The poet Ivan Nikitin was a drunken reader. One by one, he absorbed weighty volumes, giving preference to the Russian classics, although his literary tastes were very wide. Enthusiastic about other people’s works, he began to create his own, and, as it turned out, nature endowed him with amazing talent in this matter.
In childhood and adolescence, he received a spiritual education. Nikitin’s father, a very prosperous merchant, wanted to send a talented son to study at the university, but because of financial problems he could not fulfill this intention. Favorite poets of Ivan Nikitin, whom he simply adored in his youth, were Zhukovsky and Pushkin. Many Russian folk songs are actually poems by Ivan Nikitin, once put on music by someone and, in fact, turned into songs. He became famous as a poet, but he also wrote prose. Attention deserves, for example, his work “The Seminar’s Diary”. Favorite poet of Ivan Nikitin throughout his life remained Alexei Koltsov. He even wrote his first poems, imitating his style.
Having mastered the letter early, the young I. Nikitin already in his childhood made attempts to compose verses, and were quite successful. Nekrasov himself invited Ivan Nikitin to work with him in the literary journal Sovremennik. Unfortunately, the poet at that time was already seriously ill, and he could not accept the invitation. Located in Voronezh, Nikitinskaya Street was named in honor of this great poet. Mitrofanievsky cemetery in Voronezh, where Ivan Nikitin was buried, was destroyed in the USSR. However, they managed to save the graves of Nikitin and his idol Koltsov.
Throughout his life, Ivan Nikitin has not moved anywhere from his native city – the aforementioned Voronezh. The first poems that were subsequently published, he wrote while studying at a theological seminary. After graduation, Ivan Nikitin himself wished to enter the seminary, deciding to become a priest. However, he later changed his mind. Literacy in childhood was taught by his neighbor. Moreover, this neighbor was a shoemaker, but a shoemaker very educated and well-read. He was the first teacher of young Ivan Nikitin.
