Fyodor Mikhaylovich Reshetnikov
Encyclopedia
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Reshetnikov ( – ) was a Russia
n author. In his short 29 ½ years he published to critical acclaim a number of novels dealing with the plight of the lower classes.
. His father was a post office clerk, his mother died one year after his birth. After his mother's death, Reshetnikov was brought up in Perm
by his uncle, also a postal employee.
At age fourteen he was prosecuted for stealing mail. After a lengthy trial, he was convicted and sentenced to a three-month term at a monastery
. After eventually graduating, Reshetnikov served as a clerk in Yekaterinburg and Perm.
i, who became the subjects of the author's first major work, the "ethnographic essay" Podlipovtsy, a withering indictment of their deplorable condition.
In 1863 Reshetnikov moved to Saint Petersburg
and earned a meager existence by publishing essays in a newspaper, then becoming a clerk in the Ministry of Finance. Shortly after arriving he was introduced to Nikolay Nekrasov, who agreed to publish Podlipovtsy in his authoritative literary journal Sovremennik
(1864).
During the balance of the 1860s, Reshetnikov undertook investigative trips to the Ural Mountains
region of his birth, and wrote numerous essays and novels exposing and critiquing the plight of the laborer and peasant classes.
. Reshetnikov died in Saint Petersburg in 1871 and was buried in that city's Volkovo Cemetery
. The cause of death was pneumonia
.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n author. In his short 29 ½ years he published to critical acclaim a number of novels dealing with the plight of the lower classes.
Early life
Reshetnikov was born in YekaterinburgYekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
. His father was a post office clerk, his mother died one year after his birth. After his mother's death, Reshetnikov was brought up in Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
by his uncle, also a postal employee.
At age fourteen he was prosecuted for stealing mail. After a lengthy trial, he was convicted and sentenced to a three-month term at a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. After eventually graduating, Reshetnikov served as a clerk in Yekaterinburg and Perm.
Literary career
Reshetnikov began experimenting with writing in 1860 at age 19. Around that time he started his lifelong research into the condition of the lower classes. Of particular interest to Reshetnikov were the lowly burlakBurlak
A burlak was a Russian epithet for a person who hauled barges and other vessels upstream from the 17th to 20th centuries. The word burlak originated from Tatar word bujdak, 'homeless'...
i, who became the subjects of the author's first major work, the "ethnographic essay" Podlipovtsy, a withering indictment of their deplorable condition.
In 1863 Reshetnikov moved to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and earned a meager existence by publishing essays in a newspaper, then becoming a clerk in the Ministry of Finance. Shortly after arriving he was introduced to Nikolay Nekrasov, who agreed to publish Podlipovtsy in his authoritative literary journal Sovremennik
Sovremennik
Sovremennik was a Russian literary, social and political magazine, published in St. Petersburg in 1836-1866. It came out four times a year in 1836-1843 and once a month after that...
(1864).
During the balance of the 1860s, Reshetnikov undertook investigative trips to the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
region of his birth, and wrote numerous essays and novels exposing and critiquing the plight of the laborer and peasant classes.
Personal life
Reshetnikov married S. S. Kargopolova in 1865; they had two children. Closer to the end of his life Reshetnikov became depressed due to the difficulty of raising a family on a writer's income. He also battled with alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Reshetnikov died in Saint Petersburg in 1871 and was buried in that city's Volkovo Cemetery
Volkovo Cemetery
The Volkovo Cemetery , is one of the largest and oldest non- Orthodox cemeteries in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Until the early 20th century it was one of the main burial grounds for Lutheran Germans in Russia...
. The cause of death was pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.