03.05.2020
The most complete calendar of sports dates and events. Arkhangelsky Nikolay Vasilievich
Strunnikov Nikolay Vasilyevich (1886-1940) - Russian sportsman, speed skater.
Russian record holder. Repeated champion of Europe and the world.
Born into a peasant family in Moscow. Since childhood, Nikolai was selflessly in love with skates, he trained daily. In the summer he rode a bicycle and a motorcycle, in the winter he played hockey and ran on skates. I got up very early, quickly did exercises and ran to work. After work at the same time I went to the skating rink. In any weather, I ran 25 laps. Once I trained even in a frost of 40 ° C. Nikolay ran in a low landing. With an average pace of 100 steps per minute, his movements remained graceful and plastic. Until 1906, he completed the II category of the classification in force at that time. In the same year, at the Moscow Championship, which took place on the ice of the Patriarch's Ponds rink, and at the Russian Championship, Strunnikov was second, losing only to Russian speed skater Nikolai Sedov. And in 1907 he defeated him at the famous skating rink of the Zoological Garden.
Since 1908, Strunnikov began to win in all major competitions. At the 1908 Moscow Championship, he won the 5000m with a time of 9:41.0. At the Russian Championship, Nikolay Strunnikov showed even better results: at a distance of 500 m - 50.0; 1500 m - 2.40.0; 5000 m - 9.26.8. Speaking in St. Petersburg at the Cup of the National Championship of Russia in 1909, Nikolai set new records: at a distance of 5000 m - 9.05.0; 1500 m - 2.33.6 and 10000 m - 18.27.2. For the first time in our country, the program of these competitions included the classic all-around, in which Nikolai scored the largest amount of points (211.813).
In 1910, at the European Championships held in Vyborg - his first foreign competitions - Nikolai Strunnikov, then still little known outside of Russia, became the European champion, defeating the Norwegian speed skater O. Mathisen. Again they met at the world championship in Helsingdors (Helsinki). This time the fight was much harder. Mathisen said that he would definitely beat the "black devil", as he called Strunnikov, because he performed in a black suit. Like last time, the distance of 10,000 m became decisive. Strunnikov again managed to bypass Mathisen, who had been leading until now, and win the title of world champion.
The next season brought Strunnikov new Russian records: at a distance of 1000 m - 1.38.0; 7500 m - 2.29.4. In 1911, Nikolai Strunnikov managed to defend the title of the first speed skater in the world at the World Championships in Trondheili, easily outperforming all rivals in four distances and setting two world records for flat skating rinks. He also led at all four distances in Hamar at the European Championship.
Two days before the opening of the World Championships, he took part in the Norwegian Championships, where he set an outstanding record at a distance of 5000 m (8.37.2), breaking the world record of the first world champion Dutchman J. Eden (8.37.6), set in 1894. The Norwegians called Strunnikov "Slavic miracle".
In 1911, he started 12 times abroad at various distances, and none of them ended in defeat.
In the season 1911-1912. At the skating rink of the Patriarch's Ponds, Strunnikov broke the Russian record at a distance of 500 m, which lasted 13 years. His score was 46.0.
With great interest, specialists and fans expected Strunnikov's performance at the 1912 World Championships. However, the administration of the first Russian gymnastic society Sokol, to which Strunnikov belonged, did not find the means to send their representative abroad with him. Strunnikov categorically refused to go to the World Championships alone and stopped his performances on ice. Nikolai Vasilyevich put on skates again only in 1924, when he was the main observer of the rink on the Maiden's Field, where the 1st USSR Championship was held.
Since 1974, competitions for the prize named after N.V. Strunnikov have been held in Moscow. This is how the strongest masters of speed skating in the capital celebrate the beginning of each new season.
Brief Biographical Dictionary
"Strunnikov Nikolai" and other articles from the section
Regalia: 2-time world champion (2010, 2011); 2-time European champion (2010, 2011); 3-time champion of Russia (2008, 2009, 2010); world record holder (2011).
Was born December 16, 1886 in the village of Sknyatino, Tver province (Russia).
Nikolai Strunnikov was brought up in a peasant family. Since childhood, he went in for sports every day - he ran, rode a bicycle, and in winter he skated and played hockey.
In 1906, he took second place at the Russian speed skating championship after Nikolai Sedov. He lost to a more experienced opponent in 1907, and in 1908 (after Sedov left the sport) for the first time he became the champion of Russia in the classical all-around.
In 1910, Nikolai became the first European and world champion in the history of Russia. The continental championship was held in Vyborg, and Strunnikov won against Oscar Mathisen himself. Because of the rain, the track was covered with a layer of water, but this did not prevent the “black devil” (Strunnikov performed in tight black tights) to get ahead of current champion at a decisive distance of 1500 meters.
In the same year, at the World Championships in Helsingfors, Mathisen won three out of four races, but at a distance of 10,000 meters, Strunnikov “brought” the great Norwegian a few tens of seconds and snatched the champion title from his opponent (Mathisen took only sixth place at 10 kilometers).
The audience and foreign journalists were greatly impressed by the performance of a “simple peasant” from Russia at the Norway-Sweden match meeting in Oslo (then the capital of Norway was called Christiania) on February 4, 1911.
Here Strunnikov performed out of competition. As the athlete himself said, he came to break the record at a distance of 5000 meters set by Jaap Eden in 1894 (8 minutes 37.6 seconds).
Few people believed that one of the oldest achievements in speed skating would fall "on order", but the "phenomenal Russian" with wide steps, but at the same time extremely graceful (as the Norwegian newspapers wrote), as if hovering over the track, with every lap picked up speed.
His final result was not much higher than the record set by Eden 17 years ago - 8 minutes 37.2 seconds, but it seemed to the audience that Nikolai ran these five kilometers in one breath and was not at all exhausted.
Alas, international union skaters refused to register a new world record on the grounds that Strunnikov did not participate in the competition and, accordingly, his 5000-meter race was unofficial (the record was approved only many years later, in 1976).
