On March 1, 1564, the founder of mass printing, Ivan Fedorov (c. 1510-1583), together with Peter Mstislavets, completed work on the first Russian large-scale printed book, “The Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles.”

Letters have existed in Rus' for a long time, but the book came to our ancestors with the adoption of Christianity.

Ivan Fedorov studied at the university in Krakow. In his youth he lived and worked in Little Russia and was known as a cannon master. Upon arrival in Moscow, Ivan Fedorov found himself surrounded by Metropolitan Macarius and received the position of deacon in the Church of St. Nicholas of Gostunsky in the Kremlin. He took part in the work of the commission for correcting handwritten church books (eliminating discrepancies and heretical inserts).

Printing in territorially expanding Rus' was caused by the need to supply churches under construction with liturgical literature with corrected canonical texts. The second reason was the need to prevent the spread of cheap and mass printed Uniate literature from the West, and to put a barrier to Catholic expansion to the East. In 1563, by order of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich IV the Terrible, construction began in the capital of the State Printing Yard on Nikolsky Krestets (now Nikolskaya Street next to the Kremlin).

Ivan Fedorov quickly mastered the subtleties of typographic art in the printing house. On April 19, 1563, the “cunning masters of printing” Ivan Fedorov and his assistant Pyotr Mstislavets began work on their first book - the Acts and Epistles of the Holy Apostles. This work lasted about a year. On March 1, 1564, the first Moscow large-scale printed book was dated by the first state printing house in Moscow. The pioneer printer himself did a lot of editorial work on it and designed it according to all the rules of the printing art of that time. In this book, Ivan Fedorov made rich headpieces for each section, colorful vignettes at the top of the pages, initials (at the beginning of paragraphs), and typed it in a semi-standard font, developed on the basis of handwritten Moscow letters of the mid-16th century.

Following the “Acts of the Holy Apostles,” Fedorov and Mstislavets published the Teaching Gospel, and in 1565 two editions of the “Chasovnik” (Book of Hours). It began to be used as an educational book for teaching reading. Circulations of several hundred copies were considered large at that time. But the attitude towards the innovation caused a protest from a group of clergy. After all, the handwritten creation of liturgical books usually solemnly began as an important spiritual task after prayers; the soulless printing press was perceived at first as something soulless and suspicious. In addition, the work of monastic scribes became unprofitable; the machine made it possible to print books faster and cheaper. Since the main defender of Ivan Fedorov, Metropolitan Macarius, died in 1563, the pioneer printers were left without patronage. In 1566, there was a fire in their printing house (possibly the result of arson), and they decided to leave Muscovy. Outside Muscovite Rus', the “Teaching Gospel”, the “Psalter” with the “Book of Hours” and the first Russian printed primer with grammar, the “ABC”, were published - “for the benefit of the Russian people.” (The only copy of I. Fedorov’s “ABC” was discovered in 1939, now located in the USA in the library of Harvard University.) In the city of Ostrog in Volyn, Fedorov published the famous “Ostrog Bible” - the first complete Bible in the Church Slavonic language. Printed in a large font, new for that time, on 628 sheets, it was a masterpiece of technical execution and artistic taste (about 300 copies have survived to this day). Ivan Fedorov’s boards with the font he developed for this book were kept by his followers for a long time after his death, and some of them were in working order for almost 200 years.
Ivan Fedorov was not only a pioneer printer, but also a political figure in Rus' during the time of Ivan the Terrible. He had numerous and varied talents - he was a military engineer and inventor, writer, and innovative printer. On December 5, 1583, I. Fedorov died. He was buried in Lvov in the St. Onufrievsky Monastery. In 1977, the Fedorov Museum was opened here, but in 1990 the monastery fell into the hands of the Basilian monks, who liquidated the museum. In 1909, in the center of Moscow, next to the Kitai-Gorod wall, where the Sovereign’s printing yard was located in the 16th century, a monument to Ivan Fedorov (sculptor S.M. Volnukhin) was erected. In 1998, at the Moscow courtyard of the Trinity-Seogiev Lavra, an icon was consecrated depicting Metropolitan Macarius and the first printer, Deacon Ivan Fedorov, next to a printing press - the first image of a printing press and the first printer on an Orthodox icon.

