Intercession Monastery in Bussy-en-Aute, France
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev(September 21 (October 3), Moscow - June 24, Bussy-en-Ot near Paris) - Russian writer, publicist, Orthodox thinker. Bright representative conservative-Christian direction of Russian literature.
Biography
Childhood and youth
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev was born on October 3, 1873 in the Donskaya Sloboda of Moscow, in a house at the address: B. Kaluzhskaya, 13, in the well-known Moscow merchant family Shmelev. Ivan Sergeevich's grandfather - a state peasant from the Guslitsky region (Bogorodsky district of the Moscow province) - settled in Moscow, in Zamoskvorechye, after a fire in 1812. Sergei Ivanovich Shmelev (1842-1880) - the writer's father belonged to merchant class, but he was not engaged in trade, he was the owner of a large carpentry artel (more than 300 people), kept bathhouses and was a contractor. By nature, Sergei Ivanovich was a very cheerful person, which was positively reflected in the upbringing of the future writer. The tutor (uncle) under young Ivan was the old carpenter Mikhail Pankratovich Gorkin, a deeply religious person.
The Shmelev family was prosperous, Orthodox with a patriarchal way. In the future, Ivan Shmelev will have a special craving for religion, which will affect his philosophical views and work.
The environment of little Ivan Shmelev was artisans, construction workers, with whom he closely communicated. Therefore, the “influence of the court”, where a rebellious spirit was felt and various songs, jokes, sayings with their rich language were heard, could not but be reflected in his attitude and later in his works. Later Shmelev will write: “Here, in the yard, I saw people. I'm used to it here ... ".
Initially, Shmelev was educated at home, where his mother acted as a teacher, who gradually introduced the young writer into the world of literature (the study of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, etc.). Then he studies at the sixth Moscow gymnasium. After graduating, in 1894 he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. And then, 4 years later, after graduating from it, he does military service for 1 year and then serves as an official in remote places in the Moscow and Vladimir provinces. “I knew the capital, small handicraft people, the way of merchant life. Now I recognized the village, the provincial bureaucracy, the petty nobility, ”Shmelev will say later.
Revolution period
In Paris, Shmelev begins to communicate closely with the Russian philosopher I. A. Ilyin. For a long time there was correspondence between them (233 letters from Ilyin and 385 letters from Shmelev). It is an important piece of political and literary process times of Russian emigration of the first wave.
Death
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev died in 1950 as a result of a heart attack. The death of the writer, who loved monastic life so much, became deeply symbolic: on June 24, 1950, on the name day of Elder Barnabas, who had previously blessed him “on the way,” Shmelev arrived at the Russian Monastery of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Bussy-en-Aute and on the same the day is dying.
He was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery in Paris. In 2000, Shmelev's wish was fulfilled: the ashes of his and his wife were transported to their homeland and buried next to the graves of their relatives in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.
The results of life
I. S. Shmelev lived a very difficult life. He suffered from a serious illness, which sometimes almost led the writer to death, experienced material crises that even reached a beggarly state. World War II, which he experienced in occupied Paris, slander in the press and an attempt to slander Shmelev further aggravated his mental and physical suffering [ clarify] .
“According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Shmelev was a man of exceptional spiritual purity, incapable of any bad deed. He was characterized by a deep nobility of nature, kindness and cordiality. The appearance of Shmelev spoke of the suffering experienced - a thin man with an ascetic's face, furrowed with deep wrinkles, with large gray eyes full of affection and sadness.
This magnificent, vernacular admired and continues to admire. “Shmelev is now the last and only of the Russian writers from whom one can still learn the wealth, power and freedom of the Russian language,” A. I. Kuprin noted in 1933. “Shmelev is the most disrespectful of all Russians, and even a native, born Muscovite, with a Moscow dialect, with Moscow independence and freedom of spirit.”
If we discard the unfair and offensive generalization for the rich Russian literature - "the only one", - this assessment will turn out to be true even today.
Language, that great Russian language that helped Turgenev in the days of "doubts and painful thoughts," supported Shmelev in his love for Russia. Until the end of his days, he felt the aching pain from the memories of the Motherland, its nature, its people. In his latest books - the strongest infusion of original Russian words, landscapes-moods that amaze with their high lyrics, the very face of Russia, which he now sees in her meekness and poetry: “This spring splash remained in my eyes - with festive shirts, boots, horse neighing, with the smells of spring chill, warmth and sun. He remained alive in his soul, with thousands of Mikhailov and Ivanov, with everything sophisticated to the point of simplicity-beauty peace of mind a Russian muzhik, with his slyly cheerful eyes, now clear as water, now clouded to black turbidity, with laughter and a lively word, with caress and wild rudeness. I know I'm connected with him forever. Nothing will splash out of me this spring splash, the bright spring of life ... It has entered - and it will leave with me ”(“ Spring Splash ”, 1928).
