Pyotr Boborykin
Encyclopedia
Pyotr Dmitryevich Boborykin was a Russian writer, playwright, and journalist.
, Edmond de Goncourt
and Alphonse Daudet
. In 1900 he was elected an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
.
, The European Herald
, The Northern Herald
, Russian Thought, Artist and other publications. He was the author of numerous novels, novellas , short stories, plays, and works on the history of Western European and Russian literature. His most famous works were the novels Evening Sacrifice (1868), Dealers (1872–1873), Kitay-Gorod (1882), Vasily Tyorkin (1892), Thirst (1898), the story Wiser (1890), and the comedy The Scale (1899).
The wide use of the term "intelligentsia
" in Russian culture began in the 1860s, when Boborykin first used it in the press. He explained that the term was borrowed from German culture, where it was used to describe the part of society which is engaged in intellectual activity. He added a special meaning to the term: the definition of intellectuals as representatives of "high intellectual and ethical culture," and not simply "knowledge workers". In his view, the Russian intelligentsia was a special moral and ethical phenomenon. Intellectuals in this sense were representatives of different professional groups, different political beliefs, but with a common spiritual and moral foundation. The use of the term "intelligentsia" in this sense was regarded as purely Russian by westerners.
The novel Kitay-Gorod was one of Boborykin's most famous works. It was originally conceived as a study on the life and mores of the inhabitants of Kitay-gorod. This work is interesting not only from an artistic, but also from a historical point of view. In the novel, he describes with almost scientific precision the details of merchant life; culinary preferences, daily duties, and the customs of merchants and nobles against the backdrop of anticipated social and political change. His main task is the treatment of the historical role of Moscow in the last third of the nineteenth century. Boborykin was also credited with inventing the snack salad "Erundopel" (Ерундопель), first introduced in the pages of Kitay-Gorod.
Biography
Boborykin was born into the family of a landowner. He studied at Kazan State University and the Dorpat University, but he never completed his education. He made his debut as a playwright in 1860. In 1863-1864 he published an autobiographical novel, The Pathway. He was the editor-publisher of the journal Library for Reading ( 1863–1865), and simultaneously worked for the theatre magazine Russian Stage. He spent a long period abroad in the 1890s, where he met Emile ZolaÉmile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
, Edmond de Goncourt
Edmond de Goncourt
Edmond de Goncourt , born Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt, was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt.-Biography:...
and Alphonse Daudet
Alphonse Daudet
Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the father of Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet.- Early life :Alphonse Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune...
. In 1900 he was elected an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
.
Works
Boborykin worked on the journals Notes of the FatherlandOtechestvennye 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...
, The European Herald
Vestnik Evropy
Vestnik Evropy was the major liberal magazine of late-nineteenth-century Russia; it lasted from 1866 to 1918....
, The Northern Herald
Severny Vestnik
Severny Vestnik was an influential Russian literary magazine founded in Saint Petersburg in 1885 by Anna Yevreinova, who stayed with it until 1889.-History:...
, Russian Thought, Artist and other publications. He was the author of numerous novels, novellas , short stories, plays, and works on the history of Western European and Russian literature. His most famous works were the novels Evening Sacrifice (1868), Dealers (1872–1873), Kitay-Gorod (1882), Vasily Tyorkin (1892), Thirst (1898), the story Wiser (1890), and the comedy The Scale (1899).
The wide use of the term "intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
" in Russian culture began in the 1860s, when Boborykin first used it in the press. He explained that the term was borrowed from German culture, where it was used to describe the part of society which is engaged in intellectual activity. He added a special meaning to the term: the definition of intellectuals as representatives of "high intellectual and ethical culture," and not simply "knowledge workers". In his view, the Russian intelligentsia was a special moral and ethical phenomenon. Intellectuals in this sense were representatives of different professional groups, different political beliefs, but with a common spiritual and moral foundation. The use of the term "intelligentsia" in this sense was regarded as purely Russian by westerners.
The novel Kitay-Gorod was one of Boborykin's most famous works. It was originally conceived as a study on the life and mores of the inhabitants of Kitay-gorod. This work is interesting not only from an artistic, but also from a historical point of view. In the novel, he describes with almost scientific precision the details of merchant life; culinary preferences, daily duties, and the customs of merchants and nobles against the backdrop of anticipated social and political change. His main task is the treatment of the historical role of Moscow in the last third of the nineteenth century. Boborykin was also credited with inventing the snack salad "Erundopel" (Ерундопель), first introduced in the pages of Kitay-Gorod.