History of Russian Goverment. Volume I-XII. Karamzin N.M.
“Karamzin is our first historian and last Chronicler...” - this is the definition given by A. S. Pushkin to the great educator, writer and historian N. M. Karamzin (1766-1826). The famous "History of the Russian State", all twelve volumes of which are included in this book, became a major event in the social life of the country, an era in the study of our past.
Karamzin N.M.
Born in the village of Mikhailovka, Simbirsk province, in the family of a landowner. At the fourteenth year of his life, Karamzin was brought to Moscow and sent to the boarding school of the Moscow professor Schaden. In 1783, he tried to enlist in military service, where he was enrolled while still a minor, but retired that same year. From May 1789 to September 1790, he traveled around Germany, Switzerland, France and England, stopping mainly in large cities - Berlin, Leipzig, Geneva, Paris, London. Returning to Moscow, Karamzin began publishing the Moscow Journal, where Letters of a Russian Traveler appeared. Karamzin spent most of 1793 - 1795 in the village and prepared two collections here called "Aglaya", published in the fall of 1793 and 1794. In 1803, through Comrade Minister of Public Education M.N. Muravyov, Karamzin received the title of historiographer and an annual pension of 2,000 rubles in order to write a complete history of Russia. IN 1816 he published the first 8 volumes of the "History of the Russian State", in 1821 g. - volume 9, in 1824 g. - 10th and 11th. IN 1826 Mr. Karamzin died without having time to finish the 12th volume, which was published by D.N. Bludov from the papers left behind by the deceased.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
VOLUME I
Chapter I. About the peoples who have inhabited Russia since ancient times. About the Slavs in general.
Chapter II. About the Slavs and other peoples who made up the Russian State.
Chapter III. On the physical and moral character of the ancient Slavs.
Chapter IV. Rurik, Sineus and Trubor. 862-879
Chapter V. Oleg - Ruler. 879-912
Chapter VI. Prince Igor. 912-945
Chapter VII. Prince Svyatoslav. 945-972
Chapter VIII. Grand Duke Yaropolk. 972-980
Chapter IX. Grand Duke Vladimir, named Vasily in baptism. 980-1014
Chapter X. On the state of Ancient Russia.
VOLUME II
Chapter I. Grand Duke Svyatopolk. 1015-1019
Chapter II. Grand Duke Yaroslav, or George. 1019-1054
Chapter III. Russian truth, or Yaroslavna's laws.
Chapter IV. Grand Duke Izyaslav, named Dmitry in baptism. 1054-1077
Chapter V. Grand Duke Vsevolod. 1078-1093
Chapter VI. Grand Duke Svyatopolk - Michael. 1093-1112
Chapter VII. Vladimir Monomakh, named Vasily in baptism. 1113-1125
Chapter VIII. Grand Duke Mstislav. 1125-1132
Chapter IX. Grand Duke Yaropolk. 1132-1139
Chapter X. Grand Duke Vsevolod Olgovich. 1139-1146
Chapter XI. Grand Duke Igor Olgovich.
Chapter XII. Grand Duke Izyaslav Mstislavovich. 1146-1154
Chapter XIII. Grand Duke Rostislav-Mikhail Mstislavovich. 1154-1155
Chapter XIV. Grand Duke George, or Yuri Vladimirovich, nicknamed Dolgoruky. 1155-1157
Chapter XV. Grand Duke Izyaslav Davidovich of Kyiv. Prince Andrei of Suzdal, nicknamed Bogolyubsky. 1157-1159
Chapter XVI. Grand Duke Svyatopolk - Michael.
Chapter XVII. Vladimir Monomakh, named Vasily in baptism.
VOLUME III
Chapter I. Grand Duke Andrei. 1169-1174
Chapter II. Grand Duke Mikhail II [Georgievich]. 1174-1176
Chapter III. Grand Duke Vsevolod III Georgievich. 1176-1212
Chapter IV. George, Prince of Vladimir. Konstantin Rostovsky. 1212-1216
Chapter V. Constantine, Grand Duke of Vladimir and Suzdal. 1216-1219
Chapter VI. Grand Duke George II Vsevolodovich. 1219-1224
Chapter VII. The state of Russia from the 11th to the 13th centuries.
