Just 4 years after the death of Pushkin, which shocked Russia, a duel took place between M. Yu. Lermontov and retired major Nikolai Martynov. As a result, the poet was killed, and the second participant in the fight escaped with three months of arrest and church repentance. Although the last one, which ended in his death, took place more than 175 years ago, disputes still rage over whether N.S. Martynov really shot at the man who discharged the pistol into the air, that is, he committed murder.
Origin
To better understand the motives of the actions of the man whose bullet put an end to the short biography of M. Yu. Lermontov, you should find out about his origin.
So, N.S. Martynov came from Moscow nobles. His grandfather made a fortune from wine farming, that is, for a certain fee he acquired from the state the right to levy taxes on drinking establishments, in which he was extremely successful. At the end of the 18th century, it was believed that aristocrats should not engage in such matters. However, Mikhail Ilyich, although he was very shy about his, as they would say today, business, nevertheless wanted his son to continue his business, since it provided a stable income. He called him by a name that was uncharacteristic for people of his class. Thus, Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov, whose nationality immediately after Lermontov’s death became the subject of speculation, is undoubtedly Russian.
Parents and childhood
Martynov's father Solomon Mikhailovich Martynov rose to the rank of state councilor and died in 1839. His wife came from the noble Tarnovsky family. In total, the Martynov family had eight children: 4 sons and 4 daughters. They, especially the boys, received an excellent education, had enough money to feel at ease among the golden youth, and were distinguished by their attractive appearance.
Nikolai Martynov was born in 1815 and was only a year younger than Lermontov. Since childhood, he had a talent for literary work and early began to write poetry, imitating the famous poets of his time.
Studies
In 1831, Nikolai Martynov entered the School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. Lermontov ended up there a year later. The latter was forced to apply to leave Moscow University because of an unpleasant story with one of the professors, and did not want to enter St. Petersburg University, since there he was offered to start his studies again from the first year.
The Nikolaev Cavalry School, where the young people ended up, was one of the most famous in Russia. It accepted only noblemen after studying at the university or in private boarding houses who did not have military training. During their studies, Lermontov and Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov practiced fencing together on espadrons more than once and were quite familiar. In addition, the poet was introduced to many members of Martynov’s family, and Nikolai’s brother, Mikhail, was his classmate. Subsequently they also wrote that one of Nicholas’s sisters even became partly the prototype of Princess Mary. It is known that Martynov’s mother spoke extremely unflatteringly about Lermontov for his sarcastic jokes, but her son was delighted with the poetic talent of his schoolmate.
Service
Upon completion of his studies, Nikolai Martynov was sent to serve in the then prestigious Cavalry Regiment, in which Dantes was an officer during the same period. During this time, he, like many representatives of his generation, volunteered to go to the front in the hope of becoming famous and returning to the capital with ranks and military orders. There, during the military expedition of the Caucasian detachment across the Kuban River, Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov proved himself to be a brave officer. For his military services he was even awarded the Order of St. Anna with a bow, and he was in good standing with the command.
Resignation
The circumstances were such that Nikolai Martynov could well hope for a successful career. However, for a still unclear reason, in 1841, while holding the rank of major (remember that practically his peer Lermontov was at that time only a lieutenant), he unexpectedly submitted his resignation. It was rumored that the young man was forced to do this because he was caught cheating during a card game, which was considered an extremely shameful phenomenon among officers. In support of such rumors, many cited the fact that Nikolai Martynov, who had sufficient financial resources and connections, did not return to the capital, but settled away from society in Pyatigorsk and led a reclusive life. Among vacationers and local Russian society, the former major was known as an eccentric and an original, as he dressed up in highlander clothes and walked around with a huge dagger, causing ridicule from his former colleagues.
M. Yu. Lermontov in the Caucasus
By 1841, the poet had already become famous throughout Russia thanks to his poems about Pushkin. The efforts of his grandmother, who has influential relatives among the courtiers, allowed him to avoid more serious punishment. He was sent to the Caucasus as an ensign in the Nizhny Novgorod regiment. This business trip did not last long enough, and soon he again shone in the capital's salons. Perhaps everything would have turned out differently if it had not been for the quarrel in the house of Countess Laval with Ernest de Barant. The son of a French diplomat saw an insult in the epigram, which, as mutual acquaintances told him, was written by M. Yu. Lermontov. During the duel, which took place not far from the place where Pushkin was mortally wounded, nothing tragic happened: the sword of one of the opponents broke, Barant missed, and the poet fired into the air. However, it was not possible to hide the fact of the fight, and the poet was exiled to the Caucasus, although he made attempts to retire.
Reasons for the duel with Martynov
From the Northern capital, the poet first came to Stavropol, where his Tenginsky regiment was stationed, and after some time he went on a short vacation to Pyatigorsk. Moreover, his friends tried to persuade him not to do this. There he met many of his St. Petersburg acquaintances, including Martynov. The angry-tongued Lermontov was extremely amused by the warlike appearance of his former classmate. The latter had long harbored a grudge against the poet, since he believed that he had ridiculed him in his epigrams, in which the names Martysh and Solomon appeared. Subsequently, the version according to which Martynov believed that Lermontov had compromised his sister was also considered as the reason for the duel. The rivalry between young people over the favor of a French actress named Adele, who was on tour in the Caucasus, was also indicated.
Argument
Two days before the tragedy, its main characters met in the house of General Verzilin. The poet’s future second and his longtime friend Prince Trubetskoy, as well as the wife and daughter of the owner of the house, were also present there. In their presence, Lermontov began to make barbs about the funny “highlander.” By tragic accident, at these words the music stopped, and they were heard by everyone, including Martynov, as always, dressed in a Circassian coat. As mutual acquaintances of Lermontov and Martynov later recalled, this was not the first time that the poet mocked the retired major. He endured it as long as he could pretend that the jokes had nothing to do with him. However, during the musical evening at the Verzilins’, everything was too obvious, and Lermontov’s duel with Martynov became inevitable. The offended “highlander” loudly declared that he no longer intended to endure ridicule and left. The poet reassured the ladies that tomorrow he and Nikolai Solomonovich would make peace, since “this happens.”
