It's time, it's time for the taunts of the light
Drive away the tranquility of the fog;
What is the life of a poet without suffering?
And what is the ocean without a storm?
M. Yu. Lermontov
The great-grandfather of the great poet was a Scottish nobleman named George Lermont. He served with the Poles, and in 1613 he was captured by Russian soldiers during the siege of the Belaya fortress. The mercenary never returned to his homeland, preferring to serve in Russia. As an incentive in 1621 in the Kostroma province he was granted an estate. Lermontov's father, Yuri Petrovich, was a military man and, having retired as an infantry captain, married Maria Mikhailovna Arsenyeva, who came from an "old noble family." After the wedding, the newlyweds settled in the Penza province in the Arsenyev estate called Tarkhany. However, to give birth, Maria Mikhailovna, who was not distinguished by good health, went to Moscow, where medical care was more developed. It was in the capital on the night of October 14-15, 1814, in the midst of a storm that raged over the city, that a boy "with painful forms of legs and arms" was born. The birth of Maria Lermontova was difficult, and the condition of the baby, named in honor of his grandfather Mikhail, caused apprehension.
Only by the end of December did Maria Mikhailovna finally recover and returned home with her son. No matter how rejoicing at the appearance of the newborn, grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna and the baby's father, the dislike between them did not diminish. From the very beginning, the mother of Maria Mikhailovna was categorically against the marriage of her daughter to the "poor nobleman." However, Mashenka chose with her heart, according to the remaining information, the retired captain Lermontov was a rare handsome man with refined manners. After the wedding of her daughter, Elizaveta Alekseevna did not allow the newlyweds to dispose of the inheritance. Lermontov was burdened by the position of "snuggling", but the most difficult thing was for Maria Mikhailovna, caught between two fires. A rift in the relationship of the spouses occurred when the poet's mother found out about the betrayal of Yuri Petrovich. Soon after, she fell ill, first mentally and then physically. In February 1817 she was gone. Before her death, Maria Mikhailovna forgave her husband and begged her mother not to break off relations with him. In the spring of 1818, the father asked for the child. At the thought of losing her grandson, the grandmother was seized with panic, and she made a will, according to which she promised Misha an inheritance only if he would live with her until he was sixteen. Yuri Petrovich, realizing that he was not able to provide a good future for the child, gave up.
M. Yu. Lermontov at the age of 6-9 years
Mikhail grew up as a sickly child - due to scrofula, his entire body was constantly covered with wet scabs and rashes. Lermontov was taken care of by the well-behaved old woman-nanny Khristina Roemer. With her help, the boy perfectly mastered the language of Schiller and Goethe, and French was taught by Jean Capet, a Napoleonic Guardsman who remained in Russia after 1812. The governor also gave him his first lessons in horse riding and fencing. Afanasy Stolypin (Arsenyeva's younger brother) often came to Tarkhany and told the boy about the Patriotic War in which he participated. Lermontov's mobile and lively mind received many new impressions during his trips to the Caucasus to visit Arsenyeva's relatives. Elizaveta Alekseevna took him there three times. The healing climate and sulfur baths really helped the child - the scrofula receded. Michel himself was fascinated by the freedom-loving world of local peoples. Upon arrival home, he sculpted figures of the Circassians, and also for the game "in the Caucasus" got himself a small amusing army of peasant boys. By the way, Lermontov did not feel a shortage of comrades - Arsenyeva invited his peers from among the relatives to live in Tarkhany, as well as the children of the neighboring landowners who were suitable in age. The maintenance of this restless gang cost the grandmother ten thousand rubles every year. Children were not only naughty, but also received primary education. Mikhail, in particular, showed a talent for drawing and modeling from colored wax.
