Volodymyr Korolenko
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Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko (russian: Влади́мир Галактио́нович Короле́нко, ua, Володи́мир Галактіо́нович Короле́нко; 27 July 1853 – 25 December 1921) was a Ukrainian-born Russian writer, journalist,
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
activist and humanitarian of
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
and
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
origin. His best-known work include the short novel '' The Blind Musician'' (1886), as well as numerous short stories based upon his experience of exile in
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
. Korolenko was a strong critic of the
Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
ist regime and in his final years of the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s.


Biography


Early life

Vladimir Korolenko was born in
Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
(
Volhynian Governorate Volhynian Governorate or Volyn Governorate (russian: Волы́нская губе́рния, translit=Volynskaja gubernija, uk, Волинська губернія, translit=Volynska huberniia) was an administrative-territorial unit initially ...
), then part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
.Tyunkin, K.I. Foreword. The Works by V.G. Korolenko in 6 volumes. Pravda Publishers. Ogonyok Library. Moscow, 1971. Vol. 1, pp. 3-38 His
Ukrainian Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
father, Poltava-born Galaktion Afanasyevich Korolenko (1810-1868), was a district judge who, "amongst the people of his profession looked like a
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...
with his defiant honesty and refusal to take bribes", as his son later remembered. His mother Evelina Skórewicz (1833-1903) was of
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
origin. In his early childhood Korolenko "did not very well know to which nationality he belonged and learned to read
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
before he did Russian," according to
D.S. Mirsky D. S. Mirsky is the English pen-name of Dmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky (russian: Дми́трий Петро́вич Святопо́лк-Ми́рский), often known as Prince Mirsky ( – c. 7 June 1939), a Russian political and lit ...
. It was only after the 1863 January Uprising that the family did have to 'choose' its nationality and decided to 'become' Russians.Mirsky, D.S
Korolenko
The History of Russian Literature from Ancient Times to 1925 // Мирский Д. С. Короленко // Мирский Д. С. История русской литературы с древнейших времен до 1925 года / Пер. с англ. Р. Зерновой. London: Overseas Publications Interchange Ltd, 1992. - С. 533-537.
After the sudden death of her husband in
Rovno Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
in 1866, Evelina Iosifovna, suffering enormous hardships, somehow managed to raise her five children, three sons and two daughters, on a meagre income.Vengerov, Semyon
Короленко, Владимир Галактионович
at the Russian Biographical Dictionary.


Education and first exile

Korolenko started his education in a Polish Rykhlinsky boarding school to continue it in the Zhitomir and later Rovno gymnasiums, graduating the latter with silver medal. In his final year, he discovered the works of
Nikolai Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...
and
Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
. "It was then that I found my true 'native land' and that was the world of, first and foremost, Russian literature," he later wrote. He also cited
Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukrainian poet, wr ...
and
Ukrainian folklore Ukrainian folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Ukraine and among ethnic Ukrainians. The earliest examples of folklore found in Ukraine is the layer of pan-Slavic folklore that dates back to the ancient Slavic mythology of the Easte ...
as major influences. In 1871 Korolenko enrolled into Saint Petersburg Technological Institute but after a year spent in utmost poverty had to leave in early 1873 due to financial problems. In 1874 he moved to Moscow and joined the Moscow College of Agriculture and Forestry. He was expelled from it in 1876 for having signed a collective letter protesting against the arrest of a fellow student, and was exiled to the
Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as a major transport hu ...
region, then
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 ...
, where the authorities agreed to transfer him, answering his mother's plea. In August 1877 Korolenko enrolled in the Saint Petersburg Mineral Resources Institute where he became an active member of a Narodnik group. Eight months later was reported on by a 3rd Section spy (whom he had exposed to friends), arrested and sent into exile, first to Vyatka, then Vyshnevolotsky District (where he spent six months in jail) and later
Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a n ...
. He was finally allowed to settle in
Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...
. he sent his letter with a man Ксавьe to show everyone his story.


