Wilhelm Kuchelbecker. A man without prose. Biography of V.K. Kuchelbecker Kuchelbecker Wilhelm Karlovich interesting facts

Kuchelbecker Wilhelm Karlovich (1797-1846), writer, Decembrist.

Born on June 21, 1797 in St. Petersburg. He came from a noble family of Russified Germans. He graduated from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum (1817), where his friendship with A. S. Pushkin and A. A. Delvig began.

Then he served in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, teaching Russian and Latin. In 1820-1821 traveled around Europe; He gave public lectures in Paris on Russian literature, and also spoke about the need for political reforms in Russia. The performances were interrupted by order of the Russian embassy.

In 1822, Kuchelbecker served in the Caucasus as an official on special assignments under General A.P. Ermolov. In November 1825, he was accepted by K. F. Ryleev into the secret Northern Society. During the uprising on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg, Kuchelbecker shot at Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich and lined up soldiers for a counterattack.

After the failure of the uprising, he tried to flee abroad, but was arrested in Warsaw and sentenced to death, which was then replaced by hard labor in the Dinaburg fortress.

From 1836 he lived in a settlement in Siberia.

Kuchelbecker began publishing in 1815. In his early poems he followed the tradition of elegiac poetry of V. A. Zhukovsky, from the beginning of the 20s. XIX century actively opposed sentimentalism, defending romanticism. He wrote a programmatic article “On the direction of our poetry, especially lyrical, in the last decade” (published in 1824 in the almanac “Mnemosyne”, which Wilhelm Karlovich published together with V.F. Odoevsky).

In contrast to the “chamber lyricism,” Küchelbecker creates the tyrant-fighting tragedy “The Argives” (1822-1825), the poems “To Achates”, “To Friends on the Rhine” (both 1821) - works filled with civic pathos.

In captivity and exile, Kuchelbecker did not change his previous ideals (the poems “Elegy”, 1832; “On the Death of Yakubovich”, 1846, etc.), although in his lyrics the motives of loneliness and doom intensified (“October 19” , 1838; “The Fate of Russian Poets”, 1845; tragedy “Prokofy Lyapunov”, 1834).

The mystical idea of the predetermination of a tragic fate was also reflected in the most significant prose work - the story “The Last Column” (unfinished).

Much credit is due for the publication of Küchelbecker’s works in the 20th century. belongs to the writer Yu. N. Tynyanov.

Russian poet, Decembrist. Friend of A.S. Pushkin. Participant in the uprising on Senate Square (1825). Sentenced to imprisonment and eternal exile. Odes, messages ("The Death of Byron", 1824; "Shadow of Ryleev", 1827), tragedies ("Argives", 1822 25, "Prokofy Lyapunov", 1834), romantic drama "Izhorsky" (published 1835, 1841, 1939 ), poem "The Eternal Jew", publ. 1878), novel "The Last Column" (1832 43; published 1937). Critical articles; "Diary", written in prison (published 1929).

Biography

Kuchelbecker Wilhelm Karlovich (1797 1846), poet, prose writer.

Born on July 10 (21 NS) in St. Petersburg into a noble family of Russified Germans. He spent his childhood in Estonia, where the family settled after his father’s retirement.

In 1808 he was sent to a private boarding school, and three years later he entered the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, where Pushkin and Delvig became his friends. From an early age he showed traits of love of freedom, was a member of the circle of the Decembrist Burtsev, deeply studied social sciences, compiled a dictionary of political terms, and was seriously involved in literature. He was considered one of the recognized lyceum poets. Already in 1815 he published in the magazines “Son of the Fatherland” and “Amphion”, took an active part in the “Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature”, at one of whose meetings in 1820 he read poems dedicated to the exiled Pushkin, which served as a reason for denunciation of Kuchelbecker. Feeling the impending danger, on the advice of friends he goes abroad as the secretary of the nobleman A. Naryshkin. He visited Germany, where he visited Goethe, to whom he dedicated the poem “To Prometheus.” In Paris he gave lectures on Russian literature, which were a great success. The freedom-loving nature of these lectures displeased the tsar's envoy, who achieved the immediate return of the poet to Russia.

Friends helped him enter the service of General Ermolov, and in 1821 he went to the Caucasus, in Tiflis he met and became friends with Griboyedov. However, already in May 1822, Kuchelbecker submitted his resignation and went to his sister at the Zakup estate in the Smolensk province. Here he wrote several lyrical poems, finished the tragedy "The Argives", composed the poem "Cassandra", and began a poem about Griboyedov.