In the summer of 1827, Lermontov visited his father's estate, and in the fall Arsenyeva took him to study in Moscow. Her choice fell on the Moscow Noble Boarding House, famous for its benevolent atmosphere and its teachers, striving to develop the natural talents of its pupils. The boarding school teacher Alexander Zinoviev, a teacher of Latin and Russian languages, undertook to prepare the boy for admission. In all likelihood, he thoroughly pulled Lermontov up - Mikhail passed the exams immediately to the fourth grade (there were six of them in total). In the fall of 1828, the teenager began his studies at a boarding house. True, the conditions for his education were special - his grandmother, still not wanting to part with him, knocked out the administration's permission to take her grandson home in the evenings. However, at home Lermontov continued to study science. Incredibly wayward and determined, he wanted to be the first student in the class. At his request, Arsenyeva hired an English tutor, and soon Mikhail read Byron and Shakespeare in the original. And the boy drew in such a way that the artist who was working with him in the painting technique just threw up his hands in amazement. However, poetry became Lermontov's true passion. It was in 1828 that he first "began to stain poetry." The poem "Circassians" saw the light, then "Prisoner of the Caucasus", "Caucasus", "Prayer", "Corsair" and the first version of "Demon". But Lermontov was in no hurry to show or even publish his works. Even his teachers, the famous poets Alexei Merzlyakov and Semyon Raich, who were famous in those years, under whose supervision Mikhail learned the basics of literary skill and the theory of versification, did not see his works.
Lermontov's talent for the arts and diligence quickly set him apart from the rest of the boarders. Mikhail's paintings were voted the best in 1829 during the arts examinations. He played the piano and violin with inspiration, recited remarkably, loved and knew how to dance. Michel's boarding house was surrounded by a rather free-spirited atmosphere. The older pupils, for example, openly expressed their sympathy for the Decembrists. It was for this "spirit, which is pernicious for immature minds," the tsar disliked the boarding house and in March 1830 decided to personally visit the "school of debauchery." During the imperial visit, a curiosity happened - the students did not recognize His Majesty, and there were no teachers nearby, since the imperial person came to visit without warning. When one of the boarders nevertheless discerned the tsar in Nikolai Pavlovich and greeted him in all his uniform, his comrades shouted at him - what audacity to greet the general as emperor. Nicholas I was furious and soon the privileged boarding school was demoted to an ordinary gymnasium.
Most of the boarders, including Lermontov, made the decision to "quit" the school. And yet, Mikhail left the graduating class, having achieved his goal - in public trials in the spring of 1830, he was awarded the first prize for his academic success. The memoirist Yekaterina Sushkova, who knew him, noted in her memoirs: “It was gratifying to see how he triumphed … His youth was gnawed by the thought that he was not well-built, bad, of no noble origin … He confessed to me more than once how he would like to get into people, and to no one I must not be in this. " By the way, the poet met Sushkova in the winter of 1830, and in the summer, while vacationing in Serednikovo with her relatives, he fell head over heels in love with the "black-eyed" girl. However, eighteen-year-old Catherine only laughed at the clumsy fifteen-year-old boyfriend.
The sixteenth birthday of her grandson, Elizaveta Alekseevna, waited anxiously, fearing that Yuri Petrovich, who had again announced his intention to reunite with his son, would be able to prevail. Misha also wanted to leave with his father, but at the last moment, seeing the suffering and tears of his grandmother, he did not do this. On this, the long-term family drama ended, leaving indelible scars on the hearts of all participants. At the end of the summer of 1830, Lermontov passed the exams at Moscow University. At first, he chose the moral and political department, but soon realized that the faculty of language was more in line with his inner aspirations, and switched to it. However, before that, the young man, like all Muscovites, survived the cholera epidemic that began in September 1830. The poet's fellow student, writer Pyotr Vistengof recalled: “All public places and educational institutions were closed, trade stopped, public entertainment was banned. Moscow was cordoned off by a military cordon, and quarantine was introduced. Those who had time fled from the city … Those who remained locked themselves in houses … ". Elizaveta Alekseevna chose not to get under way from her familiar place, hoping that the observance of sanitary measures would help to avoid infection. The floors in the house were washed several times a day and always with bleach, all fruits and greens were excluded from food, and it was allowed to go outside the yard only in case of extreme need and with the personal permission of Arsenyeva. Finding himself "isolated", Mikhail began to compose the romantic drama "People and Passions", which was based on the conflict between his father and grandmother.
