Fyodor Ivanovich was not only an incredibly talented man, but also extremely loving. Photo: wikimedia.org
When people talk about the Golden Age of Russian poetry, they mention Pushkin first. The second is Lermontov. And there are three more names: Nekrasov, Fet and, of course, Tyutchev.
There are only points on the line.
In the summer of 1836, the editor of the magazine Sovremennik, Alexander Pushkin, sat down to study a manuscript from Germany. Before him were 25 poems by a little-known author, an official diplomat, and Alexander Sergeevich really wanted to print them all at once. His colleagues, Vyazemsky and Zhukovsky, dissuaded Pushkin, but Alexander Sergeevich was persistent: he distributed poems in two issues and delivered the first part with a truly generous hand: 16 poems immediately opened the issue. But in one of the works, the censors discarded two quatrains at once. Pushkin was outraged and left eight lines of only dots, so that the reader would understand that something was missing. Thus, the verse composition was saved, but the text itself was already lost: Tyutchev was not very careful, the drafts were not always preserved, and even now, in Tyutchev’s collected works, Pushkin’s points guard the composition.
Epitaph of a bird
Tyutchev was born in Ovstug, an estate in the Bryansk district. The estate disappeared from the face of the earth in 1914: it was dismantled into bricks and they decided to restore it in the second half of the 20th century, after the death of Stalin. Although there was nothing special to restore: just a pond and a park, and for the Tyutchev Museum they first chose the building of a rural school, and then tried to build an estate according to the sketches. He was homeschooled and wrote his first poem at age 6, after stumbling upon a dead bird in the park. The bird was buried under an epitaph composed by Fyodor Ivanovich.
Tyutchev received his education at Moscow University, first as a volunteer and from the age of 15 as a student. He was not very handsome, but he was very eloquent and loving. After university, he went to work at the State College of Foreign Affairs, from where he was sent to Munich as an independent attaché; His initial position was “give it, bring it.” He is not monetary and does not allow you to puff out your cheeks. Therefore, when Tyutchev fell in love with the young Amalia von Lerchenfeld, her family did not allow everything to become a commitment. There is a version that Amalia was a German spy, and Tyutchev did not yet have influence at court. Very soon he will meet Nicholas I and Benckendorff, and after her men will follow whom he will begin to use in cold blood.
The poet fought a duel because of Amalia von Lerchenfeld. Photo: wikimedia.org
And Tyutchev… Well, he somehow dueled for her… He wrote poetry. According to legend, after forty years they will meet in Carlsbad, and thus the poem “I met you and everything past came to life in an obsolete heart” was born.
Unpoetic triangle
When you start writing about Tyutchev’s personal life, you are surprised: the average idea of the poet and diplomat does not coincide so much with the history of his marriages and novels. 1826: secret wedding to Eleanor Peterson. Tyutchev is 22 years old, she is 25. She is a countess, widow and mother of four children, who will later be joined by three Tyutchev girls. However, for some reason the marriage was not revealed and the countess waited three years for the relationship to be legally registered.
The classic’s first wife is Eleanor Peterson. Photo: wikimedia.org
Then Tyutchev fell in love with Baroness Ernestina, Ernestina’s husband soon died of typhus and then the terrifying triangle Eleanor, Ernestina and Fyodor Ivanovich arose. Leonor and her seven children felt offended all the time and one day they ran out onto a Munich street with a dagger in their hand and tried to stab themselves. I couldn’t stand the sight of blood, I fainted and they took me out. Tyutchev became frightened and left Munich with his family.
It was in 1836, in the spring. Tyutchev will go on vacation to Russia in a year, but not for long: he is sent to Turin, the family stays in St. Petersburg, and Baroness Ernestina is already leaving for Turin.
The second wife is Baroness Ernestina. Photo: wikimedia.org
Career and gray beard.
Another episode: Leonor and her daughters left on a boat for Turin; The ship caught fire and ran aground in the Baltic Sea. People die, Eleanor saves her daughters, but she herself soon dies. Despite the legend that Tyutchev went gray on the night of Eleanor’s death, he marries Ernestine within a year.
This marriage seriously improved the economic affairs of the poet and diplomat. The baroness had money and the family lived off it. He soon had three children: a daughter and two sons. The melodrama will not end there, but there will be an important pause.
In 1843, Fyodor Tyutchev, who knew “abroad” well, met with Benckendorff. We are talking about Russia’s image in the West and the need to add a note of positivity. Tyutchev receives official permission to write about international politics and for a long time finishes publishing poetry. He now writes about revolutions, about Orthodoxy and about Russia. He publishes “Note to the Tsar”, analyzes “On Censorship in Russia.” Dreams of a union of Slavic-Orthodox states. Where can you study lyricism here? Returning to his homeland, he serves as senior censor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Respected, he handshake and still eloquent. The authorities like his articles and other poets like his poems. And in 1850 he liked the young writer Elena Denisyeva.
Elena was old enough to be Tyutchev’s daughter: she was 24 years old, he was 47. She once studied with her elders in Smolny and came to visit. She never officially became a wife: she spent 14 years with Tyutchev, without communicating with her parents (they disowned the girl).
Elena Denisyeva did not become Tyutchev’s official wife, but she gave him three children. Photo: wikimedia.org
Adultery does not prevent Tyutchev from moving up the career ladder. The rank of current State Councilor, the position of president of the Foreign Censorship Committee… And again the children. Three more: two sons and a daughter. But Elena is dying of tuberculosis, as are her two children. What remained was Fyodor Fedorovich, to whom Tyutchev gave her eldest daughter to raise as an illegitimate daughter.
Tyutchev loudly experienced the death of Denisyeva, was treated traveling around Europe and appeared at ceremonial events of the royal family. He died on July 27, 1873, in Tsarskoye Selo, paralyzed and with poor vision…
IMMORTAL LINES
Although, simply pronouncing the name Tyutchev, 9 out of 10 people will say that “Russia cannot be understood with the mind”, many phrases are still heard. Let’s remember.
“A spoken thought is a lie.”
“Oh, how murderously we love!”
“It is not possible for us to predict how our word will respond.”
“The heart of Russia will not forget you, like its first love.”
“I love the early May storm.”
“I met you and everything is still the same.”
“In the original autumn there is a short but wonderful time.”
“Blessed is he who visited this world in its fatal moments.”
“It is not in vain that winter is angry,
Your time has passed
Spring knocks on the window.
And he throws you out of the yard…
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS