Mikhail Yurjevich Lermontov. M. Yu. Lermontov. Brief biography of the writer Http lermontov org biography the most important thing

Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov is a famous Russian poet. More than 170 years have passed since his death. And the works still find a response in the hearts of people. His work lives on in performances, films, and books. At school, students read the immortal novel “A Hero of Our Time.” Even though teachers read this work every year, they still discover something new for themselves. The life of Mikhail Lermontov made a great contribution to the development of Russian literature.

Birth and childhood

The poet came from a wealthy family. My maternal grandfather, Mikhail Vasilyevich Arsenyev, a retired lieutenant of the guard, married Elizaveta from the powerful and wealthy Stolypin family. During their marriage they acquired the village of Tarkhany. Elizaveta Stolypina's father was elected Penza provincial leader of the nobility for several years.

But the father of the famous poet, Yuri Petrovich Lermontov, could not boast of origin; he did not really have money or influence in society. He retired with the rank of infantry captain. Maria Mikhailovna Arsenyeva, the writer’s mother, married against the will of her parents, out of love. But the husband did not live up to expectations, drank and spent his dowry on women of easy virtue, so the couple’s life together did not work out. The writer was born in Moscow in 1814. His birth did not improve the tense situation in the family. Already at the age of four the boy experienced great grief. His mother died. Mikhail was raised by his grandmother, Elizaveta Arsenyeva. The child spent his entire childhood in the Penza province in the village of Tarkhany. The father received a generous compensation and did not interfere in the child's upbringing at the request of the mother-in-law. The boy was very sick and frail, so the elderly woman constantly took care of his health, limiting her grandson’s activity and keeping a watchful eye on him.

Youth and education

In 1828, the young man entered the Noble boarding house at Moscow University. Later he studied there at the moral and political faculty, but did not graduate. Mikhail Yuryevich had a desire to go to study at St. Petersburg University. But he couldn't get in.

As a result, the poet studied at the school of guard cadets and warrant officers, where life introduced him to his future executioner, Nikolai Martynov. In 1834, Mikhail was sent to serve in the Hussar Regiment.

History of success

First works

The poet's early work is based on the works of Alexander Pushkin: the poems "Circassians" and "Prisoner of the Caucasus."

Mikhail Yuryevich considered 1828 to be the beginning of his journey. That year the poems “Autumn”, “Cupid’s Delusion”, and “Poet” were written. The author began with a description of nature, then became interested in love and rebellious lyrics, and at the end of his life he paid more attention to philosophical themes and civic motives.

Confession

Lermontov was very interested in the work of Alexander Sergeevich. He never thought that he would take a piece of the great poet’s fate for himself. Lermontov even became famous when people heard the poem “On the Death of a Poet,” dedicated to the sun of Russian poetry. This work shocked secular society. We described details from this period of his life .

Lermontov, like a warrior, came to Russian literature. Therefore, his creative world teaches readers to reject any obstacles and be strict with themselves. The poet's lyrical hero stands at a crossroads between the real and ideal world. His rebellious nature often subsides into daydreams.

The story of the poet Lermontov began not only with recognition, but also with punishment: he was sent into exile for freethinking lines.

Personal life

Varvara Lopukhina

Throughout his life, the poet was accompanied by an unhappy love for Varvara Lopukhina. Varya came from an old family. The writer met a girl on the way to the Simonov Monastery for the all-night vigil. Lopukhina was the sister of his friend Alexei. Lermontov fell in love with her character. Varvara was a cheerful, sociable and smiling girl, a wonderful muse. Mutual feeling gave the young poet inspiration, but, unfortunately, the lovers’ paths did not merge into one.

Rumors shattered the crystal and pure love of the young. In 1832, Mikhail went to St. Petersburg to study at the school of cadets. The new life eclipsed the image dear to Varvara’s heart. The girl heard stories about Lermontov’s stormy and passionate romance with Sushkova. Lopukhina decided to take a desperate step - she married, at the request of her parents, the not young, but rich Bekhmetov. The parents were sure that their daughter had pulled out a lottery ticket to life - a happy marriage. But they were wrong. Their daughter never learned what family happiness is, which all ladies dream of. Bekhmetov's jealousy knew no bounds, so Lopukhina was like a bird in a cage.

The poet regarded his beloved’s wedding as a betrayal. Mikhail was jealous of Varvara, but could not do anything. I suffered, but time could not be turned back. The pain of the soul remained only on paper. Life's tragedy changed the young man's disposition. In the Caucasus, he dedicated poems to Lopukhina-Bekhmetova and painted her portraits. Over time, Lermontov's zealous, egoistic love was replaced by merciful love. The poet was happy to know such a beautiful girl. He did not blame her, but only wished her well.

Ekaterina Sushkova

The author's heart belonged to Lopukhina, but there were other women in his life too. Mikhail really liked Sushkova. She was an orphan, so her aunt raised her. Ekaterina had a friend, Alexandra Vereshchagina. In her house, a young lady met the writer.

