Literary circles. Literary circle as an effective means of forming a system of universal educational activities

In general, the aristocrats did not look very friendly at rapprochement with the raznochinets writer. At the end of the 40s, in the Moscow salon of the Obolenskys, who received writers, they had to repel attacks for receiving raznochintsy. D.D. Obolensky recalled: “Going out into the world, mother sometimes withstood attacks for receiving writers at her place. As I remember now, one high-society gentleman, meeting V.P. Botkin, who was leaving, asked his mother: “What, do you buy tea from him?” (Botkin was selling tea), to which the mother replied: “No, I serve him tea.”
The trading group had a number of its own associations - not salons, but evenings. Their characteristic feature is a production character: they are grouped around the editors of individual literary magazines and together with them form alliances, participating in the journal struggle. Such, for example, are Voeikov Fridays, which are extremely hostile to Grech Thursdays, which united the editorial staff of Bulgarin and Greek publications. From the end of the 1920s to the end of the 1940s, the nature of editorial meetings changed. If by the end of the 1920s professional writers, like Voeikov, used their evenings for the literary exploitation of their guests, then in the 1930s there were the beginnings of ideological editorial associations (Moscow Observer, a kind of cooperative publication), which flourished in a lush flower in liberal "contemporary". The disintegration of circles and salons as a major literary factor is outlined. The concept of “literary reading” appears, first at home (it goes back to the readings of the Dollmaker in the 30s), then (1859-1862) and public.
The main interest for the public is focused not on the work itself, but on the author and the author's reading. The public is curious to see and listen to the writer. Circles, salons and evenings, in which, in addition to opinions, there is also a collective discussion, and sometimes a change in literary works, in which the conversation touches on the basic literary principles and establishes new literary values - these circles can be called dialogic circles. Such are the "Friendly Literary Society", Arzamas, a circle of wisdom. In the 1930s, a new type of literary associations appeared - monologue. A single writer's personality dominates here, uniting his literary adherents around his own interests. We find a new wave of literary significant circles only at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, in the era of the Symbolists and Acmeists, on the Wednesdays of Vyach. Ivanov, in the Gumilev poets' workshop, in the stormy performances of the Futurists and their theorist "Opoyaz".

Literary societies, circles make it possible to see the general progressive development of Russian literary social thought. The earliest of these associations is the Friendly Literary Society, which arose in January 1801. It is far from accidental that this literary society arose in Moscow, which at the beginning of the 19th century was the center of the best literary forces of that era. The "Friendly Literary Society" grew out of a student circle, which consisted of students from Moscow University and the University's Noble Boarding School. This society included Andrei and Alexander Turgenev, Kaisarov, V. Zhukovsky, A. Voikov, S. Rodzyanka, A.F. Merzlyakov. In their face, a new generation of writers declared itself. The members of the "Friendly Literary Society" were characterized by common aspirations: an ardent interest in the fate of Russia, its culture, hostility to inertia, the desire to contribute to the development of education, the idea of civil and patriotic service to the Motherland. The "friendly community" formed the basis of this association, the meetings of the society were characterized by an informal, relaxed tone, an atmosphere of heated debate, anticipating the organizational forms of "Arzamas", the main core of which was the members of the "Friendly Literary Society".

As a friendly circle of young like-minded writers, the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts, founded in St. Petersburg in 1801, began its activities. Yazykov, Ermolaev, Pnin, Vostokov became members of the Free Society, they sought to make themselves known to the public, sought to achieve official recognition: Pnin was the author of the treatise “Experience on Enlightenment with Respect to Russia”. The treatise was presented to Alexander I and earned "the highest approval." The members of the Free Society dreamed of developing education and social reforms in Russia. Members of the society published the almanac "The Scroll of the Muses" (1802-1803). In 1804-1805, K. Batyushkov, A. Merzlyakov, N. Gnedich, V. L. Pushkin became members of the society. In 1812, the "Free Society" ceased its activities, but in 1816 the activity of the society was resumed, it was headed by the new President - Izmailov. This period of activity of the "Free Society" is called "Izmailovsky". Members of the Izmailovo Society were K. Ryleev, A. Bestuzhev, V. Kyuchelbeker, A. Raevsky, O. Somov. The future Decembrists sought to actively influence the contemporary social and literary movement. The "Union of Salvation" and the "Union of Welfare" first orient themselves towards the "Free Society".