A few days later, Strunnikov, nicknamed the “Slavic miracle” abroad, easily won all four distances at the European Championships, and on February 28, having also won all four distances, he won the second gold medal at the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway (Oscar Mathisen did not participate in these competitions, and no one was able to compete with the Russian in his absence).
It is not known how Nikolai Strunnikov's career would develop further, but in 1912 the Moscow Sokol Gymnastics Society did not find the funds to send the two-time world champion in classical all-around to the next championship. Strunnikov retired from the sport in protest.
It is known that for several years he worked as a design engineer in construction organizations in Moscow. Nikolai Vasilyevich put on skates again only in 1924. He was the main observer of the skating rink on Devichye Pole, where the first USSR championship was held.
STRUNNIKOV NIKOLAY VASILIEVICH
first Russian champion world and Europe (1910-11) in speed skating, four-time champion of Russia (1908-10 - skates; 1909 - cycling). In the 20-30s. trainer.
Big encyclopedic dictionary. 2012
See also interpretations, synonyms, word meanings and what NIKOLAY VASILIEVICH STRUNNIKOV is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:
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(4th century) Archbishop of Mirliki (Mir in Lycia, M. Asia), a Christian miracle-working saint, widely revered in the Eastern and Western churches. IN … - STRUNNIKOV
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NIKOLAI SALOS, Pskov fool. In 1570, during the campaign of Ivan IV to Pskov, he met the tsar at the gates of the city, denouncing him ... - NIKOLAY in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
NIKOLAI NIKOLAEVICH (Senior) (1831-1891), great. prince, third son of the emperor. Nicholas I, General Feldm. (1878), post. h. Petersburg. AN (1855). WITH … - NIKOLAY in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
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m. Male ... - IVAN VASILIEVICH CHANGES PROFESSION in Wiki Quote.
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It does not seem that success will ever pass an athlete if he is sincerely devoted to his species and trains hard. This devotion and perseverance must necessarily be rewarded. It may not happen very soon, but such a moment will certainly come.
Nikolai Strunnikov was selflessly in love with skates, and now it is very difficult for me to remember at least two days in a row when he did not train. In the summer, Nikolai rode a bicycle and a motorcycle a lot, and with the onset of winter, of course, he ran on skates. Then, however, they didn’t say “ran”, more often one could hear such a common combination “passed on skates”. Well, in seventy-five years - since Strunnikov won the world title - the speed has changed.
I remember that Kolya always got up very early, quickly began to do a variety of physical exercise, then he cooked breakfast for himself and ran away to work, came home, took his skates and went to the skating rink on foot. We lived near the square, where three railway stations are now located, and the skating rink was very close, near the Red Gate.
Nikolai always appeared on the ice at the same time - at half past six. And the training began. At first he ran “on technique”, as he liked to say, then he practiced speed and, under the curtain, for a snack, instead of dinner, Nikolai ran 25 laps. He overcame these final ten kilometers in any weather - plus and in very coldy and they happened often. Once Kolya came from a training session and said: “I didn’t want to run these 25 laps, I barely persuaded myself.” I looked at the thermometer - minus forty. There is not a soul on the street. It turned out that Nikolai was skating alone. Do not train Strunnikov so hard and every day, he would never become the champion of the world, the continent, Russia ...
I met Nikolai Vasilyevich Strunnikov quite by accident. Kolya's father Vasilisk Ermilovich (later, for some reason, journalists began to call him Vasily, but this is a mistake) was going to the wedding of a friend's son. And the groom's father suggested: "Vasilisk Ermilovich, take your Kolka with you, why should he sit at home." And I was best friend bride and, as they say now, a witness.
I immediately liked the short young man. He somehow stood out from the rest. And how he danced - he had no equal. I remember Kolya wanted to invite me to a dance, but my brothers and their friends were ahead of him. We then, probably, only once and danced. Then he admitted that he was very embarrassed. He was generally very humble.
At that festival, we really didn’t manage to get to know each other, and Kolya then began to look for an opportunity for a new meeting. The time was different then, just come to visit unfamiliar people it was impossible. Kolya made a lot of efforts so that his father, through his acquaintances, was able to introduce us to each other according to the then prevailing etiquette. Then Kolya courted me for three years and only after that did he propose. The wedding was played in 1908.
Many subsequently had the impression that it was Kolya who instilled in me a love of skating. It was not like that at all: even before we met, I often went to the skating rink and even rode a bicycle. At the beginning of the century, speed skating was very popular among young people. And they even came to the skating rink without skates. It was considered good tone just visiting the ice rink. Its owners, in addition to mass skating, organized various performances and carnivals.
After the wedding, I very often accompanied Kolya to the skating rink. He used to leave me in the care of his friends while he started to train. He almost never rode with me. “Olenka,” he justified himself, “you can spoil my skates, what will I do then. You're better off with someone else."
He followed his famous eiders, always wiped them off when he left the ice, put them in a special bag. True, his "begashes" were very different from all the others that I saw and held in my hands. They were unusually light, the leather on the boots is very soft. You will take other skates in your hands - they are like weights, and Kolins are like fluff. Kolya said that they were presented to him by the famous Norwegian skating master - Hagen. I remember his last name, but unfortunately I forgot his first name.
Speed skating at the beginning of its development in Russia owed a lot to the tenants of the rinks, who, not only with performances, but also with various competitions, tried to attract the public to the ice. In order to raise interest on the part of the audience, a group of 10-12, and sometimes more people, was allowed to start at once. Therefore, competitions for short distances were not arranged, since the judges could easily make a mistake when determining the winner. The run was usually carried out for 20 laps, which, taking into account the shorter length of many tracks of that time, was approximately 5000 meters.