(real name - Ivan Fedorovich Moskvitin)

(1510-1583) Russian pioneer

We do not know where and when the boy was born, who was destined to go down in history under the name of Ivan Fedorov. However, legend claims that this happened somewhere in the Likhvensky district of the Kaluga province. The only thing that is known for sure is that before he started typography, Ivan Fedorov was a deacon of the Church of St. Nicholas of Gostunsky, located on the territory of the Kremlin.

This means that he should have received a good education. Therefore, like many other clergy, he was engaged in teaching literacy.

Obviously, the position of deacon contributed to the fact that Ivan Fedorov met Metropolitan Macarius, who noticed the capable young man.

There is documentary evidence that Ivan Fedorov studied at the University of Krakow and received a bachelor's degree in 1532. In the fifties of the 16th century, he worked first as a reference worker preparing texts for typesetting, and then as a foreman in an anonymous printing house that opened.

In 1560-1561, at the direction of Ivan IV, the construction of the first state printing house in Moscow began. The king even ordered a special building to be built for her. At the same time, work was underway to prepare a set of fonts and other equipment.

The printing of the first book began after the return of Ivan the Terrible from a military campaign that ended with the victorious assault on Polotsk. The pioneer printers, supported by the tsar, successfully completed their difficult work and on March 1, 1564, published the first accurately dated Russian book, “The Apostle.”

Then Fedorov published several more publications in Moscow. But this activity encountered unexpected resistance from the top of the Orthodox Church. It is curious that the printing house he founded immediately became a kind of landmark; all the foreigners who were in Moscow at that time wrote about it.

Nevertheless, on October 29, 1565, Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets completed work on the Book of Hours and left Moscow soon after. They moved to Lithuania and organized a printing house on the estate of the hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Khodkevich, which was located near the city of Zabludovo. There they published the Teaching Gospel, work on which was completed on March 17, 1569.

But his stay in Zabludov did not last long. Soon Ivan Fedorov moved to Lviv, where he also founded a printing house. It was in it that he published a new edition of the Moscow “Apostle”, to which he attached the “Tale where this drukarnya began” (“The Tale of Where the History of this Printing House Came from”), which he had composed. This was the first memoir work printed in the printing house. The same printing house published the famous “ABC” by Ivan Fedorov, which became the first printed Russian textbook.

In 1578, Fedorov moved again, this time to Ostrog, where he cut out a new font from metal based on his own drawings and used it to print the famous “Ostrog Bible.”

It should be noted that all of Fedorov’s publications were richly decorated with wood engravings, as well as various ornaments. The first typographers sought to diversify typefaces and arrange them beautifully on paper, although they thought little about the artistic side.

Fedorov came from the traditions of Russian handwritten books, which were always richly decorated and elegant both inside and out. He not only cut out fonts, but was also an excellent engraver, producing double-page illustrations for his books - an important novelty of that time.

From Ostrog Fedorov moves again to Lvov. However, at this time he was engaged in completely different crafts: he cast cannons and even invented a multi-barreled mortar.

In 1583, the printer took a trip to Vienna. Apparently, he wanted to get acquainted with European book printing and learn more about technical innovations in publishing. However, he was unable to develop the information received. Returning after a trip to Lvov, Fedorov fell seriously ill and died.

The memory of the Russian pioneer printer has survived to this day. Now Fedorov’s readings dedicated to him are regularly held.

For the first time, Ivan Fedorov began to print books; before him, they were copied by hand. In ancient times, books were highly valued. The first printing press was invented in the 15th century. By decree of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, the first printing house was built in Rus' in 1563. Church deacon Ivan Fedorov was appointed head of the printing house. Subsequently he became a pioneer printer.

