Home Biography Family Childhood Places House Museum Life and creativity A brief chronicle of life
Works of art Photo Gallery Museum About the project
Text advertising:
Life and work In 1815, a young family lives in the village of Tarkhany, Penza province, the estate of the grandmother of the future poet E. Arsenyeva.
The poet's childhood years were spent here.
He lost his mother early (died in 1817, at the age of 21) and grew up separated from his father.
My grandmother did everything for her only, adored grandson, sparing no money for teachers and tutors.
He received an excellent home education: from childhood he was fluent in French and German, drew and sculpted well, studied music (played the flute, piano and violin).
Fearing for the health of her sickly grandson, the grandmother undertook tedious trips to the Caucasus (1818, 1820, 1825) for treatment with mineral waters.
The impressions of these trips remained in Lermontov's memory for the rest of his life, they were reflected in his early work.
"The Caucasus", (1830); "Blue Mountains of the Caucasus, I greet you!", (1832).
In 1827, the grandmother brought her grandson to Moscow to continue his education.
On September 1, 1828, Lermontov was enrolled as a semi pensioner in the Moscow University Noble Boarding School, one of the best educational institutions in Russia.
He receives a liberal arts education, which he replenishes with independent reading.
At the boarding school, he writes poetry, realizing very early that poetry is his vocation.
During these years, he was influenced by Byron's poetry and wrote several "Byronic poems" ("Circassians", "Caucasian prisoner", "Corsair", "Criminal", "Oleg", "Two Brothers"); in 1829 he conceived the poem "Demon", on which he would work almost until the end of his life.
In the autumn of 1830, he entered the Moscow University for the moral and political department.
Lermontov's dissatisfaction with the lectures of the professors and the dissatisfaction of the professors with the disrespectful answers and arguments of the student, which was considered impermissible impertinence, led to the fact that he submitted his resignation and left the university in 1832.
In 1830-31 the peak stage of Lermontov's youth creativity.
He works extremely intensively: in two years he has tried almost all poetic genres: elegy, romance, song, dedication, message, etc.
The poet looks intently into his inner life, trying to express in words the inexpressible spiritual movements.
It concerns both general issues of being and the moral life of the individual.
The drama "Strange Man" is a kind of focus of the autobiographical motives of his lyrics of this period.
However, it was necessary to continue his education, and Lermontov hoped to do this at St. Petersburg University, but he would have to start from the first year, since the time of studying at Moscow University was not counted as dismissed.
He did not want to lose two years and abruptly changed his plans.
On November 4, 1832, he entered the School of Guards Sub ensigns and cavalry junkers.
The two years spent in the atmosphere of barracks drill were, in his words, "terrible".
But even in these conditions, Lermontov secretly continues to write, although his work is going through a period of decline.
After graduating from School in 1834, he was promoted from junkers to cornet of the Life Guards of the Hussar regiment stationed in Tsarskoye Selo.
However, Lermontov spends most of his life in St. Petersburg, feeling free for the first time.
His observations on the life of secular society formed the basis of the drama "Masquerade" (1835), which he conceived as follows: "A comedy, like "Woe from Wit," a sharp criticism of modern mores."
Having made sure that the "Masquerade" cannot be dragged through theatrical censorship, he returns to prose: he begins a novel — "Princess Ligovskaya", in which the name of Pechorin appears for the first time.
The autobiographical moments of the novel are connected with Varenka Lopukhina, a deep feeling for whom the poet did not leave all his life.
The news of the death of A. Pushkin shocked Lermontov and the very next day he wrote a poem "On the death of a poet", and a week later the final 16 lines of this poem, which immediately made him famous, were copied and memorized by heart.
On March 3, 1837, the poet was arrested in the case of "impermissible poems".
While under arrest, he writes several poems: "Prisoner", "Neighbor", "Prayer", "Desire".
Lermontov was transferred from the Guards to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment and on April 1 left St. Petersburg for the Caucasus.
On his way to his first exile, he stayed for a month in Moscow, which was preparing for a big celebration — the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino.
The poet reworked his youthful poem "The Field of Borodino", and "Borodino" appeared, published in Sovremennik in 1837.
During the Caucasian exile, he got acquainted with the Decembrists, who also served exile here, and with the poet A.Odoevsky even became friends.
Almost everything that Lermontov created in the period between the two exiles is somehow connected with the Caucasus.
Caucasian themes and images were widely reflected in his work: in lyrics and in poems, the novel "The Hero of Our Time" (1838).
They are also captured in numerous sketches and paintings by Lermontov,a gifted painter.
In January 1838, he came to St. Petersburg, because of the troubles of his grandmother and the petition of V.Zhukovsky was crowned with success, and the poet was transferred to the Grodno regiment, located near Novgorod.
He lived in St. Petersburg for about a month, visiting the theater every day, was with Zhukovsky, to whom he gave the poem "Tambov Treasurer", soon published in Sovremennik.
As a result of further petitions, Lermontov was transferred to his former hussar regiment, stationed in Tsarskoye Selo.
At the same time, the Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich appeared without the author's name, which was not missed by the censors..."
By the beginning of 1839, he was getting closer to the editorial board of "Domestic Notes", published by A.Krayevsky, and gradually enters the environment of St. Petersburg writers.
He attends poetry evenings, meets with Kukovsky, Turgenev, Belinsky.
In progressive circles, he is seen as the hope of Russian literature.
"A new powerful talent has appeared in Russia — Lermontov," Belinsky announces.
In March 1840, for a duel with the son of the French ambassador E. de Barant, Lermontov was transferred to an infantry regiment and sent to the active army in the Caucasus.
Participates in military operations, " fulfilling the assignment assigned to him with excellent courage and composure ."
At the beginning of February 1841, having received a two month vacation, he came to St. Petersburg, hoping to get a resignation and stay in the capital.
But this will also be denied to him, as well as a reward for his brave actions in the battles in the Caucasus.
Moreover, he will be ordered to leave the capital within 48 hours and follow his regiment in the Caucasus.
He arrives in Pyatigorsk and gets permission to stay for treatment with mineral waters.
Lermontov will write down his last poems in his notebook: "Dispute", "Dream", "Cliff", "Tamara", "Leaf", "Date", "Prophet", "I go out alone on the road", etc.
He meets his old friends, including his friend from the Junker School, N. Martynov.
At one of the evenings in the Verzilins ' house, where young people gathered, offended by another sarcastic joke of Lermontov, Martynov calls him to naduel.
The duel took place on July 15, 1841.
"A new great loss has orphaned poor Russian literature," Belinsky will write.
Lermontov's body was buried at the Pyatigorsk Cemetery.
Later, at the request of his grandmother, the coffin with the ashes of the poet was transported to Tarkhany and buried in the family crypt.
© "New Literary Network", info@mlermontov.ru with the support of the Web IT company
