(1787-1855), Russian poet. The head of the anacreontic trend in Russian lyric poetry ("The Merry Hour", "My Penates", "Bacchae"). Later he experienced a spiritual crisis (“Hope”, “To a Friend”); in the genre of elegy - motives of unrequited love ("Separation", "My Genius"), high tragedy ("The Dying Tass", "The Saying of Melchizedek").
BATYUSHKOV Konstantin Nikolaevich, Russian poet.
Childhood and youth. Start of service
Born into an old but impoverished noble family. Batyushkov's childhood was overshadowed by the death of his mother (1795) from a hereditary mental illness. In 1797-1802 he studied in private boarding schools in St. Petersburg. From the end of 1802, Batyushkov served in the Ministry of Public Education under the leadership of M. N. Muravyov, a poet and thinker who had a deep influence on him. When war with Napoleon was declared, Batyushkov joined the militia (1807) and took part in the campaign in Prussia (he was seriously wounded near Heilsberg). In 1808 he took part in the Swedish campaign. In 1809 he retired and settled on his estate Khantonovo, Novgorod province.
Beginning of literary activity
Batyushkov's literary activity began in 1805-06 with the publication of a number of poems in the journals of the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts. At the same time, he became close to writers and artists grouped around A. N. Olenin (N. I. Gnedich, I. A. Krylov, O. A. Kiprensky, etc.). The Olenin circle, which set itself the task of resurrecting the ancient ideal of beauty on the basis of modern sensitivity, opposed itself to both the Slavicizing archaism of the Shishkovists (see A.V. Shishkov), and the French orientation and cult of trifles widespread among the Karamzinists. Batyushkov's satire "Vision on the Shores of Lethe" (1809), directed against both camps, becomes the literary manifesto of the circle. During these same years, he began translating T. Tasso’s poem “Jerusalem Liberated,” entering into a kind of creative competition with Gnedich, who translated Homer’s “Iliad.”
"Russian Guys"
Batyushkov’s literary position underwent some changes in 1809-10, when he became close in Moscow with a circle of younger Karamzinists (P. A. Vyazemsky, V. A. Zhukovsky), and met N. M. Karamzin himself. Poems of 1809-12, including translations and imitations of E. Parni, Tibullus, a cycle of friendly messages (“My Penates”, “To Zhukovsky”) form the image of the “Russian Parni” - an epicurean poet, singer - that determines Batyushkov’s entire subsequent reputation laziness and voluptuousness. In 1813 he wrote (with the participation of A. E. Izmailov) one of the most famous literary and polemical works of Karamzinism, “The Singer or Singers in the Conversation of the Slavic Russians,” directed against the “Conversation of Lovers of the Russian Word.”
Fracture
In April 1812, Batyushkov became an assistant curator of manuscripts at the St. Petersburg Public Library. However, the outbreak of the war with Napoleon prompts him to return to military service. In the spring of 1813 he went to Germany to join the active army and reached Paris. In 1816 he retired.
The military upheavals, as well as the unhappy love experienced during these years for the Olenins’ pupil A.F. Furman, lead to a deep change in Batyushkov’s worldview. The place of the “little philosophy” of Epicureanism and everyday pleasures is taken by the conviction in the tragedy of existence, which finds its only resolution in the poet’s acquired faith in reward after death and the providential meaning of history. A new set of moods permeates many of Batyushkov’s poems of these years (“Hope”, “To a Friend”, “Shadow of a Friend”) and a number of prose experiments. At the same time, his best love elegies dedicated to Furman were created - “My Genius”, “Separation”, “Tavrida”, “Awakening”. In 1815, Batyushkov was admitted to “Arzamas” (under the name Achilles, associated with his past merits in the fight against archaists; the nickname often turned into a pun, playing on Batyushkov’s frequent illnesses: “Ah, Khil”), but disappointed in literary polemics, the poet did not played a significant role in the activities of the society.
