The writer Nikolai Karamzin for his life not only wrote several brilliant works, but also significantly enriched the vocabulary of the Russian language, putting into practice quite a few words that now all seem familiar to us and one hundred percent Russian. In the historical field, he also noted, proving both to himself and to descendants that he is a man of many talents indeed.
The writer had Tatar roots on the paternal side. In his youth, Karamzin, as was supposed to a nobleman, entered military service, but after 3 years he left her. It was during this period that he wrote his first small works. In life, Karamzin was in one of the Masonic lodges. The fame of Nikolay Karamzin was brought by the publication “Letters of a Russian Traveler”, based on his impressions of a trip to Europe. Given that he was in Paris when a revolution was raging there, there were probably a lot of impressions. N. Karamzin took an active part in the publication of the first Russian magazine for children. Karamzin devoted a considerable part of his life to work on the titanic work “The History of the Russian State”, which became the first such historical global publication. The book of 12 volumes was written by him for 17 years, but the publication remained unfinished.
It was Nikolai Karamzin who, during his lifetime, put into use such words as “falling in love”, “impression”, “catastrophe” and many others. The researchers of Karamzin’s biography note a curious fact: his most famous work, “Poor Lisa”, was first published in a journal he founded. The emperor granted him the title of official historian of the Russian Empire. After the death of Nikolai Karamzin, no one ever had to wear this title. The writer held conservative views, arguing that the welfare of the country is directly related to its monarchical structure and autocracy.
In life, Karamzin became famous for even the briefest characteristic of social life. When, during a trip to Europe, Russian emigrants asked him a question about what was happening in his homeland, the writer briefly replied “stealing”. According to the memoirs of his wife’s brother, Nikolai Karamzin was always very temperate in food and drinks, but he loved coffee very much. Once a writer in a denunciation to the emperor was accused of spying for France, but this accusation was not even taken seriously because of his groundlessness. For his work, Nikolay Karamzin received two honorary state orders. With his wife, Karamzin lived only a year, after which she died during childbirth. In total, he was married twice, and in two marriages he had 10 children.
The only daughter of Karamzin from her first marriage, Sophia, was friendly with Pushkin and Lermontov. Nikolai Karamzin himself was one of Pushkin’s mentors. He even managed to fall in love with his wife. The writer himself witnessed an attempt at the Decembrist uprising. Throughout his life Karamzin needed money, and therefore often earned money on translations. During the fire of 1812, when Moscow was ablaze, left by Napoleon, the writer lost his entire library – she died in a fire. With Emperor Alexander I Karamzin was friendly, as far as an ordinary nobleman could be friendly with the emperor. He was not afraid to argue with him, disagree and give advice to the autocrat. The historian invariably refused from ranks and other favors for his help. Almost always Nikolay Karamzin included boiled rice in his lunch menu. During his lifetime, he translated several important works of Shakespeare into Russian. The name of Karamzin named streets in Moscow and Kaliningrad.