In winter, the cholera epidemic subsided, and the city returned to its usual life. At the university, classes resumed, and Lermontov plunged into the study of sciences. However, very soon he was surprised to find that the level of teacher training leaves much to be desired. The poet began to skip classes, studying independently at home. And very soon he surpassed most of the teachers in his knowledge. It is known how he once entered into a dispute with the teacher of fine literature Peter Pobedonostsev (by the way, the father of the famous Chief Prosecutor of the Synod). According to the recollections of the same Vistengoff, the scientist interrupted Lermontov's brisk answer with the words: "I have not read this to you and would like you to answer me exactly what I gave." The answer discouraged him: “This, Mr. Professor, is true. What I said now, you did not read to us and could not give, because it is new and has not yet reached you. I use sources from my own modern library supplied with everything. " Similar stories happened in lectures on numismatics and heraldry.
During these years, Lermontov began to appear, he could be seen at balls, masquerades, in theaters. The former timid young man gradually receded into the past - from now on the poet knew how to impress the secular lionesses. The addressee of Mikhail Yuryevich's love lyrics in 1830-1831 was a certain Natalia - the daughter of the playwright Fyodor Ivanov. Unfortunately, she did not share his feelings, and the news of her marriage completely plunged the poet into despondency. And in the fall, the young man met Varenka, the younger sister of his good friends the Lopukhins. Pretty soon, Lermontov's passionate love for Varya ceased to be a secret for those around him. This time Mikhail Yuryevich won reciprocal sympathy, but he was in no hurry to declare himself as a potential groom.
In winter, the poet learned about the death of his father. In his last letter-testament, Yuri Petrovich instructed him: “Although you are still young, I see that you are gifted with mental abilities. Do not neglect them and most of all be afraid to use them for something useless or harmful - this is a talent in which you will one day be obliged to give an account to God …”. Lermontov remembered his father's request and in the spring of 1832, wishing to get a better education, he applied for a transfer to the St. Petersburg Imperial University. The administration of Moscow University prepared all the papers without delay, happily getting rid of the overly intelligent student.
The poet did not get along right away with the northern capital - an arrogant desire for luxury cut his eyes, forcing him to remember with sadness the simpleton Moscow. Perhaps the first impressions would have been different, the poet's idea of translation did not fail - the university administration refused to credit Mikhail Yuryevich with the courses he had attended earlier and suggested starting his studies from scratch. After consulting with Elizaveta Alekseevna, Lermontov decided to try to show his talents in the military field. Before Arsenyeva's eyes were brilliant examples of siblings: Alexander Stolypin, a former biographer and adjutant of Suvorov himself, as well as military generals Dmitry and Nikolai. Mikhail Yurievich wrote to Lopukhina: “Until now I have lived for a literary career … and now I am a warrior. Maybe this is the special will of Providence … to die with a bullet in the chest is no worse than from the slow agony of old age."
M. Yu. Lermontov in the uniform of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. Portrait of P. Z. Zakharov-Chechen
In November 1832, Lermontov, as a volunteer, entered the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, and soon a misfortune happened to him. Guided by senior comrades, the poet sat down on an unbroken mare. His horse began to run among the others, and one kicked the rider in the right leg, breaking it. The treatment lasted several months, but the leg did not heal correctly, which was very evident afterwards. Despite this, in April 1833, the poet easily passed the exams at the School of Cavalry Junkers and Guard Ensigns. In the meantime, Lermontov's grandmother rented a house not far from the School of Junkers on Moika and almost every day she sent her grandson "contraband" in the form of various delicacies. The hardest thing for Arsenyeva was in the summer, when all the cadets were sent to the cadet camp. Mikhail Yuryevich himself endured bivouac life patiently, sharing its burdens equally with his comrades. Especially close in those years he became friends with the future fiction writer Vasily Vonlyarlyarsky and his cousin Alexei Stolypin, nicknamed "Mongo". Having escaped from the care of his grandmother - the cadets were allowed home only on Sundays and holidays - the poet plunged headlong into a riotous life, often becoming the initiator of various pranks. Mikhail Yurievich jokingly called himself "Maeshka" - in honor of the character of French cartoons, a humpbacked freak, vulgar and rascal. Lermontov's frivolous compositions "Ode to the outhouse", "To Tiesenhausen", "Ulansha", "Goshpital", "Peterhof holiday", revered by officers and cadets as true hussar things, and to this day make intellectual literary critics blush.
