Nikolay Alexandrovich Bestuzhev (Russian: Николай Александрович Бестужев; 13 April 1791,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

– 27 May 1855,

Novoselenginsk Novoselenginsk (russian: Новоселенги́нск) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Selenginsky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located on the Selenge River south of Lake Baikal. Formerly called simply Selenginsk, it was ...

) was a Russian Navy officer, writer, inventor and portrait artist; associated with the

Decembrist revolt The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...

Biography

He was born to a noble family. His father, , was a writer and government councilor. His brothers,

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, , , and were also writers, military officers and Decembrists. He entered the

Sea Cadet Corps Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

school in 1802 and graduated in 1809. While there, he audited classes taught by

Andrey Voronikhin Andrey (Andrei) Nikiforovich Voronikhin (russian: Андрей Никифорович Воронихин) (28 October 1759, Novoe Usolye, Perm Oblast – 21 February 1814, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian architect and painter. As a representativ ...

at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the T ...

. In 1810, he became a Lieutenant in the Corps. In 1815, he participated in naval actions in the Netherlands. He was appointed an Assistant Superintendent for the Baltic lighthouse in

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

in 1820.Brief biography
from the ''

Russian Biographical Dictionary The ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' (RBD, russian: Русский биографический словарь) is a Russian-language biographical dictionary published by the Russian Historian Society edited by a collective with Alexander Po ...

'' @ Russian Wikisource. Two years later, he reorganized the lithography department at the Admiralty, for which he was awarded the

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

, and began writing a history of the fleet.Brief biography
@ Irkipedia. Bestuzhev Mikhail A

In 1824, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander and, shortly after, was named Director of the Admiralty's museum, where he was known as "The Mummy". During this time he also contributed to the journals ''

Polar Star A pole star or polar star is a star, preferably bright, nearly aligned with the axis of a rotating astronomical body. Currently, Earth's pole stars are Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a bright magnitude-2 star aligned approximately with its ...

'' (edited by his brother, Alexander) and '' Syn otechestva'' (Son of the Fatherland). He also served with the Bureau of Censorship and, in 1825, became a member of the

Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (Russian: Императорское общество поощрения художеств (ОПХ)) was an organization devoted to promoting the arts that existed in Saint Petersburg from 182 ...

. These achievements were short-lived, however. Since 1824, he had been a member of the "", a secret organization headed by

Kondraty Ryleyev Kondraty Fyodorovich Ryleyev, also spelled Kondraty Feodorovich Ryleev (, September 29 (September 18 O.S.), 1795 – July 25 (July 13 O.S.), 1826) was a Russian poet, publisher, and a leader of the Decembrist Revolt, which attempted to over ...

, and had written a "Manifesto to the Russian People". Following the Decembrist riot on Peter's Square, during which he led a unit of rebellious Naval Equipage of the Guard, he went into hiding but was found and arrested. He was taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress and, on 10 July 1826, was convicted of engaging in subversive activities and mutiny. He was sentenced to

katorga Katorga ( rus, ка́торга, p=ˈkatərɡə; from medieval and modern Greek: ''katergon, κάτεργον'', " galley") was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisone ...

(hard labor) for life.

Life in Siberia

The following month, he and his brother Mikhail were taken to

Shlisselburg Fortress The fortress at Shlisselburg is one of a series of fortifications built in Shlisselburg on Orekhovy Island in Lake Ladoga, near the present-day city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The first fortress was built in 1323. It was the scene of many confli ...

. In September 1827, they were transferred to Siberia and placed in a special prison at the confluence of the Chita and Ingoda rivers. In 1830, they were moved again, into the town of Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky. In 1832, their terms were reduced to fifteen years. Shortly after, he entered into a common-law marriage and had two children; one of whom was Alexey Startsev, a major figure in the commercial trade between Russia and China. The year 1839 found him and his brother transferred to

, where he chose to remain; dying there in 1855. Bestuzhevs monument

Despite the harsh conditions, he painted numerous portraits of his fellow Decembrists, the family members who had followed them there and local villagers; at first in watercolor, later in oils. At the end of his term, he spent 1841 in Irkutsk, doing portraits of government officials. He was also engaged as a cobbler, lathe operator and watchmaker. In that capacity, he developed a design for a high-precision

chronometer A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and th ...

based on a "new system" which he never revealed. During the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, he designed a gun lock. He also made meteorological and astronomical observations, created an irrigation system, bred sheep, found a new coal deposit and collected Buryat folk tales. In 1973, the playwright wrote a drama about Bestuzhev called ''Гражданин России'' (A Citizen of Russia). The 1990 feature-length film, ' (No Foreign Land) is based on his life in Siberia. It was directed by and stars as Bestuzhev.''No Foreign Land''
@ TV Kultura.

Available writings

* Mark Azadovsky (ed.), ''Воспоминания Бестужевых'' (memoirs), "Literary Monuments" series,

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

, 1951, reissued 2005 (896 pgs.) * S. F. Koval (ed.), ''Сочинения и письма'', (writings and letters), Decembrist Memorial Museum, Irkutsk, 2003 * Bayr Dugarov (ed.), ''Гусиное озеро: статьи, очерк'' (Goose Lake; ethnographic writings), Buryat Publishing House, 1991 * ''Опыт истории Российского флота'' (History of the Russian Navy), Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, 1961

Selected portraits

File:FonvizinM6.jpg,

Mikhail Fonvizin Mikhail Alexandrovich Fonvizin (Russian:Михаил Александрович Фонвизин; 31 August 1787, Bronnitsky Uyezd - 12 May 1854, Bronnitsky Uyezd) was a Russian Major-General, Saint-Simonianism, Saint-Simonist, Decembrist, and wr ...

File:Michael Naryshkin by N.Bestuzhev.jpg, File:И. А. Анненков. 1828 г..jpg, File:Maria Wolonskaja.jpg, Mariya Volkonskaya File:С. Г. Волконский 1837.jpg,

Sergei Volkonsky Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky (Серге́й Григорьевич Волко́нский; 19 December 1788 – 10 December 1865)Gregorian calendar. His birth and death dates in the Julian calendar were 8 December 1788 and 28 November 186 ...

References

External links