See what "Unfinished Romance" is in other dictionaries. Nikolai Ostrovsky

Times and street scenery change, but people in Russia remain the same. Writers of the 19th century wrote about their time, but in society, many relationships remained the same. There are global patterns of social relations.

Melnikov-Pechorsky described events in the Trans-Volga region, and many wrote about Moscow life in the 19th century, including A.N. Ostrovsky.

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky (March 31 (April 12), 1823 - June 2 (14), 1886) - Russian playwright, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Wrote about 50 plays, of which The most famous are "Profitable Place", "Wolves and Sheep", "Thunderstorm", "Forest", "Dowry".

Russian theater in its modern sense begins with Ostrovsky: the writer created a theater school and a holistic concept of acting in the theater . Staged performances in Moscow Maly Theatre.

The main ideas of the theater reform:

• the theater should be built on conventions (there is a 4th wall separating the audience from the actors);
• immutability of attitude towards language: mastery speech characteristics expressing almost everything about the characters;
• the bet on the entire troupe, and not on one actor;
• "People go to see the game, not the play itself - you can read it."

Ostrovsky's ideas were carried to their logical end by Stanislavsky.

Compound Complete collection compositions in 16 volumes. The composition of the PSS in 16 volumes. M: GIHL, 1949 - 1953 With the application of translations not included in the PSS.
Moscow, State Publishing House fiction, 1949 - 1953, circulation - 100 thousand copies.

Volume 1: Plays 1847-1854

From the editor.
1. Family picture, 1847.
2. Our people - let's settle. Comedy, 1849.
3. Morning young man. Scenes, 1950, qualification. resolution 1852
4. Unexpected case. Dramatic study, 1850, publ. 1851.
5. Poor bride. Comedy, 1851.
6. Do not sit in your sleigh. Comedy, 1852, publ. 1853.
7. Poverty is not a vice. Comedy, 1853, publ. 1854.
8. Don't live as you want. folk drama, 1854, publ. 1855.
Application:
Claim request. Comedy (1st edition of the play "Family Picture").

Volume 2: Plays 1856-1861

9. Hangover in someone else's feast. Comedy, 1855, publ. 1856.
10. Profitable place. Comedy, 1856, publ. 1857.
11. Festive sleep - before dinner. Pictures of Moscow life, 1857, publ. 1857.
12. Didn't get along! Pictures of Moscow life, 1857, publ. 1858.
13. Pupil. Scenes from village life, 1858, publ. 1858.
14. Thunderstorm. Drama, 1859, publ. 1860.
15. An old friend is better than two new ones. Pictures of Moscow life, 1859, publ. 1860.
16. Own dogs squabble, don't pester someone else's! 1861, publ. 1861.
17. What you go for, you will find (Balzaminov's Marriage). Pictures of Moscow life, 1861, publ. 1861.

Volume 3: Plays 1862-1864

18. Kozma Zakharyich Minin, Sukhoruk. Dramatic Chronicle (1st edition), 1861, publ. 1862.
Kozma Zakharyevich Minin, Sukhoruk. Dramatic Chronicle (2nd edition), publ. 1866.
19. Sin and trouble does not live on anyone. Drama, 1863.
20. hard days. Scenes from Moscow life, 1863.
21. Jokers. Pictures of Moscow life, 1864.

Volume 4: Plays 1865-1867

22. Governor (Dream on the Volga). Comedy (1st edition), 1864, publ. 1865.
23. In a lively place. Comedy, 1865.
24. Abyss. Scenes from Moscow life, 1866.
25. Dmitry Pretender and Vasily Shuisky. Dramatic Chronicle, 1866, publ. 1867.

Volume 5: Plays 1867-1870

26. Tushino. Dramatic Chronicle, 1866, publ. 1867.
27. Simplicity is enough for every wise man. Comedy, 1868.
28. Hot heart.. Comedy, 1869.
29. Crazy money. Comedy, 1869, publ. 1870.

Volume 6: Plays 1871-1874

30. Forest. Comedy, 1870, publ. 1871.
31. Not everything is a carnival for a cat. Scenes from Moscow life, 1871.
32. There was not a penny, but suddenly Altyn. Comedy, 1871, publ. 1872.
33. Comedian of the 17th century. Comedy in verse, 1872, publ. 1873.
34. Late love. Scenes from the life of the outback, 1873, publ. 1874.