In December 1834, the poet again met the "black-eyed" Ekaterina Sushkova. However, this time the "executioner" and "victim" have changed places. Lermontov, having fallen in love with the girl, upset her wedding with Alexei Lopukhin, and then, having compromised in the eyes of the world, left. In one of his letters, the poet explained this by saying that “he repaid the tears that Mlle S's coquetry made five years ago shed”. The intrigue had a different background, Lermontov tried at any cost to save his comrade from Sushkova, calling her "a bat, whose wings catch on to everything on the way." However, revenge did not pass without a trace for the poet. Varenka Lopukhina, misinterpreting the relationship between Lermontov and Sushkova, in the winter of 1835, out of despair, agreed to the rich landowner Nikolai Bakhmetyev, who had been wooing her for a long time. The news of Varya's marriage shocked the writer. Even his literary debut did not console him - "Haji Abrek" was published in the popular magazine "Library for Reading". It should be noted that a distant relative of Lermontov Nikolai Yuriev, secretly from the author, took the manuscript to the editorial office. Mikhail Yurievich, having learned about the publication, instead of gratitude, "raged for almost an hour."Varya Lopukhina remained the love of her whole life and the main muse of the great poet. Lermontov made her the prototype of Vera from A Hero of Our Time, Princess of Lithuania and Two Brothers, and dedicated many poems and poems. Three watercolor portraits of Vary by Mikhail Yurievich have survived. By the way, Bakhmetev all years of marriage was jealous of his wife for the poet, forcing her to destroy all correspondence with him. Varya survived Lermontov by only ten years, having died at the age of thirty-six.
In November 1834 Lermontov became the cornet of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. Army exercises and summer campaigns gave way to dashing carousing in Tsarskoe Selo and winter ballroom seasons in St. Petersburg. Lived Mikhail Yurievich, thanks to the state salary and the generosity of his grandmother, on a grand scale. An ardent horseman, he did not spare any money for horses. For example, it is known that in the spring of 1836, for 1,580 rubles (a huge amount at that time), the writer bought a horse from a general.
At the end of January 1837 Lermontov fell ill and was sent home for treatment. There he learned the news about Pushkin's duel. The very next day, the shocked Mikhail Yuryevich composed the first part of the poem "Death of a Poet", and his friend Svyatoslav Raevsky made a number of copies. The work quickly spread among the youth, and their author, with an unusually accurate formulation of the general mood, immediately fell on the gun of the country's chief gendarme Benckendorff. By the way, initially Alexander Khristoforovich, who was distantly related to the Stolypins, reacted condescendingly to the daring lines. But soon Mikhail Yurievich added another sixteen lines, beginning with "And you, arrogant descendants …". Here it already "smelled" not of a simple arrogance of a young man, but of a resounding slap in the face of secular society, "an appeal to revolution." In mid-February, the poet was taken into custody.
Georgian Military Road near Mtskheta (Caucasian view with a sakley). 1837. Painting by M. Yu. Lermontov. Oil on cardboard
While under arrest, Lermontov worked with inspiration. His relative recalled: "Michel ordered the bread to be wrapped in paper, and on the scraps of these he wrote several new plays with a match, oven soot and wine." By the way, in order to compose, Lermontov never needed any special external conditions. He could write with equal ease in his study, sitting in a carriage or in an inn. Literary historian Pavel Viskovaty testified: “Everywhere he threw scraps of poems and thoughts, entrusting to paper every movement of the soul…. He used every piece of paper that got in, and many things were irretrievably lost … To his man, he jokingly said: "Pick it up, pick it up, with time they will pay big money, you will become rich." When there was no paper at hand, Lermontov wrote on the binding of books, on the bottom of a wooden box, on tables - wherever he could."