Duel between Lermontov and Martynov
In the evening of the same day, Mikhail and Nikolai had an unpleasant conversation, during which a challenge to a duel was made. The duel took place the very next day. According to the generally accepted version, Lermontov did not take everything that was happening seriously and fired into the air. Thus, he angered Martynov even more and received a bullet in the chest. Since there was no doctor present during the fight, health care was not provided, although it could hardly have saved Lermontov’s life.
After the duel, Martynov was sentenced to be deprived of all rights to his fortune and demoted. However, Nicholas II decided to limit the punishment to three months' confinement in a guardhouse.
Quite little is known about Martynov’s life after the duel. He died at the age of 60 and was buried in his name in Ievlevo.
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Nikolay Solomonovich Martynov(October 9, 1815 - December 25, 1875) - retired major who killed M. Yu. Lermontov in a duel.
Biography
A representative of the wealthy Martynov family, which owned the Martynovo-Znamenskoye estate near Moscow (in the village of Ievlevo, now Solnechnogorsk district). Son of State Councilor Solomon Mikhailovich Martynov (d. 1839) and his wife Elizaveta Mikhailovna, née Tarnovskaya. The Martynov family was large, four sons and four daughters. Cousin Martynova - author historical novels M. N. Zagoskin.
Nikolai Martynov received an excellent education, was a very well-read man and wrote poetry from an early youth. Almost simultaneously with Lermontov, he entered the school of cadets, where he was the poet’s usual partner in espadron fencing. After serving for some time in a cavalry regiment, Martynov volunteered for the Caucasus in 1837 and participated in the expedition of the Caucasian detachment beyond the Kuban. He was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree with a bow. At the time of the quarrel with Lermontov, he had the rank of retired major.
Poetic and prose works of art Martynov are not numerous: the poem “Gerzel-aul”, in which one can see the imitation of Lermontov’s “Valerik” and at the same time a polemic with him, the story “Guasha”, again with features of polemics addressed to Lermontov and his “Hero of Our Time”, a number of poems - original and translated. “...His poems would have found a place among the mass of mediocre poems published at that time... He apparently wrote easily, the language was free, the rhythm and rhymes were almost always error-free... Sometimes Martynov was prone to serious reflection,” wrote researcher O. P. Popov. At the same time, Martynov is characterized (and manifested in his texts) by increased pride, intolerance of other opinions, and a certain cruelty of character.
According to recollections, Lermontov in Pyatigorsk sneered at Martynov’s romantic “prose” and his poems. Martynov, with resentment, considered himself (it is unknown how justified) the prototype of Grushnitsky in “Hero of Our Time”. Lermontov is credited with two impromptu songs from 1841 ridiculing Martynov: “ Our friend Martysh is not Solomon" And " Throw off the beshmet, my friend Martysh", and Martynov received a similar epigram " Mon cher Michel" After this, according to Martynov, Lermontov more than once made him look like a buffoon and completely tormented him with ridicule.
Similar, but sharper mutual barbs and an accidental stop of the music, because of which the offensive ending of Lermontov’s remark could be heard by the entire hall, became the reason for Martynov’s challenge to Lermontov to a duel (July 13, 1841 in the Verzilins’ house); at 6 pm on July 15 (27), the duel took place, and M. Yu. Lermontov was mortally wounded.
The details of the clash and duel were largely hidden and mystified by Martynov and the seconds of both duelists before the military court, and not all of its details are now reliably reconstructed. There are serious reasons to trust the story that Lermontov refused to shoot at Martynov (or even managed to shoot in the air) before receiving the fatal bullet Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]] . The version that the poet was struck not by him, but by a shooter allegedly hiding in the bushes (1950-1970s) and based on the unusual angle between the entrance and exit holes of the through wound, has not been confirmed.
For the duel, Martynov was sentenced by a military court to demotion and deprivation of all rights of state, but according to the final verdict, confirmed by Nicholas I, he was sentenced to three months of arrest in a guardhouse and church repentance and served penance in Kyiv for several years. Subsequently he wrote memoirs about the duel.
N. S. Martynov died at the age of 60 and was buried in the family crypt next to the Znamenskaya Church in the village of Ievlevo. His grave has not been preserved, since in 1924 the Alekseevskaya school colony MONO moved to the estate, whose students destroyed the crypt, and Martynov’s remains were drowned in a nearby pond.
In fiction
- Martynov was introduced in the novel by B. A. Sadovsky “ Wheat and tares". By the time of writing the novel (1936-1941), Sadovskoy had revised his previously negative attitude towards Martynov, and the novel was written with sympathy for Martynov, “the modest values of the “philistine” ideal become for Sadovsky at least equivalent and equal to the values of ordinary life.”
- Martynov is a character in Elena Khaetskaya’s novel “Michelle” [[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]][[K:Wikipedia:Articles without sources (country: Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#property" was not found. )]] .
- Martynov - main character Alexander Rodin’s story “The Seal of Cain” (the story is written in the first person, that is, by Martynov) [significance of the fact?]
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Notes
Links
Literature
- Zakharov V. A. The mystery of the last duel. - M.: Russian Panorama, 2000. - 352 pp., 20 illus. - Circulation 3000 copies. - ISBN 5-93165-014-8.
