Historian N.M. Karamzin short biography. Karamzin biography for children, the most important thing. This is true patriotism

Karamzin N. M. is a famous Russian prose writer, journalist and historical figure. Nikolai Mikhailovich was born in the Kazan province in 1766. At first the writer was home-schooled, then he went to study at a Moscow boarding school. At this time, Karamzin was interested in literature, and in particular Shakespeare. Also, the aspiring prose writer spoke several ancient and modern languages.
In 1789, Karamzin's journey abroad began. He went to Europe, where the development of his creative path began. Here Karamzin wrote the work “Letters of a Russian Traveler”. The text was not a biography, his letters were literary text, the purpose was to describe the discoveries made by Karamzin during his journey.
After returning to his homeland, Nikolai Mikhailovich publishes his work “ Poor Lisa", it was this that brought him recognition and fame. His creation was imbued real life, and not in a sublime style. This work contributed to the development of such a trend in literature as sentimentalism. Karamzin wanted to introduce the ordinary reader to culture and make him a literate person. In the 1790s, Nikolai Mikhailovich began to engage in language reform. The main goal was to bring the literary language closer to the spoken one.
In 1803, Karamzin officially decided to engage in historical activities. He proposes his candidacy for the role of historiographer. In 1818, “The History of the Russian State” appeared; this book would subsequently be published in several languages. This enormous work reveals new stage in the writer's work. Journalism is now fading into the background and historical activity is coming to the forefront. “The History of the Russian State” is a new discovery of Russia. Karamzin wrote his work for a wide educated audience. Work on the history of Russia brought the writer and Tsar Alexander the First together. Thanks to this, Nikolai Mikhailovich comes to Tsarskoe Selo to be close to the courtyard. Closer to his death, Karamzin became a supporter of the monarchy. The writer died of a severe cold in 1826 in St. Petersburg.
Karamzin had a huge influence on journalism, reform and educational activities, history, literature and Russian culture as a whole. In journalism, he put forward examples of political publications, which would later become traditional. IN reform activities Karamzin combined the literary and colloquial word. IN educational activities It was Nikolai Mikhailovich who introduced the book into home education. As a historical figure, Karamzin wrote a work that remains the subject of much controversy and discussion to this day. As the writer Nikolai Mikhailovich on by example showed that real writer must be incorruptible and independent in his judgment.

The article talks about a short biography of Karamzin, a famous Russian writer who became famous primarily for his many years of historical work.

Biography of Karamzin: the development of a writer
N. M. Karamzin was born in 1766. Elementary education received at home, then studied in private boarding schools. Since childhood, I knew several languages.
In 1781, according to the wishes of his father, Karamzin entered the military service. During this period of life he begins to try creative forces and publishes his first translation. After a short time, Karamzin retired.
Since 1785, Karamzin has lived in Moscow, where he is actively involved in literary activities. He makes a large circle of acquaintances in a literary society and participates in the production of a children's magazine. Future writer joins the Masons.
At the end of the 80s. The writer makes a long trip to European countries, where he meets a number of famous European thinkers. Karamzin was a member of the Masonic lodge, and one of the purposes of the trip was meetings with the most prominent figures in Freemasonry. Probably, these meetings became the reason for the writer’s abandonment of Masonic ideas; he left the lodge. The writer outlined his impressions of the trip in “Letters of a Russian Traveler,” which became the writer’s first serious work. "Letters" were brought to Karamzin great fame. Returning to Russia, Karamzin created his own magazine, which was a great success.
In 1792, Karamzin published the story “Poor Liza,” which marked the opening of the era of Russian sentimentalism. Over the following years, he wrote several more works that increased his fame as a writer. Many famous Russian writers of that era began to work under the influence of his works. A. S. Pushkin had great respect for his work.
In 1803, Karamzin initiated the creation of the Russian magazine "Bulletin of Europe". The writer attracted many prominent literary figures to work there. The magazine covered wide circle questions and disseminated popular European ideas in Russia.
The reign of Alexander I became a new stage in creative path Karamzin. The writer was appointed court historiographer. He was given the task of covering the entire Russian history from a state point of view.

Biography of Karamzin: the work of a lifetime
Since 1804 Karamzin ceased all his creative activity and begins work on the “History of the Russian State,” which immortalized his name. The writer devoted all the remaining years of his life to this work. The volumes published as they were written were sold in circulations unheard of at that time and were translated into foreign languages. "History" was written in literary form, which became the reason for its popularity and availability. This was also a factor that significantly reduced scientific significance work. Karamzin was a staunch supporter of absolute autocratic power, which left a strong imprint of subjectivity on his work. Thanks to Karamzin, the so-called the Norman theory of the emergence of the Russian state, which became official.
Karamzin's undoubted merit was his broad coverage of the entire Russian history, which gave impetus to its further study. Of great scientific value are the notes to the History, which cite a large number of documentary sources that have now been lost. Karamzin had full access to all archival materials and was able to preserve many of them in records. "The History of the Russian State", despite its shortcomings, became the first comprehensive work on Russian history. It is still one of the fundamental documents in Russian historiography.
In addition to his main work, Karamzin continues to publish articles and reviews. The writer's extensive correspondence, subsequently published, is of great value.
The Decembrist uprising and the death of Alexander I had a serious impact on the health of the writer, already undermined by his titanic work. Many researchers believe that these events became an indirect cause of the death of Karamzin, who died in 1826 in St. Petersburg.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born in 1766 in Simbirsk (on the middle Volga), into a family of provincial nobles. He received a good secondary education at a private school of a German - a professor at Moscow University. After school, he almost became a dissolute nobleman looking for nothing but entertainment, but then he met I. P. Turgenev, a prominent mason, who led him away from the path of vice and introduced him to Novikov. These Masonic influences played main role in shaping Karamzin’s worldview. Their vaguely religious, sentimental, cosmopolitan ideas paved the way to an understanding of Rousseau and Herder. Karamzin began writing for Novikov magazines. His first work was the translation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar(1787). He also translated Seasons Thomson. In 1789, Karamzin went abroad and spent about a year and a half there, traveling through Germany, Switzerland, France and England. Returning to Moscow, he began publishing a monthly Moscow magazine(1791–1792), from which the new movement began. the materials contained in it belonged to the pen of the publisher himself.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Portrait by Tropinin

His main work, published there, was Letters from a Russian traveler, received by the public almost as a revelation: a new, enlightened, cosmopolitan sensitivity and delightfully a new style(see article Karamzin as a reformer of Russian literary language). Karamzin became the leader and the most outstanding literary figure of his generation.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin(December 1, 1766, family estate Znamenskoye, Mikhailovka village, Simbirsk province, according to some sources, Orenburg province) - May 22, 1826, St. Petersburg) - an outstanding historian, the largest Russian writer of the era of sentimentalism, nicknamed the “Russian Stern.” Creator of the “History of the Russian State” (volumes 1-12, 1803-1826) - one of the first generalizing works on the history of Russia. Editor of the Moscow Journal (1791-1792) and Vestnik Evropy (1802-1803).

