Academician of chess history of Rus'. The founder of the historical study of the Russian language Alexey Alexandrovich Shakhmatov (1864–1920)

SHAKHMATOV Alexey Alexandrovich (1864-1920)

chess philologist biography

Outstanding Russian philologist, historian, teacher, researcher of Russian chronicles A.A. Shakhmatov was born on June 5 (17), 1864 in Narva (now Estonia) into a noble family. Love and mutual understanding reigned in the family. Alyosha's mother, Maria Feodorovna, enthusiastically studied European languages ​​since childhood: she inherited remarkable linguistic abilities from her father. Subsequently, Maria Fedorovna not only did not change her attachment to philology, but also continued to study new languages. From his relative by husband A.V. Trirogov, who graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Languages ​​in St. Petersburg, she took Turkish language lessons. The father of the future scientist, Alexander Alekseevich, having received a higher legal education, served as a junior assistant secretary of the Senate, and then as a collegiate assessor in the Ministry of Justice. During the Sevastopol campaign of 1856, he was assigned as an orderly to the head of the Saratov militia, but soon, at his own request, he was transferred to an active unit, where, with the rank of staff captain, he took command of a company. After the disbandment of the militia in 1857, A.A. Shakhmatov was appointed prosecutor in Smolensk, and three years later he was given the same position in Penza. Here on January 8, 1861 he married Maria Feodorovna. Having purchased a small estate in the Voronezh province, liberal-minded prosecutor A.A. Shakhmatov took an active part in the fate of the peasants.

During this Voronezh period of the Shakhmatovs’ lives, Alyosha appears in their family. His place of birth was Narva, where shortly before this event Maria Fedorovna went to visit her aunt. The first years of the boy's life are spent in frequent moves by his parents: in 1865 - Kharkov, in 1866 - Moscow, in 1867 - Kharkov again, where A.A. Shakhmatov Sr. is appointed prosecutor of the judicial chamber. There were only three such posts throughout Russia, and six provinces fell under Shakhmatov’s tutelage at once. In anticipation of her husband's frequent business trips, Maria Feodorovna with her children - Alyosha and eldest daughter Zhenya - leaves for the village of Gubarevka, Saratov province - the homeland of her husband's parents, to the estate of his brother Alexei Alekseevich Shakhmatov. In 1868, Shakhmatov Sr. was promoted to senator and appointed chairman of the Odessa Judicial Chamber. Soon in Odessa they begin to talk about Privy Councilor Shakhmatov as a noble and incorruptible arbiter of justice. And no one suspected that trouble awaited the family. Maria Fedorovna's health deteriorated sharply, and after arriving in Odessa, it began to deteriorate even faster. At the end of April 1870, the famous doctor N.I., who was passing through the city, visited the city. Pirogov pronounces the verdict - consumption, finding the patient's condition hopeless. Unfortunately, the famous surgeon was not mistaken. On May 3, not even 32 years old, Maria Fedorovna died. But after one grief another does not hesitate to come. On the night of January 21-22, 1871, the chairman of the Odessa Court Chamber, senator, and privy councilor A.A. died of a cardiac aneurysm. Shakhmatov.

The orphaned children - eight-year-old Zhenya, three-year-old Olya and six-year-old Alyosha - are taken to Gubarevka by their uncle Alexey Alekseevich. Fortunately for the children, they are surrounded here by the same Chess atmosphere of mutual affection and thirst for spiritual development. Alexey Alekseevich studies music, composes romances himself and, when his nephews arrive, writes comic musical plays for them. French, English, German and Latin are taught to the children by their aunt, Olga Nikolaevna, who loved the children with devoted, maternal love.

In February 1875, Alyosha Shakhmatov entered the Moscow private gymnasium F.I. Kreiman. But he didn't stay there very long. A boy sick with measles and homesick is returned to Gubarevka in May. Away from home, A. Shakhmatov felt uncomfortable and depressed throughout his life. “In general, I love,” he admits at the age of 14, “every family, I love family, blissful harmony, I adore the principles on which a family is based...” His home schooling continues in Gubarevka. He gets acquainted with classical Russian literature - the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol. 11-year-old Alexei Shakhmatov spends a lot of time in the classroom, surrounded by books on Russian history, working on his own “Messages on History”, because he has firmly decided to become a historian! In the summer of 1876, taking Alyosha with him, A.A. Shakhmatov is leaving for treatment abroad. In Munich, the boy visits the Royal Library, and having moved with his uncle to Leipzig, 12-year-old Alyosha hurries to the University Library the next morning, and soon goes to study at one of the Leipzig gymnasiums. Here he believes that he certainly needs to be a student worthy of his Russian origin! And a boy from a Russian village becomes the best student in the class. Young A. Shakhmatov’s passion for history does not fade. The boy begins his letter to his sister Zhenya dated September 21, 1876 with a categorical warning: “My letter will be serious and cannot at all be neglected...” At the beginning of 1877, A. Shakhmatov developed an attachment to literature. In a January letter home, he already admits: “History and, in particular, literature have a charm for me.”

The Kreiman gymnasium, where A. Shakhmatov returned, with its low level of teaching, could no longer satisfy the boy. In January 1879, he moved to the Moscow 4th Gymnasium, where he continued to study history and literature. Alexey Shakhmatov now sees the collection, systematization and description of words as one of his main scientific goals. The boy's fascination with language develops into a passion. He begins to study the works of Russian philologists. He was particularly impressed by the book by the outstanding linguist of the mid-19th century F.I. Buslaev "On teaching the Russian language" (1844). Now the high school student devotes a lot of time to searching for books on philology, trying to create his own scientific library. To buy the book he needs, a boy sometimes has to sell something from his wardrobe for almost nothing. Gymnasium life is almost of no interest to the boy.

Young A. Shakhmatov decides to begin his own research on the origin of words. A. Shakhmatov shows the completed work in one breath to the English teacher Khodgetz; he finds the high school student’s essay very original and decides to introduce its author to N.I., Doctor of History of General Literature at Moscow University. Storozhenko. After a conversation with the high school student, he passes Shakhmatov’s work to the doctor of comparative linguistics V.F. Miller. Struck by the seriousness of the work, V.F. Miller, returning it to Storozhenko, exclaims: “And you think that all this was written by a boy? Never! I can’t determine where it was borrowed from, but even a twenty-five-year-old man who has already completed a university course will not write like that...” Having arranged A Shakhmatov gave a serious exam in Slavic, Sanskrit and a number of other languages ​​and received brilliant answers, V.F. Miller convinces the young man to write without fail and at the same time promises assistance in the publication of his works. The high school student is amazed by the proposal of the stern professor, but flatly refuses, since he cannot publish immature works! The summer of 1879, after finishing the 4th grade, A. Shakhmatov spent at work: studying Slavic languages, reading a lot in Sanskrit. V.F. Miller advises him to carefully study the language of Nestor’s just republished work “The Life of Theodosius” and compare this language with Old Church Slavonic - the written language of the southern Slavs of the 9th-11th centuries, as well as modern Slavic languages. Shakhmatov begins to prepare to study the manuscript: he studies Greek and Latin phonetics. In September, taking with him a letter of recommendation from N.I. Storozhenko, he goes to the doctor of comparative linguistics of Moscow University, Philip Fedorovich Fortunatov, who met the high school student who first crossed the threshold of his house as a person he had known for a long time and well. Approving Miller's advice, F.F. Fortunatov recommends that the guest begin a systematic comparison of Greek phonetics not only with Old Church Slavonic and Latin phonetics, but also with Sanskrit.

And the high school student Shakhmatov became not just a student, but also an employee of famous scientists. For F.F. Fortunatov, he made the necessary inquiries in the archives, in letters to I.V. Yagichu reported his observations on the language and graphics of handwritten texts. One V.F. Miller did not want to see him as a gifted child, but soon he had to be convinced of this. A few years later, recalling his first meeting with high school student A. Shakhmatov, Philip Fedorovich will say that he was simply amazed by his knowledge. It was not a promising high school student who spoke to the doctor of science, but a young man whose knowledge in the field of linguistics would honor even a mature person. Within a month, A. Shakhmatov finishes implementing F.F.’s recommendations. Fortunatov wrote an essay on Greek phonetics and began searching for the text of The Life of Theodosius. Having found it in the book collection of the Rumyantsev Museum, he begins to rewrite the monument. Shakhmatov studies not only the publication of The Life of Theodosius, which appeared in Russia in 1879. He decides to compare this edition with the handwritten original in order to avoid repeating typos, if any, made during the publication of the monument. Soon, in scientific circles they begin to talk about the fact that the publication of The Life of Theodosius has many inaccuracies and that (it’s hard to believe) some boy came to this conclusion. Everything becomes clearer when, in 1881, in the Berlin magazine “Archive of Slavic Philology,” 17-year-old high school student A. Shakhmatov published his first scientific work, “On the criticism of ancient Russian texts (about the language of the Life of Theodosius).” It was he who managed to see what venerable scientists had not seen - Shakhmatov discovered more than 600 cases of deviation from the original in a printed copy!

At the same time, the schoolboy met the doctor of Roman literature, professor at Moscow University Fyodor Evgenievich Korsh, who was known in scientific circles not only as an expert in ancient literature. His contemporaries were amazed by the scientist’s fluency in all Slavic languages, English, French, German, Danish, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Greek, Albanian, as well as Latin, Ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Sanskrit. F.E. Korsh also wrote poetry in Russian, Ukrainian, Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and was involved in translations of Russian poets into Ukrainian, Latin, and ancient Greek. In 1882, Shakhmatov’s knowledge was already so extensive that he was not afraid to act as an opponent in the defense of A.I.’s master’s thesis. Sobolevsky, dedicated to research in the field of Russian grammar. The schoolboy’s objections were so serious and his opinion on controversial issues was argued so convincingly that the young researcher was offered to publish these materials. The last months of the gymnasium passed quickly in intense work, and in the spring of 1883, another one appeared among the memorial plaques of the gymnasium: “Alexey Shakhmatov. With a silver medal.” Already by this time, Shakhmatov was known in scientific circles not only in Moscow, but also in St. Petersburg, he was sometimes called a boy legend.

In the fall of 1883, he became a student at the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University and got the opportunity to work purposefully under the guidance of famous philologists, for whom this educational institution was famous throughout the world at that time: F.E. Korsha, N.S. Tikhonravova, N.I. Storozhenko, F.F. Fortunatova. Just a month after arriving at the university as a student, A. Shakhmatov began researching Novgorod charters of the 13th-14th centuries. The merit of student A. Shakhmatov is not only a brilliant linguistic analysis of Novgorod materials, but also the first publication of twenty letters he found in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The novice scientist made many valuable clarifications to these publications, providing his amendments with a paleographic description and linguistic notes. For this great and valuable work, at the request of the famous professor I.V. Yagich, a first-year student, was awarded. And student Shakhmatov spends every last penny of the 200 ruble bonus awarded to him by the university on a trip to the distant Olonets province, devoting his first summer student holidays to it. He does not go there for relaxation, there hard work leads him to the discovery of two dialects that are sharply different from each other.

In the spring of 1887, A. Shakhmatov defended his dissertation on the topic “On longitude and stress in the common Slavic language,” after which the Council of Moscow University, noting the brilliant abilities of the graduate and the value of his scientific research, not only awarded him the title of candidate, but also, on the recommendation of F.F. . Fortunatov and F.E. Korsha decided to leave the outstanding graduate at the university to prepare for a professorship. By tradition, an applicant for a professorship is assigned to give trial lectures at the university’s Faculty of History and Philology. Shakhmatov, without hesitation, chooses the topic of his lecture to analyze the composition of The Tale of Bygone Years. The young lecturer gave his first lecture with enthusiasm, connecting scientific facts into a coherent, logical system, arguing them well. The success of the trial lectures finally determined the decision of Moscow University in the fall of 1890 to leave Shakhmatov as a private assistant professor and offer him a course of lectures on the Russian language.