- Zakharov V. A. The duel and death of Lieutenant Lermontov. - Publishing house of M. and V. Kotlyarov. - Nalchik, 2006. - 536 p. (Reviewers: Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor V.B. Vinogradov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor V.V. Degoev). - Circulation 1000 copies. - ISBN 5-93680-183-5.
- Umanskaya M. M. From the history of literary relations between Lermontov and Martynov. (“Valerik” - “Gerzel-aul”). - (“Pages of the history of Russian literature”) - M., 1971. - P. 401-413.
Excerpt characterizing Martynov, Nikolai Solomonovich
- After all, people first killed even their poor God, and only then began to pray to him. Is it really impossible to see the real truth even before it’s too late?.. Isn’t it better to save the same heroes, look up to them and learn from them?.. Do people always need a shock example of someone else’s courage so that they can believe in their own? ?.. Why is it necessary to kill, so that later you can erect a monument and glorify? Honestly, I would prefer to erect monuments to the living, if they are worth it...What do you mean when you say someone is “distributing blame”? Is this God or what?.. But it’s not God who punishes... We punish ourselves. And we ourselves are responsible for everything.
“You don’t believe in God, dear?..” the sad man, who listened attentively to my “emotionally indignant” speech, was surprised.
– I haven’t found him yet... But if he really exists, then he must be kind. And for some reason many people are afraid of him, they are afraid of him... At our school they say: “A man sounds proud!” How can a person be proud if fear hangs over him all the time?!.. And there are too many different gods - each country has its own. And everyone is trying to prove that theirs is the best... No, I still don’t understand a lot... But how can you believe in something without understanding?.. In our school they teach that there is nothing after death ... But how can I believe this if I see something completely different?.. I think blind faith simply kills hope in people and increases fear. If they knew what was really happening, they would behave much more carefully... They would not care what happens next after their death. They would know that they would live again, and they would have to answer for the way they lived. Just not in front of the “terrible God”, of course... But in front of yourself. And no one will come to atone for their sins, but they will have to atone for their sins themselves... I wanted to tell someone about this, but no one wanted to listen to me. It’s probably much more convenient for everyone to live this way... And probably easier too,” I finally finished my “deadly long” speech.
I suddenly felt very sad. Somehow, this man managed to get me to talk about what had been “gnawing” at me inside since the day when I first “touched” the world of the dead, and in my naivety I thought that people needed to “just tell, and they will They will immediately believe and even be happy!... And, of course, they will immediately want to do only good things...” How naive a child do you have to be for such a stupid and impossible dream to be born in your heart?!! People don't like to know that there is something else "out there" - after death. Because if you admit this, it means that they will have to answer for everything they have done. But this is exactly what no one wants... People are like children, for some reason they are sure that if they close their eyes and see nothing, then nothing bad will happen to them... Or blame everything on the strong shoulders to this same God, who will “atone” all their sins for them, and then everything will be fine... But is this really right?.. I was just a ten-year-old girl, but even then many things did not fit into my mind. my simple, “childish” logical framework. In the book about God (the Bible), for example, it was said that pride is a great sin, and the same Christ (the son of man!!!) says that with his death he will atone for “all the sins of man”... What kind of Pride one had to have , to equate yourself with the entire human race taken together?!. And what kind of person would dare to think such a thing about himself?.. Son of God? Or the Son of Man?.. And the churches?!.. Each one more beautiful than the other. It’s as if the ancient architects tried very hard to “outdo” each other when building God’s house... Yes, churches really are incredibly beautiful, like museums. Each of them is a real work of art... But, if I understood correctly, a person went to church to talk with God, right? In that case, how could he find him in all that stunning, eye-catching gold luxury, which, for example, not only did not dispose me to open my heart, but, on the contrary, to close it as quickly as possible, so as not to see the same himself, bleeding, almost naked, brutally tortured God, crucified in the middle of all that shiny, sparkling, crushing gold, as if people were celebrating his death, and did not believe and did not rejoice at his life... Even in cemeteries, we all plant the living flowers so that they remind us of the life of the same dead. So why didn’t I see a statue of the living Christ in any church, to whom I could pray, talk to him, open my soul?.. And does the House of God mean only his death? .. Once I asked the priest why we don’t pray to the living God? He looked at me like I was an annoying fly and said that “this is so that we do not forget that he (God) gave his life for us, atoning for our sins, and now we must always remember that we are not his.” worthy (?!), and to repent of their sins as much as possible”... But if he has already redeemed them, then what do we have to repent of?.. And if we must repent, does that mean all this atonement is a lie? The priest got very angry and said that I had heretical thoughts and that I should atone for them by reading “Our Father” twenty times in the evening (!)... Comments, I think, are unnecessary...
I could continue for a very, very long time, since all this irritated me very much at that time, and I had thousands of questions to which no one gave me answers, but only advised me to simply “believe,” which I would never do in my life I couldn’t, because before I believed, I had to understand why, and if there was no logic in that same “faith,” then for me it was “looking for a black cat in a black room,” and such faith was not neither my heart nor my soul needs. And not because (as some told me) I had a “dark” soul that did not need God... On the contrary, I think that my soul was light enough to understand and accept, but there was nothing to accept ... And what could be explained if people themselves killed their God, and then suddenly decided that it would be “more correct” to worship him?.. So, in my opinion, it would be better not to kill, but to try to learn from him as much as possible, if he really was a real God... For some reason, at that time I felt much closer to our “old gods”, whose carved statues were erected in our city, and throughout Lithuania, a bunch of. These were funny and warm, cheerful and angry, sad and stern gods, who were not as incomprehensibly “tragic” as the same Christ, for whom they built amazingly expensive churches, as if really trying to atone for some sins...
"Old" Lithuanian Gods in my hometown Alytus, homely and warm, like a simple friendly family...