Shmelev family
Creation
Early work
The desire for literary creativity awakened in I.S. Shmelev early, while still studying at the Moscow gymnasium. Shmelev's first printed experience - a sketch from folk life“At the Mill”, published in 1895 in the journal “Russian Review”, the author himself told about the history of the creation and publication of which in the later story “How I Became a Writer”. Later, in 1897, a book of essays "On the rocks of Valaam" was published. However, the first entry into literature was unsuccessful for Shmelev. The book was banned by the censors and did not sell at all.
After graduating from university () and military service Shmelev returns to Moscow again and devotes himself to literary creativity. These years enriched Shmelev with knowledge about wide world county Russia. In 1907, he actively corresponded with M. Gorky, Shmelev sent him his story "Under the Mountains". M. Gorky's support strengthened his self-confidence. Shmelev writes stories and novels "To the Sun" (1905-1907), "Citizen Ukleykin" (1907), "In the Hole" (), "Under the Sky" (), "Molasses" (). The works of these years are characterized by a realistic orientation; in the already new historical conditions that have already taken shape, Shmelev raises the theme of the "little man".
In 1909 he became a member of the Wednesday literary circle; it also included A.P. Chekhov, M. Gorky, L. Andreev. In 1911, the story "The Man from the Restaurant" was published, where Shmelev depicts the world through the eyes of a waiter. Later, in 1912, Shmelev collaborated with I. A. Bunin and became one of the founders of the “Book Publishing House of Writers in Moscow”, whose members are V. V. Veresaev, B. K. Zaitsev, S. A. Naydenov, brothers I. A. and Yu. A. Bunina. All subsequent work of Shmelev will be associated with this publishing house.
In the period from to 1914, the novels and stories “Grapes”, “The Wall”, “Fearful Silence”, “Wolf Roll”, “Rostani” were published. The works of these years are distinguished by a wide thematic diversity, an abundance of picturesque landscapes, sketches of the patriarchal merchant life, in addition, Shmelev depicts the phases of the transformation of a simple peasant into a new type of capitalist. Later, two collections of prose “Hidden Face” and “Carousel” and a book of essays “Hard Days” () are published, then the story “How It Was” () is published, in which Shmelev opposes the fratricidal civil war and the story “Alien Blood” (- ). In the works of this time, the problems of his work during the emigration period are already clearly visible.
Creativity 1920-1930
The departure of I. S. Shmelev in 1922 to emigrate (to Berlin, and then to Paris) marks a new period of his creative way. From here, from a foreign country, he sees Russia with extraordinary clarity. Here Shmelev collaborates with such emigrant publications as Renaissance, Latest News, Illustrated Russia, Modern Notes, etc., where he publishes his works. Shmelev creates pamphlet stories “Stone Age” (1924) and “Two Ivans” (1924), “Stone Age”, “On Stumps” (1925), “About an Old Woman” (1925), The work of these years is imbued with acute pain for homeland, notes of condemnation of the European world, Western civilization, its lack of spirituality, earthiness, pragmatism are heard. The author tells about the bloody fratricidal civil war that brought down suffering on the Russian people.
In his subsequent works “Russian Song” (1926), “Napoleon. The story of my friend "(1928)," Dinner for different ", Shmelev to a greater extent develops the problems of the old patriarchal Russia, glorifies a simple Russian person, creates pictures of religious festivities, depicts rituals glorifying Russia, becomes a singer of old Moscow.
Book entry to Paris. Stories about Russia abroad” (1929) is imbued with deep sorrow, tells about the broken fates of Russian exiles. Based on the material of the First World War, Shmelev creates a popular popular novel "Soldiers" (1930).
"Praying Man" (1931) and "Summer of the Lord" (1933-1948) were enthusiastically received in the circles of Russian emigration. Continuing the tradition of Leskov, Shmelev depicts the life of patriarchal Russia. The images of Moscow and Zamoskvorechye are deeply poetic and colorful. Shmelev depicts in the novel the worldview of a kind, pure, naive child, which is so close to the people's. This is how a holistic art world glorifying the Motherland. Until the end of his days, Shmelev felt aching pain and longing from the memories of Russia.
The last period of creativity
All these years, Shmelev dreamed of returning to Russia. He was always distinguished by a special love for the solitary monastic life. In 1935, his autobiographical essay "Old Valaam" was published, where the author recalls his trip to the island, depicts the measured life of an Orthodox Russian monastery, deeply filled with an atmosphere of holiness. Then comes the novel Nanny from Moscow (1936), entirely built on a tale, where all the events are conveyed through the mouths of an old Russian woman, Daria Stepanovna Sinitsina.
In the novel The Ways of Heaven (1948), the theme of the reality of God's providence in the earthly world is embodied. The novel depicts the fate real people a positivist skeptic, engineer V. A. Weidenhammer and a deeply religious novice of the Passion Monastery - Daria Koroleva. However, Shmelev's death interrupted the work on the third volume of the novel, but the two published books fully embodied Christian ideas about the world, the struggle against sin and temptations, moments of bright insights of an unshakably believing heart...
