The position of N. Karamzin on the reign of Alexander I. Research work of students "History of Karamzin" "N.M. Karamzin is a true patriot of his Fatherland

210 years ago, by decree of Emperor Alexander I (November 12, 1803), the famous writer Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was appointed "Russian historiographer." Historiographer of the Russian state is an honorary title for a historian Russian Empire, which imposed on him the duty of writing a "general Russian history". G. F. Miller was appointed the first Russian historiographer in 1747, M. M. Shcherbatov became the second in 1768, and N. M. Karamzin was the third and last.

A descendant of the baptized Tatar prince Simeon Kara-Murza (kara - black, murza - prince), who distinguished himself in the military field under Vasily Shuisky, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born on December 1, 1766 in the village of Karamzinovka, Simbirsk province, in the family of a nobleman - a middle-class landowner, retired captain Mikhail Yegorovich Karamzin and Ekaterina Petrovna (nee Pozukhina). Nikolenka was also loved by her stepmother Avdotya Gavrilovna Dmitrieva (aunt of the famous poet I. I. Dmitrieva). Nicholas was educated at home; studied in Moscow at the boarding house of I. M. Shaden (from 1775 to 1781). From childhood, assigned to the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment as an ensign, in 1881 Nikolai entered active service. In 1783, he retired with the rank of lieutenant and returned to Simbirsk, where he became friends with the director of Moscow University, IP Turgenev.

Arriving to visit I.P. Turgenev in Moscow, N.M. Karamzin stayed behind, became the author and translator of N.I. publishing their translations and novels. In the 1790s, N. M. Karamzin was the publisher of the Moscow Journal, the almanac Aglaya, the journal Pantheon of Foreign Literature, and the famous journal Vestnik Evropy. Karamzin is the founder of a trend in literature, sentimentalism. P. A. Vyazemsky wrote about him: “Our language was caftan heavy and smelled too old, Karamzin gave a different cut - let the splits grumble to themselves - everyone accepted his cut.”

In 1789-1890. Karamzin went abroad, visited Germany, Switzerland, France and England. He described his impressions of the trip in Letters from a Russian Traveler. He was wary of the Great French Revolution, recognizing that "The French Revolution is one of those phenomena that determine the fate of mankind for a long series of centuries." In this work, he also outlined his idea of ​​Russian history: “They say that our history in itself is less entertaining: I don’t think, only mind, taste, talent are needed. You can choose, animate, color; and the reader will be surprised how something attractive, strong could come out of Nestor, Nikon, etc. noteworthy not only Russians, but also foreigners ... " Karamzin's interest in history was also manifested in writing stories - "Marfa Posadnitsa", "Natalya - boyar daughter". In 1800, he admitted that “he got into Russian history up to his ears; I sleep and see Nikon with Nestor. In 1802, responding to the accession to the throne of Alexander I, Karamzin wrote "Historical eulogy to Catherine II", where he said: "Fellow citizens! we recognize in the depths of our hearts beneficence monarchical government... It is more consistent with the goal than all others civil societies: for all contributes more to silence and security.

In 1803, I. I. Dmitriev asked the Secretary of State M. N. Muravyov to apply for N. M. Karamzin the position of Russian historiographer. On October 31, 1803, Karamzin received a decree signed by Alexander I appointing him an official historiographer. He was given the task of writing a complete history of Russia. Karamzin was granted the rank of court councilor and "assigned ... two thousand rubles of an annual boarding school." Karamzin studied the archives and book collections of the Synod, the Hermitage, the Academy of Sciences, the Public Library, Moscow University, the Alexander Nevsky and Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the treasures of private collections of Russian antiquities - Musin-Pushkin, Rumyantsev, Turgenev, Muravyov, Tolstoy, Uvarov. At his request, searches were conducted in the monasteries and archives of Oxford, Venice, Paris, Prague, Copenhagen, Koenigsberg and the Vatican. Many foreign libraries and archives were examined by AI Turgenev. In Moscow, A. F. Malinovsky, A. N. Olenin, A. N. Musin-Pushkin, N. P. Rumyantsev helped him a lot. Ostromir Gospel of 1056-1057, Ipatiev, Trinity, Volyn chronicles, Sudebnik of Ivan the Terrible, work ancient Russian literature"The Prayer of Daniil the Sharpener", "Journey Beyond Three Seas" in the Trinity List of the late 15th - early 16th centuries - this is only a small part of what Karamzin found.

Many years later, A. S. Pushkin wrote: “ Ancient Russia seemed to have been found by Karamzin, just as America had been found by Colomb. Back in January 1804, Karamzin married Ekaterina Andreevna Kolyvanova, the natural daughter of Prince A. I. Vyazemsky, and settled in the Vyazemsky Ostafyevo estate near Moscow, where he wrote his History in silence. The first eight volumes of The History of the Russian State were presented to Alexander I in 1818. The first edition was published in 3,000 copies and sold out in three weeks; the second edition appeared in 1819-1824, the last, 12th volume, appeared in 1829.

According to Karamzin, the main idea of ​​his "History of the Russian State" was that Russia, both in the past and in the present, rested on autocracy. According to Karamzin driving force historical process was autocratic power; without autocracy there is no Russia, the Russian tsars united Russia, gathered the earth into one whole. “Great nations are like great men, have their own infancy, and should not be ashamed of it: our fatherland, weak, divided into small regions until 862, according to Nestor’s chronology, owes its greatness to its happy introduction of monarchical power.”

Nikolai Mikhailovich said about the purpose of the work in the preface: “rulers, legislators act according to the instructions of history and look at its sheets like navigators look at the drawings of the seas.” The history of an ordinary citizen “reconciles ... with the imperfection of the visible order of things, as with an ordinary phenomenon in all ages; consoles in public calamities. "History of the Russian State" begins with the chapter "On the peoples who have lived in Russia since ancient times, and the Slavs in general." Further, directly from the annals, the Norman theory of the “calling” of princes is set forth. The Varangians founded two "autocratic regions" in Russia: Rurik - in the north, Askold and Dir - in the south. After the death of the brothers, Rurik founded the Russian monarchy. The history of the Russian state recognizes this state as powerful and glorious. However, after the death of Yaroslav I, autocracy ceases to exist. The division of the state between the sons of Yaroslav leads to the loss of "power and prosperity" by Ancient Russia, "after that the state weakened and collapsed for more than three hundred years."