Arsenyeva, for the sake of saving her beloved grandson, raised all her influential relatives to their feet. An important role was played by the fact that Mikhail Yurievich "repented" of his "delusion". At the end of February it became known that the emperor gave permission to write the poet in the same rank to the Nizhny Novgorod dragoon regiment, stationed in Georgia. In March 1837, Lermontov left St. Petersburg, and in May arrived in Stavropol, where he was warmly received by his maternal relative, General Pavel Petrov, who was the chief of staff. First of all, the writer organized a trip around the area. He drove along the left bank of the Terek to Kizlyar, but then due to a fever he was forced to turn back. The Stavropol doctor sent the officer to Pyatigorsk for treatment. Having recovered, Mikhail Yuryevich began to visit the local "water" society. He did this not only for the sake of entertainment, the idea of a new work was ripening in his head.
In August, Lermontov received an order to arrive in Anapa. On the way there, the poet, out of curiosity, drove into one "disgusting seaside town." It was there, obviously, that the story described in "Taman" happened to him. Mikhail Yuryevich, who returned to Stavropol without travel belongings and money, hid all the details, saying sparingly that he had been robbed on the way. At the same time Benckendorff, urged on by the pleas of the "venerable old woman" Arsenyeva, achieved the transfer of the poet to the Grodno hussar regiment. In early January 1838 Mikhail Yuryevich arrived in Moscow, and two weeks later appeared in the Northern capital. In a letter to a friend, he said: “All those whom I persecuted in poetry now shower me with flattery … Pretty women get my poems and boast of them like a triumph … There was a time when I was looking for access to this society, and now, little by little I start find all this unbearable. " At the end of February, Lermontov arrived in Novgorod for a new duty station, but did not stay there for a long time. Through the efforts of Benckendorff, he returned to the Life Guards Hussar Regiment.
In mid-May, Mikhail Yurievich was in Tsarskoe Selo. At the same time, his last meeting with Varya Bakhmeteva took place. Unfortunately, none of them left memories of this meeting, but since then, the poet began to be overcome with blues more and more often. In Tsarskoye Selo, Lermontov finally realized that the costume of the salon red tape had become cramped for him and no secular entertainment was no longer able to save him from boredom. What really cared about the writer was creativity. To the poet's delight, Vyazemsky and Zhukovsky approved the Tambov Treasurer. This gave him confidence, and in August Mikhail Yuryevich first appeared in the salon of Ekaterina Karamzina - one of the centers of the Petersburg literary beau monde of those years. It was customary to read his works in literary drawing rooms, but Lermontov followed this tradition reluctantly and rarely. One of his friends wrote: "He did not have excessive authorial pride, he did not trust himself and willingly listened to the criticisms of those people in whose friendship he was sure … He was not prompted by selfish calculations, making a strict choice of works that he determined for publication." … At the same time, another of his comrades noted: “When he was alone or with those he loved, he became thoughtful, his face took on a serious, unusually expressive, a little sad expression, but as soon as at least one guard appeared, he immediately returned to his feigned gaiety, as if trying to push forward the emptiness of secular Petersburg life, which he deeply despised. " It should also be noted that Lermontov had amazing insight. The philosopher Yuri Samarin wrote: "You have not yet had time to speak to him, but he has already got through to you … He never listens to what you say to him, he listens to you and observes …".
In 1839, the star of the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine rose to the Russian literary horizon. Works by Mikhail Yuryevich were printed in almost every issue, and the poet himself continued to combine his service to the sovereign with serving the muses. He lived in Tsarskoe Selo with Stolypin-Mongo, and "the hussar officers gathered most of all at their house." In December 1839 Lermontov was promoted to lieutenant, and in mid-February 1840 his first duel took place. The enemy was the son of the French ambassador de Barant, and the reason was the young princess Maria Shcherbatova, whom Mikhail Yurievich became interested in. Shcherbatova reciprocated him, and Ernest de Barant, who was dragging after the princess, could not stand it, demanded satisfaction in accordance with the rules of honor. According to another version, the quarrel was provoked by the old verse "Death of a Poet". A few days before being called to a duel, de Baranta's father found out who Lermontov was reviling in him: Dantes alone or the entire French nation.