Artworks
- On the rocks of Valaam 1897
- On urgent business, 1906
- Wahmistr, 1906
- Decay, 1906
- Ivan Kuzmich, 1907
- Citizen Ukleykin, 1907
- In a hole, 1909
- Under the Sky, 1910
- Molasses, 1911
- Restaurant Man, 1911
- The Inexhaustible Chalice, 1918
- Carousel, 1916
- Harsh Days, 1916
- The hidden face, 1917
- Steppe miracle, fairy tales, 1921
Fame. Revolution. Departure.
After everything experienced, Shmelev lost weight and aged beyond recognition. From a straight, always lively and cheerful person, he turned into a bent, gray-haired old man. His voice became muffled and quiet. From contemplation, deep wrinkles appeared on his face, sad gray eyes went out and deeply sunk.
« I lost everything. Everything. I have lost God, and what kind of a writer am I now, if I have even lost God. With a capital letter, with a small letter - God (God) - the writer needs him, he is necessary. The worldview on one or another religious basis- a condition without which there is no creativity».
In exile
"Sun of the Dead"
“This wonderful book came out and poured like a revelation all over Europe, being feverishly translated into “big” languages ... I read it after midnight, gasping for breath.
What is the book of I. S. Shmelev about?
About the death of a Russian person and the Russian land.
About the death of Russian herbs and animals, Russian gardens and the Russian sky.
About the death of the Russian sun.
About the death of the whole universe - when Russia died - about the dead sun of the dead ... ".
After the release of this novel, it was no longer possible to return to Russia. " We live out our days in a luxurious, foreign country. Everything is someone else's. There is no native soul, but there is a lot of courtesy ...”, Shmelev wrote about his life in Paris in a letter to Kuprin.
Collections of short stories and essays “About one old woman. New stories about Russia”, “Steppe miracle, fairy tales”, “Light of reason. New stories about Russia”, “Entry to Paris. Stories about Russia abroad”, “Native. About our Russia. Memories, stories”, “Nanny from Moscow”.
Shmelev's works appeared in the newspapers Vozrozhdenie, Rul', Segodnya, Latest News, For Freedom, in the magazines Russian Thought, Window, Illustrated Russia, the most significant ones in Modern Notes "("About one old woman", "On the stumps"; novels "Love Story"; "Soldiers"). Willows, two collections, which included mainly Shmelev's pre-revolutionary works, were published in the USSR.
"Summer of the Lord" and "Praying Man"
With pain, Ivan Sergeevich learned about the destruction of Moscow shrines, about the renaming of Moscow streets and squares. But the brighter and more carefully he strove to preserve in his works what he remembered and loved more than anything in the world.
The writer found both his reader - a believing Russian exile, and his critic. The deepest and most subtle reading of Shmelev was given by I. Ilyin:
“Shmelev is primarily a Russian poet in terms of the structure of his artistic act, his content, his creativity. At the same time, he is a singer of Russia, a depicter of the Russian historical, established mental and spiritual way of life, and what he paints is the Russian man and the Russian people - in his rise, in his strength and weakness, in his tenderness and in his wretchedness. . This is a Russian artist who writes about Russian nature”; in his images “that artistic and subjective depth is revealed, which gave Shmelev access to almost all national literatures ...”
Strengthened in his faith by the miracle of healing in a year from a severe peptic ulcer through the prayers of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, Shmelev devotes all his strength and talent to “informing” people about the truth of the Orthodox faith.
Despite all the hardships, the Shmelevs' emigrant life in Paris still resembled the life of old Russia with the annual cycle of Orthodox holidays, with many fasts, rituals, with all the beauty and harmony of the way of Russian life.
In parallel, Shmelev worked on book "Praying"( , ) - about the spiritual attraction of the main Russian shrine, the monastery of the Life-Giving Trinity in Sergiev Posad. Shmelev shows a special Russia: a circle outlined by Orthodoxy Everyday life the Russian person is protective for the soul, the whole existence of Russia is “taken by the spirit” (I. Ilyin). The language of the book is the Moscow dialect, multicolored, figurative, rich in metaphors, with church and folk poetic symbols.
"Ways of Heaven"
In "The Ways of Heaven", in his last unfinished novel, the writer sets out in art form patristic teaching, describing the practice of everyday struggle with temptations, as well as prayer and repentance. Ivan Shmelev planned to create a series of books on the Ways of Heaven. In them, he wanted to describe the history and life of Optina Hermitage, since, according to his plan, one of the heroes was going to become a resident of this monastery.
To critics, the work seemed to be a fall in Shmelev's creative talent, he was reproached for sentimentality, popular print, and religious mysticism. In it, Shmelev renounces the form of a skaz narration, colorful metaphorical speech, and any symbolism that is not related to his main theme - the atonement for sin through self-sacrifice.