However, personal life and thoughts about daily bread interfered with science: a salary of 160 rubles a year, which was also not paid out very carefully, could not ensure the existence of even a child. The financial insecurity of the privat-docent forced A.A. Shakhmatov left the university and Moscow back in September 1890, but they kept him, helped him get additional lessons in two gymnasiums at once, and although his financial situation improved somewhat, his despair did not go away. With the loss of F.E. Korsh, who left with his family for Odessa in the summer of 1890, Shakhmatov’s attachment to Moscow University weakened. Struggling with growing apathy, the impressionable Shakhmatov gathers all his mental strength to complete the lecture course, and he barely succeeds. In December 1890 A.A. Shakhmatov reports to I.V. Yagich about his decision: “I will not read at the University until I acquire the academic degrees of master and doctor - this is a test that anyone who wants to be awarded the high honor (now cheap and low!) to read at the university would have to undergo.”

Since the summer of 1891, in accordance with the decree of the government, a special position of zemstvo chief was introduced in the Russian village in order to establish and maintain order in rural life. According to the lawmakers, the zemstvo chief should become the closest adviser to the population and take care of their needs. A.A. Shakhmatov is fascinated by this idea. He vividly imagines himself among the peasants of his native Saratov region in the role of a kind of guardian. At the beginning of January 1891, having left Moscow, friends, parting with F.F. Fortunatov, Shakhmatov leaves for Saratov to begin preparations for a new position. In Saratov, Shakhmatov was soon elected to the district zemstvo assembly as the zemstvo chief of the village of Gubarevka, Vyazovskaya volost. He wants to quickly study law, legal proceedings, and delve into the state of local education and agriculture. However, in a letter to F.F. Shakhmatov promised Fortunatov that he would definitely write and defend his master’s thesis. Despite being extremely busy with zemstvo affairs, he still found the strength to begin work on it in 1892 in Gubarevka, and a year later actually completed it. But, seeing how the zemstvo chief had actually turned into a policeman, and realizing the collapse of his illusions and hopes of helping the peasantry, A.A. Shakhmatov decides to leave the zemstvo service. A Doctor of Science diploma gives him the right to return to the university and engage in science again. On April 13, 1893, the tireless I.V. Yagich sends a letter to Academician A.F. Bychkov, in whom he confesses that he wants to see in the Academy a person who could continue the work he started more successfully than he himself. “I consider only Shakhmatov to be like that,” Yagich sums up. In mid-May A.F. Bychkov sends an official proposal to Gubarevka for Shakhmatov to accept the junior academic title of adjunct of the academy.

In May 1893, the outstanding Russian philologist Academician Y.K. died. Grotto. With his death, work on the large, multi-volume Dictionary of the Modern Russian Language, published by the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences since 1889, actually stops. By electing A.A. Shakhmatova, the Department of Russian Language and Literature intended to entrust the young doctor of philology with editing the Dictionary, which the educated society of Russia had been waiting for. In 1894, Shakhmatov presented his work “Research in the Field of Russian Phonetics” for a master’s degree, but the Faculty of History and Philology immediately awarded him the highest degree for his enormous contribution to Russian philology - Doctor of Russian Language and Literature. Russian philology has never known this before.

Upon receiving the news of his election to adjunct of the St. Petersburg Academy, A.A. Shakhmatov arrived in the capital on December 16, 1894, and the very next day he participated for the first time in a meeting of his Department and spoke to his colleagues with a proposal... for a complete change in the Dictionary program. Having carefully analyzed the material being prepared for publication, extracted from the works of more than 100 Russian writers, Shakhmatov decisively declares its inadequacy. According to the scientist, the Dictionary cannot be limited only to the language of writers; the source of the Dictionary should be the living, everyday Russian language. Shakhmatov’s appearance in the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences coincides with the resumption of the department’s printed organ - “News of the Department of Russian Language and Literature, etc.”, which was once published under the editorship of I.I. Sreznevsky. Not content with participating in the publication as one of the editors, Shakhmatov became one of the most active employees of Izvestia, the rare book of which does not contain any of his work.

The department finally agrees with Chess's program for the Dictionary, and the editor sets about implementing his plans, setting himself the task of continuing to print the Dictionary starting in January 1897. With the arrival of the first “academic” summer, Shakhmatov interrupts his desk work on the Dictionary and goes, in his words, “to give himself some rest,” to wander around the Kaluga province. And so an unknown “man”, some incomprehensible wanderer, leisurely walks around the villages of the province on foot one after another, strikes up conversations with the villagers, annoyingly, and even in the midst of the summer suffering, asks them to sing folk songs and keeps writing and writing something. ..and at the same time pays the songwriter money. No one in these parts suspects that this wanderer, despite his youth, is a world-famous scientist, an adjunct of the Academy of Sciences.

Returning to St. Petersburg, A.A. Shakhmatov writes to F.F. Fortunatov: “I feel that now I will constantly travel around Russia. This is my task and responsibility, especially when you see how the peculiarities of Russian dialects are dying.” In order to develop work in Russia on collecting the features of local dialects, Shakhmatov had to take up the preparation of special programs for the North Russian and South Russian dialects, and soon these programs were sent out to teachers of rural colleges and schools throughout Russia. Thanks to such unprecedented activity of A.A. Shakhmatov on the creation of a Dictionary of the Russian Language, people who are very far from the scientific and educational spheres are beginning to show interest in philology. So, in March 1896, a notebook of 60 covered pages entitled “Materials for a dictionary of the local dialect of the Nerchinsk region” came to the Department from the city of Konotop. Their author turns out to be N.A. Nonevich is the head of the convoy team of one of the villages near Nerchinsk.

Members of the Department of Russian Language and Literature come to the unanimous opinion that in the history of the Department there has never been a figure who, in terms of scientific activity and versatility of interests, could be compared with A.A. Shakhmatov. Therefore, already in May 1897, 32-year-old A.A. Shakhmatov is elected extraordinary academician. And as confirmation of the fairness of this decision, at the end of 1897 the first edition of the Dictionary appeared, edited by A.A. Shakhmatova. Even external facts speak eloquently about the grandeur of Chess's enterprise: the volume of the entire second volume of the Dictionary, which included 9 issues published before 1907, is 1483 pages, and the size of all its issues is more than 10 times larger than the voluminous edition of the Dictionary of the Church Slavonic and Russian Language "1847. On the initiative of A.A. Shakhmatov Academy of Sciences begins preparing for the publication of complete collected works of Russian writers. Not even a year and a half has passed since Shakhmatov began his activities with the rank of extraordinary academician, and the Academy is already filing a petition to elect him to ordinary academician - his scientific achievements were so obvious. And so, on December 4, 1898, at the General Meeting of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, the scientist was unanimously elected as an ordinary academician. His senior colleagues do not remember another case in the 19th century when such a young scientist was among the academicians! Later, Shakhmatov became a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences (1904), Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Prague (1909), Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Berlin (1910), corresponding member of the Krakow Academy of Sciences (1910), etc.

In 1899, the academician was appointed director of the I (Russian) department of the Library of the Academy of Sciences. Before Shakhmatov’s arrival, for many years, visitors to the Library of the Academy of Sciences were invariably greeted by a sign on the door informing them that the library was closed to outsiders due to its reorganization. The new director immediately eliminates the privileges in the use of her funds. Now not only scientists, but also high school teachers and even students rush to the Academic Library. Shakhmatov is seeking to open a special reading room at the library for students. Seeing how crowded the library premises are now becoming, he gives up his director’s office for lending books to people’s homes, and now, when meeting one of his colleagues at the academy, the scientist has no choice but to conduct business conversations with them in the aisle between the bookcases . On the initiative of the scientist, new departments are created in the library: cartographic, iconographic, musical notation, reports department, etc. There is no department into whose activities Shakhmatov would not contribute some of his concerns. But the director of the library pays incomparable attention to manuscripts. Thanks to this approach, in 1900 Shakhmatov managed to achieve the creation of a special Manuscript Department at the library.

Sharing the concerns of Russian teachers, the Department of Russian Language and Literature in February 1904 decided to form a special commission, chaired by the President of the Academy, to consider the issue of Russian spelling. Academician F.F. is appointed deputy chairman and head of the subcommittee, whose responsibilities are to develop specific proposals to simplify spelling. Fortunatov. The Academy's sincere desire to subject the issue to objective consideration is evidenced by the carefully thought-out composition of the commission. It includes 55 people, including 16 academicians, 18 representatives of higher and secondary educational institutions, 4 representatives of pedagogical societies, 9 writers (editors of newspapers and magazines), 6 representatives of ministries and departments. The commission invites several persons into its composition who are known to be hostile to the reform in order to achieve objectivity in the decision. It should be noted that out of 16 members of the academy, only 6 academicians are clearly in favor of reform, among them F.F. Fortunatov, A.A. Shakhmatov, F.E. Korsh, A.I. Sobolevsky, the rest are either against it or indifferent to it. The efforts of opponents of the reform had a significant influence on the President of the Academy. In January 1905, Prince K.K. Romanov writes to Fortunatov: “Radical reforms are possible only for those who have the power to carry them out. Neither our subcommittee, nor the commission, nor the Academy of Sciences itself are vested with such power. And therefore, when proposing a change or simplification of spelling, we must avoid any disruption and unnecessary difficulties. On this I believe that the exclusion of the letters i and Ђ from the alphabet is premature..."

At the beginning of January 1905, 342 scientists draw up and sign a “Note”, in which they analyze the modern needs of Russian secondary and higher schools, challenging the tsarist system. Among those who signed it are 16 academicians, including philologists A.A. Shakhmatov, A.N. Veselovsky, V.V. Radlov, physical chemist N.N. Beketov, botanist I.P. Borodin, artist I.E. Repin; 125 professors, 201 associate professors, teachers and assistants. The president of the academy, Prince Romanov, alarmed by the scientists' attack, accuses them of turning science into a political instrument. He states that the scientists have broken the law and are inciting the students to riot. In response to A.A. Shakhmatov sends Prince K.K. Letter to Romanov. “We,” writes the academician, “really blame the government: for the fact that it has done so little for public education, and, despite the services of the zemstvo, has still not been able to instill basic literacy in the rural population; we blame the government for the fact that, having begun the reform of the secondary school under Minister Bogolepov, it still does not understand the works of commissions and committees and leaves the school without a solid teaching program; we blame it for the fact that, having long ago realized the shortcomings of the university charter of 1884, which introduced "The decay of our educational institutions has not yet eliminated the abnormal conditions of the university system. Yes, we blame this government, and mainly because it is not aware of its responsibility to the country and its duties to the Supreme Power..."

Two weeks after “Bloody Sunday”, which shook all of Russia, the Committee of Ministers, fearing the revolutionary influence of scientific and socio-political literature on the masses, created a provision obliging the Academy of Sciences to give scientific reviews of books that the government considers politically harmful and therefore subject to destruction. Once again, none other than A.A. Shakhmatov enters the battle for the life of the most valuable invention of human civilization for him - the book. In a letter to the government, he writes: “To destroy a work of spiritual and mental activity of a person, to burn a book of scientific or literary content is a crime against science, for any such work represents an object of scientific research, the impartial judgment of which belongs not to us, contemporaries, but to our descendants.” . After this letter, the government no longer dared to approach the academy with such “requests.”

After “Bloody Sunday” Academician A.A. Shakhmatov considered the parliamentary path of struggle desirable, so in 1906 he agreed to be elected on behalf of the academy and universities to the State Council - the highest body under the tsar, whose responsibilities include the consideration of bills, approval of the country's budget, as well as various judicial decisions. During the years of the first Russian revolution, Shakhmatov's scientific work, in his own estimation, proceeded somewhat more sluggishly. Since November 1906, after the death of Academician A.N. Veselovsky, he becomes Chairman of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial (Russian) Academy of Sciences (he held this post until the end of his life); edits the latest issue of the second volume of the Russian Language Dictionary; is finishing preparations for publication of the issue of “Monuments of Old Russian Literature”; Using the comparative historical method, he continues to work on the study of the literary history of The Tale of Bygone Years.

October 18, 1908 A.A. Shakhmatov begins to work at St. Petersburg University. On this day he meets students for the first time. His inaugural lecture leaves a fascinating impression on the audience. Its author outlines a wide range of tasks facing the lecture course. Shakhmatov emphasizes that the history of a language is able to present a picture of the historical development of a people, but this task can be solved only with careful observations of dialects and written monuments, as well as modern living language. In 1910, Shakhmatov became a professor at St. Petersburg University.