These gods reminded me of kind characters from fairy tales, who were somewhat similar to our parents - they were kind and affectionate, but if necessary, they could severely punish us when we were too naughty. They were much closer to our soul than that incomprehensible, distant, and so terribly lost at human hands, God...
Nikolai Martynov, father of 11 children, drank to the point of insensibility on the day of the poet’s murder
Question “M.Yu. Lermontov and Mrs. Adele Ommer de Gelle" was reflected in many works about the poet. Most of them were written in the first half of the twentieth century, already in Soviet times, when it was ideologically fashionable to denounce the tsarist autocracy and especially the Nicholas era for all its sins. Let's remember some of them: the story “Shtos to Life” by Boris Pilnyak, “Michel Lermontov” by Sergei Sergeev-Tsensky, “The Thirteenth Tale about Lermontov” by Pyotr Pavlenko, the novel “The Flight of Prisoners, or the History of the Suffering and Death of Lieutenant Tenginsky Infantry Regiment Mikhail Lermontov” by Konstantin Bolshakova.
There is no need to prove how politicized our entire life has been for decades. This applies not only to fiction, but also to literary criticism. According to the version, which was, in essence, official, the main reason for the death of Lermontov was the tsar’s hatred of the rebel poet, and the efforts of Lermontov researchers were aimed mainly at substantiating this version. Moreover, the role of the organizer of the duel was assigned to Prince Alexander Vasilchikov, the son of one of the royal favorites. Thus, Emma Gerstein calls Vasilchikov the poet’s hidden enemy and devotes an entire chapter of her book “Lermontov’s Fate” entitled “The Secret Enemy” to him. Oleg Popov believes that the role of Prince Vasilchikov “was more composed than studied, and was unlikely to be significant.” (See: Popov O.P. “Lermontov and Martynov”).
The main role in the tragedy at the foot of Mashuk, of course, was played by Nikolai Martynov, and we should first of all turn to his personality and the history of his relationship with the poet, while abandoning the primitive characterization that was given to him for a long time: he was supposedly stupid, proud , an embittered loser, a graphomaniac, always under someone else's influence.
Firstly, one cannot call him a failure - after all, at the age of 25 he already had the rank of major, while Lermontov himself was just a lieutenant of the Tengin regiment, and his literary hero- Maxim Maksimych, who served all his life in the Caucasus as a staff captain. He most likely wasn't stupid either. For example, the Decembrist Nikolai Lorer, who knew him, wrote that Nikolai Solomonovich had a brilliant secular education. The very fact of long-term communication between Lermontov and Martynov suggests that the latter was not a primitive person and was somehow interesting to the poet.
Prince Alexander Vasilchikov. He was accused of organizing the fatal duel
In fact, Lermontov’s classmate at the School of Junkers was Nikolai Solomonovich’s older brother Mikhail (1814-1860). However, it was Nikolai who was destined to become the poet’s killer. They were both born in October (only Lermontov a year earlier), both graduated from the School of Junkers, were released into the Horse Guards (Martynov, by the way, happened to serve in the same regiment with Georges Dantes), and they went to the Caucasus at the same time. In heavy company in 1840, they took part in expeditions and numerous skirmishes with the mountaineers. And both wrote poems about this war.
It is customary to speak disparagingly about Martynov’s poetic experiments. He himself is often called a “graphomaniac” and a “mediocre rhymer.” It's hardly fair to call him that. Martynov rarely put pen to paper, and everything he wrote could fit into a very small book. His poems really cannot stand comparison with Lermontov’s. And whose, in fact, can withstand such a comparison? Although he has quite good stanzas. Here, for example, is how ironically he describes the parade in his poem “Bad Dream”:
Peaks flash by like a slender forest.
The weather vanes are colorful,
All people and horses are great,
Like a monument to Tsar Peter!
All faces have the same cut,
And he will become like the other,
All the ammunition is new,
Horses look arrogant
And from the tail to the withers
The fur is equally shiny.
Any soldier is the beauty of nature,
Any horse is a breed type.
What about the officers? - a number of paintings,
And everything - as if alone!
Martynov also tried his hand at prose: the beginning of his story “Guasha” has been preserved - which tells the sad story of a Russian officer falling in love with a “young Circassian woman of extraordinary beauty”: “Judging by the height and flexibility of her figure, she was a young girl; by the absence of forms and especially by facial expression, a perfect child; there was something childish, something unfinished in those narrow shoulders, in that flat, not yet engorged chest...
Imagine, Martynov, she’s only 11 years old! But what a wondrous and sweet creature this is!
And his gaze at these words was full of inexpressible tenderness.
Here, Prince, girls are married off at the age of 11... Don’t forget that we are not in Russia here, but in the Caucasus, where everything soon matures...
Lermontov was like that
From the first day that Dolgoruky saw Guasha (as the young Circassian woman was called), he felt an irresistible attraction to her; but what’s strangest of all: she, for her part, immediately fell in love with him... It happened that in fits of noisy gaiety she would run up behind him, suddenly grab him by the head and, kissing him deeply, burst into loud laughter. And all this happened in front of everyone; At the same time, she did not show either childish timidity or feminine bashfulness, and was not even somewhat embarrassed by the presence of her family.
Everything I heard extremely surprised me: I did not know how to reconcile in my mind such a free attitude of the girl with those stories about the inaccessibility of Circassian women and about the severity of morals in general... Subsequently, I became convinced that this severity exists only for married women, but they have girls enjoy extraordinary freedom..."
Martynov’s main work - the poem “Gerzel-aul” - is based on personal experience. It is a documented accurate description of the June campaign in Chechnya in 1840, in which Martynov himself took an active part:
The baptism of gunpowder took place,
Everyone was in action;
And so they fell in love with the business,
That the talk is only about him;
Tom had to fight with hostility
With the fourth company to the blockage,
Where hand-to-hand combat took place,
As they aptly called,
Act two finale.
