The first education in Turgenev's biography was received at the Spassky-Lutovinovo estate. The boy was taught to read and write by German and French teachers. Since 1827 the family moved to Moscow. Then Turgenev's training took place in private boarding schools in Moscow, after which - at Moscow University. Without graduating from it, Turgenev transferred to the philosophical faculty of St. Petersburg University. He also studied abroad, after which he traveled around Europe.

The beginning of the literary path

Studying in the third year of the institute, in 1834 Turgenev wrote his first poem called "The Wall". And in 1838, his first two poems were published: "Evening" and "To the Venus of Medicius."

In 1841, having returned to Russia, he was engaged in scientific activities, wrote a dissertation and received a master's degree in philology. Then, when the craving for science cooled down, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev served as an official in the Ministry of the Interior until 1844.

In 1843, Turgenev met Belinsky, they struck up friendly relations. Under the influence of Belinsky, new poems by Turgenev, poems, stories are created, printed, among which are: Parasha, Pop, Breter and Three Portraits.

The heyday of creativity

To others famous works writer can be attributed: the novels "Smoke" (1867) and "Nov" (1877), novels and stories "Diary extra person"(1849), "Bezhin Meadow" (1851), "Asya" (1858), "Spring Waters" (1872) and many others.

In the autumn of 1855, Turgenev met Leo Tolstoy, who soon published the story "Cutting the Forest" with a dedication to I. S. Turgenev.

Last years

Since 1863, he left for Germany, where he met with outstanding writers of Western Europe, promoted Russian literature. He works as an editor and consultant, he is engaged in translations from Russian into German and French and vice versa. He becomes the most popular and read Russian writer in Europe. And in 1879 he received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University.

It was thanks to the efforts of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev that the best works of Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy were translated.

It is worth noting briefly that in the biography of Ivan Turgenev in the late 1870s and early 1880s, his popularity rapidly increased, both at home and abroad. And critics began to rank him among the best writers of the century.

Since 1882, the writer began to be overcome by diseases: gout, angina pectoris, neuralgia. As a result of a painful illness (sarcoma), he dies on August 22 (September 3), 1883 in Bougival (a suburb of Paris). His body was brought to St. Petersburg and buried at the Volkovsky cemetery.

Chronological table

Other biography options

• In his youth, Turgenev was frivolous, spending a lot of his parents' money on entertainment. For this, his mother once taught a lesson, sending bricks instead of money in a parcel.
• The personal life of the writer was not very successful. He had many novels, but none of them ended in marriage. The greatest love of his life was Opera singer Pauline Viardot. For 38 years Turgenev knew her and her husband Louis. For their family, he traveled all over the world, lived with them in different countries. Louis Viardot and Ivan Turgenev died in the same year.
• Turgenev was a clean man, neatly dressed. The writer liked to work in cleanliness and order - without this he never began to create.
• see all

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was born into a noble family in 1818. I must say that almost all the major Russian writers of the 19th century came out of this environment. In this article we will consider the life and work of Turgenev.

Parents

The acquaintance of Ivan's parents is noteworthy. In 1815, a young and handsome cavalry guard Sergei Turgenev arrived in Spasskoye. He made a strong impression on Varvara Petrovna (the writer's mother). According to a contemporary close to her entourage, Varvara ordered to pass it on to Sergei through acquaintances so that he would make a formal proposal, and she would gladly agree. For the most part, it was Turgenev who belonged to the nobility and was a war hero, and Varvara Petrovna had a large fortune.

Relations in the newly minted family were strained. Sergei did not even try to argue with the sovereign mistress of their entire fortune. Only alienation and barely restrained mutual irritation hovered in the house. The only thing the spouses agreed on was the desire to give their children the best education. And for this they spared neither effort nor money.

Moving to Moscow

That is why the whole family moved to Moscow in 1927. At that time, wealthy nobles sent their children exclusively to private educational institutions. So young Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was sent to a boarding school at the Armenian Institute, and a few months later he was transferred to the Weidenhammer boarding school. Two years later, he was expelled from there, and the parents no longer made attempts to arrange their son in any institution. The future writer continued to prepare for entering the university at home with tutors.

Studies

Entering Moscow University, Ivan studied there for only a year. In 1834, he moved with his brother and father to St. Petersburg and transferred to a local educational institution. Young Turgenev graduated from it two years later. But in the future, he always mentioned Moscow University more often, giving it the greatest preference. This was due to the fact that the St. Petersburg Institute was known for its strict supervision of students by the government. There was no such control in Moscow, and the freedom-loving students were very pleased.

First works

We can say that Turgenev's work began with the university bench. Although Ivan Sergeevich himself did not like to recall the literary experiments of that time. the beginning of his writing career he counted the 40s. Therefore, most of his university works never reached us. If Turgenev is considered a demanding artist, then he did the right thing: the available samples of his writings of that time belong to the category of literary apprenticeship. They can be of interest only to historians of literature and those who want to understand how Turgenev's work began and how his writing talent was formed.