According to surviving sources, it is known that the biography of Ivan Fedorov began in 1510 on May 2, he received an education at the University of Krakow and a bachelor's degree. Fedorov came from the Belarusian family of Ragozins. The book "Apostle" is the first to be published in 1564. First printer Fedorov and his partner Pyotr Mstislavets worked on this book for a year. The color of the capital letter of each chapter was red in this book, each chapter had a beautiful pattern with intertwined vine branches. The second book, printed by the pioneer printers, was called “The Book of Hours” and was used as a textbook for teaching children to read. The book was the last one published in Russia by Ivan Fedorov.

In Moscow, not everyone liked the creation of a printing house; many considered it a real blasphemy to print sacred scriptures on a printing press. With the advent of the printing press, the work of a monk-scribe became completely unprofitable. In 1566, a fire occurred in the printing house; it is believed that it was arson. Then Fedorov and his friend left Russia. Then Fedorov and Mstislavets continued their work in Lithuania. The printing house was located in the city of Zabludov and it was called drukarnya. Here in 1569 the joint book of Fedorov and Mstislavets “The Teacher’s Gospel” was published. After the book was published, Mstislavets moved to Vilna and opened his own printing house.

Ivan Fedorov, when he was left alone, began to print the “Psalter with the Book of Hours.” Hetman Khodkevich soon closed Fedorov's printing house. She was in his possession. In 1572, Fedorov opened a printing house in Lvov, where he printed “The Apostle,” and in 1574 he published “Azbuka” in Russian.

The pioneer printer died in Lvov in 1583 and was buried in the cemetery of the Onufrinsky Monastery. The remains were reburied in the narthex of the church in the 18th century. The death of Ivan Fedorov was like that of all people. On the tombstone at his grave it is written: “The Drukhar of books unprecedented before you.”

Wow!.. That's it!.. Be healthy!..

The merit of the Russian pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov. Unfortunately, history keeps 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. 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 Tsar Ivan the Terrible, 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 the book “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 the Dermansky monastery. 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.

The name and basic facts of the biography of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov are probably known to many erudite people. But this man’s life path was much more difficult and more exciting than what is taught in schools. We invite you to get acquainted in more detail with how the first pioneer printer in Russia lived and worked.

Historical realities

The biography of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov should be considered in the context of the era in which he lived. So, the 15th century is the period of the reign of the harsh Ivan the Terrible. Russia lags significantly behind Europe; books are copied in the old fashioned way in monasteries by monks. And in the West, printing presses have been in use for many years, making painstaking work faster. Of course, to a modern person the massive structure - the invention of Johannes Gutenberg - will seem strange. The first printing press had bars that attached it to the floor and ceiling, a heavy press, under the force of which impressions were left on paper, as well as a set of letters - letters of the English alphabet in a mirror image. Page layouts were compiled from them.

Ivan the Terrible, not wanting to lag behind Europe, ordered the development of book printing, ordered a printing press, and Ivan Fedorov became the first employee of the ancient printing house.

The beginning of life's journey

A short biography and interesting facts about the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov do not contain an exact date of birth. Therefore, researchers assume that he was born in the 20s of the 16th century. The place of birth is also shrouded in mystery, but it is believed that it is Moscow: it is not for nothing that he signed his name as “Moskvitin”. Information about his childhood and youth has not reached our days, which is understandable - when a person is just born, no one realizes that in the future his life will be of interest to his descendants, so the facts are not recorded anywhere.

However, the name of Fedorov became famous in 1564 - this is the date of birth of Russian official printing.

First printed book

In the development of the culture of Rus', the merits of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov are fully noted. In the short biography for children, special attention is paid to his first book, which appeared after a month of painstaking work by a talented innovator and in many ways resembled a handwritten one. This is the Apostles, also known as the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles. It is distinguished by the following features:

• The presence of initial letters, which are a large letter, the first in a section, exquisitely decorated with ornaments. There are 22 of them.
• The use of ornaments that make the book especially elegant and solemn.