M. Yu. Lermontov in 1840
The duel took place beyond the Black River. In his explanation to the regiment commander, Lermontov wrote: “Since Mr. Barant considered himself offended, I left him with the choice of weapons. He chose swords, but we also had pistols with us. As soon as we had time to cross swords, the end of mine broke … Then we took pistols. They were supposed to shoot together, but I was late. He missed, and I shot to the side. After that he gave me his hand, and then we parted. " Mikhail Yurievich was waiting for the decision of Nicholas I, sitting under arrest. Contrary to general expectations, the emperor dealt with Lermontov extremely harshly, sending him to the war in the Caucasus in the Tengin infantry regiment. It should be noted here that Nicholas I, wishing to leave a good memory on his own, very closely followed all dissenting writers. Mikhail Yuryevich came into his field of vision immediately after the appearance of "The Death of a Poet". According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, the emperor, after reading the poems, said angrily: "This, not exactly the hour, will replace Pushkin's country." By 1840, Lermontov, having already mastered the minds of the reading public, became for Nicholas I a source of latent threat and constant irritation. When there was a reason to send the poet out of sight, the tsar realized that the best solution was to make sure that Mikhail Yuryevich never returned from exile.
Before his departure (in May 1840), the poet spent two weeks in Moscow. He waited until the release of the first edition of A Hero of Our Time, took part in seeing Gogol abroad, at which, at the request of those present, he read an excerpt from Mtsyri. To some extent, Lermontov was glad of his Caucasian exile, the change of scenery only spurred his creative genius. But the commander of the troops on the Caucasian line, General Pavel Grabbe, grabbed his head. Being a highly educated person who closely followed Russian literature, he perfectly understood what place in it he had already taken and what the exiled lieutenant might take in the future. In violation of the tsar's decree, Grabbe did not send the poet to the front as an infantryman, but assigned General Apollo Galafeev to the cavalry detachment. His men were based in the Grozny fortress and made sorties along the left flank of the Caucasian line. The chances of surviving here were much better.
Summer for Lermontov turned out to be hot and not only because of the sultry weather - Galafeev's subordinates constantly entered into fierce clashes with the Chechens. In mid-July, on the Valerik River, an assault on enemy blockages took place, described later in the Journal of Military Operations. An unknown chronicler reported that Mikhail Yurievich with "excellent courage and composure" watched the actions of the forward column, "notified the chief of the successes," and then "with the first brave men burst into the enemy blockages." Fulfilling the assignment, the poet had to ply through the forest, in which an enemy could hide behind every tree. The very next day Lermontov put the picture of the battle on paper, so the famous "Valerik" was born.
Throughout August, Mikhail Yuryevich rested on the waters, and at the beginning of autumn he returned to the army. Soon he was put at the head of a detachment of hundreds of Cossacks. Almost immediately, Lermontov won the respect of his subordinates - he demonstrated excellent knowledge of military affairs, shared with ordinary soldiers all the hardships of life (up to the fact that he ate with them from the same cauldron) and was the first to rush to the enemy. "Ardent courage", the poet's courage and quickness attracted the attention of the command. The award list, in particular, stated: "It is impossible to make a better choice - Lieutenant Lermontov is everywhere, everywhere the first was shot and at the head of the detachment he showed dedication beyond praise." For Lermontov's encouragement, Grabbe himself and Prince Golitsyn, the commander of the cavalry, interceded. In response, they received only a royal reprimand for daring to arbitrarily "use" the poet in a cavalry detachment.
At this time, Arsenyeva did everything possible to get her grandson out of the Caucasus. However, all she achieved was to procure a vacation for Lermontov. In February 1841 Mikhail Yurievich arrived in St. Petersburg, where he stayed until May. On the way back, he set off with a heavy heart, the poet was tormented by misgivings. On the way from Stavropol to the Dagestan fortress Temir-Khan-Shuru, Lermontov and his faithful companion Stolypin-Mongo got stuck due to rain at one station. Here the friends decided to stop by the resort of Pyatigorsk. Later, upon arrival at the site, Lermontov and Stolypin obtained fictitious conclusions about the need for treatment with waters - under certain conditions, military doctors went to meet the officers. The main secular point in Pyatigorsk was the house of General Verzilin. It was in it in mid-July 1841 that a quarrel between Mikhail Yuryevich and Nikolai Martynov, a poet's acquaintance from the time of school, took place.