"Experiments in poetry and prose." Translations
In 1817 Batyushkov completed a series of translations “From the Greek Anthology”. In the same year, a two-volume publication “Experiments in Poetry and Prose” was published, which collected the most significant works of Batyushkov, including the monumental historical elegies “Hesiod and Omir, Rivals” (an adaptation of the elegy of C. Milvois) and “The Dying Tass ", as well as prose works: literary and art criticism, travel essays, moralizing articles. "Experiments..." strengthened Batyushkov's reputation as one of the leading Russian poets. The reviews noted the classical harmony of Batyushkov’s lyrics, who connected Russian poetry with the muse of southern Europe, primarily Italy and Greco-Roman antiquity. Batyushkov also owns one of the first Russian translations of J. Byron (1820).
Mental crisis. Last verses
In 1818 Batyushkov received an appointment to the Russian diplomatic mission in Naples. A trip to Italy was a long-term dream of the poet, but the difficult impressions of the Neapolitan revolution, work conflicts, and a feeling of loneliness lead him to an increasing mental crisis. At the end of 1820 he sought a transfer to Rome, and in 1821 he went to sea in Bohemia and Germany. The works of these years - the cycle “Imitations of the Ancients”, the poem “You awaken, O Baya, from the tomb...”, the translation of a fragment from “The Bride of Messina” by F. Schiller are marked by increasing pessimism, the conviction of the doom of beauty in the face of death and the ultimate unjustification of earthly things existence. These motives reached their culmination in a kind of poetic testament of Batyushkov - the poem “Do you know what the gray-haired Melchizedek said / saying goodbye to life?” (1824).
Disease
At the end of 1821, Batyushkov began to develop symptoms of hereditary mental illness. In 1822 he travels to Crimea, where the disease worsens. After several suicide attempts, he was placed in a psychiatric hospital in the German city of Sonnestein, from where he was discharged due to complete incurability (1828). In 1828-33 he lived in Moscow, then until his death in Vologda under the supervision of his nephew G. A. Grevens.
Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov(May 18 (29), 1787, Vologda - June 7 (19), 1855, Vologda) - Russian poet, predecessor of Pushkin.
He came from an ancient noble family, his father was Nikolai Lvovich Batyushkov. (1753-1817). He spent the years of his childhood in the family estate - the village of Danilovskoye. At the age of seven, he lost his mother, who suffered from mental illness, which was inherited by Batyushkov and his older sister Alexandra.
In 1797, he was sent to the St. Petersburg boarding school Jacquinot, where the future poet studied European languages, enthusiastically read European classics and began to write his first poems. In 1801 he moved to the Tripoli boarding house. In the sixteenth year of his life (1802), Batyushkov left the boarding school and began reading Russian and French literature. At the same time, he became close friends with his uncle, the famous Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov. Under his influence, he began to study the literature of the ancient classical world and became an admirer of Tibullus and Horace, whom he imitated in his first works. In addition, under the influence of Muravyov, Batyushkov developed literary taste and aesthetic sense.
In 1802, Batyushkov enlisted in the Ministry of Public Education. This service weighs heavily on the poet, but circumstances do not allow him to leave the service. The ancient noble family of the Batyushkovs became impoverished, the estate fell into disrepair. Batyushkov did not have high-ranking patrons and patrons of the arts, which many writers, poets, artists, musicians visited, and, perhaps because of pride, did not want to have: “I will not beg or bow in St. Petersburg until I have a piece of bread.” " Subsequently, the poet would say, contrasting himself with many obsequious poets of that time: “I wrote about independence in poetry, about freedom in poetry.”
In St. Petersburg, Batyushkov met representatives of the then literary world. He became especially close friends with G. R. Derzhavin, N. A. Lvov, V. V. Kapnist, A. N. Olenin, N. I. Gnedich. In 1805, the magazine “News of Literature” published his poem “Message to My Poems” - Batyushkov’s first appearance in print. Having entered the department of the Ministry of Public Education, Batyushkov became close to some of his colleagues who joined the Karamzin movement and founded the “Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature.”
In 1807, Batyushkov enlisted in the people's militia (militia) and took part in the Prussian campaign. In the battle of Heilsbergomon he was wounded and had to go to Riga for treatment. During the campaign, he wrote several poems, and began translating Tassa's poem Liberated Jerusalem. The next year, 1808, Batyushkov took part in the war with Sweden, after which he retired and went to his relatives in the village of Khantonovo, Novgorod province. In the village, he soon began to get bored and was eager to go to the city: his impressionability became almost painful, more and more he was overcome by melancholy and a premonition of future madness.
