Ivan Savvich Nikitin
Ivan Savvich Nikitin was a notable Russian poet from the 19th century, distinguished by his humble origins as the son of a candle factory owner in Voronezh. Born on September 21, 1824, he faced early challenges in his education, leading to his expulsion from a seminary due to a lack of interest in studies. Instead of pursuing a traditional academic path, he managed his family’s financial struggles while nurturing his passion for poetry, remaining anonymous until 1853 when he published the patriotic poem "Rus." Nikitin gained prominence in literary circles, particularly for his religious poetry, and became increasingly involved with prominent literary journals.
His most renowned work, the narrative poem "Kulak," published in 1858, critiques corruption and moral decay in society, reflecting personal experiences from his father's life. Throughout his career, Nikitin focused on social themes in his poetry, aligning with contemporary literary movements. Despite facing health issues, including scurvy and tuberculosis, he continued to write until his untimely death on October 16, 1861. Nikitin's contributions to Russian literature remain significant, particularly for his exploration of social issues through poetry.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Ivan Savvich Nikitin
Poet
- Born: September 21, 1824
- Birthplace: Voronezh, Russia
- Died: October 16, 1861
Biography
Ivan Savvich Nikitin was one of the few Russian writers in the nineteenth century who did not belong to the nobility. He was born in Voronezh, Russia, on September 21, 1824, the only child of Savva Evtikhievich, the owner of a small candle factory. Little is known about Nikitin’s early childhood and education, except that he attended a parochial school. In 1839 he entered a seminary, where he began to write poetry, but in 1843 he was expelled from the seminary for his indifference to studying. He sold candles in his father’s factory and eventually assumed responsibility for his family’s financial affairs because of his father’s heavy drinking. Nikitin continued to write poetry but kept his anonymity until 1853, when the poem “Rus,” hailing his country, appeared. He was very active among the literary circles in Voronezh, and his popularity as a poet grew significantly after he published in leading literary journals such as Otechestvennye zapiski. His religious poems were especially well received.
In 1855, Nikitin became ill from scurvy and a severe cold. A year later, the first collection of his poetry, Stikhotvoreniia, was published to mixed critical reviews, most notably a negative critique by a leading radical critic, Nikolai Chernishevsky. Nikitin’s magnum opus, the long narrative poem Kulak (1858), deals with an unscrupulous merchant taking unfair advantages of other merchants and peasants, a clear allusion to his father’s behavior. The protagonist Lukich plies his trade by dishonest means and goes to ruin because of corruption, ignorance, and alcoholism. The poem reveals a turn to social themes in Nikitin’s works, which he adhered to until the end of his short career. Kulak was greeted favorably by socially oriented critics, especially by critic Nikolai Dobroliubov.
Nikitin also assisted in publication of the two-volume anthology Voronezhskaia beseda (1861), to which he contributed a semiautobiographical prose piece, “Dnevnik seminarista,” a scathing criticism of the antieducational conditions in a seminary. By then, Nikitin’s health had seriously deteriorated, and he died of tuberculosis on October 16, 1861. Despite the mixed quality of his work, Nikitin’s legacy will remain in the treatment of social themes in poetry, in accordance with the literary trends of his time.