Lermontov dedicated the “Sushkov cycle” of eleven poems to his beloved. Catherine mockingly treated the bright youthful feelings. Four years later, their paths crossed in St. Petersburg. Even then, Mikhail became an officer in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. And the beautiful Ekaterina flirted with men, but was going to marry Alexei Lopukhin. The poet's love for Sushkova grew into resentment and a desire for revenge. The poet fell in love with an almost married lady and disrupted her wedding. He inspired her with hope for a happy future together, and then broke up with her.

Lermontov's other women did not leave such a deep mark on his life and work, so we will only say that his love story did not end with a happy ending: he was not married, he died young. He had no children.

  1. In 1840, the only lifetime edition of Lermontov's works was published. Censorship prohibited the publication of many of his works.
  2. The midwife looked at the newborn Misha and said that he would not die a natural death.
  3. People learned about the duel between Martynov and Lermontov. They thought that Nikolai would be killed because he had a scythe and was a poor shot. But it was in a duel with a famous poet that he did not miss. It’s not surprising, because Mikhail Yuryevich constantly ridiculed him in society, and his friend harbored a grudge for a long time.
  4. Lermontov was an interesting poet, an excellent artist and knew mathematics well.
  5. Mikhail is the second cousin of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, the famous reformer.
  6. Mikhail Yuryevich had a terrible character: he was a bilious joker, a cynic and a reserved person. He hated the service, but he couldn’t find anything else to do.
  7. Lermontov was very offended by his grandmother because she forbade them to see their father.

Creation

The image of Lermontov in lyrics

The image of the poet in the lyrics is tragic. He lost faith in the feasibility of his dream of an ideal. Mikhail Yuryevich in his poems seems to be trying to break through the wall of misunderstanding between himself and the world.

His lyrical hero is a rebellious and underestimated person. He most often complains to women, because in his life the man lacked their attention. He associates himself with a beggar, a hermit, a wanderer, etc. In each main character of Lermontov's works we see the features of the author himself. Mtsyri's unhappy childhood echoes the fate of Mikhail Yuryevich himself, separated from his father. In Pechorin’s character we see the same uncertainty of goals and objectives, the same disdain for women, the same fatal wit as the writer himself.

Main themes

The poet touches on various topics in his work: loneliness, homeland, relationships between the crowd and the poet, love, etc. The first two topics occur frequently. The poet raises the theme of loneliness in the poems: “Sail”, “Prisoner”, “Loneliness”, “Both Bored and Sad” and many others. Lermontov always considered himself a stranger in any company. Society did not understand or accept him.

The theme of the homeland is found in the works: “Farewell, unwashed Russia”, “Borodino”, “I ran through the countries of Russia”. The poet revealed this theme through the struggle for freedom against the slave chains of autocracy or through confrontation with the real invader of his native land.

Death

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov could not even imagine that he had known his executioner for a very long time. Nikolai Martynov is a close friend and a killer. The death of the poet is a mystery because there are many versions. One of the reasons for death is the poet's very caustic language. He knew the weaknesses of his surroundings. One day Lermontov decided to play a joke on Martynov. He called him “the man with the dagger”, “highlander”, drew caricatures, people laughed for a long time. But Mikhail did not even mean that the cruel joke would be the beginning of the end of his life. Martynov asked not to joke in front of the ladies, but Lermontov continued. After this, Nikolai set a date for the fight, but none of those around him took this statement seriously. Mikhail could have made peace with his old friend, but for some reason he did not dare to take this step. They tried to dissuade Nikolai Solomovich from the duel, but the mood was decisive. Lermontov's friends thought that the duel would end in reconciliation. Even the conditions were violated: there was no doctor, there were no allocated seconds, there were spectators. Martynov was afraid of society's ridicule, so he shot in the chest, once and for all.

The famous poet died instantly after being wounded. He was buried on July 17 at the Pyatigorsk cemetery. The grandmother argued with the authorities to give permission to bury the body in Tarkhany. He was buried there 250 days later.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, whose biography is still completely unknown, marked with his work a completely new stage in the development of Russian literature. His works harmoniously combined personal, philosophical and civic motives, which at that time perfectly met the spiritual needs of society.

Lermontov's work had a huge influence on subsequent generations of poets and prose writers. Many of his works were filmed, performed in the theater, depicted in painting, and his poems became romances.

M. Yu. Lermontov. Brief biography: childhood

The future writer was born in October 1814. Even before the new year, the entire family from Moscow returned to Tarkhany - the grandmother’s estate in the Penza region. Misha was left without a mother when he was not even three years old. The father wanted to take his son with him, but the grandmother made a will in such a way that everything would be left to her grandson only if he lived with her until he came of age.

M. Yu. Lermontov. Brief biography: studies

At the age of 14, Mikhail became a student at the Noble boarding school, operating at Moscow University. At the same time, he became interested in poetry and began to write himself. His first teacher in this matter was S.E. Raich. Mikhail studied for 2 years, and the boarding school was closed. In the fall, Lermontov entered the moral and political faculty at the same university. Mikhail did not belong to any circle and generally stayed away from all students.

In the fall of the following year, when Lermontov transferred to the literature department, his father died. Mikhail hardly attended lectures at the new department and did not show up for tests at the end of the year.