At the very end of 1809, Batyushkov arrived in Moscow and soon, thanks to his talent, bright mind and kind heart, he found good friends in the best spheres of the then Moscow society. Of the writers there, he became closest to V.L. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, P.A. Vyazemsky and N.M. Karamzin. The years 1810 and 1811 passed for Batyushkov partly in Moscow, where he had a pleasant time, partly in Khantonov, where he was moping. Finally, having received his resignation from military service, at the beginning of 1812 he went to St. Petersburg and, with the help of Olenin, entered the service of the Public Library; his life had settled down quite well, although he was constantly worried about the fate of his family and himself: a quick promotion could not be expected, and economic affairs were going worse and worse.
In 1809, the poet took part in a campaign to the Åland Islands. At the beginning of summer, he receives leave, after a short stay in St. Petersburg, he goes to the Khantonovo estate, where, among other things, he writes a poetic pamphlet “Vision on the Shores of Lethe,” which was distributed in copies and printed in a distorted form only thirty-two years after its creation. One of the lists of the poem, which is a small satirical poem, was called “The Last Judgment of the Russian Piites, or leading on the banks of Lethe to Hipotas de Rotti.” This pamphlet was picked up by all of advanced Russia, and the name of Batyushkov as a poet became well known in Russia. The connoisseurs, ridiculed by him, went on a rampage; the poet hit the eye, not the eyebrow! The sentimentalists could not be delighted with the “Vision”, who, with the exception of Karamzin, a highly revered poet, were also ridiculed.
Since December 1809, the poet has lived in Moscow. He intends to retire, serve in a diplomatic mission, and dreams of traveling around Europe. In Moscow in 1810, Batyushkov met Karamzin and entered the circle of writers close to him. Having been retired with the rank of second lieutenant and living either in Moscow or on his estate in Khantonov, the poet wrote a lot in poetry and prose, and translated.
At the beginning of 1812, Batyushkov moved to St. Petersburg, and in April of the same year he entered the Public Library as an assistant curator of manuscripts. The director of the library was Alexey Olenin, a writer-archaeologist, artist and art connoisseur, in whose house there was a salon, visited by many writers and artists with whom Batyushkov met. Gnedich and Krylov were colleagues at the Public Library.
The outbreak of the Patriotic War of 1812 strengthens the patriotic feeling in the poet’s soul. He wants to go to war, but illness, a severe fever, prevents him from immediately realizing this intention. Almost on the eve of the Battle of Borodisk, the poet takes a vacation and comes to Moscow in order to accompany the widow of his mentor E.F. Muravyova and her family to Nizhny Novgorod. The flow of refugees and the national disasters that the poet saw along the route from Moscow made a strong impression on him. Batyushkov returns to Moscow after the French are expelled from it.
In 1813, Batyushkov, as soon as his health allowed, went to Dresden, to the main apartment of the active army. Batyushkov is now the adjutant of General Raevsky. In the battle of Leipzig, Batyushkov’s friend, sung in his poems, I. A. Petin, dies, and Raevsky is wounded. In 1814, the poet took part in crossing the Rhine and entering France. From Paris, the surrender of which Batyushkov witnessed, he returns to St. Petersburg through England, Sweden and Finland.
The failed attempt to get married in 1815 and the breakdown of personal relationships with his father were difficult for the poet. For some time he lives in Ukraine, in Kamenets-Podolsk, with his military superiors. The poet is elected in absentia as a member of the Arzamas literary society. At this time, Batyushkov was experiencing a strong creative upsurge: in a year he wrote twelve poetic and eight prose works. He is preparing his works in poetry and prose for publication.
After arriving in Moscow, the poet was elected a member of the Moscow Society of Literature Lovers. When entering it, one reads “A Speech on the Influence of Light Poetry on the Language,” a historical and theoretical literary article published in the “Proceedings” of the society. Batyushkov is elected an honorary member of the Free Society of Literature Lovers. The poet takes part in the meetings of Arzamas. In October 1817, “Experiments in Poems and Prose” was published, which was then published by Gnedich. The book was well received by critics and readers.
