Nikolai Berg is a Russian poet, journalist, historian and translator. He gained fame after publishing the essay "Notes on the siege of Sevastopol" and "Notes on the Polish conspiracies and uprisings of 1831-1862."
Nikolai Vasilievich Berg was born on April 5 in 1823. In a Moscow family, he would be a beloved child. His godfather was Alexander Lavrentievich Vitberg, a famous architect.
Destination Search Time
The father of the future poet Vasily Vladimirovich did not go unnoticed in the history of the country. He became the treasurer of the commission for the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior according to the project of Witberg. Berg Sr. became famous as a man of amazing honesty. The hardworking Vasily Vladimirovich had to constantly replace the governor Kovalevsky, who lived in Tomsk and in Barnaul.
His son studied at the capital’s gymnasium. After the construction of the temple was completed, his father was sent to Bronnitsy. Then in 1830 they were transferred to Siberia by the chairman of the Tomsk provincial government. Nikolai entered the capital's university, but did not finish his education. Despite the busyness, the father tried to spend a lot of time with his son. He aroused in Nikolai a love of Russian literature.
Berg Sr. preferred Derzhavin's work. His father knew his best odes by heart; he constantly read passages from them. He knew many works of Krylov, Lomonos and Dmitriev. At the same time, he considered it unimportant to know Pushkin’s creations for Zhukovsky, as his son later recalled with humor.
The first poetic experiments of Nikolai Vasilyevich strongly resembled the Derzhavinsky style. The beginning author also tried to imitate Krylov, mixing the dawn with iamba. Later, in the gymnasium, the poet was well versed in poetic proportions and freely owned everything.
In 1931, the boy began to study at the Tomsk district school. He was replaced in 1934 by a gymnasium. After four years of knowledge did not increase. My father decided to identify the offspring in the First Moscow gymnasium, one of the best in the country. The institution received the right to graduate from the last class at the university without exams. Under the leadership of Shevyrev and Pogodin, the literary preferences of Berg Jr. were determined there.
Nikolai Vasilievich met with the capital's writers. Most of all, he liked the young edition of Moskovityan in the person of Apollo Grigoriev, Ostrovsky and Edelson. There, the first translations and poems of a novice author in 1845 were published.
Literature and Journalism
Nikolai Berg was distinguished by amazing ease. He loved to travel, he did not sit still. He managed to travel half the world. He visited both Europe and Asia as a correspondent.
Berg knew Gogol, left memories of him, visited the salon of Countess Rostopchina, Karolina Pavlova, was friends with her husband. Berg became a translator of the Kraledvorsky manuscript. He created the Collection of Ancient Czech Epic and Lyric Songs, collections of Songs of Different Peoples in 1846 and 1854. His poems were translated into almost thirty languages.
The author was especially pleased to translate the works of Miscavige. For many years, Berg worked on his poem "Pan Tadeusz." The full publication took place in 1875. Until that time, the author read excerpts in the literary circles of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Nikolai Vasilievich always sensitively reacted to all changes. He willingly exchanged a quiet office for events foreshadowing change.
As a talented journalist, Berg instantly became involved in a volatile life as an eyewitness. Literary activity was first interrupted by the Crimean War. At the end of the summer of 1854, the poet went to the army. He became a translator at the main headquarters of the Southern Army, took part in the defense of Sevastopol. Then he began to take notes. However, the composition disappeared during a fire on one of the Black Sea ships.
After the conclusion of peace, Berg returned to the capital. He set about restoring records, giving a true picture of hostilities. He constantly received additional information from participants in direct actions. So the "Notes on the siege of Sevastopol."