M. Yu. Lermontov. Brief biography: moving to St. Petersburg

In August 1832, Mikhail became a student at the School of Guard Junkers, which was established for young nobles entering the Guard without any military training or education. His move to St. Petersburg was connected with this event. After studying at the School for 2 years, he received the primary officer rank. During this period, Mikhail did not stop studying literature.

M. Yu. Lermontov. Brief biography: arrest and exile

In January 1837, the country was shocked by the news of Pushkin's death. Mikhail Lermontov responded to this event with the poem “The Death of a Poet.” Since the verse was of a political nature, the poet was arrested and exiled to the Caucasus. From that day on he lived only 4 years. And in this short period of time, Lermontov created those works that later began to be considered his best poetic heritage.

These are “Mtsyri”, “Demon” and many picturesque, musical, diverse poems that prove the limitless power of his talent. In 1839, Lermontov completed work on the novel “A Hero of Our Time.”

M. Lermontov. Brief biography: duel

The poet dreamed of eventually leaving military service and completely surrendering to literature, starting to publish his own magazine. But he was only allowed to stay in St. Petersburg for a while. And this became possible thanks to the request of influential persons and E. A. Arsenyeva, his grandmother. After his stay, the poet went on his last trip to the Caucasus, and essentially into exile. He was full of gloomy forebodings. The reason for the quarrel that led to the fatal duel was insignificant. The poet himself was almost sure that the fight would not take place. However, Martynov was not going to give it up. He inflicted a mortal wound on M. Yu. Lermontov during this ill-fated duel in Pyatigorsk. This happened in the summer of 1841, and the following spring the poet’s ashes were sent to Tarkhany, the family estate.

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (October 3, 1814, Moscow - July 15, 1841, Pyatigorsk) - Russian poet, prose writer, playwright, artist.

Comparing the creative baggage of Mikhail Lermontov with the number of years he has lived, it becomes clear that we have before us a genius. At 10 he wrote plays for the home theater, read French, German and English classics in the original, drew beautifully, at 15 he wrote the first edition of the poem “Demon”, at 20 - the verse drama “Masquerade”, at 24 - the novel “A Hero of Our Time” " And at the age of 26, Lermontov died.

Childhood and youth

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was born on the night of October 15, 1814 in Moscow. The poet’s grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva is a noblewoman from the noble Stolypin family. Minister Pyotr Stolypin is the poet’s second cousin.

The powerful and wealthy Elizaveta Arsenyeva did not want her only daughter to marry Yuri Lermontov, a handsome military man from an impoverished family. His dubious origins from the Scotsman George Learmont did not inspire confidence in her. Later, the British company Oxford Ancestors denied the poet’s relationship with the Lermonts using DNA analysis, confirming Arsenyeva’s doubts.

As the woman predicted, the personal life of her daughter Masha, who “jumped out” to marry the red tape Yuri Lermontov at the age of 16, turned out to be unhappy. The husband began to cheat on his young wife almost immediately after the wedding. He started an affair with the German nanny of Misha’s son, and chased courtyard girls. And when the wife reproached her husband for cheating, she received a punch in the face. 21-year-old Maria Arsenyeva-Lermontova died of transient consumption, leaving 2-year-old Misha half-orphaned.

Lermontov's parents

Elizaveta Alekseevna, who was 44 years old at the time of her daughter’s death, took her grandson away from her son-in-law by issuing a promissory note to Lermontov for 25 thousand rubles. Yuri left the Stolypin family estate, and Misha’s grandmother took up raising him. The woman adored her grandson and spared no expense on his education and health. Mikhail Lermontov grew up as a sickly scrofulous boy, and his grandmother hired the French doctor Anselm Levy for his grandson.

Lermontov's grandmother

The domineering mother-in-law occasionally allowed the father to meet with his son, which caused both of them to suffer.

“I became a prey torn apart,” Mikhail Lermontov later complained.

The childhood and teenage years of the future classic were spent on the Tarkhany estate in the Penza province. Elizaveta Alekseevna hired teachers for his education. A former officer in the Napoleonic army, Frenchman Capet, taught the boy French. After the death of the teacher, his place was taken by the emigrant Shandro, whom Mikhail Lermontov later described in the poem “Sashka”, calling him the Marquis de Tess and the “Parisian Adonis”. Shandro was replaced by the Englishman Vindson, who introduced the young man to English literature. Lermontov’s love for Byron’s work from a British teacher.

Mikhail Lermontov grew up watching village life on the family estate, listening to folk songs and legends about Stepan Razin and Emelyan Pugachev from the peasants.

A trip with his grandmother to the Caucasus left a deep imprint on the life and creative biography of Mikhail Lermontov. In Goryachevodsk, a 10-year-old boy fell in love for the first time and 2 years later dedicated the poem “To the Genius” to his first muse.

Poetry

In September 1828, Mikhail Lermontov was enrolled in the 4th grade of the capital's university boarding school. In December, the boy was transferred to the fifth grade, given a painting and a book for his diligence. This year is significant in that Lermontov counted the beginning of his creativity from it.


At the boarding school, the teenager began to compile handwritten journals. In one of them, called “Morning Dawn,” the young poet became the main collaborator and published the first poem “Indian Woman”. But two years after the boarding school was transformed into a gymnasium, Misha left his studies.

