Unusual facts about Krylov. Interesting facts from the life of Ivan Andreevich Krylov. Not afraid to criticize the powers that be

In the biography of the poet and publicist Ivan Andreevich Krylov, fables occupied a special place - he wrote more than 230 of them and became famous as a fabulist. All works were published during his lifetime and were included in 9 collections. He was not born a genius - at first the critics were merciless towards the author. There are other unusual moments in the biography - we have collected 5 interesting facts about Krylov that are not familiar to a wide circle of readers below.

Ignorant and mediocrity

Such fame was given to the aspiring poet: critics did not spare epithets and comparisons in reviews of Krylov’s works, publishers refused him. An amazing fact: Lobanov’s close friend, who later became the writer’s biographer, considered his early work pretentious and superficial.

The author listened and continued to work with redoubled zeal, tried his hand at theatrical drama, and translated French plays into Russian. What was unusual was that Ivan Andreevich studied French at home, and his wealthy neighbors helped him with this.

The future writer had a talent for languages. In adulthood, he bet with the translator Gnedich that he would learn ancient Greek. Less than two years had passed since the debater freely read the collected works of Greek classics in the original.

Strange habits

Another interesting fact from the life of a publicist is his love of walking without clothes. The man was in the body, but was not at all embarrassed by his plumpness; on the contrary, it seemed to those present that he was enjoying such a demonstration.

Prince Golitsyn recalled how he once dropped in to visit the writer without warning. He came out of the bedroom “in what his mother gave birth.” The guest was not taken aback - he joked that the poet’s clothes were too light.

The writer cared little about his appearance - his camisole was always dirty, his boots were full of holes, his hair was unkempt. He took baths only on holidays, and sweated profusely. Once, at a reception, Empress Maria Feodorovna presented her talented subject with a new camisole and boots.

Another oddity of the poet was the fires, which he looked at for hours. Ivan Andreevich lived in St. Petersburg and tried not to miss a single fire.

Excitement and hobbies

An absent-minded, overweight slob - his image doesn’t fit well with a gambling man, a virtuoso gambler, but it’s true. After leaving the service, Ivan Andreevich earned his living with cards for 10 long years - he was a professional at the gambling table, and his skill as a magician helped him win. Another interesting fact from the biography is that at one time the gambler was banned from entering Moscow and St. Petersburg. The reason is a passion for gambling.

The writer also had another passion - the violin. He had a mediocre command of the instrument and had no hearing. Neighbors in the village country house said that the creaking of the strings even sent wolves scattering into the surrounding area.

In his youth, the fabulist had remarkable strength and loved to go to fairs, squares, and other places where fist fights were held, and was a regular participant in them.

Gluttony

Judging by Krylov’s build, it was easy to understand that food occupied a special place in his life. The poet loved feasts at home and away, and enjoyed everything that was served without hesitation.

Eyewitnesses recalled an episode that happened in the house of the court diplomat, Count Musin-Pushkin. The poet was late for the start - he arrived when the main course was being served. Then the owner of the house ordered the guest to be served a “fine” plate of pasta prepared according to an Italian recipe, and after it all the dishes prepared for dinner. Ivan Andreevich happily refreshed himself with pasta, soup and main courses, and then a second plate of pasta. He assured the surprised guests that there would be no harm to the stomach.

What was also unusual about the publicist’s biography was that he was a regular at the empress’s dinner parties. The “meager” assortment often displeased Ivan Andreevich - the man did not eat enough, which made him in a bad mood. Vasily Zhukovsky recalled how Krylov attacked the food without greeting those gathered and without waiting for the empress’s invitation. The man explained his behavior by saying that he was hungry, and Her Highness was delaying the start of the meal.

The passion for food was so strong that freshness and quality did not matter to the writer. It happened that after a dinner party he refreshed himself with pies or black bread covered with mold. They made fun of Krylov's gluttony - he treated it with humor and always answered the offenders aptly.

