Alexey Pleshcheev was a radical Russian poet. He is widely known for his numerous translations from English and French, as well as wonderful poems for children. Many works by this author were set to music by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and became quite popular. But when was Pleshcheev born and died? What interesting events happened in his life? And how did he achieve his popularity?

Childhood and training

In Kostroma, on November 22, 1825, little Alexey was born, who would later become not only a Russian writer and poet, but also a famous translator. He was born into a noble family, unfortunately impoverished, and belonged to a very ancient family. Among the ancestors of Alexei Nikolaevich was even Moskovsky. Due to the fact that there were several writers in the family, these traditions were always especially revered.

The boy lost his father early, and his mother, Elena Alexandrovna, was mainly involved in his upbringing. Alexey Nikolaevich received an excellent education at home, and only then, at the insistence of his mother, began training at the school of guard warrant officers in St. Petersburg. Alexey Pleshcheev very quickly lost interest in military service and in 1843 left school in order to begin studying oriental languages at the University of St. Petersburg.

New acquaintances and first steps in creativity

What did Alexey Nikolaevich do during his years of study as a poet, from that moment on he was associated with very interesting personalities. These are Andrei Aleksandrovich Kraevsky, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Pletnev, the Maikovs, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Saltykov-Shchedrin and others.

And Alexei Nikolaevich sent his very first poems for reading to Pletnev, who was not only the rector of the university, but also the publisher of Sovremennik. And Pyotr Alexandrovich spoke very warmly about the work of the aspiring poet.

Interest in political circles

In 1845, Alexey Pleshcheev became interested in the ideas of the socialists and met members of the circle, who were called Petrashevites. They dealt with poetry and issues of its development in Russia. Alexey Nikolaevich not only took part in such meetings, but also began to write propaganda poems, and also often brought prohibited manuscripts.

Then he begins to translate a book by the ideologist Felicite-Robert de Lamennais, which the circle members planned to subsequently print in their underground printing house. So Pleshcheev Alexey Nikolaevich, whose biography became very closely connected with the activities of this political circle, spent his years of study at the university.

The first collection of works, or the poet-fighter

Unfortunately, in 1845, Alexey Nikolaevich was forced to interrupt his education due to insufficient material security. And the learning process itself did not suit him. But he decided to prepare and pass exams externally in order to complete his studies at the university. Despite the fact that he left the university, he did not lose connections with members of the circle, or Petrashevites. Often they even gathered at his home.

The first collection of Pleshcheev’s poems was published in 1846. There were works such as “At the Call of Friends,” “Forward! Without fear and doubt...” and “We are brothers according to feelings.” They were extremely popular, and the last two verses even became anthems for youth. Many contemporaries began to treat Alexei as a poet-fighter. And this is one of the main interesting facts, which his biography tells about. Alexey Pleshcheev became, in fact, the first poet to react to the events taking place in France. It was for this that the Petrashevites respected him, who tried to implement revolutionary ideas in Russia.

Consequences of participation in the Petrashevites circle

Of course, most readers are interested in when Pleshcheev was born and died, but how many know other facts from his biography? For example, the fact that this wonderful poet and prose writer, like many of his contemporaries, also went into exile. For a long time, Alexey Nikolaevich organized meetings of Petrashevites at his home. And in 1849, the police intercepted a copy of Belinsky’s letter, which Pleshcheev sent to Fyodor Dostoevsky.

And already on April 8, Alexei Nikolaevich was arrested on the denunciation of a provocateur. He was sent under escort to St. Petersburg and put in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he spent eight months. At this time, 21 of those convicted were sentenced to death. Among them was Alesey Nikolaevich. But this is not the end of his biography. Alexey Pleshcheev and other convicts were taken to the place of execution, Semenovsky parade ground. Here they were read the decree of Nicholas the First, in which execution was replaced by various terms of exile.

Years of exile, or Brief biography. Poems by Alexey Pleshcheev during this period

Pleshcheev was enlisted as a private in a prison company, and in 1850 he arrived in Uralsk. Here he spent eight long years, serving for seven of them. At first, Alexey Nikolaevich endured his stay in the service very hard. First of all, because of the negative attitude of the officers. He was not given vacations, and he could temporarily forget about creative activity altogether.

Much changed after Alexey Nikolaevich met his mother’s old acquaintance, Count Perovsky, who was the governor general. He began to patronize Pleshcheev. Alexey Nikolaevich not only gained access to literature, but also became acquainted with interesting people- the family of Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Desiderievich Dandeville, with some exiles from Poland, Taras Shevchenko and the poet Mikhail Mikhailov.

Did Alexey Pleshcheev write any works at this time? A short biography, covering the period of exile, contains information about some of the poems that he dedicated to Dandeville and his wife. Stories were also written. When Alexey Ivanovich transferred to the civil service, he sent many of his works to St. Petersburg, where they were published in the Russian Messenger.

Renewal of creativity and cooperation with publications

In 1857, Alexei married Elikonida Rudneva, and in May of the following year he went with her to St. Petersburg during a four-month vacation. Then they return to Orenburg for a short time. And here you can answer the question of many readers, when was Alexander Alekseevich Pleshcheev born. The boy was born in 1858. He would later become a famous journalist and theater critic.

In August 1859, the Pleshcheev family finally settled in Moscow. Here Alexey Nikolaevich completely devotes himself to creativity. Now he writes not only poetry, but also short stories, as well as several novellas. These are “Inheritance”, “Father and Daughter”, “Budnev” and others.

Alexey Nikolaevich actively collaborates not only with Sovremennik, he also becomes a shareholder in the famous newspaper Moskovsky Vestnik. In his Moscow house, he often organizes musical and literary evenings. On them one could see Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, actors of the Maly Theater, as well as Turgenev, Tolstoy and Nekrasov.

Continuation of political activity

Pleshcheev Alexey Nikolaevich, whose biography is still connected with political activity, continues to devote his works to civil and social problems. One of the main motives in his poems is revolutionary feat. He was very worried about the event that occurred in 1861 (at that time mass arrests of students were made). He even collected cash for the benefit of the victims.

The secret police continued their surveillance of Alexei Nikolaevich Pleshcheev. He was still suspected of spreading political ideas that were contrary to the views of the government. Although there were grounds for these suspicions, no explicit charges were brought.

The period of disappointments, or the meager income of a writer

Since his writing career brings in very little income, on which it is almost impossible to feed his family, Alexey Nikolaevich joins the service and becomes an auditor. Which, of course, depresses him to no end. At the end of the 1960s. a bad mood became especially noticeable in his works. The reason for this was not only the numerous arrests of Alexei Nikolaevich’s friends, but also the death of some. And another hardest blow for the poet during this period was the death of his wife, who died on December 3, 1864.

In 1868, Nekrasov became the head of Otechestvennye Zapiski and invited Alexei Nikolaevich to the post of editorial secretary. Pleshcheev moved to St. Petersburg and immediately fell into a circle of like-minded people. The poet continued to work in Otechestvennye zapiski until 1884, and after the death of Nekrasov he became a leader. During this period, Alexey Nikolaevich helps many aspiring writers, and even saves Ivan Surikov from suicide by arranging his first publication.

The last days of Alexei Nikolaevich and his poems

Of course, many readers are only interested in the question of when Pleshcheev was born and died, but to know creative path and the biography of any Russian writer is as important as his dates of death and birth. As for the creative activity of Alexei Nikolaevich, after moving to St. Petersburg, he wrote without stopping almost until his death. He mainly translated poetry from French and English. It was here that his main skill as a poet manifested itself.

It should be noted that in the last period of Pleshcheev’s life, children’s poetry began to occupy a special place. And many critics noted that these particular works were filled with a special desire for life. Some poems even found their way into textbook collections and became popular among readers. younger age who not only love this poet, but also know his biography, as well as when Pleshcheev was born and died.

More than a hundred romances and songs

More than a hundred songs and wonderful romances were written by contemporaries and composers of other generations based on the poems of Alexei Nikolaevich. Pleshcheev’s work aroused great interest in Pyotr Tchaikovsky, with whom Alexey Nikolaevich met long ago and maintained a very warm relationship all his life. And it doesn’t matter what year Pleshcheev was born and died, the main thing is that his work became a huge contribution to Russian literature.

And when in 1893, on September 26, this wonderful poet and prose writer passed away, many contemporaries felt an irreparable loss. On October 6, when Pleshcheev’s funeral took place, a huge number of people gathered at the ceremony. Among them were young writers who more than once turned to this wonderful man for help.

Alexey Nikolaevich Pleshcheev (1825 - 1893) - Russian poet, writer, translator, critic. Pleshcheev's works were included in the anthology of Russian poetry, prose, and children's literature and became the basis for about a hundred romances by Russian composers.

Childhood and youth

Alexey Pleshcheev came from a noble family, which by the time the future poet was born in 1825 was impoverished. The boy, being the only son of his parents, was born in Kostroma and spent his childhood in Nizhny Novgorod. He received his primary education at home and knew three languages.

In 1843, Pleshcheev entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St. Petersburg University. In St. Petersburg, his social circle is developing: Dostoevsky, Goncharov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, the Maykov brothers. By 1845, Pleshcheev became acquainted with the circle of Petrashevites professing the ideas of socialism.

The poet's first collection of poems was published in 1846 and was imbued with revolutionary aspirations. The verse “Forward!” published in it. Without fear or doubt” the youth perceived it as “Russian Marseillaise”. Pleshcheev's poems of the early period are the first Russian response to the events of the French Revolution, some of them were banned by censorship until the beginning of the twentieth century.

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The Petrashevsky circle, of which Pleshcheev was an active participant, was closed by the police in the spring of 1849. Pleshcheev and other members of the circle were imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The result of the investigation was a death sentence for 21 of the 23 prisoners, involving execution.

On December 22, a mock execution took place, at the last moment of which the imperial decree on pardon and exile of the convicted was read out. Pleshcheev was sent as a private to the Southern Urals, near Orenburg. The poet's military service lasted 7 years; during the first years he wrote practically nothing.

For the courage shown during the Turkestan campaigns and the siege of Ak-Mosque, Pleshcheev was promoted to rank and retired. In 1859 he returned to Moscow, and from 1872 he lived in St. Petersburg.

Creativity after exile

The poet's second collection of poems was published in 1858 with Heine's prefaced words, “I was unable to sing...”. Upon returning to Moscow, Pleshcheev actively collaborated with the Sovremennik magazine and published poems in various publications in Moscow. The turn to prose dates back to this time. The stories were created (“Inheritance”, “Father and Daughter”, “Pashintsev”, “Two Careers”, etc.).

In 1859-66. Pleshcheev joined the group of leaders of Moskovsky Vestnik, directing it towards liberalism. Many critics considered Pleshcheev’s publication of the works and autobiography of T. Shevchenko, whom the poet met in exile, to be a bold political act. Poetic creativity was also politicized, for example, the poems “Prayer”, “Honest people, along the thorny road...”, “To Youth”, “False Teachers”, etc.

In the 60s, Pleshcheev fell into a depressive state. His comrades leave, the magazines where he published are closed. The titles of the poems created during this period speak eloquently about the change in the poet’s inner state: “Without hopes and expectations,” “I walked quietly along a deserted street.”

In 1872, Pleshcheev returned to St. Petersburg and headed the journal Otechestvennye zapiski, and then Severny Vestnik. Returning to a circle of like-minded people contributed to a new creative impulse.

In the last years of his life, the poet wrote a lot for children: the collections “Snowdrop”, “Grandfather’s Songs”.

Pleshcheev's pen includes translations of poems and prose by a number of foreign authors. The poet's works in dramaturgy are significant. His plays “The Happy Couple”, “Every Cloud Has a Cloud”, “The Commander” are successfully staged in theaters.

Alexey Pleshcheev died on September 26, 1893 in Paris, while there on his way to Nice for treatment. Buried in Moscow.

Yaroshenko N.A. Portrait of A.N. Pleshcheeva. 1887. Oil on canvas. XXX

PleshcheevAlexey Nikolaevich(11/22/12/04/1825, Kostroma - 09/26/10/08/1893, Paris; buried in Moscow) - writer, critic; member of the circle M.V. Petrashevsky.

Born into an impoverished noble family. Having received a home education, he entered the St. Petersburg School of Guards Ensigns, but, having lost interest in military service, he left school (formally, he resigned “due to illness”). In 1843 he entered the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, majoring in oriental languages. Pleshcheev’s social circle at this time included: the rector of the university and the publisher of the Sovremennik magazine P.A. Pletnev, A.A. Kraevsky, Maikov brothers, F.M. Dostoevsky, I.A. Goncharov, D.V. Grigorovich, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. He sent the first selection of his poems to Pletnev, who, in a letter to Y.K. Grotu wrote: “Have you seen in Sovremennik poems with signature A. P-v? I found out that this is our 1st year student, Pleshcheev. His talent is visible. I called him to me and caressed him.” Due to illness, lack of funds, as well as dissatisfaction with the teaching system, Pleshcheev left the University in 1845, devoting himself exclusively to literary activity as a poet, then as a prose writer.

