How Pushkin, Yesenin and other classics became famous, and What did the authorities have to do with this

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Probably every writer or poet dreams of getting into history. Very often, talent is not enough to become a classic, and you also need luck. There is also a saying that mediocrity will break through, and talent must be maintained. Using the example of Russian classics, one can see how the process of their recognition took place in the literary and poetic world. Read about the universal genius of Alexander Pushkin, and also why Lenin was sick of Dostoevsky's prose and how Yesenin's poems were recorded in secret notebooks.

Mikhail Lermontov: Nicholas I did not like him and Lenin adored him

https://

Everyone knows Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov. But his career was very difficult. During his lifetime, very few works of this poet were published - "A Hero of Our Time" (2 times) and a book of poems. At the same time, the popularity was enormous. The thing is that Nicholas I simply hated Lermontov and accused him of almost undermining the monarchy. The famous poem "Death of a Poet" caused a wave of indignation among the nobility. However, when the poet died, the emperor agreed that this man could become Pushkin's successor.

As time went on, in the second half of the 19th century, Lermontov began to be published more often and translated into different languages. His work gained tremendous popularity thanks to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. After the 1917 revolution, a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars was issued, which spoke about the erection of monuments to cultural figures. Lermontov took third place after Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. From 1917 to 1920, 19 books by Mikhail Yuryevich were published. So, thanks to the revolutionary events in Russia, the country received a classic, whose work is being studied at school today.

Alexander Pushkin: Russian Byron and universal genius

At the beginning of the 19th century, there was talk among the Russian intelligentsia that there was no national poet in Russia. The topic of the lack of people in Russian culture was popular. Kuchelbecker and Bestuzhev, Andrei Turgenev and others wrote about this. Russia needed a "universal genius" - an expression attributed to the Slavophile Kireevsky - who would have been no worse than Byron, Shakespeare or Goethe. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was the best suited for this role. The figure of the poet was mythologized by many intellectuals. For example, Apollon Grigoriev, wrote that Pushkin is the embodiment of soulfulness, everything special that remains for a Russian person after contact with other worlds.

The poet's popularity was very high. On the day of his funeral in St. Petersburg, the police had to keep order, and the students were forbidden to leave classes: the residents of the city were so upset about what had happened. The area around the Stable Church was completely filled with people who came to say goodbye to the poet.

Fyodor Dostoevsky: the guardianship of the adviser Pobedonostsev and the hatred of the leader of the revolution

Fyodor Dostoevsky is a writer who for many foreigners personifies Russia and a recognized Russian classic. Konstantin Pobedonostsev helped him on his creative path. Dostoevsky worked as editor of the journal "Citizen", published here by the supervision of Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich and was introduced to the Pobedonostsev members of the royal family. This was a very important step. Even when the writer left the magazine, Pobedonostsev did not stop helping and patronizing him. The writer's works were included in the programs of zemstvo schools, he was one of the most popular Russian writers in Europe. Then everything became not so rosy - a revolution happened.

Studying the works of Lenin, many were surprised by his harsh statements in relation to the writer. He called Dostoevsky's work rubbish, vomit, hysteria, reactionary filth. Lenin wrote that he tried to read The Brothers Karamazov, but could not do it, because he was sick of the scene in the monastery. Nevertheless, Dostoevsky was included in the list of monuments of the new state. Legally, the work of the writer was never prohibited, and he was internationally recognized. However, from the thirties until the de-Stalinization of the writer, his books were published only 2 times, and these were one-volume. Poor People were recommended for study at school, and when Stalin died, Crime and Punishment was added to the school curriculum.

Ivan Turgenev: a village writer and must-read for Soviet people

Ivan Turgenev did a lot during his lifetime to popularize Russian literature abroad. He translated Tolstoy, Dostoevsky and Gogol, collaborated with the largest literary magazines, and received high marks from Russian and foreign critics. However, most often he was perceived as a village writer, since no one could better convey peasant types and describe the beauty of Russian nature.

Turgenev's novels, meanwhile, were criticized: despite their special poetry and sophistication, critics believed that the characters were written out superficially, and social tasks were not fulfilled. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov once wrote that most likely after the death of Turgenev, not much will remain of his work. Everything happened differently and here's why: Soviet leaders really liked Turgenev. Lenin spoke about the great and mighty language of this writer, Lunacharsky called Turgenev the creator of Russian literature, and Kalinin drew attention to the socio-political direction of his works. Soviet citizens enjoyed reading the sentimental story "Mu-mu", and novels about nihilists were held at school.

Sergei Yesenin: a symbol of decadence and rehabilitation thanks to popular popularity

In the first half of the 20th century, under Soviet rule, Sergei Yesenin was considered a symbol of decadence. Lunacharsky called him a drunkard, pessimist and bully. Bukharin noted that Yesenin's poems are beautiful, but in general all his works are Russian swearing, flooded with the tears of a drunkard. There was no official ban on Yesenin's work, but there was no hurry to introduce it into Soviet literature. It was published rarely and in small editions. But the popularity of the people went through the roof.

According to the stories of Shalamov, many works, for example, "Russia Departing" or "Moscow Tavern", people wrote in secret notebooks in order to read in the evening without witnesses. In the thieves' world, they gladly sang songs based on his poems. After de-Stalinization, the poet became a classic. It was impossible not to rehabilitate him, since creativity was appreciated by representatives of various ranks. Today Yesenin is known and loved, his poems are set to music, used in films and performances.

The relevance of the works of Russian classics was based on the selection of topics. Even those how why Gerasim drowned Mumu, and similar questions.