The February Revolution of 1917 shook Russia and became a sharp turn towards broad political freedom. A.A. Shakhmatov joyfully welcomes the revolution, awaits the renewal of Russia, and has a hard time experiencing the senseless bloodshed on the fronts of the First World War. He is full of optimism, full of hope for a better future. “I foresee many hardships and failures for our country,” writes A.A. Shakhmatov in April 1917 to Professor I.A. Linnichenko, “but I firmly believe in the imminent triumph of the right order.” However, the first steps of the Provisional Government in the field of education cause not only bewilderment, but also a sharply negative reaction from the academician. Minister of Education Cadet A.A. Manuilov issues an order to dismiss 11 professors of Petrograd University, and then A.A. Shakhmatov, showing his usual courage, speaks out in defense of the expelled professors in the University Council, although he knows well that the majority of the Council shares the government position.

The February Revolution revives the hopes of many educators to complete the work begun by the Academy in 1904 to simplify Russian spelling. After the death of F.F. Fortunatov, Academician A.A. becomes the chairman of the Spelling Commission. Shakhmatov. With zeal and diligence, he sets about the final completion of a set of scientific recommendations for reform. But only after the October Revolution, People's Commissar of Education A.V. Lunacharsky signed the “Decree on the Introduction of New Spelling,” which was the result of many years of work by the Spelling Commission. This happened on December 23, 1917. “In order to ensure the broad masses of the people master Russian literacy, improve general education and free schools from unnecessary and unproductive waste of time and labor when studying spelling rules, it is proposed that all state and government institutions and schools, without exception, make the transition to a new spelling as soon as possible ". The decree on the introduction of a new spelling is the finale of an intense struggle that the leading people of Russia have waged for more than 13 years. And A.A. Shakhmatov was one of the active supporters of this reform.

To the Soviet government’s proposal in January 1918 to cooperate with it, the Academy of Sciences immediately responded with consent, and secondly, after the signature of the permanent secretary of the academy S.F. Oldenburg, signed by Academician A.A. Shakhmatov. “The Academy,” said the resolution signed by the scientists, “is always ready, at the request of life and the state, to undertake the scientific theoretical development within its capabilities to the best of its ability on individual tasks put forward by the needs of state building.” After the October Revolution, scientists were faced with the task of understanding the diversity of ethnic groups and languages ​​of Russia, determining the scientific principles for creating alphabets for unwritten languages, developing the alphabets themselves, and thereby giving the peoples of the world's first Soviet Country the greatest tools of culture - writing and literacy. For this purpose, the Commission of the Academy of Sciences for the Study of the Tribal Composition of the Russian Population, created in the spring of 1917, begins its activities in close cooperation with the People's Commissariat for Nationalities Affairs. Academician A.A. is appointed head of the European department and deputy chairman of the commission. Shakhmatov. In May 1918, the Academy of Sciences involved him in the work of drawing up a tribal map of Russia.

True to his duty as a Russian scientist, A.A. Shakhmatov devotes himself entirely to business, leaving no time for respite. It seems that in the post-revolutionary period, not a single central scientific, cultural and educational institution, not a single great undertaking of the academy can do without the participation of Academician A.A. Shakhmatova. In February 1918, he became a member of the Commission for the development of proposals in connection with the upcoming 200th anniversary of the Academy of Sciences, in April he was elected to the commission to develop a new charter for the Pushkin House, in May he became a representative from the academy in the Public Library Committee, at the end of October he is one of three representatives from the academy at a meeting of the Council of University-type Higher Educational Institutions, in November he participates in the Commission for the consideration of the new Charter of the Academy of Sciences, in April 1919 he becomes a representative from the academy on the board of the Institute of Art History, in October he is entrusted with the temporary management of the II department Academic Library, as well as chairmanship of the Library Commission; with the onset of December, the General Meeting of the Academy of Sciences elects an academician as its representative to the commission at the Book Chamber. And, despite the enormous workload of the Academy of Sciences, participation in various commissions, A.A. Shakhmatov finds time to continue intensive scientific work and continues to teach courses at the university. In 1918-1919 he publishes a number of works: “Notes on the language of the Volga Bulgarians”, “The most ancient destinies of the Russian tribe”, prepares for publication “Lectures on the phonetics of the Old Church Slavonic language” by his teacher and friend F.F. Fortunatova.

In the summer of 1919, Shakhmatov began writing a huge work, “Syntax of the Russian Language,” which became an outstanding linguistic study. In Russian linguistics, before Shakhmatov, there was no such work in which Russian syntax was presented to the reader in such a variety of syntactic constructions. But "Syntax of the Russian Language" remained unfinished. This work by A.A. Shakhmatov had a significant influence on the development of syntactic theory in Russia, and is still the most complete and deepest description of the types of simple sentences in the Russian language. Unfortunately, A.A. Shakhmatov did not have time to prepare for publication the “Essay on the Modern Russian Literary Language,” which was published in 1913 by the student publishing committee of the university, and only in 1925-1927, in commemoration of the bicentennial anniversary of the Academy of Sciences, was first published from the author’s manuscript.

The harsh winter of 1919-1920 became for A.A. Shakhmatova is the last. In the cramped service rooms of the Academic Library, the temperature often stood at 5 degrees below zero, and in the storage rooms the frost reached 10 degrees. There is no electricity. Every evening at home, the academician faces exhausting work: with his hands weak from hunger and fatigue, he carries heavy logs of firewood to his third floor, saws and chops them, so as not to become numb, in order to continue working and writing. In mid-December 1919, Aunt Olga Nikolaevna Shakhmatova, who became a mother for Shakhmatov and his sisters, dies in Petrograd. On February 11, less than two months after the death of her aunt, Olga Alexandrovna, her younger sister, dies. The lonely courier Ilya, whom Alexey Alexandrovich took into his family, also dies. The Shakhmatovs shared with him everything that the academician’s family lived at that time. Alexey Alexandrovich finds it difficult to cope with the death of loved ones; he tries to suppress the feeling of grief within himself, devoting himself entirely to work. But one after another, news of the looting of Petrograd libraries and private book collections fell upon him. And this is at a time when the Library of the Academy of Sciences piece by piece collects unique books, buys books from Petrograd residents, and organizes trips to other cities and even abroad for this purpose. A.A. Shakhmatov personally supervises the transportation of book treasures from the home libraries of famous Petrograd scientists. He unloads the carts with his own hands and carries heavy bales of books on his shoulders. This repeats itself for many days...

July 30, 1920, when Alexey Alexandrovich, already noticeably tired and aged, is busy transporting A.I.’s library. Sobolevsky, this completely undermines his strength. Exhausted, returning home after work, he feels that some powerful force is throwing him from side to side... Ten days later, a council of surgeons makes a diagnosis: intussusception. Just a few hours later A.A. Shakhmatov undergoes a complex operation, but this is too late: four days later he is diagnosed with inflammation of the peritoneum. Even in the last hours before the death of A.A. Shakhmatov, a great scientist, a man of unusually strong will, strives most of all to preserve the ability for clear thinking and active perception of the world. But the seemingly inexhaustible vitality that raged within him soon faded away completely: he died in Petrograd at dawn on August 16, 1920. He was buried at the Volkovskoye Orthodox Cemetery.

In the history of Russian science about the Russian language since the 90s of the 19th century. In the first years of the Soviet era, perhaps the most prominent place belongs to Academician A.A. Shakhmatov. Student of academician F.F. Fortunatov - one of the original representatives of comparative-historical Indo-European linguistics in our science, A.A. Shakhmatov boldly and independently used comparative historical methods of studying Slavic languages, trying to connect the history of the language with the history of the people. After Shakhmatov’s works, any study on the history of ancient Rus' is based on his conclusions. A. A. Shakhmatov is the founder of the historical study of the Russian literary language. He laid the foundations for the textual study of chronicles and textual criticism as a science; studied Slavic accentology, issues of comparative phonetics and grammar of Slavic languages, ancient and modern Indo-European languages; developed the historical morphology of the Russian language. He organized the study of many written monuments, modern dialects, the compilation of dictionaries, and the preparation of the multi-volume “Encyclopedia of Slavic Philology”; under his leadership, the publication of the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles was resumed. Under the leadership of A.A. Shakhmatov, the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences became the center of philology in Russia.

On June 5 (17), 1864 in Narva, Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov, a Russian linguist, teacher, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1894), member of the State Council of the Russian Empire (1906), was born into a noble family; researcher of ancient Russian literature, Russian chronicles, problems of Russian and Slavic ethnogenesis, issues of the ancestral homeland and ancestral language of the Slavs.

Shakhmatov lost his parents early and was raised in the family of his uncle in the village of Gubarevka, Saratov province. In 1876, the young man went on a trip abroad to Europe (Austria, Germany, France). In Leipzig, he entered a private gymnasium; upon returning to Russia, he continued his studies at the Moscow private gymnasium of F. I. Kreiman, in 1879-1883. - at the 4th Moscow Gymnasium, and then at the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University, where he was strongly influenced by courses in general and comparative linguistics by professor of philology F. F. Fortunatov.

Shakhmatov’s first scientific works on the language of ancient Russian monuments appeared in the magazine “Archiv für slavische Philologie” during his years at the gymnasium, and at the university he also began studying living folk dialects. After graduating from the university, the researcher was left to prepare for a professorship in the department of Russian language and literature. In 1890, he passed the master's exam and, as a private assistant professor, began lecturing on the history of the Russian language, but at the end of the year he left the university and went to the Saratov province, where he took the position of zemstvo chief.

In the provinces, Shakhmatov continued to work on his dissertation “Research in the Field of Russian Phonetics”, in 1894 he received a doctorate in Russian language and literature for it, after which he took the place of adjunct of the Academy of Sciences and moved to St. Petersburg. Five years later, he was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences, and in 1906 - chairman of the Department of Russian Language and Literature and at the same time a member of the State Council and the State Duma from the academic curia. Under the leadership of Shakhmatov, the Department of Russian Language and Literature resumed the publication of its Izvestia and the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles and prepared the multi-volume Encyclopedia of Slavic Philology. In 1897, the scientist led the work on an academic dictionary of the Russian language, and from 1904, together with his teacher, Academician F. F. Fortunatov, took part in the work of the Commission to develop a draft spelling reform, approved in January 1918.

Shakhmatov is the founder of the historical study of the Russian literary language. He began his scientific activity within the framework of the Moscow Philological School, but over time he developed his own research methods. The scientist did a lot of analysis of ancient Russian chronicles, laid the foundations of textual criticism as a science, and proposed a method for determining the time of creation and sources of the oldest chronicles, in particular, the Tale of Bygone Years. Shakhmatov also owns works devoted to specific phenomena of sound and grammatical structure and a general analysis of the gradual changes in the language system, starting from the Proto-Slavic era. The issues of the origin and development of the Russian literary language were most fully analyzed by him in the course of lectures “Essay on the modern Russian literary language.”

At the beginning of the 20th century. Shakhmatov, being a member of many foreign Academies of Sciences, together with philologists from Russia and foreign countries, he carried out a great deal of work to create the Union of Slavic Academies for a comprehensive study of the most important scientific problems. In the last years of his life, the academician was studying Russian syntax and building a general syntactic theory. “Syntax of the Russian Language,” published after his death in 1925-1927, had a significant influence on the development of syntactic theory in Russia.

Alexey Alexandrovich Shakhmatov died on August 16, 1920 and was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery in Petrograd.

Lit.: A. A. Shakhmatov. 1864-1920. L., 1930; Likhachev D.S. Shakhmatov - textual critic // Proceedings of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Literature and Language Series. 1964. T. 23, issue. 6; Vinogradov V.V. Shakhmatov A.A. as a researcher of the history of the Russian language // Bulletin of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1964. No. 10. P. 118; Gudziy N. K. A. A. Shakhmatov about “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” // News of the Department of Literature and Language of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1965. T. 24, issue. 1. pp. 3-6; Makarov V. Shakhmatov in Gubarevka // Volga. 1990. No. 3; Obnorsky S.P. Academician A.A. Shakhmatov // Bulletin of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 1945. No. 10-11; Poppe A.V.A.A. Shakhmatov and the controversial beginnings of Russian chronicles // Ancient Rus'. Questions of medieval studies. 2008. No. 3 (33). pp. 76-85; Shakhmatov A.A.: Biography [Electronic resource] // Fundamental electronic library "Russian literature and folklore". The science of literature and folklore. Personalia. M., 2002-2014.URL: http://feb-web.ru/feb/person/person/feb/shaxmatov.htm.