A.N. Pleshcheev began publishing in magazines in 1843. In 1846 he published the collection “Poems”. In the works of Pleshcheev in the 1840s. there is the influence of M.Yu. Lermontov. In the spirit of the social-utopian views of Charles Fourier and F. Lamennais, he developed the theme of Lermontov’s “Prophet” in the poems “The Love of a Singer” (1845), “To the Poet” (1846), and “Dream” (1846). Poems “Forward! without fear and doubt”, “We feel like brothers, you and I” became revolutionary songs. V.N. Maikov in a review of the first collection of poems by A.N. Pleshcheyeva wrote about the poet’s faith in “the triumph on earth of truth, love and brotherhood.”

In 1872–1884 A.N. Pleshcheev lived in St. Petersburg. At the invitation of N.A. Nekrasov was a member of the editorial board of Otechestvennye zapiski, and after his death he was in charge of the poetry department of this magazine. After the closure of Otechestvennye Zapiski, Pleshcheev contributed to the creation of the journal Severny Vestnik, where he worked until 1890, also heading the poetry department. A deep friendship connected him with the aspiring A.P. Chekhov, whom A.N. Pleshcheev considered the most promising of the young writers.

In the 1870s–1880s. the poet was mainly engaged in poetic translations from German, French, English and Slavic languages. An important place in the work of A.N. Pleshcheev during the last decade of his life was occupied with children's poetry and literature (the collection “Snowdrop”).

Many works by A.N. Pleshcheev set to music. More than a hundred romances and songs by N.A. were created based on his poems. Rimsky-Korsakov (“The night flew over the world”), P.I. Tchaikovsky (“Not a word, oh my friend...”), M.P. Mussorgsky, Ts.A. Cui, A.T. Grechaninov, S.V. Rachmaninov.

A.N. Pleshcheev died in Paris on September 26, 1893; buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Convent cemetery.

Alexey Nikolaevich Pleshcheev was born in Kostroma on November 22 (December 4), 1825 into an impoverished noble family that belonged to the ancient Pleshcheev family (among the poet’s ancestors was St. Alexy of Moscow). The family honored literary traditions: there were several writers in the Pleshcheev family, including the famous writer S.I. Pleshcheev at the end of the 18th century.

The poet's father, Nikolai Sergeevich, served under the Olonets, Vologda and Arkhangelsk governors. A. N. Pleshcheev spent his childhood in Nizhny Novgorod, where since 1827 his father served as a provincial forester. After the death of Nikolai Sergeevich Pleshcheev in 1832, his mother, Elena Aleksandrovna (née Gorskina), raised her son. Until the age of thirteen, the boy studied at home and received a good education, mastering three languages; then, at the request of his mother, he entered the St. Petersburg School of Guards Ensigns, moving to St. Petersburg. Here the future poet had to face the “stultifying and corrupting” atmosphere of the “Nicholas military clique,” which forever instilled “the most sincere antipathy” in his soul. Having lost interest in military service, Pleshcheev left the school of guards ensigns in 1843 (formally, having resigned “due to illness”) and entered St. Petersburg University in the category of oriental languages. Here Pleshcheev’s circle of acquaintances began to form: university rector P. A. Pletnev, A. A. Kraevsky, Maikovs, F. M. Dostoevsky, I. A. Goncharov, D. V. Grigorovich, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

Gradually, Pleshcheev made acquaintances in literary circles (formed mainly at parties in the house of A. Kraevsky). Pleshcheev sent his very first selection of poems to Pletnev, the rector of St. Petersburg University and the publisher of the Sovremennik magazine. In a letter to J. K. Groth, the latter wrote:

In 1845, A. N. Pleshcheev, carried away by socialist ideas, met through the Beketov brothers with members of the circle of M. V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky, which included writers - F. M. Dostoevsky, N. A. Speshnev, S. F. Durov , A. V. Khanykova. N. Speshnev had a great influence on Pleshcheev during these days, whom the poet later spoke of as a man of “strong will and extremely honest character.”

Petrashevites paid significant attention to political poetry, discussing issues of its development on “Fridays”. It is known that at a dinner in honor of Charles Fourier, a translation of Bérenger’s “Les fous”, a work dedicated to the utopian socialists, was read. Pleshcheev not only took an active part in discussions and the creation of propaganda poems, but also delivered forbidden manuscripts to members of the circle. Together with N.A. Mordvinov, he undertook the translation of the book by the ideologist of utopian socialism F.-R. de Lamennais "The Word of the Believer", which was supposed to be printed in an underground printing house.

In the summer of 1845, Pleshcheev left the university due to his cramped financial situation and dissatisfaction with the educational process itself. After leaving the university, he devoted himself exclusively to literary activities, but did not give up hopes of completing his education, intending to prepare the entire university course and pass it as an external student. At the same time, he did not interrupt contacts with the members of the circle; Petrashevites often met at his house; They perceived Pleshcheev as “a poet-fighter, his own Andre Chenier.”

In 1846, the first collection of the poet’s poems was published, which included the popular poems “At the Call of Friends” (1845), as well as “Forward! without fear and doubt..." (nicknamed the "Russian Marseillaise") and "By feelings, we are brothers"; both poems became anthems of revolutionary youth. The slogans of Pleshcheev’s anthem, which later lost their sharpness, had a very specific content for the poet’s peers and like-minded people: “the teaching of love” was deciphered as the teaching of the French utopian socialists; “valiant feat” meant a call to public service, etc. N. G. Chernyshevsky later called the poem “a wonderful hymn,” N. A. Dobrolyubov characterized it as “a bold call, full of such faith in oneself, faith in people, faith to a better future." Pleshcheyev’s poems had a wide public response: he “began to be perceived as a poet-fighter.”

V. N. Maikov, in a review of Pleshcheev’s first collection of poems, wrote with particular sympathy about the poet’s faith in “the triumph on earth of truth, love and brotherhood,” calling the author “our first poet at the present time”:

Poems and stories by A. Pleshcheev, who during these years was charged with faith in the coming kingdom of “humane cosmopolitanism” (as Maykov put it), were also published in “Notes of the Fatherland” (1847-1849).

Pleshcheev's poetry turned out to be actually the first literary reaction in Russia to the events in France. This is largely why his work was so valued by the Petrashevites, who set as their immediate goal the transfer of revolutionary ideas to domestic soil. Subsequently, Pleshcheev himself wrote in a letter to A.P. Chekhov:

The poem “New Year” (“Clicks are heard - congratulations ...”), published with the “secret” subtitle “Cantata from Italian”, was a direct response to the French Revolution. Written at the end of 1848, it could not deceive the vigilance of the censor and was published only in 1861.

In the second half of the 1840s, Pleshcheev began to publish as a prose writer: his stories “The Raccoon Coat. The story is not without a moral" (1847), "Cigarette. The True Incident" (1848), "Protection. Experienced History" (1848) were noticed by critics, who discovered the influence of N.V. Gogol in them and classified them as a "natural school." During these same years, the poet wrote the stories “Prank” (1848) and “Friendly Advice” (1849); in the second of them, some motifs from the story “White Nights” by F. M. Dostoevsky, dedicated to Pleshcheev, were developed.

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In the winter of 1848-1849, Pleshcheev organized meetings of Petrashevites at his home. They were attended by F. M. Dostoevsky, M. M. Dostoevsky, S. F. Durov, A. I. Palm, N. A. Speshnev, A. P. Milyukov, N. A. Mombelli, N. Ya. Danilevsky (future conservative author of the work “Russia and Europe”), P. I. Lamansky. Pleshcheev belonged to the more moderate part of the Petrashevites. He was left indifferent by the speeches of other radical speakers who replaced the idea of a personal God with “truth in nature,” who rejected the institution of family and marriage and professed republicanism. He was alien to extremes and sought to harmonize his thoughts and feelings. The ardent passion for new socialist beliefs was not accompanied by a decisive renunciation of one’s former faith and only merged the religion of socialism and the Christian teaching about truth and love for one’s neighbor into a single whole. It is not for nothing that he took the words of Lamennay as his epigraph to the poem “Dream”: “The earth is sad and parched, but it will turn green again. The breath of the evil will not forever sweep over her like a scorching breath.” .

In 1849, while in Moscow (house number 44 on 3rd Meshchanskaya Street, now Shchepkina Street), Pleshcheev sent F. M. Dostoevsky a copy of Belinsky’s letter to Gogol. The police intercepted the message. On April 8, following the denunciation of the provocateur P. D. Antonelli, the poet was arrested in Moscow, transported to St. Petersburg in custody and spent eight months in the Peter and Paul Fortress. 21 people (out of 23 convicted) were sentenced to death; Pleshcheev was among them.

On December 22, along with the rest of the convicted Petrashevites, A. Pleshcheev was brought to the Semyonovsky parade ground to a special scaffold for civil execution. A re-enactment followed, which was later described in detail by F. Dostoevsky in the novel “The Idiot,” after which a decree of Emperor Nicholas I was read out, according to which the death penalty was replaced by various terms of exile to hard labor or to prison companies. A. Pleshcheev was first sentenced to four years of hard labor, then transferred as a private to Uralsk to the Separate Orenburg Corps.

On January 6, 1850, Pleshcheev arrived in Uralsk and was enlisted as an ordinary soldier in the 1st Orenburg Line Battalion. On March 25, 1852 he was transferred to Orenburg to the 3rd linear battalion. The poet's stay in the region lasted eight years, seven of which he remained in military service. Pleshcheev recalled that the first years of service were difficult for him, largely due to the hostile attitude of the officers towards him. “At first, his life in the new place of exile was downright terrible,” testified M. Dandeville. He was not given leave, and creative activity was out of the question. The steppes themselves made a painful impression on the poet. “This boundless steppe distance, expanse, callous vegetation, dead silence and loneliness are terrible,” wrote Pleshcheev.

The situation changed for the better after Governor-General Count V.A. Perovsky, an old acquaintance of his mother, began to provide patronage to the poet. Pleshcheev gained access to books, became friends with the family of Lieutenant Colonel (later General) V.D. Dandeville, who was fond of art and literature (to whom he dedicated several poems of those years), with Polish exiles, Taras Shevchenko, one of the creators of literary masks of Kozma Prutkov by A. M. Zhemchuzhnikov and revolutionary poet M. L. Mikhailov.

"Before leaving"
Pleshcheev’s poem of 1853, published with the dedication “L. Z.D.”, was addressed to Lyubov Zakharyevna Dandeville, the wife of Lieutenant Colonel Dandeville.
It's spring again! Long way again!
There is an alarming doubt in my soul;
Involuntary fear squeezes my chest:
Will the dawn of liberation shine?
Does God tell me to rest from grief,
Or the fatal, destructive lead
Will it put an end to all aspirations?
The future does not give an answer...
And I go, obedient to the will of fate
Where does my star lead me?
To a deserted land, under the skies of the East!
And I just pray that I will be remembered
To the few people I loved here...
Oh, believe me, you are the first of them...
The poet sent it to the recipient before leaving for the active army to storm the Ak-Mosque fortress.

In the winter of 1850, in Uralsk, Pleshcheev met Sigismund Serakovsky and his circle; they met later, in Ak-Mosque, where both served. In Serakovsky’s circle, Pleshcheev again found himself in an atmosphere of intense discussion of the same socio-political issues that worried him in St. Petersburg. “One exile supported another. The highest happiness was being in the circle of your comrades. After the drill, friendly discussions often took place. Letters from home and news brought by newspapers were the subject of endless discussion. Not a single one lost courage or hope of returning...”, its member Br. said about the circle. Zalessky. Sierakovsky’s biographer clarified that the circle discussed “issues related to the liberation of peasants and the provision of land to them, as well as the abolition of corporal punishment in the army.”

On March 2, 1853, Pleshcheev, at his own request, was transferred to the 4th linear battalion, which was setting off on a dangerous steppe campaign. He took part in the Turkestan campaigns organized by Perovsky, in particular, in the siege and assault of the Kokand fortress Ak-Mechet). In a letter to an Orenburg friend, Pleshcheev explained this decision by saying that “the goal of the campaign was noble - the protection of the oppressed, and nothing inspires more than a noble goal.” For his bravery, he was promoted to non-commissioned officer, and in May 1856 he received the rank of ensign and with it the opportunity to enter the civilian service. Pleshcheev resigned in December “with renaming to collegiate registrars and with permission to join the civil service, except in the capitals” and joined the Orenburg Border Commission. Here he served until September 1858, after which he moved to the office of the Orenburg civil governor. From the Orenburg region, the poet sent his poems and stories to magazines (mainly Russky Vestnik).