Literary career

Korolenko's debut short story, the semi-autobiographical "Episodes from the Life of a Searcher" telling the story of a young Narodnik desperately looking for his social and spiritual identity, was published in the July 1879 issue of Saint Petersburg's ''Slovo'' magazine. Another early story, "Chudnaya" (Чудная, Weird Girl), written in prison cell, spread across Russia in its hand-written form and was first published in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1893.Selivanova, S. Commentaries. The Works by V.G. Korolenko in 6 volumes. Vol 1. Pp. 481-493 Xavier was Korolenko's younger brother, he was 23 at the time and were great siblings. when he heard the great news about his brother coming out of his exile he was reunited with Korolenko. In August 1881, while in Perm, Korolenko and Xavier refused to swear allegiance to the new Russian Tsar Alexander III (the act that some political prisoners and exiles were demanded to perform, after the assassination of Alexander II) and was exiled again, this time much farther, to
Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far E ...
.Steve Shelokhonov
Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko
- Biography at www.imdb.com
He spent the next three years in Amga, a small settlement 275
verst A verst (russian: верста, ) is an obsolete Russian unit of length defined as 500 sazhen. This makes a verst equal to . Plurals and variants In the English language, ''verst'' is singular with the normal plural ''versts''. In Russian, the no ...
s from Yakutsk, where he did manual work, but also studied local customs and history. His impressions from his life in exile provided Korolenko with rich material for his writings, which he started to systematize upon arriving at
Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
, where in 1885 he was finally allowed to settle in. In Nizhny, Korolenko became the center of the local social activism, attracting radicals to fight all kinds of wrongdoing committed by the authorities, according to the biographer Semyon Vengerov. Xavier got drafted to the russian military as a heavy guns man which got Korolenko's brothers nick name ачанкаTachanka. but korolenko's brother disappeared without any clues, people said he disappeared like a ghost and was gone to find a better future in the upcoming years that will come. "Makar's Dream" (Сон Макара) established his reputation as a writer when it was published in 1885. The story, based on a dying peasant's dream of heaven, was translated and published in English in 1892. This, as well as numerous other stories, including "In Bad Company" (В дурном обществе, better known in Russia in its abridged version for children called "Children of the Underground"), and "The Wood Murmurs" (Лес шумит),Selivanova, S. Commentaries. The Works by V.G. Korolenko in 6 volumes. Vol 3. Pp. 325-333 comprised his first collection ''Sketches and Stories'' (Очерки и рассказы), which, featuring pieces from both the Ukrainian and Siberian cycles, came out in the late 1886. Also in 1886 he published the short novel ''Slepoi Muzykant'' (Слепой музыкант), which enjoyed 15 re-issues during its author's lifetime. It was published in English as '' The Blind Musician'' in 1896-1898. Korolenko's second collection, ''Sketches and Stories'' (1893) saw his Siberian cycle continued ("At-Davan", "Marusya's Plot"), but also featured stories ("Following the Icon" and "The Eclipse", both 1887; "Pavlovsk Sketches" and "In Deserted Places", both 1890) inspired by his travels throughout
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...
and
Vetluga Vetluga (russian: Ветлу́га) is a town and the administrative center of Vetluzhsky District in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vetluga River. Population: History It was founded in 1636 and granted town st ...
regions that he had made while living in Nizhny. One of his Siberian stories, "Sokolinets" was praised by Anton Chekhov, who in a 9 January 1888 letter called it "the most outstanding hort storyof the latest times" and likened it to perfect musical composition. After visiting the Chicago exhibition during 1893 as a correspondent for ''
Russkoye Bogatstvo ''Russkoye Bogatstvo'' (russian: Русское богатство, Russian Wealth) was a monthly literary and political magazine published in St. Petersburg, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental cou ...
'', Korolenko wrote the novella "Bez yazyka" (Без языка, Without Language, 1895) telling the story of an uneducated Ukrainian peasant, struggling in America, unable to speak a word in English.Selivanova, S., Tyunkin, K. Commentaries. The Works by V.G. Korolenko in 6 volumes. Vol 6. Pp. 383-397 In 1896 Korolenko moved his family to Saint Petersburg. Suffering from some stress-induced psychological disorders, including
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...
, in September 1900 he returned to Poltava. There he experienced a bout of creativity and, having finished his Siberian short story cycle, published his third volume of ''Sketches and Stories'' in 1903. By this time Korolenko was well established amongst Russian writers. He was a member of the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...
but resigned in 1902 when
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
was expelled as a member because of his revolutionary activities. (Anton Chekhov resigned from the Academy for the same reason). In 1905, he spoke at rallies in Poltava to prevent Jewish pogroms in the city. Condemned the activities of the authorities during the Sorochynsky tragedy of 1905. He gave a speech in 1911 at the opening of the monument to Mykola Gogol in Sorochyntsy. He created the series "Domestic Phenomenon" to oppose military courts and mass death sentences. In the autumn of 1905 he started working upon the extensive autobiography ''The History of my Contemporary'' (История моего современника), fashioned to some extent after
Alexander Hertzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...
's ''My Past and Thoughts''. Part one of it was published in 1910, the rest (Part 4 unfinished) came out posthumously, in 1922. In 1914 the Complete Works by V.G. Korolenko came out.