After traveling to the village with the intention of saving the estate of his father, who died in 1817, from being sold at public auction, after a stay in St. Petersburg, the poet in the spring of 1818 went south to improve his health. On the advice of Zhukovsky, Batyushkov submits an application for enrollment in one of the missions in Italy. In Odessa, the poet receives a letter from Alexander Turgenev informing him of the poet’s appointment to the diplomatic service in Naples. After a long journey, he arrives at his place of duty, with vivid impressions of the trip. An important meeting for the poet was with Russian artists, including Sylvester Shchedrin and Orest Kiprensky, who lived in Rome at that time.
Having received leave for treatment at the end of 1820, Batyushkov went to Rome, and then, the following year, to the waters in Teplitz, where he learned that the anonymous poem “B ... in from Rome” appeared in “Son of the Fatherland”, written from Batyushkov’s face and accepted by readers as his work, although its author was Pletnev. Batyushkov perceives this as a personal insult.
By 1821, hypochondria had reached such proportions that the poet had to leave the service and Italy.
In 1822, the disorder of mental abilities was expressed quite definitely, and since then Batyushkov suffered for 34 years, almost never regaining consciousness, and finally died of typhus on July 7, 1855 in Vologda; buried in the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery, five miles from Vologda. Back in 1815, Batyushkov wrote the following words about himself to Zhukovsky: “From birth, I had a black spot on my soul, which grew and grew over the years and almost blackened my entire soul.”
Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov born May 18, 1787 in Vologda. At the age of seven he lost his mother. A ten-year-old boy is sent to St. Petersburg, where in the boarding houses of the Frenchman Jaquino and the Italian Tripoli he studies foreign languages, as well as history and statistics. At the age of 16, leaving the boarding school, Batyushkov, under the influence of ancient literature, became an ardent admirer of Tibullus and Horace. Having joined the department of the Ministry of Public Education, Batyushkov became close to some of his colleagues, members of the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Science and the Arts; Friendship with N.I. Gnedich, poet and translator, lasted for many years. From 1807 to 1816 (albeit with significant interruptions) Batyushkov in military service - participates in the war with Sweden and the Napoleonic wars, witnesses the capitulation of Paris. Returning to Russia, he joins the Arzamas literary society under the proud name of Achilles. Batyushkov himself, with bitter irony (but not greatly exaggerating), speaks about himself: “Ah! Heal!”
In 1816-1817 the poet is experiencing a great creative upsurge: in a year he writes 12 poetic and 8 prose works, and prepares his works in poetry and prose for publication.
In 1818, Batyushkov was assigned to serve in the Neapolitan Russian mission. A trip to Italy had always been Batyushkov’s favorite dream, but having gone there, he almost immediately felt unbearable boredom, melancholy, and melancholy. After 3 years, he was forced to leave the service and Italy - the mental illness from which his mother died and his older sister suffered, also defeated the poet himself. Batyushkov received an indefinite leave and returned to Russia, terminally ill. He burns his books and manuscripts. All attempts to cure the poet were unsuccessful. In 1833, he received a lifelong pension and was taken to his homeland - Vologda, where he died on July 7, 1855.
Batyushkov’s first poem in print: “Message to my poems” (1805, “News of Russian Literature”). In subsequent years, Batyushkov’s poems appeared in various literary magazines: “Northern Herald”, “Lyceum”, “Flower Garden” and many others. etc. In 1817 he published his “Experiments in Poems and Prose” (1st ed.). II and III editions were undertaken in 1834 and 1850s. relatives of the poet.
Usually Batyushkov’s poetry is usually divided into two periods: 1804-1812. (poems imbued with Epicureanism) and 1812-1821. (turn towards elegiac lyrics).
Read also other articles about the life and work of K.N. Batyushkova.
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich (1787-1855) is one of the most beautiful Russian poets of his time. For a long time he led the movement of Anacreontist poets and was a very well-known figure in literary circles. Today his name is practically forgotten; few people know that such a wonderful writer once lived. Let's correct this injustice.
Batyushkov: biography
The future writer was born on May 18 in the city of Vologda, into an old but impoverished family of nobles. He was the first son; before him, the Batyushkov couple had four daughters. Konstantin turned out to be the long-awaited boy.