The rise of monarchical power is characteristic only of the Rostov-Suzdal principality under Andrei Bogolyubsky. With his death, a period of anarchy begins again. The consequence of this anarchy was the conquest of Russian lands by the Mongols, which threw Russia far back into its cultural development. However, "evil also has good consequences." Without the Tatar-Mongols, Russia would have perished from princely strife. Moscow, according to N. Karamzin, "owes its greatness to the khans."

Since the time of Ivan Kalita, monarchical power has been growing stronger. Dmitry Donskoy, suppressing the separatism of the specific princes, sought to "assert his power." The Battle of Kulikovo showed the revival of Russian forces in the fight against Tatar-Mongol yoke. Ivan III is the creator of autocratic power in Russia. The anti-hero of Karamzin is Ivan the Terrible, because of his fight against the boyars with the most drastic measures. According to Karamzin, Boris Godunov is a gloomy personality, with the torments of a murderous tsar. Vasily Shuisky, his ill-wisher, a flattering courtier, who was famous for the mind of a “dumb man”. The presentation of the events of the peasant war and the Polish-Swedish intervention was not brought to the end by the historian. The events of volume 12 end in the tenth years of the 15th century, with the words "Nutlet did not give up."

For Karamzin, the author of The History of the Russian State, the monarchy is given by God, only a rigid monarchical power can save Russia from its largest territories because monarchs always think about what they will leave as a legacy to their children; the monarchy is the sacred pivot of history. By order Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna in 1811 N. M. Karamzin compiled a “Note on the ancient and new Russia in its political and civil relations", an essay on the history of Russia and its state of the art, imbued with the idea of ​​the unshakable and saving role of autocracy as the basis of Russian statehood. The note begins with the calling of the Varangians and ends with the time of Alexander I. Projects of houses Z500 projects of houses for two families in Moscow

In order not to repeat ourselves, let us trace the concept of Karamzin from the first Romanovs. The first Romanovs are the rapprochement of Russia with the West, the borrowing of Western models in everyday life, in military affairs, in civilian institutions. This process was slow. Rigid penetration of Westernism - the reign of Peter I. “The goal was not only the new greatness of Russia, but also the perfect appropriation of European customs ...” “Peter ... corrected, multiplied the army, won a brilliant victory over the skillful enemy ..; conquered Livonia, created a fleet, founded harbors, issued many wise laws, brought trade, 32 ore mines to a better state, started manufactories, schools, an academy, finally, put Russia on a famous degree in political system Europe".

And most importantly, Peter “powerfully grabbed the helm of the state with his hand. He rushed through the storm and waves to his goal: he reached it - and everything changed. The harmful side of these transformations is the unbridled imitation of the West. Thanks to Peter's reforms, "we became citizens of the world, but ceased to be, in some cases, citizens of Russia." In his desire to impose Westernism from above, Peter reached autocracy. Another mistake Peter Karamzin saw was that he founded a new capital on the northern edge of the state, among the swells of the swamps, in places "condemned by nature to barrenness and lack."

According to Karamzin, the church should have been raised somewhat. Peter's heirs are a weak shadow of the monarch. Menshikov thought only about the benefits of his personal lust for power; under Anna, Biron, Petrov’s daughter Elizaveta, “an idle and voluptuous woman, lulled by negligence”, was mainly ruled. New conspiracy- and unfortunate Peter III in the grave with her miserable vices ... Catherine II was the true successor to the greatness of Petrov. Its main task is to soften the autocracy. She caressed the so-called philosophers of the 18th century and was captivated by the character of the ancient republicans, but she wanted to command like an earthly God, and she commanded. Catherine did not demand from the Russians anything contrary to their conscience and civic skills, trying only to exalt the Fatherland given to her by Heaven or her glory - with victories, legislation, enlightenment.

The reign of Catherine was also negative. "AT public institutions of that time contained more brilliance than solidity. Paul I began to dominate "universal horror", not following the charters, but only whims. The ascension to the throne of Alexander I caused general rejoicing. In a note, Karamzin warned Alexander I that he should not limit autocracy, because "the autocracy founded and resurrected Russia: with the change in the state Charter, it perished and must perish." Karamzin concluded the note as follows: “Autocracy is the palladium of Russia; her wholeness is essential to her happiness; it does not follow from this that the sovereign, the only source of power, has the right to humiliate the nobility, as ancient as Russia.

In 1812, Russia entered the war with Napoleonic France. Already after the victory, in 1813, N. M. Karamzin visited burned-out Moscow and wrote about it to I. I. Dmitriev: “I cried on the road, I cried here too; There is no Moscow: only a corner of it remains. Not only houses burned down, the very morality of people has changed for the worse, as they say. Markedly bitterness; and impudence, which has not happened before, is also visible.

In 1818, N. M. Karamzin was elected an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In the autumn of 1819, Emperor Alexander I told the historian in one of his conversations that he wanted to restore Poland "within its ancient borders." In response to this, Karamzin wrote a note to Alexander I entitled "The Opinion of a Russian Citizen." In the note, Karamzin not only expressed his attitude to the "Polish question", but formulated some principles state structure Russia, the main of which is the principle of the territorial integrity of Russia. The Emperor of Russia, having full power, had no right, according to the historiographer, to cede even an inch of Russian land to anyone.

“Old fortresses,” Karamzin noted, “are not in Politics: otherwise we would have to restore the Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms, the Novgorod Republic, the Grand Duchy of Ryazan, and so on ... In addition, the old fortresses of Belarus, Volhynia, Podolia, along with Galicia were once the indigenous heritage of Russia. If you give them back, then Kyiv, Chernigov, and Smolensk will be demanded from you: for they also belonged to hostile Lithuania for a long time. Either all or nothing ... hitherto our state rule was: not an span to the enemy, not to the friend! Napoleon could conquer Russia; but you, although an Autocrat, could not cede to him a single Russian hut by agreement ... I hear the Russians and know them: we would lose not only beautiful areas, but also love for the Tsar; they would have cooled their souls towards the Fatherland, seeing it as a plaything of autocratic arbitrariness; would have weakened not only by the reduction of the State, but also in spirit, would have humbled themselves before others and before themselves ... In a word, the restoration of Poland will be the fall of Russia, or our sons will stain the Polish land with their blood and again take Prague by storm! .. "

In 1824, Karamzin received the title of real state councilor. In November 1825, Emperor Alexander I died. On behalf of Nicholas I, Karamzin drew up a manifesto on his accession to the throne. From the manifesto, censorship removed everything that, according to Karamzin, was to form the foundation of a new reign: "true enlightenment of the mind" and "peaceful freedom of civil life." After the day of the oath to Nicholas I on December 19, Karamzin wrote to his friend Dmitriev: “We are healthy after the local alarm on December 14. I was in the Palace with my daughters, went out to St. Isaac's Square, saw terrible faces, heard terrible words, and five or six stones fell at my feet ... The army spent the night, among the lights, around the Palace. At midnight, I ... was already walking along the quiet streets, but at 11 o'clock in the morning, on December 15, I saw more crowds of mob on Nevsky Prospekt. Soon everything calmed down, and the army was released to the barracks... What an absurd tragedy of our insane Liberalists! God forbid that there are not so many true villains among them!