Here's what we learned from him:
They shot at us point blank,
Kura officer killed;
We have lost a lot of people
A whole platoon of carabinieri lay down,
The colonel and the battalion arrived
And he carried the company on his shoulders;
The Chechens were knocked out with damage,
Twelve bodies in our hands...
It is interesting that Martynov’s work also truthfully reflected the realities of that time. There is, for example, a mention of the famous Caucasian chain mail:
Horsemen ride around boldly,
They prance briskly ahead;
Our people are shooting at them in vain...
They only answer with abuse,
They have chain mail on their chest...
He quite realistically describes the scene of the death of a Russian soldier wounded in battle:
Silent confession, communion,
Then we read the dismissal note:
And this is earthly happiness...
Is there much left? A handful of earth!
I turned away, it hurt
This drama is for me to watch;
And I asked myself involuntarily:
Am I really going to die like this...
Similar scenes can be found in Lermontov’s famous poem “Valerik”, based on the same material. summer campaign 1840. It is not surprising that Martynov was subsequently accused of both “attempting creative competition” with Lermontov and “direct imitation.”
This was his killer - retired major Nikolai Martynov
However, views on the war were different. Lermontov perceived what was happening in the Caucasus as a tragedy, tormented by the question: “Why?” Martynov was unaware of these doubts. He was fully confident in Russia’s right to use scorched earth tactics against the enemy (an issue on which Russian society is split into two camps even today):
A village is burning not far away...
Our cavalry walks there,
Judgment is carried out in foreign lands,
Invites children to warm up,
He cooks gruel for the housewives.
All the way we go
The saklyas of the fugitives are burning.
If we find the cattle, we take them away,
There is profit for the Cossacks.
Fields sown under trample,
We destroy everything they have...
Probably, it is up to future researchers to appreciate such works as a historical source. However, we must admit that there is a lot of truth in them.
It is believed that the same poem by Martynov contains a cartoon portrait of Lermontov:
Here the officer lay down on his burqa
With a scholarly book in hand,
And he himself dreams of a mazurka,
About Pyatigorsk, about balls.
He keeps dreaming about the blonde,
He is head over heels in love with her.
Here he is the hero of the duel,
Guardsman, immediately removed.
Dreams give way to dreams
Space is given to the imagination
And the path strewn with flowers
He galloped at full speed.
We can only guess which blonde Martynov writes about in his poems...
Returning to the question of the causes and occasion of the fatal duel at the foot of Mashuk, I would like to note that, perhaps, of all the researchers who devoted entire volumes to this problem, Oleg Popov came closest to solving the long-standing mystery. In his article “Lermontov and Martynov” he analyzed everything possible reasons collisions. And all of them do not seem weighty enough to him to dictate such harsh conditions for the fight.
The story of Salieri and Mozart? Of course not. “It is impossible to find anything like this in Martynov,” writes Popov, “and he is not suitable for the role of Salieri.” Indeed, Martynov, in fact, did not finish a single one of his literary work. Apparently, he did not consider his literary calling to be the main thing. Although... Every Mozart has his own Salieri. It is not without reason that Popov also refutes the version of Vadim Vatsuro, who wrote at one time: “Neither Nicholas I, nor Benckendorff, nor even Martynov hatched plans to kill Lermontov the man. But all of them - each in their own way - created an atmosphere in which there was no place for Lermontov the poet.”
Mikhail Lermontov. Funeral of killed soldiers under Valerik
Martynov killed Lermontov the man. How it was possible to create an atmosphere in which there would be no place for Lermontov the poet is unclear. So it turns out that, if we discard the absurd fiction that there was no duel at all, but that the poet was killed by a bribed Cossack (version by Stepan Korotkov, Viktor Schwemberger), there remains in Lermontov studies an unresolved mystery with the name “Adel”, and even a version of Martynov’s defense sister's honor. Refuting the latter, Oleg Panteleimonovich Popov says that “the sister was proud of being considered the prototype of Princess Mary,” and, therefore, did not need to defend her honor. Well, maybe my sister was proud. But the relatives didn’t like it at all. Again, a question of the culture and mentality of that time. After all, there is evidence that not only idle gossips, but also quite serious readers of Lermontov’s novel (Timofey Granovsky, Mikhail Katkov) saw in Princess Mary Martynov’s younger sister, and they believed that the princess, like her mother, was depicted in an unfavorable light . And as for the story with the package of letters from Natalya, transferred from Martynov’s house through the poet, which apparently left a negative imprint on the relationship between friends, even though Lermontov scholars convincingly prove that Lermontov was not at fault here - he did not open the package, did not read the letters and didn’t destroy it, but Martynov’s mother thought differently...
In our opinion, two points turned out to be very important in discussions about the pre-duel situation: firstly, the need to combine the version of the history of Lermontov’s relationship with the French woman Adel with the version about Martynov’s defense of his sister’s honor, Secondly, it was no less important to understand the issue of dating Adele’s stay Ommer de Gell in the Caucasus, which Lermontov scholars have so far failed to do. And just an introduction to scientific circulation Karl Baer's materials (in relation to Lermontov studies, this was the first time we did this) allowed us to substantiately say that the French traveler was in the Caucasus from 1839 to 1841 inclusive.
Thus, in our opinion, a completely convincing version of Lermontov’s quarrel with Martynov emerges. After all, the real cause of the quarrel could not have been a trivial, not even offensive joke, said by Lermontov in French at an evening in the house of General Pyotr Verzilin: “A highlander with a large dagger” (montaqnard au qrand poiqnard). “Martynov, when he wanted, knew how to laugh it off; in the end, he could end the acquaintance, maintaining his dignity,” writes Popov.
