Aksakov Sergei Timofeevich is a famous Russian writer, government official and public figure, literary and theater critic, memoirist, author of books about fishing and hunting, lepidopterist. Father of Russian writers and public figures Slavophiles: Konstantin, Ivan and Vera Aksakov. Corresponding Member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
Sergei Aksakov was born (September 20) on October 1, 1791 in the city of Ufa. He came from an old but poor noble family. His father Timofey Stepanovich Aksakov was a provincial official. Mother - Maria Nikolaevna Aksakova, nee Zubova, a very educated woman for her time and social circle.
Aksakov spent his childhood in Ufa and on the Novo-Aksakovo estate. His grandfather Stepan Mikhailovich had a significant influence on the formation of Aksakov’s personality in early childhood. Long walks into the forest or the steppe laid deep, powerful layers of impressions in him, which later, decades later, became inexhaustible sources of artistic creativity. Little Aksakov loved to listen to the stories of the serf nanny Pelageya, one of which was later developed into the famous fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower”. Memories of Aksakov’s childhood and youth formed the basis of his memoir-autobiographical trilogy: “Family Chronicle” (1856), “Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson” (1858), “Memoirs” (1856).
At the age of eight, in 1801, Aksakov was assigned to the Kazan gymnasium. There, with interruptions due to illness, he studied until 1804, after which, at the age of 14, he was transferred to the newly opened Kazan University. At the university, Aksakov successfully performed in amateur theater and published handwritten magazines “Arcadian Shepherds” and “Journal of Our Activities”. In them he published his first literary experiments - poems written in a naive and sentimental style.
Since 1806, Aksakov has been taking part in the activities of the “Society of Lovers of Russian Literature” at Kazan University. He interrupted his participation in it in June 1807 due to his move to St. Petersburg.
In St. Petersburg, Aksakov’s first rapprochement with literary figures took place. During these years, Aksakov lived sometimes in St. Petersburg, sometimes in Moscow, sometimes in the village. After his marriage (1816) to Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina, Aksakov tried to settle in the village. He lived with his parents for five years, but in 1820 he was separated, receiving Nadezhdino (Orenburg province) as his patrimony. Having moved to Moscow for a year, I lived in a wide, open house. Old literary connections were renewed and new ones were formed. Aksakov entered the writing and literary life of Moscow. After spending a year in Moscow, Aksakov moved, for the sake of economy, to the Orenburg province and lived in the village until the fall of 1826.
In August 1826, Aksakov parted with the village forever. He visited here on visits, but, in essence, remained a resident of the capital until his death. In Moscow, he met with his old patron Shishkov, now the Minister of Public Education, and easily received the position of censor from him. Closeness with Pogodin expanded his circle of literary acquaintances. He was dismissed from the post of censor for what he omitted in I.V.’s magazine. Kireyevsky "European" article "The Nineteenth Century". With Aksakov’s connections, it was not difficult for him to find a job, and the next year he received the position of inspector of the land surveying school, and then, when it was transformed into the Konstantinovsky Land Survey Institute, he was appointed its first director and organizer.
In 1839, Aksakov, provided with a large fortune that he inherited after the death of his father, left the service and, after some hesitation, never returned to it. During this time he wrote: a number of theater reviews in the “Dramatic Additions” to the “Moscow Bulletin” and several small articles in “Galatea” (1828 - 1830). His translation of Molière's "The Miser" was performed at the Moscow theater during Shchepkin's benefit performance. In 1830, his story “Recommendation of the Minister” was published in the Moscow Bulletin (without signature).
Finally, in 1834, his essay “Buran” appeared in the almanac “Dennitsa,” also without a signature. According to critics, this is the first work that talks about the real writer Aksakov. Since then, Aksakov’s work has developed smoothly and fruitfully.
Following “Buran”, “Family Chronicle” was started. Already in these years, a certain popularity surrounded Aksakov. His name enjoyed authority. The Academy of Sciences elected him more than once as a reviewer when awarding awards.
Temporarily leaving the “Family Chronicle”, he turned to natural science and hunting memories, and his “Notes on Angling Fish” (Moscow, 1847) was his first broad literary success. “Notes of a Gun Hunter of the Orenburg Province” was published in 1852 and aroused even more enthusiastic reviews than “Fish Fishing.” Among these reviews there is an article by I.S. Turgenev. Along with hunting memories and characteristics, stories about his childhood and his immediate ancestors were brewing in the author’s thoughts.
Soon after the publication of “Notes of a Gun Hunter,” new excerpts from the “Family Chronicle” began to appear in magazines, and in 1856 it was published as a separate book.
The joys of literary success softened the hardships of the last years of his life for Aksakov. The family's material well-being has been shaken; Aksakov's health was getting worse. He was almost blind - with stories and dictation of memories he filled the time that not so long ago he devoted to fishing, hunting and active communication with nature.
A number of works marked these last years of his life. First of all, “Family Chronicle” received its continuation in “The Childhood Years of Bagrov’s Grandson.”
Aksakov’s “Literary and Theatrical Memoirs,” included in “Miscellaneous Works,” are full of interesting small information and facts, but are infinitely far from Aksakov’s stories about his childhood. “The Story of My Acquaintance with Gogol” has a deeper meaning and could have had even greater significance if it had been completed.
These last works were written during the intervals of a serious illness, from which Aksakov died on April 30, 1859 in Moscow.
In 1991, when the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Aksakov was widely celebrated, the Writer’s Memorial House-Museum was opened in Ufa.
Few buildings can boast such a rich history as this wooden house near the Belaya River. It was built in the first half of the 18th century. The building housed the office of the Ufa governorship. The family of the writer’s maternal grandfather Nikolai Zubov also lived here. After the death of N.S. Zubov, the house was bought by the writer’s father, Timofey Aksakov.
In 1795, the whole family moved here for permanent residence. Here they lived until 1797. The first childhood impressions of this house can be found in the famous book by Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, “The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson.” Here is an excerpt from this family chronicle:
“We lived then in the provincial city of Ufa and occupied a huge Zubin wooden house... The house was covered with planks, but not painted; it was darkened by the rains, and this whole mass had a very sad appearance. The house stood on a slope, so that the windows into the garden were very low from the ground, and the windows from the dining room to the street, on the opposite side of the house, rose three arshins above the ground; the front porch had more than twenty-five steps, and from it the Belaya River could be seen almost its entire width...”
Aksakov had special, warm memories associated with every corner of this house. This house is interesting in itself, as a wonderful example of 18th-century architecture.