Volume 7: Plays 1873-1876

35. Snow Maiden. Spring Tale, 1873.
36. Labor bread. Scenes from the life of the outback, 1874.
37. Wolves and sheep. Comedy, 1875.
38. Rich brides. Comedy, 1875, publ. 1878.

Volume 8: Plays 1877-1881

39. The truth is good, but happiness is better. Comedy, 1876, publ. 1877.
40. Last victim. Comedy, 1877, publ. 1878.
41. Dowry. Drama, 1878, publ. 1879.
42. The heart is not a stone. Comedy, 1879, publ. 1880.
43. Slaves. Comedy, 1880, publ. 1884?

Volume 9: Plays 1882-1885

44. Talents and fans. Comedy, 1881, publ. 1882.
45. Handsome man. Comedy, 1882, publ. 1883.
46. ​​Guilty without guilt. Comedy, 1883, publ. 1884.
47. Not of this world. Family scenes, 1884, publ. 1885.
48. Governor (Dream on the Volga). (2nd edition).

Volume 10. Plays written jointly with other authors, 1868-1882.

49. Vasilisa Melentyeva. Drama (with the participation of S. A. Gedeonov), 1867.

Together with N. Ya. Solovyov:
50. Happy day. Scenes from the life of a provincial outback, 1877.
51. Marriage of Belugin. Comedy, 1877, publ. 1878.
52. Savage. Comedy, 1879.
53. Shines, but does not heat. Drama, 1880, publ. 1881.

Together with P. M. Nevezhin:
54. A whim. Comedy, 1879, publ. 1881.
55. Old in a new way. Comedy, 1882.

Volume 11: Selected translations from English, Italian, Spanish, 1865-1879

1) Pacify the wayward. Shakespeare's comedy, 1865.
2) Coffee shop. Comedy Goldoni, 1872.
3) The family of criminals. Drama by P. Giacometti, 1872.
Sideshows by Cervantes:
4) Salamanskaya cave, 1885.
5) Theater of miracles.
6) Two talkers, 1886.
7) Jealous old man.
8) Judge divorce proceedings, 1883.
9) Biscay impostor.
10) Election of alcaldes in Daganso.
11) Watchman, 1884.

Volume 12: Articles about the theater. Notes. Speeches. 1859-1886.

Volume 13: Fiction. Criticism. Diaries. Dictionary. 1843-1886.

Works of art. pp. 7 - 136.
The story of how the quarter warden started dancing, or from the great to the ridiculous is only one step. Story.
Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky resident Essay.
[Biography of Yasha]. Feature article.
Zamoskvorechye on a holiday. Feature article.
Kuzma Samsonych. Feature article.
Did not get along. Tale.
"I dreamed of a big hall ..." Poem.
[Acrostic]. Poem.
Maslenitsa. Poem.
Ivan Tsarevich. Fairy tale in 5 acts and 16 scenes.

Criticism. pp. 137 - 174.
Diaries. pp. 175 - 304.
Dictionary [Materials for the dictionary of the Russian folk language].

Volume 14: Letters 1842 - 1872.

Volume 15: Letters 1873 - 1880

Volume 16: Letters 1881 - 1886

Translations not included in the Complete Collection

William Shakespeare. Anthony and Cleopatra. An excerpt from an unfinished translation. , first publication 1891
Staritsky MP For two hares. Comedy from petty-bourgeois life in four acts.
Staritsky M.P. Last night. historical drama in two pictures.

Life and are heroic pages in the biography of a person who has experienced severe trials.

Family

Writer Nikolai Alekseevich Ostrovsky (1904 - 1936) was born in the Ukrainian village of Viliya in a family of hereditary military men. Grandfather, Ivan Vasilyevich Ostrovsky, was a non-commissioned officer, the hero of the battle of 1855 on the Malakhov Hill during the defense of Sevastopol. The years of the life of Ostrovsky Ivan Vasilievich are inextricably linked with the heroic past Russia XIX century.

Father, Alexei Ivanovich Ostrovsky, is also a retired non-commissioned officer of the tsarist army. He was awarded for courage in the capture of Shipka and Plevna. The years of Ivanovich's life were the pride of his son.

Nikolai's mother, a Czech by nationality, was a cheerful and witty woman, the soul of the company. The family lived in abundance, kept servants, the house was always full of guests.