It was this image of Martynov that Lermontov ridiculed.
We regard what happened in Pyatigorsk as a great human tragedy. The tragedy of misunderstanding. Discrepancies between two mentalities, two views on life. Respectable, built in social structure society of his time, Martynov and a transcendental lyricist, who was destined to become the music of the soul of his people. He was not born to reproduce biological mass. He had a different purpose, which is given to one out of millions. Many of Lermontov’s contemporaries failed to realize this purpose.
Even today you can still hear many questions about this complex, multifaceted nature. Probably, it can only be understood from the standpoint of philosophical knowledge. That is why we turn, with a noticeable delay, to the works of Russian religious philosophers Danilevsky and Solovyov. With their help, we will have to understand in all depth both the life of the great Lermontov and his work, which has become the most expensive stone in the treasury of Russian literature.
Addition. We find an interesting episode in the work of Dmitry Pavlov “Prototypes of Princess Mary” (separate reprints from the newspaper “Caucasian Territory” Nos. 156 and 157 of 1916). He cites the joke that Lermontov and Martynov allegedly exchanged: “Marry Lermontov,” his self-confident comrade told him, “I will make you a cuckold.” “If my most ardent desire,” the poet allegedly answered, “comes true, then for you, dear friend, it will be impossible.”
Further, Pavlov writes: “From these words, Martynov concluded that Lermontov “has designs on his sister’s hand.” These guesses, however, were not justified. In 1841, Lermontov became interested in other prominent beauties and did this in front of the brother of his former crush...
Princess Mary. The poet's romanticized heroine
It is quite possible that it was this change of front that gave the Martynov family the imaginary right to express the claim that “Lermontov compromised the sisters of his future murderer.” And this circumstance, in connection with the inflated story about the letter and diary of Natalya Solomonovna allegedly printed by the poet, played, as we know, the role of the most important reason in the history of Martynov’s hatred of his former friend...
It was not for nothing that the crowd gathered in the courtyard of the Chilaevskaya estate, to which the poet’s lifeless body was brought, repeated the rumor that the reason for the duel was the young lady. “The duel happened because of a young lady!” someone shouted to Lieutenant Colonel Philip Untilov, who was conducting the investigation...
P.S. On July 15, 1841, at the age of 26, Mikhail Lermontov was killed in a duel by Nikolai Martynov. It is still not completely clear what happened on that fateful Tuesday at the foot of Mount Mashuk. And very different versions are put forward, sometimes fantastic...
How it was. But first, let's remember what preceded the duel. For the first time, the paths of Lermontov and Martynov crossed at the St. Petersburg school of cadets. Lermontov expert Vladimir Zakharov claims that the boys were friends and tells the following story. In November 1832, young Michel fell from his horse and broke his leg. He was admitted to the hospital. Once, while checking the posts of the cadets, the authorities did not find one of them on site. They found him at Lermontov’s bedside. This cadet turned out to be Kolya Martynov.
The friendly relationship continued after graduation. Thus, in 1837, Martynov, who was sent to the Caucasus, stayed in Moscow and met with the poet almost every day. They continued to communicate in St. Petersburg in 1838-1839, and, apparently, in the Caucasus in the summer and autumn of 1840.
Lermontov was always lonely. But he was friends with Martynov
As contemporaries recall, Martynov was very ambitious, dreaming of orders and the rank of general. But in February 1841 he got into an ugly story. His colleagues accused him of card cheating. “Marquis de Schulerhof” - and this was the nickname Nikolai was given in the regiment - was forced “for family reasons” to resign. In April 1841, Major Martynov arrived in Pyatigorsk, where he began to show off in an extravagant Circassian coat and astrakhan fur hat. This outfit was certainly completed with a long Chechen dagger.
When Lermontov appeared in Pyatigorsk in May 1841, he found the new image of his old friend very comical. The poet began to make fun of Martynov, drew caricatures of him, including those with indecent overtones, wrote epigrams - “Throw off your beshmet, friend Martysh” and “He’s right! Our friend Martysh is not Solomon.”
That season, young people gathered almost every day in the house of General Verzilin, who had three beautiful daughters. One evening a fatal quarrel occurred. According to the eldest young lady, the beautiful Emilia, it was like this. Lermontov and Pushkin's brother Lev practiced their wit. Then Martynov came into their field of vision, talking with the youngest Verzilina, Nadezhda. Lermontov quite loudly called him “a highlander with a big dagger,” and Martynov heard it. “How many times have I asked you to leave your jokes in front of the ladies,” he angrily remarked to Lermontov and quickly walked away.
But he waited for the poet on the street and told him: “You know, Lermontov, that for a very long time I endured your jokes, which continued despite my repeated demands that you stop them. I'll make you stop." “I am not afraid of a duel and will never refuse it. So, instead of empty threats, it’s better for you to act,” the poet answered.
And so on July 15, around seven in the evening, the opponents met at the foot of Mount Mashuk. According to the seconds, when they gave the order to converge, Lermontov remained motionless and, cocking the hammer, raised the pistol with the muzzle up, shielding himself with his hand and elbow according to all the rules of an experienced duelist. Another, more common version says that at the beginning of the duel, Lermontov discharged his pistol into the air, refusing to shoot at the enemy.
Murdered Lermontov in a coffin
One way or another, Martynov approached the barrier and froze in confusion. Here one of the seconds said: “Will this end soon?” Martynov looked at Lermontov - a smile played on his face - and pulled the trigger...
Lermontov died instantly.
Now let's move on to the versions.