The poet's father, Nikolai Lvovich, was an educated man, but his character was greatly spoiled by his resentment against the government due to the disgrace that befell the Batyushkovs due to the participation of a relative in a conspiracy against Catherine II. Konstantin did not have time to recognize his mother, Alexandra Grigorievna (nee Berdyaeva) at all - she became seriously ill when the boy was just six years old, and soon died. Her illness was mental and was transmitted to the writer himself and his older sister.
Little Kostya spent his childhood on the family estate, which was located in the village of Danilovskoye. But after the death of his mother, he was sent to the St. Petersburg boarding house O. Zhakino. Only at the age of 16 was Batyushkov able to leave this educational institution. At this time, he actively began to study literature, read a lot in French, and mastered Latin perfectly in order to study classical texts in the original.
Independent life in the capital
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich decides to stay in the capital. At first, his uncle, M. N. Muravyov, helps him. He also arranged for the young man to work in the Ministry of Public Education in 1802. Then, in 1804, the writer went to serve in Muravyov’s office at Moscow University, where he held the position of clerk.
During these years, Batyushkov became close to some of his colleagues, many of whom began to join Karamzin’s rule and eventually founded the “Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Science and the Arts.” His closest friends were N. Gnedich and I. Pnin. Thanks to their influence, the future poet begins to try his hand at writing.
In 1805, Batyushkov’s first poem, “Message to My Poems,” was published in the magazine “News of Russian Literature.”
People's militia
In 1807, despite his father’s protests, Batyushkov enlisted in the people’s militia. Poetry in these years fades into the background for a young man. On February 22 of the same year, he was appointed a hundredth in a police battalion and sent to Prussia. Since May, Batyushkov begins to take an active part in hostilities. Soon he is seriously wounded and sent to Riga for treatment. For his heroism he receives the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree.
While the treatment lasted, the writer fell in love with Emilia, the daughter of a local merchant. However, the love interest did not continue, and only two poems remained in memory of it: “Memories of 1807” and “Recovery.”
By 1808, the writer had become physically stronger and was returned to service. This time he ended up in the Guards Jaeger Regiment, which was sent to the war with Sweden. After returning from the campaign, he took leave and went to visit his unmarried sisters who lived in the Novgorod province. At this time, his mother’s “inheritance” began to manifest itself - Batyushkov became more and more impressionable, sometimes it came to hallucinations. The writer himself believed that in ten years he would finally go crazy.
Return to the light
In December 1809, Muravyov invited his nephew to Moscow. With great joy, Batyushkov returns to the world. The writer's biography tells us that he had many friends among artists whom he met in St. Petersburg and Moscow. At this time, the writer became especially close friends with P. Vyazemsky and V. Pushkin.
But his acquaintance with V. Zhukovsky and N. Karamzin became fateful; the latter very soon realized how talented the young man was and highly appreciated his work. In 1810, having received his resignation from the regiment, he went at the invitation of Karamzin to rest in the fate of the Vyazemsky Fathers. The poet's poems became more and more popular in these years, which explains the desire of noble nobles to see him as guests.
In 1813, the writer moved to St. Petersburg, where he got a job at the Public Library. He continues to meet new people and lead an active social life.
Unhappy love
In 1815, Batyushkov fell in love for the second time. The biography says that this time his chosen one was a socialite, Anna Furman. However, the writer quickly realized that the girl did not reciprocate his feelings, and was ready to get married only at the will of her guardians. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Konstantin Nikolaevich could not get a transfer to the guard. All this led to a severe nervous breakdown that lasted several months.
A new blow for the writer was the death of his father in 1817, with whom he had always been on bad terms. Feelings of guilt and unsuccessful love prompted him to turn to religion, in which he saw the only opportunity for a person to maintain his high moral and spiritual position.
During these difficult years, Batyushkov was greatly helped by Zhukovsky, who constantly supported the poet and convinced him to continue writing. This helped, and Batyushkov took up his pen again. A year later he returned to Moscow, where close friends and acquaintances were waiting for him.
Italy
In 1818, the Russian poet Batyushkov went to Odessa for treatment. Here he received a letter from A. Turgenev, who managed to secure a place for his friend in Naples at the diplomatic mission. Konstantin Nikolaevich dreamed of visiting Italy for many years, but the news did not please him. At this time he was experiencing great disappointment in life, and the news only made the situation worse.