The Moscow Society of Russian Literature Lovers has existed for more than 100 years. Created at the Moscow University, it included teachers, Moscow writers and simply lovers of literature in its ranks. The Moscow Society of Lovers of Russian Literature was founded in 1811; in general, the position of the society gravitated towards classicism, the defenders of the principles of which were the organizers and leaders of the society (especially A.F. Merzlyakov). The time of the highest literary flourishing for the society was 1818, when, according to Dmitriev, prominent Petersburg poets participated in its work: Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, F. Glinka.

In 1811, the literary society "Conversation of Lovers of the Russian Word" (1811-1816), an association of St. Petersburg writers, arose. The organizer and head of the "Conversations" was Admiral Shishkov, a defender of classicism, the author of the famous "Reasoning about the old and new style of the Russian language" (1803). Admiral Shishkov, not being a writer himself, led the well-known writers of Russia: Derzhavin and Krylov were members of the Conversation. The meetings of the society were solemn: tailcoats, ballroom costumes. Writers read new works. Krylov and Derzhavin were a kind of adornment of the Conversations. The Russian language, from the point of view of Besedchikov, should develop according to the national tradition, ancient chronicles should become the basis of the language, and all European tracing papers should be destroyed and replaced with the Russian version. "Besedchiki" opposed the development of the Russian language in the spirit of European languages, since it has its own national course. Shishkov - theorist and defender of the "old style"; this trend was directed primarily against the European traditions of the Russian Enlightenment. "Besedchiki" were fierce defenders of everything Russian and national from the "destructive impact" of Western European culture.

Nikolai Karamzin headed the Arzamas literary society. "Karamzinists", unlike "Besedchikov", saw a different path of development and continued the European traditions of the Russian Enlightenment, "built" their own etiquette of communication, meetings, they were all younger than "Besedchikov". The youngest of them was Alexander Pushkin. Each of the members of the Arzamas society had a nickname, they bore nicknames from the ballads of V. Zhukovsky: Vasily Pushkin was called Chub, Mikhail Orlov was called Rhine. It was a kind of "brotherhood", in which there was no hierarchy, and where freedom, equality and brotherhood reigned. The people of Arzamas were extremely variegated in their representation; politicians also entered the society. The literary society "Arzamas" at first opposed the "Conversation", and the people of Arzamas did a lot for the development of the Russian literary language, according to members of the society, the Russian language should develop in the bosom of other European languages, should absorb the features of other languages. "Conversators" were classicists, "Arzamas" - sentimentalists and romantics, therefore, the style itself was different. Where the classicists wrote: "The moon has risen"; sentimentalists, pre-romantics will write: "Hekate ascended." Thus, pretentiousness, sophistication of style were inherent in them, and this is precisely what caused criticism from the “conversators”; all these battles have become literary.

findings

The socio-political situation that developed in Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century contributed to a very noticeable revival of various spheres and aspects of literary life. Absorbing new ideas and concepts, Russian literature acquires closer ties with the urgent needs of the time, with the political events taking place at that time, with the deep internal changes experienced by Russian society and the whole country during these years. A characteristic feature of this new historical era was an increased interest in the field of political and public life.

Literary societies and circles that arose at the beginning of the 19th century make it possible to see deep, internal processes that often do not come to the surface of literary life, but nevertheless are very significant in the overall progressive development of Russian literary and social thought.

LITERARY CIRCLES AND SALONS OF PRE-REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA. Literary circles, societies, salons played a big role in the social and cultural life of Russia for many decades.

The first circles arose in the middle of the 18th century. So, in the 30-40s of the 18th century. there was a circle created by pupils of the Land gentry corps - a military educational institution, where classes in the humanities and interest in literature were encouraged in every possible way.