Career as a journalist

Starting from 1887, Korolenko became actively involved with ''
Severny Vestnik ''Severny Vestnik'' (russian: Се́верный ве́стник, en, The Northern Messenger) was an influential Russian literary magazine founded in Saint Petersburg in 1885 by Anna Yevreinova, who stayed with it until 1889. History In the e ...
''. In 1894, he joined the staff of ''
Russkoye Bogatstvo ''Russkoye Bogatstvo'' (russian: Русское богатство, Russian Wealth) was a monthly literary and political magazine published in St. Petersburg, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental cou ...
'' (the magazine he stayed with until 1918) where he discovered and encouraged, among others, the young Alexey Peshkov (as he was still known in 1889) and
Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...
. "Korolenko was the first to explain to me the significance of form and the phrase structuring, and, totally surprised by how simply and clearly he managed to do this, for the first time did I realize that being a writer was not an easy job," Maxim Gorky remembered later, in the essay "The Times of Korolenko".


Activism and human rights

Korolenko in 1885 Throughout his writing career Korolenko advocated for
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
and against injustices and persecutions. Considering himself 'only a part-time-writer', as he put it, he became famous as a publicist who, never restricting himself to mere journalistic work, was continually and most effectively engaged in the practical issues he saw as demanding immediate public attention. In 1891-1892, when famine struck several regions of Central Russia, he went to work on the ground, taking part in the relief missions, collecting donations, supervising the process of delivering and distributing food, opening free canteens (forty five, in all), all the while sending to ''
Moskovskiye Vedomosti ''Moskovskiye Vedomosti'' ( rus, Моско́вские ве́домости, p=mɐˈskofskʲɪje ˈvʲedəməsʲtʲɪ; ''Moscow News'') was Russia's largest newspaper by circulation before it was overtaken by Saint Petersburg dailies in the m ...
'' regular reports which would be later compiled in the book ''V golodny god'' (В голодный год, In the Year of Famine, 1893) in which he provided the full account of the horrors that he witnessed, as well as the political analysis of the reasons of the crisis.Grikhin, V. Commentaries. The Works by V.G. Korolenko in 6 volumes. Vol 4. Pp. 509-525 In 1895-1896 he spent enormous amount of time supervising the court case of the group of the Udmurt peasants from Stary Multan village who were falsely accused of committing ritual murders. Writing continuously for numerous Russian papers (and in 1896 summarizing his experiences in "The Multanskoye Affair", Мултанское дело) Korolenko made sure the whole country became aware of the trial, exposed the fabrications, himself performed as barrister in court and almost single-handedly brought about the acquittal, thus "practically saving the whole little nation from the horrible stain which would have remained for years should the guilty verdict have been passed," according to the biographer. Stary Multan has been subsequently renamed Korolenko village, in his honour and memory.Tyunkin, K. Commentaries. The Works by V.G. Korolenko in 6 volumes. Vol 6. Pp. 396-419 "The House No.13", his historic description of the Chișinău pogrom of 1903, was banned by the Russian censorship and appeared in print in 1905 for the first time. It was also published in English. As the 1905 Revolution started, Korolenko made a stand against the
Black Hundred The Black Hundred (russian: Чёрная сотня, translit=Chornaya sotnya), also known as the black-hundredists (russian: черносотенцы; chernosotentsy), was a reactionary, monarchist and ultra-nationalist movement in Russia in t ...
