N m Karamzin's biography is brief. Early literary activity. Historical story "Martha Posadnitsa"

Nikolai Karamzin is a Russian historian, writer, poet and prose writer. He is the author of the History of the Russian State, one of the first generalizing works on the history of Russia, written in 12 volumes.

Karamzin is the largest Russian writer of the era of sentimentalism, nicknamed the "Russian Stern".

In addition, he managed to make many important reforms in the Russian language, as well as introduce dozens of new words into everyday life.

Feeling confident in his abilities and inspired by the first success, Nikolai Karamzin begins to actively engage in writing. Many interesting and instructive stories come out from under his pen.

Soon Karamzin became the head of the "Moscow Journal", which publishes works different writers and poets. Until that time in Russian Empire there was no such publication.

Works of Karamzin

It was in the "Moscow Journal" that Nikolai Karamzin published " Poor Lisa", Which is considered one of best works in his biography. After that, "Aonids", "My trinkets" and "Aglaya" came out from under his pen.

Karamzin was incredibly efficient and talented person... He managed to compose poetry, write reviews and articles, participate in theater life as well as study many historical documents.

Despite the fact that he liked creativity and, he looked at poetry from the other side.

Nikolai Karamzin wrote poetry in the style of European sentimentalism, thanks to which he became the best Russian poet working in this direction.

In his poems, he primarily drew attention to the spiritual state of a person, and not to his physical shell.

In 1803, a significant event took place in Karamzin's biography: by a personal decree, the emperor granted Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin the title of historiographer; 2 thousand rubles of an annual salary was added to the rank at the same time.

From that time on, Karamzin began to move away from fiction, and began to study even more diligently historical documents, including the most ancient chronicles.

During this period of biography, he was constantly offered various government posts, but apart from Karamzin, nothing was of interest.

At the same time, he wrote several historical books, which were only a prelude to the main work in his life.

"History of Russian Goverment"

His work was highly appreciated by all walks of life. Representatives of the elite tried to acquire the "History of the Russian State" in order to get acquainted with detailed history.

Many prominent people were looking for meetings with the writer, and the emperor openly admired him. It is worth noting here that as a historian, Nikolai Karamzin was a supporter of absolute monarchy.

Having received wide recognition and fame, Karamzin needed silence in order to continue to work fruitfully. For this, he was allocated a separate housing in Tsarskoe Selo, where the historian could carry out his activities in comfortable conditions.

Karamzin's books attracted the reader with their clarity and simplicity of presentation. historical events... Describing certain facts, he did not forget about beauty.

Works of Karamzin

During his biography, Nikolai Karamzin made many translations, among which was the work "Julius Caesar". However, he did not work in this direction for long.

It is worth noting that Karamzin managed to radically change Russian literary language... First of all, the writer strove to get rid of outdated Church Slavonic words, as well as to modify the grammar.

As a basis for his transformations, Karamzin took the syntax and grammar of the French language.

The result of Karamzin's reforms was the emergence of new words that are still used in Everyday life... Here is a short list of words introduced into Russian by Karamzin:

Today it is difficult to imagine the modern Russian language without these and other words.

An interesting fact is that thanks to the efforts of Nikolai Karamzin, the letter "ё" appeared in our alphabet. At the same time, it should be admitted that not everyone liked his reforms.

Many criticized him and tried to do everything possible to preserve the "old" language.

However, soon Karamzin was elected a member of the Russian and Imperial Academy of Sciences, thus recognizing his services to the Fatherland.

Personal life

In the biography of Karamzin, there were two women to whom he was married. His first wife was Elizaveta Protasova.

She was a very literate and docile girl, but she was often sick. In 1802, a year after the wedding, their daughter Sophia was born.

After giving birth, Elizabeth began to develop fever, from which she later died. A number of biographers believe that the story "Poor Liza" was written in honor of Protasova.

An interesting fact is that Karamzin's daughter Sofia was friends with and.

The second wife of Karamzin was Ekaterina Kolyvanova, who was the illegitimate daughter of Prince Vyazemsky.

In this marriage, they had 9 children, three of whom died in childhood.

Some of the children have reached certain heights in life.

For example, son Vladimir was a very witty and promising careerist. He later became a senator at the Department of Justice.

The most youngest daughter Karamzina, Elizaveta, was never married, although she had a great mind and was an extremely kind girl.

They buried Karamzin at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Karamzin Photos

At the end you can see some of the most famous portraits Karamzin. All are made from paintings, not from nature.

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Nikolai Karamzin, whose biography begins on December 1, 1766, was born into a poor noble family of educated and enlightened parents. He received his first education at the private boarding school of Professor Schaden. After that, like many other secular young people, he went to serve in the Guards Regiment, which was considered one of the best.

It was at this time that Nikolai Karamzin, whose brief biography is presented in this article, for the first time clearly realizes the need for his own path, different from the usual: a successful career, position in society, ranks and honors. All this did not attract the future writer at all. After serving in the army less than a year, he retired in the low rank of lieutenant in 1784 and returned to his native Simbirsk.

Life in provincial Simbirsk

Outwardly, Karamzin lives a chaotic, scattered life socialite, shining with metropolitan manners and gallant treatment of ladies. Nikolai Mikhailovich dresses fashionably, looks after his appearance, plays cards. At the provincial balls, he was dexterous and brilliant cavalier... But all these are just external manifestations of his character.

At this time, Karamzin, whose biography is rich in quite unexpected turns and events, seriously thinks about his place in life, reads a lot, meets interesting people. He has already received a good education, but continues to develop, acquiring more and more knowledge in different areas... Most of all, Karamzin is interested in history, literature and philosophy.

Family friend Ivan Petrovich Turgenev, a freemason and writer who was in great friendship with Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov (who was also a freemason, talented journalist, a book publisher and satirist writer), played a role in the life of the future writer. On his advice, Nikolai Mikhailovich moved to Moscow and met Novikov's circle. This is how it began new period in his life, spanning the time from 1785 to 1789. Let's say a few words about him separately.

Acquaintance with the Freemasons

Four years of communication with a circle of Freemasons greatly changed the image of Karamzin, his life and thinking. Note that it has not yet been fully studied in Russia. It long time viewed by science as largely reactionary. However, in recent years, the point of view on this movement has changed somewhat.

Masonic lodges are special moral and religious circles, founded for the first time in England in the eighteenth century, and later in other states, including in our country. The basis of the code, which was professed by the Freemasons, is the need for spiritual self-improvement of a person. They had their own political programs, in many respects related to religious and moral. The activities of the Masons were characterized by theatrical rituals, mystery, knightly and other rituals with a mystical connotation. She was saturated intellectually and spiritually, was distinguished by high moral principles and seriousness. The Freemasons kept themselves apart. Here is one described in general outline the atmosphere has surrounded Karamzin ever since. He began to communicate with the most interesting people: Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov (see photo below) and Alexei Mikhailovich Kutuzov. The influence of such outstanding personalities gave a powerful impetus to the development of writing talent and his creative self-determination.

First, Karamzin translates into Russian fiction, and later starts writing for the magazine " Children's reading"published by Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov, his first poetic works. It was during this period that he realized his literary talent.

But now the period of self-determination ends, and with it the Masonic period of life. young writer... The framework of the Masonic lodges becomes cramped for him, he wants to know life in its wealth, variegation and diversity. To become a professional writer, you need to own experience to experience its good and bad sides. Therefore, Karamzin, whose biography is considered within the framework of this publication, leaves the Freemasons and goes on a journey.