Attitude towards Europe and political views
"Europeanism" was weighed down by the religiously minded Shmelev, who was inwardly striving for the "invisible" and "people's" Russia.
“Happy are writers with a strong soul,- Shmelev wrote to V.F. Seeler on February 10, 1930 - And I have it all wounded, all broken through. I have no air, I am a stranger here, in this terrible noise of Europe. She makes holes in me even more, beats me off from mine. Even if you run into the desert - to Athos - look for God, peace, peace of mind ".
Shmelev did not accept Europe also because in - -s. in France and other countries the spirit of "leftism" has noticeably intensified; the enthusiasm for "socialism" that swept over a significant part of the Western intelligentsia led to the political recognition of Soviet Russia and often to reconciliation with what was happening in it. In the program article "The Soul of the Motherland", Shmelev supported the "democrat" Milyukov, who was alien to him, who condemned the League of Human Rights for recognizing Bolshevism.
Shmelev also labored in Ivan Ilyin's Russian Bell magazine, one of the few publications in the Russian emigration with a patriotic and Orthodox bias. It was especially captured in the late 1920s. the program of the Russian spiritual Renaissance, which I.A. Ilyin tried to deploy in his speeches in the journal, and was inclined to see him as a national spiritual leader.
“... You can ignite young (and old) souls,- Shmelev enthusiastically wrote to I.A. Ilyin on September 24 from Capbreton, - […] Well, I will sing along too. Look, look for helpers! It is necessary to create the Order, the Union of Russian Builders! Yes, Russian masons (not Masons, damn it, but zealots!). Exactly - the Holy Union is needed! […] Think about this! You live for this, I feel. And it will not be fascism, but a Russian spiritual squad. The goal is boundless and lofty - up to God! In the name of - Her, Russia "
During the war years, Shmelev, one of the few Russian émigrés, remained in occupied Paris, published several articles in the pro-German Parizhsky Vestnik, which brought accusations of collaborationism on himself.
last will
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev wrote: “Yes, I myself want to die in Moscow and be buried in the Donskoy cemetery, keep in mind. On the Don! In my area. That is, if I die, and you are alive, and no one of mine is alive, sell my pants, my books, and take me to Moscow ”.
The dream of the Orthodox writer, native Muscovite Ivan Shmelev came true: on May 30, his ashes found peace in their native Moscow, in the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery next to the grave of their father. Before the burial of the remains of Ivan Shmelev and his wife Olga Alexandrovna, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia served a memorial service.
In April of the year, Shmelev's great-nephew Yves Zhantiom-Kutyrin handed over the archive of Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev to the Russian Cultural Foundation.
The monument-bust of the Orthodox writer Shmelev was solemnly opened on May 29, 2000 in the old metropolitan area Zamoskvorechye, where he spent his childhood.
Artworks
- On the rocks of Valaam, 1897
- On urgent business, 1906
- Warmaster, 1906
- Decay, 1906
- Ivan Kuzmich, 1907
- Under the mountains, 1907
- Citizen Ukleykin, 1907
- In a hole, 1909
- Under the sky, 1910
- Molasses, 1911
- Restaurant Man, 1911
- Grapes, 1913
- Carousel, 1916
- Harsh days, 1917
- The hidden face, 1917
- Inexhaustible cup, 1918
- Steppe miracle, 1919
- It was, 1919
- sun of the dead, 1923
- How we flew, 1923
- Stone Age, 1924
- On stumps, 1925
- About an old woman, 1925
- Entry into Paris, 1925
- Soldiers, 1925
- Light of Reason, 1926
- Love story, 1927
- Napoleon, 1928
- Bogomolye, 1931
- Stories (A funny adventure, by Moscow, Martin and King, Tsar's gold, Unprecedented dinner, Russian song), 1933
- Summer of the Lord, 1933-1948
- Native, 1935
- Old Valaam, 1935
- Nanny from Moscow, 1936
- Foreigner, 1938
- My Mars, 1938
- Christmas in Moscow, Business man's story, 1942-1945
- Ways of heaven, 1948
Literature
- Dunaev M.M. Faith in the crucible of doubt Russian newspaper in Paris. 1924. No. 6. February 11. S.2-3.
Ilyin I.A. Sobr. op. // Ivan Ilyin, Ivan Shmelev. Correspondence of two Ivanovs (1927–1934). M., 2000. S.65-66.
On September 21 (October 3), 1873, an heir was born into a wealthy family of Zamoskvoretsky merchants, who was christened Ivan. The boy's father owned baths and a carpenter's artel, and his family did not need anything. Children were brought up in reasonable severity, obedience, respect for religious traditions.
At a young age, Vanya was educated by his mother, who read him the works of Russian classics: Gogol, Tolstoy, Turgenev. But the most powerful impression on the boy was made by the work of A. S. Pushkin, which later shaped his literary style.