in Poltava. Numerous death threats he received by post have warranted the workers' picket guard to be put by his flat. In 1905 ''Russkoye Bogatstvo'' (which he had started editing a year earlier) published the Manifest by the Petersburg Soviet of the Workers' deputies. As its editor-in-chief, Korolenko was repeatedly sued by the authorities, had his flat raided by the police and the materials deemed subversive confiscated. Starting in 1906, he headed the campaign against military law and capital punishment and in the late 1900s sharply criticised the governments' punitive actions ("Everyday Phenomenon", 1910, "Features of Military Justice", 1910, "In the Pacified Village", 1911). Of "Everyday Phenomenon"
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
wrote: "It ought to be re-printed and published in million copies. None of the speeches in Duma, or treatises, or dramas or novels would have one thousandth of the benign effect this article should have". Foreworded by Tolstoy, it was published abroad in Russian,
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
, German, French and Italian languages. In 1913 he took strong public stand against the anti-Semitic Beilis trial and wrote the powerful essay "Call to the Russian People in regard to the blood libel of the Jews" (1911–13). Korolenko never belonged to any political party, but ideologically was close to the
Popular Socialists The Popular Socialist Party () emerged in Russia in the early twentieth century. History The roots of the Popular Socialist Party (NSP) lay in the 'Legal Populist' movement of the 1890s, and its founders looked upon N.K. Mikhailovsky and Alex ...
. None of the two extremes of the famous ' Stolypin dylemma' attracted him, "he fancied neither 'great tribulations' in terms of 1918, nor the 'Great Russia' as of its 1914 model," according to
Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (russian: Марк Алда́нов; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, russian: Мордхай-Маркус Израилевич Ландау, Марк Алекса́ндрович Ланда́у; – Fe ...
.


Last years

Vladimir Korolenko, who was a lifetime opponent of Tsarism and described himself as a "party-less Socialist", reservedly welcomed the
Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
which he considered to be a logical result of the whole historical course of things. However, he soon started to criticize the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
as the despotic nature of their rule became evident. During the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
that ensued, he condemned both Red Terror and
White Terror White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...
. While in Poltava in the years of the Civil War, risking his life, Korolenko pleaded against atrocities, of which there were many from all sides of the conflict. While trying to save from death the Bolsheviks arrested by the 'whites', he appealed for the 'reds' against reciprocating with terror, arguing (in his letters to
Anatoly Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Лунача́рский) (born Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov, – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People ...
) that the process of "moving towards Socialism should be based upon the better sides of the human nature." Up until his dying day, suffering from a progressive heart disorder, he was busy collecting food packages for children in famine-stricken Moscow and Petrograd, took part in organizing orphanages and shelters for the homeless. He was elected the honourable member of the Save the Children League, and the All-Russia Committee for Helping the Famine Victims. Vladimir Korolenko died in Poltava,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, of the complications of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
on 25 December 1921.