Euro-trip

For this, Nikolai Mikhailovich pledged his hereditary estate and decided to spend all the money he received on a trip to Europe, in order to describe it later. It was a very bold and unusual step for that time. Indeed, for Karamzin, it meant giving up life on the income from the hereditary estate and providing for himself at the expense of the labor of serfs. Now Nikolai Mikhailovich had to earn his living by his own labor of a professional writer.

Abroad, he spent about one and a half years, having traveled to Switzerland, Germany, England and France. Karamzin, whose biography is described in this article, got acquainted with interesting and outstanding people these states, not at all feeling like a provincial, representing their country very worthily. He watched, listened, recorded. Nikolai Mikhailovich was attracted by people's dwellings, historical monuments, factories, universities, street festivities, restaurants,

He evaluated and compared the characters and morals of a particular nationality, studied the peculiarities of speech, wrote down descriptions in his book street scenes, kept records of various conversations and his own reflections. In the fall of 1790, Karamzin returned to Russia, after which he began to publish the "Moscow Journal", where he placed his articles, stories, poems. The famous "Letters of a Russian Traveler" and "Poor Liza", which brought him great fame, were also published here.

Edition of almanacs

Over the next few years, Nikolai Mikhailovich published almanacs, among which was the three-volume almanac "Aonida", written in verse, as well as the collection "My trinkets", which includes various stories and poems. Fame comes to Karamzin. He is known and loved not only in two capitals (Petersburg and Moscow), but throughout Russia.

Historical story "Martha Posadnitsa"

One of the first works of Karamzin, written in prose, is "Martha the Posadnitsa" published in 1803 (the genre is a historical story). It was written long before the fascination with novels by Walter Scott began in Russia. This story manifested Karamzin's gravitation towards antiquity, the classics as an unattainable ideal of morality, which was outlined in the mid-1790s in the utopia "Life of Athens".

In an epic, antique form, the struggle of the Novgorodians with Moscow was presented in his work by Nikolai Karamzin. "Posadnitsa" touched upon important worldview questions: about the monarchy and the republic, about the people and leaders, about the "divine" historical predestination and disobedience of an individual person. The author's sympathies were clearly on the side of the Novgorodians and Martha, and not on the side of monarchical Moscow. This story also revealed the writer's worldview contradictions. The historical truth was undoubtedly on the side of the Novgorodians. However, Novgorod is doomed, bad omens are harbingers of the city's imminent death, and later they are justified.

The story "Poor Lisa"

But the story "Poor Liza", published back in 1792, had the greatest success. Often found in Western literature of the eighteenth century, the plot about how a nobleman seduced a peasant woman or a bourgeois woman was first developed in Russian literature by Karamzin in this story. Biography of a morally pure, beautiful girl, as well as the idea that such tragic fates can also be found in the reality around us, contributed to the enormous success of this work. It was also important that N.M. Karamzin ("Poor Liza" became his " business card") taught his readers to notice beauty native nature and love her. The humanistic orientation of the work was invaluable for the literature of that time.

The story "Natalia, the boyar's daughter"

In the same year, 1792, the story "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter" was born. It is not as famous as "Poor Lisa", but it touches on very important moral questions, which worried contemporaries N.M. Karamzin. One of the most important in the work is the problem of honor.

Alexei, Natalia's lover, was an honest man who served the Russian tsar. Therefore, he confessed to his "crime", that he had kidnapped the daughter of Matvey Andreev, the beloved boyar sovereign. But the Tsar blesses their marriage, seeing that Alexei is a worthy man. The girl's father does the same. Finishing the story, the author writes that the newlyweds lived happily ever after and were buried together. They were also distinguished by their devotion to the sovereign.

In the story created by Karamzin ("Boyar's Daughter"), the question of honor is inseparable from serving the king. Happy is he whom the sovereign loves. Therefore, the life of this family is developing so well, because virtue is rewarded.

Deserved fame

The provincial youth are read by the works of Karamzin. Inherent in it light works, conversational, natural style, graceful and at the same time democratic artistic manner were revolutionary in terms of the perception of works by the public. For the first time, the concept of fascinating, interesting reading and with it literary worship of the author.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, whose biography and work attracted many people, is very famous. Enthusiastic young people from all over the country come to Moscow just to look at their favorite writer. Lizin's pond, which became famous thanks to the events that took place here in the story "Poor Liza", located in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow, begins to play the role iconic place, people come here to confess their love or to be sad alone.

Work on "History of the Russian State"

After a while, Karamzin abruptly and unexpectedly changes his life. Leaving fiction, he takes up a huge historical work - "The History of the Russian State". The idea of ​​this work, apparently, has long ripened in his imagination.

In the early nineteenth century, his beloved grandson of Catherine II began. At first he was a liberal and enlightened ruler. Historical narratives even include such a name as "Alexandrovskaya spring".

Friend of Karamzin and former teacher the young emperor M.N. Muravyov petitioned for Nikolai Mikhailovich to be appointed to the position of court historiographer. This appointment was very important for Karamzin and opened up enormous opportunities for him. Now he received a pension (as we know, the writer had no other means of subsistence). But most importantly, he was given access to historical archives of great importance. Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, whose biography is presented to your attention, plunged headlong into work: he read manuscripts and books on history, analyzed ancient folios, wrote out, compared.

It is hard to imagine what an enormous amount of work the historian Karamzin did. After all, the creation of twelve volumes of his "History of the Russian State" took twenty-three years of hard work, from 1803 to 1826. The presentation of historical events was, as far as possible, impartial and authentic, as well as an excellent artistic style. The narrative was brought to the "time of troubles" in the history of the Russian state. The death of Nikolai Mikhailovich did not allow large-scale plan to end.

Works by Karamzin, his works, which came out in twelve volumes, following one after another, evoked numerous readers' responses. Perhaps for the first time in history, a printed book provoked such a surge in the inhabitants of Russia. Karamzin opened his history to the people, explained his past.

The content of labor was perceived rather ambiguously. Thus, the freedom-loving youth was inclined to challenge the support of the monarchical system, which was shown by the historian Karamzin in the pages of the History of the Russian State. And young Pushkin even wrote daring epigrams for a historian who was venerable in those years. In his opinion, this work proved "the need for autocracy and the charm of the whip."

Karamzin, whose books left no one indifferent, in response to criticism was always restrained, calmly perceived both ridicule and praise.

Opinion about the "History of the Russian State" by A.S. Pushkin

Having moved to St. Petersburg, he, since 1816, spends every summer in Tsarskoe Selo with his family. The Karamzins are hospitable hosts who welcome such famous poets like Vyazemsky, Zhukovsky and Batyushkov, as well as educated youth. Young A.S. also often visited this place. Pushkin, enthusiastically listening to the elders recite poetry, courting N.M. Karamzin, already middle-aged, but charming and smart woman, to whom he even decided to send a declaration of love. Wise and experienced Karamzin forgave the trick young man, as well as his audacious epigrams to "History".

Ten years later, Pushkin, already a mature person, will look differently at the great work of Nikolai Mikhailovich. In 1826, being in exile in Mikhailovskoye, he wrote in the "Note on public education" that the history of Russia should be taught according to Karamzin, and would call this work not just the work of a great historian, but also the feat of an honest man.