The emergence of the first literary salons, especially the salon of I.I. Shuvalov, also dates back to this time. Shuvalov began his career as a favorite of the aging Empress Elizabeth and became famous for his disinterestedness and honesty, as well as enlightenment. He was the patron of M.V. Lomonosov, the founder of Moscow University and the Academy of Arts. Retiring from public affairs after the death of his patroness in 1761, he devoted most of his time to travel, reading, and art. The flower of the then Russian literature gathered in Shuvalov's house. The regulars of his salon were translators, philologists, poets: G.R. Derzhavin, I. Dmitriev, I. Bogdanovich.

In the 18th century circles did not limit their activities only to literary conversations. In most cases, their members sought to organize one, and sometimes several journals. So, in the 60s of the 18th century. in Moscow, at the initiative of the poet M.M. Kheraskov, a circle of students of Moscow University was created, which, starting from 1760, published the magazine Useful Entertainment, and then Free Hours, and in the 70s - Evenings. Among the members of the circle are D.I. Fonvizin, I.F. Bogdanovich and others.

The 1770s–1780s were a time of active social life associated with the reforms carried out by Catherine II, as a result of which the nobles and townspeople received the right to self-government and various benefits. All this contributed, in particular, to the rise of culture, which manifested itself, in particular, in the emergence of several literary societies: the Free Assembly of Russian Language Lovers (1771), the Assembly of Pupils of the Moscow University Noble Boarding School (1787).

In 1779 at Moscow University, on the initiative of the Masonic organization, to which the outstanding educators N.I. Novikov and I.G. . In 1784, a printing company was organized at the company, which was under the jurisdiction of N.I. Novikov. Thanks to the Friendly Scientific Society and its printing house, many Russian books were published in the second half of the 18th century. in Russia.

Great influence on the literary life of the late 18th century. provided by the salons of G.R. Derzhavin and N.A. Lvov.

At the beginning of the 19th century the role of literary circles and salons is becoming increasingly significant. Early 19th century - the time of sharp and stormy disputes about the development of Russian literature and the Russian language. At this time, the defenders of the old "archaic" language collided: A.S. Shishkov, A.A. Shakhovskoy, and supporters of the renewal of the language, which was associated primarily with the name of N.M. Karamzin. Various literary trends are rapidly developing. In Russian literature of the early 19th century. classicism, sentimentalism and emerging romanticism coexist. The interest of enlightened youth in political issues is growing, there is an awareness of the need for political and socio-economic reforms, primarily the abolition of serfdom. All these problems, both aesthetic and political, were reflected in the activities of the circles of the early 19th century.

One of the first literary circles of the beginning of the century was the Friendly Literary Society, founded in Moscow by a group of friends, graduates of the Moscow University boarding school, young writers brothers Andrei and Alexander Turgenev, V.A. Zhukovsky and others. circle, which in 1801 became a literary society. Its members have been repeatedly published in the journal of the University Boarding House "Morning Dawn". Meetings of the participants usually took place in the house of the poet, translator and journalist A.F. Voeikov. Members of the Friendly Literary Society set themselves the task of strengthening the national principle in literature and, although to some extent they supported Karamzin's innovation in the field of language, they considered it wrong to follow foreign models, which, in their opinion, Karamzin sinned. Subsequently, the positions of the members of the Friendly Literary Society and the Karamzinists drew closer.

Since 1801, the literary association "Friendly Society of Lovers of the Fine" has been operating in St. Petersburg, later renamed the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts. Its founder was the writer and teacher I.M. Born. The society included writers (V.V. Popugaev, I.P. Pnin, A.Kh. Vostokov, D.I. Yazykov, A.E. Izmailov), sculptors, artists, priests, archaeologists, historians. The literary preferences of the members of the society were extremely diverse. At first they were influenced by the ideas of A.N. Radishchev (two of the writer's sons were part of the society) and gravitated toward classic literature. Later, the views of the members of the Free Society changed greatly, which did not prevent it from existing, albeit with long breaks, until 1825.

