Sergey Timofeevich
Aksakov
1791-1859
Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov was born in 1791 in the city of Ufa, in the family of prosecutor Timofey Stepanovich Aksakov and Maria Nikolaevna Zubova. His mother, who received a good education, contributed to his progressive views and corresponded with the famous educator N.I. Novikov. Aksakov grew up in an atmosphere of love and care from an early age. Literary critic D. Mirsky noted that his sensitivity and mental sensitivity were developed in childhood. His father, distinguished by his love for nature, became one of his hobbies. Aksakov fell in love with books at an early age and was able to read by the age of four. At the age of five, he recited works by A.P. Sumarokov and M.M. Kheraskov. He spent his childhood in Ufa and the Novo-Aksakovo estate in the Orenburg governorate, where he began his education at Kazan Gymnasium and later continued at Kazan University. During his university years, Aksakov was actively involved in student magazines, where he published his first poems and participated in amateur theatre. After graduating, he moved to Moscow in 1807 and began working as a translator in St. Petersburg for the Commission on Drafting Laws in 1808. Later, he joined the State Revenue Expedition and continued his work there. In 1811, Aksakov returned to Moscow and became acquainted with several writers. During the War of 1812, he travelled to the Orenburg governorate and spent several years there translating classical literature. In 1816, Aksakov married Olga Platatina and continued to collaborate with various magazines and the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature from 1821. He also engaged in literary and theatre criticism and worked as a censor from 1827 to 1832. In 1833, Aksakov became an inspector at Konstantinovsky Surveying School and from 1835 to 1838, he served as director of the Konstantinovsky Institute of Surveying. During this time, he began writing essays about fishing and published his book “Notes on Fishing” in 1847, which inspired him to write more works such as “Notes of a Gun Hunter” and “Stories and Memoirs of a Hunter”. His most notable works include the autobiographical books “The Family Chronicle” and “The Childhood Years of Bagrov the Grandson”, which describe the life of the Bagrov family and are similar to the life of Aksakov himself. A special place among his works is occupied by the fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower”, which he wrote in a folk style and placed in the appendix of “Childhood Years of Bagrov”. This text has been reprinted numerous times and is considered an important work of Russian literature. His last works were the short stories “Collecting Butterflies,” “Meeting with Martinists,” and “An Essay on a Winter Day.” Sergey Aksakov made a significant contribution to Russian culture. His estate, Abramtsevo near Moscow, became an important cultural centre where writers, scholars, and theater figures gathered. His sons, Konstantin and Ivan, were involved in the Slavophile movement. Today, Abramtsevo is a museum and there are also museums dedicated to Aksakov in Ufa and other cities. In Moscow, a plaque has been placed on the house where Aksakov lived from 1829 to 1833.
Address: Moscow, Bolshoy Afanasyevsky Lane, 12, building 1