A night spent on Senate Square, caused colds and pneumonia. On May 13, 1826, Karamzin received a rescript from Alexander I: “Nikolai Mikhailovich! Your disordered health compels you to leave your homeland for a while and seek the most favorable climate for you. I consider it a pleasure to explain to you my sincere desire that you soon return to us with renewed strength ... ". In the appendix to the rescript, Karamzin was given a pension of fifty thousand a year from the state. This amount after him was to be paid to his wife, sons until they entered the service and daughters until they got married. May 22 (June 3), 1826 Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin died. He was buried at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.

In 1833, the Simbirsk nobles turned to the tsar for permission to erect a monument to N. M. Karamzin in their city. A committee was created to raise funds for the monument, money was collected throughout Russia. Nicholas I himself, who visited Simbirsk in 1836, chose the site of the monument. The author of the project was the classicist sculptor Samuil Galberg. In 1839 Galberg died and the monument was finalized by his students A. A. Ivanov, P. A. Stavasser, N. A. Ramazanov and K. M. Klimchenko. On August 22, 1845, the monument was unveiled. Muse Clio on the pedestal of the monument appeared before the eyes of the public in its mythological sinful grandeur. Right hand she laid on the altar of immortality the tablets of the “History of the Russian State” - the main work of N. M. Karamzin, and in her left she held a pipe, with which she intended to broadcast about the glorious pages of the life of Russia. In the pedestal of the monument, in a round niche, there was a bust of the historian.

The pedestal is decorated with high reliefs. In the northern high relief, Karamzin is depicted reading an excerpt from his History to Alexander I and his sister Ekaterina Pavlovna in Tver in 1811. On the other, Nikolai Mikhailovich is depicted on his deathbed, surrounded by his family. All figures of the monument are depicted in antique clothes. The inscription on the pedestal read: "N. M. Karamzin historian Russian state By order of Emperor Nicholas I, 1844. The total height of the monument is nine meters, it is surrounded by a lattice.

Not everyone understood the sculptor's idea... This is what Russkiy Vestnik wrote in 1863: “The Karamzin monument is one of the best adornments of the city of Simbirsk, but, unfortunately, the allegorical character given to this monument significantly reduces the impression it makes. The staging of the statue of Clio and the depiction of faces on the bas-reliefs in an unnatural position and half-naked, seems completely incomprehensible not only to the people, but also to most literate people. The common people, having no idea about the muse of Clio, consider the statue ... the image of the wife of the late historian, and. in general, thanks to this statue, the whole monument is known among the people under the name of the cast-iron woman.

In 1866, a square was laid out around the statue, similar to English parks. In 1931, the monument was almost demolished, and the well-known architect Feofan Evtikheevich Volsov spoke out in defense of the monument. Through his efforts, the monument was preserved.

Alla Eroshkina

“I have lost the sweet angel who made up all the happiness of my life. Judge what I feel, dearest brother. You didn't know her; nor could they have known my excessive love for her; they could not see the last minutes of her priceless life, in which she, forgetting her torment, thought only of her unfortunate husband.... Everything has disappeared for me, dear brother, and only the grave remains in the subject. I will do as much work as I can: Lizanka wanted that. I'm sorry, dear brother, I'm sure you're sorry." The misfortunes are not over.

October 31, 1803 - the decree of Alexander I on the appointment of Karamzin as a historiographer with a salary of two thousand rubles a year in banknotes.

Refusal from distant wanderings, from the proposed Derpt professorship. Refusal of prose, poetry, journalism. Until the end of days - a historian! It was like jumping into an abyss, as if in response to some call that he alone could hear.

37 years "in the old way" - much more than now: this is already late maturity; a little more - and old age. Pushkin will later appreciate the feat of Karamzin, begun "already in those years when for ordinary people the circle of education and knowledge has long ended, and chores in the service are replacing efforts for enlightenment. Decide on such a change of everything - goals, occupations, life; so decide! Of course, the act had its own prologue (of which something has already been said). Karamzin the historian began in Paris in 1790, at fatal moments; and in Letters from a Russian Traveler, when I had to write about these minutes. Still not foreseeing his fate, he placed in the "Letters" the most important prophecy, addressed, as it were, to others:

“It hurts, but it must be said in fairness that we still do not have a good Russian history, that is, written with a philosophical mind, with criticism, with noble eloquence. Tacitus, Hume, Robertson, Gibbon - these are examples! It is said that our History itself is less entertaining than others: I don't think so; All you need is intelligence, taste, talent. You can choose, animate, color; and the reader will be surprised how from Nestor, Nikon and so on. something attractive, strong, worthy of the attention not only of Russians, but also of foreigners could come out. The genealogy of the princes, their quarrels, internecine strife, Polovtsy raids are not very curious: I agree; but why fill volumes with them? Whatever is cut, as Hume did in „ English history“; but all the features that signify the property of the Russian people, the character of our ancient heroes, excellent people, incidents that are really curious, can be described vividly, strikingly. We had our own Charlemagne: Vladimir, our own Louis XI: Tsar John, our own Cromwell: Godunov, and yet such a sovereign, who was nowhere like it: Peter the Great. The time of their reign constitutes the most important epochs in our history and even in the history of mankind; it must be presented in painting, and the rest can be described, but in the way that Raphael or Michelangelo did their drawings.