At the beginning of the 19th century there were other circles and salons that influenced the development of literature of that time. The most significant associations of the first quarter of the century were the Conversation of Lovers of the Russian Word (1811–1816) and Arzamas (1815–1818), societies representing opposite currents in Russian literature and constantly in a state of acute rivalry. The creator and soul of the "Conversations" was the philologist and writer A.S. Shishkov, the leader of that literary movement, which was defined by Yu.N. Tynyanov as "archaists". Back in 1803, Shishkov, in his Discourse on the Old and New Syllabaries of the Russian Language, criticized Karamzin's reform of the language and proposed his own, which assumed the preservation of a sharper line between the book and spoken language, the rejection of the use of foreign words and the introduction into the literary language of a large number of archaic and folk vocabulary. Shishkov's views were shared by other members of the "Conversation", writers of the older generation - poets G.R. Derzhavin, I.A. Krylov, playwright A.A. Shakhovskoy, translator Iliad N.I. Gnedich, and later their young followers, to whom A.S. Griboyedov and V.K. Kyuchelbeker belonged.

Many members of literary circles of the first quarter of the 19th century. brought together not only friendly relations and literary views, but also socio-political views. This was especially evident in the literary associations of the late 10s and early 20s, the most significant of which turned out to be associated with the Decembrist movement. So, the St. Petersburg circle "Green Lamp" (1819-1820) was founded by a member of the Welfare Union S.P. Trubetskoy, Ya.N. Tolstoy, who was close to the Decembrist society, and N.V. Vsevolozhsky, a great connoisseur and lover of theater and literature. Many writers of that time were members of the Green Lamp, including A.S. Pushkin and A.A. Delvig. Discussions of literary works and theatrical premieres at the Green Lamp meetings were interspersed with the reading of journalistic articles and political discussions.

Many Decembrists (F.N. Glinka, K.F. Ryleev, A.A. Bestuzhev, V.K. Kuchelbeker) were members of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, founded in 1811 at Moscow University.

By the mid-1820s, the social situation in Russia had changed dramatically. Alexander I abandoned the reform ideas that he had cherished for two decades. The domestic policy of the state has become much more rigid. The persecution of liberal professors and journalists began, and the situation at the universities became tougher. As a result, the situation of literary societies that pursued any socio-political goals turned out to be difficult. The largest literary association in the mid-20s was the Society of Philosophy, founded in 1823 by graduates of Moscow University to study literature and philosophy. At the origins of the circle were the writer and musicologist V.F. Odoevsky, the poet and philosopher D.V. Venevitinov, the future Slavophil, at that time a young graduate of Moscow University I.V. Kireevsky, young scientists who in the future were destined to become university professors - S.P. Shevyrev and M.P. Pogodin. Meetings of wisdom took place in the house of Venevitinov. Members of the society seriously studied Western philosophy, studied the works of Spinoza, Kant, Fichte, but they were especially influenced by the German philosopher F. Schelling, whose ideas made a huge impression on the generation of the 1920s and 1930s, in particular on the ideology of the Slavophils. The fact that the circle was called the "Society of Philosophy", and not philosophy, speaks of the interest of its members in national culture and philosophy. In 1824-1825 V.F. Odoevsky together with V.K.Kyukhelbeker published the almanac "Mnemosyne", where many philosophers of wisdom were published. Since there were many employees of the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs among the members of the society, they received the nickname "archival youths", which, obviously, should have hinted not only at the nature of their service, but also at their focus on abstract, philosophical problems of being. However, the philosophical interests of members of society still aroused suspicion among the authorities. After the uprising of the Decembrists, V.F. Odoevsky proposed to dissolve the society, fearing persecution, since many wise men were close to the Decembrists.

The era that came after the suppression of the Decembrist uprising was not very conducive to the emergence of large literary societies. But friendly circles or salons became practically the only possible manifestations of social life in a situation where literature and journalism were under the strict control of censorship and the police. In the 30s of the 19th century. there were many interesting literary circles, created mainly by students or graduates of Moscow University, which was far from the more official, bureaucratic Petersburg. Similarly, in the 1830s, an intense literary and artistic life was in full swing in numerous Moscow and St. Petersburg salons, at evenings, “Fridays”, “Saturdays”, etc.