Karamzin went down in history as great reformer Russian language. His style is light in the Gallic manner, but instead of direct borrowing, Karamzin enriched the language with tracing words, such as “impression” and “influence,” “falling in love,” “touching” and “entertaining.” It was he who introduced into use the words “industry”, “concentrate”, “moral”, “aesthetic”, “era”, “scene”, “harmony”, “catastrophe”, “future”.

Biography

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born on December 1 (12), 1766 near Simbirsk. He grew up on the estate of his father - retired captain Mikhail Egorovich Karamzin (1724-1783), a middle-class Simbirsk nobleman from the Karamzin family, allegedly descended from the Tatar Kara-Murza. Received home education. In 1778 he was sent to Moscow to the boarding school of Moscow University professor I.M. Schaden. At the same time, he attended lectures by I. G. Schwartz at the University in 1781-1782.

In 1783, at the insistence of his father, he entered service in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment of St. Petersburg. It was during these years that Karamzin first tried himself in the literary field, in 1783 making a translation from German. In 1784, after the death of his father, having retired with the rank of lieutenant, he finally parted with military service. During his stay in Simbirsk he joined Masonic lodge“Golden Crown”, and after arriving in Moscow within four years(1785-1789) was a member of the Friendly Learned Society.

In Moscow, Karamzin met writers and writers: N. I. Novikov, A. M. Kutuzov, A. A. Petrov, joined the “Friendly Scientific Society”, settled in a house that belonged to him, and later collaborated with members of the circle in various publications , in particular, takes part in the publication of the magazine “Children’s Reading for the Heart and Mind,” which became the first Russian magazine for children.

Nikolai Karamzin was not inclined towards the mystical side of Freemasonry, remaining a supporter of its active and educational direction. Perhaps the cooling towards Freemasonry was one of the reasons for Karamzin’s departure to Europe, where he spent more than a year (1789-90), visiting Germany, Switzerland, France and England, where he met and talked (except for influential Freemasons) with European “masters of minds” ": I. Kant, I. G. Herder, C. Bonnet, I. K. Lavater, J. F. Marmontel and others, visited museums, theaters, and social salons. In Paris, he listened to O. G. Mirabeau, Maximilian Robespierre and others at the National Assembly, saw many outstanding political figures and was familiar with many. Apparently, revolutionary Paris showed Karamzin how powerfully a word can influence a person: in print, when Parisians read pamphlets and leaflets, newspapers with keen interest; oral, when revolutionary speakers spoke and controversy arose (an experience that could not be acquired in Russia).

Karamzin did not have a very enthusiastic opinion about English parliamentarism (perhaps following in the footsteps of Jean-Jacques Rousseau), but he very highly valued the level of civilization at which English society as a whole was located.

Returning to Moscow, Nikolai Karamzin began publishing the “Moscow Journal”, in which he published the story “Poor Liza” (1792), which had extraordinary success with readers, then “Letters of a Russian Traveler” (1791-92), which placed Karamzin among the first Russian writers . These works, as well as literary critical articles, expressed the aesthetic program of sentimentalism with its interest in a person, regardless of class, his feelings and experiences. A number of philologists believe that modern Russian literature dates back to the Letters. Be that as it may, Karamzin really became a pioneer in the literature of Russian “travels” - he quickly found both imitators (V.V. Izmailov, P.I. Sumarokov, P.I. Shalikov) and worthy successors(A. A. Bestuzhev, N. A. Bestuzhev, F. N. Glinka, A. S. Griboyedov). It is since then that Karamzin has been considered one of the main literary figures in Russia.

The story “Poor Liza” strengthened Karamzin’s literary authority. The subsequently published collections and almanacs “Aglaya”, “Aonids”, “My Trinkets”, “Pantheon of Foreign Literature” ushered in the era of sentimentalism in Russian literature, and it was N.M. Karamzin was at the head of the current; under the influence of his works, V.A. wrote. Zhukovsky, K.N. Batyushkov, as well as A.S. Pushkin at the beginning of his creative career.

It was 1793, when in the third stage French Revolution The Jacobin dictatorship was established, which shocked Karamzin with its cruelty. The dictatorship aroused in him doubts about the possibility for humanity to achieve prosperity. He condemned the revolution. The philosophy of despair and fatalism permeates his new works: the story “The Island of Bornholm” (1793); “Sierra Morena” (1795); poems “Melancholy”, “Message to A. A. Pleshcheev”, etc.

In the 1790s, his interest in Russian history increased; he gets acquainted with historical works, the main published sources: chronicles, notes of foreigners, etc.

Karamzin’s response to the coup of March 11, 1801 and the accession to the throne of Alexander I was perceived as a collection of examples for the young monarch “Historical word of praise Catherine the Second" (1802), where Karamzin expressed his views on the essence of the monarchy in Russia and the duties of the monarch and his subjects.

In 1801 Nikolai Karamzin married E.I. Protasova, who died a year later. For his second marriage, Karamzin was married to the half-sister of Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky (father of Pavel Vyazemsky), E. A. Kolyvanova (1804), with whom he lived happily until the end of his days, finding in her not only a devoted wife and caring mother, but also a friend and assistant in history studies.

In October 1803, the emperor appointed the writer as an official historiographer, and Karamzin was given the task of capturing the history of the Russian state. His genuine interest in history, the priority of this topic over all others, was evidenced by the nature of the publications of “Bulletin of Europe” (Karamzin published this first socio-political, literary and artistic magazine in the country in 1802-1803). At the same time, 2 thousand rubles were added to the rank. annual salary. The title of historiographer in Russia was not renewed after Karamzin’s death.

In 1804, literary and artistic work was completely curtailed, and the writer began to work on “The History of the Russian State” (1816-1824), which became the main work in his life and a whole phenomenon in Russian history and literature, “he took monastic vows as a historian.” In this regard, he refused government posts offered to him, in particular, the post of Tver governor.

Interest in world and domestic history, ancient and new, and the events of today prevails in the publications of Russia’s first socio-political and literary-art magazine “Bulletin of Europe”, published by Karamzin in 1802-03. He also published several essays on Russian here. medieval history(“Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagorod”, “News about Martha the Posadnitsa, taken from the life of St. Zosima”, “Journey around Moscow”, “Historical memories and remarks on the way to the Trinity”, etc.), testifying to the plan of a large-scale historical labor, and readers of the magazine were offered individual stories of it, which made it possible to study the reader’s perception, improve the techniques and methods of research, which would then be used in the “History of the Russian State.”

