10 interesting facts about Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev – a talented but underestimated writer

Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev is a Russian poet. His greatest merit is the formation of the “fable” genre. He anticipated its further development, became a pioneer in this type of literary creativity. He achieved certain heights in literature, became a successful and respected person.

His name is not as well known as that of some other Russian poets, but Dmitriev’s works are also included in the school curriculum. He was one of the first to try to rid poetic language of obsolete forms. His works were distinguished by a special smoothness, lightness.

Fate was kind to this man. His life can be called calm, even. He did not participate in conflicts with the authorities, he was not sent into exile. He didn’t try to get into trouble to find inspiration. It never left the poet.

If you are interested in his work, pay attention to our article. Below is a rating of interesting facts about Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev. This information will help you understand what kind of person he was, you can learn some details from his life.

10 Bankruptcy of the family due to the Pugachev uprising

Dmitriev’s parents were rich people. Father Ivan Gavrilovich – a descendant of the Smolensk princes, a landowner. He owned an estate in the Simbirsk province.

Mother Ekaterina Afanasyevna belonged to the wealthy Beketov family. Her brother was a favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

After the Pugachev uprising, the family was forced to leave everything and go to Moscow. One could only dream of the former financial situation.

9. Didn’t get a good education

The boy was 7 years old when his mother took him to Kazan. Ekaterina Afanasievna’s father lived there. Vanya was assigned to the Manzhenya boarding school, where his older brother Alexander studied. After Manzhenya moved to Simbirsk, his establishment was closed due to too much competition.

Dmitriev became a student of the Kabrita boarding school. Studying there was taken much more seriously, but the boy did not shine with special talents. He studied rather mediocrely, although he tried.

He respected his mentor and spoke warmly of Kabrita. He was a young man of 26 years old, he often followed his desires, his lifestyle was not a positive example for students.

For this reason, Dmitriev’s father took him away from the boarding house. He decided to take care of his son’s education himself. Nothing good came of it, subsequently Dmitriev was very shy of his lack of education.

8. Served in the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment

At the age of 12, Dmitriev was enrolled as a soldier of the Life Guards in the Semenovsky regiment.. Two years later, his father took him to St. Petersburg. The young man studied at the regimental school, after which he was awarded the rank of non-commissioned officer.

The service weighed heavily on Ivan Ivanovich. He dreamed of something else: he was interested in literature, studied the “rules of poetry”, focusing mainly on foreign authors. In 1778 he became a sergeant.

Dmitriev has built a fairly successful career. He retired from the rank of colonel. All these years he was engaged in writing, although many tried to joke about this topic. Ivan Ivanovich did not care about someone else’s opinion. He often went on long vacations and spent time in his native places.

7. Read the work of Lafontaine

Dmitriev was a fan of Lafontaine’s work. This is a French fabulist who lived in the XNUMXth century. Ivan Ivanovich translated his works into Russian. His translations were very close to the originals. Subsequently, Dmitriev began to be called the Russian La Fontaine.

6. Was a distant relative of Karamzin

Dmitriev was a distant relative of Karamzinbut they didn’t know each other. Their first meeting took place in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Ivan Ivanovich at that time was a sergeant, and Nikolai Mikhailovich had just entered the service. They soon became friends.

Karamzin had a great influence on Dmitriev’s work. It was he who advised him to turn to the books of the French enlighteners. Despite his seniority, Ivan Ivanovich listened to the opinion of his relative. Karamzin even became his literary director.

5. Left the service with the rank of colonel

It has already been noted above that Dmitriev rose to the rank of colonelwhen he decided to retire. He was then only 36 years old. But Ivan Ivanovich could only dream of a quiet life.

After the death of Catherine II, he was charged with preparing an assassination attempt on Paul I. It soon became clear that the denunciation was false. The emperor’s attitude towards Dmitriev changed greatly. He literally showered him with favors. His career began to develop at a rapid pace.

When Dmitriev became Minister of Justice, he had many ill-wishers. He followed the law, gave no concessions to anyone, did not participate in intrigues. An endless series of conflicts and quarrels led to the fact that his patience was at the limit, and Ivan Ivanovich decided to quit. Emperor Alexander I asked him to return, but the poet refused.

4. Was personally acquainted with Pushkin

Dmitriev knew Pushkin’s father and his uncle well. He often came to visit Sergei Lvovich and could not help but pay attention to his talented son. Ivan Ivanovich spoke well of Pushkin’s work, but soon their communication was terminated. Dmitriev allowed himself unflattering remarks about the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. Opponents of Alexander Sergeevich hastened to publish a review in the press. Pushkin, in turn, also did not hesitate in expressions and questioned the talent of the fabulist.

After a while this incident was forgotten. The poets decided not to remember old grievances, from now on their attitude towards each other became calm and benevolent.

3. The letter “e” appeared for the first time in Dmitriev’s printed book “My trinkets”

It turns out that the letter “yo” has a birthday (November 29, 1783). Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova was an educated woman, she was the first to think about replacing the combination “io” with one letter.

The idea was picked up by writers and poets. This trend was called “yo-movement”. It included Derzhavin, Karamzin. Dmitriev did not lag behind his comrades. The first printed publication where this letter was used was the book “My knick-knacks”.

2. Pushed Krylov to write fables

The Russian poet and fabulist Krylov is perhaps much more famous than Dmitriev. But if it were not for him, Ivan Andreevich would hardly have achieved such success. For a long time he could not decide on the genre, he tried himself as a translator. The same La Fontaine.

Krylov showed his translations to Dmitriev, the poet was amazed. He noted that Ivan Andreevich was very talented and seemed to be made for a fable. But he did not want to become a fabulist at all. Dmitriev made every effort to convince the talented young man not to give up fables. Krylov listened to his advice and did not lose.

1. Belinsky highly appreciated his work

The famous literary critic Vissarion Grigorievich highly appreciated the work of Dmitriev. He said that Ivan Ivanovich can be considered one of the “notable actors in the field of Russian literature“. Undoubtedly, this man did a lot for Russian classics. He became a pioneer, a reformer of the Russian poetic language.

The main features of his works are easy language, free and fluent versification. Dmitriev especially excelled in the genre of satire.