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Birthday of the outstanding Russian writer Ivan Turgenev
On October 28 (November 9), 1818, in the city of Oryol, the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, one of the classics of Russian literature, was born into the noble family of Sergei Nikolaevich Turgenev (1793–1834) and Varvara Petrovna (nee Lutovinova) (1787–1850).
Ivan Turgenev spent his childhood years in the family estate of Spassky-Lutovinovo (Mtsensk district, Oryol province, now the Turgenev Spasskoye-Lutovinovo Museum-Estate). In 1827 he was sent to a Moscow boarding school. In 1833 he entered the literature department of Moscow University, then moved to the historical and philological department of St. Petersburg University. In 1838, he attended lectures at the University of Berlin, where he became close to N. V. Stankevich and M. A. Bakunin. In 1841 he returned to Moscow and in 1843 he entered service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he served for two years.
At this time he became close to V. G. Belinsky and his entourage. Turgenev’s first works, in particular, the poem “Parasha” (1843), were highly praised by the critic, who guided the work of the aspiring writer with friendly advice. He meets N. A. Nekrasov, I. I. Panaev, A. V. Druzhinin. On November 1 (13), 1843, he met the French singer P. Viardot, who had a great influence on Turgenev’s life. In 1845, he retired and lived for several years in France and Germany, trying to be close to his beloved, married woman.
The first experiments of Turgenev in prose date back to this period - the stories “Andrei Kolosov” (1844), “Three Portraits” (1846), “Breter” (1847). In 1847, the magazine “Sovremennik” published the story “Khor and Kalinich” - the first of the series of stories and essays “Notes of a Hunter” (1847–1851, separate edition 1852), which brought Turgenev real fame and secured his reputation one of the best Russian writers. Dramatic works by I. S. Turgenev of the 1840s. – plays “Lack of Money” (1846), “Bachelor” (1849), “Where it is thin, there it breaks” (1851), “Provincial Girl” (1851), “A Month in the Country” (1855) – are marked by a realistic depiction of life and customs , psychologism and expressiveness of speech characteristics. While imprisoned for publishing a censored obituary article dedicated to Nikolai Gogol, he wrote the story “Mumu” (published in 1854). In the ensuing exile to the village of Spasskoye, he created the story “The Inn” (published in 1855). In December 1853 he returned from exile.
In 1856, Ivan Turgenev’s debut novel “Rudin” was published, in which M. A. Bakunin became the prototype of the main character. In 1859 the novel “The Noble Nest” was published, in 1860 - “On the Eve”, in 1862 - “Fathers and Sons”. In the 2nd half of the 1850s–1860s Turgenev became involved in a polemic with A. I. Herzen about the prospects for the social and political development of Russia. I. S. Turgenev advocated the evolutionary path of development of Russia and considered A. I. Herzen’s faith in the revolutionary and socialist aspirations of the peasantry unfounded. In 1860, due to rejection of N. A. Dobrolyubov’s article “When Will the Real Day Come?” published in Sovremennik, who saw in the novel “On the Eve” a call for the Russian revolution, Turgenev stopped collaborating with the magazine.
From 1863 he settled with P. Viardot’s family in Baden-Baden. The period of the writer’s late work includes stories and tales “Dog” (1865), “The Story of Lieutenant Ergunov” (1868), “Dream” (1877), “The Story of Father Alexei” (1877), “Song of Triumphant Love” (1881), "After Death (Klara Milich)" (1883).
In Russia and Europe in the last years of his life, Ivan Turgenev gained great popularity. In February 1879, during a visit to Russia, he was honored at literary evenings and gala dinners, with strong invitations to stay in his homeland. In the spring of 1882, the first signs of the writer’s serious illness were discovered: a malignant tumor of the bones of the spine, or, according to another version, cancer of the superior sulcus of the lung (Pancoast cancer). On August 22 (September 3), 1883 Turgenev died in the commune of Bougival, near Paris. According to the writer's will, he was buried in St. Petersburg at the Volkovskoye cemetery.
Turgenev’s oeuvre received wide recognition in Russia and was highly appreciated by European and American writers: G. Flaubert, G. de Maupassant, V. Hugo, the de Goncourt brothers, A. Daudet, G. James and others. Traditions of prose I S. Turgenev can be traced in the works of many Russian writers (A. P. Chekhov, I. A. Bunin, K. G. Paustovsky, M. M. Prishvin, V. V. Nabokov), as well as in “urban prose” 2 th half of the 20th century (Yu. V. Trifonov, V. S. Makanin, etc.).
Лит.: Лебедев Ю. В. Тургенев. М., 1990; Ранчин А. М. Тургенев Иван Сергеевич // Большая российская энциклопедия; Русские писатели и поэты. Краткий биографический словарь. М., 2000.
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