Works: Introduction to the course of the history of the Russian language. Part 1. Pg., 1916; Research on the Dvina charters of the 15th century. Part 1. St. Petersburg, 1903; The same [Electronic resource]. URL: http://webirbis.aonb.ru/irbisdoc/kr/07kp008_1.pdf ; Same. Part 2. St. Petersburg, 1903; The same [Electronic resource]. URL: http://webirbis.aonb.ru/irbisdoc/kr/07kp008_2.pdf ; Research in the field of Russian phonetics. 1893-1894; Historical morphology of the Russian language. M., 1957; On the state tasks of the Russian people in connection with the national tasks of the tribes inhabiting Russia // Moscow Journal. 1999. No. 9; Review of Russian chronicles of the XIV-XVI centuries. M.; L., 1938; Shakhmatov A. A. Essay on the most ancient period in the history of the Russian language. Pg., 1915; Essay on the modern Russian literary language. M., 1941; The Tale of Bygone Years. T. 1 // Chronicle of the activities of the Archaeographic Commission for 1916. Vol. 29. Pg., 1916; Research on the most ancient Russian chronicles. St. Petersburg, 1908; Collection of articles and materials. M.; L., 1947; Syntax of the Russian language. Vol. 1-2. L., 1925-1927.

leading researcher at OIPP,

Ph.D., Honored Teacher of the Russian Federation

FOUNDER

HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

ALEXEY ALEXANDROVICH SHAHMATOV

(1864 – 1920)

Alexey Alexandrovich Shakhmatov, an outstanding philologist, historian, researcher of Russian chronicles, teacher, was born in 1864 in the city of Narva (now Estonia) into a noble family. Alekseevich Shakhmatov,

During these years, high school student Alexey Shakhmatov met Philip Fedorovich Fortunatov, the head of the Moscow Philological School, as well as famous Russian philologists, Doctor of History of General Literature, Doctor of Comparative Linguistics, Fyodor Evgenievich Korsh, Doctor of Roman Literature, who gave lectures at Moscow University. The greatest influence on Shakhmatov was made by Philip Fedorovich Fortunatov, who for many years was an adviser and mentor to the young researcher in his scientific studies, and Fedor Evgenievich Korsh. In scientific circles, Korsh was known not only as a great expert on ancient literature, but also as a polyglot linguist. His contemporaries were amazed by his fluency in all Slavic languages; as well as English, French, German, Danish, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit and Hebrew.

On the advice of the 5th grade high school student, he began to study the language of the “Life of Theodosius,” an ancient Russian literary monument that was considered a monument of the 12th century. In order to accurately date the time of creation of this “Life,” Shakhmatov decided to familiarize himself with the manuscript of this book, which was kept in the Assumption Cathedral. It was not easy for the boy Shakhmatov to do this, but he managed to get a meeting with General Potemkin, who then ran the Synodal Office and, to the surprise of many, he allowed him to work with this unique manuscript.

As biographers Makarov and write, “the short, fragile blue-eyed boy sat for 6-8 hours every day studying manuscripts, either in Nikon’s cell in the Petrovsky Monastery, or in the famous Moscow ancient repositories - in the Rumyantsev Museum, the Typographical and Synodal libraries, where the Shevyrevs once worked , Bodyansky and young Buslaev.” The young researcher compared the manuscripts of Theodosius with its publication by Andrei Popov (in the readings of the Society of Russian History and Antiquities) and at the same time discovered 600 typos and deviations from the original and, as a result, proved that this manuscript was written not in the 12th century, but in the 11th century , which was a scientific discovery.

Soon, in scientific circles, they begin to talk about the fact that some Moscow boy found many errors in the edition of “The Life of Theodosius,” which was published in Russia in 1879 by the venerable scientist Popov.

Everything became clear when, in 1881, experts read the article “On Language” by high school student Alyosha Shakhmatov in the Berlin magazine “Archive of Slavic Philology”.

In 1914, after the death of the academician, the academician became the Chairman of the Spelling Commission.

The February Revolution revives the hopes of the Russian intelligentsia that the work of simplifying Russian spelling will eventually be completed.

With Shakhmatov’s characteristic diligence and diligence, the work of the Spelling Commission is being carried out to complete a set of recommendations aimed at simplifying Russian spelling. But only after the October Revolution

9. Write in the feminine gender ONE, ONE, ONE instead

ONE, ONE, ONE.

10. Write pronouns in the genitive singular case

personal feminine gender HER instead of HER.

For more than 13 years, members of the Spelling Commission worked to simplify Russian spelling, and Shakhmatov was one of the most active supporters of this reform.

As life has shown, the reform of Russian spelling, prepared by outstanding Russian linguists and others, has made our spelling easier and more accessible to master.

In the post-revolutionary period, not a single major event of the Academy of Sciences is complete without active participation in it.

In 1918, he worked on the Commission of the Academy of Sciences, which developed alphabets for peoples who did not have their own written language before the revolution.

During these same years, Shakhmatov (one of the most beloved and authoritative professors) taught at St. Petersburg University, giving lectures on the Russian language, Church Slavonic language and Russian dialectology. The scientist selflessly served the cause of science and education for many years. It is known that he gave a significant monetary reward, which he was entitled to as the director of the first department of the Academy of Sciences, to the needs of the library. Alexey Alexandrovich did not know any days off or vacations; he worked 10–12 hours a day.

Shakhmatov’s contribution to the science of language is enormous: he sought to connect the history of language with the history of the people. And in our time, any research on the history of Ancient Rus' is based on the works of Shakhmatov as the founder of the historical study of the Russian literary language. He laid the foundations for the textual study of chronicles, explored Slavic accentology, and developed the historical morphology of the Russian language; organized the study of many written monuments, under his leadership the preparation of the multi-volume “Encyclopedia of Slavic Philology” was carried out, and the publication of the “Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles” was resumed.

The academician’s methodological views on the content and methodology of teaching the Russian language at school are very relevant. Essentially, the modern school linguistic course is based on Shakhmatov’s concept: “the subject of study in school should be the entire Russian language in its entirety of oral and written manifestations”; At the same time, he believed that work on the language must be placed in close connection with neighboring areas accessible to study by students, that is, with history, and with literature, and with national studies.

Alexey Alexandrovich Shakhmatov is a recognized luminary of not only domestic but also world linguistics. He was a member of foreign academies: Serbian, Krakow, Doctor of Philosophy of Prague and Berlin universities and others.

The winter of 1920 was his last. Shakhmatov devotes all his energy to the book “Syntax of the Russian Language,” which is very important for science and school.

This work is recognized as a classic; it contains a chapter developed by the scientist devoted to one-part sentences. This topic is one of the most difficult and key in our syntax. He worked extremely hard, was undernourished, did not get enough sleep, did not rest - and this affected his health.

The scientist did not have time to complete many of his plans: he died in Petrograd on August 16, 1920 and was buried at the Volkov cemetery.

Contemporaries of Fr.

In the history of Russian philology there is no chapter more striking than activity.

Speaking about Shakhmatov’s activities in the history of the Russian language, one cannot fail to emphasize his undeniable merit in compiling the Dictionary of the Russian Language. According to Shakhmatov, the Dictionary of the Russian Language should have covered the entire lexical wealth of the Russian people, and not limited itself only to what Russian writers used in their works (as it did in Volume I). In this case, Shakhmatov took the only correct point of view, that the living language of the people is the root and foundation of the literary language. Just as the history of a people cannot be limited only to the everyday life of the upper strata, so the history of a language should not narrow its scope by considering only the vocabulary that is used by only one part of society, even the most intelligent.

The Shakhmatov case is enormous. On the foundation laid long ago, he erected the most important parts of the edifice of the history of the Russian language. The construction plan is clearly clarified. Researchers following him cannot pass by this building; they will finish building it, and if they wanted to build their own, they would need to destroy Shakhmatovskoye. This is hardly possible: the foundation and material are too reliable.

Academician Shakhmatov is a historian in the broad sense of the word: he is concerned with problems related to the history of the emergence and formation of the Russian people and their culture (“The Most Ancient Fate of the Russian Tribe”), and deeply studies Russian chronicles (“The Tale of Bygone Years”). However, his main research activity is devoted to the history of the Russian language (“Introduction to the course of the history of the Russian language”, “Essay on the most ancient period of the history of the Russian language”, “Course on the history of the Russian language”).

Shakhmatov established the time of creation and sources of the oldest chronicle collections and in particular the “Tale of Bygone Years” - the main chronicle work created by the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery Nestor at the beginning of the 12th century.

The name of Shakhmatov will always be dear not only to Russians, but to the entire Slavic world. Among all the Slavs, he enjoyed extreme popularity both as a scientist, and as a professor, and as an academician, and as a person wholly devoted to the cause of Slavic cultural unity.

What Shakhmatov achieved is enormous. yev

The life of Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov was short-lived, but he managed to do a lot for Russian linguistics. Academician Shakhmatov left an indelible mark on the history of linguistic science.

Bibliography

Works of the academician

1. The most ancient destinies of the Russian tribe - 1919.

2. Research in the field of Russian phonetics - 1894.

3. On the issue of the formation of Russian dialects and Russian nationalities - 1899.

4. On the history of sounds of the Russian language - 1903.

5. Course on the history of the Russian language - 1909.

6. Essay on the most ancient period in the history of the Russian language - 1915.

7. Essay on the modern Russian literary language - 1941.

8. Syntax of the Russian language - 1941.

Works dedicated to

1. Berezin linguistics of the late XIX - early XX centuries, M., 1967.

2. Bulakhov linguists. Bibliographic Dictionary. v.1. Minsk, 1976

3. Alexey Alexandrovich Shakhmatov. P., 1922

4. Ivanova Russian language. 1976

5. Lapatukhin teaching the Russian language. Reader. 1960

6. Domestic lexicographers of the 18th-20th centuries. 2000

7. Russian language. Encyclopedia. 1979

8. Ulukhanov Aleksandrovich Shakhmatov. gg.

9. Eagle owl of Slavic ethnogenesis in the works. 1964

10. Encyclopedic Dictionary of a Young Philologist. 1984

11. Yanchenko journey through the pages of Russian linguistic science. 2002

M.A.Robinson (Moscow)

Academician A. A. Shakhmatov: the last years of his life (On the biography of the scientist)

80 years ago, the outstanding Russian scientist academician Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov (1864-1920) died. His untimely death made a strong impression on the entire scientific community. The Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences, which was headed by the scientist for many years, dedicated a separate volume of its Izvestia for 1920 to Shakhmatov’s memory1. Hundreds of pages of this publication are filled with memories of his friends and colleagues about all aspects of his diverse activities, Shakhmatov’s extraordinary personal qualities and enormous moral authority. Many of the participants in the memorial collection were possessed not only by a feeling of bitterness from the loss expressed in the articles, but also by a feeling of anger at those whom they considered to be responsible for the death of the scientist, which remained, for obvious reasons, unexpressed in print. They could give free rein to the expression of their feelings only in uncensored personal correspondence and diary entries.

But before turning to this evidence, we, without pretending to comprehensively disclose the topic, would also like to show, on the basis of epistolary sources, what actions of the new political regime and the conditions of the new way of life influenced the general attitude of such prominent representatives of academic science as Shakhmatov, and largely contributed to their departure from life. There were several such main factors: constant concern for the fate of the Academy of Sciences in anticipation of persecution against it, frequent troubles with the authorities for arrested colleagues, hunger and cold.