The Aksakov or Oksakov family, as they were called in the old days, was ancient and went back to the noble Varangian who moved to Rus' in the 11th century with his retinue. Among the Aksakovs there were boyars, governors, and generals, but the most famous was the name of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, a Russian writer.
Seryozha Aksakov was a very gifted boy. At the age of four he already read well, and at the age of five he recited poems by Sumarokov and Kheraskov by heart, retold in his own way and even acted out the tales of “The Arabian Nights.”
Aksakov was interested in literature and theater both during his student years at Kazan University and during the first years of his service in St. Petersburg. Later, having already moved to Moscow, being a censor of the Moscow Censorship Committee and an employee of the Moskovsky Vestnik magazine, he became a famous theater critic and was the first to appreciate the talent of M.S. Shchepkin and P.S. Mochalov.
Sergei Timofeevich realized his literary calling very late and wrote his first books when he was already well over fifty. At this time, S.T. Aksakov was the father of a large and friendly family, the hospitable owner of the house, where all the literary, theatrical and musical Moscow gathered. Friends (and among them were N.V. Gogol, M.N. Zagoskin, I.S. Turgenev, young L.N. Tolstoy) admired Aksakov Sr.’s stories about Russian antiquity, about family legends, about the beauty of the land that he , a passionate hunter and fisherman, knew better than anyone.
To the author's fiction “the soul was not lying down”, and therefore in his books S.T. Aksakov simply talked about what he knew and loved best. “Notes on Fishing” (1847) and “Notes of a Gun Hunter of the Orenburg Province” (1852) captivated readers and critics with the accuracy and subtlety of observations of the life of nature and the poetry of language.
Anyone who wants to know what Russia was like in the old years should read S.T. Aksakov’s books “Family Chronicle” (1856) and “Childhood years of Bagrov the grandson, serving as a continuation of “Family Chronicle”” (1858).
The writer, without inventing anything, slowly and simply tells the story of his family. About how freely people once lived in the Ufa steppes, how bright and transparent the rivers were, how fresh and green the forests were, and how the nightingales sang all night in the spring, not letting them sleep... People, the ancient Russian district nobility, lived in harmony with the whole of God’s world. , who knew a lot about work, and fun, and everything.
In the appendix to “Childhood Years...” there was a fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” - perhaps the kindest and wisest of all fairy tales written in Russian.
Fate left Aksakov very little time for creativity. My health was failing, my eyes were weakening (I had to dictate). But the inner vision became more and more bright, the language became more and more flexible and expressive.
S.T. Aksakov died without completing everything he had in mind. But what he managed was enough. He was loved by his contemporaries and his descendants love him. Everyone who reads his books finds peace of mind and joy. And the more time passes, the stronger the anxiety for the fate of the Earth and people, the more dear Aksakov’s word is to us and the more important his advice is:

From a message to M.A. Dmitriev, 1850

Margarita Pereslegina

WORKS OF S.T.AKSAKOV

COLLECTED WORKS: In 3 volumes - M.: Khudozh. lit., 1986.
Everyone knows S.T. Aksakov - “the singer of native nature” and a storyteller. But few people know his most interesting “Literary and Theatrical Memoirs,” which sound unexpectedly modern now that the Russian theater is 250 years old. Don’t miss also “The Story of My Acquaintance with Gogol,” which contains not only memories of Sergei Timofeevich’s great friend, but also correspondence with him. Therefore, read all three volumes from cover to cover.