In 1857, Pleshcheev married (the daughter of the caretaker of the Iletsk salt mine, E. A. Rudneva), and in May 1858, he and his wife went to St. Petersburg, receiving a four-month vacation “to both capitals” and the return of the rights of hereditary nobility.

Resumption of literary activity

Already during the years of exile, A. Pleshcheev again resumed his literary activity, although he was forced to write in fits and starts. Pleshcheev’s poems began to be published in 1856 in the “Russian Bulletin” under the characteristic title: “Old songs on new way" Pleshcheev of the 1840s was, according to the remark of M. L. Mikhailov, prone to romanticism; In the poems of the period of exile, romantic tendencies were preserved, but criticism noted that here the inner world of a person who “dedicated himself to the struggle for the people’s happiness” began to be more deeply explored.

In 1857, several more of his poems were published in the Russian Messenger. For researchers of the poet’s work, it remained unclear which of them were truly new and which belonged to the years of exile. It was assumed that G. Heine’s translation of “Life’s Path” (Pleshcheev’s - “And laughter, and songs, and the shine of the sun!..”), published in 1858, is one of the latter. The same line of “loyalty to ideals” was continued by the poem “In the Steppe” (“But let my days pass without joy...”). An expression of the general sentiments of the Orenburg exiled revolutionaries was the poem “After Reading the Newspapers,” the main idea of which is condemnation Crimean War- was in tune with the sentiments of the Polish and Ukrainian exiles.

In 1858, after an almost ten-year break, the second collection of Pleshcheev’s poems was published. The epigraph to it, the words of Heine: “I was not able to sing...”, indirectly indicated that in exile the poet was almost not engaged in creative activity. No poems dated 1849-1851 have survived at all, and Pleshcheev himself admitted in 1853 that he had long “lost the habit of writing.” The main theme of the 1858 collection was “pain for the enslaved homeland and faith in the righteousness of one’s cause,” the spiritual insight of a person who renounces a thoughtless and contemplative attitude to life. The collection opened with the poem “Dedication”, which in many ways echoed the poem “And laughter, and songs, and the shine of the sun!..”. Among those who sympathetically appreciated Pleshcheev’s second collection was N. A. Dobrolyubov. He pointed out the socio-historical conditioning of melancholy intonations by the circumstances of life, which “ugly break the most noble and strong personalities...”. “In this regard, Mr. Pleshcheev’s talent bears the same imprint of the bitter consciousness of his powerlessness before fate, the same flavor of “painful melancholy and joyless thoughts” that followed the ardent, proud dreams of his youth,” the critic wrote.

In August 1859, after a short return to Orenburg, A. N. Pleshcheev settled in Moscow (under the “strictest supervision”) and devoted himself entirely to literature, becoming an active contributor to the Sovremennik magazine. Taking advantage of his Orenburg acquaintance with the poet M. L. Mikhailov, Pleshcheev established contacts with the updated editorial staff of the magazine: with N. A. Nekrasov, N. G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Dobrolyubov. Among the publications where the poet published poems were also “ Russian word"(1859-1864), "Time" (1861-1862), the newspapers "Vek" (1861), "Den" (1861-1862) and "Moskovsky Vestnik" (an editorial position in which he held in 1859-1860) , St. Petersburg publications (“Svetoch”, “Iskra”, “Time”, “Russian Word”).

In the late 1850s, Pleshcheev returned to prose, publishing two largely autobiographical stories: Budnev (1858) and Two Careers (1859). They again revealed the motif of suffering of a “dreamer by nature,” enthusiastic and noble, but giving in to cruel reality. The main target of Pleshcheev’s satire as a prose writer was pseudo-liberal denunciation and romantic epigonism, as well as the principles of “pure art” in literature (the story “Literary Evening”).

On December 19, 1859, the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature elected A. Pleshcheev as a full member.

"Moskovsky Vestnik"

In November 1859, Pleshcheev became a shareholder in the newspaper Moskovsky Vestnik, in which I. S. Turgenev, A. N. Ostrovsky, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, I. I. Lazhechnikov, L. N. Tolstoy and N. G. Chernyshevsky. Pleshcheev energetically invited Nekrasov and Dobrolyubov to participate and fought to shift the political orientation of the newspaper sharply to the left. He defined the publication’s mission as follows: “All nepotism aside. We must beat the serf owners under the guise of liberals.”

The publication in the Moskovsky Vestnik of T. G. Shevchenko’s “Dream” translated by Pleshcheev (published under the title “The Reaper”), as well as the poet’s autobiography, was regarded by many (in particular, Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov) as a bold political act. Moskovsky Vestnik, under the leadership of Pleshcheev, became a political newspaper that supported the positions of Sovremennik. In turn, Sovremennik, in “Notes of a New Poet” (I. I. Panaeva), positively assessed the direction of Pleshcheev’s newspaper, directly recommending its reader to pay attention to translations from Shevchenko.

1860s

Collaboration with Sovremennik continued until its closure in 1866. The poet has repeatedly declared his unconditional sympathy for the program of Nekrasov’s magazine and the articles of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov. “I have never worked so hard and with such love as at that time when all my literary activity was devoted exclusively to the magazine headed by Nikolai Gavrilovich and whose ideals were and will forever remain my ideals,” the poet later recalled.

In Moscow, Nekrasov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, A.F. Pisemsky, A.G. Rubinstein, P.I. Tchaikovsky, and actors of the Maly Theater attended literary and musical evenings at Pleshcheev’s house. Pleshcheev was a participant and was elected elder of the “Artistic Circle”.

In 1861, Pleshcheev decided to create new magazine, “Foreign Review”, and invited M. L. Mikhailov to participate in it. A year later, with Saltykov, A. M. Unkovsky, A. F. Golovachev, A. I. Evropeus and B. I. Utin, he developed a project for the magazine “Russian Truth”, but in May 1862 he was refused permission from the magazine. At the same time, an unrealized plan arose to purchase the already published newspaper “Vek”.

Pleshcheev's position regarding the reforms of 1861 changed over time. At first, he received the news about them with hope (evidence of this is the poem “Poor you worked, knowing no rest...”). Already in 1860, the poet rethought his attitude towards the liberation of the peasants - largely under the influence of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov. In letters to E.I. Baranovsky, Pleshcheev noted: the “bureaucratic and plantation” parties are ready to give up “the poor peasant as a victim of bureaucratic robbery,” renouncing the previous hopes that the peasant “will be freed from the heavy paw of the landowner.”

Pleshcheev's poetic work of the early 1860s was marked by the predominance of socio-political, civic themes and motives. The poet tried to appeal to a wide democratically minded audience; propaganda notes appeared in his poetic works. He finally stopped collaborating with Russkiy Vestnik and personal communication with M. N. Katkov, moreover, he began to openly criticize the direction headed by the latter. “The damned questions of reality are the true content of poetry,” the poet asserted in one of his critical articles, calling for the politicization of the publications in which he participated.

Characteristic poems in this sense were “Plea” (a kind of reaction to the arrest of M. L. Mikhailov), the poem “New Year” dedicated to Nekrasov, in which (as in “Malice boiled in my heart ...”) liberals and their rhetoric were criticized. One of the central themes in Pleshcheev’s poetry in the early 1860s was the theme of the citizen-fighter and revolutionary feat. The poet in Pleshcheev’s poems is not the former “prophet” suffering from the crowd’s misunderstanding, but a “warrior of the revolution.” The poem “Honest people on the thorny road...”, dedicated to the Chernyshevsky trial (“Let him not weave victorious wreaths for you...”) had direct political significance.

The poems “To Youth” and “False Teachers”, published in Sovremennik in 1862, also had the nature of a political speech, connected with the events of the autumn of 1861, when the arrests of students were met with complete indifference of the broad masses. From Pleshcheev’s letter to A.N. Supenev, to whom the poem “To Youth” was sent for delivery to Nekrasov, it is clear that on February 25, 1862, Pleshcheev read “To Youth” at a literary evening in favor of twenty expelled students. The poet also took part in collecting money for the benefit of the affected students. In the poem “To Youth,” Pleshcheev urged students “not to retreat in front of the crowd, to throw stones ready.” The poem “To the False Teachers” was a response to a lecture by B. N. Chicherin, given on October 28, 1861, and directed against the “anarchy of minds” and the “violent revelry of thought” of students. In November 1861, Pleshcheev wrote to A.P. Milyukov:

In secret police reports during these years, A. N. Pleshcheev continued to appear as a “conspirator”; it was written that although Pleshcheev “behaves very secretly,” he is still “suspected of disseminating ideas that disagree with the views of the government.” There were some reasons for such suspicion.

Honest people, on the thorny road
Walking towards the light with a firm foot,
With an iron will, a clear conscience
You are terrible at human malice!
Let him not weave victory wreaths for you
A people crushed by grief, sleeping, -
Your works will not perish without a trace;
A good seed will bear fruit...
The poem, written in 1863 regarding the trial of Chernyshevsky, was not published until 1905. Chernyshevsky, with whom Pleshcheev shared common views and personal friendship, noted the latter as “a writer whose work is impeccable and useful.”

By the time A. N. Pleshcheev moved to Moscow, N. G. Chernyshevsky’s closest associates were already preparing the creation of an all-Russian secret revolutionary organization. Many of the poet’s friends took an active part in its preparation: S. I. Serakovsky, M. L. Mikhailov, Y. Stanevich, N. A. Serno-Solovyevich, N. V. Shelgunov. For this reason, the police considered Pleshcheev as a full participant in the secret organization. In Vsevolod Kostomarov’s denunciation, the poet was called a “conspirator”; It was he who was credited with creating the “Letter to the Peasants,” Chernyshevsky’s famous proclamation.

There is no exact information about Pleshcheev’s participation in “Land and Freedom”. Many contemporaries believed that Pleshcheev not only belonged to a secret society, but also ran an underground printing house, which, in particular, P. D. Boborykin wrote about. M. N. Sleptsova, in her memoirs “Navigators of the Coming Storm,” stated that among the people who were members of “Land and Freedom” and personally known to her was Pleshcheev: “In the 60s, he was in charge of a printing house in Moscow, where it was published “Young Russia”, and, in addition, participated in the “Russian Gazette” that had just begun in Moscow, it seems, as a columnist of foreign literature. He was a member of “Land and Freedom,” which for a long time connected him with Sleptsov,” she claimed. These statements are indirectly confirmed by letters from Pleshcheev himself. Thus, he wrote to F.V. Chizhov about his intention to “start a printing house” on September 16, 1860. A letter to Dostoevsky dated October 27, 1859, said: “I am starting a printing house myself - although not alone.”

At the end of the 1850s, A. Pleshcheev turned to prose, first to the short story genre, then published several stories, among which the most significant are “Inheritance” and “Father and Daughter” (both 1857), partly autobiographical “Pashintseva” and “Two Careers” (both 1859), “Calling” (1860). Dobrolyubov wrote about the story “Pashintsev” (published in “Russian Bulletin” 1859, No. 11 and 12): “The social element constantly penetrates them and this distinguishes them from the many colorless stories of the thirties and fifties... In the history of each hero of Pleshcheev’s stories you see how he is bound by his environment, just as this little world weighs down on him with its demands and relationships - in a word, you see in the hero a social being, and not a solitary one.”

In 1860, two volumes of Pleshcheev’s Tales and Stories were published; in 1861 and 1863 - two more collections of poems by Pleshcheev. Researchers noted that as a poet Pleshcheev joined the Nekrasov school; Against the backdrop of the social upsurge of the 1860s, he created socially critical, protest and appealing poems (“Oh youth, youth, where are you?”, “Oh, don’t forget that you are a debtor,” “A boring picture!”). At the same time, in terms of the nature of his poetic creativity, in the 1860s he was close to N.P. Ogarev; the work of both poets was formed on the basis of common literary traditions, although it was noted that Pleshcheev’s poetry is more lyrical. Among his contemporaries, the prevailing opinion was that Pleshcheev remained “a man of the forties,” somewhat romantic and abstract. “Such a mental disposition did not quite coincide with the character of the new people, the sober sixties, who demanded work and, above all, work,” noted N. Bannikov, the poet’s biographer.

N. D. Khvoshchinskaya (under the pseudonym “V. Krestovsky” in a review of Pleshcheev’s collection of 1861, highly appreciating in retrospect the work of the poet, who wrote “living, warm modern things that made us sympathize with him,” sharply criticized the “uncertainty” of feelings and ideas, in some poems catching decadence, in others - sympathy for liberalism. Pleshcheev himself indirectly agreed with this assessment, in the poem “Thought” he admitted about “pathetic loss of faith” and “conviction in the futility of the struggle...”.

