This talented man drew plots for his works from the life of the people. In order to determine his attitude to revolutionary changes, he asked about the opinion of his compatriots.
This unusual person in his works gave an accurate description of the people he met as an adult. He understood the harsh character of the Siberians and himself adopted a lot from them. Honesty and unbending will helped him live a decent life.
Childhood
The Shishkov family lived in the provincial town of Bezhetsk, Tver province. Its head, Yakov, was a descendant of local landowners. He himself did not own the land, but was a merchant. His wife was from commoners, her name was Catherine. In September 1873 she gave birth to her first child, who was named Vyacheslav. Soon the couple had nine heirs.
From an early age, Slava saw the hard work of his father and listened to the stories of his grandmother Elizabeth, who was a serf. The parents wanted to give the boy a good education. In 1880 he was sent to study at a prestigious private boarding school. It soon became clear that the income from the little shop of Shishkov Sr. was not enough to pay for the noble science. The unlucky merchant transferred his son to a local school. The teenager distinguished himself there, being ahead of his peers in mastering the material. Outside of class, he composed stories. In 1887, Vyacheslav received a diploma and, being an excellent student, was able to enter the Vyshnevolotsk technical building school.
Youth
The talented student was soon noticed by the teachers. The educational department of the Ministry of Railways awarded him a scholarship, and in 1890 sent him to practice in the Novgorod province, where the dam was being built. After graduation, the young man began to work in Vologda. There he met John of Kronstadt. The conversation with the monk made a positive impression on him; Vyacheslav gravitated towards the traditional values of the Russian people.
In 1894, Vyacheslav Shishkov was appointed to the office of the Tomsk Railway District. It was not so much the desire to make a career that led him to the North, as the thirst for adventure. In the same year, he made changes in his personal life by marrying student Anna Ashlova. The marriage lasted 2 years. The passion passed, and the couple parted. Having failed in amorous affairs, our hero began to take part in expeditions, the task of which was to explore the rivers of Siberia. The young man liked the competition with the harsh nature.
Writer
Acquaintance with the nature of the Russian North and the people who lived there made an indelible impression on Shishkov. In 1908, he sent the fairy tale "Cedar" to the Tomsk newspaper "Siberian Life". Readers and editors liked the colorful images and lively folk language of the work. From now on, the young writer was published in periodicals. Starting with idyllic paintings, Vyacheslav turned to the genre of realism and issues of social justice.
Once the debutant was invited to visit by Grigory Potanin. The biography of this man was fascinating. He tried to follow the pillars of his father, becoming a military man, became famous as a scholar and a supporter of anarchism. The intellectual elite of Tomsk gathered in his house. In 1915 Vyacheslav Shishkov went to the capital. There he met Maxim Gorky. The famous writer helped his new friend publish an author's collection of stories and offered to settle in St. Petersburg. Our hero loved to change the situation, so he agreed.
Discussion question
When the revolution broke out, the writer refused to support any of the politicians who promised the people a better life. During the hard times, he lost his second wife, with whom he had lived since 1914. News reached Shishkov that Potanin had opposed the Reds. After the victory of the Bolsheviks, he set off on a wandering journey to see with his own eyes what freedom the new government had brought to the peasant. The wanderer visited Smolensk, Crimea, Kostroma. He was told about the Civil War and shared his political views.
The result of Shishkov's travel was the idea to write the novel "Gloomy River". Making sure that the people maintain the new order, our hero returned to a settled life. In 1927, the prose writer settled in one of the suburbs of Northern Palmyra, Detskoye Selo, and began work on a large-scale literary canvas. His work was highly appreciated by his contemporaries. Among his colleagues in writing, he found friends, among whom was Alexei Tolstoy. In 1930, friends traveled to the south of Russia.
last years of life
Having published a number of books dedicated to his contemporaries in the difficult years of the Civil War, the writer decided to cover the history of his beloved Trans-Urals. In 1933 he began work on the epic novel Emelyan Pugachev. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War forced him to interrupt his work. The prose writer did not leave his hometown and during the blockade made his contribution to its defense. Vyacheslav Shishkov turned to the theme of the war of 1812. In addition to fiction, he mastered the journalistic profession. The old man talked with the soldiers who defended Leningrad, and described their exploits.
When Soviet troops drove the Nazis away from Leningrad, Vyacheslav Shishkov went to Moscow. There he continues to work on "Yemelyan Pugachev". According to the author's intention, the work was to consist of three volumes; before the war, only the first part was completed. He was not able to complete his work and live to see Victory Day. The disasters experienced made themselves felt. The writer died in early March 1945. The following year, he was posthumously awarded the Stalin Prize.