On the part of Alexander Sergeevich, this was not a gesture of loyalty to the authorities with the hope of pardon and return from exile. Far from it, because a year later, after his return, Pushkin will again return to "History", once again highly appreciating it.

last years of life

Karamzin's characterization would be incomplete without a description recent years life. The last ten years have passed very happily. He was friends with the tsar himself, Alexander I. Friends often walked together in Tsarskoye Selo park, talking for a long time, calmly and sedately. It is quite possible that the emperor, realizing the nobility and decency of Nikolai Mikhailovich, told him much more than the palace officials. Karamzin often disagreed with the arguments and thoughts of Alexander I. However, he did not take offense at him at all, but listened carefully and took note. "A note on the ancient and new Russia", which the writer handed to the emperor, contains many points in which the historian did not agree with the policy of the government of that time.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, whose books were very popular during his lifetime, did not strive for awards or ranks. True, it should be said that he had one to which he, however, always treated with light irony and humor.

A short biography is outlined in this article.

Nikolay Karamzin short biography

Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin- a historian, the largest Russian writer of the era of sentimentalism. Creator of the "History of the Russian State"

Was born December 12 (December 1 O.S.) 1766 in the estate located in the Simbirsk district in a noble family. At first he was educated at home, after which he continued to study first at the Simbirsk noble boarding school, then from 1778 at the boarding school of Professor Shaden (Moscow). During 1781-1782. Karamzin attended university lectures.

Since 1781, at the insistence of his father, he served in the Preobrazhensky regiment, where he began to write. In 1784, after the death of his father, having retired with the rank of lieutenant, he finally parted with military service... While living in Simbirsk, he entered masonic lodge.

In 1785 he moved to Moscow, where he met N.I. Novikov and other writers, joins the "Friendly Scientific Society", takes part in the publication of the magazine "Children's reading for the heart and mind", which became the first Russian magazine for children.

Throughout the year (1789-1790) Karamzin traveled across Europe, where he met not only with prominent figures of the Masonic movement, but also with great thinkers, in particular, with Kant, I.G. Herder, J. F. Marmontel. The impressions of the trips formed the basis for the future famous Letters of a Russian Traveler, which brought fame to the author.

The story "Poor Liza" (1792) strengthened Karamzin's literary authority. Subsequently released collections and almanacs "Aglaya", "Aonids", "My trinkets", "Pantheon of foreign literature" opened the era of sentimentalism in Russian literature.

A new period in Karamzin's life is associated with the accession to the throne of Alexander I. In October 1803, the emperor appoints the writer as an official historiographer, and Karamzin is tasked with capturing 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 the Vestnik Evropy (this was the first social-political and literary-artistic magazine in the country that Karamzin published in 1802-1803).

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. The first eight volumes were published in February 1818. Three thousand copies were sold in a month. The next three volumes, published in the following years, were quickly translated into several European languages, and the 12th and final volume was published after the death of the author.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, born in the Simbirsk province on December 1, 1766 and died in 1826, entered Russian literature as a deeply felt sentimentalist artist, master of publicistic speech and the first Russian historiographer.

His father was a middle-class nobleman, a descendant of the Tatar murza Kara-Murza. The family of the Simbirsky landowner, living in the village of Mikhailovka, had a family estate Znamenskoye, where children and early years boy.

Having received an elementary education at home and a read of fiction and history, young Karamzin was sent to the frequent Moscow boarding school. Shaden. In addition to his studies in his youth, he actively studied foreign languages and attended university lectures.

In 1781, Karamzin was enrolled in a three-year service in the Petergurgsky Preobrazhensky regiment, which was considered one of the best at that time and left it as a lieutenant. During the service, the first work of the writer was published - the translated story "The Wooden Leg". Here he met the young poet Dmitriev, sincere correspondence and great friendship with whom he continued already during working together in the "Moscow Journal".

Continuing to actively seek his place in life, acquiring new knowledge and acquaintances, Karamzin soon leaves for Moscow, where he makes acquaintance with N. Novikov, the publisher of the magazine "Children's reading for the heart and mind" and a member of the Golden Crown Masonic circle. and also IP Turgenev had a significant influence on the views and direction of the further development of the individuality and creativity of Karamzin.In the Masonic circle, communication with Pleshcheev, AM Kutuzov and IS Gamaleya was also struck.

In 1787, a translation of Shakespeare's work, Julius Caesar, was published, and in 1788, a translation of Lessing's Emilia Galotti. A year later, Karamzin's first own edition, the story "Eugene and Julia", was published.

At the same time, the writer has the opportunity to visit Europe thanks to the inherited estate he received. Having laid it down, Karamzin decides to use this money to go on a journey for a year and a half, which will subsequently provide a powerful impetus to his fullest self-determination.

During his trip, Karamzin visited Switzerland, England, France and Germany. On his travels, he was a patient listener, an alert observer, and a sensitive person. He collected a huge number of notes and sketches about the morals and characters of people, noticed many characteristic scenes from street life and everyday life of people of different classes. All this became the richest material for his future work, including for the "Letters of a Russian Traveler", for the most part published in the "Moscow Journal".

At this time, the poet already provides himself with the work of a writer. Over the next years, the almanacs "Aonids", "Aglaya" and the collection "My trinkets" were published. The well-known historically true story "Martha Posadnitsa" was published in 1802. Karamzin gained fame and respect as a writer and historiographer not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but throughout the country.

Soon Karamzin began to publish the then unique socio-political magazine Vestnik Evropy, in which he published his historical stories and works, which were preparation for a larger-scale work.

"History of the Russian State" is an artistically designed, titanic work of Karamzin the historian, published in 1817. Twenty three years hard work allowed to create a huge, impartial and deep in its truthfulness work, which revealed to people their true past.

Death found the writer while working on one of the volumes of the "History of the Russian State", which tells about the "Time of Troubles."

It is interesting that in Simbirsk there was in 1848 the first scientific Library later named "Karamzinskaya".

Having laid the foundation for the flow of sentimentalism in Russian literature, he revived and deepened traditional literature classicism. Thanks to his innovative views, deep thoughts and subtle feelings, Karamzin managed to create the image of a real living and deeply feeling character. The most striking examples in this regard are his story "Poor Liza", which first found its readers in the "Moscow Journal".

December 12 (December 1, O.S. style), 1766, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born - Russian writer, poet, editor of the Moscow Journal (1791-1792) and the journal Vestnik Evropy (1802-1803), honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences ( 1818), a full member of the Imperial Russian Academy, historian, the first and only court historiographer, one of the first reformers of the Russian literary language, the founding father of Russian historiography and Russian sentimentalism.

Contribution of N.M. Karamzin into Russian culture can hardly be overestimated. Remembering everything that this man managed to do in the short 59 years of his earthly existence, it is impossible to ignore the fact that it was Karamzin who largely determined the face Russian XIX century - the "golden" age of Russian poetry, literature, historiography, source studies and other humanitarian trends scientific knowledge... Thanks to linguistic searches aimed at popularizing the literary language of poetry and prose, Karamzin presented Russian literature to his contemporaries. And if Pushkin is "our everything", then Karamzin can be safely called "our Everything" with the capital letter. Without him, Vyazemsky, Pushkin, Baratynsky, Batyushkov and other poets of the so-called "Pushkin galaxy" would hardly have been possible.