Chapter VIII. Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich. 1224-1238
VOLUME IV
Chapter I. Grand Duke Yaroslav II Vsevolodovich. 1238-1247
Chapter II. Grand Dukes Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, Andrei Yaroslavich and Alexander Nevsky (one after the other). 1247-1263
Chapter III. Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich. 1263-1272
Chapter IV. Grand Duke Vasily Yaroslavich. 1272-1276
Chapter V. Grand Duke Dimitri Alexandrovich. 1276-1294
Chapter VI. Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich. 1294 -1304
Chapter VII. Grand Duke Mikhail Yaroslavich. 1304-1319
Chapter VIII. Grand Dukes Georgy Daniilovich, Dimitri and Alexander Mikhailovich. (one after the other). 1319-1328
Chapter IX. Grand Duke John Daniilovich, nicknamed Kalita. 1328-1340
Chapter X. Grand Duke Simeon Ioannovich, nicknamed the Proud. 1340-1353
Chapter XI. Grand Duke John II Ioannovich. 1353-1359
Chapter XII. Grand Duke Dimitri Konstantinovich. 1359-1362
VOLUME V
Chapter I. Grand Duke Dimitri Ioannovich, nicknamed Donskoy. 1363-1389
Chapter II. Grand Duke Vasily Dimitrievich. 1389-1425
Chapter III. Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark. 1425-1462
Chapter IV. The state of Russia from the Tatar invasion to John III.
VOLUME VI
Chapter I. Sovereign, Sovereign Grand Duke John III Vasilyevich. 1462-1472
Chapter II. Continuation of Ioannov's reign. 1472-1477
Chapter III. Continuation of Ioannov's reign. 1475-1481
Chapter IV. Continuation of Ioannov's reign. 1480-1490
Chapter V. Continuation of Ioannov's reign. 1491-1496
Chapter VI. Continuation of Ioannov's reign. 1495-1503
Chapter VII. Continuation of the reign of John. 1503-1505
VOLUME VII
Chapter I. Sovereign Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich. 1505-1509
Chapter II. Continuation of Vasiliev's government. 1510-1521
Chapter III. Continuation of Vasiliev's government. 1521-1534
Chapter IV. State of Russia. 1462-1533
VOLUME VIII
Chapter I. Grand Duke and Tsar John IV Vasilyevich II. 1533-1538
Chapter II. Continuation of the reign of John IV. 1538-1547
Chapter III. Continuation of the reign of John IV. 1546-1552
Chapter IV. Continuation of the reign of John IV. 1552
Chapter V. Continuation of the reign of John IV. 1552-1560
VOLUME IX
Chapter I. Continuation of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. 1560-1564
Chapter II. Continuation of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. 1563-1569
Chapter III. Continuation of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. 1569-1572
Chapter IV. Continuation of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. 1572-1577
Chapter V. Continuation of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. 1577-1582
Chapter VI. The first conquest of Siberia. 1581-1584
Chapter VII. Continuation of the reign of Ivan the Terrible. 1582-1584
VOLUME X
Chapter I. The reign of Theodore Ioannovich. 1584-1587
Chapter II. Continuation of the reign of Theodore Ioannovich. 1587-1592
Chapter III. Continuation of the reign of Theodore Ioannovich. 1591-1598
Chapter IV. The state of Russia at the end of the 16th century.
VOLUME XI
Chapter I. The reign of Boris Godunov. 1598-1604
Chapter II. Continuation of Borisov's reign. 1600 -1605
Chapter III. Reign of Theodore Borisov. 1605
Chapter IV. Reign of False Dmitry. 1605-1606
VOLUME XII
Chapter I. The reign of Vasily Ioannovich Shuisky. 1606-1608
Chapter II. Continuation of Vasiliev's reign. 1607-1609
Chapter III. Continuation of Vasiliev's reign. 1608-1610
Chapter IV. The overthrow of Vasily and the interregnum. 1610-1611
Chapter V. Interregnum. 1611-1612
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"History of Russian Goverment"- a multi-volume work by N. M. Karamzin, describing Russian history from ancient times to the reign of Ivan the Terrible and the Time of Troubles. The work of N. M. Karamzin was not the first description of the history of Russia, but it was this work, thanks to the high literary merits and scientific scrupulousness of the author, that opened the history of Russia to a wide educated public.
