Message about Gabriel. Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin: a short biography. Gabriel Derzhavin short biography
Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin was born on July 3, 1743 in Kazan, into a family of small estate nobles. He lost his father early, his mother and children were left virtually without funds. The boy studied with home teachers, then entered the gymnasium, but without graduating from it, he was called up for military service. Thus, he did not receive a systematic education.
For 12 years Derzhavin served as a common soldier in the Preobrazhensky Regiment in St. Petersburg. Participated in palace coup 1762, who placed Catherine II on the throne. Already as an officer, he was an active participant in the hostilities against Pugachev.
Although for several years Derzhavin was bypassed with awards, in the end he received a rather prominent position in the Senate and in 1778 he married a 16-year-old girl, Ekaterina Yakovlevna Bastidon. The marriage was happy, in verse Derzhavin sang his wife under the name of Plenira. On her death in 1793, he wrote a heartfelt poem "The Swallow". He himself explained the quick second marriage with Daria Alekseevna Dyakova not by love, love, but "so that, remaining a widower, he would not become dissolute." There were no children from either the first or the second marriage.
Decisive and courageous, independent in his judgments, Derzhavin invariably aroused sharp displeasure on the part of his superiors. In the Senate, he fought for real representation on the State Revenue Report, which led to a very quick resignation. He was appointed governor of Olonets, but stayed in Petrozavodsk for less than a year, was transferred (also not for long) to Tambov. The pages of Derzhavin's Notes, dedicated to the period of governorship in Tambov, speak of the poet's extraordinary service energy and ardent desire to bring all possible benefits, as well as his efforts to spread education among Tambov society. However, this energy very soon led to a clash with the authorities here as well. In a dispute with the governor, the Senate did not support Derzhavin - not only removed him from office, but opened a case against him. The empress closed the case, but did not confirm his innocence and did not reinstate him in his position, but simply ordered him to pay a salary.
His odes, however, pleased Catherine and her favorites. In 1791 Derzhavin was appointed Secretary of State to the Empress. This was a sign of extraordinary mercy; but the service here, too, was unsuccessful for Derzhavin. He failed to please the empress, because she demanded new poems, and he tried to fight the “clerical hook-work squad” that resented him, carried piles of papers to Catherine, demanded her attention to the complicated cases related to the corruption of courtiers and senior officials. Palace intrigues, non-execution of laws, as Derzhavin admitted, prevented him from praising the empress as ardently and sincerely as before. He was also harmed by excessive ardor and lack of court tact.
Derzhavin served as Secretary of State for less than 2 years. In 1793, he was appointed senator (which was an honorable removal from service under the empress), but very soon quarreled with all his colleagues. He was distinguished by diligence and zeal for the service, he sometimes went to the Senate even on Sundays and holidays.
After the accession of Paul I, Derzhavin was first subjected to persecution, but then, with an ode to the accession to the throne of the emperor, he returned his favor. The poet receives honorary commissions, becomes a knight of the Order of Malta.
In 1802-1803, in connection with the transformation of the state apparatus, Alexander I appointed Derzhavin, the first Minister of Justice in the history of Russia, while simultaneously performing the functions of the Prosecutor General. Two weeks later, the poet offered several reports to the Senate - on the rules of legal proceedings, on the procedure for hearing cases, on the arbitration court. He hoped to put a stop to bribes and create an impartial court. But such activity again did not please the authorities. In addition, Derzhavin openly expressed disagreement with the reformist aspirations of the emperor and censured his young advisers. He held the position for only a year and was sent into full retirement. To a direct question why he was being fired, the emperor frankly replied: "You serve very zealously."
The poet spent the last years of his life mainly in the village of Zvanka. Living in the winters in St. Petersburg, he, together with A.S. Shishkov founded in 1811 a literary society: "Conversation of lovers of the Russian word."
Derzhavin died on July 8, 1816 in Zvanka and was buried in the Khutyn Monastery, not far from Novgorod.
