Among Pushkin's friends in the Lyceum, this character was ignored by historians and literary critics. However, it was thanks to his efforts that many of the works of the great poet saw the world.
The Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum gave Russian culture a whole galaxy of outstanding writers and public figures. Among the famous people who surrounded Alexander Pushkin was our hero. His meek disposition made him a favorite of his comrades and an absolutely uninteresting figure for historians. He did not start duels, he did not seduce a hundred ladies, but his role in their lives was significant.
Childhood
Misha was born in September 1789. His father was a state councilor. He wanted to give his son a good education so that he could follow in his footsteps - to make a career in the sovereign service. From an early age, a child was prepared for admission to the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. In order for his level of knowledge to meet the standards, the family decided to send the boy to the Moscow Noble University Boarding School.
The works of his relatives were not in vain - in 1811 young Yakovlev became a lyceum student. The teachers noted the student's diligence, discipline and desire for knowledge. Peers noted the theatrical talent of a friend. From them he received the nickname "Payas - 200 numbers". The teenager found the appropriate use of his gift - he participated in productions on the stage of an educational institution.
In the world of beauty
Our hero was also interested in literature. It was this hobby that introduced the boy to the circle of Sasha Pushkin's friends. The guys started with the publication of the handwritten magazine "Young Swimmers". His success inspired them to write the play "So It Is in the Light", which the budding playwrights destroyed. Among Yakovlev's classmates, the quiet and shy Wilhelm Kuchelbecker was the closest of all. Misha loved to patronize and protect his comrades. In high school, he was awarded the unofficial title of "Lyceum headman".
Mikhail often visited Sophia Ponomareva. The husband of this lady was a wealthy man and generously paid for all her entertainment. The secular lioness became the owner of a literary salon, which was attended by recognized masters of the artistic word Ivan Krylov and Nikolai Gnedich. Her brother studied at the Lyceum, because young people from Tsarskoye Selo were welcome guests in the house.
It's time to grow up
After graduating from the Lyceum in 1817, Yakovlev received a seat in the Sixth Department of the Senate. He was identified as an assistant to Dmitry Mertvago, who was engaged in the audit in the Vladimir province. As soon as order was restored in the region, officials undertook to check the Caucasus and Astrakhan. The success of the young man was appreciated by appointing him in 1820 as clerk in the department of taxes. All this time, our hero traveled across the expanses of the Russian Empire, revealing abuses on the ground.
In 1827 Mikhail Yakovlev arrived in St. Petersburg to serve in the office of the Emperor. His apartment immediately turned into a "lyceum courtyard" - old friends stayed with him for a long time. Alexander Pushkin also visited his friend. The year for the poet ended in exile, however, he was not going to improve. Soon the authorities were outraged by his poem "Gavriliad". Misha did not turn away from his friend, but he himself left him to devote all the time to his young wife Natasha.
Creation
Like all enlightened people of that time, Mikhail Yakovlev was not shy of art. In 1828 he published a collection of his poems and stopped rhyming. Music has become a new hobby of our hero. He had a pleasant baritone, and at social events he sang romances. He fell in love with this genre, soon he added his own to popular works, setting the poetry of Anton Delvig to music.
With Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev again had a chance to meet in 1832. Mikhail was just appointed manager of the printing house of the II Department of His Imperial Majesty's Chancellery. A friend brought him serious work - "The History of the Pugachev Revolt". The official not only helped to get approval for the publication of the book, but he himself chose the fonts for its printing. After 4 years, our friends, together with Prince Dmitry Eristov, decided to contribute to the popularization of Orthodoxy and presented to the public a complete list of persons numbered among the saints.
Loss of a friend
While advancing in the service, Mikhail Yakovlev did not try to arrange his personal life. The bachelor's den was the best place for parties for ex-lyceum students. In 1826, it was with him that the whole company celebrated 25 years since the founding of the Tsarskoye Selo educational institution. Everyone was having fun, nothing foreshadowed trouble.
A year later, the poet came to his friend and showed him an anonymous libel, where he was called a cuckold and his wife was humiliated. Pushkin asked a sensible comrade for advice. Yakovlev knew that any guesswork could provoke his friend to a rash step. He examined the paper for a long time, and then concluded that this muck was not produced in Russia. Let Sashka think that it was sent to him by some foreign ill-wisher. Pushkin did not look for foreign agents, Georges Dantes hovered beside him and his wife, whose tutor was the Ambassador of the Netherlands. Their mutual friend informed about the death of the poet in a duel Yakovlev by letter.
Last years
In the biography of Mikhail Yakovlev, there were still many high posts. In 1843 he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus I-st degree and was introduced to the council of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 1848, our hero temporarily left business in order to return in 1862 and work in the Ministry of Justice. His last place of service was the Land Survey Department in the Senate. Yakovlev died in January 1868.