Version 1. Lermontov was “removed” by order of Nicholas I. The version that Martynov was only a tool in the hands of Lermontov’s influential ill-wishers appeared in late XIX century. The same point of view was shared by prominent Lermontov scholar Irakli Andronikov, who believed that Lermontov’s death was the result of a conspiracy organized on the orders of Nicholas I by the head of the police, Alexander Benkendorf. He allegedly sent gendarme lieutenant colonel Alexander Kushinnikov to Pyatigorsk. According to another version, Minister of War Alexander Chernyshev used Colonel Alexander Traskin, who had been undergoing treatment in Pyatigorsk since July 12, for this purpose. But no reliable materials confirming these versions were found.
Finally, the well-known order of Nicholas I of June 30, 1841 - “so that Lieutenant Lermontov would certainly be present at the front and that his superiors would not dare, under any pretext, to remove him from front-line service in his regiment” - does not really fit with the version of the conspiracy. It is absurd to believe that Nicholas I sanctioned a conspiracy against Lermontov in Pyatigorsk and at the same time demanded that he not leave his service on the Black Sea coast.
Version 2. Martynov killed Lermontov out of envy. Another popular version is based on the fact that Martynov was wildly jealous of Lermontov’s talent all his life. The fact is that Nikolai himself wrote poetry from his early youth. His poem “Gerzel-aul” has survived to this day, in which, according to some researchers, Martynov imitated Lermontov’s poem “Valerik”. 
Georgian Military Road near Mtskheta. Lermontov was also an excellent painter
Version 3. Martynov exploded from constant humiliation. At the investigation after the duel, Martynov testified: “From his very arrival in Pyatigorsk, Lermontov did not miss a single occasion where he could say something unpleasant to me. Wit, barbs, ridicule at my expense... He drove me out of patience, attached to my every word, at every step showing a clear desire to annoy me. I decided to put an end to this." Well, a completely logical human reaction, for a long time enduring ridicule.
Version 4. Martynov took revenge for the dishonor of his sister Natalya. When, in front of Martynov’s eyes, the poet began to hit on other beauties, he may have considered that Lermontov had compromised his sister by refusing to take her as his wife.
There is also an assumption that Martynov was offended by Natalya, considering her the prototype of Princess Mary. Meanwhile, Lermontov expert Oleg Popov says that Natalya Solomonovna, on the contrary, was proud of the fact that she was considered the prototype of Princess Mary, and, therefore, did not need to defend her honor.
Lermontov was also involved in the dark story of the “missing” letters. According to the Martynov family, in 1837 they gave Lermontov, who was leaving for an expedition, a package of letters, in which Natalya Solomonovna put her diary, and her father added 300 rubles. However, upon arriving at the regiment, the poet told Martynov that the package with letters had been stolen from him, and reimbursed his colleague for the missing money. Then, when Nikolai told about this story in the family circle, Solomon Martynov seemed surprised: how could Lermontov know about the invested amount? In a word, the Martynovs suspected Lermontov of opening a package of letters to find out what Natalya Solomonovna was writing about him.
The suspicion remained a suspicion, but later, when Lermontov made fun of Martynov, he sometimes hinted to him about the letter. However, it is unlikely that this incident could have been the reason for the duel. Indeed, in 1940, Martynov’s mother wrote to her son that Lermontov often visited them, and the young ladies really enjoyed his company. Could Lermontov have been allowed into the Martynovs' house if his unsightly role in the missing letters had been proven? I think it's unlikely.
The killer's sister - Natalya Martynova
Version 5. Lermontov was shot not by Martynov, but by a sniper. This version was put forward back in the 1930s by the then director of the Pyatigorsk museum “Lermontov’s House” Stepan Korotkov. And he was immediately removed from his post with the wording “for the vulgar version of Lermontov’s murder.”
However, in 1952, Konstantin Paustovsky wrote a story about Lermontov, “River Floods,” which ended with a strange hint: “simultaneously with Martynov’s shot, he imagined a second shot, from the bushes under the cliff over which he was standing.”
Soon works by other authors appeared who claimed that Lermontov was shot from behind bushes, from under a cliff, from behind from a cliff. The essence of the variants of this version boils down to the following: he was secretly present at the duel between Martynov and Lermontov hitman, armed with a rifle. Allegedly, he fired at the same time as Martynov and fatally killed the poet.
Supporters of this version find the nature of the fatal wound that pierced Lermontov’s body right through at an angle of about 35° to the horizon strange. The bullet hit the right side under the lower, 12th rib, and came out between the 5th and 6th ribs on the opposite, left side of the chest, almost at the left shoulder. This is written down in the certificate of examination of Lermontov’s body. But such a trajectory is supposedly impossible given the known position of the duelists, according to the seconds. This means, supporters of the version conclude, the killer shot while being below and to the side of Lermontov, and the bullet followed an upward trajectory and came out high from the left half of the chest.
However, there is an explanation for this. It is known that, due to the unevenness of the dueling ground, Lermontov stood higher than Martynov and was turned with his right side towards the enemy. His right hand, with the pistol clutched in it, was raised upward, as he had just fired a shot into the air. With this position of the body, the opposite, left part of the chest and left shoulder, according to the laws of anatomy, descend downwards. In addition, at the moment of an opponent’s shot, Lermontov could instinctively deviate, bending even more to the left. Finally, the bullet could ricochet off the edge of the rib and change its direction.
The second “suspicious” circumstance that supporters of this version focus on is a through wound to the chest. When shooting from a dueling pistol, it is supposedly impossible, but if you shoot from a rifle... However, experiments by scientists have shown that in terms of penetration ability, a dueling pistol of the Kuchenreuther system is practically not inferior to a modern TT pistol, and at close range it can penetrate through human chest.