History in faces

From the notebooks of P.A. Vyazemsky:

When Karamzin was appointed as a historiographer, he went to visit someone and said to the servant: "If they don't accept me, then write me down." When the servant returned and said that the owner was not at home, Karamzin asked him: “Have you written me down?” - “Wrote down”, - “What did you write down?” - "Karamzin, Count of History"

Quoted from: Vyazemsky P.A. Notebooks (1813-1848). M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1963

The world at this time

In 1803, the "Act of Meditation" was issued, Napoleon Bonaparte granted the Constitution to Switzerland

“The aristocratic-federalist party, having received support from Bonaparte, on October 28, 1801, seized power in its own hands, but did not hold it for long. He allowed the Unitarians to stage another coup (April 17, 1802) and then withdrew French troops from Switzerland.This circumstance served as a signal for a general uprising of the federalists.The Helvetic government was forced to flee from Bern to Lausanne and asked for mediation from the first consul. The latter ordered the rebels to put down their arms and offered to send representatives of both parties to Paris to work out a draft of a new constitution with them. To reinforce his demands, he ordered Ney, with an army of 12 thousand people, to enter Switzerland again. February 19, 1803 .new federal constitution, called the Act of Mediation, t was solemnly presented by Bonaparte to the Swiss commissioners. This constitution, worked out by concessions from both parties, brought peace to the country. Switzerland formed union state from 19 cantons. The cantons were supposed to assist each other in case of external or internal danger, did not have the right to fight with each other, and also to conclude agreements between themselves or with other states. In internal affairs The cantons enjoyed self-government. In addition to the 13 old cantons, the Union included Graubünden, Aargau, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Waadt and Tessin. Wallis, Geneva and Neuchâtel were not included in the Union. Each canton with a population of more than 100,000 had two votes in the Sejm, the rest - one each. At the head of the Union was the Landammann, who was elected annually in turn by the cantons of Freiburg, Bern, Solothurn, Basel, Zurich and Lucerne. On September 27, 1803, in Freiburg, Switzerland concluded a defensive and offensive alliance treaty with France, under which she undertook to deliver an army of 16,000 people to France. This obligation placed a heavy burden on Switzerland, but in general Switzerland suffered less from the warlike enterprises of Napoleon than all other vassal states.

Quoted from: encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron. SPb: Publishing Society F. A. Brockhaus — I. A. Efron, 1890-1907

Municipal educational institution

Salmanovskaya secondary school

District stage of the regional competition of research works of students

"History of Karamzin"

“N.M. Karamzin is a true patriot of his Fatherland"

Tel. 8 (84-254) 31-1-95

Scientific adviser: Boldareva Nadezhda Alexandrovna,

teacher of history and social studies

MOUSalmanovskaya secondary school

Table of contents

1.Introduction………………………………………………………………………...3

2. Purpose, research methods…………………………………………………….4

3.Main part………………………………………………………………..5-13

3.1. Biography of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin and the first years of his work ......................................................................................

3.2. Writer, journalist……………………………………………………...8

3.3. N.M. Karamzin-historian……………………………………………………9-13

4.Conclusion…………………………………..………………………………..14

5. Literature………………….……………………………………………………15

Introduction

They love their homeland, not

That she is great

And for being your own.

(Seneca Lucius Annaeus Jr.)

Patriotis a person servinghomeland, amotherland- it is first of all the people.

Realpatriot- this is the person who not only loves hismotherlandbut never betray her.

Motherland! A small and beloved piece of land, the most priceless corner of the heart. Here you were born, took the first steps. Perhaps you will not find such a person who would not be interested in history native land, the history of his small homeland. Each person has his own homeland. For some it is Big city, others have a small village, but all people love it equally. Some leave for other cities, countries, but nothing will replace it.

The information collected here will help in preparing schoolchildren for local history lessons. The work can make you think that we are responsible for our future and our past.

To write this work, a lot of documents containing information from N.M. Karamzin. It should be noted that the search and study of materials was carried out jointly with the teacher of history and social studies of our school, who visited the archives of the local history museum of the Ulyanovsk region and found useful and interesting documents in the funds that characterize the issue raised in the work. Analyzing the material of these documents, we came to the conclusion that they are of interest for study and are a carrier of useful, and sometimes previously unknown information.

2. Purpose, research methods.

Topic my work is as follows: “N.M. Karamzin is a true patriot of his Fatherland. I believe that this question is given time is becoming increasingly important

Research objectives:

Consider the biography of N.M. Karamzin, explore the contribution this person, our countryman in the history of Russia.

To study, organize, generalize the materials of previous studies.

Research methods: comparison, systematization.

Relevance and novelty of this work is that in it for the first time an attempt was made to systematize information about N.M. Karamzin. This information can be useful for studying both the history of our region and for studying the history of Russia.

3. Karamzin Nikolai Mikhailovich.

3.1. Biography of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin and the first years of his work

“Patriotism is love for the good and glory of the Fatherland and the desire to contribute to them in every way.” These words of Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin from his article "On Love for the Fatherland and National Pride"

Who is he?

We know very little about Karamzin's childhood and youth - neither diaries, nor letters from relatives, nor youthful writings have been preserved. We know that he was born on December 1 (12 n.s.) 1766 in the village of Mikhailovka, Simbirsk province, in the family of a landowner. At that time it was an incredible backwoods, a real bearish corner.

When the boy was 11 or 12 years old, his father, a retired captain, took his son to Moscow, to a boarding school at the university gymnasium. Here Karamzin stayed for some time, and then entered the real military service- it's 15 years old! The teachers prophesied for him not only the Moscow-Leipzig University, but somehow it didn’t work out. The exceptional education of Karamzin is his personal merit.

At the age of 14, he began to study at the Moscow private boarding school of Professor Shaden. After graduating in 1783, he came to the Preobrazhensky Regiment in St. Petersburg, where he met the young poet and future employee of his "Moscow Journal" Dmitriev. Then he published his first translation of S. Gesner's idyll "Wooden Leg". After retiring with the rank of second lieutenant in 1784, he moved to Moscow, became one of the active participants in the magazine Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind, published by N. Novikov, and became close to the Masons. Engaged in translations of religious and moral writings. From 1787 he regularly published his translations of Thomson's The Seasons, Janlis's Village Evenings, W. Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar, and Lessing's tragedy Emilia Galotti.

In 1789, Karamzin's first original story, Evgeny and Yulia, appeared in the magazine "Children's Reading ...". In the spring, he went on a trip to Europe: he visited Germany, Switzerland, France, where he observed the activities of the revolutionary government. In June 1790 he moved from France to England.

In the autumn he returned to Moscow and soon undertook the publication of the monthly Moscow Journal, in which most of"Letters from a Russian Traveler", the stories "Liodor", " Poor Lisa"," Natalia, the boyar's daughter "," Flor Silin ", essays, stories, critical articles and poems. Karamzin attracted Dmitriev and Petrov, Kheraskov and Derzhavin, Lvov Neledinsky-Meletsky and others to cooperate in the journal. Karamzin's articles approved a new literary direction - sentimentalism In the 1790s Karamzin published the first Russian almanacs - "Aglaya" (parts 1 - 2, 1794 - 95) and "Aonides" (parts 1 - 3, 1796 - 99). The French Revolution was established Jacobin dictatorship, which shocked Karamzin with its cruelty. The dictatorship aroused in him doubts about the possibility for mankind to achieve prosperity. He condemned the revolution. The philosophy of despair and fatalism permeates his new works: the stories "Bornholm Island" (1793); "Sierra Morena "(1795); poems "Melancholy", "Message to A. A. Pleshcheev", etc.