“Whatever you turn to in our literature - everything was started by Karamzin: journalism, criticism, a story, a novel, a historical story, publicism, the study of history,” V.G. Belinsky.

"History of the Russian State" N.M. Karamzina became not just the first Russian-language book on the history of Russia available to the general public. Karamzin gave the Russian people Fatherland in the full sense of the word. They say that, having closed the eighth and last volume, Count Fyodor Tolstoy, nicknamed the American, exclaimed: "It turns out that I have a Fatherland!" And he was not alone. All of his contemporaries suddenly learned that they lived in a country with thousand-year history and they have something to be proud of. Before that, it was believed that before Peter I, who cut through the "window to Europe", there was nothing at all worthy of attention in Russia: the dark ages of backwardness and barbarism, boyar autocracy, native Russian laziness and bears on the streets ...

The multivolume work of Karamzin was not finished, but, having been published in the first quarter XIX century, he completely determined the historical identity of the nation for long years forward. All subsequent historiography was never able to generate anything more consistent with the "imperial" self-consciousness that developed under the influence of Karamzin. Karamzin's views left a deep, indelible mark on all areas of Russian culture in the 19th-20th centuries, forming the foundations national mentality, which, ultimately, determined the path of development of Russian society and the state as a whole.

It is indicative that in the 20th century, the building of Russian great power, which had collapsed under the attacks of revolutionary internationalists, was revived by the 1930s - under different slogans, with different leaders, in a different ideological package. but ... the very approach to historiography national history, both before 1917 and after, in many respects remained in Karamzin jingoistic and sentimental.

N.M. Karamzin - early years

N.M. Karamzin was born on December 12 (1st century), 1766 in the village of Mikhailovka, Buzuluk district, Kazan province (according to other sources, in the family estate of Znamenskoye, Simbirsky district, Kazan province). About him early years Little is known: there are no letters, no diaries, no memories of Karamzin himself about his childhood. He didn’t even know exactly his year of birth and almost all his life believed that he was born in 1765. Only in old age, having discovered documents, did he become “younger” by one year.

The future historiographer grew up in the estate of his father - retired captain Mikhail Yegorovich Karamzin (1724-1783), a middle-ranked Simbirsk nobleman. Received a good education at home. In 1778 he was sent to Moscow to the boarding school of Moscow University professor I.M. Shaden. At the same time he attended lectures at the university in 1781-1782.

After graduating from the boarding school, in 1783, Karamzin entered the service in the Preobrazhensky regiment in St. Petersburg, where he met the young poet and future employee of his "Moscow magazine" Dmitriev. At the same time he published his first translation of S. Gesner's idyll "Wooden leg".

In 1784, Karamzin retired as a lieutenant and never served again, which was perceived in the then society as a challenge. After a short stay in Simbirsk, where he joined the Masonic lodge of the "Golden Crown", Karamzin moved to Moscow and was introduced to the circle of N. I. Novikov. He settled in a house that belonged to Novikov's "Friendly Scientist Society", became the author and one of the publishers of the first children's magazine "Children's reading for the heart and mind" (1787-1789), founded by Novikov. At the same time, Karamzin became close to the Pleshcheev family. For many years he had a tender platonic friendship with NI Pleshcheyeva. In Moscow, Karamzin publishes his first translations, which clearly show interest in European and Russian history: Thomson's Seasons, Zhanlis's Village Evenings, Julius Caesar's tragedy by W. Shakespeare, Lessing's tragedy Emilia Galotti.

In 1789 in the magazine "Children's reading ..." appeared the first original story Karamzin "Evgeny and Julia". The reader hardly noticed her.

Travel to Europe

According to many biographers, Karamzin was not disposed to the mystical side of Freemasonry, remaining a supporter of its active educational direction. To be more precise, by the end of the 1780s Karamzin had already "been ill" with Masonic mysticism in its Russian version. Perhaps the cooling to Freemasonry was one of the reasons for his departure to Europe, in which he spent more than a year (1789-90), visiting Germany, Switzerland, France and England. In Europe, he met and talked (except for influential Freemasons) with European "masters of minds": I. Kant, I. G. Herder, C. Bonnet, J. K. Lafather, J. F. Marmontel, visited museums, theaters, secular salons. In Paris, Karamzin listened to O. G. Mirabeau, M. Robespierre and other revolutionaries at the National Assembly, saw many prominent political figures and was familiar with many. Apparently, the revolutionary Paris of 1789 showed Karamzin how strongly a word can influence a person: printed, when Parisians read pamphlets and leaflets with lively interest; oral, when revolutionary speakers spoke and controversy arose (experience that could not be acquired at that time in Russia).

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

Karamzin - journalist, publisher

In the fall of 1790, Karamzin returned to Moscow and soon organized the publication of the monthly "Moscow Journal" (1790-1792), in which he published most of"Letters from a Russian Traveler" telling about the revolutionary events in France, the stories "Liodor", "Poor Liza", "Natalia, the boyar's daughter", "Flor Silin", essays, stories, critical articles and poems. To cooperate in the magazine Karamzin attracted all the literary elite of that time: his friends Dmitriev and Petrov, Kheraskov and Derzhavin, Lvov, Neledinsky-Meletsky, etc. Karamzin's articles affirmed a new literary direction- sentimentalism.

Moskovsky Zhurnal had only 210 regular subscribers, but for late XVIII century is like a hundred thousandth circulation in late XIX centuries. Moreover, the magazine was read by those who "made the weather" in literary life countries: students, officials, young officers, minor employees of various government agencies("Archival youths").

After Novikov's arrest, the authorities became seriously interested in the publisher of Moskovsky Zhurnal. During interrogations in the Secret Expedition, they ask: was it not Novikov who sent the “Russian traveler” abroad with a “special assignment”? Novikovtsy were people of high decency and, of course, Karamzin was fenced off, but because of these suspicions, the magazine had to be stopped.

In the 1790s, Karamzin published the first Russian almanacs - Aglaya (1794-1795) and Aonids (1796-1799). In 1793, when at the third stage French Revolution the Jacobin dictatorship was established, which shocked Karamzin with its cruelty, Nikolai Mikhailovich abandoned some of his previous views. The dictatorship aroused in him serious doubts about the possibility of humanity to achieve prosperity. He strongly condemned the revolution and all violent means of transforming society. The philosophy of despair and fatalism permeates his new works: the story "Bornholm Island" (1793); Sierra Morena (1795); poems "Melancholy", "Message to A. A. Pleshcheev", etc.

During this period, real literary glory came to Karamzin.

Fedor Glinka: "Out of 1200 cadets, rare did not repeat by heart a page from" Bornholm Island "".

The name Erast, previously completely unpopular, is increasingly found in noble lists... There are rumors of successful and unsuccessful suicides in the spirit of Poor Lisa. Poisonous memoirist Vigel recalls that important Moscow nobles have already begun to get along "Almost like an equal with a thirty-year-old retired lieutenant".

In July 1794, Karamzin's life almost ended: on the way to the estate, in the wilderness of the steppe, he was attacked by robbers. Karamzin miraculously escaped, having received two minor wounds.

In 1801 - he married Elizaveta Protasova, a neighbor on the estate, whom he had known since childhood - at the time of the wedding, they had known each other for almost 13 years.