16-year-old Mikhail Lermontov spent the summer in the Moscow region, on the Stolypins’ Serednikovo estate. Vereshchagina's relatives lived nearby. Lermontov was friends with Alexandra Vereshchagina. The girl introduced Mikhail to her friend, the “black-eyed beauty” Ekaterina Sushkova, with whom the young man fell in love. The young poet’s feelings remained unanswered; he suffered unbearably. Katya chuckled at the lovelorn, clumsy and homely boy. Later, Sushkova will understand that she made a fatal mistake by mocking the unfortunate young man.


In the fall of 1830, Mikhail Lermontov entered Moscow University, choosing the moral and political department. For two years he studied with Vissarion Belinsky, Alexander Herzen and Nikolai Ogarev. During his student years, Lermontov wrote the drama “The Strange Man,” which condemned serfdom. Mikhail showed an impudent disposition and discourtesy, for which the teachers took revenge on him during the exams: the young man “failed” the exams.

Lermontov refused to stay for a second year and left the university, moving with his grandmother to St. Petersburg. An attempt to enroll in the second year was unsuccessful: Mikhail was offered to start from the first. On the advice of friends and grandmother, the young man entered the school of guards ensigns and cavalry cadets, where he studied for two years, calling them “scary” because of the military drill.


In St. Petersburg, the previously clumsy and gloomy Mikhail Lermontov was transformed: the young man became the life of the party, caroused and drove beauties crazy. The young man's sharp mind, erudition, and sarcasm were noted by friends and high society ladies.

In 1835, the poet's works first appeared in print. Lermontov’s comrade published the story “Hadji Abrek” without his knowledge.

Since the second half of the 30s, Mikhail Lermontov's poems have been readily published. Critics and readers warmly received the poem “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich...”. In the poems “Dagger” (“My Iron Friend”), “Poet” and “Duma,” Lermontov proclaimed the ideals of civic poetry. The folk theme and Russian character are outlined in the poems “Borodino” and “Motherland”.

A striking example of romanticism is the verse “Sail,” first published in Otechestvennye zapiski. Reading the lines, the emotional impulses of the 18-year-old poet become clear.

During his years in St. Petersburg, Mikhail Lermontov observed the morals of the aristocracy - observations form the basis of the drama “Masquerade,” which the poet rewrote several times, but never broke through the censorship wall.

The turning point from early to mature Lermontov's work occurred in 1837, after the publication of an angry response to the death of Alexander Pushkin. The poem “The Death of a Poet,” condemning the murderer and the court nobility, named by Lermontov as the culprit of the tragedy, was read throughout Russia. Pushkin's friends and admirers of his talent greeted the poem with admiration, and his enemies, including society ladies who sided with the handsome Dantes, were indignant.

Having learned about the negative reaction of the light, Mikhail Lermontov added spice. The first poem ended with the line: “And on his lips is a seal.” The continuation became a challenge to the “arrogant descendants”: the poems were seen as an appeal to the revolution.

Links

After the poem appeared, a trial and arrest followed. Emperor Nicholas I watched the process. Lermontov's grandmother and Pushkin's friends, including Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, tried to soften the fate of Mikhail Lermontov. The rebel was sent into exile in the Caucasus, as an ensign in a dragoon regiment.

The first exile lasted six months, but greatly changed Lermontov. The picturesque nature of the Caucasus, the life of the highlanders, and local folklore were reflected in the works of the “Caucasian” period. But the poet’s youthful gaiety melted away, giving way to “black melancholy.”


After returning to the St. Petersburg high society, Mikhail Lermontov is in the center of attention: he is admired by some and hated by others. The Caucasus inspired the poet to write poems, conceived and begun in Moscow: “Demon” and “Mtsyri” appeared, works that complement each other.

After his exile, Mikhail Lermontov brought new works to St. Petersburg, which are published in every issue of the journal Otechestvennye zapiski. Mikhail Yuryevich entered the circle of close friends of Pushkin and is at the peak of his popularity. He is still cocky and sarcastic. A quarrel with the son of the French ambassador, Ernest de Barent, in February 1840 ends in a duel. Lermontov and de Barant met across the Black River, not far from the site of Pushkin’s duel with Dantes. Ernest de Barant missed, and Mikhail Lermontov shot to the side.

The authorities found out about the duel, the poet was arrested and handed over to a military court. The emperor ordered the duelist to be exiled to the Caucasus for the second time, but now to an army regiment that fought on the front line. Lermontov distinguished himself by showing courage, but by order of Nicholas I did not receive any awards.

One of the poet’s last poems, “I Go Out Alone on the Road,” appeared at the end of May 1841. Critics saw in it the “lyrical result of the quest” to which Mikhail Lermontov turned at the end of his earthly journey. A few weeks before the murder, the poet composed the poem “The Cliff,” which was published 2 years after his death.

Novels

In St. Petersburg, during breaks between drills, Mikhail Lermontov composed the novel “Vadim,” in which he described the events of the Pugachev uprising.


But the apotheosis of Lermontov’s realism is the novel “A Hero of Our Time,” written in 1840, shortly before his death. The image of Pechorin is shown against the contrasting background of the life of Russian society. The contradiction between the depth of Pechorin’s nature and the futility of his actions is autobiographical. The innovation of the novel is in its subtle psychologism and revelation of the spiritual life of the characters, which none of the Russian writers had done before.