Family

Vladimir Korolenko had two brothers and two sisters. His third sister Alexandra died in 1867, aged 1 year and 10 months, and was buried in Rovno.Korolenko, S.V. The Commentaries t
История моего современника
The History of My Contemporary. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. 1954
Yulian Korolenko (born 16 February 1851, died 15 November 1904) in the 1870s worked as a proofreader in Saint Petersburg. As a narodnik circle's member, he was arrested in 1879 and spent short time in jail. Later in Moscow he joined the staff of ''Russkye Vedomiosti'' newspaper and contributed to its Moscow Chronicles sections. In his early life Yulian was interested in literature, wrote poetry and co-authored (with Vladimir) the translation of "L'Oiseau" by Jules Michelet, published in 1878 and signed, collectively, "Коr-о".
Illarion Korolenko (21 October 1854 - 25 November 1915), also a Narodnik activist, was sent into exile in 1879 and spent five years in
Glazov Glazov ( rus, Глазов, p=ˈɡlazəf; udm, Глаз, ''Glaz'') is a town in the Udmurt Republic, Russia, located along the Trans-Siberian Railway, on the Cheptsa River. Population: History It was first mentioned in the 17th century chr ...
, Vyatka Governorate where he worked as a locksmith in a small workshop he co-owned with a friend. Later, residing in Nizhny and working as an insurance company inspector, he travelled a lot and, having met in
Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
Nikolai Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was ...
, became instrumental in both authors' meeting. He is portrayed in two of Korolenko's autobiographical stories, "At Night" (Ночью) and "Paradox" (Парадокс).
Maria Korolenko (7 October 1856 - 8 April 1917) graduated the Moscow Ekaterininsky Institute and worked as a
midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...
. She married the Military Surguical Academy student Nikolai Loshkaryov and in 1879 followed him into exile to
Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...
. Upon the return both lived in Nizhny Novgorod.
Evelina Korolenko (20 January 1861 - September 1905), graduated the midwife courses in Petersburg, and later worked as a proofreader. In January 1886 Vladimir Korolenko married Evdokiya Semyonovna Ivanovskaya (Евдокия Семёновна Ивановская, born 1855, Tula Governorate; 1940 in Poltava), a fellow Narodnik he first met years ago in Moscow. She was arrested twice, in 1876 and 1879, and spent 1879-1883 in exile before being allowed to settle in Nizhny Novgorod where she met and married her old friend Korolenko. In this marriage, described as very happy and fulfilling, two daughters, Natalya and Sophia, were born (two more died in infancy). Natalya Lyakhovich-Korolenko (1888—1950) was a philologist and literary historian, who edited some of the post-1921 editions of her father's books. Her husband Konstantin Ivanovich Lyakhovich (1885—1921) was a Russian Social Democrat, the leader of the Poltava's
Mensheviks The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The factions em ...
in 1917-1921. Sofia Korolenko (1886—1957) worked for several years as a school teacher in rural area, then in 1905 became her father's personal secretary and was one of co-editors of the 1914 A.F. Marks' edition of the Complete Korolenko. Following her father's death Sofia Vladimirovna initiated the foundation of the Korolenko Museum in Poltava, of which for many years she has been the director. Her ''Book on My Father'' (Книга об отце, 1966-1968, posthumously) is a biography taken up exactly where his own ''The History of My Contemporary'' left of, in 1885 when, having just returned from exile, he settled in Nizhny Novgorod.


