Nikolay Karamzin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nikolay Karamzin Николай Карамзин
Portrait of Karamzin by Vasily Tropinin, 1818.
Born	Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin 12 December [O.S. 1 December] 1766 Znamenskoye, Simbirsk Uyezd, Kazan Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	3 June [O.S. 22 May] 1826 (aged 59) Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Occupation	Writer, historian, poet
Nationality	Russian
Period	1781–1826
Literary movement	Sentimentalism
Notable works	Poor Liza History of the Russian State

Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (born December 12, 1766 – died June 3, 1826) was an important Russian historian, writer, poet, and critic. He is most famous for his huge 12-volume book, History of the Russian State. This book tells the story of Russia's past.

Early Life

Nikolay Karamzin was born in a small village called Mikhailovka. This village is now known as Karamzinka and is in the Ulyanovsk Oblast of Russia. His family lived on the Znamenskoye estate near Simbirsk.

His father, Mikhail Yegorovich Karamzin, was a retired army officer. His family had been nobles since 1606. Nikolay's mother, Ekaterina Petrovna Karamzina, also came from a noble family. Sadly, she passed away when Nikolay was only two years old.

Nikolay was sent to Moscow to study with a Swiss-German teacher named Johann Matthias Schaden. Later, he moved to Saint Petersburg. There, he met Ivan Dmitriev, a Russian poet. Nikolay spent his time translating books from other languages into Russian.

After living in Saint Petersburg for a while, he returned to Simbirsk. But he soon went back to Moscow. In Moscow, he joined a group of smart people and started writing again.

A Journey and New Ideas

In 1789, Nikolay decided to travel around Europe. He visited Germany, France, Switzerland, and England. When he came back, he published a book called Letters of a Russian Traveller. This book was very popular.

His letters were inspired by a book called A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne. Karamzin's letters were first printed in the Moscow Journal, a magazine he edited. Later, they were put together into six books.

In the same magazine, Karamzin also published stories he wrote himself. These included Poor Liza and Natalia the Boyar's Daughter (both from 1792). These stories introduced a new style of writing called sentimentalism to Russian readers. People called Karamzin "a Russian Sterne" because of this.

As a Writer

In 1794, Karamzin stopped working on his magazine. Instead, he published a collection of writings called Aglaia. This collection included stories like The Island of Bornholm, which was one of the first Russian Gothic novels. He also wrote Ilya Muromets, a story based on a famous Russian hero.

From 1797 to 1799, he worked with other poets like Gavrila Derzhavin and Ivan Dmitriev on a poetry collection called The Aonides. In 1798, he put together The Pantheon. This book was a collection of writings from famous authors, translated into Russian.

Karamzin's writing style was smooth and elegant. He used shorter sentences, similar to French writers, instead of the long, complicated sentences common in older Russian writing. He also encouraged a more "feminine" style of writing. His work helped create the modern Russian literary language, which was a very important step for Russian literature.

In 1802 and 1803, Karamzin edited a magazine called the Envoy of Europe. After working on this, he realized his true talent was in history. He then began his huge 12-volume History of the Russian State. To focus on this big project, he stayed in Simbirsk for two years.

When Emperor Alexander I found out about Karamzin's work, he invited him to Tver. There, Karamzin read the first eight volumes of his history to the emperor. In 1816, he moved to Saint Petersburg. He enjoyed the emperor's support and would read parts of his history to him in the palace gardens.

Karamzin did not finish all 12 volumes before he passed away. His work ended with the story of Michael Romanov becoming ruler in 1613. He died on June 3, 1826, in the Tauride Palace. A monument was built to honor him in Simbirsk in 1845.

As a Linguist

Nikolay Karamzin is known for adding the letter Ë/ë to the Russian alphabet. He did this sometime after 1795. Before that, people mostly used the letter E/e. Even today, the letter Ë/ë is not always used in books, except for dictionaries and books for young children.

As a Historian

Karamzin is highly respected as a historian. Before his work, not much had been written about Russian history in a detailed way. He worked very hard to gather information. The notes in his history books are full of interesting facts.

Some people say that Karamzin made early Russian history sound a bit too romantic, like the adventure stories written by Sir Walter Scott. Karamzin openly supported the idea of a strong ruler. He saw Ivan III as the person who made Russia great. He described the actions of Ivan the Terrible with strong disapproval.

In his descriptions of battles, Karamzin showed great skill. He also drew clear and strong pictures of the important people in Russian history. As a critic, Karamzin helped Russia a lot. He is seen as the person who started the idea of reviews and essays (like those in Western countries) in Russia.

Karamzin is also sometimes called a founder of Russian conservatism. Emperor Alexander I valued Karamzin's advice on political matters. Karamzin's conservative ideas were clearly explained in his book The Memoir on Old and New Russia, which he wrote for Alexander I in 1812. This book became a very important guide for the Russian Empire's ideas for many years.

Commemoration

Many places in Russia have been named after Nikolay Karamzin:

• Karamzina village, which is now part of Ulyanovsk.
• Proyezd Karamzina, a road in Moscow.
• Nikolay Karamzin street in cities like Kaliningrad, Krasnoyarsk, and Mayna.
• A monument was built to honor Nikolay Karamzin in Ulyanovsk.
• Another monument stands at the Ostafyevo Museum-Estate near Moscow Ring Road.
• In Veliky Novgorod, the Millennium of Russia monument has 129 statues of important Russian historical figures, including Nikolay Karamzin.
• The Karamzin Public Library in Simbirsk was opened in his honor on April 18, 1848.
• In 2016, for his 250th birthday, a literary competition was held. It was called «Tebe, nash dobriy, chistiy geniy…» (meaning To you, our kind, pure genius...). People submitted poems about Karamzin or poems based on his works.

Also in 2016, the Central Bank of Russia released a special silver 2-ruble coin. It was part of the “Outstanding People of Russia” series and featured Nikolay Karamzin.

Two special stamps have also been made with Nikolay Karamzin's picture:

• In 1991, in the USSR, as part of a series about Russian historians.
• In 2016, as part of a series about outstanding Russian historians.

Selected Works

Prose

Fiction

• Evgeniy and Julia (1789)
• Poor Liza (1792)
• Natalya the Boyar's Daughter (1792)
• The Beautiful Princess and the Happy Dwarf (1792)
• Island of Bornholm (1793)
• Athenian Life (1794)
• Melodor to Filalet (1794)
• Julia (1796)
• Martha the Mayoress (1802)
• My Confession (1802)
• The Sensitive and the Cold (1803)
• A Knight of Our Times (1803)

Non-fiction

• Letters of a Russian Traveler (1791–92)
• Memoir on Ancient and Modern Russia (1811)
• History of the Russian State (1816–26)

Poetry

• Poetry (1787)
• Gifts (1796)
• Nightingale (1796)
• Proteus, or Inconsistencies of a Poet (1798)
• To His Imperial Highness Alexander I, All-Russian Autocrat, on the Occasion of His Rise to the Throne (1801)
• Hymn to the Fools (1802)
• To Emilie (1802)
• To Virtue (1802)
• The Freeing of Europe and the Glory of Alexander I (1814)

See Also

• List of Russian historians
• Nikolái Karamzín para niños