For a long time, Kolya ran in the second category of the then current classification, and only in 1906 was he given the opportunity to compete with first-class runners. With the then best skater in Russia, Nikolai Sedov, Strunnikov met repeatedly in group races, but always, being much stronger than everyone else, Sedov went two or three laps ahead. But in 1906, Strunnikov noticeably improved his achievements, and in his person Sedov acquired a strong opponent capable of fighting him on equal terms.
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In 1907, at the famous skating rink in the zoological garden, not far from which Sedov himself lived, there were Once again competitions are arranged not in pairs, but from a general start. Interest was fueled by the fact that Sedov decided to take part in the competition, although he usually started out of competition. A heated debate flared up among the spectators: whether Sedov would be able to bypass Strunnikov by a circle or not. Of course, no one doubted Sedov's victory.
Gave a start. The eminent runner easily broke away from all competitors, only Strunnikov held on to him. Circle after circle they go skate to skate, Sedov tries to increase the pace after half the distance, but this time Strunnikov does not lag behind. On the last lap, the unexpected happened: Strunnikov made a decisive breakthrough and broke away from his venerable rival at the finish line.
Times were tough then. As soon as the race was over, Kolya ran up to me and quickly said: “Olya, take my skates under your arm and head to my house, and then I will come.” I was very upset, I wanted to know what was the matter. His friend came up to us and explained everything: “Strunnikov won against Sedov, whose friends from Presnya are now going to beat Kolya, you need to tick faster.” That's how wins sometimes come. And this defeat had such a strong effect on Sedov that he no longer wanted to meet in the series with Strunnikov.
The main competitions in Moscow were, of course, the championships of the capital, which were played at a distance of 5000 meters (started in pairs), and the championships of Russia, which were held at distances of 500, 1500 and 5000 meters (the distance of 10,000 meters in our country was not included in the competition program then ).
From 1904 to 1907 inclusive, Sedov did not give anyone the first place either in the championships of Moscow or in the championships of Russia, but since 1908 Strunnikov won all the major competitions.
In 1908, despite careful preparations for our wedding, Kolya managed to train intensively and won all competitors at the city championship, showing 9.41.0 at 5000 meters. And then, a few weeks later, at the skating rink of the Zoological Garden, he confidently won the competition of the strongest runners of Russia, running 500 meters in 50.0, 1500 in 2.40.0 and 5000 meters in 9.26.8
The following year, Kolya did not start in the Moscow championship: he was invited to St. Petersburg. The championships of Russia at that time were held, as a rule, in Moscow, and sports clubs Petersburg decided to hold their own competitions and invited all the strongest skaters. The organizers called these starts very loudly - the Cup of the National Championship of Russia.
Of course, the organizers dreamed of seeing their compatriot as the winner, but Grigory Bluvas managed to beat Strunnikov only at the shortest distance. On the other three, Nikolai easily beat all competitors, set new Russian records (5000 m - 9.05.0; 1500 m - 2.33.6 and 10,000 m - 18.27.2) and won the main prize.
It is interesting that these starts were the first, during which the scoring was carried out in the classical all-around. Strunnikov scored an excellent amount of points for that time - 211.813.
And yet there were then evil tongues who claimed that Strunnikov was lucky and that he would not see the first place at the Russian championship. It was believed that Bluevas would take a convincing revenge, besides, the arrival of Evgeny Burnov from Norway was expected. He competed abroad at the World Championships and won both stayer distances there, but due to poor results at 500 and 1500 meters, he did not even make it into the top three. However, neither Blyuvas nor Burnov offered Strunnikov any competition in 1909.
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In 1910, Nikolai won the Moscow championship with high results, and a few days later, at the rink of the Sokol gymnastic society, he won the title of champion of Russia, setting a country record for 500 meters - 47.2. It was decided to send Strunnikov and Burnov to the European Championship in Vyborg.
Kolya left in mid-February: the championship was to be held on February 26-27 (dates are given according to the new style). But February ended, March began, but Kolya didn’t, there wasn’t any news from him either. Radio then only made its first steps, and sports news was usually published in newspapers with a significant delay. Suddenly, a telegram unexpectedly arrived: “I won the world championship. Nicholas."
I received this telegram and was terribly surprised: why the World Cup, when he went to the European Championship. I thought it was the postal service that messed up something. But a few hours later someone from the club came running and said that Kolya really won the world championship. True, why the world, no one could understand.
Finally Nikolai arrived. Here is what he said: “I won the European Championship quite easily. Even surprisingly easy. On the first day at 500 I lost only to the Norwegian Oscar Mathiesen, I beat everyone by 5000. But 1500 meters are especially memorable to me. The track was very hard, just mess. We ran with my main rival Mathisen in one pair. Toe to toe, no one wanted to come forward. But then we picked up the pace dramatically. When I entered the last turn (I was finishing my run along the big track), I was sure that Mathisen, who had entered the turn with me, would go straight about ten meters ahead. Moreover, my legs buckled, and treacherous purple circles appeared in my eyes. Great was my surprise when I came out of the turn ten meters ahead of Mathisen, and on the straight, finishing vigorously, increased the clearance even more.
At the final distance - 10,000 meters, the conditions were such that it was more like swimming rather than "skating". My result was 24.42.8. Mathisen lost a minute and a half. As a result, I was proclaimed the champion of Europe.
I got to the world championship by accident. The competition was supposed to take place in Klagenfurt, in Austria, but the ice melted there, and the starts were moved to the capital of Finland - Helsingfors (now Helsinki). Then we decided not to return to Moscow, but went straight to Helsingfors. This time the fight was much harder. Mathisen said that he would definitely beat the “black devil”, as he called me, because I always performed in a black suit. Indeed, the Norwegian prepared perfectly. On the first day, Mathisen ran both distances perfectly - 500 and 5000 - and was in the lead. On the second day, we started first at 10,000. And I had to run by lot before Mathisen. But I decided to give this run all I can, all my strength. When I finished the distance, I thought that my heart would jump out. Mathisen ran after me, but overcame 25 laps much weaker.