Reformer of the Russian literary language

Already in the early 1790s, Karamzin was seriously thinking about the present and future of Russian literature. He writes to a friend: “I am deprived of the pleasure of reading a lot in native language... We are still poor in writers. We have several poets who deserve to be read. " Of course, there were and are Russian writers: Lomonosov, Sumarokov, Fonvizin, Derzhavin, but there are no more than a dozen significant names. Karamzin was one of the first to understand that it was not about talents - there are no fewer talents in Russia than in any other country. It's just that Russian literature cannot deviate from the long-obsolete traditions of classicism, laid down in the middle of the 18th century by the only theoretician M.V. Lomonosov.

The reform of the literary language carried out by Lomonosov, like the theory of the "three calmness" he created, met the tasks of the transitional period from ancient to new literature... A complete rejection of the use of the usual Church Slavicisms in the language was then still premature and inappropriate. But the evolution of the language, which began under Catherine II, continued actively. The "Three Calms" proposed by Lomonosov did not rely on living spoken language, but to the witty thought of a theoretical writer. And this theory often put the authors in a difficult position: they had to use heavy, outdated Slavic expressions where in spoken language they have long been replaced by others, softer and more graceful. The reader sometimes could not "wade" through the heaps of obsolete Slavicisms used in church books and records in order to understand the essence of this or that secular work.

Karamzin decided to bring the literary language closer to the spoken language. Therefore, one of his main goals was the further liberation of literature from Church Slavism. In the preface to the second book of the almanac "Aonida" he wrote: "One thunder of words only deafens us and never reaches the heart."

The second feature of Karamzin's "new syllable" consisted in the simplification of syntactic constructions. The writer abandoned lengthy periods. In the "Pantheon Russian writers"He decisively declared:" Lomonosov's prose cannot serve as a model for us at all: its long periods are tiresome, the arrangement of words is not always consistent with the flow of thoughts. "

Unlike Lomonosov, Karamzin strove to write in short, easily understandable sentences. This to this day is a model of good style and an example to follow in literature.

The third merit of Karamzin was the enrichment of the Russian language with a number of successful neologisms, which have become firmly established in the main vocabulary. Among the innovations proposed by Karamzin are such widely known in our time words as "industry", "development", "sophistication", "focus", "touching", "entertaining", "humanity", "public", " generally useful "," influence "and a number of others.

Creating neologisms, Karamzin mainly used the method of tracing French words: “interesting” from “interessant”, “refined” from “raffine”, “development” from “developpement”, “touching” from “touchant”.

We know that many foreign words appeared in the Russian language back in the Peter the Great's era, but for the most part they replaced the words that already existed in the Slavic language and were not necessary. In addition, these words were often taken in their raw form, therefore they were very heavy and awkward (“fortetia” instead of “fortress”, “victoria” instead of “victory”, etc.). Karamzin, on the contrary, tried to give foreign words Russian ending adapting them to the requirements of Russian grammar: "serious", "moral", "aesthetic", "audience", "harmony", "enthusiasm", etc.

In its reform activities Karamzin made an installation for lively spoken speech educated people... And this was the key to the success of his work - he does not write scholarly treatises, but travel notes("Letters of a Russian Traveler"), sentimental stories ("Bornholm Island", "Poor Lisa"), poems, articles, translates from French, English and German.

"Arzamas" and "Conversation"

It is not surprising that most of the young writers contemporary to Karamzin accepted his transformations with a bang and willingly followed him. But, like any reformer, Karamzin had convinced opponents and worthy opponents.

At the head of the ideological opponents of Karamzin was A.S. Shishkov (1774-1841) - admiral, patriot, famous statesman that time. Starover, an admirer of Lomonosov's language, Shishkov, at first glance, was a classicist. But this point of view needs substantial reservations. In contrast to Karamzin's Europeanism, Shishkov put forward the idea of ​​the nationality of literature - the most important feature a romantic outlook, far from classicism. It turns out that Shishkov also adjoined romantics, but not progressive, but conservative. His views can be recognized as a kind of forerunner of later Slavophilism and soil development.

In 1803, Shishkov made a discourse on the old and new syllables Russian language". He reproached the "Karamzinists" for succumbing to the temptation of European revolutionary false teachings and advocated the return of literature to the oral folk art, to the popular vernacular, to the Orthodox Church Slavonic bookishness.

Shishkov was not a philologist. He dealt with the problems of literature and the Russian language, rather, as an amateur, so the attacks of Admiral Shishkov on Karamzin and his literary supporters at times looked not so much scientifically substantiated as unsubstantiated ideological. The language reform of Karamzin seemed to Shishkov, a warrior and defender of the Fatherland, unpatriotic and anti-religious: “Language is the soul of the people, the mirror of morals, the correct indicator of enlightenment, the unceasing witness of deeds. Where there is no faith in the hearts, there is no godliness in the language. Where there is no love for the fatherland, the language does not express native feelings ".

Shishkov reproached Karamzin for the immoderate use of barbarisms ("era", "harmony", "catastrophe"), he hated neologisms ("coup" as - the translation of the word "revolution"), cut his ear with artificial words: "future", "well-read" and etc.

And I must admit that sometimes his criticism was accurate and accurate.

The evasiveness and aesthetic cutesiness of the speech of the "Karamzinists" very soon became obsolete and fell out of literary use. This is the future that Shishkov predicted for them, believing that instead of the expression “when travel became the need of my soul”, one can simply say: “when I fell in love with traveling”; exquisite and stuffed with paraphrases speech “colorful crowds of rural oraads mingle with swarthy gangs of reptiles of the pharaonids” can be replaced by all understandable expression “village girls are coming towards gypsies” and so on.

Shishkov and his supporters took the first steps in the study of the monuments of ancient Russian writing, enthusiastically studied "The Lay of Igor's Host", studied folklore, advocated the rapprochement of Russia with the Slavic world and recognized the need for the rapprochement of the "Slovenian" syllable with the common language.

In a dispute with the translator Karamzin, Shishkov put forward a compelling argument about the “idiomatic” nature of each language, about the unique originality of its phraseological systems, making it impossible to literally translate thoughts or true semantic meaning from one language into another. For example, when literally translated into French, the expression "old horseradish" loses its figurative meaning and "only means the thing itself, but in the metaphysical sense it has no sign of any circle."

In defiance of Karamzin, Shishkov proposed his own reform of the Russian language. He proposed to designate the concepts and feelings that are missing in our everyday life with new words formed from the roots not of French, but of Russian and Old Slavonic languages... Instead of Karamzin's "influence", he proposed "inspiration", instead of "development" - "vegetation", instead of "actor" - "actor", instead of "individuality" - "egg", "wet feet" instead of "galoshes" and "wandering" instead of "Maze". Most of his innovations in the Russian language did not take root.

One cannot but admit Shishkov's ardent love for the Russian language; it must be admitted that the fascination with everything foreign, especially French, has gone too far in Russia. Ultimately, this led to the fact that the language of the common people, the peasant began to differ greatly from the language of the cultural classes. But one cannot dismiss the fact that the natural process of the incipient evolution of the language could not be stopped. It was impossible to forcibly return to use the expressions that were already outdated at that time, which Shishkov proposed: "zane", "ubo", "ilk", "yako" and others.

