Ivan Sergeyevich Aksakov (; , village
Nadezhdino,
Belebeyevsky Uyezd,
Orenburg Governorate – ,
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
) was a Russian
littérateur
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
and notable
Slavophile.
Biography
Aksakov was born in the village of Nadezhdino (then Orenburg Governorate, now
Bashkiria), into a family of prominent Russian writer
Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov (1791—1859) and his wife Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina (1793—1878). His mother was the daughter of Major General Semyon Grigorievich Zaplatina and a captured
Turkish woman.
The third son of eleven children,
[The Aksakovs](_blank)
The Arzamas Branch. Brief Biographies of the famous Aksakovs. he was a younger brother of the writers
Konstatin and
Vera Aksakova.
His paternal grandfather Timofey Stepanovich Aksakov belonged to an old
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
Aksakov family whose members claimed to be the decedents of
Šimon Šimon (Old Norse: ''Sigmundr'') was a Varangian (Viking) whose story is related in the Kievan '' Patericon'' and his story concerns the creation of the Kievan cave monastery, where he is reported to have been its most important donor.
Story
Šimo ...
. Their first documented ancestor was Ivan Feodorivich Velyaminov nicknamed Oksak who lived during the 15th century. His family crest was based on the Polish
Przyjaciel coat of arms (also known as Aksak) which is considered to be of
Tatar origin in Poland (the word «oksak» means «lame» in
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...
). All this led some researchers to believe that the Aksakov family also originated from Tatars, despite they had no relation to the Polish noble house. Aksakov's maternal grandfather was a Russian General Semyon Grigorievich Zaplatin who fought under the command of
Alexander Suvorov
Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire.
Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...
and who married a
Turkish captive Igel-Syum.Aksakov spent his early years in Nadezhdino. In the autumn of 1826 he moved with his family to Moscow where he received good home education.
[Аксаков, Ивн Сергеевич](_blank)
Энциклопедия Кругосвет // Biography at the Krugosvet On-line Encyclopedia.
Career
In 1838 Aksakov enrolled in the recently opened
Imperial School of Jurisprudence. Upon the graduation in 1842, he returned to Moscow and took up a post in the Russian
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
's Criminal Investigation department. After three years's assignment in
Astrakhan
Astrakhan (, ) 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 Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...
as a member of the Audit Commission, led by Prince
Pavel Gagarin and later
Kaluga
Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census.
Kaluga's most famous residen ...
(as deputy chairman of the local Criminal Investigation Chamber) he returned to the Senate, as its First Department's official.
[Ivan Aksakov](_blank)
at the Russian Writers Dictionary, 1990 // Аксаков И. С.: биобиблиографическая справка. А. С. Курилов. Русские писатели. Биобиблиографический словарь. Том 1. Под редакцией П. А. Николаева. М., "Просвещение", 1990.

During the early 1840s Aksakov wrote a lot of poetry. Mostly satirical, his early work was compiled in the summer of 1846 into what was supposed to become his first collection, it centerpiece being "The Life of a Government Official" (Жизнь чиновника. Мистерия в трех периодах, 1843; published in London in 1861, in Russia in 1886). The book was cut by the censor in such a way that Aksakov decided against publishing what's been left; his whole poetic legacy came out posthumously. Several of his poems appeared in the ''Moscow Literature and Science Almanac'' (1845) and ''
Sovremennik'' (1846).

In March 1849, upon the return from
Bessarabia
Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
, where he had been sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to collect the data on the local religious sects, Aksakov was unexpectedly arrested, the interrogated and released five days later without any explanation. It was supposed later that the letter to his father expressing his outrage as regards the arrest of a renowned
Slavophile leader
Yuri Samarin might have been the cause. For several years Aksakov remained under the surveillance of the Imperial secret police.