Shakhmatov, like most of his colleagues, greeted the October revolution without any enthusiasm. The scientist outlined his impressions of the first steps of the new authorities (“the Bolsheviks deprived us of our salaries”) and the fears associated with this in a letter dated December 3, 1917 to P. N. Sakulin, who, ironically, was one of the few scientists in the humanities who subsequently tried to get closer to with the authorities, accept the new ideology and implement it in their research2. “For now, before us,” wrote Shakhmatov, “there is hopeless darkness. You experience incredible humiliation when reading and hearing about the exploits of the Bolsheviks. They haven't reached the university and academy yet, but of course it won't slow down. I see with horror that the constituent assembly has been disrupted! And with him so many hopes, so many hopes disappeared.”3 And yet, Shakhmatov’s principled position was, without leaving his posts, to do everything to preserve the Academy of Sciences as a center of knowledge and education necessary for the people. Already on January 14, 1918, the scientist had to persuade the famous

liberal publicist and public figure KKArsenyev, elected honorary academician in the Class of Fine Literature in 1900, not to interrupt his ties with the Academy. “I earnestly ask you,” Shakhmatov appealed, “to leave the thought of the possibility of relinquishing the title of honorary academician. On the contrary, we will be grateful if you tell us your wishes on how the activities of the Discharge could be revived.” The scientist addressed those arguments that have always been important for the Russian intelligentsia: “I am sure that you have retained faith in the Russian people, in the future of Russia, faith that we are so quickly losing in the fight against the incredible trials that have befallen our homeland”4.

Already from the letter written five days later - January 19, it becomes clear what Shakhmatov meant by “incredible tests.” The scientist wrote to Academician V.M. Istrin, who after Shakhmatov inherited the position of chairman of the Department of Russian Language and Literature: “There is famine here, and in general Petrograd is a doomed city. In Moscow, they say, conditions are no better. The scary question is whether the Academy will receive any maintenance at all. It hasn't been clarified yet. Without me there was a meeting of the Academy and other institutions, at which it was decided to enter into business relations with the government of people's commissars. The decision has not yet been implemented; I’m afraid that we won’t get anything other than a stream of dirt for our institutions. But I understand that there is no other way out after the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly.”5

Having once chosen the path of business relations with the new authorities, Shakhmatov turned to his old acquaintance with the manager of the affairs of the Council of People's Commissars, V.D. Bonch-Bruevich, for the benefit of the matter. In the pre-revolutionary period, Shakhmatov repeatedly had to provide Bonch-Bruevich, who devoted himself not only to professional revolutionary activities, but also to the study of Russian sectarianism, with all possible assistance. Already in a letter of recommendation to the honorary academician P. I. Weinberg, the scientist asks to help Bonch-Bruevich “in a matter that is outrageous and at the same time fair,” and writes about the recommended: “He is a good friend of mine”6. In a letter dated January 24, 1910, Bonch-Bruevich asked the Department of Russian Language and Literature to provide him with a “monetary allowance” for a trip to Transcaucasia in order to “continue the study of sectarian communities.” On February 4, the Department decided to issue “two hundred rubles from its funds for the said trip "7. But the most significant were Shakhmatov’s efforts before the authorities for Bonch-Bruevich, who was repeatedly arrested. So, from February to June 1911. Shakhmatov drew up several petitions one by one addressed to the assistant to the capital mayor; gendarme Colonel M.M. Gorlenko, Comrade Minister of Internal Affairs P.G. Kuryaov, M.I. Zubovsky - an official of a special meeting in which the Bonch-Bruevich case was to be considered8. In his last appeal, Shakhmatov expressed the hope that “he (Bonch-Bruevich - M.R.) would not suffer administrative expulsion or any other punishment”9. How great

Well, Shakhmatov’s petitions helped Bonch-Bruevich and not only him10. The scientist was sincerely happy when, in June 1914, Bonch-Bruevich informed him of his release after another imprisonment. “All the time of your imprisonment,” Shakhmatov wrote on April 10, 1914, “I felt extremely worried about you, having learned in particular that you had fallen ill.” The scientist expressed the hope that Bonch-Bruevich would now be able to continue his scientific work.

Three and a half years passed, the situation changed radically, and the role of petitioner passed to Shakhmatov. Immediately after the October events, the scientist and a number of colleagues were interested in the fate of the arrested ministers of the Provisional Government. At the beginning of November 1917, Bonch-Bruevich invited Shakhmatov to visit Smolny to discuss this problem. At the beginning of the next year, on February 14, Shakhmatov asked Bonch-Bruevich to organize for S. F. Oldenburg, permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences, a meeting with V. I. Lenin “on a completely urgent matter”12. Apparently, a conversation was planned about the fate of the former ministers of the Provisional Government held in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Bonch-Bruevich received Oldenburg and, obviously, promised to provide assistance, as can be understood from Shakhmatov’s phrase in a new letter dated February 20, 1918: “[...] the matter about which you so kindly spoke to him, for which I am very grateful to you.” But Shakhmatov and Oldenburg’s comrade in the Cadet Party, N.M. Kishkin, fell into the “category of those left in prison.” Referring to Kishkin’s “painful condition” and the fact that “the fortress is unfavorable in terms of the mood of the guards,” Shakhmatov noted that “these two circumstances force us to strenuously ask you to put in a good word for the release of Kishkin”13.

Very soon, efforts to mollify arrested party colleagues gave way to requests to ease the fate of colleagues in science. Shakhmatov was approached by his younger brother, also a famous scientist and classical philologist S.I. Sobolevsky, with a request to take part in the fate of the arrested academician A.I. Sobolevsky. Shakhmatov immediately responded to this request, about which he wrote on May 24, 1918 to S.I. Sobolevsky: “In response to your telegram, I informed you that S.F. Oldenburg and I filed a petition through the secretary of the Council of People's Commissars Gorbunov about providing Alexey Ivanovich as our bail. It seems to me that with my telegram you have the opportunity to turn to Gorbunov and ask him whether our petition will be successful. In any case, you can find out from him what else you can do. I place myself at your disposal. If necessary, I can also write to Mr. Bonch-Bruevich. It is necessary to break Alexey Ivanovich out of prison at all costs and as quickly as possible.” It should be noted that Shakhmatov was not inspired by the prospect of communicating with government officials. So, in a postscript he noted: “If necessary, I could come to Moscow. But will you come to an agreement with the Bolsheviks?!” m.

To the psychological experiences were increasingly added the difficulties of everyday survival with problems completely unusual for an armchair scientist. From the summer of 1917 to the late autumn of 1918, Shakhmatov's ever-expanding family, including his sisters and aunts, lived outside Petrograd in Atkarsk, a city in the Saratov province, not far from the former Shakhmatov estate - Gubarevka. Life in the provinces was easier than in Petrograd, but even there everyday problems oppressed the scientist. He reported to Oldenburg on October 1, 1918: “[...] I am in a difficult everyday situation. We were left without a servant: one got married, the other was called by the father, who was worried about his daughter, due to persistently spreading rumors about the proximity of Atkarsk to the front. [...] In anticipation of her arrival (the new servant - M.R.), all the housework fell on the family. I have to take a significant part in this work, and in addition, store bread and firewood for the winter; They don’t bring firewood to the city at all, you have to manage to buy it in the villages, and in extreme cases, stock up on dung (maybe, you don’t know what it is: dung bricks made for heating in treeless areas)”15 .

Fearing the possible separation of the family during the civil war, the Shakhmatovs move to Petrograd, where late autumn creates even more problems than in the provinces. The scientist complained in a letter dated November 12

1918 to his old comrade, the famous lawyer and honorary academician A.F. Koni: “In addition to all other activities, household chores have been added, which are truly exhausting me; I have to heat the stoves myself, and only recently a student was found who agreed to chop and carry firewood.”16

The ever-increasing hardships of life began to have the most disastrous effect on science, many scientists began to get sick and die. February 19

1919 Shakhmatov reported to his closest colleague and comrade, academician V.N. Peretz, who was fleeing hunger in Samara: “The situation here is very difficult. Tomorrow we will bury Lappo-Danilevsky. Latyshev and Rykachev became seriously ill. You are right that it is downright dangerous for life here. The work is progressing very smoothly, of course. You still don’t find time because of household chores. We have no servants, and only now, I think, we understand what a strong burden the “cultural” conditions of the past time removed from us.”17 Shakhmatov was associated not only with Academician A.S. Lappo-Danilevsky, a leading specialist in the history of medieval Rus' and a source scholar scientific interests, but also short-lived joint political activity.Almost the same age, they almost simultaneously became academicians, and in 1906 they were elected members of the State Council from the academic curia, also together, in protest against the dispersal of the Duma, they left it in 1907 18. One of the oldest members of the Academy, 79-year-old geophysicist M. A. Rykachev, was no longer able to recover from his illness, he died in the same 1919. Classical philologist, academician V. V. Latyshev did not survive Shakhmatov by much, he died in the spring 1921

Let us add that Arsenyev, whom the scientist had urged not to leave the Academy a little over a year earlier, also died in 1919.

The day after the letter to Peretz, on February 20, Shakhmatov wrote to D.K. Zelenin, who was then living in Ukraine: “I am completely morally destroyed by everything that is happening around us. You've probably been through a lot of hard things.

In terms of food, it is very, very difficult here. Of course, if you allowed it, I would send you money and ask you to send either lard, or sausages, or something else edible. My family consists of seven people, and at one time we were poor. It has gotten easier in the last two weeks. Some people remembered us. The prices are incredibly high. I have to do little work, thanks to the absence of servants and housekeeping worries.” And again the mournful theme sounds: “You hardly know about all our losses. V.V. Radlov, M.I. Smirnov, Al. Lappo-Danilevsky died”19. Difficult living conditions quickly brought to the grave the greatest linguist-Turkologist, ethnographer V.V. Radlov, the oldest member of the Academy both in age - 80 years, and in experience - 34 years.

Shakhmatov also recalled the passing of Lappo-Danilevsky in a letter dated March 8, 1919 to Academician V.I. Vernadsky, who headed the newly created Ukrainian Academy of Sciences and fought with radical figures of the Ukrainian national revival for his understanding of the principles of the Academy. Shakhmatov had a hard time with the collapse of the unified state and had a negative attitude towards the political independence of Ukraine; in the summer of 1917, in a letter to Koni, he called the struggle to bring this idea to life “a betrayal of the Ukrainians led by Grushevsky”20. Vernadsky's views clearly appealed to Shakhmatov. “I see and understand,” he wrote, “that you are guided by a Russian, all-Russian feeling and the hope of strengthening our unity through cultural work. This unity has always been most dear to me, since behind its destruction I see death for the Great Russians and a state of slavery for the Little Russians.” Regarding living conditions in Petrograd, Shakhmatov warned Vernadsky: “Life is not easy here financially, but morally, of course, it is easier than here, easier than anywhere in Russia. But still, you don’t come here. Our Academy is supported entirely by the work and authority of S.F. (Oldenburg. - M.R.). His services are truly invaluable. It was very difficult to accompany Lappo-Danilevsky to his grave.”21

The coming spring brought some reduction in everyday problems, and yet in Shakhmatov’s letter to one of his provincial correspondents, N.A. Bobrovnikov, dated April 19, 1919, full of all kinds of scientific plans, gloomy notes slip through: “Of course, I was amazed and touched by everything what you told me about votyaks. Oh, if I had the strength, I would devote half of it to studying the Finnish Volga region. But my strength is weak. I see that they need to be economized, while I’m still not completely extinct, I’m working hard

on Russian syntax and hope to prepare two articles on syntactic issues in May. Then I would like to finish my work on elucidating the literary composition of our chronicles in general. The spring sun has now smiled upon us; this reduced my household chores of chopping wood and firing stoves; I have more time."22 But the hope for improving living conditions with the onset of spring and summer did not materialize; Shakhmatov’s physical, moral and financial situation continued to deteriorate, as evidenced by two letters from the scientist dated August 22 and 26, 1919. In the first, addressed to A.F. Koni, the scientist did not agreeing with the authorities’ attacks on the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, which, in his opinion, was actively working, he wrote bitterly: “I cannot help but admit that the Bolsheviks are largely right, and mea culpa, mea maxima culpa (my fault, my greatest fault .-M.R.): the Russian department became lifeless, barren. I admit that my energy has left me.”23 Nevertheless, Shakhmatov was not going to leave Petrograd not only for material reasons, in search of more tolerable living conditions: the scientist was not allowed to think about this and his sacrificial service to science. In the second letter, reporting another loss in the ranks of academicians, the death of the historian of medieval Rus' M.A. Dyakonov, he wrote to Peretz: “[...] it would be completely impossible for me to leave the Academy now; its institutions require special care; The library is on me one way or another. Do you know about the death of Mikhail Alexandrovich? There are fewer of us here, but the matter remains responsible. For all these reasons, I decided to stay in Petrograd until the last opportunity, and without being separated from my family, and there are eight of us in the family. Where is the opportunity to mobilize such a family?”24.