Karamzin wrote his “History” until the end of his life, but did not have time to finish it. The text of the manuscript of volume 12 ends at the chapter “Interregnum 1611-1612,” although the author intended to bring the presentation to the beginning of the reign of the House of Romanov.
Work on "History"
One of the most popular writers of his time, nicknamed “Russian Stern”, Karamzin retired from society in 1804 to the Ostafyevo estate, where he devoted himself entirely to writing a work that was supposed to open up national history for Russian society, which represented the past of Ancient Rome and France much more better than your own. His initiative was supported by Emperor Alexander I himself, who, by decree of October 31, 1803, granted him the unprecedented title of Russian historiographer.
The first eight volumes were printed in 1817 and went on sale in February 1818. The huge circulation of three thousand for that time sold out faster than in a month, and a second edition was required, which was carried out in -1819 by I. V. Slenin. In 1821 a new, ninth volume was published, and in 1824 the next two. During his time working in the silence of the archives, Karamzin’s worldview underwent a major shift towards conservatism:
While maintaining the cult of virtue and feeling, he was imbued with patriotism and the cult of the state. He came to the conclusion that in order to be successful, the state must be strong, monarchical and autocratic. His new views were expressed in the note “On Ancient and New Russia,” submitted in 1811 to Alexander’s sister.
The author did not have time to finish the twelfth volume of his work, which was published almost three years after his death. Based on Karamzin's drafts, the twelfth volume was prepared by K. S. Serbinovich and D. N. Bludov. At the beginning of 1829, Bludov published this last volume. Later that year, the second edition of the entire twelve-volume work was published.
The author collected historical facts from ancient chronicles, many of which he introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. For example, it was Karamzin who found and named the Ipatiev Chronicle. Karamzin included numerous details and details in a special volume of notes, so as not to clutter up the coherent text of the story. It was these notes that had the greatest scientific significance.
In the preface to his book, Karamzin describes the importance of history in general, its role in people's lives. He says that Russian history is no less exciting, important and interesting than the world's. The following is a list of sources that helped him recreate the picture of historical events.
In terms of structure and style, the author calls Gibbon’s “History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” one of the revered examples. Just as Gibbon, using the example of all the events described, illustrates the thesis that the decline of morals inevitably leads to the collapse of statehood, Karamzin throughout his work conveys the innermost thought about the benefit of a strong autocratic power for Russia.
In the first volume, Karamzin describes in detail the peoples who lived on the territory of modern Russia, including the origins of the Slavs, their conflict with the Varangians, the attitude of the Greeks towards the tribes inhabiting the territory of future Rus'. Then he talks about the origin of the first princes of Rus', their rule in line with the Norman theory. In subsequent volumes, the author describes in detail all the important events of Russian history up to 1612.
In his work, he acted more as a writer than a historian - while describing historical facts, he cared about creating a new noble language for conducting historical storytelling. For example, describing the first centuries of Rus', Karamzin said:
Great nations, like great men, have their infancy and should not be ashamed of it: our fatherland, weak, divided into small regions until 862, according to Nestor’s calendar, owes its greatness to the happy introduction of Monarchical power.
Monotonously rounded rhythmic cadences create a sense of continuity, but not complexity of the story. Contemporaries loved this style. Some of the few critics did not like his pomposity and sentimentality, but on the whole the entire era was fascinated by him and recognized him as the greatest achievement of Russian prose.
D. Mirsky
Meaning
The publication of the first volumes of History had a stunning effect on contemporaries. Pushkin's generation read his work avidly, discovering unknown pages of the past. Writers and poets developed the stories they remembered into works of art. For example, Pushkin drew material from “History” for his tragedy “Boris Godunov,” which he dedicated to the memory of the historiographer. Later, Herzen assessed the significance of Karamzin’s life’s work as follows:
Karamzin’s great creation, the monument he erected for posterity, is twelve volumes of Russian history. His story, on which he conscientiously worked for half his life... greatly contributed to the conversion of minds to the study of the fatherland.