Lermontov spent the last hours with his cousin Ekaterina Bykhovets, who knew nothing about the upcoming fight. In parting, he kissed her hand and said: "Cousine, there will be no happier than this hour in my life." At seven o'clock in the evening on July 15, a duel took place at the foot of Mount Mashuk. Following the command "converge" the poet froze in place, turning his right side to the enemy, covering himself with his hand and raising the weapon with the muzzle up. Martynov, on the contrary, taking aim, quickly went to the barrier. He pulled the trigger, and Lermontov fell to the ground “as if knocked down”. At that moment, according to legend, thunder struck, and a terrible thunderstorm began.
Lermontov at the monument "Millennium of Russia" in Veliky Novgorod
Most likely, no one will ever know the full truth about this ridiculous duel. Discrepancies are visible already at the moment of calling the poet. According to the official version, the fight was provoked by a joke of Lermontov, who called Martynov in the presence of the ladies "a mountaineer with a huge dagger." However, on such trifling occasions, the nobles, as a rule, did not shoot themselves. According to another version, in Pyatigorsk, Mikhail Yuryevich was carried away by Emilia Verzilina, but she preferred Martynov to him. The wounded poet unleashed a hail of jokes, epigrams and cartoons on his opponent. It should be noted that Martynov, a vain and proud man, was in a state of extreme depression that summer, since a few months earlier he, having been caught cheating at cards, was forced to resign. The duel itself abounds in continuous "white spots". The fight was organized against all the rules, in particular, the doctor and the crew were absent from the scene. At the same time, with the filing of Martynov, the conditions of the duel were the most severe - they shot at a distance of fifteen steps from powerful pistols up to three attempts! The official seconds were Prince Alexander Vasilchikov and the cornet Mikhail Glebov, but there is every reason to suspect the presence of Stolypin-Mongo and Sergei Trubetskoy, whose names, by mutual agreement, were hidden from the interrogators, since they were already in the Caucasus in the position of exiles. And most importantly, Lermontov, according to his contemporaries, was an excellent shooter, able to "put a bullet on a bullet." On the eve of the duel, he publicly announced that he would not shoot Martynov. During the duel, Mikhail Yuryevich repeated: "I will not shoot this fool." And allegedly shot in the air. In this light, Martynov killed a defenseless person. The court report stated that the bullet pierced the right lung, and the poet died instantly. However, according to the testimony of Lermontov's servant, "during the transportation, Mikhail Yuryevich groaned … he stopped moaning halfway and died peacefully." But they transported him to Pyatigorsk four hours after the duel. Nobody believed in the tragic outcome of the duel in the city, the officers bought champagne and laid the festive table. There were also no people interested in an objective investigation - one of the seconds in the duel was the son of the favorite of Tsar Illarion Vasilchikov, and the case had to be urgently hushed up. Potential witnesses - Sergei Trubetskoy and Stolypin-Mongo - took all the secrets with them to the grave, and Martynov's companions later spent a lot of energy in order to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of their descendants.
Almost the entire city gathered for the funeral of Mikhail Yuryevich. Only nine months later, Arsenyeva was allowed to transport the ashes of her grandson home. The great poet found his last refuge in Tarkhany in the family chapel. Elizaveta Alekseevna survived him by only four years.
Portrait of Lermontov in a coffin
Lermontov's life was cut short at the moment when his star shone with a bright light in the sky of Russian literature - titanic abilities and great talent, combined with dedication and creative will, promised to give the Fatherland a genius, equal to which she did not know yet. In memory of the great poet, up to insulting little remained, during the heyday he wrote only about seventy poems, a number of poems and one novel (Mikhail Yuryevich's total creative heritage was four hundred poems, 5 dramas, 7 stories, 25 poems, about 450 pencil drawings and pen, 51 watercolors and 13 oil works). The philosopher Vasily Rozanov stated in his writings: “Lermontov rose as an immeasurably stronger bird than Pushkin. Nobody else has had such a tone in Russian literature … "In light of this, Leo Tolstoy's words seem not such an exaggeration that" if this boy remained alive, neither I nor Dostoevsky would be needed."