THE SCARLET FLOWER: The Tale of the Housekeeper Pelageya // Fairy tales of Russian writers. - M.: Reading Circle, 2001. - P. 64-89.

THE SCARLET FLOWER: The Tale of the Housekeeper Pelageya / Preface. A. Sharova; Rice. L. Ionova. - M.: Det. lit., 1985. - 32 p.: ill.
“In a certain kingdom, in a certain state, there lived a rich merchant, an eminent man.
...and that merchant had three daughters, all three were beautiful, and the youngest was the best..."
A merchant gathered for trade overseas and promised each of his daughters whatever gift she wanted. And the smallest, most beloved, - “a scarlet flower, which could not be more beautiful in this world...”

CHILDHOOD YEARS OF BAGROV-GRANDSON; THE SCARLET FLOWER. - M.: AST: Olympus, 1998. - 553 p. - (School of classics: Book for students and teachers).

CHILDHOOD YEARS OF BAGROV-GRANDSON: Tale / Artist. A. Itkin. - M.: Det. lit., 2001. - 349 pp.: ill. - (School library).
Aksakov’s memory preserved all the events of his childhood: from the first years of infancy to early adolescence. The love and affection of a mother, “hunting trips” with her father, all the sounds, smells and colors of the steppe region live in the book, as if two centuries have not passed since then...

STORIES ABOUT NATIVE NATURE / Intro. Art. N. Pakhomova; Rice. G. Nikolsky. - M.: Det. lit., 1988. - 142 p.: ill.
S.T. Aksakov’s early essay “Buran”, chapters from the story “Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson”, chapters from “Notes on Fishing” and “Notes of a Gun Hunter of the Orenburg Province” are very good for a first acquaintance with the writer’s prose.

FAMILY CHRONICLE; CHILDREN'S YEARS OF BAGROV-GRANDSON / Intro. Art. A. Khomyakova; Artist I. Falaleev. - M.: Novator, 1996. - 387 p.
“Family Chronicle” tells about two generations of the Aksakov family, called here the Bagrovs, with their children and household members, peasants and servants. At the end of the 18th century, family traditions and the way of life of the Russian estate were still majestic and unshakable. The author conveyed priceless details of antiquity with care and love.

Margarita Pereslegina

LITERATURE ABOUT THE LIFE AND WORK OF S.T.AKSAKOV

Abramtsevo: State. history-art. or T. museum-reserve. - M.: Sov. Russia, 1981. - 217 pp.: ill.

Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich // Theater: Encyclopedia. - M.: OLMA-PRESS, 2002. - pp. 12-13.

Arzumanova O. Abramtsevo during the Aksakovs // Museum-Reserve “Abramtsevo”: Essay-guide. - M.: Illustrate. art, 1984. - pp. 15-72.

Bogdanov V. Formation of man // Aksakov S. Childhood years of Bagrov-grandson; Garin-Mikhailovsky N. Childhood Themes; Stanyukovich K. Stories; Mamin-Sibiryak D. Stories. - M.: Det. lit., 1994. - pp. 3-13. - (B-ka world lit. for children).

Voitolovskaya E. S. T. Aksakov in the circle of classical writers: Doc. essays. - M.: Det. lit., 1982. - 220 pp.: ill.

A brief chronicle of the life and work of S.T. Aksakov; Materials for the biography of S.T. Aksakov; Criticism about the work of S.T. Aksakov // Aksakov S. Childhood years of Bagrov-grandson; The Scarlet Flower. - M.: AST: Olympus, 1998. - P. 356-482.

Mann Yu. Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich // Russian writers: Biogr. Dictionary: In 2 volumes - M.: Education, 1990. - T. 1. - P. 22-24.

Mann Y. The Aksakov Family: Ist.-lit. feature article. - M.: Det. lit., 1992. - 384 p.

Mashinsky S. S. T. Aksakov: Life and creativity. - Ed. 2nd. - M.: Artist. lit., 1973. - 575 pp.: ill.

Nizovsky A. Abramtsevo // Estates of Russia. - M.: Veche, 2005. - P. 3-9.

Pakhomov N. Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov // Russian writers in Moscow. - M.: Moscow. worker, 1987. - pp. 147-165.

Sokolov-Mikitov I. Honestly // Sokolov-Mikitov I. Collection. Op.: In 4 vols. - L.: Khudozh. lit., 1987. - T. 4. - P. 214-219.

Starodub K. Aksakov Sergey Timofeevich // Starodub K. Literary Moscow: Historical and local history. encyclopedia for schoolchildren. - M.: Education, 1997. - P. 17-19.

Sharov A. Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov // Sharov A. Wizards come to people. - M.: Det. lit., 1985. - pp. 21-49.

M.P.

SCREEN ADAPTATIONS OF S.T.AKSAKOV’S WORKS

- ART FILMS -

Scarlet Flower: Based on the fairy tale of the same name by S.T. Aksakov. Scene N. Ryazantseva. Dir. I. Povolotskaya. Comp. E. Denisov. USSR, 1977. Cast: L. Durov, A. Demidova, A. Abdulov and others.
A fairy tale about a merchant's daughter and a mysterious flower: Based on the fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” by S.T. Aksakov. Dir. V.Grammatikov. Comp. A. Muravlev. USSR-Germany-Denmark, 1991. Cast: E. Temnikova, R. Shegurov, L. Ovchinnikova, I. Yasulovich and others.

