Biography, life and work of Ostrovsky

Ostrovsky's life and creativity are heroic pages in the biography of a man, to whose share heavy trials fell.

A family

Writer Nikolai Alekseevich Ostrovsky (1904 - 1936) was born in the Ukrainian village of Viliya Volyn province in the family of hereditary soldiers. Grandfather, Ivan Vasilievich Ostrovsky, was a non-commissioned officer, the hero of the battle of 1855 on the Malakhov barrow during the defense of Sevastopol. Years of life Ostrovsky Ivan Vasilyevich inextricably linked with the heroic past of Russia in the XIX century.

Father, Alexei Ivanovich Ostrovsky, is also a non-commissioned officer of the tsarist army retired. He was awarded St. George Cross for courage in taking Shipka and Plevna. Years of life Ostrovsky Alexei Ivanovich were the pride of his son.

Nicholas's mother, a Czech by birth, was a cheerful and witty woman, the soul of the company. The family lived in prosperity, kept the servants, the house was always full of guests.

Childhood

Little Kolya surprised others with his abilities. At the age of 9 he graduated from the parish school and was going to study further, but fate decreed otherwise. In 1914, his father was left without work, and life collapsed overnight. The house had to be sold, the family parted. Alexey Ivanovich, along with Kolya, left for relatives in Ternopil, where he contracted to work as a forester.

Nicholas Ostrovsky, whose biography and creativity amaze with its diversity, settled himself as an assistant barman at the railway station in Shepetivka, and a year later began to work as an electrician. In September 1918, the young man entered the Shepetiv Primary School, which he successfully graduated in 1920.

Youth

A number of major world upheavals fell on the share of young Nikolai Ostrovsky: World War I, then the February Revolution of 1917 , followed by the October Revolution and the civil war that ended in Ukraine only in 1920. Shepetovka constantly changed power, the Germans were inferior to the White Poles, those in turn were supplanted by the Red Army, then the White Guards came, after them the Petlyuraites. The peaceful inhabitants of Shepetivka were haunted by numerous gangs that robbed and killed.

In the school, Nikolai Ostrovsky was a leader, he was delegated to the Pedagogical Council by students. In 1921, the activist passed the exams and received a certificate of maturity. In the same year, Ostrovsky joined the Komsomol, and in the autumn he became a student of the evening department of the Kiev Electromechanical College. Work Nikolai went in his specialty, an electrician. Life and work of Ostrovsky during his student days served as a model for others.

Hunger and cold

If you describe the life and work of Ostrovsky briefly, it will still be an interesting, informative story about a strong-willed, purposeful person. The hard post-war years were going on, there was devastation in the country, there was not enough food, coal, and medicines. Students of the technical school and Nikolai Ostrovsky among them engaged in the preparation of firewood to somehow ensure the freezing Kiev with heat. In addition, the students built a railway line along which it was possible to carry harvested wood to the city. Soon Ostrovsky caught cold and fell. In a difficult condition, he was sent home, where he lay for several months. Ostrovsky's life and work can not be briefly described, it is a guide to life for whole generations about how to overcome difficulties.

Eventually the disease receded, and Nicholas returned to study and work. At that time, the technical school was transformed into an institute, but Ostrovsky did not have time to become a student at the university, since his illness again knocked him down. Since then, the future writer has become a regular patient of hospitals, sanatoriums, clinics and dispensaries. The study had to be left, an eighteen-year-old boy was threatened with a hospital bed for an indefinite period.

In 1922 the worst fears of doctors and of Nikolai Ostrovsky were justified, he was diagnosed with a terrible diagnosis - Bekhterev's disease. This meant complete immobility, pain and suffering, which a few years later with piercing psychological depth the writer will be able to convey through the image of the hero of the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" by Pavel Korchagin. The work reflects the facts of Ostrovsky's life, traces the biography of the writer himself. The resilience of Pavel Korchagin's character is a direct analogy with the author of the novel.