Personal life

Things didn’t work out for the talented fabulist with his family - he died a bachelor. The most amazing quality in Krylov is his even attitude towards himself; he lived one day at a time, without becoming attached to women and people in general, without accepting insults and ridicule towards himself.

And yet, romantic stories happened in Krylov’s life. For the first time, the young man fell in love with the priest’s daughter, sought her favor, and asked for the girl’s hand in marriage. The guy could not marry his beloved - poverty prevented him.

Later, Ivan Andreevich had a short affair with his own cook. From this relationship an illegitimate daughter was born. The girl was named Alexandra.
After the death of her mother, he raised the girl and got her married. Property, money and rights to literary works Krylov bequeathed to his wife Alexandra.

Ivan Andreevich Krylov is a famous Russian fabulist. During his life he wrote about two hundred fables.

Krylov became the founder of the fable genre in Russia.
The famous fabulist loved to read and adored books. That is why he worked in the library for 30 years.
Krylov was born into a poor family; his parents could not give him good education. He read books left by his father and studied on his own. His father taught Ivan Russian, and his neighbors taught the boy French.
Ivan Andreevich traveled a lot around Russia. He lived in Russian cities and villages. This is how Krylov looked for his inspiration. He studied everyday life ordinary people, carefully noted traditions and customs.
Krylov never married.
There is a rumor that Ivan Andreevich Krylov had a daughter, Alexandra, whom he placed in a boarding school and loved her very much. Krylov married her off with a large dowry, and also left her the rights to all his fables.
Ivan Andreevich loved to eat deliciously. Perhaps overeating was the cause of his death.
Indeed, Ivan Andreevich had many health problems due to his gluttony, but the main cause of his death was bilateral pneumonia.

Krylov wrote two fables that are dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte. These are the fables “The Cat and the Pike” and “The Dog in the Kennel”. In them, he compared Napoleon to a cat and a dog, emphasizing his cunning and courage, but blaming his inability to calculate his strength.
There is a known case when Krylov was late for dinner. To teach the fabulist a lesson, the owner of the house served him a huge portion of pasta, which even two men would not have eaten. However, Ivan Andreevich was able to eat such a huge portion, which greatly surprised the guests and the owner of the house.
After lunch, Andrei Ivanovich Krylov liked to sleep. Therefore, his friends never disturbed him at this time, and if they invited him to dinner, they always left a place for the fabulist to sleep.
The fabulist loved to spend time on the sofa; he could lie and relax on it for hours.
Krylov was very a complete person. Because of him appearance Krylov was considered thick-skinned and insensitive. But, in fact, this was not the case. The fabulist was sensitive and attentive to the world around him.

Fables: “The Elephant and the Pug”, “The Monkey and the Mirror”, “The Monkey and the Glasses”, “The Dragonfly and the Ant” - brought Ivan Andreevich Krylov the greatest fame and popularity. Krylov ridiculed the stupidity of people, presenting them in the form of animals. This amused the readers, they laughed at those around them, but did not find any negative traits in themselves.
Krylov cried when he received some kind of award.
Ivan Andreevich loved to play cards for money.
In his youth, Krylov often took part in fist fights. Thanks to his strong physique, he often defeated even very strong men.
Krylov did not like to change clothes or comb his hair. He was unkempt. Only in old age did he begin to carefully monitor his appearance
It is believed that Krylov was the prototype of the main character of Goncharov’s novel “Oblomov”.
Krylov considered “The Stream” to be his favorite fable.
Krylov loved tobacco. He snorted, smoked and chewed it.
The famous fabulist loved fires. When a fire broke out somewhere, Krylov went to that place and watched the fire.
Krylov's fables were subject to strict censorship. But this did not stop the young fabulist; patience and work helped him achieve fame and worldwide recognition.

