For what the most famous Russian writers went to prison: Kukish with butter, Russian fairy tales and other good reasons

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

“Do not exclude yourself from prison and money,” says popular wisdom. Indeed, fate sometimes brings not the most pleasant surprises, and even an innocent person may end up behind bars. Talented Russian writers are by no means an exception in this case, they were also arrested. At the same time, some even in dungeons managed to improve their literary skills.

Mikhail Lomonosov

Mikhail Lomonosov allowed himself on April 26, 1773 at the Academy of Sciences and Arts to offend a whole group of professors, including Professor Winsheim. Calling them rogues and swindlers, Lomonosov in his hearts even showed them a fig, and even threatened them with physical violence. The situation was critical, since all the scientists who fell under Lomonosov's hot hand were Germans.

The commission of inquiry accused the beacon of Russian science of disrespectful and dishonest behavior in relation not only to the Academy, but also to the "German Land", as stated in the resolution. At the same time, the investigators believed: Mikhail Lomonosov, despite all his merits, even deserves the death penalty. True, they immediately offered to replace her with deprivation of rights, flogging and exile.

As a result, Adjunct Lomonosov was sentenced to two months in prison and five house arrest. In January 1744, the sentence was removed from him. Lomonosov himself used his punishment with benefit, writing "The abyss has opened, the stars are full …"

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Vladimir Dal

Russian writer and ethnographer after the end of the Russian-Turkish war, which he passed as a military doctor, served as an intern in the capital's military land hospital. He was highly regarded by colleagues and patients as a brilliant ophthalmic surgeon.

In 1932, Vladimir Dal published his first book, "Russian Tales of the Cossack Lugansky", for which he had been painstakingly collecting material for a long time. The censorship missed the book, but when the collection of fairy tales made a lot of noise, they came to arrest Dal.

On October 7, 1932, he was arrested right at the workplace, while examining patients. Fortunately, at the request of Vasily Zhukovsky and on the personal order of Nicholas I, Vladimir Dal was released a day later.

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Fedor Dostoevsky

By the time of his arrest, Fyodor Mikhailovich had already become a well-known personality in literary circles. At the same time, he was a member of several literary circles, where they talked not so much about literature as about politics. The writer was arrested as a member of the literary circle of Mikhail Petrashevsky, charged with reading and distributing the banned “Letter from Belinsky to Gogol”. At the same time, they were charged with sowing confusion, stirring up indignation of the people against the rulers, and calling for an armed uprising. Dostoevsky did not plead guilty, but this did not prevent the court from sentencing him, along with other Petrashevsky residents, to death.

In December 1849, all the arrested Petrashevites were taken to the Semyonovsky parade ground in order to execute the criminals in public. Only at the last second before the execution, all those sentenced were pardoned and punished with hard labor. Dostoevsky was given four years of hard labor.

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Ivan Turgenev

The very first criminal case against Ivan Sergeevich was opened when he was barely 17 years old. The serf lady was to be handed over to the rightful owner, and the young landowner with arms in his hands prevented this. At the same time, he did not threaten the owner of the serf peasant woman with weapons, but directly to the representative of the government, who ensured the implementation of the law. In 1835, this case was hushed up, but it was considered closed only after the abolition of serfdom.

In March 1852, Ivan Turgenev could not avoid arrest. The whole reason was the publication of an obituary in memory of Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol. Censorship did not allow the obituary to be published due to excessive enthusiasm. Turgenev, who was personally acquainted with Nikolai Vasilievich, thought differently. He sent an obituary to the newspaper Moskovskie vedomosti, where he was published. For insubordination to the authorities, Ivan Turgenev was arrested and spent a month in the Admiralty police station of St. Petersburg. After which he was deprived of the right to live in the capitals and was exiled to his homeland, to the Oryol province.

Ivan Sergeevich used the month in prison very productively. It was in the prison that the writer's most poignant story, "Mu-mu", was written.

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Vladimir Mayakovsky

By the time of his first arrest, he was not yet 15 years old. In total, in two years (1908-1909) Vladimir Mayakovsky was detained three times. Even then, he was an active participant in the RSDLP, took part in the activities of the party's underground printing house. For the first time, the police found forbidden literature with him. However, for the first time he was handed over to his parents as a minor. Although then for the preparation of a serious crime, which he was charged with, Mayakovsky could receive 8 years of hard labor.

Less than a year later, Mayakovsky was again in prison: a pistol was found during a search. However, the police could not prove his affiliation, and Vladimir was released for lack of evidence.

Six months later, he again ends up in prison, in the famous Butyrka, where he spent six months. This time, he and his comrades were accused of plotting the escape of women political prisoners from prison. The mother had to work hard to free her son. For the young Mayakovsky, the arrest and prison were not in vain: he again began to write poetry after a long break. And after his release, he left his political exercises, deciding to fully engage in creativity.

Mental suffering, inability to find a way out of a difficult situation, lack of money and fear of being a burden can lead to committing a fatal mistake. People of creative professions, who are distinguished by the subtlety of nature and instability of the psyche, are especially prone to suicide. What made Russian writers voluntarily leave this life against the background of external well-being?