The second half of the 19th century gave Russian literature a lot of classics. In this "golden time" the great writer Nikolai Semenovich Leskov lived and worked, who was able to broadly depict Russian life not in long novels, but in essays, short stories, chronicles and stories.
Children and teenagers
Nikolai Leskov was born in 1831 in the Oryol district. His father graduated from the seminary, but went to work as an investigator in the criminal chamber.
Nikolai Leskov received his primary education in the house of wealthy relatives of the Insured, then he studied at the gymnasium, but did not attend the full course. In his memoirs, he called himself "self-taught." The young man drops out of school, and gets a job in the Oryol Criminal Chamber. There Leskov was accepted to the post of assistant scribe.
Leskov spent his childhood in the village. It is here, communicating with simple peasants, he learns the whole depth of the unique national Russian language. This language formed the basis of its original style of presentation, which subsequently will glorify the literary works of Leskov.
Breadwinner family
During his work in the Oryol Criminal Chamber, Leskov reads a lot. Because of this, he quickly became a member of the local intelligentsia.
The sudden death of his father puts the Leskov family on the verge of poverty. Nikolai Semenovich became the sole breadwinner. The widowed mother and six young children became his new concern. The young man moves to Kiev. And again Leskov reads a lot, attends lectures at the university and studies Polish and Ukrainian languages.
At 22, Leskov marries the daughter of a wealthy Kiev homeowner, Olga Vasilievna. Their life together was not cloudless. A quarter of a century later, the wife of Nikolai Semenovich was placed in a hospital for the mentally ill, where she spent the last thirty years of her life. Nikolai Semenovich constantly visited her until his death.
In 1857, Leskov got a job in a private commercial company, which belonged to a maternal relative, an English businessman A.Ya. Shkotu. His new job is related to frequent business trips. For business, Leskov traveled all over Russia. It was in his travels that the writer drew enormous material for his work.
In 1960, the company where Nikolai Semenovich worked was closed. He decides to move to St. Petersburg and seriously engage in writing.
