Culture in the 17th century
During the XVII century in Russia there was a process of secularization of culture – its liberation from church influence. The literature of the beginning of the century was marked by increased publicism, associated with the turbulent events of peasant unrest and Polish intervention. The most famous works are: “Legend” by Abraham Palitsyn, “The Temporary” by the deacon Ivan Timofeev, “The words” of Prince Ivan Andreevich Khvorostinin, “The Story” of Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Katyarev-Rostovsky. The official version of the events of the Troubles is contained in the “New Chronicle” of 1630, written by the order of Patriarch Filaret. The main goal of this work is to strengthen the position of the new dynasty of the Romanovs.
The main genres of literature are still legends, chronicles, “life”, teachings. However, in the old forms begins to appear new content. Significant in this respect is the “Life”
There is also a development of purely folk literature – “The Story of Grief-Evil”, “The Story of Sawa Grudtsyn”, “The Story of Shemyakin Court”, “The Tale of Yershe Yershevich”, “Kialazinskaya petition”. The heroes of these stories try to get rid of church dogmas, at the same time the everyday wisdom of Domostroi remains insurmountable.
In the second half of the 17th century, a syllabic poem developed actively. The largest representative of Russian poetry of this time is Simeon of Polotsk. He did a lot for the development of the poetic genre, he was the propagandist of enlightenment and the teacher of the royal children.
In the second half of the XVII century (in 1672) at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the first theater appeared in Russia. The producer and actors in his first play were
In the XVII century, significant changes touched architecture. The main building material was still the tree. The top of the wooden architecture of the XVII century is the magnificent royal palace in Kolomenskoye. Gradually increases the volume of construction from brick – mostly buildings of government agencies, commercial and industrial enterprises. The use of multi-colored tiles, figured bricks, white stone details began, which gave the buildings a festive look. The traditional temple construction has reached its peak. In the 17th century the grandiose Rostov Kremlin was built, while the monastic ensembles – Iosifo-Volokolamsk, Trinity-Sergiev and Kirill-Belozersky – were being completed.
At the end of the 17th century a new style of temple architecture arose – the Moscow Baroque. used for the construction of small churches in the estates of Russian nobles. It is in this style that the Church of the Intercession in Fili is built.
In painting of the XVII century, a departure from the conventionality of medieval art is noticeable. There is a Renaissance linear perspective, striving for realism. This was especially evident in the work of Simon Ushakov, who for 30 years led the artistic activity in the Russian state. Icon-iconic “face” gives way to his work to a living person. In the second half of the 17th century, the Armory Chamber (in the Moscow Kremlin) is developing its art academy. Many Russian and foreign artists are concentrated here.
In the XVII century there is an active accumulation of practical knowledge. Especially great is the contribution of Russia to geographical science. Thanks to the translation of many foreign works in Russia, scientific knowledge is popularized – the heritage of European science. There are also domestic books that contain information on various branches of knowledge, for example, “Statutes of Military, Canon and Other Cases Relating to Military Science” by A. Mikhailov. When measuring land areas, they used the “Book of Sick Letter”. In medical practice, “Travniki”, “Therapeutics” used, and in the Aptekarsky order they made up the “Pharmacopoeia”.
During this period, there is a growing need for the development of science and education. The number of libraries is increasing. There are government and private schools, as well as schools in some monasteries. The aim of the training was, in the main, the mastery of Greek and Latin languages. Tutorials were published: Burtsev’s “Letters”, Smotritsky’s “Grammar” and others. In 1685 the Moscow Slavic-Grekolatin Academy was opened – the first higher educational institution in Russia.
New phenomena in the culture of the 17th century were affirmed in the acute struggle with the prevailing medieval worldview, which was defended by the church. Church hierarchs hindered the expansion of cultural ties with the “Latin” Western Europe. Patriarch Joachim, for example, succeeded in closing the first court theater. The victory of the secular principle became evident only in the eighteenth century.
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