The first printed book, as everyone knows well, was “The Apostle,” and the first person to print this book was Deacon Ivan Fedorov. Wanting to once again remind compatriots of the importance of books for the spiritual culture of the people, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to establish “Orthodox Book Day” and celebrate it on the day when the first printed book appeared in Rus' - March 14.

— Born in 1510.

In old Moscow, in the Kremlin, there was a wonderful church in honor of the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, nicknamed Gostunskaya. The glory of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker spread around Russia and turned out to be so great that in June 1506, by order of Grand Duke Vasily III, the miraculous Gostunskaya icon was transferred to Moscow. A stone temple on the site of a wooden one was built in just 9 weeks, and the miraculous image was decorated with gold and precious stones and pearls.

— Studied at the University of Krakow,where he received his bachelor's degree.

Ivan Fedorov studied at the University of Krakow in 1529 -1532 - in the latter’s “promotional book” there is a record that in 1532 “Johannes Theodori Moscus” was awarded a bachelor’s degree.

In the 1550s, John Feodorov was honored to serve as a deacon in this church, where many Slavic and Greek books were kept. The servants hired here were especially literate. This was the main St. Nicholas Church in the Kremlin.

He was highly revered by both sovereigns and ordinary Muscovites. The kings were present here at the liturgy, and on patronal holidays, metropolitans and patriarchs always served there with the obligatory distribution of alms. It is known that Tsar Ivan the Terrible greatly revered the Gostun image of St. Nicholas and often prayed in front of it.

— In 1563, the first printing house opened in Moscow, created with the blessing of St. Macarius and dated from the royal treasury.

A new stage in the development of Russian book printing began in 1563, when a “shtanba” (printing house) was created in Moscow using money issued from the royal treasury. It was headed by experienced craftsmen Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets.

- March 1, 1564, together with Peter Mstislavets published the first accurately dated Russian book "Apostle"

- a masterpiece of typographic art. 61 copies of this book masterpiece have survived to this day. The afterword, written by Ivan Fedorov himself, talked about the creation of the printing house, established by order of Tsar Ivan IV “from his own royal treasury,” indicating the names of the “workers” and the purpose of the publication – the production of “righteous” printed books.

— In 1565 he published the Book of Hours- the main educational book in Rus', preserved in 7 copies.

The manual labor of a book copyist was a very profitable business in Rus', and many book copyists showed dissatisfaction; their work was devalued with the release of printed books. But the printing of books provided the enlightenment of Rus' among its people to a wider circle of people, which Ivan Fedorov could not help but think about. Metropolitan Macarius soon dies. Work on the production of books in Moscow comes to a halt. Apparently, all this was the reason for the arson of the printing house.

In 1566, under pressure from public opinion, the masters left for Lithuania, taking with them part of the printing equipment purchased with government money. It is unlikely that this could have happened without the will of the king. Indirect confirmation of this is the subsequent revelations of Ivan Fedorov, who wrote that he was expelled “not from that sovereign himself, but from many a boss, a priest, and a teacher.” Their printing house, in the Western Russian style, called drukarnya, was located in the city of Zabludov in the possession of the Lithuanian hetman Grigory Khodkevich,

famous patron of Orthodox education in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

— In March 1569, Fedorov and Mstislavets published the “Teaching Gospel” in Zabludov.

This book was the last joint work of the pioneer printers. Soon after this, Peter Mstislavets moved to the capital of Lithuania, Vilna, where he founded his own drukarnya. Left alone, Ivan Fedorov did not lose heart and began to prepare the publication of a new book.

— In 1570, the Psalter with the Book of Hours was published.

Undoubtedly, the first printer was overwhelmed with new ideas, but the aged hetman Grigory Khodkevich closed the Zabludov drukarny. As a reward for his efforts, the hetman gave the unemployed craftsman a small estate, Mizyakovo, near Vinnitsa.

— In the fall of 1572, he already settled in the city of Lvov,

where he began to prepare a new edition of the Apostle, which was printed in February 1574 in a huge circulation for those times - 3000 copies. The book quickly sold out.

— Inspired by success, Fedorov published the first Russian “ABC” in 1574.

The “ABC” opened with 45 letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, arranged first in forward and then in reverse order; the alphabet itself was supplemented by various examples and grammatical structures, educational texts, as well as prayers, messages, and parables. It was a full-fledged educational book that sold like hot cakes and was literally read to the gills. The only copy of Fedorov's ABC that has reached us is today in the library of Harvard University in the USA.

Soon Ivan Fedorov entered the service of one of the richest magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhsky,

who owned hundreds of cities and villages. His first appointment with the new owner was not related to publishing. Fedorov became the manager of the Derman Holy Trinity Monastery in Volyn. Only later did he manage to convince the prince to found his own drukarnya.