Derzhavin began to write poems very early, in the 70s they were already published in magazines, albeit anonymously. But fame came only in 1783, after the appearance of the “Ode to Felitsa” addressed to Catherine II. The heyday of his poetic activity falls on the 80-90s. In 1784, the ode "God" was completed, which, among Derzhavin's spiritual odes, is considered the highest manifestation of his talent; it has been translated into German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Japanese and other languages. In 1796, the "Monument" was published, one of the most famous imitations in our literature of the famous ode of Horace.
Derzhavin's biographer, poet V.L. Khodasevich wrote "poetry and service became for him, as it were, two fields of a single civil feat." Indeed, both in poetry and in state activity, the poet boldly spoke out against abuses and lawlessness. “It is the duty of a poet to tell the truth to the world,” he said. “Ode to Felitsa”, “Nobleman” are both odes and satires. Derzhavin became one of the founders of civil poetry - the forerunner of both Radishchev and Pushkin. At the same time, the heroism of the time, the brilliant victories of Russian weapons, were clearly reflected in his poems. In the odes “On the Capture of Ishmael”, “On the Crossing of the Alpine Mountains”, Derzhavin glorifies not only the remarkable Russian commanders Rumyantsev and Suvorov, but also ordinary soldiers as he was in his youth. He can also be considered one of the first Russian poets who recreated the private life and life of his era.
Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin is a Russian poet, the largest figure of Russian classicism, literature of the Enlightenment. He was born on July 14 (July 3, according to the old style), 1743, in the family estate in the village of Karmachi, Kazan province. He was the son of a poor landowner and a descendant of a family, the founder of which, according to family tradition, was the Tatar Murza. Having no education themselves, Derzhavin's parents made sure that their children were brought up and educated. In 1750, Gavrila was sent to a German boarding school, and from 1759 to 1762 he was a student at the Kazan Gymnasium.
At the age of nineteen, Derzhavin entered the military service, served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment as a soldier of the Life Guards; as part of this military formation, he took part in a coup d'état, as a result of which the throne went to Catherine II. In 1772, Derzhavin received an officer's position, but his military career developed in such a way that he had to retire and enter the civil service.
In 1773, the journal "Antiquity and Novelty" published "Iroida, or Vivlida's Letters to Cavnus" - the debut work of Gabriel Derzhavin, which was a translation from a German passage from Ovid. At first, creating in line with the traditions laid down by Lomonosov and Sumarokov, in 1779 he began to follow his own literary path, creating works in a style that was then revered as an example of philosophical lyrics.
The ode Felitsa, which sang of Catherine II, written in 1782, changed Derzhavin's further biography, bringing him fame - not only literary, but also social. Thanks to this, in 1784 he got to the post of governor of the Olonets province, granted by the empress, which he held only until 1785 due to a conflict with local authorities. He did not have relations with the Tambov officials either, when in 1786 he was appointed governor of the Tambov province, therefore, in the post of G.R. Derzhavin held out until 1788, when he was recalled by the empress to the capital. For a short period of governorship, the poet proved himself an implacable opponent of various abuses on the part of officials, did a lot on the path of educating the population.
In 1789 Derzhavin returned to the capital. In 1791-1793. was in the position of cabinet-secretary of Catherine II, after which the empress deprived him of his post for excessive zeal. Accustomed to telling the truth in person, too independent and active, Derzhavin amassed many ill-wishers during his civil service. From 1793 he sat in the Senate, from 1794 he served as president of the College of Commerce, in 1802-1803. - Minister of Justice, after which he resigned at the age of 60.
Having retired from the civil service, Gavriil Romanovich lives not only in St. Petersburg, but also in the Novgorod province, where he had the Zvanka estate. Even as an official, he did not stop literary activity, wrote many odes, and after retiring was able to fully concentrate on it. Closer to the end creative way Gavriil Romanovich tried himself in the genre of dramaturgy, writing a number of tragedies. In 1808 a collection of his works was published in four volumes.
Petersburg house of Derzhavin was a meeting place for writers, in 1811 the circle of regulars became an officially registered literary society "Conversation of lovers of the Russian word", the head of which was himself and A.S. Shishkov. His views on language and literature were quite conservative, but this did not prevent Derzhavin from showing interest and favoring innovative phenomena in poetry. A fact from the biography of Pushkin is widely known, when he was noticed and "going down to the grave, blessed" "old man Derzhavin." His work in line with classicism became the soil on which the poetry of Pushkin, Batyushkov, and the Decembrist poets grew up.