Krylov replenished the Imperial Public Library with a significant number of ancient books.
Ivan Andreevich compiled a Slavic-Russian dictionary.
Many people tried to offend the fabulist for his gluttony and obesity. But Krylov accepted criticism with indifference and responded sarcastically to his offenders.
Krylov began working at the age of eleven, since his father died at that age.
Ivan Andreevich was fond of cockfighting.
Due to his obesity and health problems, doctors recommended that Krylov take daily walks.
In the fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant” it is said that the dragonfly “sang red summer.” But everyone knows that dragonflies do not make any sounds. During the years of Krylov’s life, the word “dragonfly” meant several types of insects. In Aesop's account, the main character of the fable is a cicada, which Ivan Andreevich turned into a dragonfly.
Friends and acquaintances of Ivan Andreevich Krylov said that in the fabulist’s house there was a painting hanging above the sofa; it was hung as if it was about to fall. His friends asked him to rehang the painting so that it would not fall on Krylov’s head. But he just laughed back at them. And, indeed, the painting hung in the same way after the writer’s death.
Ivan Andreevich Krylov bequeathed to distribute to his close friends a copy of the book with his fables.

More than 30 cities in Russia have a street named after Krylov.
Monuments to the great fabulist are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In the cities of St. Petersburg, Omsk and Yaroslavl there are libraries named after Krylov.
Krylov's fables have been set to music by many composers.
In 1825, Krylov's fables were first published on foreign language. This was done by Count Orlov in Paris. He published a two-volume collection of Ivan Andreevich's fables in three languages: French, Italian and Russian.
In 1994, the Bank of Russia issued a coin with a face value of 2 rubles, dedicated to the 225th anniversary of the birth of Ivan Andreevich Krylov.
At Krylov's funeral, Count Orlov carried the coffin.
Krylov knew Italian language and knew how to play the violin.
Ivan Andreevich was the teacher of the children of Prince Golitsyn.
The imperial family treated Krylov with sympathy. He received recognition and privileges from the emperor during his lifetime. Ivan Andreevich was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which was a necropolis for statesmen and figures and artists.
It is estimated that Krylov wrote 236 fables. He took the plots of some from the fables of famous ancient Greek fabulists, such as Aesop.

You will learn interesting facts from life and about his fables in this article.

Ivan Krylov interesting facts

Throughout his life, Krylov wrote more than 230 fables, which were eventually published in 9 collections that were published during his lifetime (from 1809 to 1843).

As a child, Vanya was very fond of all sorts of gatherings, where there were always a lot of people. And being a very strong guy for his age, he is very got carried away by fist fights and there were many cases when Krylov emerged victorious after a fight with adult men.

In 1788, Ivan Andreevich’s mother dies. Then the future fabulist takes full custody of his younger brother. And he took care of his brother like a real father.

Despite the fact that Krylov born into a poor family and he could not get a normal education, he loved to read and, as he himself said, his father’s suitcase with books was his true teacher. Later, Krylov even worked at the Public Library and worked there for about 30 years and even became the compiler of a Slavic-Russian dictionary.

Krylov never wasn't married and did not start his own family, but there were rumors that from his cook he had an illegitimate daughter, Sasha, whom he even sent to a good boarding school. And when the cook died, Ivan Andreevich took Sasha under his care and raised her as a daughter, and when she grew up he even married her off with a good dowry, and also bequeathed to her husband all his property and rights to his works. While disputes over paternity are still ongoing.

Krylov was passionate and loved to play cards for money. He played masterfully, sometimes winning entire fortunes. There was a period when it was decided to expel him from both capitals for his excessive passion for cards. In addition, Krylov’s passion was cockfights, and he tried not to miss any of them.

Krylov madly loved looking at the fire, especially large-scale. And when there was some kind of fire, he tried to get there in order to personally see the huge flame before it was put out.

Krylov was a very obese man, but that didn't stop him from being quite witty. One day, while walking through the summer garden, he met a small company of young people. One of them, pointing at Krylov, blurted out: “Look what a cloud is coming.” To this Ivan Andreevich replied: “Indeed, it will rain soon, otherwise I see the frogs are croaking.”

Krylov was a notorious glutton. He loved to eat and ate whenever possible. Once he was at a dinner party with the Empress, but later spoke very badly about this dinner, since the portions were very small and it was simply impossible to eat enough.