- CARTOONS -

Scarlet Flower: Based on the fairy tale of the same name by S.T. Aksakov. Scene G.Grebner. Dir. L. Atamanov. Comp. N. Budashkin. USSR, 1952. The roles were voiced by: S. Lukyanov, A. Konsovsky and others.

Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov

S.T. Aksakov is a world-famous writer, ranking among the generally recognized Russian classics. Public figure, literary and theater critic, memoirist. And also a great family man, the father of a large and respected family, a nature lover, an avid hunter and fisherman.

Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov was born in Ufa, in the family of the prosecutor of the zemstvo court, Timofey Stepanovich Aksakov, and the daughter of the assistant to the Orenburg governor, Maria Nikolaevna Zubova. The family had five children.

Thanks to his mother, he discovered the world of literature. Seryozha grew up in an atmosphere of great love and care and was a very inquisitive and gifted child: he loved to act out plays from One Thousand and One Nights, recite poetry, and took up reading early. Seryozha inherited his love for nature from his father.

He received a good education for his time: in 1801 he was assigned to the Kazan gymnasium, and in 1804 he became a student at the newly opened Kazan University. During his student years, Seryozha began to write and became interested in theater. Together with his friend Alexander Panaev, he published handwritten magazines “Arcadian Shepherds” and “Journal of Our Knowledge”.

One of the hobbies of student Aksakov was collecting butterflies, which, although not for long, completely dominated him and left a deep impression in his memory. Sergei Aksakov and his friend Alexander Panaev collected a whole collection in the vicinity of Kazan, which later, in the summer of 1806, was replenished with new specimens caught by student Sergei Aksakov on vacation in his native estate Aksakovo in the Simbirsk province.

In 1808, Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov moved to St. Petersburg, where he received the position of translator in the commission for drafting laws. There he became close to the poet G.R. Derzhavin, writer, admiral and statesman A.S. Shishkov and other literary and theatrical figures, showing great interest in the art of recitation.

In 1812, Aksakov returned to his native estate in the village of Aksakovo (Znamenskoye), visiting St. Petersburg and Moscow from time to time.

In 1816, Aksakov married the daughter of Suvorov’s general, Olga Semenovna Zaplatina, and the young family settled in the village of Aksakovo (Znamenskoye) in the Buguruslan district of the Orenburg province.

In 1821, Sergei Timofeevich, together with his wife and children, went to the Nadezhdino estate in the Belebeevsky district of the Orenburg province. He devoted himself entirely to his favorite pastimes: rifle hunting, fishing, correspondence with Moscow friends and reading books and magazines.

He and his wife had four sons: Konstantin, Gregory, Ivan, Mikhail and seven daughters: Vera, Olga, Nadezhda, Anna, Lyubov, Maria, Sophia.

The family was friendly. Its existence rested on the coordination of the inclinations of all its members, on the harmony of moods and views. The family read aloud a lot, organized children's costume parties and performed plays.

In 1826, the family of Sergei Timofeevich settled in Moscow. A strong passion for theater contributed to his friendship with many theater workers and his development as a theater critic. In 1827, Aksakov received the position of censor of the Moscow Censorship Committee. In 1833, he became an inspector at the land surveying school, and then director of the Konstantinovsky Land Survey Institute.

But Aksakov left his service in 1839, devoting himself entirely to literary activity and communication with friends.

The doors of the Aksakovs' house were always open for guests. Among the regular guests here were writers N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, historian M.P. Pogodin, actor M.S. Shchepkin. The house in Moscow and the Abramtsevo estate near Moscow, acquired in 1843, became a kind of cultural center where writers and actors, journalists and critics, historians and philosophers met.

His first notable experience in prose was his essay “Buran,” published in 1834. The main direction of literary creativity of S.T. Aksakov from this moment on - realism.

In the fifties, the health of S.T. Aksakov’s condition deteriorated sharply, but despite his impending blindness, he continued to work. His autobiographical books, “Family Chronicle” (1856) and “Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson” (1858), written on the basis of childhood memories and family legends, became especially popular. The fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower,” written for Olenka’s granddaughter, was published in 1858. Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov died on May 12, 1859 in Moscow.

Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov became known throughout the world as a master of the biographical genre. In his books, he wrote about the traditions of his family, his impressions of nature, what he knew and remembered well. He had an extraordinary gift for storytelling, observation, accuracy and simplicity of language, which brought him well-deserved recognition. Name S.T. Aksakov took its rightful place in the history of Russian literature.

