Amazing arrogance helped him avoid jail. Far from his homeland, he continued the work of the Decembrists.
The case of the Decembrists could remain one of the many consequences of the conspirators, of whom there were enough in the Russian Empire, if not for the people who escaped execution and exile and told the world about everything that happened. Nikolai Turgenev not only cared about preserving the true memory of his comrades, but also strove to make his contribution to the development of the social thought of the Fatherland.
Childhood
In 1789, a third son was born into the family of a retired officer Ivan Petrovich Turgenev. The boy was named Nikolai, and his father saw his future brilliant. Wealth and nobility will open all doors for him. Soon a catastrophe occurred in the life of the head of the family - his participation in the activities of the Masonic lodge was revealed, the sentence was the link to the family estate. The aristocrat did not stay in despair for long - Emperor Paul I not only returned his freedom, but also the place of director of Moscow University.
Kolya watched his parent's adventures and sympathized with him. The interest of Turgenev Sr. to new ideas found understanding in the boy, the power punishing dissent aroused rejection. Papa dedicated his heirs to all his secrets, and they were sure that they would follow in his footsteps.
Youth
Our hero received his education first at the Moscow University Noble Boarding School, and then at an institution run by his parent. After receiving his diploma in his homeland, Nikolai was sent to the University of Göttingen in Germany. His specialties were history and law. In 1812 the young specialist got a job in Prussia. He was provided with a job by the politician reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein.
The guy returned to Russia in 1815 as a freemason and romantic. He immediately sat down for a theoretical work on the topic of public administration, in which he criticized the existing order and offered to learn from Stein. Alexander I was a liberal, because Turgenev managed to publish a book and distribute it. This young man was not enough - he introduced a new form of taxation for his serfs and sent the sovereign recipes for solving a number of problems. The monarch appreciated the enthusiast and gave him a seat on the Council of State.
Decembrist
The absence of fear of all kinds of secret societies and progressive ideas in 1818 brought two brothers of the Turgenevs - Nikolai and Alexander, to the "Union of Prosperity", which was led by Pavel Pestel. Our hero - an ardent Republican - did not always find a common language with his comrades. Over the years, the conflict intensified, and the young man began to distance himself from his recent like-minded people, devoting more time to his career.
Health problems forced our hero to take a vacation and temporarily move to the village. There he learned that an attempted coup d'etat had taken place in St. Petersburg, its organizers, whom he knew well, had been seized and would face severe punishment. None of the Decembrists named Nikolai Ivanovich, but it was found in the papers of secret societies.
Fugitive
The investigation came to the trail of Turgenev only in 1826. Our freethinker was just setting off on a trip to Europe. Friends from St. Petersburg warned him about what had happened, and Nikolai decided to get ahead of his opponents. From England he wrote to the emperor himself. The letter indicated that the sender was indeed familiar with the majority of the convicts and had conversations with them about politics, but there was nothing seditious in such a pastime.
When the Russian ambassador came to Nikolai Turgenev and demanded to return immediately to his homeland in order to appear before the court, he replied that all the explanations had already been given, and his presence in the city on the Neva was not required. Nicholas I was furious. There were rumors in the world that he even developed a plan for the seizure of this impudent man and his delivery to Russia in shackles. The villain was sentenced in absentia. The prosecutor demanded the death penalty, but the monarch asked to replace it with deprivation of the nobility and awards, as well as hard labor.
In emigration
Turgenev settled in Paris and often visited other European cities. In 1833, in Geneva, he met Clara de Viaris. Nicholas liked the girl, and soon he offered her a hand and a heart. Clara agreed, and the wedding took place in the same year. The couple moved to the capital of France. The exile's wife bore him three children: Fanny, Albert and Peter. Both Turgenev's heirs chose creative professions.
A measured personal life allowed Nikolai Ivanovich to engage in creativity. He showed his manuscripts to Vasily Zhukovsky. He insisted on the need to publish memoirs and works on economics. Our hero hesitated, because, retelling his biography, he mentioned a number of people who were in political circles, but were not detained.
The fight continues
Emperor Alexander II pardoned Turgenev, returned him the title of nobility and the right to own his inheritance in Russia. Our hero, instead of going to grow old in the family nest, attacked his benefactor with valuable recommendations on the abolition of serfdom and the formation of state councils. The famous freethinker did not calm down even after the peasants were given free rein: he published angry articles in the "Kolokol", and released the peasants belonging to him on terms that favorably differed from those prescribed by law.
The freethinker died in 1871. He died in his mansion near Paris. Clara outlived her husband by 20 years.