Researchers noted that in a new literary situation for Pleshcheev, it was difficult for him to develop his own position. “We need to say a new word, but where is it?” - he wrote to Dostoevsky in 1862. Pleshcheev sympathetically perceived diverse, sometimes polar, social and literary views: thus, while sharing some of the ideas of N.G. Chernyshevsky, at the same time he supported both the Moscow Slavophiles and the program of the magazine “Time”.

Literary earnings brought the poet a meager income; he led the existence of a “literary proletarian,” as F. M. Dostoevsky called such people (including himself). But, as contemporaries noted, Pleshcheev behaved independently, remaining faithful to the “high humanistic Schiller idealism acquired in his youth.” As Yu. Zobnin wrote, “Pleshcheev, with the courageous simplicity of an exiled prince, endured the constant need of these years, huddled with his large family in tiny apartments, but did not compromise one iota either on his civic or literary conscience.”

Years of disappointment

In 1864, A. Pleshcheev was forced to enter the service and received the position of auditor of the control chamber of the Moscow Post Office. “Life has completely beaten me up. At my age, it’s so hard to fight like a fish on ice and wear a uniform for which I’ve never prepared,” he complained two years later in a letter to Nekrasov.

There were other reasons that determined the sharp deterioration in the poet’s general mood, which was evident by the end of the 1860s, and the predominance of feelings of bitterness and depression in his works. His hopes for nationwide protests in response to the reform suffered a collapse; many of his friends died or were arrested (Dobrolyubov, Shevchenko, Chernyshevsky, Mikhailov, Serno-Solovyevich, Shelgunov). The death of his wife on December 3, 1864 was a heavy blow for the poet. After the closure of the magazines “Sovremennik” and “Russkoe Slovo” in 1866 (the magazines of the Dostoevsky brothers “Time” and “Epoch” were closed even earlier), Pleshcheev found himself among a group of writers who practically lost their magazine platform. The main theme of his poems of this time was the exposure of betrayal and treason (“If you want it to be peaceful...”, “Apostaten-Marsch”, “I feel sorry for those whose strength is dying...”).

In the 1870s, revolutionary sentiments in Pleshcheev’s work acquired the character of reminiscences; Characteristic in this sense is the poem “I quietly walked along a deserted street...” (1877), considered one of the most significant in his work, dedicated to the memory of V. G. Belinsky. The poem “Without Hopes and Expectations...” (1881), which was a direct response to the state of affairs in the country, seemed to draw a line under a long period of disappointment and frustration.

In 1868, N.A. Nekrasov, having become the head of the journal Otechestvennye zapiski, invited Pleshcheev to move to St. Petersburg and take the post of editorial secretary. Here the poet immediately found himself in a friendly atmosphere, among like-minded people. After Nekrasov's death, Pleshcheev took over the leadership of the poetry department and worked in the magazine until 1884.

At the same time, together with V.S. Kurochkin, A.M. Skabichevsky, N.A. Demert, he became an employee of Birzhevye Vedomosti, a newspaper in which Nekrasov dreamed of secretly “carrying out the views” of his main publication. After the closure of Otechestvennye Zapiski, Pleshcheev contributed to the creation of a new magazine, Severny Vestnik, where he worked until 1890.

Pleshcheev actively supported aspiring writers. He played a vital role in the life of Ivan Surikov, who was begging and was ready to commit suicide; his life changed after the first publication arranged by Pleshcheev. Having enormous influence in editorial offices and publishing houses, Pleshcheev helped V. M. Garshin, A. Serafimovich, S. Ya. Nadson, A. Apukhtin. Pleshcheev played the most important role in the literary fate of D. S. Merezhkovsky during the years of his literary debut. He kept the latter as a relic in his archives with a short note: “I offer membership<Литературного>society of Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson (Krondstadt, corner of Kozelskaya and Kronstadt, house of the Nikitin heirs, Grigoriev’s apartment) Dmitry Sergeevich Merezhkovsky (Znamenskaya, 33, apartment 9) A. Pleshcheev.” A deep friendship connected Pleshcheev with the aspiring A.P. Chekhov, whom Pleshcheev considered the most promising of the young writers. The poet greeted Chekhov's first major story, “The Steppe,” with admiration.

In his bibliographic notes, Pleshcheev defended realistic principles in art, developing the ideas of V. G. Belinsky and the principles of “real criticism,” especially N. A. Dobrolyubov. Each time, based on the social significance of literature, Pleshcheev tried to identify in his critical reviews the social meaning of the work, although “he relied, as a rule, on vague, too general concepts, such as sympathy for the disadvantaged, knowledge of the heart and life, naturalness and vulgarity.” In particular, this approach led him to underestimate the works of A.K. Tolstoy. As the head of the literary department of the Northern Messenger, Pleshcheev openly clashed with the populist editorial group, primarily with N.K. Mikhailovsky, from whose criticism he defended Chekhov (especially his “Steppe”) and Garshin. Ultimately, Pleshcheev quarreled with A. M. Evreinova (“... I don’t intend to cooperate with her after her rude and impudent attitude towards me,” he wrote to Chekhov in March 1890) and stopped collaborating with the magazine.

Creativity of the 1880s

With the relocation to the capital, Pleshcheev’s creative activity resumed and did not stop almost until his death. In the 1870-1880s, the poet was mainly engaged in poetic translations from German, French, English and Slavic languages. As the researchers noted, it was here that his poetic skill was most manifested.

...You are dear to us, not just in words,
But with all your soul, with all your life you are a poet,
And in these sixty hard, long years -
In deep exile, in battle, in harsh labor -
You were warmed everywhere by pure flames.
But do you know, poet, to whom are you dearest?
Who will send you the warmest greetings?
You best friend for us, for Russian youth,
For those whom you called: “Forward, forward!”
With its captivating, deep kindness,
As a patriarch, you united us into a family, -
And that’s why we love you with all our souls,
And that’s why we now raise a glass!

These poems by D. S. Merezhkovsky, read by him “on behalf of the youth” at the anniversary celebrations on November 22, 1885, dedicated to the poet’s 60th birthday, fully reflected the attitude of the new generation of Russian intelligentsia towards the patriarch.

A. Pleshcheev translated major dramatic works (“Ratcliffe” by Heine, “Magdalene” by Hebbel, “Struensee” by M. Behr), poems by German poets (Heine, M. Hartmann, R. Prutz), French (V. Hugo, M. Monier ), English (J. G. Byron, A. Tennyson, R. Southey, T. Moore), Hungarian (S. Petőfi), Italian (Giacomo Leopardi), works of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko and such Polish poets as S. Witvitsky (“The grass is turning green, the sun is shining...”, from the collection “Rural Songs”), Anthony Sova (Eduard Zheligovsky) and Vladislav Syrokomlya.

A. Pleshcheev also translated fiction; some works (“Belly of Paris” by E. Zola, “Red and Black” by Stendhal) were first published in his translation. The poet also translated scientific articles and monographs. In various magazines, Pleshcheev published numerous compilation works on Western European history and sociology (“Paul-Louis Courier, his life and writings,” 1860; “The Life and Correspondence of Proudhon,” 1873; “The Life of Dickens,” 1891), monographs on the work of W. Shakespeare, Stendhal, A. de Musset. In his journalistic and literary-critical articles, largely following Belinsky, he promoted democratic aesthetics and called for searching among the people for heroes capable of self-sacrifice in the name of common happiness.

In 1887, the complete collection of poems by A. N. Pleshcheev was published. The second edition, with some additions, was made after his death by his son, in 1894, and subsequently Pleshcheev’s “Tales and Stories” were also published.

A. N. Pleshcheev was actively interested in theatrical life, was close to the theatrical environment, and was familiar with A. N. Ostrovsky. At various times, he held the positions of foreman of the Artistic Circle and chairman of the Society of Stage Workers, actively participated in the activities of the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers, and often gave readings himself.

A. N. Pleshcheev wrote 13 original plays. Basically, these were small in volume and “entertaining” in plot, lyrical and satirical comedies from provincial landowner life. Theatrical productions based on his dramatic works “Service” and “Every cloud has a silver lining” (both 1860), “The Happy Couple”, “The Commander” (both 1862) “What often happens” and “Brothers” (both 1864), etc.) were shown in the leading theaters of the country. During these same years, he revised about thirty comedies by foreign playwrights for the Russian stage.

Children's poetry and literature occupied an important place in Pleshcheev's work in the last decade of his life. His collections “Snowdrop” (1878) and “Grandfather’s Songs” (1891) were successful. Some poems have become textbooks (“Old Man”, “Grandmother and Granddaughter”). The poet took an active part in publishing, precisely in line with the development of children's literature. In 1861, together with F. N. Berg, he published the anthology “Children's Book,” and in 1873 (with N. A. Alexandrov) a collection of works for children’s reading, “For the Holidays.” Also, thanks to the efforts of Pleshcheev, seven school textbooks were published under the general title “Geographical Sketches and Pictures.”

Researchers of Pleshcheev's creativity noted that Pleshcheev's children's poems are characterized by a desire for vitality and simplicity; they are filled with free conversational intonations and real imagery, while maintaining the general mood of social discontent (“I grew up in my mother’s hallway ...”, “A boring picture”, “Beggars”, “Children”, “Native”, “Old people”, “Spring” ", "Childhood", "Old Man", "Grandmother and Granddaughter").

A. N. Pleshcheev was characterized by experts as “a poet with a smoothly flowing, romance-like” poetic speech and one of the most “melodious lyric poets of the second half of the 19th century.” About a hundred romances and songs were written based on his poems - both by his contemporaries and by composers of subsequent generations, including N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (“The Night Flew Over the World”), M. P. Mussorgsky, Ts. A. Cui , A. T. Grechaninov, S. V. Rachmaninov.

Pleshcheev's poems and children's songs became a source of inspiration for P. I. Tchaikovsky, who appreciated their “sincere lyricism and spontaneity, excitement and clarity of thought.” Tchaikovsky's interest in Pleshcheev's poetry was largely due to the fact of their personal acquaintance. They met in the late 1860s in Moscow in the Artistic Circle and maintained good friendships throughout their lives.

Tchaikovsky, who turned to Pleshcheev’s poetry at different periods of his creative life, wrote several romances based on the poet’s poems: in 1869 - “Not a word, oh my friend...”, in 1872 - “Oh, sing the same song...”, in 1884 - “Only you alone...”, in 1886 - “Oh, if only you knew...” and “The meek stars shone for us...”. Fourteen songs by Tchaikovsky from the cycle “Sixteen Songs for Children” (1883) were created based on poems from Pleshcheev’s collection “Snowdrop”

“This work is easy and very pleasant, because I took the text from Pleshcheev’s Snowdrop, where there are many lovely little things,” the composer wrote to M. I. Tchaikovsky while working on this cycle. In the House-Museum of P. I. Tchaikovsky in Klin, in the composer’s library, a collection of Pleshcheev’s poems “Snowdrop” is preserved with a dedicatory inscription from the poet: “To Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as a sign of favor and gratitude for his wonderful music on my bad words. A. N. Pleshcheev. 1881 February 18th St. Petersburg.”

Pleshcheev became an admirer of Chekhov even before he met him personally. Memoirist Baron N.V. Drizen wrote: “How now I see the handsome, almost biblical figure of an old man - the poet A.N. Pleshcheev, talking with me about the book At Twilight, just published by Suvorin. “When I read this book,” said Pleshcheev, “the shadow of I. S. Turgenev hovered invisibly before me. The same pacifying poetry of the word, the same wonderful description of nature...” He especially liked the story “On the Holy Night.”

Pleshcheev’s first acquaintance with Chekhov took place in December 1887 in St. Petersburg, when the latter, together with I. L. Leontiev (Shcheglov), visited the poet’s house. Shcheglov later recalled this first meeting: “...less than half an hour had passed when dear Alexey Nikolaevich was in complete “spiritual captivity” with Chekhov and was worried in turn, while Chekhov quickly entered his usual philosophical and humorous mood. If someone had happened to look into Pleshcheev’s office then, he would probably have thought that long-time close friends were talking...” A month later, intensive friendly correspondence began between the new friends, which lasted five years. In letters to his other acquaintances, Chekhov often called Pleshcheev “grandfather” and “padre.” At the same time, he himself was not an admirer of Pleshcheev’s poetry and did not hide his irony towards those who idolized the poet.

Chekhov wrote the story “The Steppe” in January 1888 for “Severny Vestnik”; at the same time, he shared in detail his thoughts and doubts in his letters (“I’m timid and afraid that my Steppe will turn out to be insignificant... Frankly speaking, I’m pushing myself, I’m straining and pouting, but still, in general, it doesn’t satisfy me, although in some places I come across her poems in prose"). Pleshcheev became the first reader of the story (in manuscript) and repeatedly expressed delight in letters (“You wrote or almost wrote a great thing. Praise and honor to you!.. It pains me that you wrote so many lovely, truly artistic things - and are less famous, than writers unworthy to untie the belt at your feet”).

