Top 10 interesting facts from the life of Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov

Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov is known as a Russian poet, prose writer and playwright. During his life he wrote many works. But he is best known as the author of the fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse”. This work in verse has become a classic of Russian literature. It is read to children at night, passed in the lower grades at school, adults enjoy it.

Usually, not much is known about the authors of famous works. Not enough time is given to this in school. Yes, and people are more interested in the created masterpieces, and not in their authors. But more often than not, the life of these gifted writers is no less educational and exciting than their creations.

We present you a list of 10 interesting facts about Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov: biography and stories from the writer’s life for children in grade 4. Short stories about things that influenced his work.

10 All childhood in transit

The father of Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov was a minor official Pavel Alekseevich Ershov. Due to the service, his father was forced to constantly move when business required his presence elsewhere. That’s why Pyotr Ershov spent his entire childhood restlessly, changing habitats one after another.

When, after several years of living in the villages, little Peter ended up in Tobolsk, he was amazed by the large stone houses, the ancient Kremlin, and most of all, by the noisy crowded fairs. Such an experience greatly broadened the horizons of the then little boy and affected his later life.

9. Recorded legends and traditions

The Ershov family, due to numerous moves, visited various places in Russia and Siberia. They lived both in small villages and in fairly large cities. All this time the boy listened attentively and already began to write down all sorts of legends and traditions of local residents.

So, when they visited several Cossack settlements, he heard stories about Yermak and Pugachev, where the legends about their times were still alive.

Over time, it is on the legends, tales and stories that were once recorded or heard that his works will be based. Wanderings and travels gave him a good foundation and understanding of Russian folk art.

8. Neglected to study at the university

Pyotr Ershov graduated from the gymnasium with honors, after which his whole family moved to St. Petersburg. There he entered the St. Petersburg University, the Faculty of Law and Philosophy. But here he stopped learning altogether.

The fact that he was not expelled, and he still received a higher education, is only his luck. Before the exam, he could afford to learn only one ticket, because during the test he came across it. So Pyotr Ershov, whom almost all children and adults know, was a careless student.

He later regretted that for all the years of study, he never learned a single foreign language.

7. “Humpbacked Horse” began to write at the age of 18-19

This is one of the earliest works that was written as a term paper. That is why the beginning of work on it dates back to 18-19 years of the author’s life.. He first showed his work to Zhukovsky and Pushkin for them to judge. To which Pushkin said that he could safely leave the poetic field of activity, since now there is someone to pass it on to.

Then a piece of this work was read during one of the lectures, fellow students were surprised by the personality of the writer. This tale was published very quickly, so fame came to the poet quite early. During his life, he found seven editions of his creation.

6. Acquaintance with Pushkin

Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov met and got acquainted with Pushkin in his student years. They were introduced to each other by one of the university professors. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin appreciated the young poet and supported him in every possible way. He helped him with the editing of the first paragraphs of the Tale.

Rumor has it that it was he who composed the first four lines in the work: “Beyond the mountains, behind the forests, Beyond the wide seas, Not in the sky – on the earth There lived an old man in a village“. And when the famous poet of Russian literature was convinced that his help was no longer required, he stepped aside.

Ershov’s works delighted Pushkin. He praised and inspired the young poet with self-confidence. A good respectful relationship was established between them..

5. Befriended and communicated with the Decembrists

When Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov graduated from the university, he did not take off quickly up the career ladder. His family did not have money for a good life in St. Petersburg, so he returned to Tobolsk. He worked there as a teacher of Latin, which he himself terribly disliked.

In Tobolsk, he met the Decembrists. At the time when Ershov lived there, this city in Siberia was a frequent place for exile. So there is nothing surprising that Peter met and became friends there with such personalities as A. Baryatinsky, I.A. Annenkov and Fonvizin.

4. He was the patron of Mendeleev

The Ershov family was closely connected with the Mendeleev family. It was the father of the well-known Dmitry Mendeleev who used to instruct the young Peter while studying at the gymnasium. They were very distant relatives to each other, so Ivan Mendeleev decided to send the young man on the righteous path of education. He invited him to his place, gave him books, told him a lot.

But over time, the situation has changed. Dmitri Mendeleev lost his father early, and it was the writer who became his assistant. Ershov taught the young chemist, at a time when he taught himself.

The future chemist was under the patronage of Ershov during his entire studies in Tobolsk, and then, on his advice, went to the Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg. And many years later, Dmitry Mendeleev asked Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov for the hand of his adopted daughter.

3. Ershov was married several times

In his personal life, the writer was unlucky. During his lifetime, he had two wives. When he married for the first time, his bride was a widow who already had four children from her previous husband. Ershov accepted all the children as his own and took care of them. But five years later, his wife died, leaving the man alone with other people’s children.

Therefore, two years later, Peter had to marry a second time. But the second wife died six years later. During these two marriages, he had 15 children, only four survived. This perfectly reflects the realities of that time. However, he had to live with it.

2. Created a gymnasium theater

As a teacher, Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov decided to create a gymnasium theater for amateurs. There he acts as a director, even wrote several plays and comic operas especially for him under the titles: “Country Holiday”, “Suvorov and the Stationmaster”, “Yakut Gods” and “Skulls”.

This initiative was enthusiastically picked up and supported by many high school students. It is in this theater that the directing abilities of Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov are revealed.

1. Founded several schools in the Tobolsk province

He climbed the career ladder with difficulty and for a long time. Pyotr Ershov returned to Siberia in 1836. All the time until 1844 he worked there as a teacher.

From 1844 he became an inspector, and only in 1857 he took the post of director of the gymnasium and directorate of schools in the Tobolsk region. When he was a child here, the gymnasium in Tobolsk was the only educational institution in all of Siberia.

therefore he decides to open several schools in the regions to give children the opportunity to study not only in Tobolsk.