Material circumstances prompted him to come to Moscow in the summer of 1823. The poet became close to Odoevsky, together with whom he began to publish the almanac Mnemosyne, where Pushkin, Baratynsky, and Yazykov were published. Kuchelbecker wrote poems about the uprising in Greece, on the death of Byron, messages to Ermolov, Griboedov, and the poem “The Fate of Russian Poets.”

In 1825 he settled in St. Petersburg, entered the circle of Decembrists, and was accepted as a member of the Northern Society. On December 14, Kuchelbecker, one of the few “civilians” among the military, showed vigorous activity: he visited the rebel units, behaved courageously in the square, and shot at Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich. When the rebel troops were scattered, dressed in peasant clothes, he tried to flee abroad. Arrested in Warsaw, he was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to long hard labor.

After ten years of solitary confinement in the Dinaburg and Sveaborg fortresses, he was exiled to Siberia for a settlement. However, both in the fortress and in exile, he continued to be creative, creating such works as the poem "The Orphan", the tragedies "Prokofy Lyapunov" and "Izhora", the story "The Last Column", the fairy tale "Ivan, the Merchant's Son", the memoirs "Shadow" Ryleev", "In Memory of Griboyedov". Pushkin managed to publish some of his works under a pseudonym. After the death of his great friend, Kuchelbecker lost this opportunity.

In exile, Kuchelbecker married the daughter of postmaster Artemov, an illiterate woman whom he taught and raised. Together with his family, he moved from one Siberian town to another and, finally, already sick with tuberculosis and blind, settled in Tobolsk.

It can't be said that Wilhelm Kuchelbecker reached special heights in art or social activities, but his name is firmly entrenched in Russian history and Russian literature. Fate gave the talented student of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum a meeting with the greatest people of his time: Pushkin, Griboyedov, Pushchin, Odoevsky, - but his hot temper did not allow him to find a place in life.

The ugly duckling of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum

At the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, Kuchelbecker, because of his awkwardness, dreaminess and deafness in his left ear, was the subject of endless ridicule - they drove him to attempt suicide. One day, a teenager tried to drown himself in a pond, from where he was pulled out by his comrades, who immediately drew a caricature of the unfortunate man in a local magazine.

The hot-tempered Kukhlya, as his fellow lyceum students called him, was saved by one thing - he was distinguished by great gentleness, and with his knowledge and perseverance he knew how to win people over.

Professor Pilecki gave his talented pupil a description that even today allows us to get to know the future Decembrist better: “Kuchelbecker Wilhelm, Lutheran, 15 years old. Capable and very diligent; Constantly busy reading and writing, he does not care about other things, which is why there is little order and neatness in his things. However, he is good-natured, sincere, with some caution, diligent, inclined to always exercise, chooses important subjects for himself, expresses himself smoothly and is strange in his manner. In all words and actions, especially in his writings, some tension and grandiloquence are noticeable, often without decency... His irritated nerves require him not to be too busy, especially with his writings.”

But Kuchlya was still interested in his writings, because in those years versification was the most popular activity among lyceum students.

Wilhelm, read your poems,
To help me fall asleep faster...

This is how Alexander Pushkin described Kuchelbecker’s poetic talent in “The Feasting Students.” The clumsy lyceum student was a favorite hero of lyceum epigrams, messages and ironic lines of the “sun of Russian poetry” (which is why Pushkin and Kuchelbecker once met in a duel, but still remained close comrades).

Reproduction of a drawing by schoolgirl Nadya Rusheva “Pushkin reading poetry to Delvig and Kuchelbecker.” Photo: RIA Novosti

Talented Loser

In 1817, Kuchelbecker graduated from the Lyceum with a silver medal and, together with Pushkin, entered the College of Foreign Affairs. From that moment on, the wanderings of the future Decembrist began.

The graduate of the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum preferred teaching Russian literature at the Noble boarding school at the Main Pedagogical Institute to the diplomatic service, but due to an unsuccessful romance he decided to move away from home. As chief chamberlain of the nobleman Naryshkin, Kuchelbecker went to Europe, from where he was forced to return to Russia, as he attracted the attention of the authorities with a “freedom-loving” lecture on Russian literature.

The “unreliable” young man was expected to serve in the Caucasus. However, the excessive vulnerability of character, which let Kuchelbecker down even in his lyceum years, let him down this time too. Due to a duel with a local official, he returned ahead of time with an almost impossible description for “further public service.”

