The plots for his works, this talented man drew from the life of the people. In order to determine his attitude to revolutionary change, he asked the opinion of his compatriots.
This unusual person in his works gave an accurate description of people whom he met as an adult. He understood the harsh nature of the Siberians and took a lot from them. Honesty and unbending will helped him live a worthy life.
Childhood
The Shishkov family lived in the provincial town of Bezhetsk, Tver province. Its head, Jacob, was a descendant of local landowners. He himself did not own the land, but was a merchant. His wife was from commoners, her name was Catherine. In September 1873, she gave birth to the firstborn, who was named Vyacheslav. Soon the couple already had nine heirs.
The city of Bezhetsk in the Tver region, in which Vyacheslav Shishkov was born and raised
From an early age, Slava saw the hard work of his father and listened to the stories of his grandmother Elizabeth, who was from serfs. Parents wanted to give the boy a good education. In 1880 he was sent to study at a prestigious private boarding school. It soon became clear that the income from a small shop of Shishkov Sr. to pay for a noble science would not be enough. Unlucky merchant transferred his son to a local school. The teenager distinguished himself there, ahead of his peers in mastering the material. Outside of lessons, he composed stories. In 1887, Vyacheslav received a diploma and, being an excellent student, was able to enter the Vyshnevolotsk Technical Construction School.
Youth
A talented student was soon noticed by teachers. The training department of the Ministry of Railways awarded him a scholarship, and in 1890 sent him to practice in the Novgorod province, where the dam was built. After studying, the young man began working in Vologda. There he met John of Kronstadt. The conversation with the monk made a positive impression on him, Vyacheslav gravitated to the traditional values of the Russian people.
Vyacheslav Shishkov
In 1894, Vyacheslav Shishkov got a place in the office of the Tomsk District of Railways. It was not so much the desire to make a career that led to the North as a thirst for adventure. In the same year, he made changes in his personal life by marrying student girl Anna Ashlova. The marriage lasted 2 years. Passion passion passed, and the couple broke up. Having failed in amorous affairs, our hero began to take part in expeditions, the task of which was to study the rivers of Siberia. The young man liked the competition with harsh nature.
Writer
Acquaintance with the nature of the Russian North and the people who lived there made an indelible impression on Shishkov. In 1908, he sent the fairy tale “Cedar” to the Tomsk newspaper “Siberian Life”. Colorful images and lively folk language of the work were liked by readers and editors. From now on, the young writer was published in periodicals. Starting with idyllic paintings, Vyacheslav turned to the genre of realism and issues of social justice.
The house of Vyacheslav Shishkov in Tomsk
Once the debutant was invited to visit by Grigory Potanin. The biography of this man was fascinating. He tried to go along the pillars of his father, becoming a military man, became famous as a learned husband and a supporter of anarchism. The intellectual elite of Tomsk gathered in his house. In 1915, Vyacheslav Shishkov traveled to the capital. There he met Maxim Gorky. The famous writer helped the new comrade publish the author’s collection of stories and offered to settle in St. Petersburg. Our hero loved to change the situation, so he agreed.
Discussion question
When the revolution broke out, the writer refused to support any of the politicians who promised the people a better life. During hard times, he lost his second wife, with whom he had lived since 1914. News reached Shishkov that Potanin had opposed the Reds. After the victory of the Bolsheviks, he went into wanderings in order to see with his own eyes what kind of freedom the new power brought to the peasant. The wanderer visited Smolensk, Crimea, Kostroma. He was told about the Civil War and shared his political views.
Vyacheslav Shishkov
The result of Shishkov’s journey was the idea to write the novel “The Gloomy River”. After making sure that the people support the new order, our hero returned to a settled life. In 1927, a prose writer settled in one of the suburbs of North Palmyra, Detsky Selo, and began work on a large-scale literary canvas. His work was highly appreciated by contemporaries. Among his colleagues in the pen, he found friends, among whom was Alexey Tolstoy. In 1930, friends traveled to the south of Russia.