This is where the daily ten-kilometer workout came in handy. One and a half has always been my favorite, but thanks to perseverance and diligence in training, long distances, which at first were not given, then became my “horse”. Thanks to an excellent performance at 10,000 meters, the fate of the world championship was decided. I could even lose a little to Mathisen in the final distance. He really beat me by only 0.4 seconds, but I became the world champion. The only countryman ran up to me - Zhenya Burnov, we hugged and kissed with happiness.
I still did not believe that my Kolya was the strongest runner in the whole world. Again and again she demanded that he repeat his story. Nikolai's father Vasilisk Ermilovich listened to his son's story, repeated several times, very attentively, but he never asked a single question. And suddenly, as if at the top of his voice, he barks: “Come on, guys, get ready, we’re going to a restaurant for a walk - to Yar!”
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The Russian Gymnastic Society "Sokol" held a special meeting, which was attended by more than two hundred representatives different types sports. Here is what one of them wrote about this Russian magazines“To Sport”: “On behalf of the council, the chairman of the society, Mr. I. I. Kasatkin, spoke, it was reported by the sports commission of the society that from next season the challenge prize named after Strunnikov would be played, then Strunnikov spoke about his performance at the world and European championships. A comradely dinner that dragged on well past midnight in one of the largest restaurants in Moscow passed merrily and lively. Both the meeting and the dinner were extremely warm and cordial.
Nikolai prepared well for the next season.
On January 1, 1911, he set the Russian record for 1000 meters - 1.38.0, a week later for 1500 meters - 2.29.4. On January 14 and 15, Strunnikov challenge prizes were drawn for the first time. Nikolai himself also started out of competition. What was the surprise of the audience when the world champion was defeated by the young Khorkov. After this loss, many journalists criticized Strunnikov. Kolya's mood when he left for the World and European Championships was pessimistic. But what was our surprise when, three weeks later, an unexpected telegram arrived: "Strunnikov broke the world record at a distance of 5000 meters."
And then I received Kolino's letter. Here is what was written there: “On the day of arrival, the competitions of the Swedish-Norwegian cup match began. I approached Levin, a correspondent for Russkoye Slovo and a representative of the Sokol Society at the competitions, and said that I would like to run 5000 meters. He conveyed this to the judges, they were very happy and agreed to let me in. I was paired with second-class Gundersen, the brother of the Gundersen who set the 500m world record in Davos. I immediately broke away from my opponent and, when I finished the distance, I found out that I had broken the world record. I was terribly surprised, because I ran in a training suit and did not try to show a record time. Thus, I broke the record of sixteen years ago by the Dutchman Jaap Eden by 2/5 of a second. My time was 8.37 and 1/5 of a second. Oscar Mathiesen rejoiced at this too. He was on great terms with me outside the rink. Most of all shone fat Ioganson - the only ice-maker. He said that in Norway the ice can be made no worse than in Davos, Switzerland, and the record brilliantly confirmed his words.
Then Kolya started at international competitions in the capital of Norway, then at the European Championships in Trondheim, and a week later in Trondheim he again triumphed at the world championship. In 1911, Kolya started abroad at various distances thirteen times and never lost.
Strunnikov started the next season brilliantly. At the beginning of the winter of 1912, at the skating rink at Patriarch's Ponds, he set the Russian record for 500 meters - 46.0. Kolya liked to repeat that this was a happy occasion. Indeed, on a track only 273 meters long, I had to “twist” with strong wind and on very poor ice. And suddenly it's time! In the evening, at a training session, Kolya tried his hand at 1500 meters - and again the time was higher than the official Russian record - 2:29.0. With great interest we expected Strunnikov's performance abroad at the world and European forums. But...
Here is what he wrote in his article “To be or not to be the world championship for the Russians?” Russian Sport magazine: “The fact is that Strunnikov alone is not enough to ensure victory. It is also necessary to send a representative who could monitor the correctness of the competition itself and protect the interests of the Russian skater. Whether such a package is really necessary will become clear from the fact that Strunnikov himself categorically declares his refusal to go to the world championship alone. Suffice it to recall the thorns of world fame that I had to meet on my first trip in 1910: for some reason, the bell announcing the last lap did not sound on time, somehow strangely lost in the lap count, and there were enough other interferences. Not to mention the hopeless situation of a person unfamiliar with a foreign language!”
But the club's management, who spent huge sums on the fun of their leaders, did not find the necessary 100 rubles to send a representative, and Strunnikov resolutely refused to further participate in the competition. So in tsarist Russia they disregarded the bright, multifaceted talent of an outstanding athlete.
After the revolution, Nikolai continued to serve his favorite business - skating. From six o'clock in the evening he could always be seen at the Burevestnik stadium in Samara Lane. He did everything that was required, did not refuse from any case. Usually after work I came to the stadium and I helped him, often judged competitions.
He also coached young runners. His best student was Alexander Lyuskin, a multiple winner of national championships, holder of several USSR records.
At the beginning of the post, I want to immediately thank the authors of the articles on which I relied when preparing this material. And if for journalists Andrei Marin and Alexander Lokotkov this is a professional job, then for the librarian of the Malaya Arkhangelsk city library, Olga Egorova, this is real selflessness, an expression of love for their land and famous fellow countrymen. In addition, Olga Egorova, relying on the memories of the younger sister of the hero of today's post, wrote the most detailed biography of the artist of all.
So, I present a new name for myself in the ZhZL series.
Nikolay Ivanovich Strunnikov
Nikolai Strunnikov Cossack with a pipe. Self-portrait. 1920
Russian and Ukrainian painter, portrait painter and restorer, Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR.
Nikolai was born in Orel, spent his childhood in the village of Bogoroditskoye, Maloarkhangelsk district. The artist's father, Ivan Alekseevich, was a clerk in a rural store. The family had six children - two sons and four daughters, so the family lived in constant need.