A little more than a week passed, and at the beginning of September new misfortunes befell the Academy and Petrograd University. Many colleagues and friends of Shakhmatov were arrested, and among them the permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences S. F. Oldenburg. The arrest of such a figure as Oldenburg could not help but attract the attention of not only academicians and professors. Thus, E.P. Kazanovich, an employee of the Pushkin House, noted in her diary, “Notes on what was seen and heard”: “4/DC Today Oldenburg was arrested...

5/IX. Arrested: Bulich, D. Grimm, Parchment... Obviously, they are being taken as hostages. Terrible, terrible!

8/IX. Those arrested have not yet been released, and are unlikely to be released soon, although Grinberg, Gorky and others are working for Oldenburg, for example.” 25. 3. G. Grinberg was a responsible employee of the People's Commissariat for Education, supervising university affairs. Apparently, for his information, on September 6, 1919, the University sent him “a list of professors and teachers arrested on CheK warrants,” addressed to the “Board of the United Council of Scientific Institutions and Higher Educational Institutions.” Among the thirteen listed scientists, only one was not a humanist26.

Already straight to “Comrade. 3. G. Grinberg” was addressed on September 9 by the rector of the First Petrograd University, a famous specialist in the field of ancient history and classical philology, future academician S. A. Zhebelev. “At the present time,” the rector wrote, “among the personnel of the First Petrograd University, a number of professors and teachers, as I have already informed you, are under political arrest.

Having not found any instructions in the relevant legislation on the procedure for issuing remuneration to arrested employees in Soviet institutions, I ask for clarification. Do such persons retain the right to remuneration while under arrest and, if so, in what amount?”27. It seems to us that the very form of the address, its academic thoroughness, not without a dose of sarcasm, should have prompted Greenberg to take trouble not only for Oldenburg. Naturally, Shakhmatov immediately got involved in the efforts for Oldenburg. He again had to turn to Bonch-Bruevich. By the time we wrote the letter dated September 12 that we quote, Shakhmatov and Bonch-Bruevich had already managed to come into contact. “I thank you with all my heart,” Shakhmatov wrote, “for your response to my request. But, of course, you know that the order of the Council of People's Commissars remained unfulfilled; Oldenburg has not yet been released. Knowing Oldenburg's activities, his extraordinary efficiency and liveliness, you can imagine how depressingly his arrest had an effect on the Academy and on a number of scientific institutions of which he is either the soul or the official leader. I don’t think that it would be beneficial for anyone to disrupt the cause of Russian enlightenment, while the removal of Oldenburg inevitably leads to it. The motive of political struggle is insufficient: there is no one else among us who would work so tirelessly and openly with the current government, absolutely never acting as its opponent, a principled antagonist, on the contrary, always looking for ways to reach an agreement. This is prompted by his ardent love for the Russian people and deep democracy.

Having weighed all the circumstances, you may find it fair to insist on the execution of the government decree, a reasonable and expedient decree.”28 But even the decisions of the Soviet government were in no hurry to implement the local administration. On September 18, 1919, the university drew up a “Guarantee” for those arrested, the only academician on the list, Oldenburg, was listed first. Among others, one can note at least such names of scientists already known at that time as the outstanding linguist, future academician L. V. Shcherba, future corresponding member, Russia’s first doctor of general history, historian of European medieval culture O. A. Dobiash-Rozhdestvenskaya29 .

The general efforts had their effect, and most of those arrested, but not all and not immediately, were released. Kazanovich records in his diary

Nick in an entry dated September 22, 1919: “I saw Oldenburg from the tram window; This means it was released yesterday or today. The gait of a man 20 years old and broken.” And then follows a record indicating what the fate of those arrested could have been: “23/1X. List of executed cadets. A total of 63 people. Terrible!”30. As is well known, the cadet party was often called the professorial party. It is not difficult to understand what a difficult impression even a short conclusion left on representatives of the academic intelligentsia. Thus, immediately after his release, Oldenburg did not hide his impressions of the days spent in prison. Kazanovich entered the story she heard from him in her diary on September 26: “They wanted to put S[ergei] F[edoro-vich] in a punishment cell because in the book sent to him by Karpinsky there were two postcards written by someone to someone ; in the end, the sailor, on whom S[ergei] Fedorovich’s fate depended], relented and decided to forgive him. Old[enburg] was sitting on Shpalernaya, in the same cell with D. Grimm. In general, the attitude towards them was correct. The most terrible thing for the prisoners was when the unfortunate people, doomed to be shot, were called out of their cells at night. Sergey Fedorovich especially regrets one fellow prisoner who had a wife and several small children and cannot forget; he was a young man, very kind, affectionate, delicate and cheerful; he was kept in custody for about 3 months and the other day he was shot, and for what! Because they found 2 rifles at his dacha”31. Oldenburg’s cellmate was Shakhmatov’s good friend and opponent in disputes about the university’s relationship with the authorities, D. D. Grimm,32 who was the rector of St. Petersburg University in the early 1910s. And the book with the ill-fated postcards was sent to Oldenburg by the President of the Academy of Sciences, A. P. Karpinsky.

Arrests and other harassment are becoming quite commonplace. A month after the events described, Shakhmatov, after the fact, learns about a similar misfortune that happened to 75-year-old A. F. Koni, who was also then a professor at Petrograd University. “I just found out today,” Shakhmatov wrote to him on October 27, 1919, “that you were arrested these days. We express our sincere sympathy to you with our entire family. We hope that the arrest did not affect your health.

Our life is very worrying. There was a night search, first in the entire library, then in ours. And the other day we were told about the need to clean the rooms facing the Neva. We had to move most of the books to the back rooms.”33

The new winter brought the same painful problem of firewood, the scientist complained to D.N. To Ushakov in a letter dated January 1920: “I work in fits and starts. Firewood takes up a lot of my time: I had to deliver it, saw it and chop it - all this to the detriment of scientific studies.”34 In addition to the fight against the cold, the authorities added additional troubles to the scientist. Shakhmatov wrote about the new misfortune

January 27 to Zelenin: “At one time we lived in great anxiety; they wanted to occupy our apartment with troops; things were partly transported to neighbors. All this brought anxiety into our lives and contributed to various omissions and shortcomings.” 35. The need to fight for survival every day took away Shakhmatov’s time, which he intended to carry out his favorite work and high duty - scientific work. This situation depressed him, and he even considered it necessary to justify himself to his colleagues. “Life is very hard - that’s my excuse; - Shakhmatov wrote to Peretz on February 1, - it’s especially difficult now when you have to devote a lot of time to household chores, more precisely to carrying, sawing and chopping firewood. They began to supply us with unsawn firewood - large logs that we had to cut at home with the help of the whole family. This takes up a lot of time every day and does not allow you to concentrate at all on work; however, now the temperature in the rooms has dropped greatly and does not seem to rise above 4°; my fingers get cold and it’s difficult to write.”36 Shakhmatov reported on the same problems, but in even more detail, to Zelenin on February 21, 1920. The loss of close relatives was added to the losses of comrades and colleagues: “I received both of your letters. I took too long to answer because I just had a great grief: my sister apparently died of typhus. Both sisters have been living with us lately. Earlier, in December, I lost my aunt-mother, although she was a very old woman. But cheerful and strong. Both my aunt and my sister were broken by the difficult conditions in which they had to live. We cannot heat rooms; there is only enough firewood for the kitchen and the room next to the kitchen; in other rooms the temperature remains at 3-4°. I rejoice in this too; in many apartments the temperature dropped below 0°. Now, after all, we are encouraged: things are moving towards spring. But what will happen next? Will the same winter happen again? It is very difficult to exercise; At one time I was completely distracted from work by carrying, chopping, sawing wood and other household chores. Now I am in the position of a patient (I have a cough and runny nose), I had to, or better yet, managed to temporarily replace myself - and I sighed a little. I’m sitting on composing the syntax of literary speech.”37 It must be assumed that it was during these days that Shakhmatov received Sobolevsky’s letter, sent to him on February 28, 1920, which once again confirmed the complete defenselessness of people of intelligent professions against the unpredictable actions of the authorities. “I just saw Bohr,” Sobolevsky wrote. M. Sokolov. Just recently released from Butyrka prison. I sat there for a month without being interrogated. Obviously, they were punished for some sin.”38 From his student days, Shakhmatov followed the work of twin brothers Boris and Yuri Sokolov, contributing to the publication of their works. A year before the events described by Sobolevsky, at the end of February 1919, Shakhmatov’s recommendation turned out to be the basis for Sokolov receiving a professorship at Saratov University39.

Winter 1919-1920 Shakhmatov tried to provide assistance with some kind of food from Samara Peretz, who was more prosperous in this regard. In a letter to Istrin dated January 12, 1920, he described in detail his capabilities and conditions for sending parcels; “When I received your letter, I sent you what I could get some bread. And then I notified you, as I had previously written to Al[exei] Alexandrovich (Shakhmatov.-M.R.), that I could send you something provided that you and E[vgeniya] S[amsonovna] send a box with the casing included (some matter) and rope. This is not the case here. You can send: crackers, noodles. Lard, cereals and flour are not allowed; they are taken away or thrown out of the box at the post office; and if someone cheats and gets caught, he will be put in emergency.”

In April 1920, during his illness, Peretz instructed his student S.A. Shcheglova to organize a parcel, who informed Shakhmatov on April 19, 1920: “Since our food cards have already been used for parcels, at our request student Vladimir is sending you crackers Alexandrovich Serafimov"41. Let us note in passing that Sobolevsky, who very carefully monitored and carefully recorded Moscow prices for basic products in letters to his colleagues, considered parcels with crackers not very practical and did not like receiving them himself. He explained to the same Peretz on July 3, 1920: “I accept the fee in noodles or sultanas, or - if it’s not dirty - whispered. A lot of crackers die on the long journey from mold” 42.

The introduction of special food rations for scientists made Shakhmatov’s life somewhat easier, but with their advent, the scientist had new worries and new problems. In the already mentioned letter to Zelenin, he noted: “Our brethren were greatly supported by the scientific rations, which you may have read about. But now there is agitation against these rations, and we don’t know whether they will survive.”43 And about the same thing a week later on February 27 - in a letter to Peretz: “As you know, our situation has greatly improved thanks to the scientific ration - especially the situation of small families; but on the other hand, all prices have increased”44. The winter of 1920 turned out to be not only the last, but also the most difficult in Shakhmatov’s life. His large family lost two of its members, as well as the lonely courier Ilya45, who was taken into the family by the scientist shortly before.

The coming spring did not justify the hopes that Shakhmatov had pinned on its arrival, his health did not improve. He no longer has enough strength to visit people close to him more often. “How long ago,” wrote Shakhmatov to Koni on May 10, 1920, “I haven’t been to you and haven’t seen you! “I feel such physical and moral oppression that I’m completely losing energy.” 46. Shakhmatov no longer had the strength to accept the very advantageous offer of his Saratov colleagues N. KPiksanov and B. M. Sokolov, who were trying to help him and inviting him to come in June. Piksanov wrote on June 1, 1920 on behalf of the entire faculty: “[...] we would be glad to listen to any of your

existing courses (our historians, for example, spoke in favor of a course on chronicles). [...] We thought that you could combine your visit to Saratov with a visit to your homeland. We would have taken care of your accommodation and food in Saratov”47.

In the summer, Shakhmatov personally supervises the rescue and transportation of a number of book collections to the Library of the Academy of Sciences. In early August, a council of doctors discovered that the scientist had a disease that required surgery48. A few days after the operation, Shakhmatov died.