In February 1851 Russian Interior minister
Count Perovsky summoned Aksakov up to express his disgust with the latter's poem "Brodyaga" (Tramp), about a runaway peasant, which, as it later transpired, became the object of interest for the
Third Department as early as 1849. Perovsky demanded that he should stop writing, Aksakov refused and retired from the state service. He moved to Moscow and joined the Slavophiles' circle and started working on the almanac called the ''Moscow Collection'' (Московский сборник). Edited by Aksakov, its first volume came out in 1852, and featured his article "Some Words on Gogol" as well as fragments from "The Tramp".
A year later both the second volume and the publication itself were closed but the government, and Aksakov was banned from editing. He responded with a piece called "A Day at the Criminal Chamber. Scenes from the Court". Published in London by ''The Polar Star'' in 1858 and praised by
Alexander Hertzen as "a work of genius", it appeared in print in Russia only in 1892.

In November 1853, commissioned by the
Russian Geographical Society
The Russian Geographical Society (), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection with research programs in fields including oceanography, ethnography, ecology and stati ...
, Aksakov travelled to
Malorossia, where he spent the next year. His vast essay "The Research on Trade at the Ukrainian Fairs" (Исследование о торговле на украинских ярмарках, 1859) came as a result. It was published by the Geographical Society in 1859, and earned its author the Konstantine Medal and half of that year's
Demidov Prize
The Demidov Prize () is a national scientific prize in Russia awarded annually to the members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Originally awarded from 1832 to 1866 in the Russian Empire, it was revived by the government of Russia's Sverdlovsk ...
.
As the
Crimea War broke out, Aksakov joined the Serpukhov Druzhina of the Moscow Militia in February 1855 and traveled to Bessarabia. After the war he stayed in the Crimea as a member of the government commission investigating the financial wrongdoings of the Russian intendant services.
In early 1857 Aksakov went abroad to visit
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and secretly met Hertzen in London, with whom he started from then on to correspond. More than thirty Aksakov's articles appeared in Hertzen's publications, signed by the pseudonym Kasyanov. In September 1857 Aksakov returned to Russia. A year later he joined the editorial staff of ''
Russkaya Beseda'', to become first this magazine's co-editor and soon, de facto, its editor-in-chief. He co-founded the Slavic Charitable Committee and became one of its most active leaders.
In 1859 he received the permission to found the newspaper ''Parus'' (Парус, Sail). It was closed by the authorities after just two issues. With his close associate, scientist and industrialist Fyodor Chizhov, Aksakov applied for the permission to edit another newspaper, ''Parokhod'' (Пароход, Steamboat), so as to fulfill the obligations before the subscribers. The permission was given, on condition that "there'd be no rising the issue in it of the right for the peoples
f the Empire Slavic or otherwise, to develop their own national identity." Since to rise that issue had been exactly Aksakov's intention, the project was dropped.
Aksakov spent 1860 traveling all over the Eastern Europe where he met several prominent writers and politicians of the West Slavic countries. Upon the return he became the editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''
Den'' (1861-1865).
On 12 January 1866 Aksakov married
Anna Tyutcheva, a Russian courtier, and (from 1853 until 1866) the
maid of honour
A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts.
Tudors and Stuarts
Traditi ...
and confidante of empress
Maria Alexandrovna (Marie of Hesse). He spent the first year of their marriage at home, devoting himself totally to family affairs. In 1867 he started editing the newspaper ''Moskva'' (1867-1868), regularly providing editorials on a wide range of topics concerning Russia's economy and internal affairs, propagating his Slavophile views. Many of those appeared in the form of black-framed notifications, informing the readership that "this editorial is unavailable owing to circumstances beyond the control of the editorial staff." As it was later revealed, in the censorship committee's secret 1865 review of the Russian press Aksakov was mentioned among those whose activities demanded special attention and was characterized as "a democrat with Socialist inclinations."
Warnings and suspensions (some up to six months) forced Aksakov to stop the publication of ''Den''. ''Moskva'' was closed by the authorities. His "Biography of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev" (1874) infuriated censors to such an extent that the book's second edition's whole print run was captured and destroyed, due to its "generally reprehensible nature," according to the official explanation.