Until the last day of his life, Karamzin was busy writing “The History of the Russian State,” which had a significant influence on Russian historical science and literature, allowing us to see in it one of the notable cultural-forming phenomena not only of the 19th century, but also of the 20th. Starting from ancient times and the first mentions of the Slavs, Karamzin managed to bring the “History” to the Time of Troubles. This amounted to 12 volumes of text of high literary merit, accompanied by more than 6 thousand historical notes, in which the historical sources, works by European and domestic authors.

In 1811, at the request of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, Karamzin wrote “A Note on Ancient and New Russia in its Political and civil relations", which reflected the views of conservative layers of society dissatisfied with the liberal reforms of the emperor, outlined his ideas about the ideal structure Russian state and sharply criticized the policies of Alexander I and his closest predecessors: Paul, Catherine II and Peter I. In the 19th century. This note was never published in full and was circulated in handwritten copies. Karamzin in this document criticized unprepared bureaucratic reforms carried out from above. The note remains in Karamzin’s work the most complete expression of his political views.. “Note about ancient and new Russia in its political and civil relations” also played the role of sketches for Nikolai Mikhailovich’s subsequent huge work on Russian history.

Before the publication of the first eight volumes, Karamzin lived in Moscow, from where he left only in 1810 to Tver to Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, in order to convey through her to the sovereign his note “On Ancient and New Russia,” and to Nizhny, when the French occupied Moscow. Karamzin usually spent his summers in Ostafyevo, the estate of his father-in-law, Prince Andrei Ivanovich Vyazemsky. In August 1812 Karamzin lived in the house of the commander-in-chief of Moscow, Count F.V. Rostopchin and left Moscow a few hours before the French entered. As a result of the Moscow fire, Karamzin’s personal library, which he had been collecting for a quarter of a century, was destroyed. In June 1813, after the family returned to Moscow, he settled in the house of the publisher S.A. Selivanovsky, and then in the house of the Moscow theatergoer F.F. Kokoshkina. In 1816, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin moved to St. Petersburg, where he spent the last 10 years of his life and became close to the royal family, although Emperor Alexander I, who did not like criticism of his actions, treated the writer with restraint from the time the “Note” was submitted. Following the wishes of Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Elizaveta Alekseevna, Nikolai Mikhailovich spent the summer in Tsarskoe Selo. In 1818 Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was elected an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Chronology

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born on December 1 (12), 1766 in the village of Mikhailovka, Simbirsk province (now Buzuluksky district Orenburg region).
Karamzin's father was a landowner in Simbirsk; he also owned the village of Mikhailovka.
Nikolai Karamzin received a good education at home; already as a teenager he knew several foreign languages: German, English, French, Italian. According to the tradition that existed at that time, as a child he was enlisted in the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment.
1775 - 1781 - Karamzin in Moscow, lives and studies at the boarding school of I.M. Schaden, professor at Moscow University. At the same time, he attends lectures at Moscow University.
1783 (or 1781) - 1784 - Nikolai Karamzin, at the request of his father, serves in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment in St. Petersburg. Having retired at the beginning of 1784, he left for Simbirsk.
In Simbirsk, soon after his arrival, Karamzin joined the Golden Crown Masonic lodge. One of the founders of the lodge advises the talented young man to go to Moscow.
Autumn 1784 - having listened to the advice, Karamzin leaves Simbirsk for Moscow. Here he is accepted into the “Friendly Scientific Society” of Freemasons. At the same time, Nikolai Mikhailovich began collaborating with the magazine “ Children's reading", the editor of which was one of the society members N.I. Novikov.
1789 - Karamzin publishes his first story, “Eugene and Yulia.”
1789 - 1790 - after leaving the Masonic society, Karamzin goes on a trip to Europe. Visits Germany, France, Switzerland, England. This trip finally shaped Karamzin as a writer. The literary result of the voyage was “Letters of a Russian Traveler.” The significance of this work is that here for the first time Karamzin pointed out that Russia is following the same path of enlightenment as other peoples of Europe.
1790 - returning to Moscow, Karamzin begins publishing the Moscow Journal. It was a very serious publication by the standards of that time - more than three hundred subscribers. The peculiarity of the magazine was that often its only author was Karamzin himself. “Letters of a Russian Traveler” were published from issue to issue, and here the stories “Poor Liza”, “Natalia, the Boyar’s Daughter”, “Frol Silin, a Benevolent Man”, “Liodor” were first published. All of these works were innovative in terms of literary language. Karamzin did not focus on a beautiful, sublime style, but on its vitality, grace, and emotionality. The author of "Poor Liza" is rightfully considered the founder of a new literary movement which replaced classicism - sentimentalism. In addition, the magazine published critical articles and reviews written by Karamzin on literary and theatrical works.
1792 – N.I. was arrested on suspicion of Freemasonry. Novikov. Karamzin responded to the arrest of his teacher with an ode to mercy, publishing it in the Moscow Journal. The result was that suspicions also affected Nikolai Mikhailovich himself - the investigation became interested in his trip to Europe (was it not on the instructions of the Freemasons?). "Moscow Journal" had to be closed. Karamzin leaves Moscow for the village.
1793 - 1795 - Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin waits out a scandal with accusations of Freemasonry in the village. He publishes two collections of poetry “Aglaya” and is engaged in journalism.
1795 - returning to Moscow, Karamzin collaborates with the newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti. During this period, the writer became interested in Russian history. He reads a lot, writes articles, publishing them in European magazines.
1796 – a collection of works by Russian poets “Aonids” was published under the editorship of Karamzin.
1798 - Karamzin again begins to publish a magazine, this time entirely devoted to translated literature. The magazine was called “Pantheon of Foreign Literature.”
With his works - both literary and journalistic - Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin managed to reform the Russian literary language, encourage authors to “write as they speak,” and bring the written language closer to the living spoken language.
1801 - Karamzin marries Elizaveta Ivanovna Protasova.
1802 - Elizaveta Ivanovna dies, leaving Karamzin with a daughter, Sophia.
The same year - Karamzin founded the literary and political magazine “Bulletin of Europe”. Many authors collaborated with the magazine, among whom were G.R. Derzhavin and V.A. Zhukovsky. The magazine existed until 1803. The stories “Martha the Posadnitsa”, “My Confession”, etc. were published here.
October 1803 - Karamzin was appointed official historiographer. His task was to write a complete history of Russia.
1804 - Nikolai Mikhailovich begins work on the “History of the Russian State”. In the same year, he married Ekaterina Andreevna Kolyvanova, the illegitimate daughter of Prince A.I. Vyazemsky.
1812 - Patriotic War. Karamzin intends to join the militia. He sends his family to Yaroslavl, presenting his wife with the “best and most complete” copy of the “History of the Russian State.” During the famous Moscow fire, the writer's personal library was destroyed. Nikolai Mikhailovich himself left Moscow a few hours before the city was occupied by the French.
August 1813 - Karamzin returns to Moscow.
1816 - the first 8 volumes of the “History of the Russian State” were published. The three thousand edition sold out in less than a month. Karamzin and his family move to St. Petersburg and become closer to the imperial family.
1818 - Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was elected an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He initiated the creation of a monument to Minin and Pozharsky, installed on Red Square in Moscow.
1821 – Volume 9 of “History of the Russian State” was published.
1824 – the 10th and 11th volumes of “History...” were published. (The 12th volume was published after the author’s death.) The fundamental work is not only scientific, but also artistic; the author set himself the task of creating a work of the epic genre.
In the same year, Karamzin received the rank of full state councilor.
December 14, 1825 - Karamzin on Senate Square. This circumstance did not entail any political consequences for the famous historian, but it became the cause of a severe cold, from which Nikolai Mikhailovich never recovered.
Beginning of 1826 - a cold develops into pneumonia. Doctors advise going to Europe for treatment. The Emperor provides funds and transport for this, but Karamzin is no longer able to leave St. Petersburg.
May 22 (June 3), 1826 - Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin dies. Buried in St. Petersburg.