Thanks to Fedorov’s efforts, the book was fully consistent with ancient Russian church traditions.

Follow up

After the appearance of the first printed book, Ivan Fedorov’s work continued. A year later, the Book of Hours was published. However, the innovators had to face fierce resistance from the monks, who did not accept printed books as such. The traditions turned out to be so strong that the biography of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov mentions the fact of the burning of the printing house and the need to leave Moscow. However, the work continued.

Life in Zabludovo

The biography of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov is especially interesting for children. It mentions that after leaving Moscow he settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in Zabludovo, located on the territory of modern Poland. Thanks to the help of Hetman Khodkevich, who treated the innovator kindly, Fedorov established the production of church books. In 1569, the Master's Gospel was published. Soon after this, the pioneer printer parted with his friend and assistant Pyotr Mstislavets, but continued his favorite work. The “Psalter from the Book of Hours” was published. Further, difficult times begin in the biography of pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov. Due to illness, Khodkiewicz became disillusioned with publishing books, considering this activity unnecessary, and refused to support the innovator. But the desire to do what he loved turned out to be stronger, and difficulties did not break this man’s will.

Moving to Lviv

Left without the hetman's support, the founder of the printing business moved to Lviv. He needed money to open a printing house, but no one was in a hurry to help. However, at this moment the biography of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov becomes instructive: thanks to perseverance, he manages to get money and continue the business. In Lvov, the second edition of the famous “Apostle” was published, which, of course, was inferior in artistic and professional terms to the first version, but still has great historical value. The ABC, the first printed textbook in Russia, was also published here.

Heyday of activity

From the short biography of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov, we learn that, despite his willpower and efficiency, he was unable to get a stable profit, so financial difficulties forced the innovator to leave Lviv and move to the southwest of Rus'. Here, under the patronage of Prince Konstantin Ostrog, the great man managed to publish the first complete Bible in Church Slavonic, the Ostrog Bible.

Last years of life

Work in Ostrog helped Ivan Fedorov partially solve his financial problems, so he got the opportunity to return to Lviv and begin work on opening a new printing house. Alas, this was not destined to come true; in 1583, the pioneer printer passed away. The new printing house was sold to moneylenders for debts; the eldest son and student of Ivan Fedorov tried to buy it back, but they did not have enough money. Book printing in Rus' fell asleep for 20 years, only to return in triumph.

A selection of interesting facts

• The first printing press with movable type was invented by Guttenberg, a goldsmith by profession. However, due to financial difficulties, the creator was forced to enter into an unfavorable agreement with the moneylender Fust, which is why for some time it was believed that the credit for printing belonged to the latter.
• While the name of the pioneer printer Fedorov is well known to many, few people know that it was he who began separating words with spaces, which made reading much easier. Before him, texts were written together, the end of the sentence was highlighted with a dot.
• It was the first book printer who introduced some new letters and words into use.
• Even a short biography of the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov indicates that he was an incredibly educated and erudite person for his time, spoke several languages, and strived to bring his knowledge to the masses.
• Ivan Fedorov’s assistant in creating printed books was his friend and associate Pyotr Mstislavets, information about whose childhood and youth has not survived to this day.
• The biography of pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov mentions several interesting events from his personal life. So, it is known that he was married twice.
• During the life of the first printer there were no surnames, so Fedorov is most likely an abbreviated patronymic “Fedorovich”. Thus, in the “Ostrog Bible” it is indicated that it was printed by John, Fedorov’s son.

The short biography of the first pioneer printer, Ivan Fedorov, is entertaining and instructive. This man, despite the fierce resistance of the clergy, managed to organize the publication of books, putting his whole soul into this matter.