Childhood

Little Kolya surprised those around him with his abilities. At the age of 9, he graduated from a parochial school and was going to study further, but fate decreed otherwise. In 1914, my father was left without work, and life collapsed overnight. The house had to be sold, the family dispersed. Alexey Ivanovich, together with Kolya, went to relatives in Ternopil, where he contracted to work as a forester.

Nikolai himself, and whose work is striking in its diversity, got a job as an assistant barmaid at the railway station in the city of Shepetovka, and a year later he began working as an electrician. In September 1918, the young man entered the Shepetovka Primary School, which he successfully completed in 1920.

Youth

A number of major global shocks have been attributed to young Nicholas Ostrovsky: First World War, then the February Revolution of 1917, followed by the October Revolution and the Civil War, which ended in Ukraine only in 1920. Power was constantly changing in Shepetovka, the Germans were inferior to the White Poles, who, in turn, were forced out by the Red Army, then the White Guards came, after them the Petliurists. The peaceful inhabitants of Shepetovka were haunted by numerous gangs that robbed and killed.

At the school, Nikolai Ostrovsky was a leader, he was delegated by students in 1921, the activist passed the exams and received a matriculation certificate. In the same year, Ostrovsky joined the Komsomol, and in the fall he became a student in the evening department of the Kyiv College of Electromechanics. Nikolai went to work in his specialty, an electrician. The life and work of Ostrovsky during his student days served as a model for those around him.

Hunger and cold

If we briefly describe the life and work of Ostrovsky, then it will still be an interesting, meaningful story about a strong-willed, purposeful person. Were going heavy post-war years, devastation reigned in the country, there was not enough food, coal, medicines. Students of the technical school, including Nikolai Ostrovsky, began to prepare firewood in order to somehow provide the freezing Kyiv with heat. In addition, the students built a railway line, through which it was possible to carry the harvested firewood to the city. Soon Ostrovsky caught a cold and took to his bed. In serious condition, he was sent home, where he lay for several months. It is difficult to briefly describe the life and work of Ostrovsky, this is a guide to life for entire generations on how to overcome difficulties.

In the end, the disease receded, and Nikolai returned to study and work. At that time, the technical school was transformed into an institute, but Ostrovsky did not have time to become a student at the university, as the disease again crippled him. Since then, the future writer has become a regular patient of hospitals, sanatoriums, clinics and dispensaries. I had to leave my studies, the eighteen-year-old boy was threatened with a hospital bed for an indefinite period.

In 1922, the worst fears of doctors and Nikolai Ostrovsky himself came true, he was given a terrible diagnosis - Bekhterev's disease. This meant complete immobility, pain and suffering, which a few years later, with penetrating psychological depth, the writer will be able to convey through the image of the hero of the novel How the Steel Was Tempered by Pavka Korchagin. The work reflects facts from the life of Ostrovsky, traces the biography of the writer himself. The persistence of Pavel Korchagin's character is a direct analogy with the author of the novel.

Komsomol work

A brief outline of the life and work of Ostrovsky allows us to reveal the nature of this courageous man. Gradually, Nikolai's legs fail, he moves with difficulty, leaning on a cane. In addition, the left leg stopped bending. In 1923, Ostrovsky moved to his sister in the city of Berezdov and there became the secretary of the regional Komsomol organization. A wide field awaited him vigorous activity in the field of propaganda of communist ideals. Ostrovsky devoted all his time to meetings with young people in remote areas, he managed to captivate young men and women with stories about a brighter future. The efforts of the activist were rewarded, Komsomol cells arose in the most distant villages, young people enthusiastically helped their leader to implement communist ideology. The life and work of Ostrovsky as a Komsomol leader became a role model for many of his young followers.

The year 1924 was a turning point for Ostrovsky, he joined the ranks of the Communist Party. Then he became a participant in the fight against banditry, his membership in CHON (part of special purpose) has become another area of ​​activity of the tireless fighter for the ideals of universal equality. The life and work of Ostrovsky in the troubled years for the country were an example of selflessness. Nikolai Ostrovsky treated himself ruthlessly, he did not spare himself. He regularly traveled to operations to destroy enemies, did not sleep at night. Then came the reckoning, health deteriorated sharply. The work had to be abandoned, a long period of recovery began.