Chekhov first of all sent Pleshcheev stories, novels and the play “Ivanov” (in the second edition); shared in correspondence the idea of the novel he was working on in the late 1880s, and gave him the first chapters to read. On March 7, 1889, Chekhov wrote to Pleshcheev: “I dedicate my novel to you... in my dreams and plans, my best thing is dedicated to you.” Pleshcheev, highly appreciating Chekhov’s internal independence, was himself frank with him: he did not hide his sharply negative attitude towards “New Time” and even towards Suvorin himself, with whom Chekhov was close.

In 1888, Pleshcheev visited Chekhov in Sumy, and the latter spoke about this visit in a letter to Suvorin:

Pleshcheev criticized Chekhov’s “Name Day,” in particular, its middle part, with which Chekhov agreed (“...I wrote it lazily and carelessly. Having become accustomed to small stories consisting only of a beginning and an end, I get bored and start chewing when I feel that I’m writing the middle”), then spoke sharply about the story “Leshy” (which Merezhkovsky and Urusov had previously praised). On the contrary, his story “A Boring Story” received his highest praise.

The correspondence began to fizzle out after Chekhov, having gone to Tyumen, did not respond to several of the poet’s letters, however, even after receiving an inheritance and subsequent relocation to Paris, Pleshcheev continued to describe in detail his life, illnesses and treatment. In total, 60 letters from Chekhov and 53 letters from Pleshcheev have survived. The first publication of the correspondence was prepared by the poet's son, writer and journalist Alexander Alekseevich Pleshcheev and was published in 1904 by the St. Petersburg Diary of a Theater Goer.

last years of life

Three last year life Pleshcheev was freed from worries about earnings. In 1890, he received a huge inheritance from a Penza relative, Alexei Pavlovich Pleshcheev, and settled with his daughters in the luxurious apartments of the Parisian Mirabeau Hotel, where he invited all his literary acquaintances and generously gave them large sums money. According to the memoirs of Z. Gippius, the poet changed only externally (having lost weight from the onset of the illness). He accepted the enormous wealth that suddenly fell on him “from the sky” “with noble indifference, remaining the same simple and hospitable owner as in the small cell on Preobrazhenskaya Square.” “What is this wealth to me? It’s just a joy that I was able to provide for my children, and I myself sighed a little... before I died,” this is how the poetess conveyed his words. Pleshcheev himself took guests to the sights of Paris, ordered luxurious dinners in restaurants and “respectfully asked” to accept an “advance” from him for travel - a thousand rubles.

The poet contributed a significant amount to the Literary Fund, established funds named after Belinsky and Chernyshevsky to encourage talented writers, began to support the families of G. Uspensky and S. Nadson, and undertook to finance the magazine of N. K. Mikhailovsky and V. G. Korolenko “Russian Wealth”.

On January 2, 1892, from Nice, Pleshcheev wrote to Chekhov that his son Nikolai bought himself an estate in the Smolensk province, that in July in Lucerne his left arm and leg were paralyzed, he described in detail consultations with famous doctors (including “... the famous Kusmaul, whom Botkin ordered before his death - the latter forbade him to return to Russia in winter), and also mentioned treatment with “electricity and massage”:

K. D. Balmont. In memory of Pleshcheev.

His soul was pure as snow;
Man was sacred to him;
He was always a singer of goodness and light;
He was full of love for the humiliated.
Oh, youth! Bow down, bless
The cooled ashes of a silent poet.

Pleshcheev wrote that he avoided the elite, mentioning among those with whom communication gave him pleasure only Professor M. Kovalevsky, zoologist Korotnev, Vice-Consul Yurasov, and the Merezhkovsky couple.

In 1893, already seriously ill, A. N. Pleshcheev once again went to Nice for treatment and on the way, on September 26 (October 8), 1893, he died of apoplexy. His body was transported to Moscow and buried in the cemetery of the Novodevichy Convent.

The authorities prohibited the publication of any “panegyric word” on the poet’s death, but a huge number of people gathered at the farewell ceremony on October 6. At the funeral, as contemporaries testified, there were mainly young people present, including many then unknown writers, in particular K. Balmont, who delivered a farewell speech over the coffin.

Reviews from critics and contemporaries

Researchers of the poet’s work noted the enormous resonance that one of his first poems, “Forward,” had, which laid the foundation for “the social, civic side of his poetry...”. What was noted, first of all, was the strength of Pleshcheev’s civic position and the complete correspondence of the personal qualities of the ideals they proclaimed. Peter Weinberg, in particular, wrote:

At the same time, many critics reservedly assessed the early works of A. Pleshcheev. It was noted that it was “colored by the ideas of socialist utopianism”; traditional romantic motifs of disappointment, loneliness, and melancholy “were interpreted by him as a reaction to social ill-being,” in the context of the theme of “holy suffering” of the lyrical hero (“Dream,” “Wanderer,” “At the Call of Friends”). The humanistic pathos of Pleshcheev’s lyrics was combined with a prophetic tone characteristic of the mood of the utopians, fueled by the hope of “seeing the eternal ideal” (“Poet”, 1846). Belief in the possibility of a harmonious world order and the expectation of imminent changes were expressed in P.’s most famous poem, extremely popular among the Petrashevites (as well as among the revolutionary-minded youth of subsequent generations, “Forward! Without Fear and Doubt...” (1846).

Friends! Let's give each other hands
And together we will move forward,
And let, under the banner of science,
Our union is strengthening and growing...
...May our guiding star
Holy truth is burning.
And believe me, the voice is noble
No wonder it will sound in the world.

Writers and critics associated with the Social Democratic movement often spoke skeptically about the pessimistic mood that prevailed in the poet’s poetry after his return from exile. However, the same Dobrolyubov, noting that in Pleshcheev’s poems one can hear “some kind of internal heavy grief, a sad complaint of a defeated fighter, sadness about the unfulfilled hopes of youth,” nevertheless noted that these moods have nothing to do with “the plaintive groans of the whiny people of the past time." Noting that such a transition from the initial loftiness of hopes to disappointment is generally characteristic of the best representatives of Russian poetry (Pushkin, Koltsov, etc.), the critic wrote that “... the poet’s sadness about the failure of his hopes is not without... social significance and gives Mr. Pleshcheev’s poems the right to be mentioned in the future history of Russian literature, even completely regardless of the degree of talent with which they express this sadness and these hopes.”

Critics and writers of later generations assessed the poet's minor intonations somewhat differently, finding them consonant with the time in which he lived. “He held a torch of thought on a rainy day. Sobs sounded in his soul. In his stanzas there was the sound of native sadness, the sad groan of distant villages, a call for freedom, a gentle sigh of greeting and the first ray of the coming dawn,” wrote K. Balmont in his posthumous dedication.

A. N. Pleshcheev was not an innovator of form: his poetic system, formed in line with the Pushkin and Lermontov traditions, relied on stable phrases, established rhythmic-syntactic patterns, and a well-developed system of images. Some critics saw this as evidence of genuine taste and talent, while others gave reason to call some of his poems “colorless” and accuse him of “lack of independence” and “monotony.” At the same time, contemporaries, for the most part, highly valued the “social significance” of Pleshcheev’s poetry, its “noble and pure direction,” deep sincerity, and call for “honest service to society.”

Pleshcheev was often reproached for being carried away by abstract concepts and pompous metaphors (“To all the enemies of black untruth, rebelling against evil,” “The sword of the people is stained,” “But they sacrificed high aspirations to human vulgarity...”). At the same time, the poet’s supporters noted that didacticism of this kind was a form of Aesopian speech, an attempt to circumvent censorship. M. Mikhailov, who at one time criticized Pleshcheev, wrote already in 1861 that “... Pleshcheev had only one power left - the power of a call to honest service to society and his neighbors.”

Over the years, critics paid more and more attention to the individual, “special purity and transparency of Pleshcheev’s poetic language,” sincerity and sincerity; the softness of the tones of his poetic palette, the emotional depth of outwardly extremely simple, ingenuous lines.

Among literary historians of the 20th century, a negative assessment of Pleshcheev’s work belongs to D. P. Svyatopolk-Mirsky; he wrote in the preface to the poetic anthology that Pleshcheev “introduces us into the true Sahara of poetic mediocrity and lack of culture,” and in his “History of Russian Literature” he notes: “Civil poetry in the hands of its most significant representatives has become truly realistic, but ordinary civic bards often They were just as eclectic as the poets of “pure art,” but they were even superior to them in their obedience to conventions. Such, for example, is the flat and boring poetry of the very sweet and respectable A. N. Pleshcheev.”

Influences

Most often, critics attributed Pleshcheev’s poetry to the Nekrasov school. Indeed, already in the 1850s, the poet began to appear poems that seemed to reproduce the satirical and social lines of Nekrasov’s poetry (“The children of the century are all sick…”, 1858, etc.). The first comprehensive satirical image of a liberal appeared in Pleshcheev’s poem “My Acquaintance” (1858); critics immediately noted that many of the attributes of imagery were borrowed from Nekrasov (the father who went broke “on dancers”, the provincial career of the hero, etc.). The same accusatory line continued in the poem “Lucky” (“Slander! I am a member of various godly societies. Philanthropists take five rubles from me every year.”) An unusual symbiosis of Nekrasov’s accusatory and Turgenev’s theme of “The Extra Hero” appeared in the story “She and He "(1862).

The poet wrote a lot about folk life(“A boring picture”, “Native”, “Beggars”), about the life of the urban lower classes - “On the Street”. Impressed by the plight of N. G. Chernyshevsky, who had been in Siberian exile for five years, the poem “I feel sorry for those whose strength is dying” (1868) was written. Nekrasov’s influence was noticeable in everyday sketches and in folklore and verse imitations of Pleshcheev (“I grew up in my mother’s garden…”, 1860s), and in poems for children. Pleshcheev forever retained feelings of personal affection and gratitude towards Nekrasov. “I love Nekrasov. There are aspects of him that attract you to him involuntarily, and for them you forgive him a lot. In these three or four years that I've been here<в Петербурге>, I had the opportunity to spend two or three evenings with him - those that leave a mark on the soul for a long time. Finally, I will say that I personally owe him a lot..." he wrote to Zhemchuzhnikov in 1875. Some contemporaries, in particular M. L. Mikhailov, drew attention to the fact that Pleshcheev failed to create convincing pictures of people's life; the craving for the Nekrasov school was, for him, rather an unrealized tendency.

V.N. Maikov was one of the first to classify Pleshcheev as a follower of Lermontov. Subsequently, modern researchers also wrote about this: V. Zhdanov noted that Pleshcheev, in a sense, “took over the baton” from Lermontov, one of whose last poems narrated the fate of Pushkin’s prophet, who set out to bypass “the seas and lands” (“I began to proclaim love / And pure teachings of truth: / All my neighbors / Madly threw stones at me...”). One of Pleshcheev’s first published poems was “Duma,” which denounced the public’s indifference “to good and evil,” consonant with Lermontov’s theme (“Alas, he is rejected! The crowd does not find the teaching of love and truth in his words...”).

The theme of the poet-prophet, borrowed from Lermontov, became the leitmotif of Pleshcheev’s lyrics, expressing “a view of the role of the poet as a leader and teacher, and of art as a means of restructuring society.” The poem “Dream,” which repeated the plot of Pushkin’s “Prophet” (a dream in the desert, the appearance of a goddess, transformation into a prophet), according to V. Zhdanov, “allows us to say that Pleshcheev not only repeated the motives of his brilliant predecessors, but tried to give his own interpretation Topics. He sought to continue Lermontov, as Lermontov continued Pushkin.” The Pleshcheevsky prophet, for whom “stones, chains, prison” await, inspired by the idea of truth, goes to the people (“My fallen spirit has risen... and to the oppressed again / I went to proclaim freedom and love...”). From Pushkin and Lermontov sources comes the theme of personal, family happiness, developed in the poetry of the Petrashevites, and in the work of Pleshcheev, which received a new interpretation: as the theme of the tragedy of a marriage that breaks love (“Bai”), as a preaching of “reasonable” love, based on similarities of views and beliefs (“We are close to each other... I know, but alien in spirit...”).

Critics noted that in the nature and type of his poetic activity, Pleshcheev in the 1860s was closest to N.P. Ogarev. He himself insisted on this creative “kinship.” On January 20, 1883, the poet wrote to S. Ya. Nadson that P. I. Weinberg, in a report about him, “approached the topic perfectly, connecting me in his description with Ogarev.” Pleshcheev’s landscape and landscape-philosophical lyrics were considered by critics as “interesting,” but rational and in many ways secondary, in particular, in relation to the work of A. A. Fet.