Karamzin - writer

Collected works of N. M. Karamzin in 11 volumes. in 1803-1815 was printed in the printing house of the Moscow book publisher Selivanovsky.

“The influence of the last Karamzin on literature can be compared with the influence of Catherine on society: he made literature humane,” wrote A. I. Herzen.

Sentimentalism

Karamzin’s publication of “Letters of a Russian Traveler” (1791-1792) and the story “Poor Liza” (1792; separate publication 1796) ushered in the era of sentimentalism in Russia.

Lisa was surprised, she dared to look at the young man, she blushed even more and, looking down at the ground, told him that she would not take the ruble.
- For what?
- I don't need anything extra.
- I think that beautiful lilies of the valley, plucked by the hands of a beautiful girl, are worth a ruble. When you don’t take it, here’s your five kopecks. I would like to always buy flowers from you; I would like you to tear them just for me.

Dominant " human nature“Sentimentalism declared feeling, not reason, which distinguished it from classicism. Sentimentalism believed that the ideal of human activity was not the “reasonable” reorganization of the world, but the release and improvement of “natural” feelings. His hero is more individualized, his inner world is enriched by the ability to empathize and sensitively respond to what is happening around him.

The publication of these works was a great success among readers of that time; “Poor Liza” caused many imitations. Karamzin's sentimentalism had a great influence on the development of Russian literature: it inspired, among other things, the romanticism of Zhukovsky and the work of Pushkin.

Karamzin's poetry

Soon after leaving abroad, Karamzin begins to test his strength in poetry; Rhyme was not easy for him, and in his poems there was no so-called soaring at all, but even here his syllable is clear and simple; he knew how to find new themes for Russian literature and borrow original and beautiful meters from the Germans. His “ancient Spanish historical song”: “Count Gvarinos”, written in 1789, is the prototype of Zhukovsky’s ballads; his “Autumn” at one time amazed with its extraordinary simplicity and grace.

Karamzin's poetry, which developed in the mainstream of European sentimentalism, was radically different from the traditional poetry of his time, brought up on the odes of Lomonosov and Derzhavin. The most significant differences were the following:

Karamzin is not interested in the external, physical world, but in the internal, spiritual world person. His poems speak “the language of the heart,” not the mind. The object of Karamzin’s poetry is “simple life”, and to describe it he uses simple poetic forms- poor rhymes, avoids the abundance of metaphors and other tropes so popular in the poems of his predecessors.

“Who is your dear?”
I'm ashamed; it really hurts me
The strangeness of my feelings is revealed
And be the butt of jokes.
The heart is not free to choose!..
What to say? She...she.
Oh! not important at all
And talents behind you
Has none;
…The Strangeness of Love, or Insomnia (1793)

Another difference between Karamzin’s poetics is that the world is fundamentally unknowable for him; the poet recognizes the existence of different points of view on the same subject:
One voice
It's scary in the grave, cold and dark!
The winds howl here, the coffins shake,
White bones are knocking.
Another voice
Quiet in the grave, soft, calm.
The winds blow here; sleepers are cool;
Herbs and flowers grow.
Cemetery (1792)

Karamzin's prose

Two stories by Karamzin appear in the Moscow Journal: “Poor Liza” and “Natalya, the Boyar’s Daughter,” which serve as the most striking expression of his sentimentalism. The first one was especially successful: poets praised the author or composed elegies for the ashes of poor Lisa. Of course, epigrams also appeared. Karamzin's sentimentalism came from his natural inclinations and the conditions of his development, as well as from his sympathy for literary school which arose in the West at that time. In “Poor Liza,” the author openly declares that he “loves those objects that touch the heart and make you shed tears of grave sorrow.” There is nothing Russian in the story, except for the location; but the vague desire of the public to have poetry closer to life has so far been satisfied by this too

to many.

There are no characters in “Poor Liza,” but there is a lot of feeling, and most importantly, with the whole tone of the story, it touched the soul and brought readers into the mood in which the author imagined them. Now “Poor Liza” seems cold and false, but in theory this is the first link of the chain that, through Pushkin’s romance: “In the evening of a stormy autumn,” stretches to Dostoevsky’s “The Humiliated and Insulted.” It is from “Poor Liza” that Russian literature takes the philanthropic direction that Kireyevsky talks about. Imitators took Karamzin’s tearful tone to an extreme, which he did not sympathize with at all: already in 1797 (in the preface to the 2nd book of “Aonid”) he advises “not to constantly talk about tears... this method of touching is very unreliable.”

“Natalia, the Boyar’s Daughter” is important as the first experience of sentimental idealization of our past, and in the history of Karamzin’s development - as the first and timid step of the future author of “The History of the Russian State.” “Moscow Journal” was a success, quite significant for that time (already in the first year it had 300 “subscripts”; subsequently a second edition was needed), but Karamzin achieved especially wide fame in 1794, when he collected all the articles from it his own and reprinted them in a special collection: “My trinkets” (2nd ed., 1797; 3rd – 1801).