Notes
Literature
- Eidelman N. Ya. The Last Chronicler. - M.: Book, 1983. - 176 p. - 200,000 copies.(region)
- Kozlov V. P.“History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin in the assessments of his contemporaries / Rep. ed. Dr. History Sciences V.I. Buganov. Academy of Sciences of the USSR. - M.: Nauka, 1989. - 224 p. - (Pages of the history of our Motherland). - 30,000 copies. - ISBN 5-02-009482-X
- Polevoy N.A. Review of “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin // Collection of materials on the history of historical science in the USSR (late XVIII - first third of the XIX century): Textbook. manual for universities / Comp. A. E. Shiklo; Ed. I. D. Kovalchenko. - M.: Higher School, 1990. - P. 153-170. - 288 p. - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-06-001608-0*in translation)
Links
- Karamzin N. M. History of Russian Goverment: at 12 and t.- St. Petersburg. , 1803−1826; ; ; .
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"The History of Karamzin" is one of the greatest monuments of Russian national culture.
The first volume of "History of the Russian State" includes 10 chapters: I - About the peoples who lived in Russia since ancient times, II - About the Slavs and other peoples, III - About the physical and moral character of the ancient Slavs, IV - Rurik, Sineus and Truvor, V - Oleg the Ruler, VI - Prince Igor, VII - Prince Svyatoslav, VIII - Grand Duke Yaropolk, IX - Grand Duke Vladimir, X - On the state of Ancient Rus'. The first volume of this set contains comments, an index of names, an index of geographical and ethnic names, an index of literary and documentary sources, church holidays and events, and a list of abbreviations used in indexes.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin
"History of Russian Goverment"
Volume I
Preface
History, in a sense, is the sacred book of peoples: the main, necessary; a mirror of their existence and activity; the tablet of revelations and rules; the covenant of ancestors to posterity; addition, explanation of the present and example of the future.
Rulers and Legislators act according to the instructions of History and look at its pages like sailors at drawings of the seas. Human wisdom needs experience, and life is short-lived. One must know how from time immemorial rebellious passions agitated civil society and in what ways the beneficial power of the mind curbed their stormy desire to establish order, harmonize the benefits of people and give them the happiness possible on earth.
But an ordinary citizen should also read History. She reconciles him with the imperfection of the visible order of things, as with an ordinary phenomenon in all centuries; consoles in state disasters, testifying that similar ones have happened before, even worse ones have happened, and the State was not destroyed; it nourishes a moral feeling and with its righteous judgment disposes the soul towards justice, which affirms our good and the harmony of society.
Here is the benefit: how much pleasure for the heart and mind! Curiosity is akin to man, both the enlightened and the wild. At the glorious Olympic Games, the noise fell silent, and the crowds remained silent around Herodotus, reading the legends of the centuries. Even without knowing the use of letters, peoples already love History: the old man points the young man to a high grave and tells about the deeds of the Hero lying in it. The first experiments of our ancestors in the art of literacy were devoted to Faith and Scripture; Darkened by a thick shadow of ignorance, the people greedily listened to the tales of the Chroniclers. And I like fiction; but for complete pleasure one must deceive oneself and think that they are the truth. History, opening the tombs, raising the dead, putting life into their hearts and words into their mouths, re-creating Kingdoms from corruption and imagining a series of centuries with their distinct passions, morals, deeds, expands the boundaries of our own existence; by its creative power we live with people of all times, we see and hear them, we love and hate them; Without even thinking about the benefits, we already enjoy the contemplation of diverse cases and characters that occupy the mind or nourish sensitivity.
If any History, even unskillfully written, is pleasant, as Pliny says: how much more domestic. The true Cosmopolitan is a metaphysical being or such an extraordinary phenomenon that there is no need to talk about him, neither to praise nor to condemn him. We are all citizens, in Europe and in India, in Mexico and in Abyssinia; Everyone’s personality is closely connected with the fatherland: we love it because we love ourselves. Let the Greeks and Romans captivate the imagination: they belong to the family of the human race and are not strangers to us in their virtues and weaknesses, glory and disasters; but the name Russian has a special charm for us: my heart beats even stronger for Pozharsky than for Themistocles or Scipio. World History decorates the world for the mind with great memories, and Russian History decorates the fatherland where we live and feel. How attractive are the banks of the Volkhov, Dnieper, and Don, when we know what happened on them in ancient times! Not only Novgorod, Kyiv, Vladimir, but also the huts of Yelets, Kozelsk, Galich become curious monuments and silent objects - eloquent. The shadows of past centuries paint pictures before us everywhere.