The artist's younger sister, Maria Ivanovna, worked for many years as a teacher of Russian language and literature in Maloarkhangelskaya high school, recalled that “their mother, Alexandra Nikolaevna, was sensitive, sympathetic, kind and affectionate. She possessed artistic abilities and performed magnificent beadwork. Nikolai admired them and sketched with watercolors. When the father scolded his son, the mother stood up for him and said: “You, Kolechka, do not be offended by dad, he is sick, nervous. Help him in his work free time draw. You are good at it"".
In people
After completing three years of study at primary school Nikolai had to go to work, as Gorky wrote - in "people" in order to support his family.
The boy left for Orel, where he began to serve in the warehouse of the merchant Konkov. It was a harsh school: always hungry, always ready to be hit on the back of the head, because both the older boys and the clerks beat him. But, despite the hardships, Kolya was sure that he would grow up and become an artist. At night, by the light of the oil lamp, he drew on scraps of paper.
Again, the sister recalled: “He loved to illustrate art books. At one time, he fell in love with the stories and novels of N.V. Gogol, especially the story "Taras Bulba". The owner and clerks liked his drawings, and they often said: “Well, boy! Well done!". This is where the artist's love for the Cossack theme comes from.
Moscow
In Orel Creative skills one of the local artists noticed, in addition to kind words like, “You definitely need to study, you have a talent for painting!”, This nameless artist advised me to go to Moscow and gave recommendations to his friend, the artist Gribkov.
For reference:
Sergei Ivanovich Gribkov
Russian genre painter.
He came to painting late, in 1844 he began his studies artistic skill at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. While still a student, in 1852 he received the title of non-class artist from the Academy of Arts for the painting "Spanish Woman Praying in a Church". He graduated from college in 1856.
He worked in various genres: paintings on everyday topics combined with historical paintings, portraits side by side with illustrations of literary works. IN last years In his rather long life, Gribkov worked on the murals of a number of churches in Moscow (Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, Archangel Michael in Ovchinniki, St. Nicholas on Maroseyka) and cathedral in Kursk.
So, Nikolai decided to go to Moscow in order to receive an initial art education in the workshop of the artist Gribkov.
The historian V. A. Gilyarovsky writes about Strunnikov’s apprenticeship in Gribkov’s workshop in his famous book Moscow and Muscovites, long years friend and patron of the emerging artist.
Nikolay Strunnikov Portrait of V.A.Gilyarovsky 1924
I quote "Uncle Gilyai":
“Strunnikov entered Gribkov as a student as a fourteen-year-old boy. As well as
everything, he was "on errands", was a painter, rubbed paint, washed brushes, and in the evenings he learned to draw from nature. Once Gribkov sent a student of Strunnikov to an antiquary beyond the Kaluga outpost to restore some old painting.
At this time, P. M. Tretyakov came to buy a portrait of Archimandrite Feofan by Tropinin. Seeing P. M. Tretyakov, the antiquarian rushed to take off his fur coat and galoshes, and when they entered the room, he grabbed Strunnikov, who was working on the painting, and let him tilt him to the floor: Bow at your feet, kneel in front of him. Do you know who is it?
Nikolai resisted in perplexity, but P. M. Tretyakov helped out, gave him a hand and said: - Hello, young artist!
P. M. Tretyakov bought a portrait of Tropinin right there for four hundred rubles, and the antiquarian, when Tretyakov left, darted around the room and whined: Ah, cheap, ah, cheap!
Nevertheless, Strunnikov greatly appreciated his first teacher and later called him father and friend.
Judging by the chronology, Nikolai worked in Gribkov's workshop from 1885 to 1892, after which his dream of entering the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MUZHVZ) came true. In 1892, Nikolai entered the MUZhVZ in the workshop of A. Arkhipov and V. Serov and graduated from college with two silver and one bronze medals in 1899.
In parallel with his studies, Nikolai continued to work on the restoration of paintings by the famous Moscow perfumer (?) Brocard, the owner of a large art gallery, which we also read about in Vladimir Gilyarovsky:
“Brocard did not give money to Strunnikov for his work, but only paid fifty rubles for him at the school and supported him “with everything ready.” And he kept it like this: he took the artist in the lodge in half a bed with a worker - so two of them slept on the same bed, and fed along with his servants in the kitchen. Nikolai worked for a year and came to Brocard: - I'm leaving.
Brocard silently took out twenty-five rubles from his pocket. Strunnikov refused: - Take it back.
Brokar silently took out his wallet and added another fifty roubles. Strunnikov took it, silently, turned and left. The life of these novice artists without a family, without a tribe, without acquaintances and means of livelihood was not easy.
There is evidence that, having learned about the difficult fate of Strunnikov, Gilyarovsky sheltered a poor student and helped in every possible way.
Nikolai Strunnikov Portrait of N.V. Gilyarovskaya 1904
“I read his poems,” Nikolai Ivanovich recalled, “I listened to stories from him in some parts of his legendary biography, through him I was carried away by the heroes of Zaporozhye, a poem about which he wrote at that time ... In his prowess, energy, exceptional gaiety, even his stocky figure , as it seemed to me then, there was something from these Zaporizhzhya heroes.
In 1900 Strunnikov, under the influence of the poetry of V. Gilyarovsky, painted a portrait of Uncle Gilyai (as his friends called him) in the form of a dashing Cossack, famously sitting on horseback, against the backdrop of a landscape with high southern mountains.
Nikolai Strunnikov Portrait of V. A. Gilyarovsky on horseback. 1900
The basis for the picture was a photograph of Gilyarovsky on horseback, taken during a trip to the Caucasus.
V. A. Gilyarovsky in the Caucasus.
In the house of Gilyarovsky, in the late 1890s, Strunnikov met and for many years became friends with the Ukrainian historian D.I. Yavornitsky.
For reference:
Dmitry Ivanovich Yavornitsky
October 25 (November 6), 1855, Borisovka, Kharkov province - August 5, 1940, Dnepropetrovsk
Dmitry Ivanovich Yavornitsky
Russian and Ukrainian historian, archaeologist, ethnographer, folklorist, lexicographer, writer.
Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR (1929), member of the Moscow Archaeological Society, one of the most significant researchers in the history of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks.
He graduated from Kharkov University (1881), taught at Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk) universities, in the latter he created the department of Ukrainian studies. In 1902-1932 he was the director of the local history museum in Yekaterinoslav (now the Dnepropetrovsk National Historical Museum named after him). In May 1940, Yavornitsky was arrested on suspicion of producing and storing bourgeois-nationalist literature, and released a week before his death. In prison, the academician fell ill with pneumonia and soon died.
Yavornytsky wrote "History of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks" in three volumes (1892-97), collected extensive folklore material in the collection "Little Russian Folk Songs" (1906), also wrote novels, satirical stories and poems.
While still attending the school, Strunnikov in 1899 created a portrait "Zaporozhets (Cossack in battle)", which is associated with an interesting story.
After a long conversation with Yavornitsky, Strunnikov also "fell ill" with the Cossack theme. As a sign of deep respect for the historian, Nikolai, at his request, painted the Cossacks on the doors of the Moscow room where Yavornitsky lived. The figure of the Cossack was depicted in vigorous movement, the face of the Cossack was full of anger, there was a bleeding wound on his forehead, large eyes protruding from their sockets were filled with blood. Yavornitsky liked the picture very much.
When the historian was about to leave Moscow for Yekaterinoslav, he offered the owner to pay for the cost of the door, as he decided to take the door painted by Strunnikov with him.
But by chance, the famous collector Bakhrushin turned out to be the owner of the furnished rooms where Yavornitsky lived. Naturally, he protested, because he liked the Zaporozhets too. Bakhrushin stated that the door and everything on it belongs to him as the rightful homeowner. The case went to court, but the judge also turned out to be an original and offered to cut the doors in half and divide by lot - who gets what part. As a result of an unusual decision, Yavornitsky received the upper part of the door with a half-length image of a Cossack. “But Bakhrushin got his pants and what was in his pants,” Dmitry Ivanovich later liked to joke. In 1905, Yavornitsky donated an unusual painting to the museum.
Meanwhile, Strunnikov understands that the knowledge gained within the walls of the school is clearly not enough, and it is necessary to continue to study.
Nikolai Strunnikov Sagittarius.
Saint Petersburg
In 1901, Strunnikov was enrolled in the Higher Art School of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and ended up in the workshop of the famous Ilya Efimovich Repin.
Serov V.A. Portrait of Repin 1901
These years of study were also not easy for Nikolai, since he had to earn a livelihood again.
The artist’s younger sister Maria Ivanovna recalled: “He studied and worked, often went without “soles”, almost barefoot, lived from hand to mouth, spent the night in attics. From his very small income, he helped our sisters, because our parents had died, and we had absolutely nothing to live on. At that time I was 7-8 years old, I did not have a single good toy. Suddenly, once Kolya brought me a beautiful big doll, which he bought with the last money. When I played with the doll, he looked at me and drew. Later I learned that he created illustrations for Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. He should have seen the look on Cosette's face when Jean Valjean gave her the doll. Illustrations for the works of Victor Hugo were not accepted from him. He was very upset, worried ... My brother gave these illustrations to me. I, unfortunately, could not save them: during the occupation, the paintings were taken away by the Nazis.
In 1902-1904 during summer holidays Strunnikov lived in his hometown of Maloarkhangelsk.
Working in the workshop of I.E. Repin and being under his influence, Strunnikov became seriously interested in the history of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks. It should be recalled that Repin himself became interested in the theme of the Cossacks, while still working on his famous "Cossacks", in addition, the artist was also from Little Russians and even often spoke and wrote letters in Ukrainian "Surzhik".
For reference:
Work on the painting "Cossacks writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan" was started by Repin in 1880. At first, Repin was engaged in a leisurely and lengthy series of sketches and the selection of models. By the way, among the models who posed for Repin for the picture were Strunnikov's friends. In particular, the artist painted the sly clerk from the historian Yavornitsky, and Gilyarovsky posed for the laughing Cossack in a white hat for Repin. Repin met Yavornitsky in 1887 in St. Petersburg, at an evening in memory of Taras Shevchenko. By this time, work on the "Cossacks" was not only begun, but also progressed noticeably.
Ilya Repin Cossacks writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan (detail, Portrait of D.I. Yavornitsky).
Ilya Repin Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan (detail, Portrait of V. A. Gilyarovsky).
The first completed sketch in oil appeared in 1887, Repin presented it to Yavornitsky. Later, Yavornitsky sold the sketch to P. M. Tretyakov and now it is in the Tretyakov Gallery.
The main version of the painting (2.03 x 3.58 m) was completed in 1891.
Ilya Repin Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan. 1880-91
After a resounding success at several exhibitions in Russia and abroad (Chicago, Budapest, Munich, Stockholm), Emperor Alexander III bought the painting in 1892 for 35,000 rubles. The painting remained in the royal collection until 1917, and after the revolution it ended up in the collection of the Russian Museum.
Having not yet completed the main version, Repin in 1889 began work on the second version, on which he never finished. This canvas is somewhat inferior in size to the original version, and is, so to speak, a behind-the-scenes copy.
Ilya Repin Cossacks write a letter to the Turkish Sultan. Kharkov Museum of Fine Arts.
The artist tried to make the second version of the "Cossacks" more "historically reliable". It is now stored in the Kharkov Art Museum.
After The Zaporozhians, almost all the works of I.E. Repin on Ukrainian topics were associated with the name of Yavornytsky. The historian corresponded with the artist until his death.