Derzhavin died on July 20 (July 8, O.S.), 1816, on his estate. He was buried not far from Veliky Novgorod, in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Varlaamo-Khutynsky Monastery. Burial place during the Great Patriotic War turned into ruins due to shelling. Only in 1959 the remains of Derzhavin and his wife were reburied in the Novgorod citadel, but in 1993 they were returned to their original place, when the cathedral was restored.
Gabriel Derzhavin a brief biography of the poet and statesman is set out in this article.
Gabriel Derzhavin short biography
Gavriil Romanovich was born into a noble family in the Sokura family estate near Kazan. July 14, 1743 where he spent his childhood.
From 1762 he served as an ordinary guardsman in the Preobrazhensky regiment, as part of the regiment he took part in the coup d'état on June 28, 1762, as a result of which Catherine II came to the throne.
From 1772 he served in the regiment as an officer, in 1773-1775 he participated in the suppression of the uprising of Yemelyan Pugachev as part of the regiment. Derzhavin's first poems were published in 1773.
In 1777, upon his retirement, the civil service of State Councilor G. R. Derzhavin began in the Governing Senate.
At the beginning of 1778, Gavriil Romanovich married 16-year-old Ekaterina Bastidon.
Wide literary fame came to G. Derzhavin in 1782 after the publication of the ode "Felitsa", which was dedicated to Catherine II.
Since the founding in 1783 of the Imperial Russian Academy Derzhavin was a member of the academy and was directly involved in compiling and publishing the first explanatory dictionary Russian language.
In May 1784 he was appointed ruler of the Olonets vicegerency. Arriving in Petrozavodsk, he organized the formation of provincial administrative, financial and judicial institutions, put into operation the first general civil medical institution in the province - the city hospital. Later, the images of Karelia entered his work: the poems "Storm", "Swan", "To the second neighbor", "For Happiness", "Waterfall".
In 1786-1788 he served as the ruler of the Tambov viceroy.
In 1791-1793 he was the cabinet-secretary of Catherine II.
In 1793 he was appointed senator with the production of privy councillors.
In 1794, at the age of 34, his wife Ekaterina Yakovlevna died suddenly. Six months later, G. R. Derzhavin married Daria Dyakova.
From 1795 to 1796 - President of the College of Commerce.
In 1802-1803 - Minister of Justice Russian Empire.
All this time, Derzhavin did not leave the literary field, creating the ode "God" (1784), "The thunder of victory, resound!" (1791, unofficial Russian anthem), "Velmozha" (1794), "Waterfall" (1798) and many others.
On October 7, 1803, he was dismissed and released from all government posts (“dismissed from all affairs”).
In retirement, he settled in his estate Zvanka in the Novgorod province. IN last years his life was engaged in literary activity.
Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin was born in the village of Karmachi, Kazan Province, on July 3, 1743, into the family of a poor army officer. In 1750, the boy was sent to a German boarding school in Orenburg, where he learned German.
After the death of his father in 1754, the family moved to Kazan, and Gavrila and his brother entered the Kazan gymnasium. Upon its successful completion, the future poet enrolls in the soldiers. His Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment takes part in the coup that brought Empress Catherine II to the throne. In the service of Gavrila Romanovich, he became addicted to the game, began to write poetry. He also did not abandon science, read a lot, began to translate "Messiad" and "Telemachus" in verse.
Disobedience and irascibility, combined with an unsuccessful guarantee for someone else's gambling debt, cost Derzhavin military career. In the same year, 1773, his first work, an excerpt from Ovid's Metamorphoses, was published without a signature.
Gavrila Romanovich also loses his position in the Senate after his resignation due to his irreconcilable love of truth. In 1778, he marries 16-year-old III Ekaterina Yakovlevna Bastidon, daughter of Peter III's valet.
The year 1779 was marked by a departure from the Lomonosov traditions in his work - Derzhavin creates his own style, which will be recognized as the standard of philosophical lyrics. In 1782, touched by the "Ode to Felitsa", Catherine II gives the poet a golden snuffbox with diamonds and five hundred chervonets inside.