In addition to the special dignity for us, the sons of Russia, its chronicles have something in common. Let us look at the space of this only Power: thought becomes numb; Rome in its greatness could never equal her, dominating from the Tiber to the Caucasus, the Elbe and the African sands. Isn’t it amazing how lands separated by eternal barriers of nature, immeasurable deserts and impenetrable forests, cold and hot climates, like Astrakhan and Lapland, Siberia and Bessarabia, could form one Power with Moscow? Is the mixture of its inhabitants less wonderful, diverse, diverse and so distant from each other in degrees of education? Like America, Russia has its Wild Ones; like other European countries it shows the fruits of long-term civic life. You don’t need to be Russian: you just need to think in order to read with curiosity the traditions of the people who, with courage and courage, gained dominance over a ninth part of the world, discovered countries hitherto unknown to anyone, bringing them into the general system of Geography and History, and enlightened them with the Divine Faith, without violence , without the atrocities used by other zealots of Christianity in Europe and America, but only an example of the best.
We agree that the acts described by Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy are more interesting for anyone who is not Russian, representing more spiritual strength and a lively play of passions: for Greece and Rome were people's Powers and more enlightened than Russia; however, we can safely say that some cases, pictures, characters of our History are no less curious than the ancients. These are the essence of the exploits of Svyatoslav, the thunderstorm of Batu, the uprising of the Russians at Donskoy, the fall of Novagorod, the capture of Kazan, the triumph of national virtues during the Interregnum. Giants of the twilight, Oleg and son Igor; the simple-hearted knight, the blind Vasilko; friend of the fatherland, benevolent Monomakh; Mstislavs Brave, terrible in battle and an example of kindness in the world; Mikhail Tversky, so famous for his magnanimous death, the ill-fated, truly courageous, Alexander Nevsky; The young hero, the conqueror of Mamaev, in the lightest outline, has a strong effect on the imagination and heart. The reign of John III alone is a rare treasure for history: at least I don’t know a monarch more worthy to live and shine in its sanctuary. The rays of his glory fall on the cradle of Peter - and between these two Autocrats the amazing John IV, Godunov, worthy of his happiness and misfortune, the strange False Dmitry, and behind the host of valiant Patriots, Boyars and citizens, the mentor of the throne, High Hierarch Philaret with the Sovereign Son, a light-bearer in the darkness our state disasters, and Tsar Alexy, the wise father of the Emperor, whom Europe called Great. Either all of New History should remain silent, or Russian History should have the right to attention.
I know that the battles of our specific civil strife, rattling incessantly in the space of five centuries, are of little importance to the mind; that this subject is neither rich in thoughts for the Pragmatist, nor in beauty for the painter; but History is not a novel, and the world is not a garden where everything should be pleasant: it depicts the real world. We see majestic mountains and waterfalls, flowering meadows and valleys on earth; but how many barren sands and dull steppes! However, travel is generally kind to a person with a lively feeling and imagination; In the very deserts there are beautiful species.
Let us not be superstitious in our lofty concept of the Scriptures of Antiquity. If we exclude fictitious speeches from the immortal creation of Thucydides, what remains? A naked story about the civil strife of the Greek cities: crowds commit villainy, are slaughtered for the honor of Athens or Sparta, just as we have for the honor of Monomakhov or Oleg’s house. There is not much difference if we forget that these half-tigers spoke in the language of Homer, had Sophocles' Tragedies and statues of Phidias. Does the thoughtful painter Tacitus always present to us the great, the striking? We look with tenderness at Agrippina, carrying the ashes of Germanicus; with pity for the bones and armor of Varov's Legion scattered in the forest; with horror at the bloody feast of the frantic Romans, illuminated by the flames of the Capitol; with disgust at the monster of tyranny devouring the remnants of Republican virtues in the capital of the world: but the boring litigation of cities about the right to have a priest in this or that temple and the dry Obituary of Roman officials take up many pages in Tacitus. He envied Titus Livy for the wealth of the subject; and Livy, smooth and eloquent, sometimes fills entire books with news of conflicts and robberies, which are hardly more important than the Polovtsian raids. - In a word, reading all the Stories requires some patience, which is more or less rewarded with pleasure.