At the age of 10, young Shmelev entered the gymnasium, but strict discipline discouraged him from the slightest desire to study. However, he was very fond of reading, and that was all. free time followed the books. Already at a young age, he began to develop his writing abilities.
creative way
In 1895 Shmelev, being a law student at Moscow University, wrote his first story "At the Mill".
It told about overcoming difficulties and shaping a person's personality.
In 1897, a collection of essays "On the Rocks of Valaam" was published, written under the strong impression of being on the famous island. However, excessively strict censorship and the lack of reader interest silenced the unlucky author for a long time.
A new round of creative activity in Ivan Sergeevich took place in 1905, under the influence of revolutionary events in the country. The most significant work of that period was the story "Citizen Ukleykin".
Shmelev gained wide popularity after the publication in 1911 of the story "The Man from the Restaurant". The first serious success of the writer contributed to his active cooperation with the Book Publishing House of Writers.
Emigration
Ivan Sergeevich categorically did not accept any October revolution 1917 or the Civil War. Especially with a strong blow in short biography Shmelev was the execution of his only son, a 25-year-old officer in the tsarist army. His death plunged the writer into a deep depression, which was later splashed out on the pages of the epic "The Sun of the Dead".
Shmelev could no longer stay in the country that killed his child, and in 1922 he emigrated to Berlin, and then to Paris. Abroad, Ivan Sergeevich plunged into memories of pre-revolutionary Russia, which are reflected in the best works of the author: "Native", "Summer of the Lord", "Praying Man".
They were distinguished by high poetry, spirituality, incredibly lively folk language.
The last work of Shmelev was the three-volume novel "The Ways of Heaven", which he did not have time to finish.
Ivan Sergeevich was twice nominated for Nobel Prize in literature - in 1931 and 1932.
Personal life
Married Ivan Sergeevich in student years and all his life he loved only his wife. The family idyll was strengthened with the birth of the long-awaited son Sergei.
However, the execution of his son and the early death of his wife severely crippled both the physical and mental strength of the writer.
Death
The Russian writer died of a heart attack on June 24, 1950. Half a century later, the ashes of the Shmelevs were transported to their homeland and reburied next to the graves of their relatives.
Amid the bustle of life, the jubilee somehow passed completely unnoticed - 140 years since the birth of the remarkable Russian writer Ivan Shmelev ...
"Shmelev is now the last and only of the Russian writers from whom one can still learn the wealth, power and freedom of the Russian language. Shmelev is the most pro-Russian of all Russians, and even a native, born Muscovite, with a Moscow dialect, with Moscow independence and freedom of spirit"
(A. I. Kuprin)
"Most of all, I love Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev. He is a fiery heart and the finest connoisseur of the Russian language. The uterine, earthly, earthly and elevated language, as well as all the varieties of Russian speech, are known to him as a magician. He is a truly Russian person, and every time, as with you talk to him, part with him enriched - and again finding yourself, the best that is in the soul.
Shmelev, in my opinion, is the most valuable writer of all the current ones living abroad or there, in this Damn swamp. However, there is almost no one there. And from foreign countries, he truly burns with an unquenchable fire of sacrifice and re-creation, in images, of true Russia.
(Konstantin Balmont)
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev was born on October 3 (September 21, according to the old style), 1873 in the Donskaya Sloboda of Moscow, in the house at the address: B. Kaluzhskaya, 13, in the well-known Moscow merchant family of the Shmelevs. The Shmelev family was prosperous, Orthodox with a patriarchal way. Shmelev's childhood passed in close contact with artisans, which allowed him to get to know and love the people's, labor Russia well.
Initially, Shmelev was educated at home, where his mother acted as a teacher, who gradually introduced the young writer into the world of literature (the study of Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, etc.). Then he studies at the sixth Moscow gymnasium. After graduating, in 1894 he entered the law faculty of Moscow University. And then, 4 years later, after graduating from it, he does military service for 1 year and then serves as an official in remote places in the Moscow and Vladimir provinces.
The desire for literary creativity was awakened by Shmelev while still studying at the Moscow gymnasium. In 1895, the first story "At the Mill" was published in the Russkoe Obozreniye magazine. In the same year, on his honeymoon trip to Valaam, Shmelev stopped at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to receive the blessing of the revered ascetic, Hieromonk Barnabas of Gethsemane. The elder predicted to Shmelev the “cross” of suffering that was coming to him, received his sight and strengthened his gift for writing, saying: “You will exalt yourself with your talent.”
The book of essays On the Rocks of Valaam (1897), which describes the Valaam Monastery from the point of view of a secular tourist, was, according to Shmelev, naive, immature and was not successful with the reader. For 10 years, Shmelev departs from writing. After graduating in 1898 from the law faculty of Moscow University, he served as an official in the central provinces of Russia. “I knew the capital, small handicraft people, the way of merchant life. Now I recognized the village, the provincial bureaucracy, the petty nobility, ”Shmelev will say later.