Hospitals, sanatorium treatment

The review of Ostrovsky's life and work continues with a period in which he will be intensively treated. For two years, from 1924 to 1926, Nikolai Ostrovsky was at the Kharkov Medical and Mechanical Institute, where he underwent a course of treatment followed by rehabilitation. Despite the efforts of doctors, there was no improvement. However, at that time, Nikolai made many new friends, the first of which was Pyotr Novikov, a faithful like-minded person who would be next to Ostrovsky to the end.

In 1926, Nikolai moved to Evpatoria, a city in the western part of Crimean peninsula. There he will undergo a course of treatment at the Mainaki sanatorium. In the Crimea, Ostrovsky met Innokenty Pavlovich Fedenev and Alexandra Alekseevna Zhigareva, people of high ideals, who were called "Bolsheviks of the old school." New acquaintances will play a huge role in the life of the writer, they will become his second parents. Innokenty Fedenev will be the closest friend of the writer, his colleague in the affairs of the ideology of communism. Alexandra Zhigareva will become a "second mother". The life and work of Nikolai Ostrovsky has since been inextricably linked with these people. True friends will never leave him.

Life in Novorossiysk

The further chronology of Ostrovsky's life and work is his stay in the Krasnodar Territory, on the Black Sea coast. Following the recommendations of doctors, Nikolai remains to live in the south. He moves to his maternal relatives, the Matsyuk family, in Novorossiysk. He will live with them for two years, from 1926 to 1928. Health continues to deteriorate, Ostrovsky can no longer walk, moves on crutches. All the time he devotes to reading books, which become main part his life. Nikolai's favorite author is Maxim Gorky, followed by the classics of Russian literature: Gogol, Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy.

The theme of the Civil War attracts special attention of Ostrovsky, he tries to understand the root causes of the events of that time, when a brother killed a brother, and a father killed a son. The works "Chapaev" by Furmanov, "Cities and Years" by Fedin, "The Iron Stream" by Serafimovich, "Commissars" by Libedinsky were read in one breath.

In 1927, from which Nikolai Ostrovsky suffered, reaches its culmination, complete paralysis of the legs sets in. He can no longer walk, even on crutches. Exhausting pains do not stop for a minute. Since that time, Nikolai has been bedridden. Reading books is a little distraction from physical suffering, literature is brought in every day by librarians, who also become Ostrovsky's close friends. An outlet for the patient becomes a radio receiver, which at least somehow, but connects him with the outside world.

At the very end of 1927, Nikolai Ostrovsky entered the correspondence department of the Yakov Sverdlov Communist University, and this event became a real happiness for him. Friends receive a joyful message: "Studying! In absentia! Lying!" Life for the hopelessly ill Ostrovsky takes on meaning.

And then a new misfortune happens - an eye disease. While this is only inflammation, but soon there will be a loss of vision. Doctors categorically forbade reading, so as not to tire the eyes. What to do, how to live now!?

Apartment in Sochi

The seriously ill Nikolai Ostrovsky had a wife, Raisa Porfirievna, whom he met in Novorossiysk. Friends are trying in every possible way to help the young family, thanks to the efforts of Alexandra Zhigareva, the Ostrovskys are provided with an apartment in Sochi. It is possible to collect a certain amount of money, life gradually began to improve. However, Nikolai's health continued to deteriorate, his musculoskeletal functions were almost completely lost, and the process became irreversible. Vision also weakened, every day it was more and more difficult to read even large letters. Hours of rest restored vision for a short time, but the slightest strain of the eyes again caused a blackout. The general state of Ostrovsky's health was catastrophic, there was no hope for recovery. Friends were constantly nearby, and only this gave strength to the patient.

Moscow period

Biography of Ostrovsky, life and work came out on new stage in October 1929, when Nikolai and his wife came to Moscow for an eye operation. Despite the fact that he was placed in the best clinic with Professor M. Averbakh, general inflammatory processes throughout the body caused a negative reaction. The operation failed.

Living in a Moscow communal apartment further aggravated Ostrovsky's serious illness. His wife left for work, and he was left all alone. It was then that he decided to write a book. The body was motionless, and the soul was eager for self-expression. Fortunately, the hands retained mobility, but Nikolai could no longer see. Then he came up with special device, the so-called "transparency", thanks to which it was possible to write blindly. The lines were lined up in even rows, the page was written easily, it was only necessary to change the sheets written on with clean ones in time.