Already researchers of the 20th century noted that the idea of Pleshcheev, propagated by the liberal press, as a “poet of the 40s” who outlived his time, or Nekrasov’s epigone, was largely motivated by political intrigue, the desire to belittle the authority of a potentially dangerous, oppositional author. Biographer N. Bannikov noted that Pleshcheev’s poetic creativity was developing; in his later poems there was less romantic pathos, more - on the one hand, contemplation and philosophical reflection, on the other - satirical motives ("My Acquaintance", "Lucky Man"). Such protest works of the poet as “Honest people, on the thorny road...”, “I feel sorry for those whose strength is perishing” had completely independent value; poems that ridiculed those degraded in their passive “opposition” “ extra people"(poetic short story "She and He", poem "The children of the century are all sick...", 1858).

"Dedication"
Will the sounds of familiar songs come to you,
Friends of my lost youth?
And will I hear your brotherly greetings?
Are you still the same as you were before separation?...
Perhaps I won’t have any others!
And those - in a strange, distant side -
They have long forgotten about me...
And there is no one to respond to the songs!
The poem, dated 1858 and addressed to fellow Petrashevites, found a warm response among the latter, as evidenced by N. S. Kashkin. The latter responded with his verse:
Go forward, don't be discouraged!
Goodness and truth on the road
Call your friends loudly.
Forward without fear and doubt,
And if anyone's blood has cooled,
Your living songs
He will be awakened to life again.

Critics noted that Pleshcheev’s poetry was clearer and more specific than the civil lyrics of the 60-70s by Ya. P. Polonsky and A. M. Zhemchuzhnikov, although some lines of creativity of the three poets intersected. Polonsky's lyrics (as M. Polyakov noted) were alien to the pathos of revolutionary duty; Unlike Pleshcheev, who blessed the revolutionary, he lived with the dream of “overpowering time - going into prophetic dreams” (“Muse”). Closer to Pleshcheev’s poetic system are the lyrics of “civil motives” by A. M. Zhemchuzhnikov. But their commonality was reflected rather in what constituted (in the opinion of the revolutionary democrats) weak side Pleshcheev's poetry. The similarity with Zhemchuzhnikov was due to the ideological “vagueness” and sentimental didacticism of individual poems by Pleshcheev, mainly from 1858-1859. Both were brought together by the motives of civil repentance and the allegorical perception of nature. Zhemchuzhnikov’s distinctly liberal position (in particular, the latter’s recognition of the ideals of “pure poetry”) was alien to Pleshcheev.

The most obvious and prominent follower of Pleshcheev was considered S. Ya. Nadson, who in the same tones protested against the “kingdom of Baal”, glorified the shedding of the “righteous blood of fallen soldiers”, and used a similar didactic style, symbols and signs. The main difference was that the feelings of despair and doom in Nadson’s poetry took on almost grotesque forms. It was noted that Pleshcheev’s poetry had a noticeable influence on the poems of N. Dobrolyubov of 1856-1861 (“When a bright ray of knowledge penetrated to us through the darkness of ignorance...”), on the work of P. F. Yakubovich, the early N. M. Minsky, I. Z. Surikova, V. G. Bogoraza. Pleshcheev’s direct retelling was G. A. Machtet’s poem “The Last Forgiveness!” Pleshcheev’s lines were quoted by F. V. Volkhovsky (“To Friends”), S. S. Sinegub (“To the Bust of Belinsky”), P. L. Lavrov, in in his poem “Forward!” who used part of Pleshcheev’s program poem.

In the 1870s, Pleshcheev's landscape poetry developed; the poems were filled with “sparkling play of colors”, accurate descriptions of the elusive movements of nature (“Ice shackles do not weigh down the sparkling wave”, “I see the transparent blue vault of heaven, the jagged peaks of huge mountains”), which was interpreted by experts as the influence of A. A. Fet . Pleshcheev's landscape lyrics, however, one way or another served as a symbolic interpretation of the motives of social life and ideological quests. At the heart of, say, the “Summer Songs” cycle was the idea that the harmony of nature opposes the world of social contradictions and injustice (“A Boring Picture,” “Fatherland”). Unlike Fet and Polonsky, Pleshcheev did not experience a conflict in the separation of two themes: landscape and civil.

Pleshcheev was criticized not only by liberals, but also - especially in the 1860s - by radical writers, whose ideals the poet tried to live up to. Among the poems that, according to critics, showed sympathy for liberal ideas, was noted: “You poor ones worked, knowing no rest...” (from which it followed that the peasants, “submissive to fate,” patiently carried “their cross, like a righteous man carries,” but the “it’s time for the holy rebirth”, etc.). This liberal “prayer” evoked a sharp response from Dobrolyubov, who, in general, always had a sympathetic attitude towards the poet. He also parodied (in the poem “From the Motifs of Modern Russian Poetry”) what seemed to him to be a liberal “praise” by Pleshcheev of the “tsar-liberator.” However, the parody was not published for ethical reasons. Dobrolyubov criticized Pleshcheev for “abstract didacticism” and allegorical images (entry in the critic’s diary dated February 8, 1858).

Radical authors and publicists criticized Pleshcheev for, in their opinion, excessive “breadth of views.” Often he supported contradictory ideas and movements, sympathizing only with their “opposition”; breadth of views “often turned into uncertainty of judgment.”

Pleshcheev the prose writer was considered a typical representative of the “natural school”; he wrote about provincial life, denouncing bribe-takers, serf owners and the corrupting power of money (the story “The Raccoon Coat”, 1847; “Cigarette”, “Protection”, 1848; the stories “Prank” and “Friendly Advice”, 1849). Critics noticed the influence of N.V. Gogol and N.A. Nekrasov in his prose works.

N.A. Dobrolyubov, reviewing a two-volume book in 1860, which included 8 stories by A.N. Pleshcheev, noted that they “... were published in all our best magazines and were read in their time. Then they were forgotten about. His stories never aroused speculation or controversy either in the public or in literary criticism: no one particularly praised them, but no one scolded them either. For the most part, they read the story and were satisfied; that was the end of the matter...” Comparing Pleshcheev’s stories and stories with the works of second-rate contemporary writers, the critic noted that “... the social element constantly permeates them and this distinguishes them from the many colorless stories of the thirties and fifties.”

The world of Pleshcheev's prose is the world of "petty officials, teachers, artists, small landowners, semi-secular ladies and young ladies." In the history of each hero of Pleshcheev’s stories, however, there is a noticeable connection with the environment, which “gravitates over him with its demands.” This, according to Dobrolyubov, is the main advantage of Pleshcheev’s stories, however, it is not a unique advantage, it belongs to him “along with many of the modern fiction writers.” The dominant motive of Pleshcheev’s prose, according to the critic, can be reduced to the phrase: “the environment eats up a person.” However -

Characterizing the main character of the story of the same name, Dobrolyubov notes: “This Pashintsev - neither this nor that, neither day nor night, neither darkness nor light,” like many other heroes of stories of this kind, “does not represent a phenomenon at all; the entire environment that eats him up consists of exactly the same people.” The cause of the death of Gorodkov, the hero of the story “Blessing” (1859), according to the critic, is “...His own naivety.” Ignorance of life, uncertainty in means and goals and poverty of means also distinguish Kostin, the hero of the story “Two Careers” (1859), who dies of consumption (“The irreproachable heroes of Mr. Pleshcheev, like those of Mr. Turgenev and others, die from debilitating diseases,” the author of the article sneers), “having done nothing anywhere; but we don’t know what he could have done in the world even if he had not suffered from consumption and had not been constantly eaten up by the environment.” Dobrolyubov notes, however, the fact that the shortcomings of the poet’s prose also have a subjective side: “If Mr. Pleshcheev with exaggerated sympathy draws us his Kostins and Gorodkovs, it’s<следствие того, что>other, more practically consistent types in the same direction have not yet been represented by Russian society.”

The Meaning of Creativity

It is believed that the significance of A. N. Pleshcheev’s work for Russian and Eastern European social thought significantly exceeded the scale of his literary and poetic talent. Since 1846, the poet's works have been assessed by critics almost exclusively in terms of socio-political significance. The collection of poems by A. N. Pleshcheev in 1846 became, in fact, a poetic manifesto for the Petrashevites circle. In his article, Valeryan Maikov, explaining what Pleshcheev’s poetry was for people of the 40s, inspired by socialist ideals, placed the latter at the center of modern poetry and was even ready to consider him the immediate successor of M. Yu. Lermontov. “In the pitiful situation in which our poetry has found itself since the death of Lermontov, Mr. Pleshcheev is undoubtedly our first poet at the present time...” he wrote.

Subsequently, it was the revolutionary pathos of Pleshcheev’s early poetry that determined the scale of his authority in the revolutionary circles of Russia. It is known that in 1897, one of the first social democratic organizations, the South Russian Workers' Union, used the poet's most famous poem in its leaflet.

"Song of the Workers"
In the leaflet interpretation of the “South Russian Labor Union”, the Pleshcheev anthem looked like this:
Forward without fear and doubt
Valiant feat, friends
Has long been yearning for unity
The workers are a friendly family!
We'll shake hands with each other
Let's unite in a tight circle, -
And let it be tortured and tormented
A true friend will marry a friend!
We want brotherhood and freedom!
May the vile age of slavery perish!
Is it really Mother Nature
Isn't every person equal?
Marx gave us an eternal covenant -
Obey this covenant:
“Now, workers of all countries,
Unite into one Union!“

N. A. Morozov testified that the poem was popular among the revolutionary-minded intelligentsia. The song (in a slightly altered version: The time will come, the time will come, the young forces will grow up / The eagles will fly up and peck the chain of violence with an iron beak...) was loved in the Ulyanov family.

In January 1886, the 40th anniversary of A. N. Pleshcheev’s activities was celebrated. Not only old comrades-in-arms of Petrashevites reacted to this celebration with great sympathy (in particular, N.S. Kashkin, who wrote to the poet on April 12, 1886 that he followed the anniversary “with sincere joy and lively sympathy”). Participants in the revolutionary movement of the new generation reacted to this event even more vividly: some of them, in particular, the one who signed himself “editor of Echoes,” called the poet their teacher.

Pleshcheev was known and highly valued by revolutionary democratic circles in Ukraine, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria, where he was perceived exclusively as a political poet. The founder of the new Bulgarian literature, Petko Slaveykov, translated “Forward! Forward!” in 1866. without fear and doubt...", after which the verse became the anthem of the Bulgarian revolutionaries. Emanuel Vavra mentioned Pleshcheev, Shevchenko, Ogarev and Mikhailov among the “most honored, talented, truly valuable” Slavic poets. The Bulgarian revolutionary Lyuben Karavelov in the Serbian magazine “Matica” in 1868 ranked Pleshcheev among the largest poets of our time. Demanding that poetry that moves “the people forward” be “humanistic, truthful and reasonable,” he listed Burns, Byron, Beranger, Pleshcheev and Taras Shevchenko in the same row. The Slovenian writer Fran Celestin gave a high assessment of Pleshcheev’s work in 1893. In 1871, Pleshcheev's first translations were published in Ukraine. Since 1895, P. A. Grabovsky became his permanent translator here. Ivan Franko wrote about Pleshcheev that he “worthily takes his place in the galaxy of the most outstanding writers in Russian literature of the 40s...”

Meanwhile, in general, the significance of A. N. Pleshcheev’s work was not limited to his contribution to the development of Russian revolutionary poetry. Critics noted that the poet did a tremendous amount of work (mainly on the pages of Otechestvennye zapiski and Exchange Gazette), analyzing the development of European literature, accompanying the publications with his own translations (Zola, Stendhal, the Goncourt brothers, Alphonse Daudet). Pleshcheev’s poems for children (“On the Shore,” “The Old Man”) are recognized as classics. Along with Pushkin and Nekrasov, he is considered one of the founders of Russian poetry for children.

Translations by Pleshcheev

Pleshcheev's influence on the poetry of the second half of the 19th century was largely due to his translations, which had, in addition to artistic, socio-political significance: partly through poetry (Heine, Beranger, Barbier, etc.) revolutionary and socialist ideas penetrated into Russia. More than two hundred translated poems make up almost half of Pleshcheev’s entire poetic heritage. Modern criticism saw him as one of the greatest masters of poetic translation. “In our extreme conviction, Pleshcheev is even more of a poet in translations than in the originals,” wrote Vremya magazine, also noting that “in foreign authors he looks first of all for his thoughts and takes his goodness wherever it may be... " Most of Pleshcheev's translations were translations from German and French. Many of his translations, despite specific liberties, are still considered textbooks (from Goethe, Heine, Rückert, Freiligrath).

