Ivan Kalashnikov is considered one of the first Russian novelists. His works are rich in historical, geographical and ethnographic information. Kalashnikov managed to show Siberia in a variety and wide way: it turned out that this is not a run-down province, as many thought, but a unique and distinctive region of an immense country.
From the biography of Ivan Timofeevich Kalashnikov
The Russian writer and poet was born on October 22, 1797 in Irkutsk. His father, Timofey Petrovich, was the author of notes in which he reflected his life path. In 1775, Timofey Kalashnikov was transferred to the service from Nerchinsk to Verkhneudinsk (now Ulan-Ude). Here he worked in the provincial chancellery.
Four years later, the elder Kalashnikov bought a house, and in the fall he got married, taking a local resident Anna Grigorievna as his wife. A year later, their daughter Evdokia was born, and two years later Avdotya was born. After the birth of their second daughter, the Kalashnikov family moved to Irkutsk.
It was in this city that Ivan Timofeevich was born. The boy studied at the Main People's School. Then Ivan became one of thirty students of the first gymnasium in the Siberian regions, which opened in Irkutsk in 1805. The gymnasium boasted an excellent library. It was based on a selection of books donated by Catherine the Great herself. In the collection of books of the Irkutsk gymnasium one could find works by Russian and foreign authors. The library was decorated with the works of Diderot and D'Alembert.
Ivan Kalashnikov graduated from the gymnasium course with honors. After that, following the family tradition, he went to serve in the office of the local government expedition. In this department, Ivan Timofeevich served for thirteen years.
In 1819, a new governor-general was sent to Siberia. It was M. M. Speransky. He promoted Kalashnikov in office and gave him a separate assignment: Ivan Timofeevich had to compile a statistical and historical description of the settlements adjacent to Irkutsk. Two years later, Speransky was recalled to St. Petersburg.
In 1822, Ivan Timofeevich was transferred to the service in Tobolsk. The famous historian P. A. Slovtsov. Through his efforts, Kalashnikov ended up in the capital of Russia in 1823.
In St. Petersburg, Ivan Timofeevich accepted the post of clerk at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. By 1827, Kalashnikov had risen to the position of head of the department in the department of appanages, then he became the head of the office of the medical department.
In 1859, Kalashnikov was promoted to the high rank of privy councilor and then retired. Such a career for the son of a petty Siberian official at that time seemed transcendental.
In different years of his life, Kalashnikov had to experience considerable financial difficulties. Therefore, since the 30s, he had the opportunity to combine civil service with activities in the field of pedagogy. To obtain the right to teach, Ivan Timofeevich passed the relevant exam and became the owner of a certificate from St. Petersburg University.
Kalashnikov had to work as a tutor at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Here he taught Russian literature for about three years and was an observer mentor.
Creativity of Ivan Kalashnikov
The first work of Kalashnikov, written in 1813, was an ode dedicated to the expulsion of the French. It was called "The Triumph of Russia". A little later, Kalashnikov created essays on local lore about his hometown and about the Irkutsk province. After moving to the capital, Ivan Timofeevich published elegiac poems imbued with religious motives in 1929. His works were published in the magazines "Northern Archive" and "Son of the Fatherland". Some excerpts from the works of Ivan Timofeevich were published in Russkaya Starina and Severnaya Beele. Subsequently, Kalashnikov gained fame as the author of novels about provincial life. Among these works:
- "Daughter of the merchant Zholobov";
- Kamchadalka;
- The Exiles;
- "Life of a Peasant Woman";
- "Machine";
- "Notes of an Irkutsk resident".
There is information that the works of Kalashnikov were highly appreciated by eminent authors:
- A. S. Pushkin;
- ON THE. Nekrasov;
- I. A. Krylov;
- Victor Hugo.
Vissarion Belinsky and Nikolai Polevoy mentioned the books of Ivan Timofeevich. However, opinions about the writer's work were often contradictory. For example, Nekrasov believed that Kamchadalka could be read several times, while enjoying it.
But Belinsky sharply criticized the creative aspirations of Kalashnikov. He even included his novels in the list of works that he attributed to mediocre Russian prose. However, the famous critic included Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin's "Belkin's Tale" in the same category. Some admirers of Ivan Timofeevich's work called their idol “Siberian Cooper”. How many people - so many opinions.
Ivan Timofeevich was the head of a large family. His wife was E. P. Masalskaya. Family concerns did not leave time for creativity, therefore, from about 1843, Kalashnikov left his studies in literature.
"Crossing the Angara in Irkutsk". Artist N. F. Dobrovolsky. 1886
Ivan Kalashnikov's novel "Automatic"
In 1997, an excerpt from the novel "Automaton" was included in the book "Terrible Divination", published in the "Library of Russian Science Fiction" series. The very work of Kalashnikov, created in 1841, tells the story of the misadventures of a virtuous, but poor official. In the final part of the novel, the hero is very ill. Delirious, he has a strange dream where he encounters a certain Professor, who has assumed the guise of Satan.
The main theme of the teachings of this man in satanic guise is the statement that life is given to a person only for a while. The grave is the limit of existence. Therefore, one must enjoy life in its entirety and live exclusively for oneself. The professor holds a dead human head in his hands and discusses the materiality of any mental phenomena.
The hero of Kalashnikov succumbs to the devil's temptation and is imbued with the belief that he has no soul, that he is an automaton with a head of alabaster. But at the last moment an angel appears to the hero. He calls for repentance. The hero goes through the purification of the spirit. When he wakes up, the disease goes away. The hero's wife rejoices at his complete recovery. She informs her husband that he has received a new appointment, that their long-term need is a thing of the past. Probably, some moments from his own life were reflected in this work of Kalashnikov.
