The second half of the 19th century gave Russian literature many classics. During this "golden time" the great writer Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov lived and worked, who was able to widely depict Russian life not in long novels, but in essays, stories, chronicles and stories.
Childhood and adolescence
Nikolai Leskov was born in 1831 in the Oryol district. His father graduated from theological seminary, but went to work as an investigator in the criminal ward.
Nikolai Leskov received his primary education in the house of wealthy relatives of the Strakhovs, then he studied at the gymnasium, but he never took the full course. In his memoirs, he called himself "self-taught." The young man drops out of school, and gets a job in the Oryol Criminal Chamber. There Leskov was admitted to the post of assistant scribe.
Leskov spent his childhood in the village. It is here, communicating with ordinary peasants, that he learns the full depth of the unique folk Russian language. This language formed the basis of his original style of presentation, which would later glorify Leskov's literary works.
Family breadwinner
During his work in the Oryol Criminal Chamber, Leskov reads a lot. Because of this, he quickly became familiar with the circles of the local intelligentsia.
The sudden death of his father puts the Leskov family on the brink of poverty. Nikolai Semenovich became the only breadwinner. A widowed mother and six young children became his new concern. The young man moves to Kiev. And again Leskov reads a lot, attends lectures at the university and studies Polish and Ukrainian languages.
At 22, Leskov marries the daughter of a wealthy Kiev homeowner, Olga Vasilievna. Their life together was not cloudless. A quarter of a century later, the wife of Nikolai Semenovich was placed in a hospital for the mentally ill, where she spent the last thirty years of her life. Nikolai Semenovich constantly visited her, until his death.
In 1857, Leskov got a job in a private commercial company that belonged to a maternal relative, the English entrepreneur A. Ya. Sheet. His new job involves frequent business trips. Leskov traveled all over Russia on business for the trading house. It was during his travels that the writer gleaned a huge amount of material for his work.
In 1960, the company where Nikolai Semenovich worked was closed. He decides to move to St. Petersburg and start writing seriously.
Literary activity
Leskov's first fiction was published in 1862. It was the story "The Extinguished Business". His early works were written in the essay genre, and immediately became popular with readers.
A year later, the first two stories of the writer were published - "Musk Ox" and "The Life of a Woman".
Leskov was an opponent of the nihilism fashionable at that time. He was convinced that this newfangled trend was opposed to traditional Christian values. His famous novel "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" and the novel "At Knives" also contain sharp criticism of nihilism.
Nikolai Semenovich was a descendant of clergy. He attached great importance to Orthodoxy and its role in the life of Russia. The cycle of stories "The Righteous" tells about the honest and highly moral people with whom the Russian land is rich.
Leskov's works, which are included in the golden fund of Russian literature, are written in an extraordinary artistic manner, which contemporaries call Leskov's tale. "Warrior", "The Enchanted Wanderer", "Lefty", "The Sealed Angel" and his other works are written in the form of a tale, where the narration is in the first person.
Having become close to Leo Tolstoy, Leskov at the end of his life begins to rethink the Christian faith. He becomes disillusioned with the Orthodox clergy. His later works are filled with bitter sarcasm towards the clergy.
Nikolai Leskov died on March 4, 1895. At the age of 64 from asthma.
