Russian writer Nikolai Leskov still remains in the shadow of his more famous contemporaries. Yes, some of his works are known to almost everyone, but in fact he wrote a lot more interesting stories and stories than the general public knows. However, fame comes to the majority of writers after death – this is a fact, and Leskov was no exception to the rule. Perhaps in the future his work will be reevaluated once more, and his other less well-known books will be widely distributed.
In childhood, the future writer was educated at home. Later, at the age of 10, he entered the gymnasium, but after 5 years he was actually expelled from there without a certificate, giving only a certificate of graduation from just two classes. The reason was the conflict with the leadership of the gymnasium. This closed Leskov opportunities for further training. In his youth, the Leskov family moved a lot, and he often talked with not the most intelligent and competent representatives of the population. Many common folk elements of speech were subsequently used by him in the works. Leskov’s first wife suffered from a mental disorder, and she had to be placed in a house for the insane. Subsequently, the writer married again, but he regularly visited his first spouse until his death. Leskov was a vegetarian. He himself claimed that Leo Tolstoy had an influence on the formation of an opinion on this issue in his case. Revolutionary ideas in adulthood Leskov did not accept, because he was regularly harassed by representatives of society sympathetic to revolutionaries. The writer was the first in history to propose a vegetarian recipe book. The book, however, in the end was never created. Leskov loved collecting paintings, watches and books.
More than ten years, the writer has devoted public service. He achieved good success, but, surprisingly, he suddenly quit all of them. He himself explained this by the fact that he could not stay in one place for a long time, as he lacks new impressions. Leskov’s first literary experience took place when he was 26 years old. Then he first began to publish notes in some newspapers. The writer openly condemned the spread of pubs in Russia, accusing state power of soldering ordinary people. In many of Leskov’s works, recycled plots of ancient folk legends from different countries are used. His most famous story included in the compulsory educational program is Lefty.
Initially, the writer signed by the pseudonym “Stebnitsky.” After one of the notes on the fires in St. Petersburg, he was accused of trying to put the blame for the arson on the students’ revolutionary organizations. Harassment of such magnitude broke out that he even had to leave Russia for a while, and after returning he began to sign with his real name. The complete works of Leskov consists of twelve weighty volumes. The last of them was published after the death of the writer. The last years of the writer’s life were marred by severe asthma, which developed over five years and eventually brought him to his grave. Leskov discovered in 1985 asteroid. The only house-museum of Leskov is located in the Oryol region.