Pleshcheev did not hide the fact that he did not see any particular differences in the methods of working on the translation and his own, original poem. He admitted that he used translation as a means of promoting the most important ideas for a given period, and in a letter to Markovich dated December 10, 1870, he directly stated: “I prefer to translate those poets in whom the universal element takes precedence over the folk one, in whom culture has an effect.” ! The poet knew how to find “democratic motives” even among poets with clearly expressed conservative views (Southie - early poems “The Blenheim Battle” and “Complaints of the Poor”). Translating Tennyson, he especially emphasized the English poet’s sympathy for the “fighter for an honest cause” (“Funeral Song”), for the people (“The May Queen”).

At the same time, Pleshcheev often interpreted the possibilities of translation as a field of improvisation, in which he often departed from the original source. The poet freely reworked, shortened or enlarged the work being translated: for example, the poem by Robert Prutz “Did you look at the Alps at sunset...” turned from a sonnet into a triple quatrain; Syrokomlya’s large poem “Plowman to the Lark” (“Oracz do skowronku”, 1851), which consisted of two parts, he retold under the arbitrary title “Bird” in abbreviation (24 lines in the original, 18 in translation). The poet considered the genre of poetic translation as a means of promoting new ideas. He freely interpreted, in particular, Heine’s poetry, often introducing his own (or Nekrasov’s) ideas and motives (translation of “Countess Gudel von Gudelsfeld”). It is known that in 1849, having visited Moscow University, the poet told students that “... it is necessary to awaken self-awareness among the people, and the best way for this would be to translate foreign works into Russian, adapting to the vernacular way of speech, disseminating them in manuscript ...”, and that a society has already arisen in St. Petersburg for this purpose.

Character and personal qualities

Everyone who left memories of Pleshcheev characterized him as a man of high moral qualities. Peter Weinberg wrote about him as a poet who “... amidst the harsh and frequent shocks of reality, even exhausted under them, ... still continued to remain a pure idealist and called others to the same ideal service to humanity,” never betrayed himself, “ nowhere and never (as was said in the poetic address on the occasion of his fortieth anniversary) without sacrificing good feelings before the world.”

He was one of those whom fate led
The flint ways of testing.
Who was guarded by danger everywhere,
Mockingly threatening with the anguish of exile.
But the blizzard of life, poverty, cold, darkness
The burning desire in him was not killed -
Be proud, brave, fight against evil
To awaken holy hopes in others...

“A man of the forties in the best sense of this concept, an incorrigible idealist,<Плещеев>He put his living soul, his meek heart into his songs, and that’s why they are so beautiful,” wrote publisher P. V. Bykov. A. Blok, reflecting on old Russian poetry in 1908, especially noted Pleshcheev’s poems, which “awakened some dormant strings, brought to life high and noble feelings.”

Contemporaries and subsequently researchers of creativity noted Pleshcheev’s extraordinary clarity of mind, integrity of nature, kindness and nobility; characterized him as a person who “was distinguished by an unclouded purity of soul”; retained “despite all the dashing convict and soldier decades... a childish faith in the purity and nobility of human nature, and was always inclined to exaggerate the talent of the next debut poet.”

Z. Gippius, who was “completely charmed” by Pleshcheev at their first personal meeting, wrote down her first impressions of him:

Noting that, as if without effort, “wonderful poems for children” came from the pen of A. Pleshcheev, N. Bannikov noted: “Apparently, there was something in the poet’s heart that easily opened up the world of a child to him.” As P. Bykov wrote, Pleshcheev “... was completely reflected in his poetry, all with his clear, crystal-like conscience, fiery faith in goodness and people, with his integral personality, ... deeply sympathetic, kind, soft.”

Findings of researchers

Numerous propaganda poems were created among the Petrashevites, but only a few have survived. Presumably, many of Pleshcheev’s propaganda poems also disappeared. There is an assumption that some unsigned works published in emigrant collections of the “Lute” series may belong to Pleshcheev; These include the poem “The Righteous,” marked: “S. Petersburg. January 18, 1847."
The poem “According to our feelings, you and I are brothers...” (1846) was attributed for a long time to K. F. Ryleev. Its affiliation with Pleshcheev was established in 1954 by E. Bushkanets, who found out that its addressee was V. A. Milyutin (1826-1855), a member of Petrashevsky’s circle, an economist, whose work was paid attention to by Belinsky and Chernyshevsky.
The poem “Autumn has come, the flowers have dried...”, attributed to Pleshcheev in all collections of children's poetry, but absent in all collections of his works, does not actually belong to Pleshcheev. As the literary critic M. N. Zolotonosov established, the author of this text is the inspector of the Moscow educational district Alexey Grigorievich Baranov (1844-1911), the compiler of the collection in which this poem was first published.
The poem “I feel sorry for her...” (“Give me your hand. I understand your ominous sadness...”) was published with a dedication to D. A. Tolstoy, with whom the poet was friends in his youth. Tolstoy, however, subsequently acquired a reputation as a “reactionary” and even became the chief of the gendarme corps. In this regard, as it turned out later, A. A. Pleshcheev, the son of the poet, urgently asked P. V. Bykov not to include the poem in the collection or to cross out the dedication.
For a long time there were disputes about who could be addressed to the poem “S...u” (1885), which began with the words: “Before you lies a wide new path...”. The most convincing was the version of S. A. Makashin, according to which his addressee was Saltykov-Shchedrin. In the magazine publication it had the subtitle: “When entering the field.” Pleshcheev valued Shchedrin as “a truly enormous talent” and classified him among the “ the best people of your country."

Addresses

In Moscow: Nashchokinsky Lane, 10 (the house has not survived); Trubnikovsky Lane (on Prechistenka), 35; Arbat, 36; Malaya Dmitrovka, 22 (reconstructed); Ruzheyny Lane, 3.
In St. Petersburg: 1872-1890 - house of M. B. Bulatova - Bolshaya Spasskaya street, 1.

Works

Poems

During his lifetime, five collections of poems by A. N. Pleshcheev were published, the last of them in 1887. The most significant posthumous publication is considered to be the one published under the editorship of P. V. Bykov: “Poems by A. N. Pleshcheev (1844-1891). Fourth, expanded edition." St. Petersburg, 1905. In Soviet times, Pleshcheev’s poetic works were published in the Big and Small series of the “Poet’s Library”.

Bibliography

Arsenyev K.K. One of the poets of the forties. Poems by A. N. Pleshcheev. // Bulletin of Europe, 1887, March, pp. 432-437.
Krasnov P. N. Pleshcheev’s poetry. // Books of the Week, 1893, December, pp. 206-216.
Yudin P. L. Pleshcheev in bulk. // Historical Bulletin, 1897, May.
Yudin P. L. On the biography of Pleshcheev. // Historical Bulletin, 1905, December.
Dandeville M.V.A.N. Pleshcheev in Fort Petrovsky. (Based on unpublished letters). // Past years, 1908, October, pp. 103-141.
Sakulin P. N. Alexey Nikolaevich Pleshcheev. (1825-1893). // History of Russian literature of the 19th century. Edited by D. N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky. - M.: Publishing House "Mir", 1911. - Volume 3. Page. 481-490.
Pustilnik L. S. Life and work of A. N. Pleshcheev. - M.: Nauka, 1981. - 193 p.
A.N. Pleshcheev and Russian literature: collection of scientific articles. – Kostroma: KSU named after. ON THE. Nekrasova, 2006

Biography

Alexey Nikolaevich Pleshcheev - Russian writer, poet, translator; literary and theater critic. In 1846, the very first collection of poems made Pleshcheev famous among revolutionary youth; as a member of a circle Petrashevsky he was arrested in 1849 and some time later sent into exile, where he spent almost ten years in military service. Upon returning from exile, Pleshcheev continued his literary activity; Having gone through years of poverty and hardship, he became an authoritative writer, critic, publisher, and at the end of his life, a philanthropist. Many of the poet’s works (especially poems for children) have become textbooks and are considered classics. For poetry Pleshcheeva More than a hundred romances have been written by the most famous Russian composers.

Alexey Nikolaevich Pleshcheev was born in Kostroma on November 22 (December 4), 1825 into an impoverished noble family that belonged to the ancient Pleshcheev family (among the poet’s ancestors was Saint Alexy of Moscow): 101. The family honored literary traditions: there were several writers in the Pleshcheev family, including the famous writer S.I. Pleshcheev at the end of the 18th century.

The poet's father, Nikolai Sergeevich, served under the Olonets, Vologda and Arkhangelsk governors. A. N. Pleshcheev’s childhood was spent in Nizhny Novgorod:9, where since 1827 his father served as a provincial forester. After the death of Nikolai Sergeevich Pleshcheev in 1832, his mother, Elena Aleksandrovna (nee Gorskina), raised her son. Until the age of thirteen, the boy studied at home and received a good education, mastering three languages; then, at the request of his mother, he entered the St. Petersburg School of Guards Ensigns, moving to St. Petersburg. Here the future poet had to face the “stultifying and corrupting” atmosphere of the “Nicholas military clique,” which forever instilled “the most sincere antipathy” in his soul. Having lost interest in military service, Pleshcheev left the school of guards ensigns in 1843 (formally, having resigned “due to illness”) and entered St. Petersburg University in the category of oriental languages. Here Pleshcheev’s circle of acquaintances began to take shape: the rector of the university P. A. Pletnev , A. A. Kraevsky , Maykovs, F. M. Dostoevsky, I. A. Goncharov, D. V. Grigorovich, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

Have you seen poems signed by A. P-v in Sovremennik? I found out that this is our 1st year student, Pleshcheev. His talent is visible. I called him to me and caressed him. He walks along the eastern branch, lives with his mother, whose only son...:9 In 1845, A. N. Pleshcheev, carried away by socialist ideas, met through the Beketov brothers with members of the circle of M. V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky.

At the beginning of 1846, Pleshcheev began to attend the literary and philosophical circle of the Beketov brothers (Alexey, Andrey and Nikolai), which included the poet A. N. Maikov, critic V. N. Maikov, doctor S. D. Yanovsky, D. V. Grigorovich and others. In the circle of the Beketov brothers, Pleshcheev met F. M. Dostoevsky, with whom he had a long-term friendship.

Pleshcheev, to whom Dostoevsky dedicated his story “White Nights,” served as the prototype of the Dreamer in this work.

Petrashevsky’s circle included writers - F. M. Dostoevsky, N. A. Speshnev, S. F. Durov, A. V. Khanykov. N. Speshnev had a great influence on Pleshcheev during these days, whom the poet later spoke of as a man of “strong will and extremely honest character”:10.

Petrashevites paid significant attention to political poetry, discussing issues of its development on “Fridays”. It is known that at a dinner in honor S. Fourier read a translation of Bérenger’s “Les fous,” a work dedicated to the utopian socialists. Pleshcheev not only took an active part in discussions and the creation of propaganda poems, but also delivered forbidden manuscripts to members of the circle. Together with N. A. Mordvinov, he undertook the translation of the book by the ideologist of utopian socialism F.-R. de Lamennais“The Word of the Believer,” which was supposed to be printed in an underground printing house.

In the summer of 1845, Pleshcheev left the university due to his cramped financial situation and dissatisfaction with the educational process itself. After leaving the university, he devoted himself exclusively to literary activities, but did not give up hopes of completing his education, intending to prepare the entire university course and pass it as an external student:9. At the same time, he did not interrupt contacts with the members of the circle; Petrashevites often met at his house; Pleshcheev was perceived by them as a “poet-fighter, their Andre Chenier ».

The poems to the maiden and the moon are over forever. Another era is coming: doubt and endless torments of doubt are in progress, suffering from universal human issues, bitter crying at the shortcomings and misfortunes of mankind, at the disorder of society, complaints about the pettiness of modern characters and a solemn recognition of one’s insignificance and powerlessness, imbued with a lyrical pathos for the truth... In that pitiful the situation in which our poetry has found itself since the death of Lermontov, Mr. Pleshcheev is undoubtedly our first poet at the present time... He, as can be seen from his poems, took up the work of a poet by vocation, he strongly sympathizes with the issues of his time, suffers from all the ailments of the century, painfully tormented by the imperfections of society... The poems and stories of A. Pleshcheev, who in these years was charged with faith in the coming kingdom of “humane cosmopolitanism” (as Maykov put it), were also published in “Notes of the Fatherland” (1847-1849).

“And for our brother - a man of the second half of the 40s - France is very close to his heart. Then in domestic policy we were not allowed to poke our noses in - and we were brought up and developed on French culture, on the ideas of 1948. You can’t exterminate us... In many ways, of course, we had to be disappointed later - but in many ways we remained faithful to A. Pleshcheev - A. Chekhov, 1888.”