1784 - Derzhavin is appointed Governor of Olonets. He immediately clashes with Tutolmin, the governor of the region. The transfer to the governor's position in Tambov leads to a similar story and an early dismissal.
In 1791 - 1793, he served as Catherine II's office secretary, annoying her with upholding justice. As a result, she removes Derzhavin from service with the Order of Vladimir II degree and the rank of Privy Councilor.
In 1793, the poet's muse, his wife, dies. In 1795, he marries Daria Alekseevna Dyakova without much love.
During the reign of Paul I (1796 - 1801), Gavriil Romanovich became a knight of the Order of Malta, received the positions of state treasurer and ruler of the office of the Senate. He managed to change the initial disgrace of the monarch due to another harshness by writing a magnificent ode to the accession of Paul to the throne.
Already under Alexander I, in 1802-1803, Derzhavin served as Minister of Justice.
Having retired in 1803, the poet completely devoted himself to creativity. Turns to drama, prepares a collection of works for publication. At the exam in 1815 at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, he notices the young Pushkin (the lines “Old Derzhavin noticed us and, descending into the coffin, blessed us”) are dedicated to Gavriil Romanovich.
The poet and truth-lover died on July 8, 1816. Wise and poetic statements of Derzhavin, aphorisms and quotations from his works are still relevant and accurate!
One of the most prominent personalities in Russian culture of the late XVIII - early XIX centuries was Derzhavin Gavriil Romanovich. He was a striking figure, and statesman, and as a poet who wrote the most famous poems of his time, imbued with the spirit of the Enlightenment. Few people were able to do as much for the development of the culture of their country as did Gabriel Derzhavin. The biography and work of this great man undoubtedly deserves a detailed study.
Genus history
But before starting to study the facts from the life of Derzhavin Gavriil Romanovich, let's take a quick look at the history of his family.
The Derzhavin family has Tatar roots. The founder of the clan is considered to be the Horde Murza Bragim, who in the 15th century joined the service of the Grand Duke of Moscow and was baptized under the name Ilya. Given that the newly converted Tatar was a noble family, the prince granted him a noble rank.
Brahim had a son, Narbek, who was baptized Dmitry, from whose eldest son the Narbekov family descended, and from the youngest, Alexei Narbekov, nicknamed Derzhava, the Derzhavin dynasty was formed.
The descendants of the founders of the clan became completely Russified, which was largely facilitated by numerous marriages with representatives of the Russian nobility, and held significant positions under the princes and tsars of the Russian state. In particular, they were governors and stewards. Just the descendant of this glorious family was Derzhavin Gavriil Romanovich.
Derzhavin's youth
The life of Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin began on July 3 (according to the old calendar), 1743. It was then that he was born in the village of Sokury, Kazan province, in the family of a military officer Roman Nikolaevich Derzhavin and Fyokla Kozlova.
Due to specifics military service Roman Nikolaevich's family constantly had to move from place to place. However, Gavriil Romanovich lost his father at the age of 11.
The future poet began to receive education from the age of seven, when he was sent to study at a boarding school. However, due to the poverty into which the family had fallen after the loss of the breadwinner, it was rather difficult to continue education. However, in 1759, Gavriil Derzhavin entered Kazan in educational institution gymnasium type, which he successfully graduated in three years, demonstrating one of best results in learning. However, this is where his education ends. Such education, even at that time, was considered superficial.
Immediately after graduation, Gavriil Romanovich was enlisted as an ordinary soldier in the Preobrazhensky Guard. There he begins to write the first poems. As part of this unit, he participated in the coup d'état of 1762 with the aim of overthrowing Emperor Peter III and enthroning Catherine, later nicknamed the Great. This fact to a large extent affected his future career.
A decade after the coup, Gabriel Derzhavin finally receives officer rank, and a year later his poems were published for the first time. Then he distinguished himself in the fight against the rebellion of Pugachev.
in public service
After leaving military service in 1777, thanks to his personal request in a letter to Empress Catherine, Derzhavin Gavriil Romanovich transferred to the civil service. In addition, he received another 300 peasants in possession. Six months later, he becomes an executor in the Senate. In 1780 he became an adviser to the state revenues and expenditures, which was a rather lucrative position.
