Ivan Kushchevsky
Encyclopedia
Ivan Afanasyevich Kushchevsky , born December 24, 1847 – died August 12, 1876, was a Russian
writer
.
, Siberia
where his father was a minor official. He received his early education at the Tomsk
gymnasium. He went to Saint Petersburg
in the mid 1860s to study at the University
, but had to leave school due to lack of money. He worked at odd jobs and lived in cheap boarding houses in the slums for several years. In 1870 he began writing sketches describing his experiences among the lower classes.
In 1871 his only novel Nikolai Negorev; or, The Successful Russian, was serialized in Annals of the Fatherland
. In the novel, Nikolai tells the story of his progress from age twelve to the beginning of what promises to be a solid career in the civil service. In the writing of Nikolai Negorev, Kushchevsky was strongly influenced by Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel What is to be Done?
. Nikolai Negorev was highly praised by the democratic critics of the day.
Kushchevsky wrote Nikolai Negorev between July and November 1870, at the age of 23, while he was sick and destitute in a hospital for the poor. He described the process of composing his novel:
Throughout his adult life he suffered from privation and alcoholism
, which eventually contributed to his death at an early age.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
Kushchevsky was born in BarnaulBarnaul
-Russian Empire:Barnaul was one of the earlier cities established in Siberia. Originally chosen for its proximity to the mineral-rich Altai Mountains and its location on a major river, the site was founded by the wealthy Demidov family in the 1730s. In addition to the copper which had originally...
, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
where his father was a minor official. He received his early education at the Tomsk
Tomsk
Tomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
gymnasium. He went to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in the mid 1860s to study at the University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
, but had to leave school due to lack of money. He worked at odd jobs and lived in cheap boarding houses in the slums for several years. In 1870 he began writing sketches describing his experiences among the lower classes.
In 1871 his only novel Nikolai Negorev; or, The Successful Russian, was serialized in Annals of the Fatherland
Otechestvennye Zapiski
Otechestvennye Zapiski was a Russian literary magazine published in St Petersburg on a monthly basis between 1818 and 1884. The journal served liberal-minded readers, known as the intelligentsia...
. In the novel, Nikolai tells the story of his progress from age twelve to the beginning of what promises to be a solid career in the civil service. In the writing of Nikolai Negorev, Kushchevsky was strongly influenced by Nikolai Chernyshevsky's novel What is to be Done?
What is to be Done?
What to do? Burning Questions of Our Movement is a political pamphlet written by the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin in 1901 and published in 1902...
. Nikolai Negorev was highly praised by the democratic critics of the day.
Kushchevsky wrote Nikolai Negorev between July and November 1870, at the age of 23, while he was sick and destitute in a hospital for the poor. He described the process of composing his novel:
"I was absorbed by my novel Negorev, and gave up all other work for it. I soon found myself with nothing to eat. Luckily for me, I have been admitted to hospital. Here I sell my rations in order to buy candles and I work away on an empty stomach. But progress is slow. The evenings are dark and I haven't money for all the candles I need."
Throughout his adult life he suffered from privation and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, which eventually contributed to his death at an early age.