Among the literary circles of the 1930s, Stankevich's circle occupied a prominent place. It was a literary and philosophical association that took shape in 1831 around the personality of Nikolai Vladimirovich Stankevich, a student and then a graduate of Moscow University. Stankevich wrote philosophical and poetic works, but all the members of the circle later agreed that the greatest influence on them was not so much the works of their leader, but his very personality, surprisingly charming and interesting. Stankevich possessed the ability to awaken the work of thought and at the same time appease and bring together the most irreconcilable opponents. His circle also included people who were later destined to follow completely different paths. Future Slavophiles K.S. Aksakov and Yu.F. Samarin, future Westerners V.P. Botkin and T.N. Granovsky, V.G. Belinsky and M.A. Bakunin met here. Here friends studied philosophy, history, literature. The role of the Stankevich circle in spreading the ideas of Schelling and Hegel in Russia was enormous. In 1839, the seriously ill Stankevich went abroad for treatment, from where he never returned, and the circle broke up.

Another well-known association of the 1830s was the circle of Herzen and Ogarev, which, in addition to them, included their friends from Moscow University. Unlike Stankevich's circle, Herzen, Ogarev and their entourage were much more interested in political issues. German classical philosophy seemed to them too abstract and vague, they were more inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution and the socialist teachings of utopian philosophers, especially Saint-Simon. Not surprisingly, Herzen and Ogarev attracted more attention from the authorities. In 1834, on absurd charges, the circle was dispersed, its leaders were arrested and sent into exile.

The circle that arose in the early 1930s at Moscow University was the Society of Number 11, which rallied around the young V. G. Belinsky and got its name from the number of the room that the future critic occupied in the university boarding school. The members of the circle were not limited to discussing literary novelties and theatrical premieres, they studied philosophical works, discussed European political events. The works of its members were often read at meetings of the society. Belinsky introduced his friends here to his drama Dmitry Kalinin. This caused great dissatisfaction with the authorities, which led to his expulsion from the university.

The inability to freely express one's thoughts even in a friendly circle fettered the activities of literary circles and societies, so most of these associations of the 1830s and 1840s turned out to be short-lived.

Literary salons turned out to be more stable - due to the naturalness of salon communication for society in the first half of the 19th century. A secular salon is a meeting place for a wide variety of people. Often the salon was a place of empty talk and not very meaningful pastime. But in the public life of the first half of the 19th century. salons played a significant role, where prominent figures of culture and art gathered and serious and deep conversations were held. Such centers of literary and artistic life were the salons of the president of the Academy of Arts A.N. Olenin, Zinaida Volkonskaya, E.A. Karamzina, the widow of the historian. Contemporaries in their numerous memoirs emphasized not only the hospitality of the hosts, but also their aversion to meaningless secular activities, in particular, the fundamental rejection of the card game, which was then an indispensable component of an aristocratic evening. Here they listened to music, talked about literature and philosophy, poets read their poems (like Pushkin from Zinaida Volkonskaya). It is characteristic that, unlike circles, many literary salons existed for more than a dozen years. The composition of the guests could partially, and sometimes even almost completely change, but the general focus remained unchanged.

In the 1840s and 1850s, the most interesting literary salons were those where Slavophiles met. If most of the Westerners did not accept salon forms of communication, then for the noble intellectuals, who formed the backbone of the Slavophile movement, regular meetings in salons were absolutely natural. The Moscow houses of Aksakov, Khomyakov and other Slavophile leaders were famous for their feasts and hospitality. Any meeting here turned out to be not just a fun feast, but a literary or philosophical meeting. Slavophiles were grouped around several literary journals, and the editors of these publications turned out to be a kind of circles that united like-minded people. The most significant of the Slavophile journals is Moskvityanin. "Moskvityanin" was published by M.P. Pogodin from 1841 to 1856, but it became the spokesman for Slavophile ideas only from 1850, from the moment the so-called "young editorial board" came here, trying to breathe new life into the publication that was losing its popularity. At the center of the young edition were A.N. Ostrovsky - then still a young, novice playwright, famous for his play Our people - let's count and the poet and critic Apollon Grigoriev.

In the middle of the century, literary circles began to acquire an increasingly political character. So, the society, which gathered on Fridays at Butashevich-Petrashevsky, for the most part consisted of writers and journalists (among its members were F.M. Dostoevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin). However, the center of interest of the Petrashevites turned out to be not so much literary as social and political problems - they read and discussed the works of socialist thinkers, primarily Charles Fourier. Thoughts were also expressed here about the need to propagate revolutionary ideas. Literary and social life were strongly intertwined. After the defeat of the Petrashevites, one of the charges brought against members of the society (in particular, F.M. Dostoevsky) was the reading and distribution of Belinsky's letter to Gogol.