Kükhlya wanted to work in the Ministry of Finance, engage in professorship in Edinburgh or the Crimea, get a position as a professor of Russian at the University of Dorpat, serve in Odessa, publish a magazine - but none of his plans came true. As a result, the talented lyceum student joined the society of people who took part in the December uprising.

On December 14, 1825, Kuchelbecker became one of the most active participants in the events on Senate Square. It is known that he shot the emperor's brother - Prince Mikhail Pavlovich, but the gun misfired.

Diary of Wilhelm Kuchelbecker and his books, published anonymously with the assistance of A. S. Pushkin. Museum of the Decembrists in Moscow (closed in 1997). Photo: RIA Novosti / Oleg Lastochkin

“A poet in Russia is more than a poet”

Kuchelbecker was lucky enough to quietly leave Senate Square when it became obvious that the uprising was doomed. However, the unlucky Decembrist with the characteristics of “height 2 arshins 9 4/8 vershoks, white face, clean, black hair, brown eyes, long nose with a hump” was quickly found.

In the winter of 1826, a talented lyceum student found himself in the casemates of the main political prison in Russia - the Peter and Paul Fortress. He faced the death penalty, which was commuted to twenty years of hard labor. Later, this sentence was commuted, but, despite the fact that the prisoner Kuchelbecker was kept in fairly mild conditions (he could write and receive letters, read new books, communicate with his confessor), the poet was deeply unhappy.

There was no happiness in my personal life either. Kuchelbecker always looked for a woman who would become his ally and close friend, but while in exile, he married the illiterate daughter of the Barguzin postmaster Drosida Ivanovna Artenova. The uneducated wife did not share the philosophical and poetic hobbies of the former lyceum student, which by this time had reached a new level. Kuchelbecker no longer imitated Derzhavin or Zhukovsky. Based on personal feelings, he wrote about the sad thoughts of a prisoner or about divine fire, which is not afraid of prison.

However, Kuchelbecker remained faithful to his first poetic experiments: the philosopher and romantic put the purpose of the poet above all else. In one of his last works, entitled “The Fate of Russian Poets,” the dying, sick Decembrist wrote:

The fate of poets of all tribes is bitter;
Fate is executing Russia the hardest of all:
Ryleev was born for glory;
But the young man was in love with freedom...
The noose tightened the insolent neck.

The grave of the Decembrist V.K. Kuchelbecker in Tobolsk Photo: RIA Novosti / Sergey Vetrov

Poet, Decembrist; genus. June 10, 1797 in Gatchina, d. August 11, 1846 in Tobolsk. According to Kuchelbecker’s own testimony, he is German by father and mother, but not by language: “until I was six years old, he says, I didn’t know a word of German, my natural... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

Kuchelbecker, Wilhelm Karlovich- Wilhelm Karlovich Kuchelbecker. KÜCHELBECKER Wilhelm Karlovich (1797 1846), Russian poet, Decembrist. Sentenced to imprisonment and eternal exile. Odes, messages, tragedies, romantic drama Izhorsky (published in 1835), poems, novel... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1797 1846), poet and lit. critic, Decembrist. Op. After 1825, K. appeared in print anonymously. There is an assumption that L. was familiar with K.’s mystery drama “Izhorsky,” publ. in 1835; a number of Izhorsky’s monologues are thematically and phraseologically close... ... Lermontov Encyclopedia

Kuchelbecker, Wilhelm Karlovich writer and Decembrist (1797 1846). He studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum together with Pushkin and Delvig. Served briefly in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; taught Russian and Latin at the Pedagogical Institute. In 1820... Biographical Dictionary

Kuchelbecker Wilhelm Karlovich- (17971846), Decembrist poet. Genus. In Petersburg. He studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum (181117) together with A. S. Pushkin, A. A. Delvig, I. I. Pushchin. Published since 1815. At the Lyceum he became a member of the pre-Decembrist “Holy Artel” (dissolved in... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

- (1797 1846) Russian poet, Decembrist. Friend of A.S. Pushkin. Participant in the uprising on Senate Square (1825). Sentenced to imprisonment and eternal exile. Odes, messages (The Death of Byron, 1824; Shadow of Ryleev, 1827), tragedies (Argives, 1822... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Russian writer, Decembrist. From a noble family of Russified Germans. He graduated from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum (1817), where his friendship with A. S. Pushkin and A. A. Delvig began. Served in the Collegium... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (1797 1846), Decembrist poet. Genus. In Petersburg. He studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum (1811-17) together with A. S. Pushkin, A. A. Delvig, I. I. Pushchin. Published since 1815. At the Lyceum he became a member of the pre-Decembrist “Sacred Artel” (dissolved in 1817).… … St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