Chief librarian for local history work of the Ulyanovsk Regional Library for Children and Youth named after S.T. Aksakova" Klopkova Olga Vasilievna

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Publications:

Kichina, T.E. With the name Aksakov: [about “choral support” in promoting the name of S. T. Aksakov in the Ulyanovsk region] / T. E. Kichina // Simbirsk. - 2014. - No. 7. - P. 58-61: photo. ()

• Klopkova, O.V. Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov: [life and work of S.T. Aksakova; Aksakov places of Russia]; Quiz “S.T. Aksakov and Simbirsk region"] / O.V. Klopkova // Writers-anniversaries: educational and methodological manual / author.-comp. O.Yu. Feoktistova, S.I. Savinkov. - M.: LLC “Young Local History”, 2016. - (Local History Exhibition, 2016). - Supplement to the magazine “Young Local Historian”. - pp. 13-20. ( )
  

Aksakov path...: collection of materials based on the results of the interregional scientific and practical conference “IV Aksakov Readings”, dedicated to the 225th anniversary of the birth of S.T. Aksakova / compiled by E. A. Moshkova; Ulyanovsk Regional Library for Children and Youth named after S.T. Aksakova. - Ulyanovsk, 2016. - 158 p. ()

Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov: biobibliogr. decree. / comp. T. V. Revyakina; Ulyan. region b-ka for children and youth. - Ulyanovsk, 2007. - 32 p. : ill. - (Writers of our region). ( )

Aksakovs and Simbirsk region: annotated list of recommendations / compiled by I. V. Bobyleva; Ulyanovsk Regional Library for Children and Youth named after S. T. Aksakov. - Ulyanovsk, 2016. - 12 p. ( )


Collecting butterflies: methodological recommendations for working on S. T. Aksakov’s essay “Butterflies” / compiled by O. V. Klopkova; Ulyanovsk Regional Library for Children and Youth named after S. T. Aksakov. - 2012. - 64 p. ( )

• Presentation “What a scarlet flower you are!” To the 155th anniversary of the fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower” by S.T. Aksakova.

The famous Russian Slavophile writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov (born in Ufa on September 20, 1791, died on April 30, 1859) came from an old noble family. Under the influence of his mother, a very educated woman at that time, Sergei Aksakov from an early age re-read everything available to him that could be obtained in Ufa, then was sent to the Kazan gymnasium, where, by the way, his studies were interrupted for a year due to the boy’s melancholy around the house. In 1805, Sergei was transferred to the newly founded Kazan University (until 1808). The success of his teaching was hampered, by the way, by Aksakov’s hobbies for hunting of all kinds (baiting wolves and foxes, gun hunting, fishing and catching butterflies) and his passion for the theater. The first connected him with nature, the second occupied his mind with theatrical affairs and, given the state of the theater at that time, led him onto the wrong path of “sublime” literature. Getting to know Shishkov directed Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov on the path of Slavism, which prepared the subsequent Slavophilism.

In 1812, Aksakov settled in Moscow, leaving his service, and became friends with a circle of Moscow theatergoers, under whose influence he translated Boileau, Molière and La Harpe and ardently stood for the old, pompous trend of literature (fierce polemics with N. Polevoy). In 1820 Aksakov married Ol. Sem. Zaplatina and left for his father’s Trans-Volga patrimony, the village of Znamenskoye or Novo-Aksakovo, and in 1826 he finally moved to Moscow, where he joined the censorship committee. In 1834 - 1839 Aksakov served in the land surveying school (later the Konstantinovsky Land Surveying Institute) first as an inspector, then as a director. In 1837, Sergei Timofeevich received a large inheritance from his father, which allowed him to live widely and hospitably in Moscow as a private person. Aksakov had a strong, healthy and robust physique, but from the mid-1840s. began to get sick (with his eyes); In recent years, the disease has become painful.

Portrait of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov. Artist I. Kramskoy, 1878

Aksakov's literary activity began early. In 1806, he started a “Journal of Our Studies” with A. Panaev and Perevoshchikov, where he carried out Shishkov’s ideas. Such were Aksakov's artistic inclinations until the early 1830s, when, under the influence of his son, Konstantin Sergeevich Aksakov, Pavlov, Pogodin and Nadezhdina Sergei Timofeevich's tastes take a different direction. Acquaintance and closeness with Gogol (from 1832) had a decisive influence on the turning point in Aksakov’s views. His first fruit was the essay “Buran” (Almanac “Dennitsa” by Maksimovich, 1834). The essay was a great success, and Aksakov no longer strayed from the path that Gogol had pushed him onto. “Notes on Fishing” (1847), “Stories and Memoirs of a Hunter” (1855) created Aksakov’s fame for his amazingly integral and clear attitude to nature, artistry of style and descriptions, and the success of “Family Chronicle”, begun back in 1840 and completed in 1856 (excerpts in the Moscow Collection of 1846, without the author’s name) exceeded all the author’s hopes. Criticism, both Westernizing and Slavophile, placed Sergei Aksakov next to Homer, Shakespeare, and W. Scott; but the first (Dobrolyubov) drew from the Family Chronicle a gloomy picture of the despotism of Russian landowner life, the second (Khomyakov) argued that Aksakov was the first to look at our life from a positive point of view. In fact, Sergei Timofeevich painted portraits of people close to him in spirit and blood directly. “The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson” (1858) is weaker, because the author does not treat the subject of his depiction with such love and only tries to be spontaneous. Their success was less, like “Literary and Theatrical Memoirs”. The last story “Natasha” (the marriage of Aksakov’s sister to the famous professor Kartashevsky) remained unfinished.

