Interesting facts from the childhood of Ivan Andreevich Krylov. Krylov Ivan Andreevich: interesting facts from life. Interesting facts about the death of Ivan Andreevich Krylov

Ivan Andreevich Krylov is known, first of all, as a famous fabulist. Meanwhile, there were very interesting incidents in his life that should be discussed separately.

1. As a child, Ivan Krylov and his mother ended up in Orenburg, besieged by Emelyan Pugachev. It was the experience of hunger and need that led to obesity and the “glutton” syndrome in the adult writer.
2. Krylov began working at the age of 11 to help his impoverished family after the death of his father.
3. As a child, Krylov was a fairly strong fist fighter and often took part in wall-to-wall folk fun. It often happened that he defeated an adult opponent in a duel.
4. Krylov loved to look at fires. As soon as the alarm sound was heard, Ivan Andreevich was already rushing to the scene of events. Friends already knew that if someone needed Krylov, the easiest way to find him was at a fire. By the way, the owner of the apartment where the fabulist lived was very worried that Krylov would start a fire. He even proposed to conclude an agreement according to which, in the event of a fire due to Krylov’s fault, he would have to pay 60,00 rubles. Ivan Andreevich read the text of the agreement and added two more zeros to the amount, telling the owner that he would still be unable to pay either amount.
5. In adulthood, Ivan Andreevich preferred to lie on the sofa. They say that it was Krylov who became the prototype of the hero of Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov”. Krylov worked for thirty years as a librarian in Public library, but even there he managed to find a couple of hours to sleep.
6. Krylov was indifferent to his appearance; he always looked careless, rarely washed or changed his clothes.
7. It is reliably known that Ivan Andreevich Krylov is the author of 236 fables. Many plots are borrowed from the ancient fabulists La Fontaine and Aesop.
8. In addition to fables, Ivan Andreevich Krylov wrote odes, comedies, stories, and tragedies, but according to his contemporaries, these works were frankly weak, and Krylov himself found himself in fables.
9. Doctors strongly advised the writer to lose weight by taking long walks every day. Krylov began to follow their recommendations, but he was distracted by merchants who literally dragged Ivan Andreevich into their shops. Krylov was able to get rid of the annoying merchants in an original way: he went into the store, looked critically at the shelves and said in disappointment: “There are not enough goods!”
10. At a dinner party with Empress Catherine II, Krylov got so carried away that even the poet Zhukovsky pulled him back: “Stop eating! Let the queen treat you!” But Krylov objected: “What if he doesn’t treat me?”
11. One day, at the dinner table, Krylov was sitting next to an avid fisherman, who was enthusiastically talking about his trophies. When the fisherman spread his arms, showing the size of the fish he had caught, the writer moved aside, saying: “Let me let your fish through, otherwise it’s a bit crowded.”
12. Krylov was a gambling man, he loved to play cards and bet on cockfights. The police had him on the list of avid gamblers, along with Pushkin. Moreover, Krylov himself said that he is not a rich man, therefore, he plays solely for the sake of money.
13. At the age of 22, Ivan Krylov fell in love with the priest's daughter Anna. But the parents refused to marry their daughter to the poor poet. Later, under pressure from their daughters, they changed their minds and wrote to the poet in St. Petersburg. Krylov replied that he did not have the money to come for the bride and asked to bring Anna to him. The girl's relatives were offended by the answer, and the marriage did not take place.
14. The writer was not married, although from an extramarital affair with a cook he had a daughter, Alexandra, whom he raised as legitimate. He bequeathed his entire fortune to her.
15. At the end of his life, Krylov was favored by the royal family. He had the rank of state councilor and a six-thousand-dollar pension.
16. Ivan Andreevich died in 1844, at the age of 75. The cause of death is still debated: some say from overeating, others from pneumonia. Count Orlov personally arrived at the funeral, and even volunteered to carry the coffin.

Most of which have original plots, while the rest go back to the works of La Fontaine and Aesop.

School readers know his works, but real life the author seems mediocre and uninteresting. We decided to dispel this myth and collected 5 interesting facts about Ivan Krylov.

Studied the morals of the people in fist fights

“The most important science for kings: / To know the properties of their people / And the benefits of their land”

In his youth, Ivan Andreevich was fond of fist fights, from which, thanks to his strength, he often emerged victorious. This hobby developed not only his physical abilities; it is likely that it was then that he first paid attention to folk life and customs.

“He visited with particular pleasure public gatherings, shopping areas, swings and fist fights, where he jostled among the motley crowd, eagerly listening to the speeches of the common people.”, recalled a contemporary.

Wrote with errors and taught literature

“Being strong is good, being smart is twice as good”

Ivan Krylov’s education cannot be called consistent: he learned to read and write at home (his father was a passionate reader), and learned French from wealthy neighbors. Until the end of his days, he wrote with errors and mastered the rest of the sciences already in adulthood. The writer also knew Italian and also played the violin.

Despite the gaps in his education and difficulties with spelling, he turned out to be an excellent literature teacher.

Not afraid to criticize the powers that be

“Highness is good in breed and rank, / But what profit does it bring when the soul is low?”

Young Krylov was an unusually prolific author. Thanks largely to this, he entered into close relations with the theater committee, received a free ticket and an assignment to translate the libretto of the French opera L’Infante de Zamora. However, the future fabulist could not resist sharp satire addressed to the leading playwright of the time, Yakov Knyazhin, and his wife, the daughter of Alexander Sumarokov himself. Krylov brought them out under the names of Rhymestealer and Tarators in the comedy “Pranksters”. This episode quarreled Krylov with Knyazhin and closed the former’s path to drama.