After Shakhmatov’s death, a lot will be said about him and about his role in science and public life at meetings in his memory in different cities of the country, there will be obituaries, and the special issue of Izvestia ORYAS that we have already mentioned. But we would like to turn to those documents that contain the very first, often very emotional, reaction to the event that happened. Next, we give the floor to Kazanovich’s diary, whose daily entries, full of fears, hopes and bitter lamentations, are devoted only to events related to Shakhmatov’s illness, operation and death. So: “11/USH. Today Shakhmatov was taken to the surgical clinic; It seems he had a torsion and at 11 o'clock Oppel had to operate on him. Until 4 hours the result was not known; everyone is worried.

12/\TI. The operation went well. N.A. Shakhmatova left for the hospital at 9 o’clock in the morning and had not yet returned by 4 o’clock.

14/USH. Shakhmatov’s situation, according to Istrin, does not yet inspire serious concern, since this can be said about everyone currently undergoing surgery. He had his intestines inserted, some kind of tumor was excised, and, as they say, it was excised cleanly, so that it could not be expected to spread further; the temperature is slightly elevated, which doctors explain as a consequence of any operation, the heart is working correctly. For many cautious people, however, this tumor makes them very worried. And Oppel himself does not inspire confidence in everyone; Grekov, who performed the operation on Zinoviev, is highly praised.

16/USH. It's over. Today at 4 o'clock in the morning Shakhmatov died. The only and best representative of modern Russian science as a whole and a rare person has passed away. This is one of those deaths that cannot be reconciled with and that cannot be forgiven for its perpetrators. Unhappy family, poor children!..

18/VIII. The thought of the deceased does not leave me for a minute. Even at night I see him in my dreams.

Shakhmatov was one of those few people who try to occupy as little space as possible both in life and in the attention of those around them, and only their death reveals the huge emptiness that they leave behind and which is somehow suddenly perceived by everyone, with them. touching in one way or another. Shakhmatov had no external friends, because his life was modest and secluded from everyone in a very unhappy family environment; but there were people, he was deeply, almost

reverently, lovingly, and there were no people at all who could say a bad word about him, or experience a bad feeling towards him, so great was his moral purity and spiritual depth, which involuntarily influenced everyone. His modesty, his shyness, almost bashfulness, combined with kindness of heart, his readiness to meet everyone halfway in need of him, his directness, at the same time, and high honesty, excluding any falsehood in dealing with anyone, awakened feelings of special tenderness , frugality and genuine respect for him in everyone; he could not have, I think, enemies, either secret or obvious.”49

Shakhmatov’s colleagues and friends, who for various reasons did not have the opportunity to honor the memory of the deceased with their presence at the funeral, responded to his death with letters to Istrin, who, as we see, was at the center of events. Academician N. K Nikolsky wrote to him on August 18, 1920: “I received the sad news, which deeply worried me, late in the evening of August 16. I spent the whole night without sleep, remembering dear Alexei Alexandrovich, who died so untimely, and his unparalleled scientific merits. In connection with these merits, I evaluate his death as an insane murder committed in front of everyone. But I will not add to our grief with heavy thoughts. They will not bring back to life the one to whom I personally owe so much...” And further: “My temperature has not yet dropped, and I do not even have the consolation of hoping to be present at the last farewell of Alexei Alexandrovich, scheduled, as I learned, for tomorrow (August 20). I hope it is unnecessary for me to describe the gloomy and depressed state in which I currently find myself.”50

The reaction of Peretz, who continued to live and work in Samara, was even more emotional. His letter to Istrin dated September 6, 1920 can be described as a cry from the heart. “Having returned to the city from a two-week absence,” wrote Peretz, “I found your postcard and a letter from A. Iv. Sobolevsky about the death of Alexei Alexandrovich. This news struck me like an unexpected clap of thunder. I knew how hard life was for A[lexey] Alexandrovich], I knew with what patience and perseverance he worked throughout the last year amid the incredible difficulties of life. But he did not expect that death was at his doorstep: his thoughts did not turn to this sad outcome; Everyone somehow believed that he would overcome everyday adversity and emerge victorious from the struggle against them. Fate judged otherwise. The department was orphaned. Who will be its chairman? [...] Who will the library fall on? Who will complete the numerous and precious works of Alexander] Alexandrovich] on syntax, on chronicles, and on other issues that interested him? To die in the midst of creative work, in the years when a European scientist is just beginning to sum up the results of his work!

How ruthless is our life, our time, how insanely wasteful it is, allowing such scientists to perish! ... And to such righteous people. That’s not why they say

Ryu so that he was close to the deceased and loved him, but because it is unlikely that anyone met anyone else who could be called more by this word. I was always endlessly amazed at his amazing gift of making life easier for everyone who came into contact with him. And he hardly had enemies - and this is a great miracle in our vale.

And the senseless death did its job...

Having recovered from the blow, I literally cried - from the consciousness of powerlessness to correct the irreparable loss and from resentment for the death of such a person. Shakhmatov - and “died of exhaustion”: this is the most severe sentence for those who committed such a crime against culture and science. Hands down. I have no strength to write or think anymore. We are all terribly depressed.

On the 12th at the meeting of the Historical[ico]-Philological[Society] we will remember Alexander] Alexandrovich] - stir up the heart; - but no words can express what this terrible death brought (so in the RKP - M.R.) us, me and my students. After all, we all lived with the thought of returning to St. Petersburg and being with him again.

Tell your comrades in the Branch that we all join in the common grief.”51

One of the significant points of all three documents is the presence in them of direct condemnation of the authorities. Kazanovich wrote that Shakhmatov’s death “cannot be forgiven to those responsible”; Nikolsky assessed this fact “as an insane murder committed in front of everyone”; Peretz believed that one of the main reasons for the tragic outcome of the operation - death “from exhaustion” - “the most severe sentence for those who committed such a crime against culture and science.” We can safely assume that this opinion was shared by the majority of Shakhmatov’s friends and colleagues, who knew in what extreme moral and physical conditions the scientist lived in recent years. But due to the conditions of existence at that time, these conclusions could not appear in printed materials.

After the death of Shakhmatov, his colleagues, in their desire to financially support the family of the deceased, were forced to turn to those whom they considered to be responsible for the death of the scientist. In these efforts, the main role was played by V.I. Sreznevsky, Shakhmatov’s closest assistant in his work at the Library of the Academy of Sciences. Sreznevsky, like Shakhmatov, had his own relationship with Bonch-Bruevich, who until 1917 supplied illegal materials of the RSDLP (b) to the library for storage, which caused both scientists to have troubles with the authorities52. Kazanovich was chosen to deliver the petition; it was quite natural that she described everything related to this event in her diary. So, on August 24, 1920, “Sreznevsky” appeared with her, with a letter to Bonch-Bruevich about preserving Shakhmatov’s rations. I am very happy. Firstly, I will indirectly help the family of A[lexey] Aleksandrovich], and secondly, I will see the Kremlin at least in this way”53. In the description of the visit to the business manager

The Council of People's Commissars, Bonch-Bruevich, could not help but be convinced that it was the authorities who were the main culprits for Shakhmatov's untimely death. Entry dated August 28: “Fat, overweight, with a puffy face, on which the interests of sensual life are imprinted, despite voluminous research in the field of spiritual life. He received me standing, almost didn’t read Sreznevsky’s letter, wanting to find out the essence of it from my words, and then just said quickly that he would do everything possible.”54 A positive reaction indeed followed immediately, and already on September 1, 1920, Kazanovich made the following entry in his diary: “Sreznevsky says, according to B[onch]-B[ruevich], that Lenin grabbed his head in horror when he heard that Shakhmatov himself carried it up the stairs and chopped wood.”55 It was precisely what was the most difficult test that deprived him of the opportunity to work, that poisoned him most of all, forcing the scientist to think with horror about the coming winter long before its onset, that made the strongest impression on the leader of the new government, but these were already regrets about the irrevocable loss.

Notes

1 News of ORYAS. T. XXV. Pg., 1922.

2 Robinson M. A., Sazonova L. I. On the fate of humanities in the 20s according to letters

V. N. Peretz to M. N. Speransky // TODRL. St. Petersburg, 1993. T. XLVÜI. P. 460.

3 RGALI. F. 444. Op. 1. D. 984. L. 32 vol.

4 IRLI. F. 359. No. 527. L. 7.

6 IRLI.F. 62. Op. Z.D. 518.L.8.

7 PFARAN. F. 9. Op. 1.D. 946. L. 2, 3.

8 PFARAN. F. 134. Op. 1. D. 437. L. 2; Right there. Op. Z.D. 165, L. 1; RSL. F. 369. K. 366. D. 42. L. 1; RGALI. F. 318. Op. 1.D. 543. L. 1.

9 RGALI. F. 318. Op. 1. D. 543^ L. 1.

10 Robinson M.A. A.A. Shakhmatov and young scientists / Russian speech. No. 5. 1989.

11 RSL. F. 369. K. 366. D. 38. L. 17.

12 Ibid. F. 326. K. 366. D. 38. L. 32.

13 Ibid. L. 34.

14 RGALI. F. 449. Op. 1. D. 558. L. 1 -1 vol.

15 PFARAN. F. 208. Op. Z.D. 652 L. 23.

16 IRLI. F. 134. Op. 14. D. 1. L. 214.

17 RGALI. F. 1277. Op. 1. D. 91. L. 37.

18 PF ARAN. F. 113. Op. 2. D. 328. L. 8-8 vol.

19 Ibid. F. 849. Op. Z.D. 457. L. 7-7 vol.

20 IRL. F. 134. Op. 14. D. 1. L. 203.

21 ARAN. F. 518. He. 3 D. 1829. L. 26.

22 IRLI. F. 141. D/80.L. 1.

23 Ibid. F. 134. Op. 14. D. 1. L. 236.

24 RGALI. F. 1277. Op. 1.D. 91. L. 37-37 vol.

25 RNB. F. 326. D. 20. P. 26.

26 Central State Archive of St. Petersburg (hereinafter - CSA St. Petersburg). F. 7240. Op. 14. D. 127.

28 RGB. F. 369. K. 366. D. 38. L. 36.

29 TsGA St. Petersburg. F. 7240. Op. 14. D. 127.

30 RNB. F. 326. D. 20. P. 28.

31 Ibid. P.29.

32 Robinson M.A.A.A. Shakhmatov and student unrest at St. Petersburg University in 1911. Izvestia of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Literature and Language Series. 1971. T. XXX. Vol. 2. pp. 151-157.

33 IRLI. F. 134. On. 14. D. 1. L. 240.

34 ARAN. F. 502. Op. 4. D. 42. L. 63.

35 PF ARAN. F. 849. Op. 3. D. 457. L. 10. 34 RGALI. F. 1277. On. 1. D. 91. L. 45.

37 PF ARAN. F. 849. Op. 3. D. 457 L. 11.

38 Ibid. F. 134. Op. 3. D. 1429. L. 58 vol.

39 Ibid. D. 1170. L. 5 vol.-b.

40 PF ARAN. F. 332. Op. 2. D. 118. L. 12-13.

41 Ibid. F. 134. Op. 3. D. 1725. L. 3.

42 RGALI. F. 1277. On. 1. D. 78 L. 42.

43 PF ARAN. F. 849. Op. 3. D. 457. L. 11.

44 RGALI. F. 1277. On. 1. D. 91. L. 46.

45 Makarov V. I. A. A. Shakhmatov. M., 1981. P. 144.

46 IRLI. F. 134. Op. 14. D. 1. L. 247.

41 PF ARAN. F. 134. Op. 3. D. 1170. L. 1 -2.

48 Makarov V. I. A. A. Shakhmatov... P. 145.

49 RNB. F. 326. D. 18. pp. 66-68.

50 PF ARAN. F. 332. Op. 2. D. 109. L. 13.

51 Ibid. D. 118. L. 32-33 vol.

52 Robinson M.A. A. A. Shakhmatov and a search in the library of the Academy of Sciences in 1910. Izvestia of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Literature and Language Series. 1974. T. 33. No. 2. P. 107-113.

53 RNB. F. 326. D. 18. P. 72.

54 Ibid. P. 74.

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Chessov Alexey Aleksandrovich Chessov, Chessov Alexey Aleksandrovich Surkov
June 5 (17), 1864

Alexey Aleksandrovich Shakhmatov(June 5, 1864, Narva - August 16, 1920, Petrograd) - Russian philologist, linguist and historian, founder of the historical study of the Russian language, ancient Russian chronicles and literature, member of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.