The reforms of the 1860s radically changed the situation in the country, increasing the opportunities for free expression of thoughts, and at the same time led to a great upsurge in the social movement - both liberal and revolutionary. The very form of literary circles turns out not to meet the demands of the time, when the meaning of “pure art” was denied by most critics and writers. Numerous student circles most often pursue revolutionary rather than literary goals. To some extent, the editors of magazines take on the role of circles. Thus, the editorial board of Sovremennik was undoubtedly an important factor in social life.

Late 19th and early 20th centuries - time to search for new ways in art. It is no coincidence that many literary circles and associations arose in this era. In the 1980s and 1990s, Ya.P. Polonsky's Fridays became one of the meeting places for St. After the death of Polonsky in 1898, Fridays began to take place at the home of another poet, K.K. Sluchevsky. Despite Sluchevsky's advanced age, not only his peers appeared here, but also poets of the younger generation, who considered the poetic searches of the owner of the house close to their own aesthetic goals. It is known that N.S. Gumilyov visited Sluchevsky Fridays, who treated this writer with great respect.

For the beginning of the 20th century characterized not only by new trends in art, but also by the revival of the tradition of literary circles and associations. This was facilitated by a turbulent era that promised political freedom, and the desire of a new generation of writers to unite for a better understanding of their ideas, and the “decadent” lifestyle of the beginning of the century, in which life itself turned into an exquisite work of art. So, starting from 1901, religious and philosophical meetings were held at the St. Petersburg apartment of Z. Gippius and D. Merezhkovsky, which later took shape as the Religious and Philosophical Society. The purpose of these meetings, as is clear from their name, was not to solve literary, but spiritual issues - primarily the search for a new Christianity, the dialogue of secular intelligentsia and church leaders, they had a great influence on the writers who visited them, and were reflected in the work of Gippius and Merezhkovsky themselves , especially in the famous trilogy by D. Merezhkovsky Christ and Antichrist.

A huge influence on the literary, philosophical and social life of the beginning of the century was exerted by the "Wednesdays" of the symbolist poet Vyacheslav Ivanov, who settled in 1905 on Tavricheskaya Street in St. Petersburg in a house, part of which was called the "tower". Russian intellectuals gathered here for several years - A. Blok, Andrey Bely, Fyodor Sollogub, Mikhail Kuzmin and many others. Ivanov Wednesdays were not just literary evenings - here they read poetry, and discussed philosophical and historical works, and arranged seances. It was assumed that evenings at the "tower" should create new relationships between people, form a special way of life for writers, artists and musicians.

Peculiar literary associations, where meetings of writers, artists, and critics were held, were the editorial offices of the early century magazines Libra and Apollo. However, other literary movements also needed their associations. So, in 1911, N.S. Gumilyov, who had previously visited both Ivanov’s environment and meetings of the editors of Libra, created the “Poets Workshop”, which included authors who were constrained by the framework of symbolist aesthetics. Thus, a new literary direction took shape - acmeism.

In 1914, in Moscow, at the apartment of the literary critic E.F. Nikitina, a circle began to gather, called the “Nikitinsky Subbotniks” and existed until 1933. The circle met writers, philologists, artists belonging to the most diverse areas, professors and graduates of Moscow University.

The Revolution of 1917, the Civil War, the emigration of many cultural figures put an end to the existence of most literary circles.

Tamara Eidelman

Literary circles, societies, salons played a big role in the social and cultural life of Russia for many decades.

The first circles arose in the middle of the 18th century. So, in the 30-40s of the 18th century. there was a circle created by pupils of the Land Gentry Corps - a military educational institution, where classes in the humanities and interest in literature were encouraged in every possible way.

The 1770s–1780s were a time of active social life associated with the reforms carried out by Catherine II, as a result of which the nobles and city dwellers received the right to self-government and various benefits. All this contributed, in particular, to the rise of culture, which manifested itself, in particular, in the emergence of several literary societies: the Free Assembly of Russian Language Lovers (1771), the Assembly of Pupils of the Moscow University Noble Boarding School (1787).