Friendly relations connected Strunnikov with another descendant of the Ukrainian Cossacks, born in the village of Krasionovka, Poltava province - world champion in French wrestling Ivan Poddubny. Dnepropetrovsk art historian Oleksa Shvediv said:
“The artist and Ivan Poddubny were connected not only friendly relations. A photograph from the early 1900s has survived showing an athletically built Strunnikov dressed as a wrestler. From a young age, the artist was fond of fisticuffs, and then skating and wrestling. And even tried his hand at official competitions with Ivan Poddubny.
In the spring of 1906, Strunnikov painted a portrait of Poddubny in a Cossack costume and presented it again to D.I. Yavornitsky. For the sake of truth, it is worth noting that, in fact, two paintings were painted. On one, Poddubny is depicted in a wrestling suit, in the form of a strong man, as the public loved him. And on another canvas, the artist added a sedentary man to the wrestler, lowered the tips of his mustache, dressed him in blue trousers and girded him with a red sash.
Nikolai Strunnikov Cossack. Portrait of Ivan Poddubny. 1906
He turned Poddubny into a Cossack Strunnikov at the request of Yavornitsky. On May 29, 1907, the artist wrote to the historian:
“I sent you a copy with some changes, but the original is with I.M. Poddubny. It was written from life and is better than a copy. On the original, he is without a forelock, his mustache is twisted, instead of pants - tights. Only one breast in your portrait remained unchanged. The growth in both portraits is natural. Whether Poddubny himself saw this Cossack portrait is unknown.
Nicholas himself, who has an athletic build, served as a model for his teacher. Ilya Repin
he painted from him a young, naked to the waist Cossack and a mighty Cossack rowing with an oar for the painting "Black Sea Freemen". The history of this painting is also unusual.
Repin in the winter workshop while working on the painting The Black Sea Freemen, 1906
For reference:
In 1888, during a tour of the Ukrainian troupe in St. Petersburg, Repin presented Mark Kropyvnytsky, the coryphaeus of the Ukrainian theater, with an address depicting a Zaporozhye boat and a figure of an actor in the form of a helmsman. The artist remembered this plot many years later. Repin decided to dedicate the picture to the defenders of Ukraine - the Cossacks, caught in a storm at sea after a raid on the Turkish coast. At the request of Repin, Yavornytsky found for the painting a maritime Zaporozhye crimson flag (banner) with the image of the Cossacks, which was copied by the artist's son Yuri.
Everyone who saw the painting at a traveling exhibition in 1909 admired its expression and color. Unfortunately, this painting went abroad and only in 2008 was discovered in one of the Finnish museums. In the same year, the painting itself and two studies for it, which our museum workers found in various collections of domestic museums, were presented at the Russian Museum.
Ilya Repin Black Sea freemen (sketch). Early 1900s.
I did not find the picture itself, so I present one of the sketches, in which, alas, it is impossible to understand where the characters painted from Strunnikov are.
Maloarkhangelsk
Living in St. Petersburg, doing what he loves, the artist missed his native land. I already wrote that during the summer holidays he went to his sisters, who lived in Maloarkhangelsk. On one of these visits, in 1902, a local priest suggested that Nikolai paint the Resurrection Church. Strunnikov not only agreed, he had an idea: to repeat the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv in the murals, with the works of artists V. M. Vasnetsov, M. A. Vrubel and M. V. Nesterov.
N.I. Strunnikov petitioned the Academy Council for assistance in this, and surprisingly, he was not refused. Strunnikov went to Kyiv, worked there a lot, copying the murals of the Vladimir Cathedral. Later, the picturesque complex of the Little Archangel Church was successfully completed.
Nikolai Ivanovich recalled: “Difficult work, especially somewhere under the dome. If not for my gymnastic past, I would not have survived. Once he slipped and fell from a height of ten yards. A month lay and again climbed into the forests. This job paid well, and I was already able to help the family.”
While working, he "was afraid of losing the main thing that he valued in painting - the naturalness of posture and movement, as well as closeness to nature."
As historians write, “the wonderful land of Ukraine with its amazing nature, kind and generous people have long attracted Russian artists.
And the famous Ukrainian artist Konstantin Trutovsky (1826-1893) added: "How much undeveloped materials Ukraine gives to the artist - both to the one who draws scenes of life and to the landscape painter. Everyone is drawn to Italy - it's good, natural to live and learn there, but it doesn't befit a Russian artist be limited to Italian scenes when we have our own great views and scenes.
The inhabitants of Maloarkhangelsk admired Strunnikov's paintings, but, unfortunately, the church has not been preserved. It was destroyed in 1943, because, according to the memoirs local residents, was a good guide for enemy aircraft.
Kyiv
While in Kyiv, Strunnikov fell in love with this city, in 1913 he decided to move there to live.
On the recommendation of Repin, Nikolai was invited to work as a teacher at the Kiev Art School (KCU). “Teaching work was to my heart,” Strunnikov recalled. Strunnikov passed on to his students the pedagogical methods inherited from his teachers - V. Serov and I. Repin. The artist taught at the school for seven years (until 1920).
Shortly after moving to Kyiv, Strunnikov got married. The artist's wife Praskovya Alekseevna became him great friend and meekly endured the hardships of a restless and unsettled life. The artist's sister recalled that "it was a happy family. Nikolai Ivanovich deeply loved his wife, she was a wonderful woman: modest, sensitive, she knew how to take care of her brother's talent. I have fondest memories of her, close friend and my own sister."
Three sons were born in the Strunnikov family. The elder Sergei subsequently worked as a photojournalist for the Pravda newspaper and died in 1943 near Poltava. About the younger ones - Igor and Rostislav, nothing is known.
The artist, in love with his wife, painted several of her portraits: "Ukrainian Woman" (1914), "Portrait of the Artist's Wife" (1916), "Bride" (1917), "Woe" (1917), "Portrait of the Artist's Wife in National Costume" (1917) , "Head" (1925). In the paintings, Praskovya appears before the viewer either as a very young girl dressed in a Ukrainian national costume, or as a bride in a wedding dress, or as a deeply grieving woman.
I managed to find only one portrait of 1917.