Komsomol work

A short essay on the life and work of Ostrovsky makes it possible to reveal the character of this manly man. Gradually, Nicholas denied his legs, he moves with difficulty, leaning on a cane. In addition, the left leg stopped bending. In 1923, Ostrovsky moved to his sister in the city of Berezdov and there he became secretary of the district Komsomol organization. He was waiting for a wide field of active work in the field of propaganda of communist ideals. Ostrovsky devoted his time to meetings with young people in remote areas, he managed to draw young men and girls into stories about a bright future. Efforts of the activist were rewarded, in the most remote villages there were Komsomol cells, young people enthusiastically helped their leader to implement the communist ideology. Ostrovsky's life and work as a Komsomol leader became an example for many of his young followers.

The year 1924 was for Ostrovsky a turning point, he joined the ranks of the Communist Party. At the same time he became a participant in the fight against banditry, his membership in the CHON (part of a special assignment) became another area of activity of the indefatigable champion of the ideals of universal equality. Life and work of Ostrovsky in the years troubling for the country were an example of selflessness. Nikolay Ostrovsky treated himself relentlessly, he did not spare himself. Regularly traveled to the operations to destroy enemies, did not sleep at night. Then came the payoff, health deteriorated sharply. The work had to be abandoned, a long period of recovery began.

Hospitals, sanatorium treatment

Review of life and creativity of Ostrovsky continues a period in which he will be intensively treated. For two years, from 1924 to 1926, Nikolai Ostrovsky was at the Kharkov Medico-Mechanical Institute, where he underwent a course of treatment followed by rehabilitation. Despite the efforts of doctors, there was no improvement. However, at that time Nicholas had many new friends, the first of which was Peter Novikov, a faithful adherent who will be close to Ostrovsky until the end.

In 1926 Nikolai moved to Evpatoria, a city in the western part of the Crimean peninsula. There he will have to undergo a course of treatment in the sanatorium "Mainaki". In the Crimea, Ostrovsky gets acquainted with Innokenty Pavlovitch Fedenev and Alexandra Alekseevna Zhigareva, people of high ideals, who were called "Bolsheviks of the old school". New acquaintances will play a huge role in the writer's life, become his second parents. Innocent Fedeniev will be the closest friend of the writer, his companion in the affairs of the ideology of communism. Alexandra Zhigareva will be the "second mother". Life and work of Nikolai Ostrovsky have since been inextricably linked with these people. True friends will never leave him.

Life in Novorossiysk

Further The chronology of life and creativity Ostrovsky - is his stay in the Krasnodar Territory, on the Black Sea coast. Following the recommendations of doctors, Nikolai remains to live in the south. He moved to his maternal relatives, the Matsyuk family, to Novorossiysk. They will live with them for two years, from 1926 to 1928. Health continues to deteriorate, Ostrovsky can no longer walk, moves on crutches. All the time he devotes to reading books, which become the main part of his life. Nikolai's favorite author is Maxim Gorky, then follows the classics of Russian literature: Gogol, Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy.

Ostrovsky's special attention is drawn to the theme of the Civil War, he tries to understand the root causes of the events of the time when his brother killed his brother and his father's son. In one breath read the works of Chapaev Furmanov, "Cities and years" Fedin, "The Iron Stream" Serafimovich, "Commissars" of Libedinsky.

In 1927, Bekhterev's disease, from which Nikolai Ostrovsky suffered, reaches its culmination, full paralysis of the legs occurs. He can not walk anymore, even on crutches. Exhausting pain does not stop for a minute. From this time Nikolai is bedridden. Reading books a little distracting from physical suffering, literature every day brings librarians, who also become close friends of Ostrovsky. An outlet for a patient is a radio receiver, which somehow, but connects it with the outside world.

At the very end of 1927, Nikolai Ostrovsky entered the correspondence department of the Communist University named after Yakov Sverdlov, and this event was for him a real happiness. Friends receive a joyful message: "I study, in absentia! Lying!" Life for the hopelessly sick Ostrovsky finds meaning.

And then a new misfortune happens - eye disease. So far this is only an inflammation, but soon there will be a loss of vision. Doctors categorically forbade reading, so as not to tire your eyes. What to do, how to live now !?