— Fedorov’s fourth printing house operated in the city of Ostrog at the turn of 1570-1580.

Here the “ABC”, “The New Testament with the Psalter”, as well as “The Book, a collection of the most necessary things in short for the sake of finding the New Testament in the book” - a kind of alphabetical index to the Gospel - were published. Finally, it was in Ostroh that Fedorov printed the first complete Slavic Bible. It is well known to specialists under the name “Ostrog Bible”. The publication of the Bible, which was widely distributed throughout all Slavic lands, became one of the main acts of the hectic life of Ivan Fedorov.

He was buried in the cemetery at the Onufrievsky Monastery. At the end of the 18th century, the remains of Fedorov, as a particularly outstanding person, were transferred to the church itself and reburied in the vestibule near the main doors. On the tombstone there was an inscription: “Drukhar of books never seen before.”

First printer Ivan Fedorov, biography of Ivan Fedorov

- pioneer, legend, biography of Ivan Fedorov will make you hold your breath and be happy. In this article, dear friends, you can read how biography of Ivan Fedorov, and in general what he left behind.

Pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov, it was before him that books were written by hand. Writing a book by hand is a gigantic labor, due to which in ancient times books were of great value. In the 15th century, the first printing press was invented. In 1563, by decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, the first printing house was created in Rus'. A church deacon, who later became the first printer, was appointed head of the printing house.

From surviving sources it is known that biography of Ivan Fedorov began around 1510 in, received his education and bachelor's degree at the University of Krakow. It is also known that he came from the Belarusian family of Ragozins. The first book, which was published in 1564, was called “The Apostle”. Fedorov and his partner Pyotr Mstislavets worked on the book for a year. The capital letter of each chapter of this book was red, each chapter was decorated with a beautiful pattern, with intertwined vine branches. The second book published by the pioneer printer and his assistant was “The Book of Hours,” which was used as a teaching aid for teaching children to read. This book was the last one published Ivan Fedorov in Russia.

The creation of a printing house in Moscow was not to everyone’s taste; many believed that writing sacred scriptures with a printing press was real blasphemy. And even now, with the advent of the machine, the work of a monk-scribe has become completely unprofitable. In 1566 there was a fire in the printing house and it is believed that it was arson. As a result, Ivan Fedorov had to leave Russia with his assistant. Having left Russia, Fedorov and Mstislavets continued to work in the printing house in Lithuania. Here the printing house was located in the city of Zabludov and was called drukarnya. In 1569, the last joint book of Fedorov and Mstislavets, “The Teacher's Gospel,” was published here. After the publication of this book, Mstislavets moved to Vilna, where he opened his own printing house.

Left alone, he began to print the “Psalter with the Book of Hours.” Hetman Khodkevich, in whose possession Fedorov’s drukarny was located, soon closed Fedorov’s printing house. In 1572, Fedorov opened a printing house in Lvov, where he published the work “Apostle,” and in 1974 he also published “ABC” in Russian. In 1583, the pioneer printer died in Lvov and was buried here in the cemetery of the Onufrinsky Monastery. In the 18th century, the remains were moved and reburied in the vestibule of the church itself. End biographies of Ivan Fedorov was predictable, he died, like every person in the world. The tombstone contained the following inscription: “Drukar of books before unprecedented times.”

The merit of the Russian pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov. Unfortunately, it contains the secret of many pages of the biography of the pioneer printer.

It is not known for certain when Ivan Fedorov was born, and it is also not known exactly to which class the pioneer printer belonged. The approximate date of birth of Ivan Fedorov is considered to be the second decade of the 16th century. The place of birth is a mystery. Some claim that Fedorov is from Moscow, others from a village near Kaluga.

In 1563, Ivan Fedorov, at the request of Metropolitan Macarius and the Tsar, created the first printing house in Moscow. It is not for nothing that Ivan was the first Russian book printer. He was well literate, expressed his thoughts well and read a lot.

Historians fully admit that by the time the printing house was built, he was already known as a master of printing. Fedorov, together with his associates, specially selected fonts for the printing house and prepared the printing press. On March 1, 1564, the first Russian book printed at his printing house, “The Apostle,” was published. The book turned out well. The second book printed at the printing house was the Book of Hours. The Book of Hours was published within two months.

