A significant event in national and world history is the invention of printing. This innovation came to Russia in the region of the 16th century. One of the figures whose name is associated with the appearance of printing in the time of Ivan the Terrible is the well-known Ivan Fedorov. The history of this man is familiar not only to adults and enlightened people. The biography of Ivan Fedorov, the pioneer printer, is available for children to study at school.
How did it all start?
Every person in history has an interesting and unique line of his own destiny. Life sometimes takes unexpected turns. Everyone has experienced this. And, of course, he is no exception - and a pioneer in the field of Russian printing.
The biography of Ivan Fedorov - the first printer - begins with a legend. The chronological framework of his birth varies from 1510 to 1530. Oddly enough, no reliable information has been preserved about exactly where the pioneer printer was born and spent his childhood. But it most likely happened inKaluga province. Information has been preserved that he served as a deacon of the church of St. Nicholas Gostunsky. He taught literacy, like many clergy in churches. Already in 1532 he graduated from the University of Krakow. This is evidenced by the fact that the first printer had a bachelor's degree.
Church service
As a result of his activities, the first printer Ivan Fedorov met Metropolitan Macarius. A brief biography says that, perhaps, this is what gave impetus to the fact that soon the first Russian tsar will entrust Fedorov with such an important task as the printing of the first book - "The Apostle".
As you know, Macarius was close to Ivan the Terrible, and, noticing a capable young man, could contribute to his future fate.
By order of the tsar, in the 1550s, activities began to develop the first Moscow printing house. Fonts and other equipment necessary for the functioning of the printing business were selected in a special way. Initially, the enterprises were anonymous. But then the case began to spread widely.
The birth of the first Russian book - "The Apostle"
The biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, prepared for children, mainly tells about the creation of the first printed book. In 1564, the first Russian printed book in the Slavic language, The Apostle, was published. Ivan Fedorov and his assistants, Pyotr Mstislavets and Marusha Nerefiev, took an active part in her appearance. Preparations for this event took about a year. The completion of the work was marked by success, since this copy wasmuch better than the previous books. This work received the blessing of Metropolitan Macarius, but, unfortunately, Macarius did not live to see the publication of The Apostle.
That's what Ivan Fedorov is famous for - the first printer. A biography for children sometimes focuses only on this.
But, of course, everything was not limited to one book. Printing has become more widespread. In 1565, at the behest of Ivan the Terrible, another liturgical book called The Book of Hours was to be published. This was done by Peter Mstislavets and Ivan Fedorov (first printer). The biography indicates that two copies were made. Subsequently, she was of great benefit to society. Various prayers and songs were recorded there. According to them, a daily church rite was performed. But the main thing is that it was on it that they began to teach reading.
Persecution of early printers
But the situation actually escalated. For many, the development of printing was unprofitable. Firstly, to census takers, who, in fact, lost their position, and, consequently, their monetary profit. The upper strata of the population were also dissatisfied, they were afraid that an increase in the level of public education could subsequently lead to the fact that they would lose their privileges. The people risked the emergence of ideas that would help arrange a revolt against officials, landlords, clergy, and so on. There was also an opinion that the soul was invested in handwritten books, since this is the hard work of a particular person. And printing on machine tools did not carry such properties, andtaken for something unclean. The biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, tells about the difficult situation of the figure.
The climax was a fire that occurred in 1566 in the printing house. Moreover, the activities of the pioneers in printing began to be considered heresy. After this event, it was decided that the first printers, including Peter Mstislavets and Ivan Fedorov, should go to Lithuania.
Work in Lithuania
In Zabludovo, the estate of Hetman Khodkevich, a printing house was organized. The first book to come out of this printing house was the Teaching Gospel. Subsequently, the book was given the name Zabludovsky. This significant event took place in 1568-1569. Again, the same first printers led the work. But the further activity of these people is disconnected. As the short biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, explains, he remains and continues to work in Zabludovo. Pyotr Mstislavets goes to Vilna. As a result of work in Zabludovo, Ivan Fedorov created the book "Ps alter with the Book of Hours".
But here fate brought another unpleasant surprise, faced by Ivan Fedorov (first printer). The biography reads as follows. Khodasevich, due to old age, unwillingness to take part in the organization of the printing house, lack of a large amount of money, decided to stop the functioning of the printing house. Khodasevich offers Ivan Fedorov to take up farming, but he refuses, because he considers himself not intended for such a business. He leavesLost by 1573.
Moving to Lviv
A brief biography of Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, indicates that he himself had to transport all the tools necessary for the functioning of the printing business. Here the man managed to organize his own printing house. The work began anew, and in 1574 the first printed book in Ukraine, The Apostle, was published with the same name as the Moscow copy. In terms of content, it is also similar to the one that was released back in 1564. True, something was added here. For example, some introductory texts. At the end there was a rather interesting afterword, which was personally compiled by Ivan Fedorov, the first printer. The biography has kept the lines: "The real story shows where it began and how this printing press was created." This is what the title of the afterword looked like. Through the work of Ivan Fedorov, about a thousand reprints of the Apostle were made. This meant that book printing developed not only in Russia, but also on the territory of modern Ukraine.
In 1574, the printing house of Ivan Fedorov published the "ABC" - the first East Slavic textbook, which we have repeatedly heard about. The books were small in size and contained everything needed for learning to read and write.
Ostroh Bible
The next event occurs. In 1575, Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, received an invitation from Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhsky. The biography of the prince calls him one of the richest personalities of the Polish-Lithuanian state. A proposal was made to set up a new printing house in Ostrog in Volhynia, that is, on the estateKonstantin Ostrozhsky. The prince himself took care of the development of science and education in his lands. An Orthodox school was even organized there. In 1578, another "ABC" was published, for which the first printer Ivan Fedorov was responsible. The short biography adds that work on the famous “Bible”, which was published in 1580, began a year earlier.
More importantly, it is the first fully published Bible written in Church Slavonic.
Sunset of life
In 1582, the first printer Ivan Fedorov returned Lvov to his family. He wants to continue his work. But the plan is not fully implemented. In 1583 he leaves this world. They buried him in St. Onufrievsky Monastery, and a slab was placed over the grave with the inscription "Drukar (i.e., printer) of books, previously unseen." It is this title that Ivan Fedorov, the first printer, secures for himself.
Biography for children and adults ends here. The memory of the great book printer is forever preserved in Russian history.