Apartment in Sochi

A seriously ill Nikolai Ostrovsky had a wife, Raisa Porfiryevna, whom he had met in Novorossiysk. Friends in every way try to help the young family, thanks to the efforts of Alexandra Zhigareva Ostrovsky provide an apartment in Sochi. It is possible to collect a certain amount of money, life began to get better little by little. However, Nikolai's health continued to worsen, the locomotor functions almost completely lost, the process became irreversible. Vision also weakened, with every day it became more difficult to read even large letters. Many hours of rest for a short time returned vision, but the slightest strain of eyes again caused a blackout. The general health of Ostrovsky was catastrophic, there was no hope for recovery. Friends were always nearby, and only this gave strength to the patient.

Moscow period

Ostrovsky's biography, life and work came to a new stage in October 1929, when Nikolai and his wife came to Moscow for an eye operation. Despite the fact that he was placed in the best clinic for Professor M. Averbakh, the general inflammatory processes throughout the body caused a negative reaction. The operation was not conducted.

Life in the Moscow communal apartment further exacerbated Ostrovsky's serious illness. His wife went to work, and he remained completely alone. Then they decided to write a book. The body was motionless, and the soul was torn to self-expression. Fortunately, the hands retained mobility, but Nikolai did not see. Then he came up with a special device, the so-called "transparency", thanks to which it was possible to write blindly. The lines were arranged in even rows, the page was easy to write, it was only necessary to change the sheets in time, written on clean sheets.

Beginning of creativity

The stages of Ostrovsky's life and creativity characterize him as a stubborn man, which no trials have broken. Diseases only strengthened his unyielding will. Nikolai Ostrovsky began to write his first work as a seriously ill, immobilized and blind person. And yet he managed to create an immortal work that was included in the Golden Fund of Russian Literature. This is the novel How the Steel Was Tempered.

It was well written at nights, although it was difficult. In the morning, relatives gathered scattered sheets scattered across the floor, straightened them and tried to make out what was written. The process was painful, until Ostrovsky began to dictate to his relatives the text, and they wrote it down. The case immediately went into harmony, who wanted to work together with the writer was more than enough. In a small room of the Moscow communal apartment three related families, more than ten people, gathered at once.

However, it was not always possible to dictate and immediately write down a new text, as all the relatives were busy at work. Then Nikolai Ostrovsky asked his neighbor in the apartment Galya Alekseeva to write down the texts for him dictation. And the clever, educated girl was an indispensable assistant.

The novel "How the Steel Was Tempered"

The chapters written by Ostrovsky were reprinted and transmitted to Alexandra Zhigareva, who was in Leningrad and tried to hand over the manuscript to the press. However, all her attempts were unsuccessful, the work was read, praised and returned. For Ostrovsky the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" was the meaning of his life, he was worried that the manuscript would not be printed.

In Moscow, the publication of the novel was tried by Innokent Pavlovich Fedenev, he handed over the manuscript to the publishing house Molodaya Gvardiya and was waiting for the editor's reply. After a while, a review followed, which was essentially negative. Fedeniev insisted on a second review. And then the "ice broke", the manuscript fell into the hands of writer Mark Kolosov, who carefully read the content and recommended the novel for publication.

Publication of the novel

The writer Kolosov, along with the editor-in-chief of the Young Guard journal Anna Karavaeva, edited the manuscript and began to publish the work on the pages of the monthly. It was the victory of Nikolai Ostrovsky and his novel "How the Steel Was Tempered". With the writer concluded a contract, he received a fee, life again made sense.

The work was published in the magazine "Young Guard" in five issues, from April to September 1932. Against the backdrop of the general rejoicing of the family and close writers, he was upset that the novel was shortened by abolishing several chapters. Formally, the publishers explained this by a lack of paper, but the author believed that "the book was crippled." However, in the end, Nikolai Ostrovsky humbled himself.

Later the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" was reprinted many times abroad, the work is considered a classic example of an unyielding Russian character. The writer wrote another novel called "The Stormborn", however, in the words of the author himself, "the work was insufficient", especially since Ostrovsky did not have to finish it, he died at the age of 36 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow .

Memory

The periods of Ostrovsky's creative work are bright pages of the life of a heroic man, over which neither illnesses nor deep disappointments were powerful. The writer created only one work, but it was such a grandiose revelation in prose, which other authors do not happen For all their long life. Nikolai Ostrovsky and his novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" is forever inscribed in the history of Russian literature.