Assessment and legacy

D.S. Mirsky D. S. Mirsky is the English pen-name of Dmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky (russian: Дми́трий Петро́вич Святопо́лк-Ми́рский), often known as Prince Mirsky ( – c. 7 June 1939), a Russian political and lit ...
considered Korolenko to be "undeniably the most attractive representative of the idealist radicalism in Russian literature." "Should it not be for
Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
, he would have been the first among the writers and poets of his time," the critic argued. The important part of Korolenko's artistic palette was his "wonderful humor... often intertwined with poetry," according to Mirsky. "Completely devoid of the intricacies that usually come with the satire, it is natural, unforceful and has this levity which is rarely met with Russian authors," the critic opined. For Mirsky, Korolenko's style and language, full of "emotional poeticism and
Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
esque pictures of nature," was "typical for what in the 1880s-1890s was considered to be 'artistry' in Russian literature." According to Semyon Vengerov, Korolenko had a lot in common with the Polish writers like Henryk Sienkiewicz,
Eliza Orzeszkowa Eliza Orzeszkowa (6 June 184118 May 1910) was a Polish novelist and a leading writerEliza Orzeszkowa< ...
and
Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world li ...
, but still mastered his own style of prose in which "the best sides of the two literatures merged harmoniously, the colourful romanticism of the Poles, the poetic soulfulness of Ukrainian and Russian writers." Numerous critics, Mirsky and Vengerov included, praised the author for ingenious depictions of the Northern Russia's nature as well as vivid portrayal of the ways of the locals "in all their disturbing detail," as well as some "unforgettable human portraits of great psychological depth" (Vengerov).
Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (russian: Марк Алда́нов; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, russian: Мордхай-Маркус Израилевич Ландау, Марк Алекса́ндрович Ланда́у; – Fe ...
also saw Korolenko as belonging to the Polish school of literature, while owing a lot to the early Nikolai Gogol ("some of his stories would have fitted fine into the '' Dikanka Evenings'' cycle"), who all the while happened to be "totally untouched by" neither
Lev Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
, nor
Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
. The critic and historian Natalya Shakhovskaya considered Korolenko's most distinct feature to be "the way romanticism and harsh realism gelled both in his prose and his own character." For the Soviet biographer V.B. Katayev, Korolenko was "a realist continually gravitating towards the romantic side of life" who has "walked his life the hard way of a hero." Writing in 1921,
Anatoly Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Лунача́рский) (born Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov, – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People ...
declared Korolenko "undoubtedly the biggest contemporary Russian writer" even if belonging wholly to the Russian historical and literary past, a "shining figure looming large between the liberal idealists and revolutionary
narodniks The Narodniks (russian: народники, ) were a politically conscious movement of the Russian intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, ...
."Lunacharsky, Anatol
Obituary
Луначарский, А. "Правда", 1921, No 294, 29 декабря
Like many others he too chose 'humanism' as the most striking feature of Korolenko's legacy and argued that "in all our literature, so marked with humanism there has never been a more vivid proponent of the latter." Seeing the whole Russian literature as divided into two distinct sections, the one that tended towards simplicity (
Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
,
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
) and another that went for "the musical quality, for outward perfection (
Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
,
Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
)", Lunacharsky placed Korolenko firmly into the latter camp and praised him for having "...enriched the Russian literature with true gems, one of the best in the Russian canon."


