The Presidential Library’s materials illustrate Tyutchev’s life and oeuvre

December 5, 2019 marks the 216th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Tyutchev (1803–1873) - a poet, diplomat, publicist, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, secret adviser. The cycles of his poems are still an unattainable example of the finest and deepest Russian poetry. The biographical documents and abstracts of dissertations devoted to the author’s work are available on the portal and in the Presidential Library’s collections: “Tyutchev’s Poetic Metaphor in a Comparative Aspect”, “Derzhavin tradition in the lyrics of Fyodor Tyutchev” and others.

“Fyodor Ivanovich was the second or lesser son of Ivan Nikolaevich and Yekaterina Lvovna Tyutchevs and was born in 1803, November 23 (according to the old style) in the Tyutchev family estate, in the village of Ovstug, Oryol province, Bryansk district. The Tyutchevs belonged to the old Russian nobility”, - writes Ivan Aksakov, the poet’s son-in-law, who married his daughter Anna. In the fall, the Tyutchevs lived in the Oryol village, and moved to Moscow for the winter.

“Fyodor Tyutchev both in appearance (he was very thin and short), and in terms of his inner spiritual system was the exact opposite of his father. But he was extremely like his mother, Yekaterina Lvovna, a woman of remarkable intelligence, lean, nervous build, with a tendency to hypochondria, with a fantasy developed to pain. In this completely Russian family, the French language was almost exclusively dominant. The phenomenon, however, is not uncommon at a time when the Russian literary language was still quite a new thing, the property of “literary lovers”, - wrote Aksakov, who knew the family of the brilliant poet. According to him, Tyutchev “from a child became the enemy of all coercion of will; all the properties and manifestations of his childish nature were painted with some particularly subtle, elegant spirituality. Thanks to his unique abilities, he studied extremely successfully. The teaching was not a labor for him, but a satisfaction of the natural need of knowledge”.

Supervised by his home teacher - the famous translator S. E. Raich, Tyutchev superbly mastered the classical heritage, became a real Hellenist. At the age of 14, Fyodor Tyutchev translated the message of Horace to the Patron. Founded in Moscow, the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature awarded the young man the title "employee", and his translation was printed in the XIV part of "Transactions".

In 1818, Tyutchev entered Moscow University, where he met closely with the student Pogodin, who was three years older than him. In the newspaper Moskovskiye Vedomosti, № 190 (1873) —this publication was specifically referred to by Ivan Aksakov in his book — Nikolai Pogodin recalled: “A young boy with a blush on his cheek, in a green frock coat, lies with his elbows resting on a sofa and reading a book. <...> Or here he is sitting at my lecture at the university behind my back on the second bench and, not listening to Kachenovsky, scribbles epigrams on him, <...>, and soon he will think about Cunning and Metternich... ".

In 1821, when Tyutchev was not yet 18 years old, he passed “excellent” his last exam and received a candidate’s degree. A brilliant career opened before him. In 1822, Tyutchev was sent to St. Petersburg to serve in the State College of Foreign Affairs, and soon then received a referral to diplomatic work in Munich. “Suddenly transferred to the Western European arena, into a brilliant diplomatic circle, Tyutchev was not at all lost, on the contrary, he soon became a favorite of the highest Munich society and an indispensable member of all secular and non-secular gatherings where a request was made for intelligence, education and talent”, - Aksakov writes.

In 1837, he was appointed senior secretary of the embassy in Turin. It would seem the Russian diplomat was on his rise, but at the same time he searched and did not find in Europe at least a grain of Russian spirituality.

“The boundless dominance of matter everywhere, the triumph of brute force, a return to the time of barbarism - this is what the Russian consciousness, in the person of Tyutchev, did not cease to point out to European society for 30 years”, - writes Aksakov in the publication “Biography of Fyodor Tyutchev”. In 1844, Tyutchev returned to his homeland. He was appointed to the new position of "Chief Censor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire" and was given the rank of state adviser.

Tyutchev, weighed down by state activity, according to some critics, did not become a professional writer. But several generations of readers go with their “damned questions” to the poet-philosopher, who created more than 400 poems during his difficult life.

In the lyric works: “Autumn”, “Spring Waters”, “I love a thunderstorm at the beginning of May”, “Oh, how we love and are more superstitious on the slope of our years...” he uniquely reflects the philosophy of nature, creates a soulful atmosphere of empathy, because his lyrics can be said to be immortal.

The oeuvre of Fyodor Tyutchev contains patriotic notes. Thus, for example, he sincerely writes insightful lines about his homeland:

“Russia cannot be understood with the mind alone,

No ordinary yardstick can span its greatness:

It stands alone, unique –

One can only believe in Russia”.