By the mid-1790s, Karamzin had become the recognized head of Russian sentimentalism, which opened new page in Russian literature. He was an indisputable authority for Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, the young Pushkin.

In 1802 - 1803 Karamzin published the journal Vestnik Evropy, which was dominated by literature and politics. In the critical articles of Karamzin, a new aesthetic program emerged, which contributed to the formation of Russian literature as a nationally original one. Karamzin saw the key to the identity of Russian culture in history. The most striking illustration of his views was the story "Marfa Posadnitsa". In his political articles, Karamzin made recommendations to the government, pointing out the role of education.

Trying to influence Tsar Alexander I, Karamzin gave him his Note on Ancient and New Russia (1811), irritating him. In 1819 he filed a new note - "The Opinion of a Russian Citizen", which caused even greater displeasure of the tsar. However, Karamzin did not abandon his faith in the salvation of the enlightened autocracy and later condemned the Decembrist uprising. However, Karamzin the artist was still highly appreciated by young writers who did not even share his political convictions.

In 1803, through M. Muravyov, Karamzin received the official title of court historiographer.

In 1804, he began to create the "History of the Russian State", on which he worked until the end of his days, but did not complete it. In 1818 the first eight volumes of History, Karamzin's greatest scientific and cultural achievement, were published. In 1821, the 9th volume was published, dedicated to the reign of Ivan the Terrible, in 1824 - the 10th and 11th, about Fyodor Ioannovich and Boris Godunov. Death interrupted work on the 12th volume. It happened on May 22 (June 3, NS) 1826 in St. Petersburg.

It turns out that I have a Fatherland!

The first eight volumes of The History of the Russian State came out all at once in 1818. They say that, closing the eighth and last volume, Fyodor Tolstoy, nicknamed the American, exclaimed: "It turns out that I have a Fatherland!" And he was not alone. Thousands of people thought, and most importantly, felt this very thing. Everyone read "History" - students, officials, nobles, even secular ladies. They read it in Moscow and St. Petersburg, they read it in the provinces: distant Irkutsk alone bought 400 copies. After all, it is so important for everyone to know that he has it, the Fatherland. This confidence was given to the people of Russia by Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin.

Need a story

In those days, at the beginning of the 19th century, ancient, age-old Russia suddenly turned out to be young, a beginner. Here she entered Big world. Everything was born anew: the army and navy, factories and manufactories, science and literature. And it might seem that the country has no history - was there anything before Peter, except for the dark ages of backwardness and barbarism? Do we have history? "Yes," replied Karamzin.

3.2. Writer, journalist

Writer

The military service did not go - I wanted to write: compose, translate. And now, at the age of 17, Nikolai Mikhailovich is already a retired lieutenant. A whole life ahead. What to dedicate it to? Literature, exclusively literature - Karamzin decides.

And what was she, Russian literature XVIII century? Also young, a beginner. Karamzin writes to a friend: "I am deprived of the pleasure of reading a lot on mother tongue. We are still poor in writers. We have several poets who deserve to be read." Of course, there are already writers, and not just a few, but Lomonosov, Fonvizin, Derzhavin, but there are no more than a dozen significant names. Are there really few talents? No, they are, but the matter has become language: the Russian language has not adapted yet to convey new thoughts, new feelings, to describe new objects.

Karamzin makes a live setup colloquial speech educated people. He writes not scholarly treatises, but travel notes("Notes of a Russian Traveler"), short stories ("Bornholm Island", "Poor Lisa"), poems, articles, translates from French and German.

Journalist

Finally, he decides to publish a magazine. It was called simply: "Moscow Journal". The well-known playwright and writer Ya. B. Knyazhnin picked up the first issue and exclaimed: "We did not have such prose!"

The success of the "Moscow Journal" was grandiose - as many as 300 subscribers. At the time, a very large number. That's how small is not only writing, reading Russia!

Karamzin works incredibly hard. Collaborates in the first Russian children's magazine. It was called "Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind". Only FOR this magazine Karamzin wrote two dozen pages every week.

Karamzin for his time is the number one writer.

3.3. N.M. Karamzin the historian

"History of Russian Goverment"
is not only the creation of a great writer,
but also the feat of an honest man.
A. S. Pushkin

And suddenly Karamzin takes on a gigantic job - to compose his native Russian history. On October 31, 1803, Tsar Alexander I issued a decree appointing N. M. Karamzin as a historiographer with a salary of 2,000 rubles a year. Now he is a historian for the rest of his life. But, apparently, it was necessary.

Chronicles, decrees, lawsuits

Now - write. But for this you need to collect material. The search began. Karamzin literally combs through all the archives and book collections of the Synod, the Hermitage, the Academy of Sciences, the Public Library, Moscow University, the Alexander Nevsky and Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At his request, they search in monasteries, in the archives of Oxford, Paris, Venice, Prague and Copenhagen. And how much was found!

Ostromir Gospel of 1056 - 1057 (this is still the oldest dated Russian book), Ipatiev, Trinity chronicles. Sudebnik of Ivan the Terrible, a work of ancient Russian literature "The Prayer of Daniel the Sharpener" and much more.

They say, having discovered a new chronicle - Volyn, Karamzin did not sleep for several nights for joy. Friends laughed that he had become simply unbearable - only talk about history.

What will she be?

Materials are being collected, but how to take up the text, how to write a book that even the simplest person will read, but from which even an academician will not wince? How to make it interesting, artistic, and at the same time scientific? And here are the volumes. Each is divided into two parts: in the first - a detailed story written by a great master - this is for a simple reader; in the second - detailed notes, references to sources - this is for historians.

This is true patriotism

Karamzin writes to his brother: "History is not a novel: a lie can always be beautiful, and only some minds like the truth in its attire." So what to write about? To set out in detail the glorious pages of the past, and only turn over the dark pages? Perhaps this is exactly what a patriotic historian should do? No, Karamzin decides - patriotism is only not due to the distortion of history. He doesn't add anything, he doesn't invent anything, he doesn't exalt victories or downplay defeats.

Drafts of the 7th volume were accidentally preserved: we see how Karamzin worked on every phrase of his "History". Here he writes about Basil III: "in relations with Lithuania, Vasily ... always ready for peacefulness ..." It's not that, it's not true. The historian crosses out what was written and concludes: "In relations with Lithuania, Vasily expressed peacefulness in words, trying to harm her secretly or openly." Such is the impartiality of the historian, such is true patriotism. Love for one's own, but not hatred for someone else's.