As a chairman of the Slavic Charitable Society, Aksakov concentrated mostly on the efforts aimed at providing financial help for
Serbia
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, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
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during the
Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1876–78) and transporting the units of Russian volunteers' into the Balkans. As the
1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War broke out, he continued to promote the ideas of
Pan-Slavism
Pan-Slavism, a movement that took shape in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with promoting integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had ruled the South ...
in the Russian press, then switched the focus of his attention to organizing the financial and military aid for
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
. On 22 July 1878, speaking at the Moscow Slavic Society, Aksakov came out with a speech attacking both the decisions of the
Congress of Berlin
At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...
and the position of the Russian delegation which, as he saw it, failed to confront the "political conspiracy" aimed against Russia which had "won the war but was relegated to the status of a losing party."
This demarche had serious political resonance and dire consequences for Aksakov. He was ordered to leave Moscow and had to spend the rest of the year in exile, residing in the village of Varvaryino,
Vladimir Governorate
Vladimir Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic and the Russian SFSR, which existed in 1796–1929.
History
Until 1719 – Vladimirsky Uyezd of the Zamoskovny Krai with ...
. The Slavic Charitable Society was shut down. In December 1878 Aksakov received the permission to return to Moscow.
The tsar,
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...
, attempted to call a constitutional assembly in 1881, saying "At last, I have the mountain off my shoulders. I have asked my ministers to draft the scheme of an Assembly of Representatives." This Aksakov highly opposed, and he suggested to the tsar that instead he should offer tax breaks for the peasantry, and with the assurance of other Russian courtiers, such as the conservative
Konstantin Pobedonostsev and
Mikhail Katkov
Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov (; 13 February 1818 – 1 August 1887) was a conservative Russian journalist influential during the reign of tsar Alexander III. He was a proponent of Russian nationalism, an important figure in the creation of a fee ...
, the tsar withdrew his proposal for a constitution and went with light tax breaks.
After two quiet years, in 1880, with the support from Count
Mikhail Loris-Melikov, he managed to found another Slavophile newspaper, a weekly called ''Rus'' which lasted six years, until his death on 8 February 1886, of heart failure.
Ivan Sergeyevich Aksakov is interred in the
Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius
The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius () is a lavra and the most important Russian monastery, being the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about to the northeast from Moscow ...
cemetery, in
Sergiyev Posad. The Collected Works by I.S. Aksakov in 7 volumes were published in 1880-1887. The four-volume edition of Aksakov's vast correspondence came out in 1896.
Legacy
Aksakov saw the
peasant commune as a 'moral choir' and the basis for a spiritually regenerated Russian state, believing that 'the wing of the Russian eagle' would be the guiding force in uniting 'the whole Slavonic world' and defeating the threat of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
.
D.S. Mirsky considered him the finest Russian journalist, after
Alexander Herzen
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the precursor of Russian socialism and one of the main precursors of agrarian populism (being an ideological ancestor of the Narodniki, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Trudo ...
. The historian
Andrzej Walicki has identified Aksakov as the intellectual bridge between
Slavophilism and
Panslavism.
[Andrzej Walicki, The Slavophile Controversy. History of a Conservative Utopia in Nineteenth-Century Russian Thought (Oxford, 1975), p. 477.]
Honour
Aksakovo town in Northeastern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and
Aksakov Street in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, Bulgaria are named after Ivan Aksakov.
See also
*
List of 19th-century Russian Slavophiles
References
External links
*
From the ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aksakov, Ivan
1823 births
1886 deaths
People from Bashkortostan
People from Belebeyevsky Uyezd
People from the Russian Empire of Turkish descent
Slavophiles
Philosophers from the Russian Empire
Russian nationalists
19th-century journalists from the Russian Empire
Russian male journalists
19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire
Imperial School of Jurisprudence alumni
Foreign members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Russian people of the Crimean War