Great influence on the literary life of the late 18th century. provided by the salons of G.R. Derzhavin and N.A. Lvov.

At the beginning of the 19th century there were other circles and salons that influenced the development of literature of that time. The most significant associations of the first quarter of the century were the "Conversation of the Lovers of the Russian Word" (1811-1816) and "Arzamas" (1815-1818), societies that represented opposite currents in Russian literature and were constantly in a state of acute rivalry. The creator and soul of the "Conversations" was the philologist and writer A.S. Shishkov, the leader of that literary movement, which was defined by Yu.N. Tynyanov as "archaists". Back in 1803, Shishkov, in his Discourse on the Old and New Syllabaries of the Russian Language, criticized Karamzin's reform of the language and proposed his own, which assumed the preservation of a sharper line between the book and spoken language, the rejection of the use of foreign words and the introduction into the literary language of a large number of archaic and folk vocabulary. Shishkov's views were shared by other members of the "Conversation", writers of the older generation - poets G.R. Derzhavin, I.A. Krylov, playwright A.A. Shakhovskoy, translator Iliad N.I. Gnedich, and later their young followers, to whom A.S. Griboyedov and V.K. Kyuchelbeker belonged.

Supporters of Karamzin, who introduced a light, colloquial language into literature and was not afraid to Russify many foreign words, united in the famous Arzamas literary society. The society arose as a response to the appearance of the comedy of one of the members of the "Conversation" A.A. Shakhovsky Lipetsk waters or a lesson for coquettes, where V.A. Zhukovsky was ridiculed under the guise of the poet Fialkin. "Arzamas" got its name from the playful work of one of Karamzin's friends, D.N. Bludov, D.N. Bludov Vision in the Arzamas tavern, published by the society of learned people. Among the Arzamas were both Karamzin's longtime supporters and his former opponents, former members of the Friendly Literary Society. Among them were many poets classified by Yu.N. Tynyanov as “innovators”: V.A. Zhukovsky, K.N. Batyushkov, P.A. Vyazemsky, A.S. "Arzamas" had its own developed ritual. Each of its members received a playful nickname. So, Zhukovsky was called Svetlana, in honor of his famous ballad, Alexander Turgenev was nicknamed the Aeolian Harp - because of the constant grumbling in his stomach, Pushkin was called Cricket. At meetings of members of the society, they always ate a roasted goose, since it was believed that the city of Arzamas was famous for these birds. During the meetings, ironic and sometimes serious essays directed against the members of the Conversation were read, and humorous minutes were necessarily kept.

Many Decembrists (F.N. Glinka, K.F. Ryleev, A.A. Bestuzhev, V.K. Kuchelbeker) were members of the Free Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, founded in 1811 at Moscow University.

In the middle of the century, literary circles began to acquire an increasingly political character. So, the society, which gathered on Fridays at Butashevich-Petrashevsky, for the most part consisted of writers and journalists (among its members were F.M. Dostoevsky, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin). However, the center of interest of the Petrashevites turned out to be not so much literary as social and political problems - they read and discussed the works of socialist thinkers, especially Charles Fourier. Thoughts were also expressed here about the need to propagate revolutionary ideas. Literary and social life were strongly intertwined. After the defeat of the Petrashevites, one of the charges brought against members of the society (in particular, F.M. Dostoevsky) was the reading and distribution of Belinsky's letter to Gogol.

For the beginning of the 20th century characterized not only by new trends in art, but also by the revival of the tradition of literary circles and associations. This was facilitated by a turbulent era that promised political freedom, and the desire of a new generation of writers to unite for a better understanding of their ideas, and the “decadent” lifestyle of the beginning of the century, in which life itself turned into an exquisite work of art. So, starting from 1901, religious and philosophical meetings were held at the St. Petersburg apartment of Z. Gippius and D. Merezhkovsky, which later took shape as the Religious and Philosophical Society. The purpose of these meetings, as is clear from their name, was not to solve literary, but spiritual issues - first of all, the search for a new Christianity, the dialogue of secular intelligentsia and church leaders, they had a great influence on the writers who visited them, and were reflected in the work of Gippius and Merezhkovsky themselves , especially in the famous trilogy by D. Merezhkovsky Christ and Antichrist.