Ancient Russia seemed to be found by Karamzin, like America by Columbus

The ancient history of Russia is being written, and modern history is being made around it: the Napoleonic wars, the battle of Austerlitz, the Treaty of Tilsit, Patriotic War 12th year, the fire of Moscow. In 1815, Russian troops enter Paris. In 1818 the first 8 volumes of The History of the Russian State were published. Circulation is a terrible thing! - 3 thousand copies. And they all sold out in 25 days. Unheard of! But the price is considerable: 50 rubles.

The last volume stopped in the middle of the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible.

Some said - Jacobin!

Even earlier, the trustee of Moscow University, Golenishchev-Kutuzov, submitted to the Minister of Public Education, to put it mildly, a document in which he argued in detail that "Karamzin's writings are filled with free-thinking and Jacobin poison." "It's not the order that he should be given, it's time to lock him up."

Why so? First of all - for independence of judgments. Not everyone likes it.

There is an opinion that Nikolai Mikhailovich never in his life lied.

- Monarchist! - exclaimed others, young people, future Decembrists.

Yes, main character"History" Karamzin - Russian autocracy. The author condemns bad sovereigns, sets good ones as an example. And he sees prosperity for Russia in an enlightened, wise monarch. That is, a "good king" is needed. Karamzin does not believe in revolution, especially in an ambulance. So, we really have a monarchist.

And at the same time, the Decembrist Nikolai Turgenev will later recall how Karamzin "shed tears" upon learning of the death of Robespierre, the hero of the French Revolution. And here is what Nikolai Mikhailovich himself writes to a friend: "I do not demand either a constitution or representatives, but by feeling I will remain a republican, and, moreover, a loyal subject of the Russian tsar: this is a contradiction, but only an imaginary one."

Why is he not with the Decembrists then? Karamzin believed that Russia's time had not yet come, the people were not ripe for a republic.

good king

The ninth volume has not yet been published, and rumors have already spread that it is banned. It began like this: "We proceed to describe the terrible change in the soul of the king and in the fate of the kingdom." So, the story about Ivan the Terrible continues.

Earlier historians did not dare to openly describe this reign. Not surprising. For example, the conquest of free Novgorod by Moscow. True, Karamzin the historian reminds us that the unification of the Russian lands was necessary, but Karamzin the artist gives a vivid picture of exactly how the conquest of the free northern city took place:

“Ioann and his son judged in this way: every day they presented to them from five hundred to a thousand Novgorodians; they beat them, tortured them, burned them with some kind of fiery composition, tied their heads or feet to a sleigh, dragged them to the banks of the Volkhov, where this river does not freeze in winter, and whole families were thrown from the bridge into the water, wives with husbands, mothers with infants. Moscow warriors rode in boats along the Volkhov with stakes, hooks and axes: who of those plunged into the water surfaced, that one was stabbed, cut into pieces. These murders lasted five weeks and consisted of general robbery.

And so on almost every page - executions, murders, burning of prisoners at the news of the death of the tsar's favorite villain Malyuta Skuratov, an order to destroy an elephant that refused to kneel before the tsar ... and so on.

Remember, this is written by a person who is convinced that autocracy is necessary in Russia.

Yes, Karamzin was a monarchist, but at the trial the Decembrists referred to the "History of the Russian State" as one of the sources of "harmful" thoughts.

He did not want his book to become a source of harmful thoughts. He wanted to tell the truth. It just so happened that the truth he wrote turned out to be "harmful" for the autocracy.

And here is December 14, 1825. Having received news of the uprising (for Karamzin, this, of course, is a rebellion), the historian goes out into the street. He was in Paris in 1790, was in Moscow in 1812, in 1825 he was walking towards the Senate Square. "I saw terrible faces, heard terrible words, five or six stones fell at my feet."

Karamzin, of course, is against the uprising. But how many among the rebels are the Muravyov brothers, Nikolai Turgenev Bestuzhev, Kuchelbeker (he translated "History" into German).

A few days later Karamzin would say this about the Decembrists: "The errors and crimes of these young people are the errors and crimes of our age."

After the uprising, Karamzin fell mortally ill - he caught a cold on December 14th. In the eyes of his contemporaries, he was another victim of that day. But he dies not only from a cold - the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe world collapsed, faith in the future was lost, and a new king ascended the throne, very far from perfect image enlightened monarch.

Karamzin could no longer write. The last thing he managed to do was, together with Zhukovsky, persuaded the tsar to return Pushkin from exile.

And volume XII froze at the interregnum of 1611-1612. And so last words the last volume - about a small Russian fortress: "Nutlet did not give up."

Now

More than a century and a half has passed since then. Today's historians know much more about ancient Russia than Karamzin - how much has been found: documents, archaeological finds, birch bark letters, finally. But Karamzin's book - history-chronicle - is the only one of its kind and will not be like this again.

Why do we need it now? Bestuzhev-Ryumin said this well in his time: "A high moral sense makes this book so far the most convenient for cultivating love for Russia and for the good."

Conclusion

Our Ulyanovsk region is proud that this land was inhabited by figures whose historical contribution is outstanding, each of them was a bright personality who left his indelible mark on the memory of his descendants.

Love for one's country, her pride former glory- the basis of the foundations of the revival of the nation, its greatness. The main wealth is its people, "heroes of our time." It needs to be understood, accepted, assimilated. It is you and I who are the present and future of the country, it is you and I who write a new page in its history, it depends on you and me what descendants will say about our time ...

Literature

1. Karamzin N.M. History of the Russian state in 12 volumes. T.2-3 / Ed. A.N. Sakharova.-M.: Nauka, 1991.-832p.

2. Culturology: a textbook for students of higher educational institutions - Rostov n / D: Phoenix Publishing House, 1999.-608s.