Social activism

The majority of the critics, regardless of which political camp they belonged to, saw Korolenko the social activist at least as important and influential as Korolenko the writer. In his 1922 tribute Lev Gumilevsky, lauding the writer's style for "striking simplicity which added to the power of his word," called him Russia's "social... and literary conscience."
Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (russian: Марк Алда́нов; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, russian: Мордхай-Маркус Израилевич Ландау, Марк Алекса́ндрович Ланда́у; – Fe ...
also considered him "the symbol of civil consciousness and lofty ideals in literature."В.Г. Короленко
by
Mark Aldanov Mark Aldanov (russian: Марк Алда́нов; Mordkhai-Markus Israelevich Landau, Mark Alexandrovich Landau, russian: Мордхай-Маркус Израилевич Ландау, Марк Алекса́ндрович Ланда́у; – Fe ...
The Soviet biographer F. Kuleshov praised Korolenko as "the defender of the oppressed" and a "truth-seeker, ardent and riotous, who with the fervency of a true revolutionary fought the centuries-long traditions of lawlessness." According to this critic, the writer's unique persona united in itself "a brilliant story-teller..., astute psychologist, great publicist, energetic, tireless social activist, a true patriot and very simple, open and modest man with crystal clear, honest soul."
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
, while crediting Korolenko with being a "huge master and fine stylist," also opined that he did a lot to "awaken the sleeping social self-awareness of the majority of Russian nation".Kuleshov, F. I
Korolenko: The Riotous Talent
// Мятежный талант В.Г. Короленко. / Избранное. Издательство "Вышэйшая школа", Минск, 1984
S. Poltavsky, calling his 1922 essay the "Quiet Hurricane", defined Korolenko as "the knight of the high image of Justice" who conducted his 'tournaments' with 'quiet humaine gentleness'.Poltavsky, S
Quiet Hurricane. In the memory of V.G. Korolenko
// Тихий ураган. Памяти В. Г. Короленко. Культура, No 1, 1922
Semyon Vengerov called Korolenko "a humanist in the most straightforward sense of the word" whose sincerity was so overwhelming as to "win eopleover no matter which political camp they belonged." "The high position Korolenko occupies in our contemporary literature is in equal degree the result of his fine, both humane and elegant literary gift, and the fact that he was "the 'knight of quill' in the best sense of the word," Vengerov wrote in 1911. "His life was the continuation of his literature and vice versa. Korolenko was honest. Things that he wrote and things that he did have merged into harmonic oneness for a Russian reader," the Modernist critic
Yuly Aykhenvald Yuly Isayevich Aykhenvald, Aikhenvald, or Eichenwald (russian: Ю́лий Иса́евич Айхенва́льд; 24 January 1872 – 17 December 1928) was a Russian Jewish literary critic who developed a native brand of Aesthet ...
wrote, looking for an answer as to why was Korolenko so "deeply, so profoundly loved in his lifetime by people belonging to different classes and groups."Aykhenvald, Yuly
Короленко
// Короленко. Из книги: Силуэты русских писателей. В 3 выпусках.
Lauding Korolenko for being "Russia's pre-1905 one-man constitution," and the one who "just could not pass by without responding to any serious wrong-doing or social injustice," the critic noted: "He meddled with lots of things and those who disliked that were tempted to liken him to
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...
, but valiance was not just one single virtue of our Russian knight, for he was also highly reasonable and never spared his fighting powers for naught."


Korolenko and revolution

The early Soviet critic Pavel Kogan argued that Korolenko was in a way contradicting himself by denouncing the revolutionary terror for it was him who had collected "the immense set of documents damning the Tsarist regime" which completely justified the cruelties of the Bolsheviks.Kogan, P. S
In the Memory of V.G. Korolenko
Коган П.С. Памяти В.Г. Короленко. татья// Красная новь. 1922. N 1. С. 238-243
According to Kogan, there is hardly anything more powerful n Russian journalismthan Korolenko's articles denouncing the political and religious violence of the old regime. "His works on the Beilis and the Multan affairs, the Pogroms of the Jews amounted to the journalistic heroism," the critic argued. Korolenko, much in the way of
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, whom Kogan saw him as being an heir to, "refused to follow the revolution, but he's been always within it, and this way, the part of it." All the while, many Russian authors in emigration expressed disgust at what they saw as the hypocrisy of the Bolsheviks who hastened to appropriate Korolenko's legacy for their propagandistic purposes. Mark Aldanov, for one, declared the excessive flow of official 'tributes', including the Lunacharsky's obituary, Demyan Bedny's poetic dedication and Grigory Zinoviev's speech a collective act of abuse, "desecrating his pure grave."