Derzhavin gained wide fame as a poet in 1782, thanks to the publication of his ode "Felitsa", dedicated to the glorification of Empress Catherine II. Of course, this work was filled with flattery to the highest person, but at the same time it was highly artistic and directly contributed to the further career growth of the author. It was thanks to him that Gabriel Derzhavin won the favor of the Empress. His biography in the future consists of a series of promotions through the ranks. In the same year he became a state councillor.
In 1783, the Academy was founded in St. Petersburg, and the poet from the moment of opening became its full member.
However, it cannot be said that everything was absolutely smooth for him in the public service. Due to a conflict with the high-ranking Prince Vyazemsky, his former patron, Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin resigned. A brief biography does not make it possible to dwell on all aspects of this case.
However, already in 1784 he was sent to manage the Olonets governorship in Karelia. There, Gavriil Romanovich distinguished himself by great diligence in establishing public life and the economy of the region, thereby demonstrating their high organizational talents. A significant body of Derzhavin's poetic work is dedicated to this period of life and the region that the poet ruled.
Two years later, he was given a more profitable post of Tambov governor, which promised more income and privileges.
Pinnacle of career
Meanwhile, Derzhavin Gavriil is achieving more and more official heights. In short, in 1791 he became the secretary of Empress Catherine herself, and two years later he was promoted to the rank of senator and privy councillor. Since then, we can safely say that Derzhavin made his way into the elite of Russian society.
In 1795, Derzhavin Gavriil Romanovich was granted the title of president of the Commerce Collegium, a state body whose task was to manage and control trade. Of course, it was a very lucrative position.
Already after the death of Catherine, under Emperor Paul I, Gabriel Romanovich became the state treasurer and ruler of the office of the Senate. Under the successor of Paul Alexander I in 1802, Derzhavin received a ministerial portfolio, becoming Minister of Justice. It was the pinnacle of his career.
Resignation
But already in 1803, at the age of sixty, the Minister of Justice retired and never returned to public service, having lived until his death in one of his estates in the village of Zvanka, Novgorod province. Exists whole line reasons that led to the fact that Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin was forced to retire. A brief biography allows only to list them, without giving details. This is Derzhavin's fatigue from public service, and most importantly, the desire to remove him from the new favorites of Alexander I.
However, there is a positive aspect in this event: the resignation allowed Gavriil Romanovich to concentrate on literary activity.
Earlier creativity
The work of Gabriel Derzhavin is significant for its time. As mentioned earlier, he wrote his first poems as a private in the Preobrazhensky Guard. True, Derzhavin wrote this poetry more for himself than for general review.
For the first time, his poems were published only ten years later in 1773, when Derzhavin was already an officer. But the fame of a poet of a national level was brought to him by the ode "Felitsa", dedicated to the Empress of All Russia Catherine II. This work abounded with compliments and praises to the royal person, but at the same time, its composition of the ball is quite harmonious, and the metaphors used put the ode on the same level with the greatest works of contemporary poetry.
It was after the publication of Felitsa that Derzhavin became one of the most famous of his time.
Further creative path
Gabriel Derzhavin had a difficult fate. Facts from his life testify that even while holding the highest government posts, he did not forget about poetry. It is to this period of activity that the writing of such iconic works as “The thunder of victory resounds”, “Swan”, “God”, “Nobleman”, “Waterfall” and many others. Each of them had its own conceptual features and topical relevance. For example, "The Thunder of Victory Resounds" was set to music before mid-nineteenth century was considered the unofficial Russian anthem. Another creation of the poet "Autumn during the siege of Ochakov" was a kind of poem-call to action against the Ottoman army. And such works as "The Swan" and "Waterfall" were written under the impression of Derzhavin's stay in Karelia.
Derzhavin wrote both lyrical and epic poems aimed at raising morale and glorifying the Empress and the Russian Empire. Each of his works had its own unique zest.