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In the winter of 1848-1849, Pleshcheev organized meetings of Petrashevites at his home. They were attended by F. M. Dostoevsky, M. M. Dostoevsky, S. F. Durov, A. I. Palm, N. A. Speshnev, A. P. Milyukov, N. A. Mombelli, N. Ya. Danilevsky(future conservative author of the work “Russia and Europe”), P. I. Lamansky. Pleshcheev belonged to the more moderate part of the Petrashevites. He was left indifferent by the speeches of other radical speakers who replaced the idea of a personal God with “truth in nature,” who rejected the institution of family and marriage and professed republicanism. He was alien to extremes and sought to harmonize his thoughts and feelings. The ardent passion for new socialist beliefs was not accompanied by a decisive renunciation of one’s former faith and only merged the religion of socialism and the Christian teaching about truth and love for one’s neighbor into a single whole. It is not for nothing that he took the words of Lamennay as his epigraph to the poem “Dream”: “The earth is sad and parched, but it will turn green again. The breath of the evil will not forever sweep over her like a scorching breath."

In 1849, while in Moscow (house number 44 on 3rd Meshchanskaya Street, now Shchepkina Street), Pleshcheev sent F. M. Dostoevsky a copy of the forbidden “Belinsky’s Letter to Gogol.” The police intercepted the message. On April 8, following the denunciation of the provocateur P. D. Antonelli, the poet was arrested in Moscow, transported to St. Petersburg in custody and spent eight months in the Peter and Paul Fortress. 21 people (out of 23 convicted) were sentenced to death; Pleshcheev was among them.

On December 22, along with the rest of the convicted Petrashevites, A. Pleshcheev was brought to the Semyonovsky parade ground to a special scaffold for civil execution. A re-enactment followed, which was later described in detail by F. Dostoevsky in the novel “The Idiot”, after which the decree of Emperor Nicholas I was read out, according to which the death penalty was replaced by various terms of exile to hard labor or to prison companies: 11. A. Pleshcheev was first sentenced to four years of hard labor, then transferred as a private to Uralsk to the Separate Orenburg Corps.

The situation changed for the better after the poet began to receive patronage from Governor General Count V. A. Perovsky, an old acquaintance of my mother. Pleshcheev gained access to books, became friends with the family of a lieutenant colonel (later general) who was fond of art and literature. V. D. Dandeville(to whom he dedicated several poems of those years), with Polish exiles, Taras Shevchenko, one of the creators of the literary mask of Kozma Prutkov, who was serving exile in the same region A. M. Zhemchuzhnikov and revolutionary poet M. L. Mikhailov.

In the winter of 1850 in Uralsk, Pleshcheev met Sigismund Sierakowski and his circle; they met later, in Ak-Mosque, where both served. In Serakovsky’s circle, Pleshcheev again found himself in an atmosphere of intense discussion of the same socio-political issues that worried him in St. Petersburg. “One exile supported another. The highest happiness was being in the circle of your comrades. After the drill, friendly discussions often took place. Letters from home and news brought by newspapers were the subject of endless discussion. Not a single one lost courage or hope of returning...”, its member Br. said about the circle. Zalessky. Sierakovsky’s biographer clarified that the circle discussed “issues related to the liberation of peasants and the provision of land to them, as well as the abolition of corporal punishment in the army.”

In 1857, Pleshcheev married (the daughter of the caretaker of the Iletsk salt mine, E. A. Rudneva):12, and in May 1858 he and his wife went to St. Petersburg, receiving a four-month vacation “to both capitals” and the return of the rights of hereditary nobility.

Resumption of literary activity

Already during the years of exile, A. Pleshcheev again resumed his literary activity, although he was forced to write in fits and starts. Pleshcheev's poems began to be published in 1856 in the Russian Bulletin under the characteristic title: “Old songs in a new way.” Pleshcheev of the 1840s was, according to the remark of M. L. Mikhailov, prone to romanticism; In the poems of the period of exile, romantic tendencies were preserved, but criticism noted that here the inner world of a person who “dedicated himself to the struggle for the people’s happiness” began to be more deeply explored.

In 1857, several more of his poems were published in the Russian Messenger. For researchers of the poet’s work, it remained unclear which of them were truly new and which belonged to the years of exile. It was assumed that G. Heine’s translation of “Life’s Path” (Pleshcheev’s - “And laughter, and songs, and the shine of the sun!..”), published in 1858, is one of the latter. The same line of “loyalty to ideals” was continued by the poem “In the Steppe” (“But let my days pass without joy...”). An expression of the general sentiments of the Orenburg exiled revolutionaries was the poem “After Reading the Newspapers,” the main idea of which - condemnation of the Crimean War - was consonant with the sentiments of the Polish and Ukrainian exiles.

In August 1859, after a short return to Orenburg, A. N. Pleshcheev settled in Moscow (under the “strictest supervision”) and devoted himself entirely to literature, becoming an active contributor to the Sovremennik magazine. Taking advantage of his Orenburg acquaintance with the poet M. L. Mikhailov, Pleshcheev established contacts with the updated editorial staff of the magazine: with N. A. Nekrasov, N. G. Chernyshevsky, N. A. Dobrolyubov. Among the publications where the poet published poems were also “Russian Word” (1859-1864), “Time” (1861-1862), the newspapers “Vek” (1861), “Den” (1861-1862) and “Moskovsky Vestnik” "(an editorial position in which he held in 1859-1860), St. Petersburg publications ("Svetoch", "Iskra", "Time", "Russian Word"). On December 19, 1859, the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature elected A. Pleshcheev as a full member.

At the end of the 1850s, A. Pleshcheev turned to prose, first to the short story genre, then published several stories, in particular, “Inheritance” and “Father and Daughter” (both 1857), partly autobiographical “Budnev” (1858) , “Pashintsev” and “Two Careers” (both 1859). The main target of Pleshcheev’s satire as a prose writer was pseudo-liberal denunciation and romantic epigonism, as well as the principles of “pure art” in literature (the story “Literary Evening”). Dobrolyubov wrote about the story “Pashintsev” (published in “Russian Bulletin” 1859, No. 11 and 12): “The social element constantly penetrates them and this distinguishes them from the many colorless stories of the thirties and fifties... In the history of each hero of Pleshcheev’s stories you see how he is bound by his environment, just as this little world weighs down on him with its demands and relationships - in a word, you see in the hero a social being, and not a solitary one.”

"Moskovsky Vestnik"

1860s

In 1861, Pleshcheev decided to create a new magazine, Foreign Review, and invited M. L. Mikhailov to participate in it. A year later, with Saltykov, A. M. Unkovsky, A. F. Golovachev, A. I. Evropeus and B. I. Utin, he developed a project for the magazine “Russian Truth”, but in May 1862 he was refused permission from the magazine. At the same time, an unrealized plan arose to purchase the already published newspaper “Vek”.

Period of political activity

“Have you read Chicherin’s lecture in Moskovskie Vedomosti? No matter how little you sympathize with the students, whose antics are indeed often childish, you will agree that one cannot help but feel sorry for the poor youth, condemned to listen to such flabby nonsense, such worn-out platitudes as soldiers’ trousers, and empty doctrinaire phrases! Is this the living word of science and truth? And this lecture was applauded by the comrades of the venerable doctrinaire Babst, Ketcher, Shchepkin and Co. “In secret police reports during these years, A. N. Pleshcheev continued to appear as a “conspirator”; it was written that although Pleshcheev “behaves very secretly,” he is still “suspected of disseminating ideas that disagree with the views of the government”:14. There were some reasons for such suspicion.

It is known that on July 3, 1863, a note was drawn up in the III Department, reporting that the poet-translator F.N. Berg visited Pleshcheev at his dacha and saw leaflets and typographical font from him. “Fyodor Berg responded that Pleshcheev... is positively one of the leaders of the Land and Freedom society,” the note said. On July 11, 1863, a search was carried out at Pleshcheev’s place, which did not bring any results. In a letter to the manager of the 1st expedition of the III Division, F.F. Kranz, the poet was indignant about this, explaining the presence in the house of portraits of Herzen and Ogarev, as well as several prohibited books, by literary interests. There is no exact information about Pleshcheev’s participation in “Land and Freedom”. Many contemporaries believed that Pleshcheev not only belonged to a secret society, but also ran an underground printing house, which, in particular, P. D. Boborykin wrote about. M. N. Sleptsova, in her memoirs “Navigators of the Coming Storm,” stated that among the people who were members of “Land and Freedom” and personally known to her was Pleshcheev: “In the 60s, he was in charge of a printing house in Moscow, where it was published “Young Russia”, and, in addition, participated in the “Russian Vedomosti” that had just begun in Moscow, it seems, as a columnist of foreign literature. He was a member of “Land and Freedom,” which for a long time connected him with Sleptsov,” she claimed. These statements are indirectly confirmed by letters from Pleshcheev himself. Thus, he wrote to F.V. Chizhov about his intention to “start a printing house” on September 16, 1860. A letter to Dostoevsky dated October 27, 1859, said: “I am starting a printing house myself - although not alone.”

Literary activity in the 1860s

Literary earnings brought the poet a meager income; he led the existence of a “literary proletarian,” as F. M. Dostoevsky called such people (including himself). But, as contemporaries noted, Pleshcheev behaved independently, remaining faithful to the “high humanistic Schiller idealism acquired in his youth”:101. As Yu. Zobnin wrote, “Pleshcheev, with the courageous simplicity of an exiled prince, endured the constant need of these years, huddled with his large family in tiny apartments, but did not compromise one iota either on his civic or literary conscience”:101.

Years of disappointment

In 1864, A. Pleshcheev was forced to enter the service and received the position of auditor of the control chamber of the Moscow Post Office. “Life has completely beaten me up. At my age, it’s so hard to fight like a fish on ice and wear a uniform for which I’ve never prepared,”14 he complained two years later in a letter to Nekrasov.

Pleshcheev in St. Petersburg

Pleshcheev actively supported aspiring writers. He played a vital role in the life of Ivan Surikov, who was begging and was ready to commit suicide; his life changed after the first publication arranged by Pleshcheev. Having enormous influence in editorial offices and publishing houses, Pleshcheev helped V. M. Garshin, A. Serafimovich, S. Ya. Nadson, A. Apukhtin. Pleshcheev played the most important role in the literary fate of D. S. Merezhkovsky during the years of his literary debut. The latter, as a relic, he kept in his archive a short note: “I offer Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson (Krondstadt, corner of Kozelskaya and Kronstadt, house of the Nikitin heirs, Grigoriev’s apartment) Dmitry Sergeevich Merezhkovsky (Znamenskaya, 33, apartment 9) A. Pleshcheev as a member of the society”: 99. A deep friendship connected Pleshcheev with the aspiring A.P. Chekhov, whom Pleshcheev considered the most promising of the young writers. The poet greeted Chekhov's first major story “The Steppe” with admiration: 17.

Creativity of the 1880s

Children's literature

Romances based on Pleshcheev's poems

Findings of researchers

Numerous propaganda poems were created among the Petrashevites, but only a few have survived. Presumably, many of Pleshcheev’s propaganda poems also disappeared. There is an assumption that some unsigned works published in emigrant collections of the “Lute” series may belong to Pleshcheev; These include the poem “The Righteous,” marked: “S. Petersburg. January 18, 1847."
The poem “According to our feelings, you and I are brothers...” (1846) was attributed for a long time to K. F. Ryleev. Its affiliation with Pleshcheev was established in 1954 by E. Bushkanets, who found out that its addressee was V. A. Milyutin (1826-1855), a member of Petrashevsky’s circle, an economist, whose work was paid attention to by Belinsky and Chernyshevsky.
The poem “Autumn has come, the flowers have dried...”, attributed to Pleshcheev in all collections of children's poetry, but absent in all collections of his works, does not actually belong to Pleshcheev. As the literary critic M. N. Zolotonosov established, the author of this text is the inspector of the Moscow educational district Alexey Grigorievich Baranov (1844-1911), the compiler of the collection in which this poem was first published.
The poem “I feel sorry for her...” (“Give me your hand. I understand your ominous sadness...”) was published with a dedication to D. A. Tolstoy, with whom the poet was friends in his youth. Tolstoy, however, subsequently acquired a reputation as a “reactionary” and even became the chief of the gendarme corps. In this regard, as it turned out later, A. A. Pleshcheev, the son of the poet, urgently asked P. V. Bykov not to include the poem in the collection or to delete the dedication.:238
For a long time there were disputes about who could be addressed to the poem “S...u” (1885), which began with the words: “Before you lies a wide new path...”. The most convincing was the version of S. A. Makashin, according to which his addressee was Saltykov-Shchedrin. In the magazine publication it had the subtitle: “When entering the field.” Pleshcheev valued Shchedrin as “a truly enormous talent” and considered him one of the “best people in his country”:241.

Addresses

In Moscow: Nashchokinsky Lane, 10 (the house has not survived); Trubnikovsky Lane (on Prechistenka), 35; Arbat, 36; Malaya Dmitrovka, 22 (reconstructed); Ruzheyny Lane, 3.
In St. Petersburg: 1872-1890 - house of M. B. Bulatova - Bolshaya Spasskaya street, 1.