He was active in publishing

“Envious people will look no matter what, / They will bark forever; / And you go your own way: / They bark and leave you alone.”

After drama, the writer became interested publishing. He published his first magazine at the age of 20, it was called “Spirit Mail” and looked like correspondence between gnomes and the wizard Malikulmulk. In it, Ivan Andreevich continued his satirical exercises, including on Rhymestealer and Taratora. The magazine existed from January to August and closed due to lack of subscribers. A few years later, Krylov created the magazine “Spectator”, but later renamed it “St. Petersburg Mercury”.

Was a terrible slob

“And I’ll say: for me it’s better to drink. / Yes, understand the matter"

Despite his active work Krylov was an extremely phlegmatic and slow person. After lunch, he was in the habit of sleeping for at least two hours. Friends knew this oddity of the fabulist and always left him an empty chair.

Moreover, often being in public, Ivan Andreevich still paid very little attention to his appearance; he did not like to change clothes or comb his hair. There is a well-known joke: while getting ready for a masquerade, Krylov asked a lady he knew how best he should dress in order to remain unrecognized. The answer was simple and elegant: “Wash yourself, comb your hair, and no one will recognize you.”

In the biography of the poet and publicist Ivan Andreevich Krylov, fables occupied a special place - he wrote more than 230 of them and became famous as a fabulist. All works were published during his lifetime and were included in 9 collections. He was not born a genius - at first the critics were merciless towards the author. There are other unusual moments in the biography - we have collected 5 interesting facts about Krylov that are not familiar to a wide range of readers below.

Ignorant and mediocrity

Such fame was given to the aspiring poet: critics did not spare epithets and comparisons in reviews of Krylov’s works, publishers refused him. Amazing fact: Lobanov’s close friend, who later became the writer’s biographer, considered his early work pretentious and superficial.

The author listened and continued to work with redoubled zeal, tried his hand at theatrical drama, and translated French plays into Russian. What was unusual was the fact that Ivan Andreevich studied French at home, wealthy neighbors helped him with this.

The future writer had a talent for languages. In adulthood, he argued with the translator Gnedich that he would learn ancient greek language. Less than two years had passed since the debater freely read the collected works of Greek classics in the original.

Strange habits

Another interesting fact from the life of a publicist is his love of walking without clothes. The man was in the body, but was not at all embarrassed by his plumpness; on the contrary, it seemed to those present that he was enjoying such a demonstration.

Prince Golitsyn recalled how he once dropped in to visit the writer without warning. He came out of the bedroom “in what his mother gave birth.” The guest was not taken aback - he joked that the poet’s clothes were too light.

The writer cared little about his appearance - his camisole was always dirty, his boots were full of holes, his hair was unkempt. He took baths only on holidays, and sweated profusely. Once, at a reception, Empress Maria Feodorovna presented her talented subject with a new camisole and boots.

Another oddity of the poet was the fires, which he looked at for hours. Ivan Andreevich lived in St. Petersburg and tried not to miss a single fire.

Excitement and hobbies

An absent-minded, overweight slob - his image doesn’t fit well with a gambling man, a virtuoso gambler, but it’s true. After leaving the service, Ivan Andreevich earned his living with cards for 10 long years - he was a professional at the gambling table, and his skill as a magician helped him win. Another interesting fact from the biography is that at one time the gambler was banned from entering Moscow and St. Petersburg. The reason is a passion for gambling.

The writer also had another passion - the violin. He had a mediocre command of the instrument and had no hearing. Neighbors in the village country house said that the creaking of the strings even sent wolves scattering into the surrounding area.

In his youth, the fabulist had remarkable strength and loved to go to fairs, squares, and other places where fist fights were held, and was a regular participant in them.

Gluttony

Judging by Krylov’s build, it was easy to understand that food occupied a special place in his life. The poet loved feasts at home and away, and enjoyed everything that was served without hesitation.

Eyewitnesses recalled an episode that happened in the house of the court diplomat, Count Musin-Pushkin. The poet was late for the start - he arrived when the main course was being served. Then the owner of the house ordered the guest to be served a “fine” plate of pasta prepared according to an Italian recipe, and after that all the dishes prepared for dinner. Ivan Andreevich happily refreshed himself with pasta, soup and main courses, and then a second plate of pasta. He assured the surprised guests that there would be no harm to the stomach.

What was also unusual about the publicist’s biography was that he was a regular at the empress’s dinner parties. The “meager” assortment often displeased Ivan Andreevich - the man did not eat enough, which made him in a bad mood. Vasily Zhukovsky recalled how Krylov attacked the food without greeting those gathered and without waiting for the empress’s invitation. The man explained his behavior by saying that he was hungry, and Her Highness was delaying the start of the meal.

The passion for food was so strong that freshness and quality did not matter to the writer. It happened that after a dinner party he refreshed himself with pies or black bread covered with mold. They made fun of Krylov's gluttony - he treated it with humor and always answered the offenders aptly.

Personal life

Things didn’t work out for the talented fabulist with his family - he died a bachelor. The most amazing quality in Krylov is his even attitude towards himself; he lived one day at a time, without becoming attached to women and people in general, without accepting insults and ridicule towards himself.

And yet, romantic stories happened in Krylov’s life. For the first time, the young man fell in love with the priest’s daughter, sought her favor, and asked for the girl’s hand in marriage. The guy could not marry his beloved - poverty prevented him.

Later, Ivan Andreevich had a short affair with his own cook. From this relationship an illegitimate daughter was born. The girl was named Alexandra.
After the death of her mother, he raised the girl and got her married. Property, money and rights to literary works Krylov bequeathed to his wife Alexandra.