The novel was admired by Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov.

Personal life

Mikhail Lermontov wrote:

“I loved three times - three times hopelessly.”

The poet, according to the description of a contemporary young lady, was not distinguished by beauty. He is short, stocky, has a gloomy look in his black eyes, an unkind smile, a nervous young man who looks like a spoiled and spiteful child.


Lermontov's three main loves got married: Ekaterina Sushkova, with whom Mikhail fell in love at the age of 16, Natalya Ivanova, to whom he dedicated the “Ivanovo Cycle,” Varvara Lopukhina, whom the poet loved until the end of his life.


Mikhail Lermontov took brutal revenge on Sushkova 5 years later. Having learned that the girl was going to get married, he upset the wedding, playing out passion and making Catherine fall in love with him. The bride, compromised in the eyes of the world, suffered for a long time. The story of the tragic relationship is reminiscent of the love line of the novel “A Hero of Our Time.”


The poet took the news of Varenka Lopukhina’s marriage painfully. When Varvara got married, Lermontov never called her by her husband’s last name - Bakhmeteva: his beloved remained Lopukhina for him.

Death

The winter of 1840-41 turned out to be Lermontov's last. He came to St. Petersburg on vacation, dreaming of retirement and literary work. The grandmother, who dreamed of a military career for her grandson and did not share his passion for literature, dissuaded Mikhail from submitting his resignation. Lermontov returned to the Caucasus with an anxious heart.


In Pyatigorsk, a fatal quarrel between Mikhail Lermontov and retired major Nikolai Martynov, whom he met in Moscow and even visited his parents’ house, took place. Martynov later said that in Pyatigorsk Lermontov did not miss a single opportunity to make barbs at him.

The duel took place on July 27, 1841. The opponents agreed to shoot until the end. Mikhail Lermontov shot upward, and Martynov - at point-blank range, into the enemy’s chest, killing him outright. A thunderstorm and heavy rain prevented the doctor from arriving at the scene, and the murdered poet lay on the ground for a long time.


At Lermontov's funeral, despite the efforts of his friends, there was no church ceremony. In St. Petersburg, the news of the poet’s death was greeted with the words: “That’s where he belongs.” According to the memoirs of Pavel Vyazemsky, the emperor dropped: “A dog’s death is a dog’s death,” but after the Grand Duchess’s reproach, he came out to those present and proclaimed that “the one who could replace Pushkin for us has been killed.”


Lermontov was buried on July 29, 1841 at the old cemetery in Pyatigorsk. But after 250 days, Mikhail Yuryevich’s grandmother obtained permission from the emperor to transport the body to Tarkhany.

In April 1842, the body in a lead coffin was buried in the family chapel-burial vault, next to his grandfather and mother.

Memory

Lermontov's books have undergone dozens of reprints. The latest one was in 2014: a collection of works in 4 volumes was published by the Pushkin House Publishing House in 300 copies.

Streets, squares, and libraries in Russia and post-Soviet republics bear the name of Mikhail Yuryevich. In Odessa, city library No. 16 and a clinical sanatorium are named after the poet.


The minor planet number 2222, discovered in March 1981, is named “Lermontov”.

A monument to Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was erected in Grozny on Mohammed Ali Avenue, next to the Drama Theater named after M. Yu. Lermontov. On the pedestal are the poet's lines:

“Like the sweet song of my Fatherland, I love the Caucasus!”

Bibliography

  • "Hadji Abrek"
  • "Daemon"
  • "Mtsyri"
  • "Borodino"
  • "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich"
  • "Thought"
  • "Bela"
  • "Fatalist"
  • "Taman"
  • "Sail"
  • "Izmail-Bey"
  • "Death of poet"
  • "Hero of our time"

Mystical facts about Lermontov:

— Immediately at birth, Lermontov’s parents were given a prediction that their son would die at a young age.

— Returning from St. Petersburg to the Caucasus, Lermontov literally begged his relative Stolypin to go through Pyatigorsk, where the fatal duel took place.

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (born October 3 (15), 1814, Moscow - died July 15 (27), 1841, Pyatigorsk) - Russian poet, prose writer, playwright, artist, officer.

The brilliant Russian poet, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was born in Moscow. It is believed that the Lermontov family originates from a native of Scotland, George Lermont, but there are other versions, for example, that the family was related to the Spanish Duke of Lerma.

A genius chained to an official's desk must die or go mad, just as a man with a powerful physique, with a sedentary life and modest behavior, dies of apoplexy.

Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich

The poet's father, Yuri Petrovich Lermontov, was a poor retired captain, his mother, Maria Mikhailovna Arsenyeva, came from a noble and proud family. The parents were happily married, but tragedy struck uninvited - in 1817 Maria Mikhailovna died. Little Mikhail was taken in by his grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva. The quarrel between her and Yuri Petrovich forced the latter to leave his son and go to his estate. Arsenyeva moved with her grandson to her estate “Tarkhany”, Penza province. The poet spent his childhood there.

As a ten-year-old boy, he first came to the Caucasus, where he experienced two loves at once, one with a 9-year-old girl, the other with the mighty and majestic mountains of the Caucasus. Since then, he considered the Caucasus his second, poetic homeland.

From 1828 to 1830, Lermontov studied at the Moscow University Noble Boarding School, where he expanded his knowledge of literature and became more familiar with the works of Pushkin and Schiller.

All this would be funny
If only it weren't so sad...

Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich

In the fall of 1830, Lermontov entered Moscow University in the “moral and political department,” where he studied for two years. The young man was unable to pass public exams, since the professors, remembering his impudent character and hostile attitude towards them, “cut” him. Lermontov did not want to stay for a second year, and together with his grandmother they moved to St. Petersburg.

Not getting into St. Petersburg University, Lermontov, on the advice of a friend, entered the school of guard cadets and ensigns. Almost at the same time, his future killer, N.S. Martynov, also entered this school. Lermontov also spent two years at school, plunging headlong into the turbulent student life.

After graduating from school, Lermontov, a young cornet of the Life Guards, settled with his friend A.A. Stolypin in Tsarskoe Selo, where he led a riotous lifestyle, being the soul of youth society and a thunderstorm for women’s hearts.

Quite a few people were fed sweets; This has spoiled their stomach: they need bitter medicine, caustic truths.

Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich

After writing the poem “On the Death of a Poet,” which was regarded as calling for revolution, in 1837 Lermontov was transferred to the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoon Regiment, which operated in the Caucasus. On October 11, thanks to his grandmother’s connections, Lermontov was transferred to the Life Guards Grodno Regiment, located in Novgorod, and was forced to leave the Caucasus.

The poet spent January and half of February 1839 in St. Petersburg, after which he returned to the regiment from which, two months later he was transferred to his former hussar regiment. At the same time, Lermontov returns to society, again plays a significant role there, but very soon he begins to become burdened with such a life and says goodbye, then on vacation, then again to the Caucasus.

On January 16, 1840, at the ball of Countess Laval, Lermontov clashed with the son of the French envoy, which resulted in a duel. The duel ended successfully, but the poet was arrested and transferred to the Tenginsky infantry regiment in the Caucasus. There, during campaigns in Lesser and Greater Chechnya, he attracted the attention of his superiors and was presented with a golden saber with the inscription: “for bravery.”

Women only love those they don't know.

Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich

In January 1841, Lermontov received leave and returned to St. Petersburg. At the end of the vacation and a short respite, begged for Lermontov by friends, he again goes to the Caucasus and stops in Pyatigorsk. The time here was spent in fun entertainment and communication with young people, among whom Emilia Aleksandrovna Verzilina, nicknamed the “Rose of the Caucasus,” shone. In the same company was retired Major Martynov, who loved to be original and show off, for which he was often ridiculed by Lermontov. The end of such a relationship was a stormy quarrel and a duel.

The duel took place and on July 15, at about 5 pm, between the Mashuk and Beshtau mountains, Lermontov was killed. In the spring of 1842, the poet’s ashes were transported from Pyatigorsk to Tarkhany. In 1899, a monument to Lermontov was unveiled in Pyatigorsk, erected by all-Russian subscription.

Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov - photo

Comparing the creative baggage of Mikhail Lermontov with the number of years he has lived, it becomes clear that we have before us a genius. At 10 he wrote plays for the home theater, read French, German and English classics in the original, drew beautifully, at 15 he wrote the first edition of the poem “Demon”, at 20 - the verse drama “Masquerade”, at 24 - the novel “A Hero of Our Time” " And at the age of 26, Lermontov died.

Childhood and youth

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was born on the night of October 15, 1814 in Moscow. The poet’s grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva is a noblewoman from the noble Stolypin family. The minister is the poet's second cousin.

The powerful and wealthy Elizaveta Arsenyeva did not want her only daughter to marry Yuri Lermontov, a handsome military man from an impoverished family. His dubious origins from the Scotsman George Learmont did not inspire confidence in her. Later, the British company Oxford Ancestors denied the poet’s relationship with the Lermonts using DNA analysis, confirming Arsenyeva’s doubts.

As the woman predicted, the personal life of her daughter Masha, who “jumped out” to marry the red tape Yuri Lermontov at the age of 16, turned out to be unhappy. The husband began to cheat on his young wife almost immediately after the wedding. He started an affair with the German nanny of Misha’s son, and chased courtyard girls. And when the wife reproached her husband for cheating, she received a punch in the face. 21-year-old Maria Arsenyeva-Lermontova died of transient consumption, leaving 2-year-old Misha half-orphaned.


Elizaveta Alekseevna, who was 44 years old at the time of her daughter’s death, took her grandson away from her son-in-law by issuing a promissory note to Lermontov for 25 thousand rubles. Yuri left the Stolypin family estate, and Misha’s grandmother took up raising him. The woman adored her grandson and spared no expense on his education and health. Mikhail Lermontov grew up as a sickly scrofulous boy, and his grandmother hired the French doctor Anselm Levy for his grandson.


The domineering mother-in-law occasionally allowed the father to meet with his son, which caused both of them to suffer.

“I became a prey torn apart,” Mikhail Lermontov later complained.