Karamzin did not even respond to the accusations of Shishkov and his supporters, knowing firmly that they were guided by exclusively pious and patriotic feelings. Subsequently, Karamzin himself and his most talented supporters (Vyazemsky, Pushkin, Batyushkov) followed a very valuable instruction from the "Shishkovites" to the need to "return to their roots" and examples own history... But then they could not understand each other.

The pathos and ardent patriotism of A.S. Shishkov aroused sympathy among many writers. And when Shishkov, together with G.R.Derzhavin, founded literary society“Conversation of lovers of the Russian word” (1811) with the charter and their own magazine, PA Katenin, IA Krylov, and later VK Kyukhelbeker and AS Griboyedov immediately joined this society. One of the active participants in Conversations, the prolific playwright A. A. Shakhovskoy, in the comedy New Stern, angrily ridiculed Karamzin, and in the comedy A Lesson to Coquettes, or Lipetsk Waters, in the person of the balladist Fialkin, he created a parody image of V. A Zhukovsky.

This caused a unanimous rebuff from the youth who supported Karamzin's literary authority. D. V. Dashkov, P. A. Vyazemsky, D. N. Bludov composed several witty pamphlets addressed to Shakhovsky and other members of the "Conversation ...". In the "Vision in the Arzamas tavern" Bludov gave the circle of young defenders of Karamzin and Zhukovsky the name "Society of obscure Arzamas writers" or simply "Arzamas".

V organizational structure of this society, founded in the fall of 1815, a cheerful spirit of parody of the serious "Conversation ..." reigned. In contrast to the official pomp, simplicity, naturalness, openness prevailed here, great place was assigned to a joke and a game.

Parodying the official ritual "Conversations ...", when joining "Arzamas", everyone had to read a "funeral oration" to their "deceased" predecessor from among the now living members of "Conversations ..." or Russian Academy Sciences (Count D.I.Khvostov, S.A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, A.S. Shishkov himself, etc.). "Funeral speeches" were a form of literary struggle: they parodied high genres, ridiculed the stylistic archaism of the poetic works of the "conversationalists". At meetings of the society, humorous genres of Russian poetry were honed, a bold and decisive struggle was waged against all kinds of officialdom, the type of an independent Russian writer, free from the pressure of any ideological conventions, was formed. And although P.A.Vyazemsky is one of the organizers and active participants of the society - in mature years condemned the youthful mischief and intransigence of his like-minded people (in particular, the rites of the “funeral service” of living literary opponents), he rightly called “Arzamas” a school of “literary partnership” and mutual creative learning... Societies "Arzamas" and "Beseda" soon turned into centers of literary life and social struggle first quarter of the 19th century. The "Arzamas" included such famous people, like Zhukovsky (pseudonym - Svetlana), Vyazemsky (Asmodeus), Pushkin (Sverchok), Batyushkov (Achilles), etc.

Beseda broke up after Derzhavin's death in 1816; Arzamas, having lost its main opponent, ceased to exist by 1818.

Thus, by the mid-1790s, Karamzin became the recognized head of Russian sentimentalism, which did not just discover new page in Russian literature, and Russian fiction in general. Russian readers, who had previously absorbed only French novels and the works of enlighteners, enthusiastically accepted Letters of a Russian Traveler and Poor Liza, and Russian writers and poets (both "conversationalists" and "Arzamas") realized that it is possible and must write in the native language.

Karamzin and Alexander I: a symphony with power?

In 1802 - 1803, Karamzin published the journal Vestnik Evropy, which was dominated by literature and politics. Largely due to the confrontation with Shishkov, in critical articles Karamzin has a new aesthetic program the formation of Russian literature as a nationally distinctive. Unlike Shishkov, Karamzin saw the key to the identity of Russian culture not so much in adherence to ritual antiquity and religiosity, but in the events of Russian history. The most striking illustration of his views was the story "Martha the Posadnitsa or the Conquest of Novgorod".

In their political articles 1802-1803 Karamzin, as a rule, turned with recommendations to the government, the main one of which was the enlightenment of the nation in the name of the prosperity of the autocratic state.

These ideas were generally close to Emperor Alexander I - the grandson of Catherine the Great, who at one time also dreamed of an "enlightened monarchy" and full symphony between the government and the European educated society. Karamzin's response to the coup on March 11, 1801 and the accession to the throne of Alexander I was "Historical Praise to Catherine II" (1802), where Karamzin expressed his views on the essence of the monarchy in Russia, as well as the duties of the monarch and his subjects. " Word of praise”Was approved by the sovereign as a collection of examples for the young monarch and was favorably received by him. Alexander I was obviously interested in the historical research of Karamzin, and the emperor rightly decided that great country you just need to remember your no less great past. And if you don't remember, then at least create anew ...

In 1803, through the tsarist educator M.N. Muravyov - a poet, historian, teacher, one of the most educated people of that time - N.M. Karamzin received the official title of court historiographer with a pension of 2,000 rubles. (A pension of 2,000 rubles a year was then assigned to officials who, according to the Table of Ranks, had ranks not lower than those of generals). Later, IV Kireevsky, referring to Karamzin himself, wrote about Muravyov: “Who knows, maybe without his thoughtful and warm assistance Karamzin would not have had the means to accomplish his great deed”.

In 1804, Karamzin practically abandoned literary and publishing activities and began to create a "History of the Russian State", on which he worked until the end of his days. M.N. Muravyov made available to the historian many of the previously unknown and even "secret" materials, opened libraries and archives for him. About such favorable conditions for work modern historians can only dream. Therefore, in our opinion, to speak of the "History of the Russian State" as a "scientific feat" of N.M. Karamzin, is not entirely fair. The court historiographer was in the service, conscientiously performed the work for which he was paid money. Accordingly, he had to write a story that was in this moment needed by the customer, namely, Tsar Alexander I, who showed sympathy for European liberalism at the first stage of his reign.

However, under the influence of studies in Russian history, by 1810, Karamzin had become a consistent conservative. During this period, the system of his political views was finally formed. Karamzin's statements that he is a "republican at heart" can be adequately interpreted only if we take into account that we are talking about the "Platonic Republic of the Wise Men", an ideal social order based on state virtue, strict regulation and the rejection of personal freedom ... At the beginning of 1810, Karamzin, through his relative Count FV Rostopchin, met in Moscow the leader of the "Conservative Party" at the court - Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna (sister of Alexander I) and began to constantly visit her residence in Tver. The salon of the Grand Duchess represented the center of conservative opposition to the liberal-Westernist course personified by the figure of M.M.Speransky. In this salon, Karamzin read excerpts from his "History ...", then he met the Dowager Empress Maria Fedorovna, who became one of his patrons.

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”, In which he outlined his ideas about the ideal structure of the Russian state and sharply criticized the policies of Alexander I and his closest predecessors: Paul I, Catherine II and Peter I. In the 19th century, the note was never published in full and diverged only in handwritten lists. V Soviet time the thoughts set forth by Karamzin in his message were perceived as a reaction of the extremely conservative nobility to the reforms of M. M. Speransky. The author himself was branded a "reactionary", an opponent of the emancipation of the peasantry and other liberal steps of the government of Alexander I.

However, at the first full publication of the note in 1988, Yu. M. Lotman revealed its deeper content. In this document, Karamzin made a well-founded criticism of unprepared bureaucratic reforms carried out from above. Praising Alexander I, the author of the note at the same time attacks his advisers, meaning, of course, Speransky, who stood for constitutional reforms. Karamzin takes it upon himself in detail, with references to historical examples, to prove to the tsar that Russia is not ready either historically or politically for the abolition of serfdom and the limitation of the autocratic monarchy by the constitution (following the example of the European powers). Some of his arguments (for example, about the futility of emancipating the peasants without land, the impossibility of constitutional democracy in Russia) still look quite convincing and historically correct.