In the second and main period of his literary activity, Karamzin devoted himself entirely to working on history and his merit as a historian is very significant. “The History of the Russian State” is a huge work on which Karamzin worked intensively and conscientiously for many years. At that time there were no ready-made materials that a historian can use in our time; there were no manuals on the history of art, icon painting, ethnography and other similar sciences that make the work of a historian easier. Karamzin had to work hard, looking for various historical materials, collating and checking historical documents. For his history, he used all the surviving ancient chronicles, all historical works written before him.
Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin. Portrait by Tropinin
We know about the historical works that existed at that time, such as “Russian History” by Tatishchev, the history of Prince Shcherbatov, and the studies of German historians Schlozer and Miller, but all these works were one-sided and did not cover the whole of Russian history.
Karamzin. History of Russian Goverment. Audiobook. Part 1
In addition, before Karamzin, the reading public was not interested in their native antiquity and did not know Russian history. Karamzin managed to awaken interest in history, in the past of Russia. “The History of the Russian State” was a huge success and became known to wide circles of Russian society, thanks to the fact that Karamzin was able to give his history artistic forms; This is not a dry presentation of historical events, but a living story, decorated with descriptions. The story is easy to read, despite the smooth, periodic, slightly solemn language in which it is written. Karamzin deliberately wrote in this elevated, solemn tone, which, in his opinion, was suitable for the presentation of history and was very different from the tone and language in which “Letters” and “Poor Liza” were written. In textbooks on the theory of literature, Karamzin’s language in his “History” is usually cited as an example of smooth periodic speech. Here is an example of such a period, and at the same time an example of an artistic description from the history of Karamzin; describes the moment before the start of the Battle of Kulikovo:
Standing on a high hill and seeing the slender, boundless ranks of the army, countless banners fluttering in the light wind, the shine of weapons and armor illuminated by the bright “autumn sun; hearing everyone's loud exclamations: “God! grant victory to our sovereign!” and imagining that many thousands of these good knights would fall in a few hours, like zealous victims of love for the fatherland, Demetrius bowed his knees in tenderness and, stretching out his hands to the golden image of the Savior, shining in the distance on the black banner of the Grand Duke, prayed for the last time for the Christians and Russia, mounted a horse, rode around all the regiments and spoke to everyone, calling the soldiers his faithful comrades, dear brothers, confirming their courage and promising each of them a glorious memory in the world, with a martyr's crown behind the grave.
Karamzin’s language in “History” is unusually pure; he avoids the use of foreign words and expressions. In describing individual historical figures, he uses the technique of folk poetry, often using epithets that characterize these persons: “brave prince”, “prudent adviser”, “arrogant enemy”. Sometimes in these repeated epithets the sentimentalism of the first period of Karamzin’s work is visible: “good Russians”, “sweet tears of joy”, “tender sensitivity”. Despite these not always successful and sometimes stereotypical epithets, Karamzin gives vivid, living characteristics of some outstanding historical figures, such as Ivan III, his favorite hero, Ivan the Terrible, Saint Metropolitan Philip, Boris Godunov, Vasily Shuisky.
In his “History” Karamzin mainly talks about the development of state life in Russia, is interested in its political development and has little to do with the life and way of life of the Russian people. No wonder Karamzin called his work “History States Russian." Subsequently, the famous historian Soloviev very successfully called Karamzin’s “History” “a majestic poem glorifying the state.” Some critics reproached Karamzin for such one-sidedness of his story. The first to pay attention to this is the historian N. Polevoy, wrote, in opposition to Karamzin, “The History of the Russian people”, but this work is far from having the value of Karamzin’s “History”, based on a huge historical work. Very valuable, for example, are the notes to Karamzin’s “History”, which occupy almost half of the entire work; From these notes we see what a colossal amount of work the author did, checking and collating various historical documents - how large the bibliography he used for his work.
Karamzin’s entire “History” is imbued with an ardent patriotic and national spirit, imbued with the idea of monarchism.
Karamzin divides the history of Russia, leading up to the accession of the Romanov dynasty, into three periods; in the first period, before Yaroslav the Wise, Karamzin sees the growth of the state in autocracy; in the second, appanage period, the fragmentation of the land and the division of power lead to a weakening of the state, which therefore falls under the Tatar yoke. In the third, Moscow period, autocracy triumphs again. Rus' “gathers” around Moscow, strengthens and its strength grows. Ivan III, as the “gatherer of Rus',” is Karamzin’s favorite hero. Even in the historical “Note” submitted to Tsar Alexander I, Karamzin expressed his admiration for Ivan III, placing his merits above those of Peter the Great.