The childhood and teenage years of the future classic were spent on the Tarkhany estate in the Penza province. Elizaveta Alekseevna hired teachers for his education. A former officer in the Napoleonic army, Frenchman Capet, taught the boy French. After the death of the teacher, his place was taken by the emigrant Shandro, whom Mikhail Lermontov later described in the poem “Sashka”, calling him the Marquis de Tess and the “Parisian Adonis”. Shandro was replaced by the Englishman Vindson, who introduced the young man to English literature. Lermontov's love for creativity comes from a British teacher.


Mikhail Lermontov grew up watching village life on his family estate, listening to folk songs and legends about and from peasants.

A trip with his grandmother to the Caucasus left a deep imprint on the life and creative biography of Mikhail Lermontov. In Goryachevodsk, a 10-year-old boy fell in love for the first time and 2 years later dedicated the poem “To the Genius” to his first muse.

Poetry

In September 1828, Mikhail Lermontov was enrolled in the 4th grade of the capital's university boarding school. In December, the boy was transferred to the fifth grade, given a painting and a book for his diligence. This year is significant in that Lermontov counted the beginning of his creativity from it.


At the boarding school, the teenager began to compile handwritten journals. In one of them, called “Morning Dawn,” the young poet became the main collaborator and published the first poem “Indian Woman”. But two years after the boarding school was transformed into a gymnasium, Misha left his studies.

16-year-old Mikhail Lermontov spent the summer in the Moscow region, on the Stolypins’ Serednikovo estate. Vereshchagina's relatives lived nearby. Lermontov was friends with Alexandra Vereshchagina. The girl introduced Mikhail to her friend, the “black-eyed beauty” Ekaterina Sushkova, with whom the young man fell in love. The young poet’s feelings remained unanswered; he suffered unbearably. Katya chuckled at the lovelorn, clumsy and homely boy. Later, Sushkova will understand that she made a fatal mistake by mocking the unfortunate young man.


In the fall of 1830, Mikhail Lermontov entered Moscow University, choosing the moral and political department. For two years he studied with Vissarion Belinsky, Alexander Herzen and Nikolai Ogarev. During his student years, Lermontov wrote the drama “The Strange Man,” which condemned serfdom. Mikhail showed an impudent disposition and discourtesy, for which the teachers took revenge on him during the exams: the young man “failed” the exams.

Lermontov refused to stay for a second year and left the university, moving with his grandmother to St. Petersburg. An attempt to enroll in the second year was unsuccessful: Mikhail was offered to start from the first. On the advice of friends and grandmother, the young man entered the school of guards ensigns and cavalry cadets, where he studied for two years, calling them “scary” because of the military drill.


In St. Petersburg, the previously clumsy and gloomy Mikhail Lermontov was transformed: the young man became the life of the party, caroused and drove beauties crazy. The young man's sharp mind, erudition, and sarcasm were noted by friends and high society ladies.

In 1835, the poet's works first appeared in print. Lermontov’s comrade published the story “Hadji Abrek” without his knowledge.

Since the second half of the 30s, Mikhail Lermontov's poems have been readily published. Critics and readers warmly received the poem “Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich...”. In the poems “Dagger” (“My Iron Friend”), “Poet” and “Duma,” Lermontov proclaimed the ideals of civic poetry. The folk theme and Russian character are outlined in the poems “Borodino” and “Motherland”.

A striking example of romanticism is the verse “Sail,” first published in Otechestvennye zapiski. Reading the lines, the emotional impulses of the 18-year-old poet become clear.

During his years in St. Petersburg, Mikhail Lermontov observed the morals of the aristocracy - observations form the basis of the drama “Masquerade,” which the poet rewrote several times, but never broke through the censorship wall.


The turning point from Lermontov's early to mature work occurred in 1837, after the publication of an angry response to death. The poem “The Death of a Poet,” condemning the murderer and the court nobility, named by Lermontov as the culprit of the tragedy, was read throughout Russia. Pushkin's friends and admirers of his talent greeted the poem with admiration, and his enemies, including society ladies who sided with the handsome Dantes, were indignant.

Having learned about the negative reaction of the light, Mikhail Lermontov added spice. The first poem ended with the line: “And on his lips is a seal.” The continuation became a challenge to the “arrogant descendants”: the poems were seen as an appeal to the revolution.

Links

After the poem appeared, a trial and arrest followed. The emperor watched the process. Lermontov's grandmother and Pushkin's friends, including, tried to soften the fate of Mikhail Lermontov. The rebel was sent into exile in the Caucasus, as an ensign in a dragoon regiment.

The first exile lasted six months, but greatly changed Lermontov. The picturesque nature of the Caucasus, the life of the highlanders, and local folklore were reflected in the works of the “Caucasian” period. But the poet’s youthful gaiety melted away, giving way to “black melancholy.”


After returning to the St. Petersburg high society, Mikhail Lermontov is in the center of attention: he is admired by some and hated by others. The Caucasus inspired the poet to write poems, conceived and begun in Moscow: “Demon” and “Mtsyri” appeared, works that complement each other.

