The biography of any researcher is inextricably linked with his work, interests and passions. Lev Nikolaevich Gumilev lived a difficult, meaningful and dignified life. After him, there were books that help our contemporaries to understand the essence of the processes that took place on our land and not only on it, many centuries ago. And the secret is revealed to few - why we are like that.
Noble origin
The proletarian revolution was not carried out in order to preserve the existing privileges of the ruling class of exploiters and oppressors. New ideas, projects and people were put forward on the historical stage. Lev Nikolaevich Gumilev was born in 1912. Noble family. The love of the parents. A serene and, what is important to note, a well-fed childhood. The child grew up smart and active. And not surprisingly, the father is the cult poet Nikolai Gumilyov, the mother is the famous poetess Anna Akhmatova. When Lyovushka was only six years old, his parents divorced, leaving the boy in the care of his grandmother, Anna Ivanovna Gumileva.
While receiving primary education, Leo experienced the changes taking place in society on his own experience. In the district town of Bezhetsk, in the Tver province, where he lived with his grandmother until he came of age, the noble son was treated with hostility. In one of the local schools, he was simply not given textbooks. The son of a "class alien element" was not entitled to such a luxury. So he was called after the news of the death of his father came. The grandmother had to transfer her grandson from one school to another twice.
A dry biography is silent about what stresses the boy had to endure during these years. In one of the local schools, Alexander Pereslegin, a longtime friend of the family, worked as a literature teacher. With this elderly man, the teenager began a friendly relationship that remained throughout his life. Lev Nikolayevich developed a taste for history and literature to a large extent when communicating with a wise teacher. At the age of eighteen, after leaving school, the young man came to Leningrad to enter the Herzen Pedagogical Institute. However, the application for admission was not accepted from him - only black work was entrusted to the representatives of the nobility.
Steep routes
Having received a "shock" upon entering the institute, Lev Nikolayevich enlisted and went on a geological expedition. In the early 30s, the country needed minerals for the creation and development of industrial production. The first long business trip was to Siberia. Then to Tajikistan. The young and energetic researcher spent almost a year here. Communicated with the locals. I saw with my own eyes how working people live. At the same time, I learned the local language, which is close to Iranian Farsi and Dari. In Leningrad, when difficult days came, Gumilyov earned money by translating poems by oriental poets.
The first time Lev Gumilyov was arrested in December 1933. They released and soon "closed" again. In between arrests, he entered the Faculty of History at Leningrad University. However, the career of a historian did not work out, because in 1938 he was sentenced to five years in the camps and sent to Norilsk by escort. Our contemporaries have a legitimate question - why was the person "imprisoned"? If there was anything for that, he would have been shot long ago. The reason is simple - the origin and the famous surname.
Gumilyov's "Five-Year Plan" ended in 1943. However, he was not allowed to leave Norilsk. Then he asked to go to the front and this request was granted. A representative of the nobility took part in the hostilities and proved himself worthy - he managed to get a medal "For the capture of Berlin" and "For the victory over Germany." It would seem that after the Victory, you can finally work on interesting topics, teach, write books. However, in 1949 Lev Nikolaevich was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Cause? Wine? This has already been said above.
Only after his final release, in 1956, the historian and ethnographer Gumilyov was able to devote himself fully to scientific and educational work. And personal life has slowly come in line with the current regulations. Lev Gumilev and Natalia Simonovskaya, husband and wife, have lived together for 25 years. A documentary film entitled "Overcoming Chaos" was made about the fate of the scientist and his research.