3. Lotman Yu.M The Creation of Karamzin.-M., 1997.-p.42.

4. Soloviev S.M. Selected works. Notes. - M., 1983. - p. 231.

PLAN:

Introduction 3

§one. N.M. Karamzin N. M. - the first Russian historian 6

§2. N.M. Karamzin as a statesman 10

Conclusion 23

List of references: 26

Introduction

To early XIX in. Russia remained perhaps the only European country that still did not have a complete printed and public presentation of its history. Of course, there were chronicles, but only specialists could read them. In addition, most of the chronicle lists remained unpublished. In the same way, many historical documents scattered in archives and private collections remained outside the scope of scientific circulation and were completely inaccessible not only to the reading public, but also to historians. Karamzin had to put together all this complex and heterogeneous material, critically comprehend it and present it in an easy modern language. Realizing well that the planned business would require many years of research and full concentration, he asked financial support at the emperor. In October 1803, Alexander I appointed Karamzin to the post of historiographer specially created for him, which gave him free access to all Russian archives and libraries. By the same decree, he was entitled to an annual pension of two thousand rubles. Although Vestnik Evropy gave Karamzin three times as much, he said goodbye to him without hesitation and devoted himself entirely to work on his History of the Russian State. According to Prince Vyazemsky, from that time on he "took the vows of historians." Secular communication was over: Karamzin stopped appearing in the living rooms and got rid of many not devoid of pleasantness, but annoying acquaintances. His life now proceeded in libraries, among shelves and racks. Karamzin treated his work with the greatest conscientiousness. He made mountains of extracts, read catalogs, looked through books and sent letters of inquiry to all corners of the world. The amount of material raised and reviewed by him was enormous. It can be said with confidence that no one before Karamzin has ever plunged so deeply into the spirit and elements of Russian history.

The goal set by the historian was complex and in many respects contradictory. He had to not only write an extensive scientific essay, painstakingly examining each era under consideration, his goal was to create a national, social significant essay which would not require special training for its understanding. In other words, it was not supposed to be a dry monograph, but a highly artistic literary work intended for the general public. Karamzin worked a lot on the style and style of "History", on the artistic processing of images. Without adding anything to the documents he forwarded, he brightened up their dryness with his ardent emotional comments. As a result, a bright and juicy work came out from under his pen, which could not leave any reader indifferent. Karamzin himself once called his work a "historical poem". And in fact, in terms of the strength of the style, the amusingness of the story, the sonority of the language, this is undoubtedly the best creation of Russian prose of the first quarter of the 19th century.

But with all this, the "History" remained in the full sense of the "historical" work, although this was achieved at the expense of its overall harmony. The desire to combine the ease of presentation with its thoroughness forced Karamzin to supply almost every sentence with a special note. In these notes, he "hid" a huge number of extensive extracts, quotations from sources, retellings of documents, his polemics with the writings of his predecessors. As a result, the "Notes" were actually equal in length to the main text. The author himself was well aware of the abnormality of this. In the preface, he admitted: “The many notes and extracts I made frighten me myself ...” But he could not come up with any other way to acquaint the reader with a mass of valuable historical material. Thus, Karamzin's "History" is, as it were, divided into two parts - "artistic", intended for easy reading, and "scientific" - for a thoughtful and in-depth study of history.

Work on the "History of the Russian State" took without a trace the last 23 years of Karamzin's life. In 1816 he took the first eight volumes of his work to St. Petersburg. In the spring of 1817, "History" began to be printed at once in three printing houses - military, Senate and medical. However, editing the proofs took a lot of time. The first eight volumes appeared on sale only at the beginning of 1818 and generated an unheard-of excitement. None of Karamzin's works before had such a stunning success. At the end of February, the first edition was already sold out. “Everyone,” Pushkin recalled, “even secular women, rushed to read the history of their fatherland, hitherto unknown to them. She was a new discovery for them. Ancient Russia seemed to have been found by Karamzin, just as America was found by Columbus. For some time they didn’t talk about anything else ... "

Since that time, each new volume of the "History" has become a social and cultural event. The ninth volume, devoted to the description of the era of Ivan the Terrible, was published in 1821 and made a deafening impression on his contemporaries. The tyranny of the cruel tsar and the horrors of the oprichnina were described here with such epic power that readers simply could not find words to express their feelings. Famous poet and the future Decembrist Kondraty Ryleev wrote in one of his letters: “Well, Grozny! Well, Karamzin! I don’t know what is more surprising, whether the tyranny of John or the talent of our Tacitus. The 10th and 11th volumes appeared in 1824. The era of turmoil described in them, in connection with the recent French invasion and the fire of Moscow, was extremely interesting for both Karamzin himself and his contemporaries. Many, not without reason, found this part of the "History" especially successful and strong. The last 12th volume (the author was going to end his "History" with the accession of Mikhail Romanov) Karamzin wrote already seriously ill. He didn't have time to finish it. great writer and the historian died in May 1826.

The purpose of the work: to consider N.M. Karamzin as a historian and statesman.

§one. N.M. Karamzin N. M. - the first Russian historian

We know very little about Karamzin's childhood and youth - neither diaries, nor letters from relatives, nor youthful writings have been preserved. We know that Nikolai Mikhailovich was born on December 1, 1766, not far from Simbirsk. At that time it was an incredible backwoods, a real bearish corner. When the boy was 11 or 12 years old, his father, a retired captain, took his son to Moscow, to a boarding school at the university gymnasium. Here Karamzin stayed for some time, and then entered active military service - this is at the age of 15! The teachers prophesied for him not only the Moscow-Leipzig University, but somehow it did not work out. Karamzin's exceptional education is his personal merit 1 .

And suddenly Karamzin takes on a gigantic job - to compose his native Russian history. On October 31, 1803, Tsar Alexander I issued a decree appointing N. M. Karamzin as a historiographer with a salary of 2,000 rubles a year. Now he is a historian for the rest of his life. But, apparently, it was necessary.

Chronicles, decrees, lawsuits

Now - write. But for this you need to collect material. The search began. Karamzin literally combs through all the archives and book collections of the Synod, the Hermitage, the Academy of Sciences, the Public Library, Moscow University, the Alexander Nevsky and Trinity-Sergius Lavra. At his request, they search in monasteries, in the archives of Oxford, Paris, Venice, Prague and Copenhagen. And how much was found! The Ostromir Gospel of 1056 - 1057 (this is still the oldest of the dated Russian books), the Ipatiev, Trinity Chronicles. Sudebnik of Ivan the Terrible, a work of ancient Russian literature "The Prayer of Daniel the Sharpener" and much more. They say, having discovered a new chronicle - Volyn, Karamzin did not sleep for several nights for joy. Friends laughed that he had become simply unbearable - only talk about history.

Karamzin writes to his brother: "History is not a novel: a lie can always be beautiful, and only some minds like the truth in its attire." So what to write about? To set out in detail the glorious pages of the past, and only turn over the dark pages? Perhaps this is exactly what a patriotic historian should do? No, Karamzin decides - patriotism is only not due to the distortion of history. He doesn't add anything, he doesn't invent anything, he doesn't exalt victories or downplay defeats.