From then on, his significance as a literary reformer is quite clear: a few lovers of literature recognize him as the best prose writer, and a large public only reads him with pleasure. In Russia at that time, life was so bad for all thinking people that, as Karamzin put it, “magnanimous frenzy against abuses of power drowned out the voice of personal caution” (“Note on Ancient and New Russia”). Under Paul I, Karamzin was ready to leave literature and sought mental relaxation in the study Italian language and in reading ancient monuments. From the beginning of the reign of Alexander I, Karamzin, while still a writer, occupied an unprecedentedly high position: he became not only “Alexander’s singer” in the sense that Derzhavin was “Catherine’s singer,” but became an influential publicist, whose voice was listened to and government, and society.

From works of art Karamzin in “Bulletin of Europe”, more important than others, is the autobiographical story “A Knight of Our Time,” which noticeably reflects the influence of Jean-Paul Richter, and the famous historical story“Martha the Posadnitsa.” In the leading articles of the magazine, Karamzin expresses “pleasant views, hopes and desires of the present time,” shared by the best part of the then society. It turned out that the revolution, which threatened to engulf civilization and freedom, brought them great benefit: now “sovereigns, instead of condemning reason to silence, incline it to their side”; they “feel the importance of the union” with the best minds, respect public opinion and try to gain people's love by eliminating abuses.

In relation to Russia, Karamzin wants education for all classes, and above all literacy for the people (“the establishment of rural schools is incomparably more useful than all lyceums, being a true public institution, the true basis of state education”); he dreams of the penetration of science into high society. In general, for Karamzin, “enlightenment is the palladium of good morals,” by which he means the manifestation in private and public life of all the best aspects of human nature and the taming of selfish instincts.

Karamzin also uses the form of the story to convey his ideas into society: in “My Confession” he denounces the absurd secular education given to the aristocracy and the unfair favors shown to it. Weak side journalistic activities Karamzin is his attitude towards serfdom; he, as N.I. Turgenev says, skims over this issue (in “Letter from a Villager” he directly speaks out against giving peasants the opportunity to independently run their farms under the conditions of that time). The criticism department in Vestnik Evropy is almost non-existent; Karamzin now does not have such a high opinion of her as before; he considers her a luxury for our still poor literature.

In general, “Bulletin of Europe” does not coincide in everything with “Russian Traveler”. Karamzin, far from revering the West as before, finds that it is not good for both man and the people to remain forever in the position of a student; he attaches great importance to national self-awareness and rejects the idea that “everything national is nothing compared to humanity.” At this time, Shishkov begins a literary war against Karamzin and his supporters, which comprehended and finally consolidated Karamzin’s reform in our language and partly in the very direction of Russian literature.

In his youth, Karamzin recognized Petrov, the enemy of the Slavs, as his teacher in literary style; in 1801, he expressed the conviction that only since his time has the “pleasantness, called by the French elegance,” been noticed in the Russian syllable. Even later (1803) he speaks about the literary style: “A Russian candidate for authorship, dissatisfied with books, must close them and listen to conversations around him in order to completely recognize the language. There's a new problem here: best houses We speak more French... What can the author do? Invent, make up expressions, guess the best choice words." Shishkov rebelled against all innovations (moreover, he also took examples from the inept and extreme imitators of Karamzin), sharply separating the literary language, with its strong Slavic element and three styles, from the colloquial one.

Karamzin's language reform

Karamzin's prose and poetry had a decisive influence on the development of the Russian literary language. Karamzin purposefully refused to use Church Slavonic vocabulary and grammar, bringing the language of his works to the everyday language of his era and using the grammar and syntax of the French language as a model.

Karamzin introduced many new words into the Russian language - as neologisms (“charity”, “love”, “freethinking”, “attraction”, “responsibility”, “suspiciousness”, “industry”, “refinement”, “first-class”, “humane” ") and barbarisms ("sidewalk", "coachman"). He was also one of the first to use the letter E.

The changes in language proposed by Karamzin caused heated controversy in the 1810s. The writer A. S. Shishkov, with the assistance of Derzhavin, founded in 1811 the society “Conversation of Lovers of the Russian Word”, the purpose of which was to promote the “old” language, as well as criticize Karamzin, Zhukovsky and their followers. In response, in 1815 it was formed literary society"Arzamas", which ironized the authors of "Conversation" and parodied their works. Many poets of the new generation became members of the society, including Batyushkov, Vyazemsky, Davydov, Zhukovsky, Pushkin. The literary victory of “Arzamas” over “Beseda” strengthened the victory of the linguistic changes that Karamzin introduced.

Despite this, later there was a rapprochement between Karamzin and Shishkov, and, thanks to the latter’s assistance, Karamzin was elected a member in 1818 Russian Academy. In the same year he became a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

In his opening speech, he expressed the bright idea that “words are not invented by academies; they are born along with thoughts.” As Pushkin put it, “Karamzin freed the language from the alien yoke and returned it to freedom, turning it to living sources folk word" This living element lies in the brevity of periods, in colloquial construction and in a large number of new words (such as, for example, moral, aesthetic, era, scene, harmony, catastrophe, future, influence someone or something, concentrate, touching, entertaining, industry ). While working on history, Karamzin realized the good aspects of the language of monuments and managed to introduce many beautiful and strong expressions into everyday use. When collecting material for “History,” Karamzin rendered a tremendous service to the study of ancient Russian literature; according to Sreznevsky, “the first word was said about many of the ancient monuments by Karamzin, and not a single word was said about any of them inappropriately and without criticism.” “The Tale of Igor’s Host”, “The Teachings of Monomakh” and many other literary works of ancient Rus' became known to a large public only thanks to “The History of the Russian State”.

Karamzin - translator

In 1787, fascinated by the work of Shakespeare, Karamzin published his translation original text tragedy "Julius Caesar". About his assessment of the work and his own work as a translator, Karamzin wrote in the preface:
“The tragedy that I translated is one of his excellent creations... If reading the translation gives Russian literature lovers a sufficient understanding of Shakespeare; if it brings them pleasure, the translator will be rewarded for his work. However, he was prepared for the opposite.”.

In the early 1790s, this edition, one of the first works of Shakespeare in Russian, was included by the censor among the books for confiscation and burning.

