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Birthday anniversary of Nikolai Polevoy, Russian writer, historian and journalist
«Let our poets and novelist fly in all possible directions of fantasy and speculation, but a journalist can and must consider and value their works, bur agrimony, be mediator of common sense, pure taste and graceful turn of phrase’.
N. A. Polevoy
On June 22 (July 3), 1796 in Irkutsk in the old family of merchants was born Nikolai Alexeevich Polevoy, future literary critic, journalist, historian and translator.
Nikolai Alexeevich was educated at home. Having learned to read and write quite early, by the age of 10 he had read many books and started to issue manuscript newspapers himself, compose poems and plays.
In 1811 Polevoy came to Moscow to arrange trade affairs of his father. There he attended lectures of A. F. Merzlyakov, M. T. Kachenovsky and others at Moscow University as auditor.
For the first time Nikolai Polevoy’ work was published in 1817 in ‘Russky vestnik’ journal: the description of Emperor Alexander’s I visit to Kursk.
In 1820 Polevoy came again to Moscow in order to organize sale of products from his father’s distillery. In Moscow he continued his self-education, studied Greek and Latin and worked for ‘Bulletin of Europe’ as a poet and translator.
In 1821 Nikolai Alexeevich visited St. Petersburg where he met A. S. Griboyedov, V. A. Zhukovsky, F. V. Bulgarin, N. I. Grech. At proposal of P. P. Svinyin, Polevoy started to publish his works in Svinyin’s ‘Otechestvennye zapiski’.
In 1822 the Emperor’s Academy of science conferred Nikolay Polevoy with a silver medal for his treatise ‘New way of Russian verbs’ conjuction’.
In 1825 supported by prince Vyazemsky, Nikolai Alexeevich started to issue a famous journal ‘Moscow telegraph’. The idea was borrowed from one of the foremost journals of France – «Revue Encyclopedique». In the first issue of the journal Polevoy announced that his objective was ‘an impartial supervision of the national literature’ making critics one of ‘the most important parts of the journal’.
On his pages ‘Moscow telegraph’ covered not only new national ideas, but also all foremost European events in the fields of literature, science and social life. The leading area of the journal was romanticism. In ‘Moscow telegraph’ were published the translations of August Schlegel, Shakespeare, Balzac, Walter Scott, Byron, Schiller, Goethe, Hoffman and other classics; also were published the works of Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, Baratynsky, the articles on visual arts. Polevoy was the first to publish in his edition the reproductions of famous paintings.
Polevoy exposed to critics a series of idols and courageously contradicted to the acknowledged authorities, the largest among them was N. M. Karamzin. Nikolai Alexeevich considered his ‘History’ unsatisfactory; he reproached the master of the Russian historiography for his work being more of a chronicle or a tale than an analysis of a researcher. Polevoy was objected by leading figures of literature and those writers whose self-respect had been concerned by the journal. Polevoy became a target of impolite attacks, lampoons and even information against him. In 1834 “Moscow telegraph” was suppressed for Polevoy’s disapproving remark concerning Kukolnik’s patriotic drama “Lord in the Hightest’s arm saved the Fatherland”.
After the journal’s suppression Polevoy had served for some time as an employee of ‘Library for reading’, then he had been editing “Pictorial review”, “Son of the fatherland”, “Russian bulletin”, “Literary paper” issued by Kraevsky. In all of these editions he had published a series of articles on various issues where he expressed himself as a writer of political essays, historian, fiction writer, dramatist. He had also issued some novels (“Abadonna”, “Oath at the Holy Sepulchre”, “Dreams and reality”, etc.), “Feature stories on Russian literature”, “Drama works” (4 volumes), “History of the Russian people” (6 volumes), “History of Peter the Great”, “History of Suvorov”, “History of Napoleon”, etc.
The last years of Polevoy’s life had been very hard. Abandoned by all, without any support, he had been in great need of money and led a half-starved life.
On February 22 (March 6), 1846 Nikolai Alexeevich Polevoy died and was buried at Literary gangway of Volkov cemetery in St. Petersburg.
Lit.: Белинский В. Г. Николай Алексеевич Полевой // Полн. собр. соч. М., 1955. Т. 9; Евгеньев-Максимов В. Е., Березина В. Г. Николай Алексеевич Полевой: Очерк жизни и деятельности. Курск, 1946; Иркутск, 1947; Козмин Н. К. Очерки по истории русского романтизма: Н. А. Полевой как выразитель литературного направления современной ему эпохи. Пг., 1903; Морозов В. Д. Очерки по истории русской критики второй половины 20-30-х годов XIX в. Томск, 1979. С. 71—183; Николай Полевой. Материалы по истории русской литературы и журналистики тридцатых годов. Л., 1934; Орлов В. Н. Николай Полевой и его «Московский телеграф» // Пути и судьбы. Л., 1971. С. 313-448; Полевой Николай Алексеевич: Собрание сочинений [Электронный ресурс] // Lib.ru/Классика. 2004. URL: http://www.azlib.ru/p/polewoj_n_a/; Татарникова О. Полевой Николай — литератор // Копейка. 2008. 16 янв. (№ 2); Троицкий В. Ю. Художественные открытия русской романтической прозы 20-30-х годов XIX в. М., 1985; Чернышевский Н. Г. Очерки гоголевского периода русской литературы // Полн. собр. соч. М., 1947. Т. 3. С. 14—43; Шаманова В. М. Художественная проза Н. А. Полевого: Ст. 1. Сборник «Мечты и жизнь» // Проблемы метода и жанра. Томск, 1977. Вып. 4. С. 13—25; Шикло А. Е. Исторические взгляды Н. А. Полевого. М., 1981.
Works: Повести и литературные отрывки: В 6 ч. М., 1829—1830; Драматические сочинения и переводы: В 4 ч. СПб., 1842—1843; Избранные произведения и письма / Изд. подгот. А. А. Карпов. Л., 1986; Мечты и звуки / Изд. подготовил Б. С. Кондратьев. М., 1988.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Александров А. В. Современные исторические труды в России. СПб., 1845;
Полевой Н. А. История русского народа. М., 1829. Т. 1;
Полевой Н. А. История русского народа. М., 1830. Т. 2;
Полевой Н. А. История русского народа. М., 1830. Т. 3;
Полевой Н. А. История русского народа. М., 1833. Т. 4;
Полевой Н. А. История русского народа. М., 1833. Т. 5;
Полевой Н. А. История русского народа. М., 1833. Т. 6;
Полевой Н. А. Козьма Минич Сухорукой, избранный от всея земли русский человек. М., 1833;
Полевой Н. А. Царствование Иоанна Грозного. Берлин. 1859;
Русские самородки в жизнеописаниях и изображениях. СПб., 1910. Вып. 8;
Скабичевский А. М. Очерки развития прогрессивных идей в нашем обществе. 1825-1860 г. СПб., 1872.