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Ivan Andreevich Krylov is the author of 236 fables, which made up 9 collections. He wrote the fables himself, but often reworked the plots of La Fontaine’s fables (he borrowed them from Aesop). Many lines from these works have become popular proverbs and sayings.
Biography of Ivan Andreevich Krylov
The future fabulist was born on February 13, 1769 in Moscow, in the family of the officer Andrei Prokhorovich Krylov and his wife Maria Alekseevna. Andrei Prokhorovich during the popular uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev was a captain in the Yaitsk fortress.
When the fortress was surrounded, Maria Alekseevna and her four-year-old son left for Orenburg. But after a short time, Orenburg also found itself in a state of siege. As A.S. Pushkin in “The History of Pugachev”, Emelyan “vowed to hang the whole Krylov family,” so they were forced to hide.
In Orenburg, hunger reigned, food was not enough even for children. This made a huge impression on the boy and was reflected in his later life. Subsequently, his condition could be called “blockade syndrome”. He was unrestrained in his food.
Having shown a certain courage in suppressing the riot, Andrei Prokhorovich did not receive any awards or ranks. He retired and moved with his family to Tver. Here he worked as chairman of the magistrate, this position brought a modest income, and the family lived in poverty. In 1778 he passed away.
Self-education
The widow, left with two young children, practically without means of subsistence, could not give them an education. But the boys loved to read, and in the family, a chest filled to the brim with books was of great value.
Wealthy neighbors allowed them to attend French lessons at their home with their children. Then the teenager was admitted to the magistrate’s office. But still, there was only enough money for food. In 1783 Maria and her children left for St. Petersburg, where Ivan got a job as a minister in the government chamber.
The young man did not receive an education, but he worked hard and hard on himself. At the age of 15, he wrote a short opera “Coffee House”. At this time, a public theater was organized in the capital. Ivan visited there and met the artists.
The young man did not want to build a career in the state service, and he resigned. From the age of 18, Ivan took up writing seriously. He wrote his works one after another: tragedies gradually gave way to comedies. But all this was only the beginning, that is, the “breakdown of the pen”.
His first fables were published without a signature. Readers did not appreciate them, and critics did not approve.
In 1789 Krylov published a satirical journal. “Mail of spirits”. The publication aroused the extreme displeasure of the government and the empress suggested that the author go on a trip to Europe for 5 years at public expense.
Personal life of Ivan Krylov
At 22, Krylov, being in Bryansk, fell in love with the priest’s charming young daughter Anna. This feeling was mutual, but Anna’s parents were against this marriage. Anna was depressed and seriously ill.
When the parents agreed, Krylov replied that he did not have the means to travel and asked to bring the girl to the capital. This was the deepest insult and there was no more talk about marriage.
Ivan Andreevich was not married. However, he had a relationship with the cook Fenya, who gave birth to a girl named Sasha. When Fenya died, the girl lived in Krylov’s house, and then studied at a boarding house at his expense. Krylov gave her a solid dowry, and before his death he wrote a will in favor of her husband.
Ivan Andreevich died at the age of 75 (November 9, 1844) from croupous pneumonia. He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Tikhvin cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
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