Shmelev's pre-revolutionary works are inspired by faith in the earthly happiness of people in a joyful future, hopes for social progress and enlightenment of the people, and expectations of changes in the social system of Russia. Questions of faith, religious consciousness at this time occupy little of the writer: having carried away in his youth the ideas of Darwinism, Tolstoyism, socialism, Shmelev long years departs from the Church and becomes, by his own admission, "nothing by faith." However, already in this period, very important for Shmelev themes of suffering and compassion for a person are clearly heard in his works, which will become decisive in all subsequent work.
I.S. Shmelev with his wife Olga Alexandrovna and son Sergei
From the very beginning, Shmelev accepted the February Revolution with enthusiasm and enthusiasm, like many of his contemporaries. He travels to Siberia to meet political prisoners, speaks at meetings and rallies, and talks about the "wonderful idea of socialism." But soon Shmelev has to be disappointed in the revolution, he discovers its dark side, sees in all this violence against the fate of Russia. He does not immediately accept the October Revolution, and its subsequent events led to a worldview change in the writer's soul.
During the revolution, Shmelev leaves with his family for Alushta, where he buys a house with a plot of land. In the autumn of 1920, the Crimea was occupied by the red units. The fate of Sergei, the only son of Shmelev, turned out to be tragic. A twenty-five-year-old officer of the Russian army, while in the hospital, was arrested. Despite his father's best efforts to free Sergei, he was sentenced to death.
Sergey Shmelev
This event, as well as the terrible famine experienced by his family in the occupied city, the horrors of the massacre committed by the Bolsheviks in the Crimea in 1920-1921, led Shmelev to severe mental depression.
Shmelev could not accept when all living things around him die, there is a widespread red terror, evil, hunger, brutalization of people. In connection with these experiences, the writer writes the epic "The Sun of the Dead" (1924), where he reveals his personal impressions of the revolution and civil war. Shmelev draws the triumph of evil, hunger, banditry, the gradual loss of human appearance by people. The style of narration reflects the ultimate despair, the confused consciousness of the narrator, who is unable to understand how such a revelry of unpunished evil could come true, why it has come again " stone Age with its animal laws. The image of empty skies and a dead sun runs through the book like a refrain: “I have no God. The blue sky is empty ... ". Shmelev's epic, which captured the tragedy of the Russian people with great artistic power, was translated into many languages and brought European fame to the author.
Emigration
The writer was very upset by the tragic events associated with the revolution and military events, and upon arrival in Moscow, he seriously thinks about emigration. I.A. actively participated in making this decision. Bunin, who called Shmelev abroad, promising to help his family in every possible way. In January 1923, Shmelev finally left Russia for Paris, where he lived for 27 years.
The years spent in exile are distinguished by active fruitful creative activity. Shmelev is published in many emigrant publications: Latest News, Renaissance, Illustrated Russia, Today, Modern Notes, Russian Thought, etc.
And all these years, Ivan Sergeevich suffered separation from his homeland. He returned to Russia in his work.
Shmelev's most famous book is The Summer of the Lord. Turning to the years of childhood, Shmelev captured the worldview of a believing child who trustingly accepted God into his heart. The peasant and merchant environment appears in the book not as a wild "dark kingdom", but as an integral and organic world, full of moral health, inner culture, love and humanity. Shmelev is far from romantic stylization or sentimentality. He draws the true way of Russian life of not so long ago, without obscuring the rough and cruel sides of this life, its "sorrows". However, for a pure child's soul, being is revealed first of all by its bright, joyful side. The existence of heroes is inextricably linked with church life and worship. For the first time in Russian fiction, the church-religious layer of folk life is so deeply and completely recreated. The spiritual life of an Orthodox Christian is revealed in the psychological experiences and prayer states of the characters, including both sinners and saints.
The meaning and beauty of Orthodox holidays, customs that remain unchanged from century to century, are revealed so vividly and talentedly that the book has become a true encyclopedia of Russian Orthodoxy. The amazing language of Shmelev is organically connected with all the richness and diversity of living folk speech, it reflected the very soul of Russia. I. A. Ilyin noted that what is depicted in Shmelev’s book is not what “was and has passed”, but what “is and will be ... This is the very spiritual fabric of believing Russia. This is the spirit of our people." Shmelev created " piece of art of national and metaphysical significance”, depicting the sources of our national spiritual strength”.
Living contact with the world of holiness also takes place in the book Bogomolye (1931), which is adjacent to The Summer of the Lord, where all the classes of believing Russia appear in the pictures of the pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The ascetic service of the “old comforter” Barnabas of Gethsemane is recreated by Shmelev with grateful love.
The novel The Nanny from Moscow (1934), written in Shmelev's favorite form of a tale (in which the writer achieved unsurpassed mastery), is the story of a simple Russian woman caught in the whirlpool of events in the history of the 20th century. and stranded in a foreign land. Deep faith, inner peace, boundless kindness and spiritual health allow Darya Stepanovna to soberly assess everything that happens to people and the country. IN simple words nanny about sin and retribution reveals the meaning of Russia's suffering as a necessary and saving punishment for its purification.