Perhaps it would be difficult to find another example of the importance of theoretical views for artistic creativity than that which is the remarkable and instructive history of Aksakov’s literary activity. The ideas of false classicism, mixed with the even more stilted ideas of literary Slavism of the Shishkov school, positively deadened the artistic talent of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, but the influence of Gogol, which freed him from all rhetorical stilts and destroyed his previous literary understanding, awakened long-dormant forces already at the age when he could it was more likely to expect their weakening.

Father of Ivan and Konstantin Sergeevich Aksakov, b. September 20, 1791 in the city. Ufa, died on April 30, 1859 in Moscow. In the “Family Chronicle” and “Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson,” S. T. Aksakov left a true chronicle of his childhood, as well as characteristics of his parents and relatives: the first are depicted under the surname of the Bagrovs, the second, the Kuroyedovs, under the surname of the Kurolesovs. The initial upbringing of S. T. Aksakov was led by his mother, nee Zubova, a very educated woman at that time; At the age of four he already knew how to read and write.
S. T. Aksakov received further upbringing and education at the Kazan gymnasium and at the Kazan University, which he described in such detail in his “Memoirs”. The mother had difficulty deciding to separate from her beloved son, and this separation almost cost the lives of both son and mother. Having initially entered the gymnasium in 1799, S. T. Aksakov was soon taken back by his mother, since the child, generally very nervous and impressionable, began to develop, from the melancholy of loneliness, something like an epileptic disease, according to S. T. Aksakov’s own statement . He lived in the village for a year, but in 1801 he finally entered the gymnasium. While speaking in his “Memoirs” generally disapprovingly of the level of gymnasium teaching at that time, S. T. Aksakov notes, however, several outstanding teachers, such as: students of Moscow University I. I. Zapolsky and G. I. Kartashevsky, warden V. P. Upadyshevsky and Russian language teacher Ibragimov. S. T. Aksakov lived with Zapolsky and Kartashevsky as a boarder. In 1817, Kartashevsky became related to him, marrying his sister Natalya Timofeevna, that beautiful Natasha, whose story forms the plot of an unfinished story of the same name, dictated by the author shortly before his death.

At the gymnasium, S. T. Aksakov entered some classes with awards and certificates of commendation, and at the age of 14, in 1805, he became one of the students of the newly founded Kazan University. A part of the gymnasium was allocated to house the latter, and some teachers were appointed professors, and the best students in the senior classes were promoted to students. While listening to university lectures, S. T. Aksakov at the same time continued to study in some subjects at the gymnasium. There was no division into faculties in the first years of the existence of Kazan University, and all 35 first students listened indifferently to a wide variety of sciences - higher mathematics and logic, chemistry and classical literature, anatomy and history. In March 1807, S. T. Aksakov left Kazan University, having received a certificate containing sciences that he knew only by hearsay and which had not yet been taught at the university.

In his “Memoirs” S. T. Aksakov says that during his university years he was “childishly carried away in different directions by the passion of his nature.” These hobbies, which lasted almost his entire life, were hunting in all its forms and theater. In addition, from the age of 14 he began to write and soon publish his works. His first poem was published in the gymnasium handwritten magazine “Arkadian Shepherds”, whose employees tried to imitate Karamzin’s sentimentality and signed with mythological-shepherd names: Adonisov, Irisov, Daphnisov, Amintov, etc. The poem “To the Nightingale” was a success, and encouraged With this, S. T. Aksakov, together with his friend Alexander Panaev and the later famous mathematician Perevozchikov, founded the “Journal of Our Studies” in 1806. In this magazine, S. T. Aksakov appeared as an opponent of Karamzin and a follower of A. S. Shishkov, the author of “Discourse on the Old and New Syllable,” defending the ideas of the first pioneer of Slavophilism. His passion for theater was reflected even at the university by the fact that S. T. Aksakov organized a student troupe, among which he himself stood out for his undoubted stage talent. In 1807, the Aksakov family, which received a large inheritance from their aunt, Kuroyedova, moved from the village, first to Moscow, and the next year to St. Petersburg, for a better education of their daughter in the capital's educational institutions: here too, S. T. Aksakov's stage interests completely took possession , who, on the advice of Kartashevsky, became a translator for the commission for drafting laws.