• 1 Biography
• 2 Scientific contributions
  • 2.1 In the Ukrainian language
• 3 Works
• 4 See also
• 5 Notes
• 6 Literature
• 7 Links

Biography

Born into a noble family. In 1874-1878 he studied at the Kreiman gymnasium (from grades I to IV), then at the 4th Moscow gymnasium. After graduating from high school with a silver medal, in 1883 he entered the Faculty of History and Philology of Moscow University. In 1884, his first article, “Research on the language of Novgorod letters of the 13th and 14th centuries,” was published in “Research on the Russian Language.”

Student of F. F. Fortunatov. He was first noticed in serious scientific circles after a speech during A.I. Sobolevsky’s defense of his master’s thesis - on the system of phonemes of the Proto-Slavic language. Shakhmatov made a convincing criticism of some important provisions of the report, which aroused strong hostility from Sobolevsky, already known at that time for his scientific works. The tense relationship between the scientists continued until the end of Shakhmatov’s life.

In 1887 he defended his dissertation on the topic “On longitude and stress in the common Slavic language”, after graduating from the university he remained with him and by 1890 became a private assistant professor.

In 1890, Alexey Alexandrovich began teaching a course on the history of the Russian language at Moscow University. However, as soon as he started teaching, A. A. Shakhmatov made an unexpected decision for his fellow philologists to leave science and go to his relatives in the Saratov village. Already from Saratov, in one of his letters to Fortunatov, Shakhmatov admits that he became interested in modern peasant management and now puts his whole soul into working for the benefit of the rural population around him.

On July 1, 1891, Shakhmatov officially assumed the position of head of the zemstvo government and for two years actively participated in the economic life of the district entrusted to him. During the cholera epidemic in the spring of 1892, he assisted in the organization of medical care and arranged for several nurses and paramedics to be sent to the volost.

In the same 1892, A. A. Shakhmatov resumed work on his master’s thesis, and in 1893, at the invitation of the chairman of the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Academician A. F. Bychkov, accepted the title of adjunct of the Academy and returned to scientific activity.

In 1894, he nominated his work “Research in the Field of Russian Phonetics” for a master’s degree, but he was awarded the highest degree of doctor of Russian language and literature.

The first scientific developments were in the field of dialectology. Made two expeditions in the mid-1880s. - to Arkhangelsk and Olonets provinces.

After the death of J. K. Grota, he took upon himself the compilation of the first standard dictionary of the Russian language.

Since 1894 - adjunct of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, since 1898 - member of the Board of the Academy of Sciences, the youngest in the history of its existence (34 years), since 1899 - full member of the Academy of Sciences. Since 1901 - active state councilor. Since 1910, professor at St. Petersburg University.

Since 1906 - member of the State Council from the academic curia. Participated in the preparation of the reform of Russian spelling, carried out in 1917-1918.

Tombstone of A. A. Shakhmatov at the Volkovsky cemetery

Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences (1904), Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Prague (1909), Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Berlin (1910), Corresponding Member of the Krakow Academy of Sciences (1910), Honorary Member of the Vitebsk Scientific Archival Commission, etc.

He died of inflammation of the peritoneum in Petrograd on August 16, 1920. He was buried at the Volkovsky cemetery.

After the death of the scientist in 1925-1927, his largely unconventional “Syntax of the Russian Language” was published, which had a significant influence on the development of syntactic theory in Russia. In it, Shakhmatov made the first attempt to identify the system in the huge variety of syntactic structures of the Russian language.

His sister, E. A. Shakhmatova-Masalskaya, left memoirs about the scientist.

A street in Peterhof is named after the scientist.

Scientific contribution

After Shakhmatov’s works, any study on the history of Ancient Rus' is based on his conclusions. The scientist laid the foundations of Old Russian textual criticism as a science.

The researcher made a particularly large contribution to the development of textual criticism of ancient Russian chronicles, in particular, “The Tale of Bygone Years.” A comparison of various editions of this monument allowed Shakhmatov to come to the conclusion that the text that has come down to us is multi-layered in origin and has several stages of formation. Logical inconsistencies, text insertions that break a coherent text, which are absent in the Novgorod First Chronicle, according to Shakhmatov, are evidence of the existence of a hypothetical Initial Code, created approximately in the 90s. XI century. For example, in the text of the Novgorod First Chronicle there are no treaties between Rus' and the Greeks of the 10th century, as well as all direct quotes from the Greek Chronicle of George Amartol, which was used by the compiler of the Tale of Bygone Years. Upon further study of the Initial Code, A. A. Shakhmatov discovered other logical inconsistencies. From this it was concluded that the Primary Code was based on some kind of chronicle compiled between 977 and 1044. The researcher called it the Most Ancient Vault.

Under the leadership of Shakhmatov, the Department of Russian Language and Literature of the Imperial Academy of Sciences became the center of Russian philology. On Shakhmatov’s initiative, the Academy of Sciences published monographs, dictionaries, materials and research on the Kashubian, Polabian, Sorbian, Polish, Serbian, and Slovenian languages. 1897 Shakhmatov led the work on an academic dictionary of the Russian language. Participated in the preparation of the reform of Russian spelling, carried out in 1917-1918.

He derived the East Slavic languages ​​from the “common Old Russian” language, the disintegration of which was delayed by integration processes associated with state unity within the framework of Kievan Rus.

In Ukrainian language

Alexey Shakhmatov is one of the authors of the work “The Ukrainian People in Its Past and Present” (1916), took part in writing the declaration of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences “On the abolition of restrictions on the Little Russian printed word” (1905-1906), the author of detailed reviews of the grammars of the Ukrainian language by A. Krymsky and S. Smal-Stotsky, Ukrainian language dictionary by B. Grinchenko.

Alexey Alexandrovich was interested and sympathetic to the development of Ukrainian literature and the Ukrainian language, but was skeptical about the desire of the leaders of the “Ukrainian movement” to separate the Little Russian people from the single Russian people, which, according to Russian ethnographic ideas of that time, was divided into Belarusians, Great Russians and Little Russians.

Where is the Russian people that we talked about above and which we wanted to recognize as the natural bearer and representative of state interests? Do we recognize only the Great Russian nationality as such a Russian nationality? Wouldn't this recognition be a grave crime against the state created and nurtured by the entire Russian tribe in its entirety? The decision to declare Little Russians and Belarusians “foreigners” will not detract from the very importance of the Russian nationality in our state, introducing it into the relatively narrow confines of the Moscow state of the 16th-17th centuries?

A. Shakhmatov. On the state tasks of the Russian people in connection with the national tasks of the tribes inhabiting Russia. "Moscow Journal", 1999, No. 9.

Shakhmatov, unlike other Russian philologists - Sobolevsky, Florinsky, Yagich, Korsh and others, saw the reason for the desire of part of the Ukrainian intelligentsia to isolate not ideological and political aspects, but a reaction to prohibitive measures in relation to the Ukrainian language.

Works

• Research on the language of Novgorod letters of the 13th and 14th centuries (1886)
• Research on the Nestor Chronicle (1890)
• On the writings of St. Nestor (1890)
• Studies in Russian phonetics (1893)
• A few words about Nestor’s Life of Theodosius (1896)
• The oldest editions of The Tale of Bygone Years (1897)
• The starting point of the chronology of the Tale of Bygone Years (1897)
• Kiev-Pechersk Patericon and Pechersk Chronicle (1897)
• About the initial Kiev chronicle code (1897)
• Chronology of the most ancient Russian chronicles (1897)
• Review of the essay “Zur Nestorfrage” by Eugen Scepkin (1898)
• The initial Kiev chronicle and its sources (1900)
• Research on the Dvina charters of the 15th century (1903)
• Ermolin Chronicle and Rostov Vladychny Vault (1904)
• The Legend of the Calling of the Varangians (1904)
• Korsun legend about the baptism of Vladimir (1908)
• One of the sources of the chronicle legend about the baptism of Vladimir (1908)
• Research on the most ancient Russian chronicles (1908)
• Preface to the Primary Kyiv Codex and Nestor's Chronicle (1909)
• Mordovian ethnographic collection (1910)
• Note on the compilation of the Radziwill list of the chronicle (1913)
• On the issue of ancient Slavic-Celtic relations (1912)
• Nestor's Chronicle (1913-1914)
• Nestor the Chronicler (1914)
• The Tale of Bygone Years (1916)
• Life of Anthony and Pechersk Chronicle
• Kyiv Primary Code 1095
• An Essay on Modern Literary Language (1913)
• Essay on the most ancient period in the history of the Russian language (1915)
• Introduction to the course of the history of the Russian language (1916)
• Review of the essay by P. L. Mashtakov: “Lists of rivers of the Dnieper basin,” compiled by academician A. A. Shakhmatov. Petrograd, 1916.
• Notes on the history of the sounds of the Lusatian languages ​​(1917)
• Note on the language of the Volga Bulgarians (1918)
• Syntax of the Russian language (1 volume - 1925; 2 volumes - 1927)
• The most ancient destinies of the Russian tribe (1919)
• Review of Russian chronicles of the XIV-XVI centuries. - M.; L.: 1938.

see also

• Shambinago, Sergei Konstantinovich - Russian writer, literary critic, folklorist
• Volk-Leonovich, Joseph Vasilievich - Belarusian Soviet linguist
• Sreznevsky, Vsevolod Izmailovich - literary historian, archaeographer, paleographer, bibliographer, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Notes

1. Makarov V. Shakhmatov in Gubarevka // Volga, 1990, No. 3
2. Encyclopedic history of Belarus: U 6 vol. T. 2: Belitsk - Hymn / Redkal.: B. I. Sachanka and others - Mn.: BelEn, 1994. - T. 2. - 537 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-85700-142-0. (in Belarusian language)
3. ALL PETERHOF || Story. Toponymy. Shakhmatova street. Retrieved January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013.
4. Danilevsky I. N. The Tale of Bygone Years. Hermeneutical foundations of source study of chronicle texts, Moscow, Aspect-Press, 2004.
5. Ukrainian people in their past and present. two volumes
6. Russian liberal intelligentsia and political Ukrainophilia
7. With. 89
8. Yuri Shevelov. Alexey Shakhmatov // Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies (10 volumes) / Chief editor Volodymyr Kubiyovych. - Paris, New York: “Molode Zhittya”, 1954-1989
9. Timoshenko P. O. O. Shakhmatov about Ukrainian. mov // Ukr. language at school, part 4, 1956.
10. Encyclopedic literature and culture of Belarus: U 5th volume, T. 1. A capella - Tapestry / Redkal.: I. P. Shamyakin (Gal. ed.) and others. - Mn.: BelSE im. Petrusya Brovki, 1984. - T. 1. - 727 p. - 10,000 copies. (Belorian)

Literature

• Shakhmatov // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
• Makarov V.I., Kogotkova T.S. Alexey Alexandrovich Shakhmatov (1864-1920) // Domestic lexicographers: XVIII-XX centuries / Ed. G. A. Bogatova. - M.: Nauka, 2000. - P. 187-218. - 512 s. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-02-011750-1.
• Makarov V. I. A. A. Shakhmatov. - M.: Education, 1981. - 160 p. - (People of science). - 60,000 copies. (region)
• Makarov V.I. “This has never happened in Rus' before...”: The Tale of Academician A.A. Shakhmatov. - St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 2000. - 416 p. - 1200 copies. - ISBN 5-89329-191-1. (in translation)

Links

• Shakhmatov A. A.: Biography and bibliography
• A. Poppe A. A. Shakhmatov and the controversial beginnings of Russian chronicles // Ancient Rus'. Questions of medieval studies. 2008. No. 3 (33). pp. 76-85.
• Shakhmatov's works in the Internet Archive:
  • Research in the field of Russian phonetics
  • Research on the most ancient Russian chronicles
  • Preface to the Primary Kyiv Codex and Nestor's Chronicle

Chessov Alexey Aleksandrovich Pankratov, Chessov Alexey Aleksandrovich Surkov, Chessov Alexey Aleksandrovich Travin, Chessov Alexey Aleksandrovich Chessov

Shakhmatov, Alexey Alexandrovich Information About