The poetic essay "Old Valaam" (1936) introduces the reader to the world of an Orthodox Russian monastery, depicts life immersed in an atmosphere of holiness. With light sadness, recalling his youthful trip to the island, Shmelev shows how monastic life illuminates human life the light of eternity, transforms sorrow into high joy. Images of Holy Russia also fill the essay “Mercy of St. Seraphim" (1935) - about how Shmelev was saved from deadly disease after an ardent prayer to Father Seraphim of Sarov, and the story "Kulikovo Field" (1939) - about a miraculous phenomenon in Soviet Russia, St. Sergius of Radonezh, encouraging and strengthening the Christians who remained there.
In Paris, Shmelev begins to communicate closely with the Russian philosopher I.A. Ilyin. For a long time there was correspondence between them (233 letters from Ilyin and 385 letters from Shmelev). It is an important evidence of the political and literary process of the times of the Russian emigration of the first wave.
In a foreign land, three Russian Ivans met - Ivan Shmelev, Ivan Ilyin and Ivan Bunin - in whose hearts love for Russia forever remained.
But critics were irritated by the patriotism and national aspirations of the writer's work. The émigré press dubbed the novel "Soldiers" a "Black-Hundred Police" in which the tsarist officers are adequately depicted. A prominent critic of the Russian diaspora, G. Adamovich, pursued Shmelev with insulting, playfully mocking reviews. Shmelev could not be forgiven by "Orthodox Russian traditions ... that he dared to defend historical Russia against the revolution."
Among the friends and associates of Shmelev, one can name I. Ilyin, the family of General A. Denikin, N. Kulman, V. Ladyzhensky, K. Balmont, A. Kuprin.
Both at home and in exile, Shmelev was subjected to "ultimate trials" one after another. In 1936, Shmelev's wife Olga Alexandrovna, his faithful companion, died, and from that moment on he bears the cross of loneliness. It was an irreparable and unbearable blow for Ivan Sergeevich. It was impossible even to imagine how he would live without her... Quiet, calm, always working, selflessly loving, she was a friend of his life, his assistant, nanny, sister of mercy. He couldn't get through the day without her.
And so ... I had to live, get sick, work for years in complete, bitter loneliness ... Only deep faith saved the writer.
Shmelev suffered from a serious illness, the exacerbations of which more than once brought him to the brink of death. Shmelev's financial situation sometimes reached begging. The war of 1939–45, which he experienced in occupied Paris, and the slander in the press, with which enemies tried to denigrate the name of the writer, aggravated his mental and physical suffering.
The elderly writer was accused of almost collaborating with the Nazis (he published in publications that later became considered collaborative, but it is unlikely that the elderly writer could understand such things). But Shmelev was always a kind, compassionate person. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Shmelev was a man of exceptional spiritual purity, incapable of any bad deed. He was characterized by a deep nobility of nature, kindness and cordiality. The appearance of Shmelev spoke of the suffering he had experienced - a thin man with an ascetic face, furrowed with deep wrinkles, with large gray eyes full of affection and sadness.
Ksenia Denikina, the wife of General Denikin, recalled:
... When the last war began, I.S. took it very hard. I will quote a few words from his letters of 1939, which sound as if they were written now: “I know that our Russia will be pure. the way to the truth, that the true Russia will find itself... A new generation is coming, young, having enough of everything and daring. May it come under the sign of the Lord!"
It does not matter that many harsh critics do not approve of Shmelev, that they find shortcomings in him, which prove that he is not at the height of classical models.
He is a God-seeking soul, last writer that primordial Russian life, in which, despite progress, big cities and all sorts of modern technology and comforts, the Russian horse-drawn soul still lived with its desire for the righteous. He is understandable to us and our native writer.
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev died in 1950 as a result of a heart attack. The death of the writer, who loved monastic life so much, became deeply symbolic: on June 24, 1950, on the name day of Elder Barnabas, who had previously blessed him “on the way,” Shmelev arrived at the Russian Monastery of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Bussy-en-Aute and on the same the day is dying.
They say that the writer sat quietly in the refectory of the monastery, quietly fell asleep ... and never woke up again. They say that the Lord sends such a death to the righteous, who suffered a lot during their lifetime...
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev was buried at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery in Paris. In 2000, Shmelev's cherished desire was fulfilled: the ashes of him and his wife were transported to their homeland and buried next to the graves of their relatives in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.
Give rest, O Lord, to the soul of Your servant John.
Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev was born September 21 (October 3), 1873 in the Kadashevskaya settlement of Zamoskvorechye in a patriarchal merchant family. The grandfather of Ivan Sergeevich, a state peasant from Guslits, Bogorodsky district, Moscow province, settled in Moscow after the fire of 1812. The writer's father belongs to the merchant class, but he was not engaged in trade, but was a contractor, the owner of a large carpentry artel, he also kept bathhouses.
