Biography of Nekrasov
Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov) – a classic of Russian poetry, writer and publicist. He was a revolutionary democrat, editor and publisher of the journal Sovremennik and editor of the Otechestvennye Zapiski journal. One of the most important and famous works of the writer is the poem “To Whom in Russia Live Well”.
Early years
Nikolay Alekseevich Nekrasov was born on November 28, 1821 in the city of Nemirov, Podolsky province, in a well-to-do family of the landowner. The writer spent his childhood in the Yaroslavl province, the village of Greshnevo, in a family estate. The family had many children – the future poet had 13 sisters and brothers.
At the age of 11 he entered the gymnasium, where he studied until the fifth grade. With studies, the young Nekrasov did not develop. It was during this period that Nekrasov began to write his first poems of satirical content and write them down in a notebook.
Education and the beginning of the creative path
The poet’s father was cruel and despotic. He deprived Nekrasov of material assistance, when he did not want to enter the military service. In 1838 in the biography of Nekrasov there was a move to St. Petersburg, where he entered as an auditor in the university to the philological faculty. In order not to die of hunger, experiencing a great need for money, he finds a part-time job, gives lessons and writes poetry to order.
During this period, he met a critic Belinsky, who later will have a strong ideological influence on the writer. In 26 years Nekrasov, along with writer Panayev bought the magazine “Contemporary”. The magazine quickly became popular and had a significant influence in society. In 1862, the government issued a ban on its publication.
Literary activity
Having saved enough money, Nekrasov publishes the debut collection of his poems “Dreams and Sounds”, which failed. Vasily Zhukovsky advised most of the poems of this collection to be printed without the author’s name. After that, Nikolai Nekrasov decides to move away from poetry
In 1847 – 1866 he was the publisher and editor of the journal Sovremennik, in which the best writers of the time worked. The magazine was the seat of revolutionary democracy. Working in “Contemporary”, Nekrasov produces several collections of his poems. The works “Peasant Children”, “Peddlers” bring him wide fame.
On the pages of the magazine “Contemporary” were discovered such talents as Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Goncharov, Alexander Herzen, Dmitry Grigorovich and others. In it were already published famous Alexander Ostrovsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Gleb Uspensky. Thanks to Nikolai Nekrasov and his magazine, Russian literature learned the names of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy.
In the 1840s, Nekrasov cooperated with the journal Otechestvennye zapiski, and in 1868, after the closure of Sovremennik, he took it from the publisher Krayevsky for rent. With this magazine were connected the last ten years of the writer’s life. At this time, Nekrasov wrote an epic poem “To Whom in Russia Live Well”, as well as “Russian Women”, “Grandfather” – poems about the Decembrists and their wives, and some other satirical works topped by the poem “Contemporaries.”
Nekrasov wrote about the suffering and grief of the Russian people, about the complex life of the peasantry. He also introduced a lot of new literature into Russian literature, in particular, in his works he used simple Russian spoken language. This undoubtedly showed the wealth of the Russian language, which came from the people. In verse, he first began to combine satire, lyricism and elegiac motives. In short, the poet’s work has made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian classical poetry and literature in general.
Personal life
In the life of the poet there were several love relationships: with the mistress of the literary salon Avdotya Panayeva, the Frenchwoman Selina Lefren, the village girl Fekla Viktorova.
One of the most beautiful women in Petersburg and the wife of the writer Ivan Panayev, Avdotya Panayev, liked many men, and young Nekrasov had to work hard to win her attention. Finally, they confess love to each other and begin to live together. After the early death of their common son, Avdotya departs from Nekrasov. And he goes to Paris with the French theater actress Selina Lefren, whom he has known since 1863. She remains in Paris, and Nekrasov returns to Russia. However, their romance continues at a distance. Later he gets acquainted with a simple and uneducated girl from the village – Fekla, with whom they subsequently married.
Nekrasov had many novels, but the main thing in the biography of Nikolai Nekrasov was not his wife’s lawful wife, but Avdotya Yakovlevna Panayeva, whom he loved all his life.
Last years of life
In 1875, the poet discovered intestinal cancer. In the agonizing years before his death, he wrote “The Last Songs” – a cycle of poems that the poet dedicated to his wife and the last love of Zinaida Nikolaevna Nekrasova. The writer died on December 27, 1877 and was buried in St. Petersburg at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Interesting Facts
- The writer did not like some of his own works, and he asked not to include them in collections. But friends and publishers urged Nekrasov not to exclude any of them. Perhaps, therefore, the attitude to his work among critics is very contradictory – not everyone considered his works as genius. Nekrasov was fond of playing cards, and quite often he was lucky in this matter. Once, playing for money with A. Chuzhbinsky, Nikolai Alekseevich lost to him a large sum of money. As it turned out later, the cards were marked with a long nail of the enemy. After this incident, Nekrasov decided not to play with people who have long nails. Another passionate writer was hunting. Nekrasov liked to go on a bear, to hunt game. This fascination has found a response in some of his works. Once Nekrasov’s wife, Zina, during hunting accidentally shot his beloved dog. At the same time, Nikolai Alekseevich’s hobby came to an end. At the funeral of Nekrasov gathered a huge number of people. In his speech, Dostoevsky honored Nekrasov with the third place in Russian poetry after Pushkin and Lermontov. The crowd interrupted him with cries of “Yes above, above Pushkin!”
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