Karamzin’s “History” is imbued with a deeply religious spirit. In the course of historical events, Karamzin always sees Providence, the will of God. For him, the moral victory of good over evil is clear; he gives a moral assessment not only to historical events, but also to individual people. Admiring Dmitry Donskoy, he at the same time condemns him for deceiving the prince. Mikhail Tverskoy, lured him to Moscow and captured him. He also condemns the first “collector” of Rus', Ivan Kalita, for the struggle and intrigues in the Horde against the prince. Alexander Tverskoy. “The court of history does not excuse even the happiest crime,” says Karamzin. Karamzin gives a religious and moral assessment of the entire history and fate of Tsar Boris. Considering him the murderer of Tsarevich Dmitry, Karamzin sees the obvious punishment of God in all the misfortunes of Boris’s reign. An assessment of the historical events of this period, the vivid characteristics of Tsar Boris, Vasily Shuisky, False Dmitry - undoubtedly influenced Pushkin when creating his drama “Boris Godunov”.
As already mentioned, Karamzin’s “History” was a huge success and was distributed throughout Russia. After the first delight, the voices of critics of different directions began to be heard. Liberals reproached Karamzin for conservatism; There were also conservatives who, on the contrary, saw a liberal in Karamzin...
In Russian literature, “The History of the Russian State,” among other historical works, occupies a prominent place and is of great value. Karamzin's main merits lie in a historically correct and deeply moral assessment of events, ardent love for his homeland and artistry of presentation. These advantages far outweigh some of the History's shortcomings.
Karamzin, Nikolai Mikhailovich - famous Russian writer, journalist and historian. Born on December 1, 1766 in Simbirsk province; grew up in the village of his father, a Simbirsk landowner. The first spiritual food of the 8-9 year old boy was ancient novels, which developed his natural sensitivity. Even then, like the hero of one of his stories, “he loved to be sad, not knowing what,” and “could play with his imagination for two hours and build castles in the air.” In the 14th year, Karamzin was brought to Moscow and sent to the boarding school of the Moscow professor Schaden; He also visited the university, where one could then learn “if not science, then Russian literacy.” He owed Schaden a practical acquaintance with the German and French languages. After finishing classes with Schaden, Karamzin hesitated for some time in choosing an activity. In 1783, he tried to enlist in military service, where he was enrolled while still a minor, but then he retired and in 1784 became interested in secular successes in the society of the city of Simbirsk. At the end of the same year, Karamzin returned to Moscow and through his fellow countryman, I.P. Turgenev, gets closer to Novikov’s circle. Here, according to Dmitriev, “Karamzin’s education began, not only as an author, but also as a moral one.” The influence of the circle lasted 4 years (1785 - 88). The serious work on oneself that Freemasonry required, and with which Karamzin’s closest friend, Petrov, was so absorbed, was, however, not noticeable in Karamzin. From May 1789 to September 1790, he traveled around Germany, Switzerland, France and England, stopping mainly in large cities such as Berlin, Leipzig, Geneva, Paris, London. Returning to Moscow, Karamzin began publishing the Moscow Journal (see below), where Letters of a Russian Traveler appeared. "Moscow Journal" ceased in 1792, perhaps not without connection with the imprisonment of Novikov in the fortress and the persecution of the Masons. Although Karamzin, when starting the Moscow Journal, formally excluded “theological and mystical” articles from its program, after Novikov’s arrest (and before the final verdict) he published a rather bold ode: “To mercy” (“As long as a citizen can calmly, without fear fall asleep, and let all those under your control freely direct their lives according to their thoughts;...as long as you give everyone freedom and do not darken the light in their minds; as long as your trust in the people is visible in all your deeds: until then you will be sacredly honored... nothing can disturb the peace of your power") and barely did not come under investigation on suspicion that the Masons sent him abroad. Karamzin spent most of 1793 - 1795 in the village and prepared two collections here called "Aglaya", published in the fall of 1793 and 1794. In 1795, Karamzin limited himself to compiling a “mixture” in the Moskovskiye Vedomosti. “Having lost the desire to walk under black clouds,” he set out into the world and led a rather absent-minded life. In 1796, he published a collection