It is noteworthy that most of the most famous creations of Gavriil Romanovich chronologically fall precisely on the period of his highest career advancement in the public service.
Literary activity after retirement
As mentioned above, the resignation from the civil service allowed Derzhavin to devote more time to poetry and literary activity in general.
In 1808 a new collection of his works was published in five parts.
In 1811, together with another significant figure in Russian culture, Alexander Semenovich Shishkov, the retired minister created a literary society. The creation of this organization is, of course, one of the many deeds that Gabriel Derzhavin could be proud of. A short biography, unfortunately, narrows the scope of the narrative and does not provide a detailed account of the activities of this society.
Of particular note is Derzhavin's later famous meeting with the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. True, at that time Pushkin was still a student and did not have fame, but Gavriil Romanovich, taking the exam, already at that time noticed in him the makings of a genius. This significant meeting took place a year before Derzhavin's death in 1815.
Family
Gabriel Derzhavin was married twice. For the first time, at the age of 35, he married sixteen-year-old Ekaterina Yakovlevna Bastidon, who was the daughter of the valet of the deposed Emperor Peter III, who was a Portuguese. Hence such a strange surname for Russia. The wedding took place in 1778. There were rather reverent feelings between the newlyweds, which is not surprising, given the personal qualities of Gavriil Romanovich and the beauty of Ekaterina Yakovlevna. No wonder Derzhavin considered his wife a muse that inspires him to work.
But happiness does not last forever, and Gabriel Derzhavin suffers great grief. His young wife, being only 34 years old, dies in 1794. She was laid to rest at the Lazarevsky cemetery in St. Petersburg.
Although the grief of Gabriel Romanovich knew no bounds, six months after the death of his wife, he married a second time. His betrothed was the daughter of the Chief Prosecutor and State Councilor Daria Alekseevna Dyakova. At the time of their marriage, the bride was only 28 years old, while Derzhavin was 51 years old. It must be said that, unlike the poet's first marriage, this union was not built on love, but on friendship and mutual respect. Daria Alekseevna survived her husband for 26 years, but nevertheless she did not marry a second time.
Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin had no children, but he took over the care of the children of his deceased friend Pyotr Lazarev, whose names were Andrei, Alexei and Mikhail. The last of them became the discoverer of Antarctica in the future.
Death of poet
Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin died on his estate Zvanka, where he lived all the last years after his resignation from his ministerial post. It happened in the seventy-third year of the poet's life on July 8 (according to the old style), 1816. At the time of his death, his faithful wife Daria Alekseevna was next to him.
But, besides his wife, a significant part of the Russian intelligentsia and enlightened personalities, as well as people who simply knew Gavriil Romanovich and knew him as a sympathetic and noble person, certainly grieved about the loss of such a powerful cultural torch of his time.
Gavriil Derzhavin was buried in the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, which is located not far from Novgorod.
Life outcomes and legacy
Quite complex, rich and interesting life lived Derzhavin Gavriil Romanovich. Facts from his biography testify to the significant role of this person both in the cultural life of the country and in social activities. Of particular note is his service for the benefit of the Russian Empire in various government posts. But the main legacy left by Gavriil Derzhavin is, of course, his brilliant poetry, highly valued by both the poet's contemporaries and descendants.
And now in Russia they remember the contribution that Gavriil Romanovich made to the development of national culture. The honoring of the memory of the great poet is evidenced by numerous monuments, steles and erected to Derzhavin in various cities of Russia, in particular, in Petrozavodsk, Kazan, St. spent the last years of his life. In addition, streets, squares, educational institutions, etc. are named after Gabriel Derzhavin in many settlements.
The museum-estate of the great poet should be singled out separately. It was in this mansion that Gavriil Derzhavin lived during his service in St. Petersburg. A photo of the estate from the side is presented below.
Now this building is considered the main museum dedicated to the life and work of Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin. The former estate acquired its current status only in 2003, although the decision to create a museum was made five years earlier. In previous years, there was a communal apartment here. Now the interior of the times of Derzhavin's life has been recreated in the building.
Certainly the memory outstanding personality, like Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin, does not deserve to be forgotten and will never be forgotten in Russia.