A passionate desire to improve in recitation led him to a close acquaintance with the actor Ya. E. Shusherin, a celebrity of the end of the last and beginning of this century, with whom the young theatergoer spent most of his free time talking about the theater and reciting. Subsequently, S. T. Aksakov spoke about this in an essay entitled: “Yakov Emelyanovich Shusherin and contemporary theatrical celebrities,” such as Dmitrevsky, Yakovlev, Semenova and others. This essay, like other theatrical memoirs (1812-1830), concludes provides a lot of valuable data for the history of Russian theater in the first third of this century. In addition to theatrical acquaintances, S. T. Aksakov acquired other acquaintances - with the Martinists V. V. Romanovsky, an old friend of the Aksakov family, and Labzin, as well as with the famous admiral A. S. Shishkov. Freemasonry did not attract S. T. Aksakov, but the rapprochement with Shishkov was very successful, which was greatly facilitated by the young writer’s declamatory talent. S. T. Aksakov was introduced to Shishkov by one of his colleagues on the law drafting commission - later known for his literary connections, A. I. Kaznacheev, the admiral’s own nephew. In Shishkov's house, S. T. Aksakov repeatedly staged performances. Leaving his service in the commission in 1811, which had little attraction for the young theatergoer, he went first to Moscow in 1812, and then to the village, where he spent the time of Napoleon’s invasion, enlisting with his father in the militia. During his last stay in Moscow, S. T. Aksakov, through Shusherin, became closely acquainted with a number of Moscow writers - Shatrov, Nikolev, Ilyin, Kokoshkin, S. N. Glinka, Velyashev-Volyntsev and others. Somewhat earlier than this time, he began translating Lagarp’s adaptation Sophocles' tragedy "Philoctetes", intended for a benefit performance by Shusherin. This tragedy was published in 1812. S. T. Aksakov spent the years 1814-1815 in Moscow and St. Petersburg. On one of his visits to St. Petersburg, he became close friends with Derzhavin, again thanks to his ability to read expressively. In 1816, S. T. Aksakov wrote “Message to A. I. Kaznacheev,” published for the first time in the “Russian Archive” in 1878. In it, the author is indignant that the invasion of the French did not reduce the gallomania of the then society.

In the same year, S. T. Aksakov married the daughter of Suvorov’s general, Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina. The latter's mother was a Turkish woman, Igel-Syuma, taken at the age of 12 during the siege of Ochakov, baptized and raised in Kursk, in the family of General Voinov, Igel-Syuma died at the age of 30. O.S. was born in 1792. Immediately after the wedding, S. T. Aksakov went with his young wife to the Trans-Volga estate of his father Timofey Stepanovich. This Trans-Volga patrimony - the village of Znamenskoye or Novo-Aksakovo - is described in the “Family Chronicle” under the name of New Bagrov. There the young couple had a son, Konstantin, the following year. For five years S. T. Aksakov lived in his parents’ house without leaving home. The family grew every year. In 1821 Tim. Art. finally agreed to allocate his son, who already had four children, and assigned him the village of Nadezhino, in the Belebeevsky district of the Orenburg province, as his patrimony. This very village appears in the “Family Chronicle” under the name Parashina. Before moving there, S. T. Aksakov went with his wife and children to Moscow, where he spent the winter of 1821. In Moscow, he renewed his acquaintance with the theatrical and literary world, establishing close friendships with Zagoskin, vaudeville performer Pisarev, theater director and playwright Kokoshkin, playwright Prince. A. A. Shakhovsky and others, and published a translation of Boileau’s 10th satire, for which he was elected a member of the “Society of Lovers of Russian Literature.” In the summer of 1822, S. T. Aksakov again went with his family to the Orenburg province and remained there continuously until the fall of 1826. He was unable to do housekeeping; Moreover, the children were growing up, they had to be taught; in Moscow one could look for a position.

In August 1826, S. T. Aksakov said goodbye to the village forever. From then until his death, that is, for thirty-three years, he was in Nadezhina only on visits only three times. Having moved with 6 children for permanent residence to Moscow, S. T. Aksakov renewed his friendship with Pisarev, Shakhovsky and others with even greater intimacy. He undertook a prose translation of Molière’s “The Miser” (1828), having translated “The School for Husbands” by the same author in verse even earlier, in 1819; he was an active defender of his friends from the attacks of Polevoy, persuaded Pogodin - who published the "Moscow Bulletin" in the late twenties and from time to time already devoted space to S. T. Aksakov's theatrical notes - to start a special "Dramatic Addendum", which was written entirely them alone. S. T. Aksakov also feuded with Polev on the pages of Pavlov’s Athenaeum and Raich’s Galatea. Finally, in the “Society of Lovers of Russian Literature” S. T. Aksakov read his translation of Boileau’s 8th satire (1829), turning sharp verses from it to the same Polevoy. S. T. Aksakov transferred his enmity with Polev from the pages of magazines to the ground of censorship, becoming the censor of the newly established separate Moscow Censorship Committee in 1827; He received this position thanks to the patronage of A. S. Shishkov, who was then the Minister of Public Education. S. T. Aksakov served as censor for 6 years, several times temporarily holding the position of chairman of the committee. In 1834 he went to serve at the land surveying school. This service also lasted 6 years, until 1839. At first, S. T. Aksakov was an inspector of the school, and then, when it was transformed into the Konstantinovsky Land Survey Institute, he was its director. In 1839, S. T. Aksakov, upset by the service, which had a bad effect on his health, finally retired and lived quite richly and openly as a private person, receiving a significant inheritance after his father, who died in 1837 (his mother died in 1833 .).