Despite these sentiments, in 1819 Batyushkov arrived in Italy. This country made a strong impression on him. He met many interesting people, including Russian artists who lived in Rome. But the happiness did not last long, and soon the poet began to miss his homeland.
The writer's health did not improve, so in 1821 he went to Germany for water. His mental illness manifested itself more and more, Batyushkov began to suspect that some enemies were watching him. The poet spent the winter of 1821 and all of 1822 in Dresden. At this time, he wrote the best poem, according to critics, “The Testament of Melchizedek.”
Last years and death
In 1822, Batyushkov began to lose his mind (his biography confirms this). He returns to his homeland. He lives in St. Petersburg for some time, and then goes on a trip to the Caucasus and Crimea. During the trip, he attempted suicide several times.
In 1824, the poet, thanks to the financial assistance of Alexander I, was placed in a private psychiatric hospital in Saxony. He spent 4 years here, but the treatment did not bring any benefit. Therefore, his family decided to move him to Moscow. At home, Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov felt better, the acute attacks practically passed, and the disease subsided for a short time.
In 1833, the writer was transported to the house of his nephew, who lived in Vologda. Here Batyushkov spent the rest of his days. The poet died on July 7, 1855.
Konstantin Batyushkov: interesting facts
Let us list some interesting moments from the life of the writer:
- Pushkin called the poet his teacher and admired his work, especially highlighting the early period.
- Batyushkov’s main principle when writing a work was: “Live as you write, and write as you live.”
- In 1822, the poet wrote his last work; he was only 35 years old.
- Batyushkov lived the last 22 years of his life completely losing his mind.
Features of creativity
Konstantin Batyushkov did a lot for Russian literature and poetic language. Poems about love, usually sad and melancholy, are why they were so popular among their contemporaries. The poet managed to transform his native language, making it more flexible and harmonious. Belinsky believed that only thanks to the works of Batyushkov and Zhukovsky, Pushkin managed to achieve such lightness and grace in his poetry.
The main advantage of Konstantin Nikolaevich’s poems lies in the perfection of their form, the purity and correctness of the language, and the always consistent artistic style. Batyushkov worked long and hard on every word, often correcting what he had written. At the same time, he tried to maintain sincerity and avoided any far-fetchedness and tension.
The turning point
Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov often turned to the past in his works. Poems about nature were usually interspersed with ancient mythological traditions. His early work is usually called Epicurean (or Anacreontic). The poet tried to reproduce the light and elegant style of ancient writers, but he believed that the Russian language was still too rough for this. Although critics admitted that he achieved significant success in this area.
But the cheerful epicurean poetry did not attract Batyushkov for long. After the War of 1812, in which the poet participated, his worldview changed greatly. He considered the French Enlightenment to be the cause of Napoleonic acts. And he considered the trials that befell Russia to be the accomplishment of its historical mission. At this time, his poems changed greatly. There is no longer lightness and carelessness in them, they talk about reality - war, the soul of the Russian soldier, the strength of the people's character. The best poem of this period is considered “Crossing the Rhine”.
Let's answer the question about in which direction of poetry Konstantin Batyushkov became famous, since it is asked most often. As already mentioned, these are Anacreontic (or Epicurean) lyric poetry. Its distinctive features are lightness, carelessness, joy, glorification of life and enjoyment of it.
Prose
Batyushkov was known not only as a poet, his prose was also highly appreciated by his contemporaries. According to them, the main advantage of his works was his clear, imaginative and vivid language. However, the writer turned to prose much later than his literary career began. This happened after a creative turning point, so religious and philosophical issues are often raised in these works. Batyushkov also paid great attention to theoretical problems of literature (“Something about the poet and poetry”, “Speech about the influence of light poetry on the language”).
Now we see that the importance of the writer’s works for the development of Russian literature cannot be overestimated.
Batyushkov Konstantin Nikolaevich - one of the largest Russian poets, b. 1787, d. 1855. Belonged to one of the old noble families of the Novgorod and Vologda provinces. His father, Nikolai Lvovich Batyushkov, having suffered failures in military service, had to retire and settle forever in the village. This caused him dissatisfaction with life and a painfully developed suspicion. The poet's mother, Alexandra Grigorievna, nee Berdyaeva, lost her mind soon after the birth of Konstantin, she had to be removed from the family and in 1795 she died when her son, who had no idea about her, was not yet 8 years old.