of poems by Russian poets, entitled "Aonids". A year later, the second book “Aonid” appeared; then Karamzin decided to publish something like an anthology on foreign literature (“Pantheon of Foreign Literature”). By the end of 1798, Karamzin barely got his Pantheon through the censorship, which forbade the publication of Demosthenes, Cicero, Sallust, etc., because they were republicans. Even a simple reprint of Karamzin’s old works encountered difficulties from the censorship. Thirty-year-old Karamzin apologizes to his readers for the fervor of the feelings of a “young, inexperienced Russian traveler” and writes to one of his friends: “there is a time for everything, and scenes change. When the flowers in the Paphos meadows lose their freshness for us, we stop flying like marshmallows and shut ourselves up in a philosophical study dreams... Thus, soon my poor muse will either go into complete retirement, or... she will translate Kant’s metaphysics and Plato’s Republic into poetry.” Metaphysics, however, was as alien to Karamzin’s mental makeup as mysticism. From the messages to Aglaya and Chloe, he moved not to philosophy, but to historical studies. In the Moscow Journal, Karamzin won the sympathy of the public as a writer; Now in the "Bulletin of Europe" (1802 - 03) he appears in the role of a publicist. The “Historical eulogy to Empress Catherine II”, compiled by Karamzin in the first months of the reign of Emperor Alexander I, also has a primarily journalistic character. During the publication of the magazine, Karamzin became more and more interested in historical articles. He receives, through Comrade Minister of Public Education M.N. Muravyov, the title of historiographer and 2000 rubles of an annual pension, in order to write a complete history of Russia (October 31, 1803). Since 1804, having stopped publishing the "Bulletin of Europe", Karamzin plunged exclusively into compiling history. In 1816, he published the first 8 volumes of the “History of the Russian State” (their second edition was published in 1818-19), in 1821 - the 9th volume, in 1824 - the 10th and 11th. In 1826, Karamzin died before finishing the 12th volume, which was published by D.N. Bludov on papers left behind by the deceased. During all these 22 years, compiling history was Karamzin's main occupation; He left it to his literary friends to defend and continue the work he had begun in literature. Before the publication of the first 8 volumes, Karamzin lived in Moscow, from where he traveled only to Tver to see Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna (through her he gave the sovereign his note “On Ancient and New Russia” in 1810) and to Nizhny, during the occupation of Moscow by the French. He usually spent the summer in Ostafyevo, the estate of Prince Andrei Ivanovich Vyazemsky, whose daughter, Ekaterina Andreevna, Karamzin married in 1804 (Karamzin’s first wife, Elizaveta Ivanovna Protasova, died in 1802). Karamzin spent the last 10 years of his life in St. Petersburg and became close to the royal family, although Emperor Alexander I, who did not like criticism of his actions, treated Karamzin with restraint since the submission of the “Note”, in which the historiographer turned out to be plus royaliste que le roi. In Tsarskoe Selo, where Karamzin spent the summer at the request of the empresses (Maria Feodorovna and Elizaveta Alekseevna), he more than once had frank political conversations with Emperor Alexander, passionately rebelled against the sovereign’s intentions regarding Poland, “did not remain silent about taxes in peacetime, about the absurd provincial system of finance, about formidable military settlements, about the strange choice of some of the most important dignitaries, about the Ministry of Education or Eclipse, about the need to reduce the army fighting only Russia, about the imaginary repair of roads, so painful for the people, finally, about the need to have firm laws, civil and state ones." On the last question, the sovereign answered, as he could have answered Speransky, that he would “give fundamental laws to Russia,” but in fact this opinion of Karamzin, like other advice from the opponent of the “liberals” and “servilists,” Speransky and Arakcheev, “remained fruitless for dear fatherland." The death of Emperor Alexander shocked Karamzin's health; half ill, he visited the palace every day to talk with Empress Maria Feodorovna, moving from memories of the late sovereign to discussions about the tasks of the future reign. In the first months of 1826, Karamzin suffered from pneumonia and decided, on the advice of doctors, to go to Southern France and Italy in the spring, for which Emperor Nicholas gave him money and put a frigate at his disposal. But Karamzin was already too weak to travel and died on May 22, 1826.