Drafts of volume VII-ro were accidentally preserved: we see how Karamzin worked on every phrase of his "History". Here he writes about Vasily III: "In relations with Lithuania, Vasily ... always ready for peacefulness ..." It's not that, it's not true. The historian crosses out what was written and concludes: "In relations with Lithuania, Vasily expressed peacefulness in words, trying to harm her secretly or openly." Such is the impartiality of the historian, such is true patriotism. Love for one's own, but not hatred for someone else's.

Ancient Russia, it seemed, was found by Karamzin, like America by Columbus. The ancient history of Russia is being written, and modern history is being made around it: Napoleonic stinks, the Battle of Austerlitz, the Peace of Tilsit, the Patriotic War of the 12th year, the fire of Moscow. In 1815, Russian troops enter Paris. In 1818 the first 8 volumes of The History of the Russian State were published. Circulation is a terrible thing! - 3 thousand copies. And they all sold out in 25 days. Unheard of! But the price is considerable: 50 rubles. The last volume stopped in the middle of the reign of Ivan IV, the Terrible. Everyone rushed to read. Opinions were divided. Some said - a Jacobin!

Even earlier, the trustee of Moscow University, Golenishchev-Kutuzov, submitted to the Minister of Public Education, to put it mildly, a document in which he argued in detail that "Karamzin's writings are filled with free-thinking and Jacobin poison." “It’s not the order that he should be given, it’s time to lock him up.” Why is that so? First of all - for independence of judgments. Not everyone likes this. There is an opinion that Nikolai Mikhailovich never in his life played a trick 2 .

Monarchist! - exclaimed others, young people, future Decembrists.

Yes, the main character of Karamzin's "History" is the Russian autocracy. The author condemns bad sovereigns, sets good ones as an example. And he sees prosperity for Russia in an enlightened, wise monarch. That is, a "good king" is needed. Karamzin does not believe in revolution, especially in an ambulance. So, we really have a monarchist.

And at the same time, the Decembrist Nikolai Turgenev will later recall how Karamzin "shed tears" upon learning of the death of Robespierre, the hero of the French Revolution. And here is what Nikolai Mikhailovich himself writes to a friend: “I don’t demand either a constitution or representatives, but with feeling I will remain a republican, and, moreover, a loyal subject of the Russian tsar: here is a contradiction, but only an imaginary one.” Why, then, is he not with the Decembrists? Karamzin believed that Russia's time had not yet come, the people were not ripe for a republic. More than a century and a half had passed since then. Today's historians know much more about ancient Russia than Karamzin - how much has been found: documents, archaeological finds, birch bark letters, finally. But Karamzin's book - history-chronicle - is the only one of its kind and will not be like this again. Why do we need it now? Bestuzhev-Ryumin said this well in his time: "A high moral sense makes this book so far the most convenient for cultivating love for Russia and for the good."

The fate of this work is amazing: 177 years (This article was published by the journal Literary Studies in 1988) have passed since its writing, the topical passions reflected in it have long since passed into the past, works immeasurably more daring have long become the property of the press, and “Russia. ..” Karamzin is still practically inaccessible to the reader. Pushkin's attempts to publish this work in Sovremennik ran into opposition from censorship. Then excerpts from it were published in French translation in the work of the Decembrist Nikolai Turgenev "Russia and the Russians" (1847) published in Brussels in French. In 1861, a very careless edition was published in Russian in Berlin, but the text remained forbidden for the Russian reader: in 1870, the Russian Archive magazine made an attempt to publish this work, but all the pages containing it were cut out of circulation and destroyed by censorship. In 1900, in the third edition of Historical Sketches social movement in Russia under Alexander I" A. N. Pypin managed to include Karamzin's work in the "Appendices" section. However, when in 1914 V.V. Sipovsky managed to carry out the first separate publication in Russia (under the already inaccurate title “A Note on Ancient and New Russia”), the title of the publication read: “Printed in a limited number of copies. Reprinting is prohibited."

It is even more striking that in the future the publication of this work met with censorship difficulties: all attempts by a number of Soviet researchers to get it published (including the efforts made in this direction by the late G.P. Makogonenko and the author of these lines) were unsuccessful. Some censors were afraid of the "harshness", others of the "reactionary" opinions of Karamzin. The result was the same.

Despite the fact that the text of "Ancient and New Russia" was known only in extracts or defective publications, historians considered themselves entitled to express categorical judgments about this work. In the second half of the 19th century, "Russia ..." suddenly acquired relevance and became the subject of controversy, the legacy of which still hinders an objective assessment of this monument.

The famous Russian historian, writer, publicist Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was born on December 1 (12), 1766 in the city of Simbirsk. He spent his childhood years in the estate of his father, a middle-class Simbirsk nobleman. At the age of 14, he began to study at the Moscow private boarding school of Professor I. M. Shaden, while attending classes at the university in parallel.

In 1784, Karamzin became an employee of the Children's Reading magazine, edited by N. I. Novikov. In May 1789, Nikolai Mikhailovich went abroad and until September 1790 traveled around Europe, visiting Germany, Switzerland, France and England. Returning to Moscow, Karamzin began to publish the Moscow Journal (1791-1792), which published the Letters of a Russian Traveler written by him. In 1802-1803. N. M. Karamzin published the literary and political journal Vestnik Evropy, in which, along with articles on literature and art, issues of foreign and domestic policy Russia, history and political life foreign countries.

On October 31 (November 12), 1803, by personal imperial decree of Alexander I, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin was appointed historiographer “for writing complete history Fatherland”, and for this purpose he was allocated an “annual boarding house” in the amount of 2 thousand rubles. This position gave Karamzin the right to "read ancient manuscripts that are preserved both in monasteries and in other libraries, dependent on the Holy Synod, relating to Russian antiquities." From that time until the end of his days, Nikolai Mikhailovich worked on the main work of his life - "The History of the Russian State." From 1816 to 1824, the first 11 volumes of the work were published in St. Petersburg. The books were a huge success and helped to increase interest in national history in various strata of Russian society. Alexander I gave a high appraisal of the work. The emperor ordered the "History" to be sent to ministries and embassies, indicating in a cover letter that statesmen and diplomats must know their national history.

Karamzin associated the entire history of Russia with autocracy. He considered autocracy as a state form, developing from the complete autocracy of the tsar to an enlightened monarchy. According to V. O. Klyuchevsky, Karamzin stood on one position: “Russia, first of all, must be great, strong and formidable in Europe, and only autocracy can make it so.” historical concept Karamzin became official, supported state power, but has been criticized by a number of historians and public figures.

Karamzin died in St. Petersburg in 1826, before he could finish the twelfth volume of The History of the Russian State, dedicated to describing the events of the Time of Troubles.