Konstantin Nikolaevich was born in Vologda on May 18, 1787, but spent his childhood in the village of Danilovskoye, Bezhetsky district, Novgorod province. In the 10th year of his life, he was placed in the St. Petersburg boarding house of the Frenchman Jaquino, and after 4 years he was transferred to the boarding school of the Tripoli naval corps teacher, where Batyushkov stayed for 2 years. In both boarding houses the science course was the most elementary. Batyushkov owed his education in boarding schools only a thorough knowledge of French and Italian. At the age of 14, Batyushkov was overcome by a passion for reading, and at the age of 16, he found a leader in his father’s friend and service comrade, Mikhail Nikitich Muravyov, with whom the young poet lived after leaving the boarding school. Muravyov was one of the most educated people of his time. Unfortunately, he died when Batyushkov was not yet 20 years old. Muravyov’s wife, a woman of outstanding intelligence who took care of him like a mother, also had an excellent influence on Konstantin Nikolaevich. Under the influence of Muravyov, Batyushkov thoroughly studied the Latin language and became acquainted with the Roman classics in the original. He liked Horace and Tibullus most of all. Muravyov, a fellow minister of public education, in 1802 appointed Batyushkov as an official in his office. At the service and in Muravyov’s house, he became close to such people as Derzhavin, Lvov, Kapnist, Muravyov-Apostol, Nilova, Kvashnina-Samarina, Pnin (journalist), Yazykov, Radishchev, Gnedich.
Konstantin Nikolaevich Batyushkov. Portrait by an unknown artist, 1810s
Batyushkov had little interest in service. In 1803, he began his literary activity with the poem “Dreams.” By this time, Batyushkov met Olenin, president of the Academy of Arts and director of the Public Library. All talented people of that time gathered at Olenin's, especially those belonging to the new literary movement created by Karamzin. From the very first years of his literary activity, Batyushkov was one of the most zealous participants in the struggle of the “Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts” against Shishkov and his followers. In 1805, Batyushkov became an employee of many magazines. In 1807 (February 22) he entered military service as a commander of hundreds, and in the St. Petersburg militia on May 24, 25 and 29 of the same year he participated in battles in Prussia. On May 29, in the battle of Heidelberg, Batyushkov was dangerously wounded in the leg. He was taken to Jurburg, where sanitary conditions were very poor, and from there he was soon transported to Riga and placed in the house of the wealthy merchant Mügel. Konstantin Nikolaevich became interested in his daughter. Upon recovery, he went to Danilovskoye to visit his father, but soon returned from there due to a strong quarrel with his parent because of his second marriage. In the same year, Batyushkov suffered another serious blow - the loss of Muravyov, who died on July 22. All these losses, in connection with the impressions of the war he had just experienced, caused a severe illness that almost took the young poet away prematurely. Only Olenin's thoughtfulness supported him.
Having recovered, Batyushkov collaborates in the Dramatic Messenger. There he placed his famous fable “The Shepherd and the Nightingale” and “works from the field of Italian literature.” In the spring of 1808, in the ranks of the Life Guards of the Jaeger Regiment (the transfer took place in September 1807), he took part in Russian-Swedish war 1808-09. Several of his best poems date back to this time. Here Batyushkov met the war hero, his classmate, Petin. In July 1809, the poet went to his sisters in Khantovo (Novgorod province). From this time on, he began to show signs of a terrible hereditary disease. Batyushkov begins to hallucinate, and he writes to Gnedich: “If I live another 10 years, I’ll probably go crazy.” Nevertheless, the flowering of his talent dates back to this time. After living in the village for 5 months, Batyushkov leaves for Moscow to join the civil service. But he spent almost all the time until 1812 without any service, either in Moscow or in Khantovo. Here the poet became close to V. A. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky, Karamzin. Many of his works date back to these years, including “The Vision on the Shores of Lethe” (playful and satirical).