The beginning of creativity

The stages of Ostrovsky's life and work characterize him as stubborn person who was not broken by any tests. Diseases only strengthened his inflexibility of will. Nikolai Ostrovsky began to write his first work being a seriously ill, immobilized and blind person. Nevertheless, he managed to create immortal work, which was included in the Golden Fund of Russian Literature. This is the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered".

I wrote well at night, although it was difficult. In the morning, the relatives collected the crumpled sheets scattered on the floor, straightened them and tried to make out what had been written. The process was painful until Ostrovsky began to dictate a text to his loved ones, and they wrote it down. Things immediately went smoothly, there were more than enough people who wanted to work with the writer. In a small room in a Moscow communal apartment, three related families gathered at once, more than ten people.

However, it was not always possible to dictate and immediately write down new text because all the relatives were busy at work. Then Nikolai Ostrovsky asked his flatmate Galya Alekseeva to write down texts for him from dictation. And a smart, educated girl turned out to be an indispensable assistant.

Novel "How the Steel Was Tempered"

The chapters written by Ostrovsky were reprinted and given to Alexandra Zhigareva, who was in Leningrad and was trying to submit the manuscript for publication. However, all her attempts were unsuccessful, the work was read, praised and returned. For Ostrovsky, the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" was the meaning of his whole life, he was worried that the manuscript would not be printed.

In Moscow, Innokenty Pavlovich Fedenev tried to publish the novel, he handed over the manuscript to the publishing house "Young Guard" and waited for the editor's response. After a while, a review followed, which was essentially negative. Fedenev insisted on a second consideration. And then "the ice broke", the manuscript fell into the hands of the writer Mark Kolosov, who carefully read the contents and recommended the novel for publication.

Edition of the novel

The writer Kolosov, together with Anna Karavaeva, editor-in-chief of the Young Guard magazine, edited the manuscript, and the work began to be printed on the pages of the monthly. It was a victory for Nikolai Ostrovsky and his novel How the Steel Was Tempered. They signed an agreement with the writer, he received a fee, life again found meaning.

The work was published in the magazine "Young Guard" in five issues, from April to September 1932. Against the background of the general rejoicing of the family and relatives of the writer, he was upset that the novel was shortened, abolishing several chapters. Formally, the publishers explained this by a shortage of paper, but the author believed that "the book was crippled." However, in the end, Nikolai Ostrovsky resigned himself.

Later, the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" was repeatedly reprinted abroad, the work is considered a classic example of the unbending Russian character. The writer wrote another novel called "Born by the Storm", however, in the words of the author himself, "the work turned out to be insufficient", especially since Ostrovsky did not have to finish it, he died at the age of 36 and was buried on Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

Memory

The periods of Ostrovsky's work are bright pages in the life path of a heroic person, over whom neither illness nor deep disappointments had power. The writer created only one work, but it was such a grandiose revelation in prose that other authors do not happen in their entire life. long life. Nikolai Ostrovsky and his novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" are forever inscribed in the history of Russian literature.

Born March 31 (April 12), 1823 in Moscow, grew up in merchant environment. His mother died when he was 8 years old. And my father remarried. There were four children in the family.

Ostrovsky was educated at home. His father had a big library, Where little Alexander for the first time began to read Russian literature. However, the father wanted to give his son a legal education. In 1835, Ostrovsky began his studies at the gymnasium, and then entered the Faculty of Law at Moscow University. Due to his passion for theater and literature, he never completed his studies at the university (1843), after which he worked as a scribe in court at the insistence of his father. Ostrovsky served in the courts until 1851.

Creativity Ostrovsky

In 1849, Ostrovsky's work “Our people - we will settle!” Was written, which brought him literary fame, he was highly appreciated by Nikolai Gogol and Ivan Goncharov. Then, despite the censorship, many of his plays and books were released. For Ostrovsky, writings are a way to truly depict the life of the people. The plays "Thunderstorm", "Dowry", "Forest" are among his most important works. Ostrovsky's play "Dowry", like other psychological dramas, non-standard describes the characters, inner world, the torment of heroes.

Since 1856, the writer has been participating in the issue of the Sovremennik magazine.

Ostrovsky Theater

In the biography of Alexander Ostrovsky, theatrical work occupies an honorable place.
Ostrovsky founded the Artistic Circle in 1866, thanks to which many talented people appeared in the theater circle.