Fascination with philosophy

In the mid and late 30s, Ivan Sergeevich wrote a lot to hone his writing skills. For one of his works, he received a critical review from Belinsky. This event had a great influence on Turgenev's work, which is briefly described in this article. After all, it was not only that the great critic corrected the mistakes of the inexperienced taste of the "green" writer. Ivan Sergeevich changed his views not only on art, but also on life itself. Through observation and analysis, he decided to study reality in all its forms. Therefore, in addition to literary studies, Turgenev became interested in philosophy, and so seriously that he was thinking about becoming a professor at a department of a university. The desire to improve this area of ​​​​knowledge led him to the third university in a row - Berlin. With long breaks, he spent about two years there and studied the works of Hegel and Feuerbach very well.

First success

In 1838-1842, Turgenev's work was not very active. He wrote little and mostly only lyrics. The poems he published did not attract the attention of either critics or readers. In this regard, Ivan Sergeevich decided to devote more time to such genres as drama and poetry. The first success in this field came to him in April 1843, when "Powder" was published. And a month later, in Domestic notes Belinsky's laudatory review was printed on it.

In fact, this poem was not original. She became outstanding only thanks to Belinsky's recall. And in the review itself, he spoke not so much about the poem as about Turgenev's talent. Nevertheless, Belinsky was not mistaken, he definitely saw outstanding writing abilities in the young author.

When Ivan Sergeevich himself read the review, it caused him not joy, but rather embarrassment. The reason for this was doubts about the correctness of the choice of his vocation. They overcame the writer from the beginning of the 40s. Nevertheless, the article encouraged him and forced him to raise the bar for his activities. Since that time, Turgenev's work, briefly described in the school curriculum, received an additional impetus and went uphill. Ivan Sergeevich felt responsible to critics, readers and, above all, to himself. So he worked hard to improve his writing skills.

Arrest

Gogol died in 1852. This event greatly influenced the life and work of Turgenev. And it's not all about emotional experiences. Ivan Sergeevich wrote a "hot" article on this occasion. The censorship committee of St. Petersburg banned it, calling Gogol a "lackey" writer. Then Ivan Sergeevich sent the article to Moscow, where, through the efforts of his friends, it was published. An investigation was immediately appointed, during which Turgenev and his friends were declared the perpetrators of state unrest. Ivan Sergeevich received a month of imprisonment, followed by deportation to his homeland under supervision. Everyone understood that the article was only a pretext, but the order came from the very top. By the way, during the "imprisonment" of the writer, one of his best stories was published. On the cover of each book there was an inscription: "Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev" Bezhin Meadow ".

After his release, the writer went into exile in the village of Spasskoe. He spent almost a year and a half there. At first, nothing could captivate him: neither hunting, nor creativity. He wrote very little. The then letters of Ivan Sergeevich were replete with complaints of loneliness and requests to come to visit him at least for a while. He asked fellow craftsmen to visit him, as he felt a strong need for communication. But there were also positive moments. As the saying goes chronological table creativity of Turgenev, it was at that time that the writer had the idea of ​​​​writing “Fathers and Sons”. Let's talk about this masterpiece.

"Fathers and Sons"

After its publication in 1862, this novel caused a very heated controversy, during which the majority of readers dubbed Turgenev a reactionary. This controversy frightened the writer. He believed that he would no longer be able to find mutual understanding with young readers. But it was to them that the work was addressed. In general, the work of Turgenev experienced hard times. "Fathers and Sons" became the reason for this. As at the beginning of his writing career, Ivan Sergeevich began to doubt his own vocation.

At this time, he wrote the story "Ghosts", which perfectly conveyed his thoughts and doubts. Turgenev reasoned that the writer's fantasy is powerless before the secrets of the people's consciousness. And in the story "Enough" he generally doubted the fruitfulness of the activity of an individual for the benefit of society. It seemed that Ivan Sergeevich no longer cares about success with the public, and he is thinking about ending his career as a writer. Pushkin's work helped Turgenev change his mind. Ivan Sergeevich read the great poet's reasoning regarding the opinion of the public: “She is fickle, many-sided and subject to fashion trends. But a true poet always addresses the audience given to him by fate. His duty is to arouse good feelings in her.”

Conclusion

We examined the life and work of Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. Since then, Russia has changed a lot. Everything that the writer put to the fore in his works is left in the distant past. Most of the manor estates found on the pages of the author's works are no longer there. And the theme of evil landowners and the nobility no longer has a social urgency. And the Russian village is completely different now.

Nevertheless, the fate of the heroes of that time continues to arouse genuine interest in the modern reader. It turns out that everything that Ivan Sergeevich hated is also hated by us. And what he saw as good is so from our point of view. Of course, one can disagree with the writer, but hardly anyone will argue with the fact that Turgenev's work is timeless.