He was a fan of Leo Tolstoy and could be the prototype for Dr. Fankenstein. How do you like the idea: to collect the bodies of the dead from scattered molecules and return them to life.
Science, religion and philosophy have existed since antiquity. Some rulers skillfully inflated conflicts between fanatical adherents of these options for knowing the world around them, some tried to reconcile everyone. Our hero proposed to combine all three components into one new concept.
Childhood
Prince Pavel Gagarin was a little discouraged by the fact that one of his peasant women in 1828 became a mother. The fact is that the nobleman lived with her as husband and wife, and now the illegitimate son could become a reason for gossip in the world. A certain Fedor Fedorov came to the rescue. He became the godfather of little Nicholas and gave him his last name, and allowed him to use his name as a middle name.
The successful solution of the problem inspired the aristocrat to continue the affair with the serf. Kolya has a brother and three sisters. The family was friendly, later our hero could not imagine life without his relatives. The father did not forget his children. He could not give them any title or fortune, so he decided to give them a good education. In 1936, Nikolenka was sent to study at the district school, and 6 years later he was transferred to the Tambov gymnasium. The prince did not even hesitate to inform his relatives about his offspring, so that they would also help them.
Youth
After graduating from high school, the boy was taken to Odessa, where he entered the Richelieu Lyceum. By that time, Pavel Gagarin went bankrupt, and his brother paid for Nikolai's training. In 1851, the good uncle died, and his heirs were not going to help anyone. The young man was expelled from the lyceum. Now he had to find a job.
In 1854, the young man was able to obtain certification for teaching. He was sent to the Lipetsk district school as a teacher of geography and history. After working there for 4 years, Fedorov wanted to return home - he missed his mother, brother and sisters. In the Tambov province, he managed to get a place at the Borovsk school. The meeting with his family ended with the young man getting fired up with the idea of traveling around Russia.
Seeker
Kolya was accustomed to Spartan conditions from childhood. His position in society was such that he constantly felt the need to prepare for the worst. Having become an adult, our hero led an ascetic lifestyle. The single, undemanding teacher was in demand wherever he appeared.
Our hero decided to return to the Borovskoye School in 1866. He was well remembered there, so he was immediately hired. Mutual friends introduced him to a colleague - Nikolai Peterson, who taught at Yasnaya Polyana and was personally acquainted with the famous Leo Tolstoy. Fedorov was delighted with the work of the latter and his ideas. Soon the friends were detained by the secret police. It turned out that their common friend Dmitry Karakozov made an attempt on the king. Since the two Nikolai knew nothing about the preparation for the terrorist attack and did not participate in it, they were released.
To Moscow
After the arrest, it was possible to give up on the quarry. The "indecent" origin and rumors about participation in some kind of conspiracy could only be hidden by leaving the Tambov province. Fedorov was no stranger to wandering, there was still no progress in his personal life, he wanted to find like-minded people. He moved to the big city of Moscow, where the biography of the newcomer was of little interest to anyone.
In 1869, our hero was able to get a job as a librarian at the Chertkovo library in Moscow. After 5 years, Nikolai Fedorov changed his place of work - he moved to the Rumyantsev Museum. The former teacher contributed to the systematization of the archives of the institution and supplemented them with unique gifts from Leo Tolstoy. He met the writer in 1878 and immediately found a kindred spirit in him.
Philosopher
In Moscow, Nikolai Fedorov met many famous people. Among his acquaintances were Fyodor Dostoevsky, Afanasy Fet, Vladimir Soloviev. Nikolai was kind and pitied the poor. Once he drew attention to Kostya Tsiolkovsky. The guy failed the entrance exams to the Higher Technical School. He was starving and literally living in libraries, raising his level of knowledge. Fedorov literally adopted the unfortunate man. Later, the great scientist will regret that he was shy of his benefactor and had little conversation with him.
Nikolai Fedorov's views were indeed original. The librarian believed that science, religion and art must join forces to realize the plan that Jesus Christ set for humanity. You should not wait for the Second Coming, you need to do it yourself. The recipe is simple: the bodies of the dead are restored from molecules and returned to life. The dead will take an active part in improving life on Earth.
Last years
Leo Tolstoy's conflict with the church quarreled the writer with Nikolai Fedorov. He accused the writer of a lack of patriotism and supported any opponent of his former comrade. The absurd old man forbade himself to photograph and paint, behaved like an aggressive retrograde.
The last years of his life Nikolai Fedorov was engaged in librarianship in the reading room of the Moscow archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He died in 1903. The cause of death was pneumonia. At his funeral, everyone learned that this eccentric did not have a penny - he spent all his earnings on helping poor students.
