Vladimir Grigoryevich Chertkov

Vladimir Chertkov, portrayed by Ilya Repin in the 1890s

Vladimir Grigorievich Chertkov ( Russian Владимир Григорьевич Чертков , scientific. Transliteration Čertkov, Vladimir Grigor'evic ; *  3. November 1854 in Saint Petersburg ; † 9. November 1936 in Moscow ) was a noble Russian founder of the Tolstoyan movement , close friend Tolstoy and editor and Editor of his works.

Life

The roots of the wealthy, aristocratic family of the Cherkovs, into which Vladimir was born, lie in the Voronezh , Kaluga , Moscow and Tambov governorates of the Russian Empire. The father, Lieutenant General Grigori Ivanovich Tschertkow, was a wing adjutant to Nicholas I and adjutant general to Alexander II and Alexander III. The mother Yelisaveta Ivanovna Tschertkowa, née Countess Tschernyschowa-Kruglikowa, enjoyed the special favor of the Empress Maria Fyodorovna and in the late 1870s came under the influence of the Irish missionary Lord Radstock , who promoted evangelism in Petersburg .

In 1873 Vladimir Chertkow volunteered as a cavalryman in one of the bodyguard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army , took leave after several years of service, stayed in England as a private citizen in 1879 and studied Christianity there . In 1880 he quit military service, left Petersburg and organized school lessons for peasant children on his estate in Lisinowka in Rossosh Rajon near Ostrogoschsk in Voronezh province. In October 1883, he met Tolstoy for the first time in Moscow. From then on, Vladimir Chertkow, as a Tolstoy disciple, devoted himself entirely to literacy among the Russian people, founded the Posrednik publishing house in 1884 and ran the company largely at his own expense. Inexpensive, substantial books were produced and distributed. In addition to Tolstoy, Chekhov , Korolenko , Garschin and Leskov made contributions. Ilja Repin and Vasily Surikow illustrated.

Vladimir Chertkow avoided the constant oppression of free speech by the Russian Orthodox Church into exile; went to England in 1897 with his wife and son to support the Duchoborzen . There the couple published a number of Tolstoy's manuscripts smuggled out of Russia, which had failed due to Russian censorship. The Chertkows were active on human rights issues on the island; achieved the emigration of some Duchoborzen from Russia. In 1908 the family returned to their Russian homeland.

With regard to the distribution rights to Tolstoy's works, there were disputes between Vladimir Chertkow and Sofja Tolstaya . In addition, Tolstoy's widow disapproved of the relationship between Vladimir Chertkov and the Soviet state that emerged after the revolution , which was conducive to the book business . In 1918 Vladimir Chertkow headed the Union of Religious Communities and Groups in Soviet Russia . 1918-1919 he cooperated with Anatoly Lunacharsky in the People's Commissariat for Education for the publication of the Tolstoy estate. Vladimir Chertkow was and remained the editor of the 90-volume Tolstoy Complete Edition. Volume 1 was published in 1928.

Anna Dieterichs, the future wife of Vladimir Tschertkows as a student in 1883 portrayed by Nikolai Yaroshenko

family

In 1886, Vladimir Tschertkow married the children's book author and memoir writer Anna Dieterichs (1859–1927), daughter of Konstantin von Dieterichs (1823–1899). The couple had two children. Olga, born in 1887, died in childhood. Vladimir (1889–1964) sold the Posrednik publishing archive to the Petersburg Museum.

Vladimir Chertkov suffered several strokes, died in Moscow and found his final resting place there in the Vedenskoye cemetery . At the suggestion of Stalin , the state paid for the burial costs.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ru: Чертков, Григорий Иванович (1828-1884)
2. ↑ ru: Черткова, Елизавета Ивановна (1832-1922)
3. ↑ ru: Лизиновка
4. ↑ Russian Объединенный Совет религиозных общин и групп

Web links

Commons : Vladimir Grigoryevich Tschertkow  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

annotation

Facts were mostly taken from ru: Чертков, Владимир Григорьевич and en: Vladimir Tchertkov .