In the early thirties, S. T. Aksakov’s circle of acquaintances changed. Pisarev died, Kokoshkin and Shakhovskoy faded into the background, Zagoskin maintained a purely personal friendship. S. T. Aksakov began to fall under the influence, on the one hand, of the young university circle, which consisted of Pavlov, Pogodin, Nadezhdin and his son, Konstantin Sergeevich, on the other hand, under the beneficial influence of Gogol, acquaintance with whom began in 1832 and lasted 20 years, until the death of the great writer. In the house of S. T. Aksakov, Gogol usually read his new works for the first time; in turn, S. T. Aksakov was the first to read his fictional works to Gogol at a time when neither he himself nor those around him suspected him of a future famous writer. Friendship with Gogol was maintained through personal relations and correspondence. Excerpts from S. T. Aksakov’s memoirs about Gogol are published in the 4th volume of his complete works, under the title: “Acquaintance with Gogol.” Under the same title, in the “Russian Archive” in 1889, and then in a separate publication, draft materials for memoirs, extracts from letters, many of Gogol’s letters to S.T. Aksakov in their entirety, etc. appeared that had not yet been printed. in the almanac “Dennitsa”, published by Maksimovich, a famous scientist and friend of Gogol, S. T. Aksakov included a short story “Buran”, which testified to a decisive turn in his work: S. T. Aksakov turned to living reality, finally freeing himself from false classical tastes . Walking steadily along a new path of realistic creativity, already in 1840 he began to write the “Family Chronicle”, which, however, appeared in its final form only in 1846. Excerpts from it were published without the author’s name in the “Moscow Collection” of 1846 Then, in 1847, “Notes on Fishing” appeared, in 1852 - “Notes of a Gun Hunter of the Orenburg Province,” and in 1855 - “Stories and Memoirs of a Hunter.” All these hunting “Notes” by S.T. Aksakov’s works were a huge success. The author’s name became known throughout reading Russia. His presentation was recognized as exemplary, his descriptions of nature were poetic, his characteristics of animals, birds and fish were considered masterful. “Your birds have more life than my people,” said S. . To T. Aksakov Gogol. I. S. Turgenev, in a review of “Notes of a Gun Hunter” (“Contemporary”, 1853, vol. 37, pp. 33-44), recognized S. T. Aksakov’s descriptive talent as first-class.

Encouraged by such success, already in his declining years, S. T. Aksakov appeared before the public with a number of new works. He began to write memoirs of a literary and, mainly, family nature. In 1856, the “Family Chronicle” appeared, which had extraordinary success. Critics differed in their understanding of the inner meaning of this best work by S. T. Aksakov. Thus, the Slavophiles (Khomyakov) found that he was “the first of our writers to look at our life from a positive rather than a negative point of view”; critics and publicists (Dobrolyubov), on the contrary, found negative facts in the Family Chronicle. In 1858, a continuation of the “Family Chronicle” appeared - “The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson”, which had less success. “Literary and theatrical memoirs have received little attention, although they contain a lot of valuable material for both the literary historian and the theater historian. To characterize the last years of S. T. Aksakov’s life, information in the “Literary Memoirs” of I. I. Panaev and the memoirs of M. N. Longinov (“Russian Bulletin”, 1859, No. 8, as well as an article in “Encyclopedic Slov.”) are important. ed. Russian writer and scientists, vol. II). Longinov says that S. T. Aksakov’s health deteriorated 12 years before his death. upset his body, losing one eye. In the spring of 1858, S. T. Aksakov’s illness took on a very dangerous character and began to cause him severe suffering, but he endured it with firmness and patience.

He spent his last summer at a dacha near Moscow and, despite a serious illness, had the strength in rare moments of relief to dictate his new works. This includes “Collecting Butterflies,” which appeared in print after his death in “Bratchina,” a collection published by former students of Kazan University, edited by P. I. Melnikov, at the end of 1859. In the fall of 1858, S. T. Aksakov moved to He spent Moscow and the entire next winter in terrible suffering, despite which he continued to occasionally engage in literature and wrote “Winter Morning”, “Meeting with the Martinists” (the last of his works published during his lifetime, which appeared in “Russian Conversation” in 1859) and the story “Natasha”, which was published in the same magazine.

The works of S. T. Aksakov were published many times in separate editions. Thus, “Family Chronicle” went through 4 editions, “Notes on Fishing” - 5, “Notes of a Gun Hunter” - 6. The first complete collection of works, constituting an almost complete autobiography of S. T. Aksakov, appeared at the end of 1886 in 6 -ty volumes, published by bookseller N. G. Martynov and edited partly by I. S. Aksakov, who provided it with valuable notes, and partly by P. A. Efremov, who provided the publication with significant completeness in bibliographic terms.