Alexander Alexandrovich Bestuzhev ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бесту́жев, p=bʲɪˈstuʐɨf, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Byestuzhyev.oga; ) was a Russian writer and

Decembrist The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by Liberalism, liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Alexander I of Russia, Emperor Alexander ...

. After the Decembrist revolt he was sent into exile to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

where the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

was waging war against the

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

. There writing under the pseudonym Marlinsky ( rus, Марли́нский, p=mɐrˈlʲinskʲɪj, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Marlinskiy.oga) he became known as a romantic poet, short story writer and novelist. He was killed there in a skirmish.

Biography

Alexander Bestuzhev came from the rich and noble Bestuzhev family. He received an excellent education. From a very young age his father prepared him for military service. Since he was not keen on mathematics he failed to enter the navy and began to serve as a

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

in the Guard. In 1818 he was promoted to officer, he also served as aide-de-camp to several senior officers and he could make a successful career. However, he joined the

Decembrists The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Emperor Alexander I. Alexander's brother and heir ...

. Arguably he was not as radical as most of the conspirators and joined the plot not because he wanted to establish a republic in Russia but simply because many Decembrists were his friends; four of his brothers were also in the plot. Due to this fact and due to his confessions during the trial, he spent only a year and a half in prison and thereafter was sent into exile in

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia, and the largest federal subject of Russia by area. It is located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of one million ...

. Bestuzhev wanted to return to society and in order to obtain forgiveness he asked the authorities for transference to the army in Caucasus as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

. In 1829 he started serving in the 14th Chasseurs regiment. Though authorities were reluctant to promote degraded officers, Bestuzhev proved himself an outstandingly brave soldier and was finally promoted to officer in 1836. On 19 June 1837 he was killed in a skirmish with

. Two of his brothers, Mikhail and Nikolay were sentenced to life at

Katorga Katorga (, ; from medieval and modern ; and Ottoman Turkish: , ) was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisoners were sent to remote penal colonies in vast uninhabited a ...

for their part in the Decembrist plot in 1826.

Literary heritage

Bestuzhev started publishing his poetry and short

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

in 1819 and soon received attention. He became acquainted with

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

Aleksander Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (; 15 January 179511 February 1829) was a Russian diplomat, playwright, poet, and composer. His one notable work is the 1823 verse comedy '' Woe from Wit''. He was Russia's ambassador to Qajar Persia, where he and ...

Kondraty Ryleyev Kondraty Fyodorovich Ryleyev (, , – ) was a Russians, Russian poet, publisher, and a leader of the Decembrist Revolt, which attempted to overthrow the Russian monarchy in 1825. Early life Ryleyev was born in the village of Gatchinsky Distric ...

and many others. Before the

Decembrist revolt The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Emperor Alexander I. Alexander's brother and heir ...

, Bestuzhev was quite a prolific author, writing both prose (short stories and articles in literary magazines) and poetry. In 1823 and 1824 together with Ryleyev he edited famous literary

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

Polar Star A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles. On Earth, a pole star would lie directly overhead when ...

'' (), which featured almost all notable contemporary Russian poets and was a huge success. His ceased writing during the trial and exile in Siberia, but soon resumed publishing under the pseudonym Marlinsky. Due to his pseudonym Bestuzhev is commonly referred to as Bestuzhev (Marlinsky) in order to distinguish him from another Decembrist Bestuzhev, who was executed. The most notable part of his heritage are fictional or loosely autobiographical stories that describe the Caucasus war, from which

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

's '' Sultanetta'' was taken, and could have influenced

Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of ...

's ''

A Hero of Our Time ''A Hero of Our Time'' ( rus, Герой нашего времени, links=1, r=Gerój nášego vrémeni, p=ɡʲɪˈroj ˈnaʂɨvə ˈvrʲemʲɪnʲɪ) is a novel by Mikhail Lermontov, written in 1839, published in 1840, and revised in 1841. It ...

''. The works of Bestuzhev may be classified as the florid

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

in the vein of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, Hugo or

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. His characters are often excessively extravagant, sometimes he deliberately chose medieval jousts as a background for his prose. In 1830s Bestuzhev (Marlinsky) was one of the most popular writers in Russia whose fame could be compared with that of Pushkin. The first edition of Bestuzhev's complete works was published in 1839.

English translations

*''An Evening on Bivouac'', and ''The Test'', (short stories), from ''Russian Romantic Prose: An Anthology'', Translation Press, 1979.

References

* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bestuzhev, Alexander 1797 births 1837 deaths Writers from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Decembrists Russian male poets Nobility from the Russian Empire Russian male novelists Russian male short story writers 19th-century poets from the Russian Empire 19th-century novelists from the Russian Empire 19th-century short story writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century pseudonymous writers Military personnel of the Russian Empire killed in action Writers of the Romantic era

Biography

Literary heritage

English translations

See also

References

External links