Ivan Shmelev was brought up in an atmosphere of reverence for antiquity, pure religiosity. At the same time, Shmelev was influenced by the "street" - the working people from different provinces, who flocked to the courtyard of the contractor-father in Zamoskvorechye and brought with them spontaneous rebellion, rich language, and folklore. This predetermined the social acuteness the best works Shmelev, on the one hand, on the other hand, attention to the “tale”, closeness to the literary traditions coming from N.S. Leskov and F.M. Dostoevsky, contributed to the fact that I. Shmelev became a great master of the Russian literary language, a prominent representative critical realism.
Literacy, as it was not only in merchant, but also in noble families, Ivan Shmelev studied at home. His first teacher was his mother. Together with her, he "passed" Krylov, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Gogol, Turgenev. In the sixth Moscow gymnasium, where he entered in 1884, his reading circle expanded - Tolstoy, Uspensky, Leskov, Korolenko, Melnikov-Pechersky become favorite writers. However, Pushkin always remained a "symbol of faith" for Shmelev.
Autumn 1895 going on significant event in the life of the writer: he marries Olga Alexandrovna Okhterloni. At the request of the young wife, they go on a somewhat unusual honeymoon trip - to the island of Valaam, where the famous monastery and many sketes are located. From there, the future writer brings his first book - “On the rocks of Valaam. Beyond the world. Travel essays. Its fate was unfortunate: the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Pobedonostsev, saw sedition in it, the book was published in a greatly truncated form and was not successful. Failure makes him seriously think about the means of subsistence and about the device future life. Then Ivan Sergeevich enters Moscow University. After graduating from law school in 1898 and a year of military service Shmelev was an official in the remote corners of the Moscow and Vladimir provinces for 8 years.
In 1905 Shmelev returns to the idea that there can be only one real thing in life for him - writing. He begins to print in children's reading”, collaborate in the journal “Russian Thought”, and in 1907, believing in himself, resigns, settles in Moscow and devotes himself entirely to literary work.
Shmelev's works, written under the influence of the revolution, gained fame. 1905-1907(the story "Decay", 1907 , "Citizen Ukleykin", 1908 ; stories "Wahmister", 1906 , "Ivan Kuzmich", 1907 ). M. Gorky supported I. Shmelev in completing work on one of the significant works - the story "The Man from the Restaurant" ( 1911) .
From the beginning of the war, Shmelev and his wife left for the Kaluga estate. Here the writer sees and understands with his own eyes how the global slaughter adversely affects the morality of a person. Shmelev did not accept the October Revolution. In the very first acts of the new government, he sees serious sins against morality. Together with family in 1918 Shmelev leaves for the Crimea and buys a house in Alushta.
Son Sergei ended up in the Volunteer Army. Twenty-five-year-old Sergey Shmelev served in the commandant's office in Alushta, and did not take part in the battles. After the flight of the Wrangel army spring 1920, Crimea was occupied by the Reds, many who served at Wrangel remained on the shore. They were asked to surrender their weapons. Among them was Shmelev's son Sergei. He was arrested. Shmelev tried to rescue his son, but he was sentenced to death and shot.
But the trials of the Shmelev family were not exhausted by this tragedy. We still had to go through a terrible famine, which in a flourishing, fertile region was no easier than in all of Russia - the tragic famine of 1921.
Returning from the Crimea to Moscow spring 1922, Shmelev began to fuss about going abroad, where Bunin persistently called him. November 20, 1922 Shmelev and his wife leave for Berlin.
Bunin tries to help the Shmelev family, invites Ivan Sergeevich to Paris, promises to get visas. In January 1923 The Shmelevs move to Paris, where the writer lives for 27 long years.
Shmelev's first work of the immigrant period was "The Sun of the Dead" - a tragic epic. The Sun of the Dead was first published in 1923, in the emigrant collection "Window", and in 1924 published as a separate book. Translations into French, German, English, and a number of other languages immediately followed, which was a rarity for a Russian émigré writer, and even unknown in Europe.
1924. - "Stone Age".
1925. - "On the stumps."
1927. - Love Story.
1930 .
- novel "Soldiers".
1933. - "Summer of the Lord."
1935. - "Prayer".
1936-1948. - novel "The Ways of Heaven".
July 22, 1936 Ivan Shmelev's wife, Olga Alexandrovna, dies after a short illness, like no one who understands him. In order to somehow distract the writer from gloomy thoughts, his friends organized a trip to Latvia and Estonia for him. He also visited the Pskov-Pechora Monastery, stood at the Soviet border. Reaching over the wire fence, he plucked several flowers. IN Last year life illness confined him to bed. November 1949 he had an operation. She was successful. The desire to work returned, new plans appeared. He wants to get down to the third book of The Ways of Heaven.