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Nikolai A. Nekrasov, one of Russian poetry's most eloquent voices who survived through child abuse and poverty in his youth, became a successful publisher and author of some of the most mellifluent verses about women.
He was born Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov on December 10, 1821, in Nemirov, Yaroslav province, Russia. His father was a Russian Army officer, his mother, Alexandra Zakrevska, was from Warsaw and belonged to Polish Gentry. Young Nekrasov grew up on ancestral estate, Greshnevo, near the Volga River, where he witnessed the hard labor of the Volga boatmen. He was abused by his tyrannical father, who's drunken rages against his serfs and his wife, caused traumatic experience and later affected Nekrasov's writing. Thanks to his mother's love and support, young Nekrasov managed to survive through the traumatic experiences of his childhood and youth. He admired his mother and expressed his love and empathy to all women through his poetry. He studied at the St. Petersburg University, when his father abruptly cut his support. At that time Nekrasov had to live in a shelter for homeless.
His first book of poetry was met with harsh criticism from V. G. Belinsky. Nekrasov was devastated and depressed, he removed all the copies of his failed book from booksellers. He joined the staff of "Otechestvennye Zapiski" (Notes of Fatherland), where his former critic V. G. Belinsky was the principal literary expert. They soon became friends and Nekrasov was promoted to an editing position. He edited the first novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky "Poor Folk" (1845). In 1846 Nekrasov acquired the "Sovremennik" (The Contemporary) magazine, which was originally founded by Aleksandr Pushkin. From 1846-1866 he was the publisher of "Sovremennik" and made it one the most reputable magazines of the 19th century Russia. In it Nekrasov published his own novels and poems, as well as the works of Ivan Turgenev, Lev Tolstoy, and other Russian writers. In 1866 "Sovremennik" was shut down by the Tsar's government in connection with the political prosecution of its editor Nikolai Chernyshevsky. After that Nekrasov became an independent writer and entered the most productive period in his life.
Nikolai A. Nekrasov's best poems, such as "Russian Women" (1871-72), "Who's Happy in Russia" (1873-76), and "Last Songs" (1877), stand out among the 19th century Russian poetry. Nekrasov was praised by Fyodor Dostoevsky, who compared him to Mikhail Lermontov and Aleksandr Pushkin. In his later years Nekrasov suffered from chronic bronchitis and its complications; he had to travel to Italy and Arfica for convalescence, but never completely recovered. He died of complications after an unsuccessful cancer surgery on January 8, 1878, in St. Petersburg, and was laid to rest in the Novodevichy Convent Cemetery in St. Petersburg. Nekrasov's home in St. Petersburg, Russia, an important literary club of his time, is now a National Literary Museum.