Criticism

Mark Aldanov, who considered Korolenko the founder of his own new school of literature, a 'fine landscape painter' and in this respect a precursor to
Ivan Bunin Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin ( or ; rus, Ива́н Алексе́евич Бу́нин, p=ɪˈvan ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈbunʲɪn, a=Ivan Alyeksyeyevich Bunin.ru.vorb.oga;  – 8 November 1953) was the first Russian writer awarded the ...
, was still ambivalent about Korolenko's literary legacy as a whole, describing him as an "uneven writer who authored some true masterpieces alongside dismally weak stories, one of his most famous ones, 'Chyudnaya', among them." While praising his style of writing, "devoid of modernist ornamentations," as well as "very simple, seemingly ordinary spoken language almost completely free from the hackneyed jargon of intelligentsia," Aldanov argued: "He was too gentle a man, who admired and respected the people too much to grow into a great writer," noting: "his stories are full of thieves, gamblers and murderers, with not a single evil man among them." Aykhenvald who lauded Korolenko's role as a purveyor of humanism in Russia, was less complimentary to his stories which he found, 'overcrowded', lacking in space. "There is no cosmos, no air, in fact, almost nothing except for lots and lots of people, all worried by their worldly problems, totally foreign to the notion of their mysterious unity with the great Universe," argued the critic, who described Korolenko's literary world as 'confined quartes' where 'horizons erenarrow and well outlined' and everything was "portrayed in vague and simple lines." In fact, the author's humanism as such is "overbearing and in the end feels as if he authortries to exert some kind of violence over the reader's free will," according to the biographer. For Aychenvald, Korolenko is too "rational when observing human suffering; apparently seeing rational reasons behind it, he is invariably convinced that there must be some panacea for it, which will bring all pain to the end." For all his shortcomings, though, Korolenko, according to Aykhenvald, "remains one of the most attractive figures in the contemporary Russian literature," quick to enchant the reader with "his touchingly soft romanticism and tender melancholy gently lightening a dim world where misguided, orphaned souls and charming images of children roam."


Ongoing influence

Korolenko is generally considered to be a major Russian writer of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Russian singer and literature student Pavel Lion (now Ph.D.) adopted his stage name
Psoy Korolenko Psoy Galaktionovich Korolenko (russian: Псой Галактионович Короленко; born April 26, 1967) is a pseudonym of a Russian songwriter and performer by the name of Pavel Eduardovich Lion (russian: Павел Эдуардов ...
due to his admiration of Korolenko's work. A
minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...
3835 Korolenko, discovered by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1977 is named for him.


Selected works

* ''Son Makara'' (1885) translated as ''Makar's Dream'' (1891); * '' Slepoi Muzykant'' (1886) translated as ''The Blind Musician'' (1896–1898); * ''V durnom obshchestve'' (1885) translated as ''In Bad Company'' (1916); * ''Les Shumit'' translated as ''The Murmuring Forest'' (1916); * ''Reka igraet'' (1892) ''The River Sparkles''; * ''Za Ikonoi'' ''After the Icon'' * ''Bez Yazyka'' (1895) or ''Without Language''; * ''Mgnovenie'' (1900) or ''Blink of an Eye''; * ''Siberian Tales'' 1901; * ''Istoria moego sovremmenika'' or ''The History of My Contemporary'' an autobiography (1905–1921) * ''Тени'' (1890) o
''The Shades''
translated by Thomas Seltzer, available through
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...


Quotes

* "Человек создан для счастья, как птица для полета, только счастье не всегда создано для него." (Human beings are to happiness like birds are to flight, but happiness is not always for them.) (''Paradox'') * "Насилие питается покорностью, как огонь соломой." (Violence feeds on submission like fire feeds on dry grass.) (''Story about Flora, Agrippina and Menachem'')">Ãàçåòà "Ïðèáîé" ã. Ãåëåíäæèê
at www.coast.ru
* "Лучше даже злоупотребления свободой, чем ее отсутствие." (It is better to abuse freedom than to have none.)


Footnotes



an

in regard to the Beilis Trial


References


External links

* * * *
Answers.com resources on Korolenko

Student Encyclopedia article


(National Bank of Ukraine)

by Rosa Luxemburg
Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko, 1853-1921
Published in ''Reference Guide to Russian Literature'' (1998) ;In Russian



{{DEFAULTSORT:Korolenko, Vladimir Galaktionovich 1853 births 1921 deaths Writers from Zhytomyr People from Zhitomirsky Uyezd Novelists from the Russian Empire Short story writers from the Russian Empire Literary critics from the Russian Empire Memoirists from the Russian Empire Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology alumni Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Honorary Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Humanitarians from the Russian Empire Internal exiles from the Russian Empire