- (1797 1846), Russian poet, Decembrist. Friend of A.S. Pushkin. Participant in the uprising on Senate Square (1825). Sentenced to imprisonment and eternal exile. Odes, messages (“The Death of Byron”, 1824; “The Shadow of Ryleev”, 1827), tragedies (“The Argives”, 1822... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Wilhelm Karlovich Kuchelbecker Russian writer, Decembrist, 1820s. Date of birth: June 10 (21), 1797 Place of birth ... Wikipedia

Books

V. K. Kuchelbecker. Selected works in 2 volumes (set), V. K. Kuchelbecker. Wilhelm Karlovich Kuchelbecker (1797-1846) - one of the most prominent Decembrist poets, a friend of Pushkin and Griboedov. Kuchelbecker fought for the development of civil literature, boldly denounced...
It's strange and vice versa. Collection of Russian mysterious prose of the first half of the 19th century, Vitaly Babenko. Mystical Gothic Supernatural prose No, not like that! (The reader will learn why this is not so from the book itself). Let's put it simply: magical, enigmatic, mysterious prose. Yes, this is a collection...

Retired collegiate assessor.

Friend A.S. Pushkin. From a noble family of Russified Germans. Graduated from the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum (1817). Since 1815, Kuchelbecker's poems have been published in print. In the service of the College of Foreign Affairs (1817-20). As secretary to Chief Chamberlain A.L. Naryshkin was in Germany and Southern France (1820-21). In 1821 he gave public lectures in Paris on Russian literature, justifying the need for political reforms in Russia (the lectures were interrupted by order of the Russian embassy, Kuchelbecker was recalled to Russia). Official of special assignments under P. Ermolov in the Caucasus (1822), then taught at the Moscow University boarding school and was engaged in literary activities (from 1823). Publisher of the collection “Mnemosyne” (together with Prince F. Odoevsky). Member of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature. Member of the Northern Society (1825). Active participant in the uprising on Senate Square (1825). He tried to escape, but was arrested on the outskirts of Warsaw. Convicted of category I, upon confirmation sentenced to 20 years , the term was reduced to 15 years. He was kept in the Kexholm and Shlisselburg fortresses. Instead of Siberia, he was sent to the prison companies of the Dinaburg fortress (1827-31), later to the Vyshgorod castle (Revel), then to Sveaborg (1831-35). On settlement in Barguzine Irkutsk province (1836-40), transferred to the Akshinsky fortress (1843), where he gave private lessons. Then he lived in Kurgan (1845-46) and Tobolsk. Wife (since 1837) - D.I. Artenova, daughter of Barguzin. postmaster. After Kuchelbecker's death, his children Mikhail and Justina were taken into care by his sister Yu.K. Glinka.

At the early stage of his work, Kuchelbecker followed the traditions of the elegiac poetry of V.A. Zhukovsky. In the early 1820s. spoke out against sentimentalism, becoming a representative of one of the movements of romanticism, and actively opposed chamber lyricism with open citizenship (Kuchelbecker’s article “On the direction of our poetry, especially lyrical, in the last decade,” published in the almanac “Mnemosyne”, 1824). Main works (before 1825): “To Friends on the Rhine” (1821), “To Achates” (1821), the tyrant-fighting tragedy “The Argives” (1822-25), “The Death of Byron” (1824), “Shakespeare’s Spirits” (1825 ), romantic drama “Izhorsky” (1825). After the defeat of the Decembrist uprising, he almost did not publish. He remained faithful to the same ideals of creativity, although new features appeared - motives of doom and loneliness, the idea of a predetermined tragic fate. The main works of the Siberian period: the poems “October 19” (1838), “The Fate of Russian Poets” (1845), “On the Death of Yakubovich” (1846); poem “The Eternal Jew” (1842); novel "The Last Column" (1832-42).

Works: The Last Column. L., 1937; Selected works. M.; L., 1967. T. 1-2;

Lit.: Bazanov V.G. Decembrist poets. M.; L., 1950; Tynyanov Yu.N. Kyukhlya. Pushkin and Kuchelbecker. Kuchelbecker's French relations. M., 1975.

E.N. Fog

Family

Father - State Councilor Karl Kuchelbecker (December 28, 1748 - March 6, 1809), Saxon nobleman, agronomist, first director of Pavlovsk (1781-1789).