In 1792-1793 N. M. Karamzin translated a wonderful monument Indian literature(from English) - the drama “Sakuntala”, authored by Kalidasa. In the preface to the translation he wrote:
“The creative spirit does not live in Europe alone; he is a citizen of the universe. A person is a person everywhere; He has a sensitive heart everywhere, and in the mirror of his imagination he contains heaven and earth. Everywhere Nature is his mentor and main source his pleasures. I felt this very vividly while reading Sakontala, a drama composed in an Indian language, 1900 years before this, by the Asian poet Kalidas, and recently translated into English by William Jones, a Bengali judge ... "

The first edition of Karamzin’s “History” in Polish

Karamzin - historian

Karamzin developed an interest in history in the mid-1790s. He wrote a story on historical topic- “Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagorod” (published in 1803). In the same year, by decree of Alexander I, he was appointed to the position of historiographer, and until the end of his life he was engaged in writing “The History of the Russian State,” practically ceasing his activities as a journalist and writer.

“The History of the Russian State” by Karamzin was not the first description of the history of Russia; before him there were the works of V.N. Tatishchev and M.M. Shcherbatov. But it was Karamzin who opened the history of Russia to a wide educated public. According to A. S. Pushkin, “Everything, even secular women, rushed to read the history of their fatherland, hitherto unknown to them. She was a new discovery for them. Ancient Russia seemed to be found by Karamzin, like America by Columbus." This work also caused a wave of imitations and contrasts (for example, “The History of the Russian People” by N. A. Polevoy)

In his work, Karamzin acted more as a writer than a historian - when describing historical facts, he cared about the beauty of the language, least of all trying to draw any conclusions from the events he described. Nevertheless, his commentaries, which contain many extracts from manuscripts first published by Karamzin, are of high scientific value. Some of these manuscripts no longer exist.

His principle is to follow the truth of history, no matter how bitter it may be. “History is not a novel,” writes Karamzin, “it depicts the real world.” There are “difficult pages” in the history of every nation - this is the thought of the historian Karamzin. He creates the history of society as a whole, describes everything that is included “in the civil existence of people: the successes of reason, art, customs, laws, industry.” Such an integrated approach to history, identifying the cause-and-effect relationships of events, forms the basis of his historical concept.

The history of Russia, according to Karamzin, is divided into “ancient” (from Rurik to Ivan III), middle (from Ivan III to Peter I) and “new” (from Peter I to Alexander I). The main feature of the first period was the system of appanages, the second - autocracy, the third - “changes in civil customs”. Karamzin argued that in those periods of its history when Russia relied on a strong central government, it achieved great success both in organizing internal life and in the sphere of foreign policy. The destruction of autocracy led to anarchy, civil strife, a bloody struggle that destroyed the people's forces, and in the external sphere - to defeats and loss of independence. “Russia was founded by victories and unity of command, perished from discord, and was saved by autocracy,” writes Karamzin.

For the author of “The History of the Russian State,” the order in which “the people work, the merchants trade, the nobles serve” is sacred. For Karamzin, autocracy was not a primitive understanding of power intended to suppress “slaves” and support the nobility, but was the personification of the idea of ​​order, the safety of subjects, a guarantor of the revelation of all the best human qualities, civil and personal. The main purpose of strong government is to create conditions for the maximum development of human potential. It is precisely this state of society that leads, Karamzin believed, to true progress not only individual peoples, but also all of humanity.

Karamzin attached particular importance to the monarch’s fulfillment of his high responsibilities in leading the country; His main duty is to “preserve the people’s happiness” and strictly implement the law. “Autocracy is not the absence of laws, and the Sovereign, no less than his subjects, must fulfill his sacred duties,”? says the historian.

While defending the idea of ​​autocracy, Nikolai Mikhailovich still did not spare the real bearers of this idea. He denounced Yaroslav the Wise for introducing a system of appanages, Yuri Dolgorukov for treachery and cruelty, and the son of Alexander Nevsky, Yuri Alexandrovich, for “vile intrigues” in the Horde. Karamzin wrote openly about the cruelty of Ivan III, and using the example of Ivan the Terrible, the historian shows what a monarch should not be like. The description of the reign of Ivan the Terrible is, in essence, an endless chain of atrocities against all layers of Russian society. Karamzin is also critical of the rule of Boris Godunov and Vasily Shuisky. He assesses Peter I very controversially. On the one hand, this is a sovereign who has done a lot for the greatness of Russia and the strengthening of autocracy in it, and on the other hand, he committed such a “complete appropriation of European customs, which caused enormous damage to the country. Everything Russian was eradicated, we became citizens of the world, but in some cases we ceased to be citizens of Russia, and Peter is to blame for this.”

In the famous epigram, whose authorship is attributed to A. S. Pushkin, Karamzin’s coverage of Russian history is subject to criticism:
In his “History” elegance, simplicity
They prove to us, without any bias,
The need for autocracy
And the delights of the whip.

On December 1, 1766, a son, Nikolai, was born on the estate of the Simbirsk landowner Mikhail Karamzin. A calm, inquisitive, sensitive child received the usual upbringing for a provincial nobleman and early became addicted to reading. At the age of 13, the boy was sent to Moscow, where in a private boarding school Nikolai improved his social manners and also studied foreign languages.

At the age of 16, he entered military service, but quickly realized that this was not his path. After just a year and a half, Karamzin retired. The Freemasons had a great influence on the future writer. For four years, Nikolai actively attended Novikov’s Moscow circle. Karamzin’s first literary experiments date back to this time. Disillusioned with Freemasonry, Nikolai went traveling. France, Germany, Switzerland and England gave the inquisitive young man rich material for travel notes.

Returning to his homeland, Karamzin began publishing the Moscow Journal, where he published many of his articles, essays, stories and novellas. Among them is “Poor Liza,” which brought the author wide fame. Today this work would be called “cult.” The story of a peasant girl, who was seduced and abandoned by a young nobleman, caused real delight among readers. They made a pilgrimage to iconic places: pond in Kolomenskoye and Simonov Monastery. Many came to Moscow just to see their favorite writer, at least from afar.

After the trial of the Freemasons, Karamzin was forced to leave for the village, where he began compiling a three-volume almanac of Russian poetry, and then published the collection “My Trinkets.” Increased censorship made it almost impossible to publish further works. Karamzin decided to take up journalism. He was especially good at articles on historical topics.

The writer's friend Muravyov arranged for Nikolai to become a court historiographer under the young Emperor Alexander I. Here Karamzin gained access to state and church archives. He set to work on a colossal work - “The History of the Russian State” in twelve volumes. Karamzin gave twenty-three years of his life to this cause. The last volume was published after the author's death. The grandiose historical research was a huge success among readers. The release of each new volume was eagerly awaited even society ladies. Nikolai Karamzin was called Columbus, who revealed their past to the Russians.