Metropolitan Macarius soon dies. The work on producing books in Moscow ends here. The boyars set fire to the printing house. Printing masters fled to Lithuania in fright. Ivan Fedorov also leaves Moscow. Ivan and his children settled in Lithuania, on the Zabludovo estate, owned by Hetman Khodkevich. The Polish nobility spared no expense on the development of printing. Thus, Ivan Fedorov founded a new printing house in Lithuania. The printing house did not work for long, releasing several books; due to certain circumstances, the production would close.

Hetman Khodkevich gave Ivan Fedorov a village. For some time, Ivan will be engaged in farming. The fate of a simple landowner does not appeal to him and he goes to Lvov. His path was difficult. Fedorov was the father of a large family, and the time was turbulent - there was an epidemic, and in addition, there were many bulky and heavy typographic tools in his belongings. In Lviv, the idea of ​​building a printing house was not successful at first. Ivan Fedorov did not despair, and turned to ordinary townspeople with a request to donate money for construction, the people responded. But local artisans were very afraid of competition, and due to the peculiarities of local laws, they in every possible way prevented the building of a printing house.

The pioneer printer overcame all the difficulties and adversities. The printing house was ready. A whole year of painstaking work lay ahead. And so, on February 25, a new edition of “Apostle” is published. Fedorov is working on the ABC set. Things go with varying degrees of success; several times he mortgaged his printing house. In 1575, at the request of Konstantin Ostrozhsky, Ivan headed Dermansky. Here Fedorov worked a lot, and finally solved all his financial problems. Within the walls of the monastery, he was engaged in publishing the Slavic Bible - the Ostrozhev Bible. The book came out to be of very high quality in terms of layout, and one can also speak exclusively in positive terms about the content. When compiling the book, Ivan Fedorov read and analyzed a lot of literature, even went to Turkey to compare sources.

In the period from 1578 to 1581, Ivan Fedorov published such books as: “Psalter with the New Testament”, “Chronology of Andrei Rymsha”. In 1582, Ivan Fedorov returned to Lvoy. Here he unsuccessfully tries to buy out his printing house, then organize a new one. In the last years of his life, the talented Russian pioneer printer Fedorov developed a collapsible model of the cannon, and even offered it to Saxony and Austria. The rulers of these states did not like the development. Ivan Fedorov died on August 3, 1583.

In the center of Moscow, near the walls of the ancient Kitai-Gorod, on a high pedestal stands a bronze figure of a man dressed in a long ancient caftan. The hair, caught with a strap, falls onto the shoulders. His face is serious and concentrated: he is reading a page of a newly printed book.

The name is carved on the stone of the monument - Ivan Fedorov.

Excerpt from the book The First Printer Ivan Fedorov by B. Gorbachevsky

Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered the construction of a sovereign printing yard in the center of Moscow, near the Kremlin, in the Kitay-Gorod area, on Nikolskaya Street, where the production of books could begin.

It took a lot of time to do this. With great difficulty, Ivan Fedorov and his faithful assistant Pyotr Timofeev created the first printing press...

But then the day came when the first printed book in Rus' was ready. The Tsar ordered to bring her to his white-stone Kremlin...

Ivan Fedorov carefully unfolded the canvas and took out a thick book bound in durable leather. Slowly he handed his creation to the king.

Ivan Fedorov had difficulty hiding his excitement. What will the king say? Will he like the book that took so much time and effort to print? It took ten months to print the book, and the fate of the entire printing business depended on one royal word...

Ivan Vasilyevich silently took the book in his hands. Opening the leather binding, he slowly flipped through page by page and read aloud the full title of the book, which is now called “The Apostle.”

The first page is beautiful: it shows a man sitting between two columns copying a book. The king gazes intently at the drawing, touches the pages with his fingers, and sedately reads the text. The book is printed clearly and clearly. Letter to letter. Line to line. Not like in written books.

The capital letters are printed in red paint - cinnabar, and the text - in black paint. In front of each part of the book there is a patterned screensaver - a drawing depicting lush grass and leaves on a black field. Cedar cones hang on thin branches among the leaves...

Ivan Vasilyevich reached the last sheet - everything was in place, not a single mistake. At the end of the book I read that it was published on March 1, 1564. Printers mention their works very modestly...

Grozny's face brightened. Ivan Fedorov understood: he liked the book.

- Well, they save their honor with their heads, okay, I printed the book. He pleased the Tsar,” he praises Ivan Fedorov.

The tsar gave a sign to one of the boyars and ordered him to bring books from his library to the chamber. They brought them. He called the boyars closer to him and laughed:

- But our books are no worse! The Drukhari did not disgrace the honor of the Russian land.

Ivan Fedorov published many books, but the main one is “The ABC” (1574).

Of course, his “ABC” is different from modern ones. It contained the necessary rules of grammar and introduced children not only to letters and numbers. It contained many instructive instructions and sayings from the Bible - the most famous book of all time.