Konstantin Batyushkov. Video
In 1812, Batyushkov, who had just entered the service of the Imperial Public Library, again rushed to the war - the Patriotic War. First of all, he had to escort Mrs. Muravyova from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod, where he was struck by the complete lack of self-awareness and national pride: “I hear sighs everywhere,” he writes, “I see tears and stupidity everywhere. Everyone complains and scolds the French in French, and patriotism lies in the words “point de paix.” 1813 Batyushkov serves as adjutant to Bakhmetyev and General Raevsky. Together with him on March 19, 1814, he entered conquered Paris. The poet was present at battle of Leipzig, despite how Raevsky was wounded. During the same battle, Batyushkov lost his friend, the 26-year-old hero Petin. They made the Finnish campaign together and spent the winter of 1810-11 together in Moscow. Batyushkov’s poem “Shadow of a Friend” is dedicated to Petin.
Abroad, Konstantin Nikolaevich was interested in everything: nature, literature, politics. All this prompted him, like other officers, to new thoughts that gave the first impetus to the development of the Decembrist movement. At this time, the young poet wrote a quatrain to Emperor Alexander, where he said that after the end of the war, having liberated Europe, the sovereign was called by providence to complete his glory and immortalize his reign by liberating the Russian people.”
Upon returning to Russia, in June 1814, the poet was overcome by apathy. He had to live in Kamenets-Podolsk as an adjutant to the commander of the Rylsky infantry regiment, General Bakhmetyev. The poet’s unhappy love for Olenin’s relative, Anna Fedorovna Furman, dates back to this same time. All this had a detrimental effect on the poet’s already damaged health. The excited state during the war was mixed with painful melancholy. In January 1816, Batyushkov retired for the second time and moved to Moscow, where he finally joined the Arzamas literary society. Despite poor health, in 1816-17. he writes a lot. Then articles were written in prose “Evening at Cantemir’s”, “Speech about light poetry” and the elegy “Dying Tass”, which appeared in October 1817 in the first collection of poetry and prose by Batyushkov. In 1817, Batyushkov traveled to Crimea with Muravyov-Apostol to improve his health.
At the end of 1818, friends, mainly Karamzin and A.I. Turgenev, managed to place Batyushkov at the Russian mission in Naples. At first, life in Italy, which he had always been so eager to visit, had a wonderful effect on Batyushkov’s health. His letters to his sister are even enthusiastic: “I am in that Italy where they speak the language in which the inspired Tass wrote his divine poems! What a land! She is beyond all descriptions for someone who loves poetry, history and nature!” Interest in all the phenomena of life again appeared in Konstantin Nikolaevich, but this excitement did not last long. On February 4, 1821, Turgenev writes: “Batyushkov, according to the latest news, is not recovering in Italy.” In the spring of 1821, Batyushkov went to Dresden to treat his nerves. Part of the reason for the bad influence of Italy was troubles in his service with Count Stackelberg, which forced him to even transfer from Naples to Rome. The last poem, “The Testament of Melchisidek,” was written in Dresden. Here Batyushkov burned everything created in Naples, withdrew from people and clearly suffered from persecution mania.
In the spring of 1823, the patient was brought to St. Petersburg, and in 1824, the poet’s sister A.N., using funds granted by Emperor Alexander, took her brother to Saxony, to the Sonnenstein psychiatric institution. He stayed there for 3 years, and it finally turned out that Batyushkov’s disease was incurable. He was brought back to St. Petersburg, taken to Crimea and the Caucasus, but in Crimea Batyushkov attempted suicide three times. The poet's unfortunate sister, a year after returning from Saxony, became insane herself. Convinced of the uselessness and even harm of new impressions for the patient, he was placed in Moscow in the hospital of Dr. Kiliani. Here the madness took a calmer form.
In 1833, Batyushkov was finally dismissed from service with a lifelong pension of 2,000 rubles. In the same year he was taken to Vologda to his nephew, the head of the specific office, Grenvis. In Vologda, violent seizures were repeated only at first. During his illness, Batyushkov prayed a lot, wrote and drew. He often recited Tassa, Dante, Derzhavin, described the battles of Heidelberg and Leipzig, recalled General Raevsky, Denis Davydov, as well as Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Turgenev and others. He loved children and flowers, read newspapers and, in his own way, followed politics. He died on June 7, 1855 from typhoid fever that lasted 2 days. Batyushkov was buried 5 versts from Vologda, in the Spaso-Prilutsky Monastery.