After his exile, Mikhail Lermontov brought new works to St. Petersburg, which are published in every issue of the journal Otechestvennye zapiski. Mikhail Yuryevich entered the circle of close friends of Pushkin and is at the peak of his popularity. He is still cocky and sarcastic. A quarrel with the son of the French ambassador, Ernest de Barent, in February 1840 ends in a duel. Lermontov and de Barant met across the Black River, not far from the site of Pushkin’s duel with Dantes. Ernest de Barant missed, and Mikhail Lermontov shot to the side.

The authorities found out about the duel, the poet was arrested and handed over to a military court. The emperor ordered the duelist to be exiled to the Caucasus for the second time, but now to an army regiment that fought on the front line. Lermontov distinguished himself by showing courage, but by order of Nicholas I did not receive any awards.

One of the poet’s last poems, “I Go Out Alone on the Road,” appeared at the end of May 1841. Critics saw in it the “lyrical result of the quest” to which Mikhail Lermontov turned at the end of his earthly journey. A few weeks before the murder, the poet composed the poem “The Cliff,” which was published 2 years after his death.

Novels

In St. Petersburg, during breaks between drills, Mikhail Lermontov composed the novel “Vadim,” in which he described the events of the Pugachev uprising.


But the apotheosis of Lermontov’s realism is the novel “A Hero of Our Time,” written in 1840, shortly before his death. The image of Pechorin is shown against the contrasting background of the life of Russian society. The contradiction between the depth of Pechorin’s nature and the futility of his actions is autobiographical. The innovation of the novel is in its subtle psychologism and revelation of the spiritual life of the characters, which none of the Russian writers had done before.

Personal life

Mikhail Lermontov wrote:

“I loved three times - three times hopelessly.”

The poet, according to the description of a contemporary young lady, was not distinguished by beauty. He is short, stocky, has a gloomy look in his black eyes, an unkind smile, a nervous young man who looks like a spoiled and spiteful child.


Lermontov's three main loves got married: Ekaterina Sushkova, with whom Mikhail fell in love at the age of 16, Natalya Ivanova, to whom he dedicated the “Ivanovo Cycle,” Varvara Lopukhina, whom the poet loved until the end of his life.


Mikhail Lermontov took brutal revenge on Sushkova 5 years later. Having learned that the girl was going to get married, he upset the wedding, playing out passion and making Catherine fall in love with him. The bride, compromised in the eyes of the world, suffered for a long time. The story of the tragic relationship is reminiscent of the love line of the novel “A Hero of Our Time.”


The poet took the news of Varenka Lopukhina’s marriage painfully. When Varvara got married, Lermontov never called her by her husband’s last name - Bakhmeteva: his beloved remained Lopukhina for him.

Death

The winter of 1840-41 turned out to be Lermontov's last. He came to St. Petersburg on vacation, dreaming of retirement and literary work. The grandmother, who dreamed of a military career for her grandson and did not share his passion for literature, dissuaded Mikhail from submitting his resignation. Lermontov returned to the Caucasus with an anxious heart.


In Pyatigorsk, a fatal quarrel between Mikhail Lermontov and retired major Nikolai Martynov, whom he met in Moscow and even visited his parents’ house, took place. Martynov later said that in Pyatigorsk Lermontov did not miss a single opportunity to make barbs at him.

The duel took place on July 27, 1841. The opponents agreed to shoot until the end. Mikhail Lermontov shot upward, and Martynov - at point-blank range, into the enemy’s chest, killing him outright. A thunderstorm and heavy rain prevented the doctor from arriving at the scene, and the murdered poet lay on the ground for a long time.


At Lermontov's funeral, despite the efforts of his friends, there was no church ceremony. In St. Petersburg, the news of the poet’s death was greeted with the words: “That’s where he belongs.” According to the memoirs of Pavel Vyazemsky, the emperor dropped: “A dog’s death is a dog’s death,” but after the Grand Duchess’s reproach, he came out to those present and proclaimed that “the one who could replace Pushkin for us has been killed.”


Lermontov was buried on July 29, 1841 at the old cemetery in Pyatigorsk. But after 250 days, Mikhail Yuryevich’s grandmother obtained permission from the emperor to transport the body to Tarkhany.

In April 1842, the body in a lead coffin was buried in the family chapel-burial vault, next to his grandfather and mother.

Memory

Lermontov's books have undergone dozens of reprints. The latest one was in 2014: a collection of works in 4 volumes was published by the Pushkin House Publishing House in 300 copies.

Streets, squares, and libraries in Russia and post-Soviet republics bear the name of Mikhail Yuryevich. In Odessa, city library No. 16 and a clinical sanatorium are named after the poet.


The minor planet number 2222, discovered in March 1981, is named “Lermontov”.

A monument to Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was erected in Grozny on Prospekt, next to the Drama Theater named after M. Yu. Lermontov. On the pedestal are the poet's lines:

“Like the sweet song of my Fatherland, I love the Caucasus!”

Bibliography

  • "Hadji Abrek"
  • "Daemon"
  • "Mtsyri"
  • "Borodino"
  • "Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich"
  • "Thought"
  • "Bela"
  • "Fatalist"
  • "Taman"
  • "Sail"
  • "Izmail-Bey"
  • "Death of poet"
  • "Hero of our time"