Blessed is the man who has gained wisdom, and the man who has gained understanding. *** If you forgive people for their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, and if you do not forgive people for their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins either. *** And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not feel the beam in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother: Let me take the speck out of your eye, but there is a beam in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see how to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. *** Do not cause offense, but endure the infliction patiently. *** Before sunset, make peace with those with whom you have to fall out.

Drukar - typographer, printer, book printer.

Foreign - the same as foreign

Reports and messages on the Russian language

On topic: HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

The name of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov is well known both in our country and abroad. Previously, he was considered nothing more than an artisan, but research in recent decades has discovered new aspects of Ivan Fedorov’s activities. Now we see in him an educator, writer, teacher, artist, public figure. But, of course, first of all, for us he is the founder of book printing in Russia and Ukraine.

According to limited data, Ivan Fedorov studied at the University of Krakow, where he received a bachelor's degree. Of course, he was a well-educated person for that time. He began his activities together with his assistant Peter Mstislavets, being a deacon of one of the Kremlin churches.

On March 1, 1564, the first printed book in Russia called “The Apostle”, made with great technical and artistic skill, came out of the Moscow Printing House. Ivan Fedorov acted here not only as a printer, but also as an editor. The publication contains many illustrations: the flyleaf depicts the Apostle Luke, the book has 48 headpieces and endings, the font was developed on the basis of the Moscow semi-ustav. In addition to the Apostle, 2 editions of the Book of Hours were published in Moscow. But Ivan Fedorov printed not only church books - he published the first Russian primer.

In 1566, together with Pyotr Mstislavets, Ivan Fedorov left Moscow and moved to Ukraine. According to one version, this happened due to persecution of the church, but there is also information that the reason was educational activities. After leaving Moscow, he lived and worked in Zabludov, Ostrog and Lvov. But even in Moscow, the printing business he founded continued. A printing house was also created in Kazan. Ivan Fedorov's publications are still found in book depositories around the world.

In Zabludov, a small town in western Belarus, a printing press appeared in July 1568. And although the printing house existed for only about 2 years, its role in the history of Slavic book printing was great: in those distant times it was an example of friendly ties between fraternal peoples. The Teaching Gospel, the Psalter and the Book of Hours were published here. For his work, Ivan Fedorov was given the opportunity to lead a comfortable life as a nobleman - a landowner. But he decided differently: he collected typographic tools, fonts, and his simple belongings and went to Lvov, where he soon also founded a printing house - the first on Ukrainian soil. This was not an easy task: considerable funds were required. Ivan Fedorov turned to wealthy Ukrainian artisans for help, and a year later, in 1573, he began printing the first Ukrainian printed book, “The Apostle.” The book has an afterword: “The story... where this drukarnya began and how it came to pass” is the first example of Ukrainian memoir literature.

At the beginning of 1575, the major Ukrainian feudal lord Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky, who had long been thinking about publishing the complete Slavic Bible, invited Ivan Fedorov to his service. The pioneer printer saw in this invitation an opportunity to continue his favorite business and agreed. The fourth printing house in his life was the most productive. In less than 4 years (1578-1581) she published 5 editions and among them the famous Ostrog Bible.

The Ostrog Bible played a huge role in the cultural history of the East Slavic peoples. At one time, it was for the West a kind of evidence of the ideological and moral maturity of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. It is important to emphasize the role of this book in the development of natural science and technical knowledge in Rus': the Bible contained information on astronomy and mathematics, chemistry and geography, biology and medicine.

Ivan Fedorov was a versatile and enlightened person. Not only was he involved in publishing, but he also cast cannons and invented a multi-barreled mortar with interchangeable parts. The first Russian book printer had close ties with the enlightened people of Europe. His correspondence with the Saxon Elector Augustus was found in the Dresden archive.

The life of Ivan Fedorov ended in Lvov in 1583. The Ukrainian and Russian peoples remember their enlightener and pioneer of printing. Since 1959, book publishers and book scholars have annually held Fedorov Readings, dedicated to important issues in the history of books and book publishing. A large number of scientific works have been published devoted to the activities of the “drug of books never seen before.”

In 1909, in Moscow, on the initiative of the Moscow Archaeological Society, with funds that had been collected by the people for 39 years, a monument to the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov was unveiled. The authors of this monument are sculptor V. Volnukhin and architect I. Mashkov. Ivan Fedorov is depicted with a newly printed copy of the book “The Apostle”, which he holds in his hand.

"Reports and messages on the Russian language" V.A. Krutetskaya. Additional materials, useful information, interesting facts. Elementary School.