Dueling pistols of the Kuchenreuther system
Version 6. Lermontov fought to get his resignation. There is an opinion that the duel was specially arranged so that Lermontov would receive his resignation, which Nicholas I did not give him. The quarrel between the poet and his friend Martynov was played out “for fun.” The excellent marksman Martynov was supposed to wound the poet, after which a reconciliation of the parties was supposed to take place, for the sake of which they even took a box of champagne with them to the place of the duel. However, a thunderstorm happened, Martynov missed, killing Michel’s friend on the spot...
Instead of a postscript. The military court demanded that Lermontov's killer be deprived of his ranks and rights of fortune. However, Nicholas I made an unprecedentedly lenient decision: “Major Martynov should be put in a guardhouse in the Kyiv fortress for three months and brought to church repentance.”
Martynov served his sentence in the Kyiv fortress, then the Kiev consistory determined the period of penance at 15 years. In 1943, the confessor reduced this period to seven years. After another three years, Metropolitan Philaret of Kiev allowed Martynov to receive the holy mysteries, and on November 25 of the same year, the Synod determined: “To release Martynov, as having brought worthy fruits of repentance, from further public penance.”
In 1845, Nikolai Martynov married the daughter of the Kyiv provincial leader Sofya Proskur-Sushchanskaya. His wife bore him five daughters and six sons.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Nikolai Solomonovich suffered until the end of his life because he was responsible for Lermontov’s death. And as some of them claim, every year on July 15, he locked himself in his office and drank himself into unconsciousness...
Monument to Mikhail Lermontov in Pyatigorsk
By the way. Nikolai Martynov was a native of Nizhny Novgorod. The house of his father Solomon Mikhailovich, who was engaged in wine farming, was one of the richest in Nizhny. It was located between what is now Semashko Street and Verkhne-Volzhskaya Embankment. Martynov Sr. was remembered in Nizhny as a generous philanthropist. Leaving the city, he transferred his house to the city hospital, which was long called “Martynovskaya”. Solomon's sister, Daria Mikhailovna, was captured by the Pugachevites, and later became a nun and became the abbess of the Holy Cross Monastery on the current Lyadov Square in Nizhny Novgorod...
Abstract from the site “Lermontov.info”
On Friday, the Kommersant newspaper reported the completion of the investigation into the murder of Moscow region businessman Nikolai Martynov, who died in Iksha two years ago. The Investigative Committee of the Moscow Region was able to identify the person who ordered the murder and the direct perpetrator of the crime.
The customer turned out to be Moscow businessman Anton Erokhin, a business partner of the murdered Martynov. And the executor was a retired GRU colonel, centurion of Volzhsky Cossack army Gennady Korotenko. Friends and relatives of the veteran do not believe in his involvement and deny Korotenko’s participation in the crime.
However, the investigation considers the Cossack guilty. The fact is that operational activities in the Avtozavodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod, which took place in August 2015, helped uncover the contract killing.
Then representatives of the local FSB opened a private garage, which revealed an entire arsenal of weapons. In the garage there were Kalashnikov assault rifles, two machine guns, under-barrel grenade launchers, assault rifles with optical sights, a variety of bladed weapons, as well as an Igla portable anti-aircraft missile system.
The owner of the garage turned out to be local resident Gennady Korotenko. He was detained on the same day, and Korotenko had a Makarov pistol with him. The detainee explained that he needed the pistol to protect garden plots, which was carried out by the organization he created, “Cossack Freemen named after Ermak Timofeevich.” And the arsenal in the garage does not belong to him, but to a casual acquaintance who rented it from Korotenko.
Police arrested Korotenko on charges of illegal weapons trafficking. Later it was found out that a businessman from the Moscow region, Nikolai Martynov, was shot with a Makarov pistol, which the centurion carried with him. Thus, the case of illegal arms trafficking in Nizhny Novgorod was combined into one proceeding with the investigation of a contract killing in the Moscow region. Korotenko was also charged with murder.
Later, the alleged mastermind of the crime was identified and detained. He turned out to be business partner Anton Erokhin, who owned Clinolia Holding Limited in equal shares with Martynov. The partners could not divide the company and its assets, which included several enterprises in the Nizhny Novgorod region that produced various components for household chemicals.
Erokhin was going to buy out Martynov’s share for 2.6 billion rubles, however, as investigators believe, he decided to eliminate his partner by paying 1 million rubles for the contract killing. Retired military man Gennady Korotenko was appointed executor.
Lawyers for the accused party did not agree with the position of the investigators. In particular, Erokhin’s representatives stated that he had no motive, noting that with Martynov’s death, his partner’s financial situation worsened. The Moscow Arbitration Court declared Erokhin bankrupt.
Representatives of the Volga Cossacks also disagreed with the conclusions of the investigation. They consider Gennady Korotenko a hero and an example to follow.
“Old Man Korotenko is not a mummer, of which there are many now, but a real ancestral Cossack. In the past - a combat officer, GRU colonel. He was seriously wounded, has a disability, but the investigation ignores his illness, since the dad is still in Abkhazia during his medical studies, being a hero and an honorary citizen of this country,” said Volnitsa board chairman Sergei Akimov in an interview with Kommersant.
He drew attention to the fact that Korotenko participated in the Afghan, Abkhaz and Chechen wars. The centurion has many awards. Including - orders of Courage, the Red Banner and the Red Star, medals “For Courage” and “For Military Merit”.
According to Akimov, the police decided to simply pin the crime on Korotenko by detaining him with a weapon. Cossack suggests that the investigation has no evidence of the Nizhny Novgorod centurion’s involvement in the murder of Martynov, since no fingerprints were found on the pistol, and the tenant of his garage could not be found.
Akimov knows nothing about where his comrade in arms got the Makarov pistol. However, he suggested that the Cossack needed firearms to protect his summer cottages and business trips to Moscow, where Korotenko occasionally guarded businessmen.
The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region confirmed information about the completion of the investigation. The case materials were handed over to the defendants for review.