But the scientific value of this work is not so high, since the author retold well-known materials of other historians. Karamzin did not conduct an analysis, did not formulate conclusions and generalizations, but presented the facts in a living literary language, making dry scientific research very exciting. “The History of the Russian State” is more like a popular science work than a serious work of a scientist. However, the writer managed to stir up patriotic sentiments and awaken public interest in the history of his homeland. Numerous references and notes made “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”, “The Teachings of Monomakh” and many other primary sources available to the wider readership.

Nikolai Karamzin spent the last ten years of his life in Tsarskoe Selo, where he became close to the Tsar’s family. The events on Senate Square, which the writer witnessed, greatly undermined his health. Doctors advised a trip to Italy, the tsar even allocated a frigate for this, but it was too late. In May 1826, the famous writer passed away.

The significance of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin’s work for Russian literature is very great. He was not a great master of words, but he made a real creative revolution. For the first time, the heroine of a popular work was not a princess or countess, but a simple peasant woman. The writer created a new literary language: simple, easy, close to colloquial. He introduced many new words into use. Before Karamzin, the Russian language did without “communication”, “impression”, “influence”, “improvement”, “catastrophe”, “representative”, “attraction”, “charity” and many other modern concepts.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born in 1766 in the Simbirsk region. He was from a family of provincial nobles. Nikolai received his education at a private school. He served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment from 1781 to 1784, retiring with the rank of lieutenant.

Literary activity and innovation of Karamzin

Nikolai Mikhailovich was engaged in translations, wrote critical articles, published magazines and almanacs. Several stories belong to him, including historical and lyrical works. The direction of his work is permeated with sentimentalism, and his style was elegant. He brought a lot of new things to the literary language, moving away from church usage.

Karamzin moved from Simbirsk to Moscow in 1785. There he met I.P. Turgenev, who influenced his activities. Through him Nikolai also met the freemason Novikov.

Karamzin’s story “Poor Liza” gained wide popularity. It was also his first work of this genre. Later, he will write several more stories. The first translation that marked the beginning of his work was Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

While studying poetry, he was the first in Russia to resort to it as a way of self-expression. This is how its development began with Karamzin.

Karamzin's travels and magazine publishing

In 1789 Nikolai Mikhailovich went on a trip abroad. He visited England and France. I also visited Germany. His travels around Europe lasted about a year and a half.

Returning to Moscow, he began publishing magazines. Most of The materials published in them were written by him himself. “Letters of a Russian Traveler” was published. Karamzin earned himself the reputation of an outstanding writer of his time.

But the short reign of Paul, from 1796 to 1801, forced Karamzin to stop his activities for a while. Later, under Emperor Alexander, he returned to writing again. Now he published the "Bulletin of Europe". This magazine devoted more space to politics.

Since 1804, Nikolai stopped this type of activity and completely devoted himself to historical research. He writes "History of the Russian State." This work of his consists of large quantity volumes, the last of which was published after the death of its creator. Karamzin wrote a history from antiquity to the events of the Time of Troubles.

He was recognized not only as an outstanding writer, but also as a historian and politician. This gave him the opportunity to move to St. Petersburg and get closer to the emperor and his court.

In 1826, the life of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin ended. Shortly before his departure, the emperor also died, which was hard for Karamzin, since they were on fairly friendly terms. It is believed that the cause of death of the famous prose writer and historian was a terrible cold.

8th, 9th grade for children

Biography of Nikolai Karamzin about the main thing

Nikolai Karamzin was born in 1766 in the Simbirsk province.

At the age of 5, Nikolai studied German with a 50-year-old doctor. He acquired his initial knowledge in a separate boarding house. Later, the boy was sent to Moscow, where he continued his studies at the educational institution of Mr. Schaden, who was considered by everyone to be one of the most educated professors at Moscow University. The young man studied historical sciences, literature and various languages. Then he enlists in the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

After the death of his father, Karamzin left the service and returned to his homeland with the rank of lieutenant. He no longer intended to serve, which was considered a challenge to society in those days. The cheerful and carefree life with his friends did not last long. Soon Ivan Petrovich Turgenev persuaded Karamzin to go with him to Moscow. Turgenev introduces young Nikolai there to Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov. The young man is one of the authors of the first magazine for children called “Children’s Reading”.

Nikolai Ivanovich Karamzin becomes close to brilliant writers, loves to listen to lectures by Professor Schwartz, in whose classes he spoke a lot about the knowledge of God and the high destiny of man.

In 1789, the restless Karamzin went abroad, where he had the honor of communicating with the famous philosophers I. Kant and I. Goethe. I often attended the National Assembly of Mirabeau and M. Robespierre, and had the pleasure of meeting many political activists. The bourgeois revolution in Paris conveyed to the writer such moments that how much influence the publishing industry can have on the beliefs of the common people.

Returning to Moscow, Karamzin published the story “Poor Liza,” which everyone really liked. In “Letters of a Russian Traveler” the writer reflected all his impressions from his trip abroad.

The way of life in Moscow was correct. Every morning was devoted to the writing of a great manuscript. Every day I went horseback riding or walked. And in the evening he received guests.

During the publication of the magazine “Bulletin of Europe” in 1802, Karamzin increasingly wrote works on historical topics.

Thanks to his friend M.N. Muravyov, in 1803 Karamzin was given the title of historiographer with a special salary for the specific purpose of creating a complete history of Russia, although he had already practically begun to study.

Since 1804, Nikolai Ivanovich plunged into the creation of a colossal work, managing to create only 11 volumes. The Emperor often took Karamzin's manuscript with him on trips, where in his free time he read it, making notes in the margins, especially in volume 9. When the writer asked whether these passages needed to be edited, Alexander I replied that he did this for himself.

IN summer time Karamzin was visiting his father-in-law Vyazemsky in Ostafyevo. During his last years of life, Karamzin became friends with the sovereign’s family and lived in St. Petersburg.

At the invitation of the empresses, Nikolai Ivanovich often came to Tsarskoe Selo, where he had long conversations with the sovereign on various topics. He recommended that the ruler reduce taxes, revise the Ministry of Education, reduce the army, and create correct civil and state laws.

The death of the sovereign affected Karamzin’s health. In poor condition, he visited Empress Maria Feodorovna every day, in conversations with whom he not only remembered the late Alexander I, but discussed with her mistress the plans for the future state.

In 1826, Karamzin became seriously ill and, on the advice of doctors, planned to go for treatment in the spring to Southern France and Italy. Since he did not have sufficient funds, Emperor Karamzin allocated the necessary amount and a ship. But Karamzin understood that he did not have time to continue his life, he refused such an offer, and on May 22, 1826, he died.

