One of the most famous and significant public figures of the late XIX - early XX centuries was a journalist, writer and publicist Korolenko Vladimir Galaktionovich. A brief biography illustrating his life and career includes many sad and tragic events. However, he always remained a realist who sought and found romanticism in real life, reflecting on the high in the face of harsh reality. Many of his heroes are endowed with such spiritual intensity and self-burning selflessness that they could raise them above the swamp of dull, sleepy reality. They will forever remain as a reminder of the existence of the highest beauty of the human spirit.
Vladimir Korolenko. Biography: early years
The writer was born in Zhitomir in 1853. His father was a county judge who had a closed character, integrity and justice. The image of the father became extremely important in the process of forming the worldview of the boy.
The mother of the future writer was of Polish origin, so Vladimir Korolenko from childhood was fluent in Polish. Pension Rykhlinsky is the first educational institution in which Vladimir Korolenko studied. His biography includes several more schools, because due to the service of his father, the family was forced to move often.
The writer received further education in Zhytomyr, Rivne, Petersburg and Moscow. He was not able to graduate from Petersburg Technological University: the loss of his father was the first test that Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko survived. Briefly describing future years, we can say that the difficult material condition forced him to study at the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy.
Defiant disposition and revolutionary orientation
Vladimir Korolenko shared revolutionary views from his youth. Two years after entering for active work in the populist movement, he was expelled from the academy and exiled to Kronstadt. There he was under the supervision of the authorities, making money by making drawings.
When the link ended, the young man was able to return to St. Petersburg and again take up his education, but not for long. The next six years passed for him in exile, arrest, and moving. The hardships and deprivations of forced existence not only did not break, but also tempered his spirit, as Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko himself mentioned. A short biography of the writer includes a list of cities and regions in which he lived as a political prisoner: Glazov (Vyatka province), Berezovsky repairs (Biserovsky volost), Vyatka, Vyshny Volochek, Tomsk, Perm, Yakutia (Amginsky Sloboda).
Many biographers agree that it was during this period that the character of the writer was formed. He also collected a huge amount of material for future work.
First literary steps
Having settled in Nizhny Novgorod with the permission of the government, Vladimir Korolenko set about writing. The time from 1885 to 1895 is considered the most fruitful in the career of a writer. Here, his talent was fully revealed, provoking interest from the reading public throughout Russia.
January 1886 was marked for Vladimir Korolenko by marrying Evdokia Ivanovskaya. They knew each other long before the wedding and became a happy married couple. For the writer, this marriage was the only one.
In the same year, the first edition of Vladimir’s book entitled Essays and Stories, which included several Siberian short stories, saw the light of day.
Then, Pavlovsk Essays were published, written during Korolenko’s stay in the village of Pavlovo. Their main topic was a description of the difficult situation in which metalworkers of the village were, crushed by poverty.
Literary triumph
The books “Dream of Makar”, “The Blind Musician”, and also “In a Bad Society” that followed the first collections of books showed a deep knowledge of human psychology and the philosophical approach applied by the writer when working on works. They caused a real delight among readers. The main material used by Vladimir was his childhood memories and impressions of Ukraine. The difficult period of repression and philosophical reflection enriched past observations with social conclusions, giving the works maturity and truthfulness.
Vladimir Korolenko insisted that the happiness, fullness and harmony of life are available exclusively through overcoming one's own egoism, as well as through serving the people.
Traveling the world
The following years the writer devoted to travel. At the same time, they visited not only the edges of vast Russia, but also America. In the early 90s, Vladimir attended the World's Fair in Chicago. The impressions of the trip and the collected material allowed him to write the story “Without a Language”, which actually became a novel telling about the life path of a Ukrainian immigrant in America. The work was released in 1895, bringing glory to Vladimir Korolenko not only at home, but also across the ocean. This and his other books are beginning to be translated into foreign languages.
Today, of all literary works, “The Blind Musician” is the most widely known, since this story is included in the educational program of many schools.
It may belong to the list of compulsory literature or be recommended for
extracurricular reading. An indicator of its merits can serve as a multiple edition during the writer's life (15 times).
Journalistic activity
The biography of Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko for the 5th grade of the school, along with the facts of his writing, also includes examples of work as a journalist.
A significant component of his participation in public life was the writing of articles and correspondence. The book "In the hungry year" combined the writer's publications published in the newspaper "Russian Vedomosti". The idea that pervaded these articles was the description of a monstrous picture of the people's disaster, provoked by the continuing serfdom and poverty of the Russian countryside.
Korolenko’s biography of Vladimir Galaktionovich for grade 5 would be incomplete without mentioning the work of the editor of the journal “Russian wealth”.
In the late 90s, the writer moved to Poltava, in which he remained until the end of his life. Here, on Khatka's farm, he had a summer house. For many years, Vladimir and his family came to this house for the summer. Today there is a museum.
Completion of a life journey
The last work of Vladimir Korolenko was the autobiographical "History of my contemporary", planned as a generalized and systematic description of all the events he experienced and acquired philosophical views. Unfortunately, the writer did not have time to finish his large-scale work. In 1921, while working on the fourth volume of the book, Vladimir Korolenko died without suffering pneumonia.
Korolenko Vladimir Galaktionovich: interesting facts
Writer and publicist, Vladimir Kovalenko was an extremely honest and conscientious person. Having gained some influence as a journalist, he used it to establish law and justice. One of the well-known facts of his social activity was his participation in the trial of Votyak in 1985-1986.
Seven people were charged with the brutal killing of a homeless man, and arrested and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. Moreover, the circumstances were exacerbated by the nature of the injuries that made the killing look like a ritual sacrifice.
Having heard about the Multan process, the writer arrived in the city to establish the truth as a correspondent. The facts and evidence he collected, as well as the investigation, showed that the victim was already dead when he was injured. The main goal of these actions was to deliberately mislead and condemn specific people.
The decisive role in the acquittal was played by the writer’s speech in the courtroom and two speeches made by Vladimir Korolenko there. The biography briefly and in general terms describes the content of these ingenious speeches, because they were not recorded. Their emotional strength was so great that stenographers could not perform their duties because of tears.
The Beilis Case
Another man saved from an unjust condemnation was Baileys. As a Jew, he was charged with a crime he did not commit (killing a Christian boy). This process had a wide resonance, and the participation of Korolenko led to the acquittal of the defendant and the removal of all charges.
The task of literature formulated by Vladimir Korolenko as the discovery of the meaning of personality on the basis of knowledge of the mass was fully realized in his work and work, linking them with the literary heritage of the future era.