Along with an overview Russian history and criticism of the political course of Emperor Alexander I, the note contained an integral, original and very complex in its theoretical content concept of autocracy as a special, distinctively Russian type of power closely related to Orthodoxy.

At the same time, Karamzin refused to equate "true autocracy" with despotism, tyranny or arbitrariness. He believed that such deviations from the norms were due to chance (Ivan IV the Terrible, Paul I) and were quickly eliminated by the inertia of the tradition of the "wise" and "virtuous" monarchical rule... In cases of a sharp weakening and even complete absence of the supreme state and church authority (for example, during the Time of Troubles), this powerful tradition led, within a short historical period, to the restoration of autocracy. Autocracy was the "palladium of Russia" the main reason her power and prosperity. Therefore, the basic principles of monarchical rule in Russia, according to Karamzin, should have been preserved in the future. They should have been supplemented only by a proper policy in the field of legislation and education, which would not lead to the undermining of the autocracy, but to its maximum strengthening. With this understanding of autocracy, any attempt to limit it would be a crime against Russian history and the Russian people.

Initially, Karamzin's note only provoked the irritation of the young emperor, who did not like criticism of his actions. In this note, the historiographer showed himself to be a plus royaliste que le roi (a greater royalist than the king himself). However, subsequently Karamzin's brilliant "anthem to the Russian autocracy" undoubtedly had its effect. After the war of 1812, the winner of Napoleon, Alexander I, curtailed many of his liberal projects: Speransky's reforms were not completed, the constitution and the very idea of ​​limiting autocracy remained only in the minds of the future Decembrists. And already in the 1830s, Karamzin's concept actually formed the basis of the ideology of the Russian Empire, designated by the "theory of official nationality" of Count S. Uvarov (Orthodoxy-Autocracy-Nationality).

Prior to the publication of the first 8 volumes of "History ..." Karamzin lived in Moscow, from where he went only to Tver to the Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna and Nizhny Novgorod, at the time of the occupation of Moscow by the French. He usually spent the summer in Ostafiev, the estate of Prince Andrei Ivanovich Vyazemsky, on illegitimate daughter whom, Ekaterina Andreevna, Karamzin married in 1804. (Karamzin's first wife, Elizaveta Ivanovna Protasova, died in 1802).

In the last 10 years of his life, which Karamzin spent in St. Petersburg, he became very close to royal family... Although Emperor Alexander I, from the time the "Note" was submitted, treated Karamzin with restraint, Karamzin often spent the summer in Tsarskoe Selo. At the request of the empresses (Maria Feodorovna and Elizaveta Alekseevna), he repeatedly conducted frank political conversations with Emperor Alexander, in which he spoke as an expression of the opinion of opponents of drastic liberal reforms. In 1819-1825, Karamzin rebelled with ardor against the sovereign's intentions regarding Poland (he submitted a note "The Opinion of a Russian Citizen"), condemned the increase in state taxes in Peaceful time, spoke about the ridiculous provincial system of finances, criticized the system of military settlements, the activities of the Ministry of Education, pointed out the strange choice of the sovereign of some of the most important dignitaries (for example, Arakcheev), talked about the need to reduce the internal troops, about the imaginary repair of roads, so painful for the people and constantly pointed out the need to have strong laws, civil and state.

Of course, having such intercessors as both empresses and grand duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, it was possible to criticize, and argue, and show civic courage, and try to instruct the monarch "on the true path." It is not without reason that Emperor Alexander I was called “the mysterious sphinx” by both contemporaries and subsequent historians of his reign. In words, the sovereign agreed with critical remarks Karamzin regarding military settlements, recognized the need to "give the fundamental laws of Russia", as well as revise some aspects domestic policy, but it so happened in our country that in fact - all wise advice state people remain "sterile for the dear Fatherland" ...

Karamzin as a historian

Karamzin is our first historian and the last chronicler.
His criticism belongs to history,
innocence and apothegms - the chronicle.

A.S. Pushkin

Even from the point of view of contemporary historical science Karamzin, to name 12 volumes of his "History of the Russian State", in fact, scientific work nobody dared. Even then, it was clear to everyone that honorary title a court historiographer cannot make a writer a historian, give him the appropriate knowledge and proper training.

But, on the other hand, Karamzin did not initially set himself the task of taking on the role of a researcher. The newly minted historiographer was not going to write a scientific treatise and appropriate the laurels of his famous predecessors - Schlötser, Miller, Tatishchev, Shcherbatov, Boltin, etc.

For Karamzin, preliminary critical work on the sources is only "a heavy tribute to credibility." He was, first of all, a writer, and therefore wanted to apply his literary talent to the ready-made material: “choose, animate, color” and thus make from Russian history “something attractive, strong, worthy of attention not only of Russians, but also foreigners ". And he performed this task brilliantly.

Today it is impossible to disagree with the fact that at the beginning of the 19th century, source studies, paleography and other auxiliary historical disciplines were in their infancy. Therefore, to demand professional criticism from the writer Karamzin, as well as strict adherence to one or another method of working with historical sources, is simply ridiculous.

You can often hear the opinion that Karamzin simply beautifully rewrote the "History of Russia from Ancient Times" written by Prince MM Shcherbatov, written for a long time outdated, difficult to read, brought in some of his thoughts from it and thereby created a book for amateurs fun reading in the family circle. This is not true.

Naturally, when writing his "History ..." Karamzin actively used the experience and works of his predecessors - Schlötser and Shcherbatov. Shcherbatov helped Karamzin navigate the sources of Russian history, significantly influencing both the choice of material and its location in the text. Accidentally or not, but "History of the Russian State" was brought by Karamzin exactly to the same place as "History" of Shcherbatov. However, in addition to following the scheme already worked out by his predecessors, Karamzin gives in his essay a lot of references to the vast foreign historiography, almost unknown to the Russian reader. Working on his "History ...", he first introduced into scientific circulation a lot of unknown and previously unexplored sources. These are Byzantine and Livonian chronicles, information of foreigners about the population. ancient Russia, and a large number of Russian chronicles, which have not yet been touched by the hand of a historian. For comparison: M.M. Shcherbatov used only 21 Russian chronicles in writing his work, Karamzin actively quotes more than 40. In addition to the chronicles, Karamzin drew on the study of monuments of Old Russian law and Old Russian fiction. A special chapter of "History ..." is devoted to "Russian Truth", and a number of pages - to the just opened "The Lay of Igor's Host."

Thanks to the diligent help of the directors of the Moscow archive of the ministry (collegium) of foreign affairs, N.N.Bantysh-Kamensky and A.F. Malinovsky, Karamzin was able to use those documents and materials that were not available to his predecessors. Many valuable manuscripts were provided by the Synodal Depository, libraries of monasteries (Trinity Lavra, Volokolamsk Monastery and others), as well as private collections of manuscripts by Musin-Pushkin and N.P. Rumyantsev. Karamzin received especially many documents from Chancellor Rumyantsev, who collected historical materials in Russia and abroad through his numerous agents, as well as from A.I. Turgenev, who compiled a collection of documents from the papal archive.