IN last years During his life, Krylov even received the rank of State Councilor and until the end of his life he lived in Blinov’s apartment building on the 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island. During these years, he became especially lazy, began to eat even more and could afford anything. And he was not at all embarrassed to be a glutton and a lazy person.

Krylov died in 1844 and at first it was assumed that he died of volvulus due to his gluttony. But later it turned out that death was caused by double pneumonia.

Ivan Andreevich's funeral was very magnificent and luxurious. One of those who carried the coffin was Count Orlov himself, who specially removed one student in order to personally carry the coffin.

It is impossible not to quote Krylov’s fables - in addition to being easy to remember, they are also beautiful. Even Pushkin admired how rich the literary language of the fabulist was and how original and simple-minded his fables were.

About life

Ivan Andreevich worked in the library for 30 years. Books were something special to him; he not only loved them, but collected them. His collection even included very rare publications, and he also often acted as a compiler of a Slavic-Russian dictionary.

In addition to books, Krylov loved to travel. He spent a whole decade studying the culture and life of Rus' and visiting different parts of it. Moreover, this process was inspiring for him.

The fabulist grew up in a poor family. His mother and father did not have the opportunity to give him a good, decent education. However, his love for books and the fact that he began to read quite early influenced his entire life.

Interesting fact: Krylov was never married, but he had an illegitimate daughter, whom his cook gave birth to.

About Krylov as a person

One of the most interesting facts about Krylov is that he did not like everything related to personal hygiene. He did not like to comb his hair, bathe, or change clothes. Once he even asked his friend to advise him on what to wear to a masquerade. She replied that if he combed his hair, shaved and took a bath, no one would recognize him.

Nowadays you can often hear the expression “thick-skinned”. And we understand that this does not mean “fat,” the person just has strong nerves. As for Krylov, this expression was applicable to him in both cases. His behavior seemed strange to everyone except himself.

The woman who gave birth to his child died - he went to play cards. His mother died and he went to the theater. And when his only daughter was close to death, he went to the ball.

About passions

They say that as soon as it became known about the fire, Ivan Andreevich immediately went to that place, no matter where in St. Petersburg it happened. What causes such a passion for fire is unknown, but it is a truly interesting fact.

Food is not even an addiction, it is the love of life. Krylov was a real glutton and ate everything in the world. He even chose as friends only those who fed him delicious food.

Well, after a hearty lunch, the fabulist definitely needed to sleep. And this is his third passion. Moreover, Krylov did not care where he was, so he slept both when visiting and at work.

Interesting facts about Krylov's fables

Today, Krylov’s fables are not known by heart, but the crow with cheese or the singing dragonfly are well-known characters and have long become household names; people and their actions are compared with them, the irresponsible and naive are frightened with these fables, and in general they influence society in every possible way through them. What is the secret of Krylov’s fables and why are they so remarkable?

Krylov compared people and animals for a reason; he had some sociological experience and developed analogies of human characters with animals, which, in his opinion, had similar views on life.

In addition, Ivan Andreevich described incidents from his personal life and historical facts in his fables. He brought out morals in them, and initially gave a positive or negative face to each hero. Thus, from instructive poems, fables turned into works with a huge store of wisdom.

What are his fables about?

An interesting fact worthy of first place is the fables dedicated to the activities of Napoleon. He described a cunning and brave man, but unable to calculate his strength, as a dog and a cat in two fables: “ Cat and pike" And " Dog at the kennel". What’s interesting is that despite the time the fables were written, the author’s attitude towards the hero is very positive.

« Raising a Lion"an equally important part not only of fable culture, but also of history in general. Thus, Krylov described the situation with the upbringing of Alexander the First by a sophisticated Swiss. Unfortunately, he taught the future ruler the wrong sciences, making him quite intellectually developed, but at the same time incapable of decisive action, an eternally doubting person.

In the fable " Peasant and snake"In 1813, he was able to describe the situation that torments the Russian people even in our time, expressed the opinion of an entire people about alien migrants and that foreigners should not be allowed into their land even if they want to bring only good:

Then they will crawl here for the good Snake,
One
A hundred evil ones will kill all the children here.