Together with the Artistic Circle, he significantly reformed and developed the Russian theater.

Ostrovsky's house was often visited famous people, among which I. A. Goncharov, D. V. Grigorovich, Ivan Turgenev, A. F. Pisemsky, Fyodor Dostoevsky, P. M. Sadovsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Leo Tolstoy, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, M. N. Ermolova and other.

IN short biography Ostrovsky should definitely mention the appearance in 1874 of the Society of Russian Drama Writers and opera composers where Ostrovsky was chairman. With his innovations, he achieved an improvement in the lives of theater actors. Since 1885, Ostrovsky headed theater school and was the head of the repertoire of theaters in Moscow.

Writer's personal life

It cannot be said that personal life Ostrovsky was successful. The playwright lived with a woman from a simple family - Agafya, who had no education, but was the first to read his works. She supported him in everything. All their children died in early age. Ostrovsky lived with her for about twenty years. And in 1869 he married the actress Maria Vasilievna Bakhmeteva, who bore him six children.

last years of life

Until the end of his life, Ostrovsky experienced financial difficulties. Hard work greatly depleted the body, and health increasingly failed the writer. Ostrovsky dreamed of a revival theater school in which it would be possible to train professional acting skills However, the death of the writer prevented the implementation of long-planned plans.

Ostrovsky died on June 2 (14), 1886 at his estate. The writer was buried next to his father, in the village of Nikolo-Berezhki, Kostroma province.

Chronological table

Other biography options

• Ostrovsky knew Greek, German and French, and in more late age I also learned English, Spanish and Italian. All his life he translated plays into different languages Thus, he improved his skills and knowledge.
• The creative path of the writer covers 40 years successful work over literary and dramatic works. His work influenced the whole era of theater in Russia. For his work, the writer was awarded the Uvarov Prize in 1863.
• Ostrovsky is the founder of modern theatrical art, whose followers were such prominent personalities as Konstantin Stanislavsky and Mikhail Bulgakov.
• see all

Nikolai Alekseevich Ostrovsky

"As the Steel Was Tempered"

A Russian writer who joined the Red Army at the age of 15, fought in the cavalry brigade of G. Kotovsky and the 1st Cavalry Army of S. Budyonny, became disabled at the age of 23 due to a serious wound, concussion and typhoid fever, Nikolai Alekseevich Ostrovsky is famous all over the world as author of the autobiographical novel How the Steel Was Tempered. This book became the "new gospel" of all the romantics of the revolution, and its main character, Pavka Korchagin, expressed the spirit of a whole generation of Komsomol members of the 1920s. For three quarters of a century it has been one of the most widely read works in the world. Ostrovsky's second novel, Born by the Storm, remained unfinished.

The novel was written for more than three years by a seriously ill person. By 1929, Nikolai Alekseevich was completely blind, he was made a special transparator (a cardboard folder with slots) so that he could continue working. But soon the writer refused right hand. Then Ostrovsky began to dictate to voluntary assistants. As a result, he created a work, the analogue of which the world has not yet known.

Monument to Pavka Korchagin in Pyatigorsk

The magazine "Young Guard" at first rejected the novel as "unreal", but then nevertheless published it - in 1932 (the first part) and in 1933 (the second). The manuscript was edited by A. Karavaev, A. Serafimovich, M. Kolosov. In 1934, "How the Steel Was Tempered" was published as a separate book. During the life of the writer, it was published 41 times. Criticism, mistaking the novel for another craft of the newly minted proletarian graphomaniac, greeted him with silence. And only after the appearance in the newspaper "Pravda" in March 1935 of M. Koltsov's essay "Courage", when everyone learned about the fate of the writer, his book was read by the whole shocked country.

The protagonist of the novel, Pavel Korchagin, by the will of fate, turned out to be a participant in the great historical events. He, like a steel magnet, attracted people to himself and carried them along to the goal he saw better than others. It is not for nothing that a number of critics attribute Korchagin to special iconic images that have been defined as "man-people." There are few such people in world literature, first of all, Til Ulenspiegel, Cola Breugnon, Vasily Terkin.

Since we are talking about a biography novel, many of its characters have prototypes. So, for example, the fate of Korchagin reflected the life of the author himself, the prototype of Zhukhrai was the sailor Peredreychuk, Artem was the brother of the writer Dmitry, etc. But at the same time, Ostrovsky considered his novel not only an “autobiographical document”, but also a work of art in which he used their right to be creative.