Nikolai Strunnikov Portrait of his wife 1917
In Kyiv, Strunnikov became friends with F.E. Mironov, who maintained a workshop for the manufacture of frames and stretchers. Being an art lover, he bought the works of artists on the cheap, and thus amassed a significant collection of paintings.
Shortly before leaving Kiev, Strunnikov presented Mironov with his self-portrait, made in watercolor and colored pencils, in which he depicted himself as a Cossack with a shaved head, a hanging forelock and a long Cossack mustache.
Nikolai Strunnikov Zaporozhets. Self-portrait 1917
In the portrait, he has a slyly smiling face, a Zaporozhian cradle in his teeth, and soft tobacco smoke billows from his mouth. Later, a version of this portrait was presented in 1920 by D.I. Yavornitsky.
Revolution
It should be noted that the artist accepted and supported the revolution of 1917. Art historians name several reasons - a poor childhood and a constant struggle for existence, the death of a brother at Tsushima and death older sister during the uprising of 1905.
In the autumn of 1919, on the eve of the revolutionary anniversary, Strunnikov, with a group of teachers and students of the art school, received Active participation in the design of the streets and squares of Kyiv in accordance with the idea of monumental propaganda proposed by Lenin.
At the initiative of the People's Commissar of the Ukrainian Navy, Nikolai Ivanovich Podvoisky, in the same 1919, the Lutsk barracks were painted. The themes of the murals are "The fight against the double-headed eagle", "The fight against capital", "The fight against the Entente", "Checkmate to the white king", etc. While working, the artist met Podvoisky himself, and this acquaintance grew into a strong friendship.
So a realist artist, an adherent folk theme Zaporozhye Cossacks began to adapt to the new time.
It is worth noting that during the first two decades of the new century, Strunnikov actively exhibited. He was an exhibitor of the Moscow Society of Art Lovers (MOLKh), dissolved in 1918, the Moscow Society "Group of Artists" from 1909 to 1911, the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia and the last 47 and 48 exhibitions of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions (TPVH). The artist was also an active member of the Sreda literary and artistic circle in Moscow.
Nikolai Strunnikov Veselchak. 1920s
Nikolai Strunnikov Metal worker.
Yekaterinoslav
In 1920, at the invitation of Yavornitsky, who became the director of the Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk) Regional Historical Museum, Strunnikov moved to Yekaterinoslav and began working as a museum employee. Strunnikov lived with his family in Yavornitsky's house.
The artist has far-reaching plans and goals - "to organize an art workshop of the historical life of the Cossacks, have students and work for the museum."
Nikolai Strunnikov Cossack with bandura. In the drunk.
In the living room of Yavornitsky's house, the artist made a monumental painting on the wall "Taras Bulba with his sons on a campaign" (1920).
- I watch how you touch the canvas with a brush, - said Dmitry Ivanovich, - and I recognize the Repin school. Happy you, Nikolai Ivanovich, that you worked with a man of genius.
Nikolai Ivanovich smiled happily.
- And I try not to darken the name of my teacher and mentor...
Nikolai Strunnikov Wall painting Taras Bulba with his sons 1920
But it was not possible to create an art workshop at the museum, and on the recommendation of Yavornitsky, Strunnikov went to the village of Belenkoye, Yekaterinoslav province, as a drawing teacher.
- I see, Nikolai Ivanovich, that you are more and more fond of the Cossacks. Yavornitsky said. - Then, I say, it would be good if you drove to the Cossack villages of Pokrovskoye and Belenkoye.
There, in addition to slogans, propaganda panels and portraits in the volost executive committee, the artist created a series of portraits of peasants. True, art historians note: “it is clear from the works that the artist worked without inspiration, apparently, forced by need, because the time was hard and hungry.”
Nikolai Strunnikov Grandmother sews on buttons for her grandson.
Revolution mobilized
In 1921, at the call of the People's Commissariat of Education, Strunnikov moved to Moscow and never returned to Ukraine.
Using friendly relations with N.I. Podvoisky, the artist became the official artist (or, as some colleagues joked, the court painter) of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR.
Nikolai Ivanovich Strunnikov.
The heroic-romantic images of the Zaporizhian Cossacks were replaced by more pathos-ideological portraits of the heroes of the October Revolution and civil war. In the period 1927-1930, Strunnikov created a whole gallery of portraits - K. E. Voroshilova, A. E. Shchadenko, A. Parkhomenko, N.I. Podvoisky.
Nikolai Strunnikov Portrait of E.A. Shchadenko.
The artist participated in the exhibition dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the Red Army (RKKA) with the works "Red Partisan Comrade Yakimov" and "Portrait of Comrade Alyabyev, Chief of the Tsaritsyno Armored Trains."
In 1938, Strunnikov received the Gold Medal at the World Exhibition in Paris for the portrait of the partisan Lunev.
Nikolai Strunnikov Partizan Lunev 1929
In 1940, the artist, for outstanding achievements in the field of art and as a recognized master of Soviet portraiture, was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
During the Great Patriotic War, while in evacuation in Sverdlovsk, Strunnikov painted the paintings "Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya" and "Partisan" for the local House of Officers.
Before last days his life the artist did not part with the palette and brushes.
Nikolai Ivanovich died on September 20, 1945 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Afterword
In my opinion, and this is confirmed by many art historians, the Ukrainian Cossack theme in the work of Strunnikov remains the most bright manifestation his talent.
Nikolai Strunnikov Cossack with kobza.
The artist's paintings are kept in 13 museums and art galleries - the Tretyakov Gallery, the Central Museum armed forces in Moscow, Museum recent history Russia in Moscow, Dnepropetrovsk National historical museum them. D. Yavornitsky, Poltava, Donetsk and Oryol art museums, etc.
Sources - Wikipedia, articles Olga Egorova, Andrea Marina, Alexandra Lokotkova, Lyubov Romanchuk, website Donetsk Art Museum and website www.maslovka.org.