Younger brother - Mikhail Karlovich Kuchelbecker.

The elder sister is Ustinya Karlovna Glinka (1786-1871).

Sister - Julia (c. 1789 - after 1845), class lady of the Catherine Institute

Kuchelbecker link

By decree of December 14, 1835, he was assigned to settle in the provincial town of Barguzin, Irkutsk province (now the village of Barguzin, Barguzin district of Buryatia).

In Barguzin

Arrived in Barguzin on January 20, 1836. His younger brother, Kuchelbecker, Mikhail Karlovich, already lived in Barguzin. The Kuchelbecker brothers started a large farm, growing crops new to Siberia. Mikhail Karlovich opened a free school in his house for local residents. According to the assumptions of V.B. Bakhaev, Wilhelm Karlovich taught at this school.

He continued to engage in literary activities: he wrote poems, poems, elegies, critical articles, translated from European and ancient languages, completed the “Diary”, the ethnographic essay “Inhabitants of Transbaikalia and Transkamenye”, the poem “Yuri and Ksenia”, the historical drama “The Fall of the House of Shuisky” , the novel “The Last Column” and others. In a letter to Pushkin he reported interesting observations about the Tungus.

On January 15, 1837, he married the daughter of the Barguzin postmaster, Drosida Ivanovna Artenova (1817-1886).

Children: Fedor (born dead - 12.6.1838), Mikhail (28.7.1839 - 22.12.1879), Ivan (21.12.1840 - 27.3.1842) and Justina (Ustinya, born 6.3.1843) in marriage Kosovo.

According to the most humble report of gr. A.F. Orlova Yu.K. On April 8, 1847, Glinka was allowed to take into her care the young children Mikhail and Justina who remained after the death of her brother, so that they would be called Vasilyev, not by their father’s last name. In 1850, under this name, Mikhail was assigned to the Larinsky gymnasium; after graduating, he entered the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University in 1855, and in 1863 became an ensign of the Tsarskoye Selo rifle battalion. According to the amnesty manifesto of August 26, 1856, the children were granted the rights of nobility and the father's surname was returned.

Akshinskaya fortress

At his own request, he was transferred to the Akshinsky fortress. Left Barguzin in January 1840. In Akshe he gave private lessons. In 1844, he received permission to move to the village of Smolino, Kurgan district, Tobolsk province. On September 2, 1844, he left Aksha.

Mound

Lived in Kurganfrom March 1845, where he lost his sight. VC. Kuchelbecker first lived with N.P. Richter, teacher of the Russian language at the Kurgan district school. Judging by Kuchelbecker’s diary, the family moved into their house on September 21, 1845, and the Decembrist himself was “in addition sick,” although the very next day he received the guest of the exiled Pole P.M. Vozhzhinsky. Before the Kuchelbecker family moved in, the house belonged to the exiled Poles Kleczkowski, who moved into the vacated houseA.E. Rosen. Thanks to the local history research of Boris Nikolaevich Karsonov, it was possible to prove with accuracy: Kuchelbecker lived in Kurgan itself. Although in letters to high dignitaries in the capital, Kuchelbecker claimed that he lived in Smolino. In his historical essay, Boris Karsonov writes: “Wilhelm liked his house: four large rooms and two small ones in the middle. For the first time in Siberian exile, he had a separate office. True, its decoration was sparse, even by Kurgan standards.”.

Tobolsk

On January 28, 1846, Kuchelbecker was allowed to travel to Tobolsk for treatment. Arrived in Tobolsk on March 7, 1846.

Wilhelm Karlovich died in Tobolsk on August 11 (23) from consumption. He was buried at the Zavalnoye cemetery.

Essays:

"The Death of Byron", 1824;
“Shadow of Ryleev”, 1827),
"Argives", 1822-1825,
"Prokofy Lyapunov", 1834,
“Izhora” (published 1835, 1841, 1939),
“The Eternal Jew”, (published 1878),
"The Last Column", novel (1832-1843; published in 1937)
“Diary” (written in prison, published in Leningrad in 1929), see also: Diary of V. K. Kuchelbecker. // Russian antiquity, 1875. - T. 13. - No. 8. - P. 490-531; T. 14. - No. 9. - P. 75-91
Collection of poems by the Decembrists. - Leipzig, 1862. - T. 2;
Selected works: In 2 volumes - M., 1939;
Selected works: In 2 volumes - M.; L., 1967;