But in the fables about Pug, Monkey, Dragonfly— Krylov makes fun of stupidity, laziness and reluctance to learn at the same time. These fables gave impetus to the acquisition of the greatest popularity of his work, since everyone wants to make fun of their neighbor by making him look like an animal, without recognizing themselves in this printed mirror.

The moral of this article is that Krylov’s fables should be read not only by children, but also by adults. For information hidden in light poetic forms not only brings rest from everyday life, but also makes you think about your actions.

This man is one of the most famous fabulists in the history of our country, so people should definitely read Interesting Facts from the life of Ivan Andreevich Krylov, from whom there is sometimes something to learn.

Krylov began earning money at the age of 10, since there was no father in the family and no money for food either.. Due to the fact that Ivan’s mother had no money at all, he could not get an education and learned his first basics of literacy on his own.
Ivan Andreevich had an enviable appetite. He could eat an unlimited amount of food at any time of the day or night. Those who were familiar with such moments were therefore wary of inviting him to visit them, and if they did so, they first purchased groceries.
Outwardly, the great fabulist looked extremely untidy. Krylov hated changing dirty clothes for clean ones and combing his hair. His jacket sometimes shone with grease stains left by fallen food. Friends often suggested that he wash and change clothes.
Those around him considered Krylov a callous person. He was repeatedly accused of being thick-skinned and complete absence any feelings. They say that after his mother’s death he went to a performance. However, this fact is just an unconfirmed rumor.
In his youth, Ivan was fond of fist fights. Even as a child, being a strong and tall boy, he fought one on one with adult men and often defeated them. With age, he managed this even more easily.
Krylov did not hide his laziness. There was a painting hanging right above the sofa at his house. People around her more than once told the fabulist that she was at a dangerous angle and it was better to re-hang this work of art. Ivan Andreevich only laughed at those around him and did nothing about it.
Once, being late to visit Musin-Pushkin, the late fabulist was subjected to a “penalty” punishment - food. He ate a large plate of pasta with a heap, the same portion of soup, and then ate the second and once again refreshed himself with flour products. Those around were shocked.
Ivan Andreevich had a tradition - to sleep in the library after a hearty lunch. At first he could read books, and then gradually fell asleep. Friends knew this and placed a spacious soft chair there in advance.
Krylov was delighted by the contemplation of fires. In St. Petersburg they happened often. As soon as the source of the fire was identified, firefighters and Ivan Andreevich, who could not miss this spectacle and watched with interest what was happening, went to the scene.
Traveling, Krylov traveled all over Russia, which surprised the fabulist’s friends who knew about his natural slowness. Ivan Andreevich liked to study the customs and life of different regions of our vast country. The character of people from small provincial towns and villages, where Krylov often visited, is described in many of his fables.
Ivan Andreevich knew how and loved to make fun of others. There is a famous case in his biography when Krylov went for a walk. On the street, merchants began to lure the writer into their shops, almost forcing him to look at the goods. He began to go into every store and then wonder why there was so little product. Finally, the merchants understood everything and left the writer behind.
Krylov's fables criticized the mores of society of that time. Ivan Andreevich especially loved to ridicule, in a “camouflaged” form, the bureaucracy and rudeness of government officials, as well as the behavior of people from “high society.”
The fabulist had an illegitimate daughter, Sasha, from a cook. He even sent the girl to a good boarding school. After the death of Sasha’s mother, he took over her upbringing, and subsequently married her off with a good dowry. They say that he bequeathed all rights to his works to his daughter.
Krylov died not from volvulus, but from bilateral pneumonia. In recent years he has had serious health problems. However, many thought that the cause of Krylov’s death was excess weight, which appeared as a result of overeating.
Before his death, Krylov ordered a copy of his fables to be distributed to all close people.. The writer's friends received the book along with notice of his death. Ivan Andreevich's funeral was luxurious, and Count Orlov was one of the pallbearers.