Many of the sources used by Karamzin perished during the Moscow fire of 1812 and survived only in his "History ..." and extensive "Notes" to its text. Thus, to some extent, Karamzin's work itself acquired the status of a historical source, for which they have full right cite professional historians.

Among the main shortcomings of the "History of the Russian State" is traditionally noted a peculiar view of its author on the tasks of the historian. According to Karamzin, "knowledge" and "scholarship" in the historian "do not replace the talent for portraying actions." Before the artistic task of history, even the moral, which the patron of Karamzin, M.N. Muravyov. The characteristics of historical characters are given by Karamzin exclusively in a literary-romantic key, characteristic of the direction of Russian sentimentalism that he created. Karamzin's first Russian princes are distinguished by their "ardent romantic passion" for conquests, their squad - nobility and loyal spirit, the "mob" sometimes shows dissatisfaction, raising revolts, but ultimately agrees with the wisdom of noble rulers, etc., etc. NS.

Meanwhile, the previous generation of historians, under the influence of Schlözer, long ago developed the idea of ​​critical history, and among Karamzin's contemporaries the demand for criticism historical sources, despite the lack of a clear methodology, were generally accepted. And the next generation has already made a demand for philosophical history - with the identification of the laws of development of the state and society, the recognition of the main driving forces and laws historical process... Therefore, Karamzin's excessively “literary” creation was immediately subjected to well-founded criticism.

According to the idea, firmly rooted in Russian and foreign historiography of the 17th - 18th centuries, the development of the historical process depends on the development of monarchical power. Karamzin does not deviate from this idea one iota: the monarchical power glorified Russia in the Kiev period; the division of power between the princes was a political mistake, which was corrected by the statesmanship of the Moscow princes - the collectors of Russia. At the same time, it was the princes who corrected its consequences - the fragmentation of Russia and the Tatar yoke.

But before reproaching Karamzin for not bringing anything new into the development of Russian historiography, it should be remembered that the author of The History of the Russian State did not at all set himself the task of philosophically comprehending the historical process or blindly imitating the ideas of Western European romantics (F. Guizot , F. Mignet, J. Meschlet), already then talking about the "class struggle" and the "spirit of the people" as the main driving force stories. Historical criticism Karamzin was not interested at all, and deliberately denied the "philosophical" trend in history. The researcher's conclusions from historical material, as well as his subjective fabrications, seem to Karamzin to be "metaphysics" that is not suitable "for depicting action and character."

Thus, with his peculiar views on the tasks of the historian, Karamzin, by and large, remained outside the dominant currents of Russian and European historiography of the 19th and 20th centuries. Of course, he participated in its consistent development, but only as an object for constant criticism and the clearest example you don't need to write history.

The reaction of contemporaries

Karamzin's contemporaries - readers and admirers - enthusiastically accepted his new "historical" work. The first eight volumes of The History of the Russian State were published in 1816-1817 and went on sale in February 1818. The three thousandth circulation, huge for that time, was sold in 25 days. (And this is despite the solid price - 50 rubles). A second edition was immediately required, which was carried out in 1818-1819 by I.V.Slenin. In 1821, a new ninth volume was published, and in 1824 the next two. The author did not manage to finish the twelfth volume of his work, which was published in 1829, almost three years after his death.

"History ..." admired literary friends Karamzin and a wide audience of non-specialist readers who suddenly discovered, like Count Tolstoy the American, that their Fatherland has a history. 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. "

Liberal intellectual circles of the 1820s found Karamzin's History ... backward in general views and overly tendentious:

Specialists-researchers, as already mentioned, treated Karamzin's composition exactly as an essay, sometimes even belittling it. historical meaning... To many it seemed too risky the very enterprise of Karamzin - to undertake to write such an extensive work in the then state of Russian historical science.

Already during Karamzin's lifetime, critical analyzes of his "History ..." appeared, and soon after the author's death, attempts were made to determine the general significance of this work in historiography. Lelevel pointed to an involuntary distortion of the truth, due to the patriotic, religious and political hobbies of Karamzin. Artsybashev showed to what extent they harm the writing of "history" literary techniques a non-professional historian. Pogodin summed up all the shortcomings of History, and N.A. Polevoy saw the common reason for these shortcomings in the fact that "Karamzin is a writer not of our time." All his points of view, both in literature and in philosophy, politics and history, became obsolete with the emergence of new influences in Russia. European romanticism... In contrast to Karamzin, Polevoy soon wrote his six-volume History of the Russian People, where he completely surrendered himself to the ideas of Guizot and other Western European romantics. Contemporaries assessed this work as an "unworthy parody" of Karamzin, exposing the author to rather vicious and not always deserved attacks.

In the 1830s, "History ..." Karamzin became the official banner of the "Russian" direction. With the assistance of the same Pogodin, her scientific rehabilitation is carried out, which fully corresponds to the spirit of Uvarov's "theory of official nationality".

In the second half of the 19th century, on the basis of "History ..." a lot of popular science articles and other texts were written, which formed the basis of well-known educational and teaching aids... Based on the historical plots of Karamzin, many works have been created for children and youth, the purpose of which for many years has been to foster patriotism, loyalty to civic duty, and responsibility. the younger generation for the fate of their homeland. This book, in our opinion, played a decisive role in shaping the views of more than one generation of Russian people, having a significant impact on the foundations patriotic education youth in the late XIX - early XX centuries.

December 14. Final Karamzin.

The death of Emperor Alexander I and the December events of 1925 deeply shocked N.M. Karamzin and adversely affected his health.

On December 14, 1825, having received the news of the uprising, the historian goes out into the street: "I saw terrible faces, heard terrible words, five or six stones fell at my feet."

Karamzin, of course, regarded the performance of the nobility against their sovereign as a mutiny and a serious crime. But there were so many acquaintances among the rebels: the Muravyov brothers, Nikolai Turgenev, Bestuzhev, Ryleev, Kuchelbecker (he translated Karamzin's History into German).

In a few days, Karamzin will say about the Decembrists: "The delusions and crimes of these young people are the essence of the delusions and crimes of our century."

On December 14, during his travels around St. Petersburg, Karamzin caught a bad cold and fell ill with pneumonia. In the eyes of his contemporaries, he was another victim of this day: his idea of ​​the world collapsed, faith in the future was lost, and a new king ascended to the throne, very far from perfect image enlightened monarch. Half sick, Karamzin visited the palace every day, where he talked with Empress Maria Feodorovna, from memories of the late Tsar Alexander passing to discussions about the tasks of the future reign.

Karamzin could no longer write. XII volume"Histories ..." froze at the interregnum of 1611 - 1612. Last words the last volume is about a small Russian fortress: "Nut did not give up." The last thing that Karamzin actually managed to do in the spring of 1826 was, together with Zhukovsky, persuaded Nicholas I to return Pushkin from exile. A few years later, the emperor tried to pass on the baton of the first historiographer of Russia to the poet, but the "sun of Russian poetry" somehow did not fit into the role of the state ideologist and theorist ...

In the spring of 1826 N.M. Karamzin, on the advice of doctors, decided to go for treatment to southern France or Italy. Nicholas I agreed to sponsor his trip and kindly provided the historiographer with a frigate imperial navy... But Karamzin was already too weak to travel. He died on May 22 (June 3) 1826 in St. Petersburg. Buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.