The Revolution of 1917, the Civil War, the emigration of many cultural figures put an end to the existence of most literary circles.

Nikitenko A.V. Notes and diary, v.1. St. Petersburg, 1893
Gershenzon M. Griboedovskaya Moscow. 1914
Aronson M., Racer S. Literary circles and salons. - St. Petersburg, AP, 2001

To find " LITERARY CIRCLES AND SALONS OF PRE-REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA" on the

Literary circles at school are of two types: literary and creative, they unite schoolchildren of different ages.

Students in grades 5-7 in the classroom get acquainted with non-curricular works. For example, many of them are attracted to fairy tales. You can devote classes to the fairy tales of Russian writers - V. A. Zhukovsky, V. F. Odoevsky, P. P. Ershov, V. I. Dahl and others. During the classes, the head of the circle reads the text of a work of art, he or one of the participants talks about the author and the work itself, they listen to the recordings of the reading of the masters of the art word, music, and view illustrations.

In a literary circle for high school students, they also listen to recordings of performers - readers and music, get acquainted with paintings and illustrations related to the topic of classes. But the main form of work is the report of one of the participants or several co-speakers. The guys get acquainted with the basics of the theory of literature, the principles of literary analysis, the facts of the history of literature.

Kruzhkovtsy make reviews of book novelties, articles of literary magazines and newspapers. This material provides rich ground for reports and debates. Very exciting and useful meetings with writers and critics.

In the classes of the literary circle, students get acquainted with the work of writers who are not included in the school curriculum, for example, the poetry of N. A. Zabolotsky, Ya. V. Smelyakov, M. A. Svetlov, the prose of K. A. Fedin, K. G. Paustovsky, F A. Abramova. The curriculum may include classical folk literary works (“The Knight in the Panther's Skin” by Sh. Rustaveli, the epic “David of Sasun”, works by A. Navoi, poems by Y. Rainis, etc.), as well as works by foreign writers (“Song of my Side ”, “Song of Roland”).

When preparing reports on writers, use the biographies published in the Lives of Remarkable People series. If the theme of the study circle is the work of the classics of pre-revolutionary Russia, then literary portraits of writers written by M. Gorky, V. A. Gilyarovsky, A. Altaev, K. G. Paustovsky and others will be an excellent tool. A lot of interesting information will be given by the literary stories of I. L. Andronikov, stories about the books of N. P. Smirnov-Sokolsky.

A literary circle may set as its task the analysis of a single literary genre in a certain period, for example: "Poetry of the Decembrist era" or "The genre of the story during the Great Patriotic War." Works of the same genre from different eras can be studied, for example, short stories by M. Cervantes, P. Merime, O. Henry, A. P. Chekhov and other writers or comedies by Lope de Vega, W. Shakespeare, J. B. Molière, A. N. Ostrovsky, B. Shaw.

One of the interesting topics is the problem of literary translation. It is possible to show that the work of writers-translators is an art by comparing different translations of the same verses, for example, Hamlet's monologue "To be or not to be" by M. L. Lozinsky, A. L. Radlov, B. L. Pasternak. Very striking on the topic of literary translation will be a comparison of the arrangements of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" by V. A. Zhukovsky, L. A. Mei, A. N. Maikov, N. A. Zabolotsky.

The task of the literary and creative circle is to develop imaginative thinking, artistic taste, understanding of literature. Participants not only listen and discuss their works. Poems, stories, essays, works of any genre are only the starting point for further work, an obligatory element of which is literary study. Kruzhkovites get acquainted with the basics of the theory of literature (literary trends, genres, content and form of works of art, the theory of verse, types of versification in particular). Without this knowledge, the young author runs the risk of mistaking what has long existed in literature for the original. From this self-deception, familiarity with the creative laboratory of writers, with the process of creating works from drafts to various "white" versions, protects. In the course of studying this process, it will become clear how the author worked on the composition, language, image-character, detail. In the course of observing the process of creating poetry and prose, the significance of the moral (ethical) principle for artistic creation will also be revealed.

The circle at the school organizes radio broadcasts, satirical leaflets, its members are active figures in wall printing and school evenings.