To understand the processes taking place in modern society, you need to know the history of your state. Nikolai Kostomarov devoted his life to the study and systematization of events that took place in the Russian state.
Childhood and youth
The list of authoritative Russian historians includes the name of Nikolai Ivanovich Kostomarov. More than a hundred years have passed since the time when he was actively engaged in research and literary activities. His works have still not lost their relevance for contemporaries who are engaged in social design. In his scientific works, he often stressed that Russia appears to him as a center of "Slavic reciprocity." The scientist's views did not always find understanding among colleagues. Kostomarov had to defend his conceptual ideas and theories in heated polemical disputes.
The future historian was born on May 16, 1817 in the family of a Russian landowner. Parents at that time lived in the village of Yurasovka on the lands of the Voronezh province. His father, a retired lieutenant, ran the estate. Mother, a former serf peasant, was engaged in housekeeping. The boy was brought up as a noble child. His father sent him to study at the Moscow boarding house, where Nikolai demonstrated his intellectual abilities. The teachers called him "the miracle child." When Kostomarov was 11 years old, the head of the family died tragically.
Scientific activity and literary creativity
Kostomarov had to complete his education at the Voronezh gymnasium. After grammar school he entered the history department of Kharkov University. He was engaged in research of archival documents under the guidance of the famous historian Mikhail Lunin. After university, the future actual state councilor served almost two years in the dragoon regiment. It soon became clear that the young man had no inclination for military service. Returning to the university, Nikolai Ivanovich continued to study history and became interested in literary creativity.
In 1846, Kostomarov was transferred to Kiev University, where he lectured on Slavic mythology. Here he joined a secret political society called the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood. A year later he was arrested. They put him in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and then sent him to Saratov. The historian was rehabilitated only in 1856. Nikolai Ivanovich was allowed to live and work in St. Petersburg. He lectured at the university. He wrote articles and monographs. The most popular book by Kostomarov is "Russian history in the biographies of its main figures."
Recognition and privacy
Kostomarov's administrative career was brilliant. He received the rank of actual state councilor. The historian was accepted as a corresponding shuttle to the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
The personal life of Nikolai Ivanovich developed only in adulthood. In 1875 he married Anna Leontyevna Kisel, whom he loved from a young age. In recent years, husband and wife have spent under the same roof. Kostomarov died in April 1885.