The most important thing for 9th grade

Interesting Facts and dates from life

According to one version, he was born in the village of Znamenskoye, Simbirsk district (now Mainsky district, Ulyanovsk region), according to another - in the village of Mikhailovka, Buzuluk district, Kazan province (now the village of Preobrazhenka, Orenburg region). IN Lately experts were in favor of the “Orenburg” version of the writer’s birthplace.

Karamzin belonged to a noble family, descended from the Tatar Murza, named Kara-Murza. Nikolai was the second son of a retired captain and landowner. He lost his mother early; she died in 1769. For his second marriage, my father married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, the aunt of the poet and fabulist Ivan Dmitriev.

Karamzin spent his childhood years on his father's estate and studied in Simbirsk at the noble boarding school of Pierre Fauvel. At the age of 14, he began studying at the Moscow private boarding school of Professor Johann Schaden, while simultaneously attending classes at Moscow University.

In 1781, Karamzin began serving in the Preobrazhensky Regiment in St. Petersburg, where he was transferred from the army regiments (he was enlisted in the service in 1774), and received the rank of lieutenant ensign.

During this period, he became close to the poet Ivan Dmitriev and began literary activity translation with German language“A conversation between Austrian Maria Theresa and our Empress Elizabeth in the Champs Elysees” (not preserved). Karamzin’s first published work was a translation of Solomon Gesner’s idyll “The Wooden Leg” (1783).

In 1784, after the death of his father, Karamzin retired with the rank of lieutenant and never served again. After a short stay in Simbirsk, where he joined the Masonic lodge, Karamzin moved to Moscow, was introduced to the circle of the publisher Nikolai Novikov and settled in a house that belonged to the Novikov Friendly Scientific Society.

In 1787-1789 he was an editor in the magazine “Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind” published by Novikov, where he published his first story “Eugene and Julia” (1789), poems and translations. Translated into Russian the tragedies "Julius Caesar" (1787) by William Shakespeare and "Emilia Galotti" (1788) by Gotthold Lessing.

In May 1789, Nikolai Mikhailovich went abroad and until September 1790 traveled around Europe, visiting Germany, Switzerland, France and England.

Returning to Moscow, Karamzin began publishing the "Moscow Journal" (1791-1792), where the "Letters of a Russian Traveler" written by him were published; in 1792, the story "Poor Liza" was published, as well as the stories "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter" and "Liodor ", which became examples of Russian sentimentalism.

Karamzin. In the first Russian poetic anthology “Aonids” (1796-1799) compiled by Karamzin, he included his own poems, as well as poems by his contemporaries - Gabriel Derzhavin, Mikhail Kheraskov, Ivan Dmitriev. In "Aonids" the letter "ё" of the Russian alphabet appeared for the first time.

Karamzin combined some of the prose translations in the “Pantheon of Foreign Literature” (1798), brief characteristics Russian writers were given to them for the publication of "Pantheon Russian authors, or a collection of their portraits with comments" (1801-1802). Karamzin's response to the accession to the throne of Alexander I was "Historical eulogy to Catherine the Second" (1802).

In 1802-1803, Nikolai Karamzin published the literary and political magazine "Bulletin of Europe", in which, along with articles on literature and art, issues of foreign and domestic policy Russia, history and political life foreign countries. In the "Bulletin of Europe" he published works on Russian medieval history "Martha the Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novagorod", "News about Martha the Posadnitsa, taken from the life of St. Zosima", "Journey around Moscow", "Historical memories and notes on the way to the Trinity " and etc.

Karamzin developed a language reform aimed at bringing the book language closer to colloquial speech educated society. By limiting the use of Slavicisms, widely using linguistic borrowings and tracings from European languages ​​(mainly French), introducing new words, Karamzin created a new literary syllable.

On November 12 (October 31, old style), 1803, by a personal imperial decree of Alexander I, Nikolai Karamzin was appointed historiographer “to write complete History Fatherland." From that time until the end of his days, he worked on the main work of his life - "The History of the Russian State." Libraries and archives were opened for him. In 1816-1824, the first 11 volumes of the work were published in St. Petersburg, the 12th volume , dedicated to describing the events of the “time of troubles,” Karamzin did not have time to finish; it was published after the death of the historiographer in 1829.

In 1818, Karamzin became a member of the Russian Academy and an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. He received an actual state councilor and was awarded the order St. Anne's 1st degree.

In the early months of 1826 he suffered from pneumonia, which undermined his health. On June 3 (May 22, old style), 1826, Nikolai Karamzin died in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Karamzin was married for the second time to Ekaterina Kolyvanova (1780-1851), the sister of the poet Pyotr Vyazemsky, who was the mistress of the best literary salon in St. Petersburg, where poets Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, and writer Nikolai Gogol visited. She helped the historiographer, proofreading the 12-volume History, and after his death she completed the publication of the last volume.

His first wife, Elizaveta Protasova, died in 1802. From his first marriage, Karamzin had a daughter, Sophia (1802-1856), who became a maid of honor, was the owner of a literary salon, and a friend of the poets Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lermontov.

In his second marriage, the historiographer had nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood. Daughter Ekaterina (1806-1867) married Prince Meshchersky, her son is writer Vladimir Meshchersky (1839-1914).

Nikolai Karamzin's daughter Elizaveta (1821-1891) became a maid of honor at the imperial court, son Andrei (1814-1854) died in Crimean War. Alexander Karamzin (1816-1888) served in the guard and at the same time wrote poetry, which was published in the magazines Sovremennik and Domestic notes". Younger son Vladimir (1819-1869)

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born in 1766 in Simbirsk (on the middle Volga), into a family of provincial nobles. He received a good secondary education at a private school of a German - a professor at Moscow University. After school, he almost became a dissolute nobleman looking for nothing but entertainment, but then he met I.P. Turgenev, a prominent freemason, who led him away from the path of vice and introduced him to Novikov. These Masonic influences played a major role in shaping Karamzin’s worldview. Their vaguely religious, sentimental, cosmopolitan ideas paved the way to the understanding of Rousseau and Herder. Karamzin began writing for Novikov magazines. His first work was the translation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar(1787). He also translated Seasons Thomson.

In 1789, Karamzin went abroad and spent about a year and a half there, traveling through Germany, Switzerland, France and England. Returning to Moscow, he began publishing a monthly Moscow magazine(1791–1792), from which the new movement began. Most of the materials contained in it belonged to the pen of the publisher himself.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Portrait by Tropinin

His main work, published there, was Letters from a Russian traveler(see summary and analysis), received by the public almost as a revelation: a new, enlightened, cosmopolitan sensitivity and a delightfully new style appeared before their eyes (see article Karamzin as a reformer of the Russian literary language). Karamzin became the leader and the most outstanding literary figure of his generation.