For the fact that Pavka poured makhra into the Easter dough for the priest, he was expelled from school. The boy began his working life early, the "masters" of which, right up to the station canteen buffet, bullied him hourly. It was then that Pavka learned to fight back.

Having learned how much a pound is worth, the boy was eager to free all workers from social oppression. Very young met Korchagin February and October revolution, the German occupation, Petliura's gangs - events compressed time, made Pavka an adult beyond his years, shaped and tempered his character.

Korchagin reached out to the Bolsheviks. Sailor Zhukhrai, a friend of his brother Artyom, admonished the young man: “Now a fire has begun all over the earth. The slaves rose and old life must go to the bottom." His words fell on fertile ground. By heart knew the Old and New Testament, Korchagin believed in Truth and Justice. Zhukhrai acted on the enthusiastic Pavka precisely with the "cruel truth of life." He also taught him the "techniques of English boxing", which came in handy for the guy in Russian realities.

Korchagin was hot-tempered, impetuous, it was sometimes difficult to separate his courage and risk from desperate hooliganism: he beat a bourgeois son, took away a rifle from a teenager he met, which he hid on beams under the roof of a barn, stole a revolver from a German officer, saved Zhukhrai from under the escort ... Pavka on a denunciation, the Petliurists seized him, and only chance saved him from death. The young man, at great risk to himself and all his aristocratic relatives, was hidden by his friend Tonya Tumanova, with whom he was in love; for the sake of the young man, she broke with the rich man Leshchinsky.

In the ranks of the 1st Cavalry Army, in his unit, Korchagin organized the "young guard" - a cell of fighters of the ideological front, conducting political work among colleagues. Fighting enemies, he first felt collectivism as a conscious necessity. After reading the novel "The Gadfly", Pavel chose for himself an idol whom he worshiped all his life, and he took the words of the Red Army soldier Androshchuk: "You even have to die with patience, if you feel the truth behind you," he took it as a guide to action. The rest of Korchagin's life became his dying, which he, by the power of his will and the power of the spirit given to him from above, made a "new" life, and he himself became a saint, but not a martyr, but a hero.

After a severe wound and concussion, Korchagin ended up in the infirmary. Doctors, who considered his situation hopeless, were surprised at how he "scratched out into life", striking those around him with his boundless patience.

Pavel returned to the city, became an active Komsomol member. Gritting his teeth, he broke with Tonya, who did not share his way of life and his ideas. "I will belong first to the party, and then to you and other relatives."

After the provincial Cheka was headed by Zhukhrai, Pavel served for some time as a Chekist. But the wound and contusion increasingly made themselves felt. Having moved to Kyiv, Korchagin got a job in the Special Department, after which he was appointed assistant and bodyguard to the youth organizer Rita Ustinovich. Rita began to teach Pavel political literacy. Korchagin fell in love with her, but after he was unreasonably jealous of Rita for her brother, Pavka realized that he had no right to love a woman if this love so easily knocks him out of the saddle and deprives him of the strength that is intended only for the revolution.

In winter, Korchagin took part in the construction of a narrow-gauge railway near Kiev. They lived from hand to mouth, without proper clothes and shoes, worked without rest, fighting off bandits. Pavel acted as the instigator of the labor "competition", fulfilled the norms ahead of schedule, forced him to revise the rationing of labor in the direction of tightening. The engineers were perplexed: “What kind of people are these? What is this strange power?

By chance, Pavka met Tonya Tumanova, dressed in furs, who hardly recognized “Korchagin in the ragamuffin”. “Have you really not deserved anything better in power than to rummage in the ground? I thought you were already a commissar or something like that,” she asked disappointedly. “There is nothing to worry about my life, everything is in order,” Korchagin reassured the girl, sincerely pitying her unfinished life. She, in principle, could not understand what moves Korchagin in "his" life.

Physical exhaustion and the heroic rescue of the harvested forest from icy water ended for Pavel with pneumonia and typhus. Having gone through the flames of the Civil War and the icy waters of peaceful construction, Korchagin made his life the title of a novel. No wonder Ostrovsky once said that "steel is tempered with big fire and strong cooling. Then she becomes strong and is not afraid of anything.

Zhukhrai and Ustinovich, having no information about Pavel, thought that he had died. But Korchagin overcame the disease and returned to the workshops, where he worked like a damned man, forcing the Komsomol members to restore order in the workshop.

