He was a fan of Leo Tolstoy and could become the prototype of Dr. Fankenstein. How do you like the idea: to gather the bodies of the dead from disparate molecules and bring them back to life.
Science, religion and philosophy have existed since antiquity. Some rulers skillfully fanned the conflicts between the fanatical adherents of these options for knowing the world around them, some tried to reconcile everyone. Our hero suggested combining all three components into one new concept.
Childhood
Prince Pavel Gagarin was a little discouraged by the fact that one of his peasant women in 1828 became a mother. The fact is that the nobleman lived with her as a husband and wife, and now the illegitimate son could become a reason for gossip in the world. A certain Fedor Fedorov came to the rescue. He became the godfather of little Nicholas and gave him his last name, and he allowed the name to be used as a middle name.
Landowner and peasant girls. Artist Karl Gampeln
The successful resolution of the problem inspired the aristocrat to continue the romance with the serf. Kolya had a brother and three sisters. The family was friendly, later our hero could not imagine life without his family. The father did not forget his children. He could not give them either a title or a fortune, so he decided to give them a good education. In 1936, Nikolenka was sent to study at a district school, and after 6 years he was transferred to the Tambov gymnasium. The prince did not even hesitate to inform his relatives about his offspring, so that they would also help them.
Youth
After graduating from high school, the boy was taken to Odessa, where he entered the Richelieu Lyceum. By that time, Pavel Gagarin was ruined, and his brother paid for Nikolai’s training. In 1851, the good uncle died, and his heirs were not going to help anyone. The young man was expelled from the lyceum. Now he had to find a job.
In 1854, the young man was able to get certification for teaching. He was sent to the Lipetsk district school as a teacher of geography and history. After working there for 4 years, Fedorov wanted to return home - he missed his mother, brother and sisters. In the Tambov province, he managed to get a place in the Borovsky school. The meeting with his family ended with the young man firing up the idea of traveling around Russia.
Sunday reading at a rural school. Artist Nikolay Bogdanov-Belsky
Seeker
From childhood, Kolya got used to Spartan conditions. His position in society was such that he constantly felt the need to prepare for the worst. Having become an adult, our hero led an ascetic lifestyle. A single, undemanding teacher was demanded wherever he appeared.
Wanderer of the Bright City. Artist Nicholas Roerich
Our hero decided to return to the Borovsk school in 1866. He was well remembered there, and therefore he was immediately hired. His mutual friends introduced him to his colleague, Nikolai Peterson, who taught at Yasnaya Polyana and was personally acquainted with the famous Leo Tolstoy. Fedorov admired the creativity of the latter and his ideas. Soon friends were detained by the secret police. It turned out that their common friend Dmitry Karakozov attempted the assassination of the tsar. Since the two Nikolai did not know anything about preparing for the attack and did not participate in it, they were released.
To Moscow
After the arrest at the quarry, you could put an end to. The "indecent" origin and rumors about participation in some kind of conspiracy could only be hidden by leaving the Tambov province. Fedorov was not accustomed to wandering, in his personal life progress was still lacking, he wanted to find like-minded people. He went to the big city of Moscow, where few people were interested in the biography of the newcomer.
In 1869, our hero was able to find a librarian in the Chertkovsky library in Moscow. After 5 years, Nikolai Fedorov changed his job - he moved to the Rumyantsev Museum. The former teacher contributed to the systematization of the archives of the institution and replenished them with unique gifts from Leo Tolstoy. He met the writer in 1878 and immediately found a soul mate in him.
Chertkovskaya library in Moscow
Philosopher
In Moscow, Nikolai Fedorov met many famous people. Among his friends were Fedor Dostoevsky, Athanasius Fet, Vladimir Solovyov. Nikolai was kind and sorry for the poor. Once he drew attention to Kostya Tsiolkovsky. The guy failed the entrance exams at the Higher Technical School. He starved and literally lived in libraries, pulling up his level of knowledge. Fedorov literally adopted the unfortunate. Later, the great scientist will regret that he feared his benefactor and had little conversation with him.
Portrait of Nikolai Fedorov. Artist Leonid Pasternak
The views of Nikolai Fedorov, indeed, were original. The librarian believed that science, religion and art should combine efforts to implement the plan that Jesus Christ set for humanity. You should not wait for the Second Coming; you must do it yourself. The recipe is simple: the bodies of the dead are restored from the molecules and come back to life. Dead people will take an active part in improving life on Earth.