Korchagin went through life only winning, finding strength and courage to overcome pain and despair even in a crushing defeat. Paul built his own destiny, like a god. Enemies and misfortunes could break the defender of any political idea, but not him - the knight of Providence, restoring the Supreme Justice and life according to Conscience on an unjust earth and in an unscrupulous world. Near mass grave Korchagin thought about the meaning of the life he had lived and sent his testament to all of us: “The most precious thing for a person is life. It is given to him once, and it is necessary to live it in such a way that it would not be excruciatingly painful for the aimlessly lived years, so that the shame for the petty and petty past would not burn, and so that, dying, he could say: all life, all strength were given to the most beautiful thing in the world - the struggle for the liberation of mankind. And we must hurry to live.

Then Korchagin worked as a propagandist, took part in the defeat of the "workers' opposition", criticized the Trotskyists ... Pavel, who was seriously ill, was sent to the sanatorium of the Central Committee. After the examination, it became clear that he was doomed to complete immobility. Sanatoriums and hospitals could not save a person in whose place any other person would have long ago given his soul to God. Inhuman suffering and the inability to work for the benefit of people and the country led Korchagin to the idea of ​​suicide. This is the climax of Paul's spiritual drama. “Has he lived his twenty-four years well, has he not lived well? Going through his memory year after year, Pavel checked his life like an impartial judge and decided with deep satisfaction that life was not lived so badly ... Most importantly, he did not sleep through the hot days, found his place in the iron struggle for power, and on the scarlet banner there is a revolution and his few drops of blood.”

Pavel found the strength to reject the momentary weakness and “paper romanticism” of justifying death as “the most cowardly and easy way out”, and in the people of which he was a particle, who endured the incredible hardships of slave labor and bloody battles, he found support. Having programmed himself for another victory, with the thought that "you need to stay in the ranks," Korchagin decided to continue living "against all odds." Deprived of vision and movement, Paul could only “resurrect” himself through literary means, and he began to write a story about his contemporaries who fought for the happiness of all people and built a new life.

Ostrovsky thought to start writing the novel "Korchagin's Happiness" in the future. Alas, fate did not give him this opportunity. It makes no sense to list all the epithets that were given to the novel in the 20th century, and the genres to which it was attributed - it was called (quite deservedly) both existential, and a novel about love, and the most confessional romance all literatures and peoples.

Surprisingly, 30 years after the publication of the novel, Ostrovsky found many "co-authors". So, according to M. Kuprina-Iordanskaya, literary critic G. Lenoble called himself and six other people as such. Apparently, this the magnificent seven did not see the difference between co-writing and editing, as between singing and sniffing. Even more serious was deployed in the 1990s. a campaign to defame Ostrovsky and discredit the image of Korchagin, which, by the way, coincided with a wave of acts of vandalism that swept across the country - monuments and tombstones of the heroes of the Civil War were smashed in cemeteries.

According to State Museum – humanitarian center"Overcoming" them. ON THE. Ostrovsky in Moscow, by January 1, 1991, “How the Steel Was Tempered” was published in 75 languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR 773 times with a total circulation of 53 million 854 thousand copies. After 1991, the book practically ceased to be published in our country.

“How the Steel Was Tempered” was filmed three times in the USSR: in 1942 by director M. Donskoy, in 1956 by A. Alovs V. Naumov (“Pavel Korchagin”) and in 1973 N. Mashchenko was filmed a television series.

In 1993, a special survey was conducted in China: what literary work from world classics people would like to see on their TV screens. 73% of Chinese voted for How the Steel Was Tempered. (In the next 17 years, this book was republished in China more than 20 times.) In 2000, Chinese directors Khangan and Sakhat, together with Ukrainian filmmakers, filmed a 20-episode TV movie in Ukraine. In Beijing, the traffic on the streets stopped when the next episode was shown on TV. The picture received seven "Golden Fairies" (Chinese "Oscar") and was noted as the best TV movie of the decade. The opinion of the Russian film editor E. Kosnichuk about her is quite remarkable: “I would very much like our viewers to watch this truthful film, confused by the tendentious approach to the fate of Pavel Korchagin, which reflected, like in a drop of water, the fate of the whole country - from one on the other hand, the falsification of history, which modern cinema sins with.”