Ivan Fedorov is traditionally called the first book printer in Russia. And also - the first martyr of the Russian press. However, neither the first nor even the second statement is true. Fedorov by no means laid the foundation for the printing business in our country. And he certainly did not suffer a bit from the tyranny of the rabid oprichniks and saints: quite the opposite - he served the church with faith and truth and contributed a lot to the spread of Orthodoxy.
Gift from above
Let's start with the fact that the first printing house was created in Moscow on the initiative of Ivan the Terrible, but after he consulted with … Metropolitan Macarius. There is a discrepancy with the established point of view: it would seem, who, if not the Metropolitan, should have prevented the dissemination of printed, that is, spiritless, devoid of grace books? Who, if not he, should have taken care of the copyists of the books, who earned huge money for the monasteries by their labor? However, Macarius not only gave preference to printing presses, but also rejoiced at them like a small child: “The hierarch, having heard about this (about the intention of Ivan IV to create the first printing house - Ed.), Was very happy and, thanking God, said to the tsar, that such a thought came to him from God and as a gift coming down from above”.
The question is, which fly bit Macarius? After all, he could easily dissuade the tsar from a godless deed, but no. Why? Because he was a man of statesmanship and understood: a book is a source of not only and not so much knowledge as power. And these are by no means nice words. Remember what happened in 1552 when Ivan the Terrible decided to create a printing house in Moscow? Kazan was taken! Russia has grown not just another city, but a city-state, moreover, of a different faith, with views and foundations completely alien to the population of the rest of the country. And Kazan had to somehow be integrated into the new space, as soon as possible to make it Russian, Orthodox! In such a case, one could not rely on the oratory alone of missionary clergymen: they urgently needed to be armed with something. But not to give them handwritten church books as a "weapon" - with numerous mistakes and ad libitum scribes! No, these were supposed to be canonical, unified texts, without discrepancies, capable of causing interpretation and disagreement. And such publications could only be obtained by printing. They began to be printed in the first Moscow printing house.
Russian font
This printing house is usually called anonymous, because the books that came out of its walls were deprived of output data indicating the names of the masters who made it. However, there is no big secret in who stood at the beginning of the glorious typographic business in Russia. Ivan the Terrible, having agreed with Macarius, immediately began to look for tailors' masters: in European cities and villages. And pretty soon there was a man in Denmark who was ready to take on a Moscow startup: a certain Hans Messingheim, nicknamed Bokbinder, that is, the "bookbinder". From the Polish Krakow, where the first printing house appeared as early as 1489, a new printing press and new letters were ordered to Moscow. By the way, an important detail: the Poles did not have to reinvent the wheel - that is, re-cut the Cyrillic font. For the simple reason that from the end of the 15th century they carried out orders,coming from the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Moreover, in all the contracts that accompanied these transactions, the Cyrillic alphabet was called not even Slavic, but Russian. Such, in particular, in 1491 in Krakow was typed "Hours", almost the entire circulation of which went straight to the Muscovites. This is an extra detail for the portrait of the clergy, who allegedly put a spoke in the wheels of the printing business in Russia. It was the church that needed printed books in the first place!It was the church that needed printed books in the first place!It was the church that needed printed books in the first place!
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Apostle
Under the leadership of Hans Messingheim, a master of printed books, Marusha Nefediev, and a Novgorodian, Vasyuk Nikiforov, who became famous for his ability to "cut every kind of thread", gathered in Moscow. And Ivan Fyodorov was among their students.
Unfortunately, the first Moscow anonymous printing house did not last too long: it burned down in one of the fires. Instead, in 1563, by order of Ivan the Terrible and with money taken from his personal treasury, the Printing House was created, within the walls of which the "Apostle" appeared a year later. This is what Ivan Fedorov published. So, strictly speaking, Fedorov is the publisher of the first accurately dated printed book in the Russian kingdom, not the first printer. By the way, in the afterword to The Apostle, Ivan Fyodorov briefly told the story of the appearance of printing in Russia: “The Blessed Tsar and Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich of All Russia commanded to buy holy books at auction and invest in holy churches. But among them there were few suitable ones: all were spoiled by scribes, ignorant and ignorant of the sciences. Then he began to think about how to arrange the printing of books,so that henceforth the holy books will be published in a corrected form."
Escape?
In 1564, immediately after the publication of The Apostle, Ivan Fedorov became the head of the Printing House, showing himself to be a man of great intelligence and talents. And by the way, very versatile. In addition to "making" books, Fedorov casted cannons, developed projects for multiply-charged mortars. He knew languages and even corresponded with the Saxon Elector Augustus and other enlightened people of Europe. It is no wonder that he had envious people: there were plenty of those who wanted to spoil a successful person at all times. But it was not their efforts that Ivan Fedorov left Moscow a year after his triumphant appointment as head of the Printing House. In fact, only the testimony of the English diplomat Jils Fletcher, written 25 years later, after Fedorov left for Lithuania, speaks in favor of this version: “Being ignorant in everything,Russian priests are trying to prevent the spread of education. Several years ago, even under the late Tsar (Ivan the Terrible - ed.), A printing press and letters were brought from Poland to Moscow, and a printing house was founded here. But soon the house was set on fire at night, and the machine with the letters burned down completely, which is believed to have been done by the clergy. " According to Fletcher, it turned out that the property of the Printing House had perished in the fire. Meanwhile, it is known that Fedorov went to Lithuania, loaded with fonts and engraving boards. Most likely, the Englishman heard the ringing, but did not understand where it came from: the first anonymous Moscow printing house, and not the Printing House, perished in the fire. But soon the house was set on fire at night, and the machine with the letters burned down completely, which is believed to have been done by the clergy. " According to Fletcher, it turned out that the property of the Printing House had perished in the fire. Meanwhile, it is known that Fedorov went to Lithuania, loaded with fonts and engraving boards. Most likely, the Englishman heard the ringing, but did not understand where it came from: the first anonymous Moscow printing house, and not the Printing House, perished in the fire. But soon the house was set on fire at night, and the machine with the letters burned down completely, which is believed to have been done by the clergy. " According to Fletcher, it turned out that the property of the Printing House had perished in the fire. Meanwhile, it is known that Fedorov went to Lithuania, loaded with fonts and engraving boards. Most likely, the Englishman heard the ringing, but did not understand where it came from: the first anonymous Moscow printing house, and not the Printing House, perished in the fire.
Battle for faith
Why, then, in 1566, Fedorov went to Lithuania? The reason that prompted him to leave for a foreign land was purely political.
Ivan the Terrible knew that the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania were preparing to unite. The consequences of this unification did not bode well for the Orthodox who lived there: it was clear that the Catholic Church would make every effort to establish itself as the only one for the entire state. Therefore, from Lithuania to Moscow began to receive requests for books, primarily the Bible, rewritten by the elders of the Joseph-Volotsk monastery. This was the most complete Slavic text. The Bible went to Lithuania. And Ivan Fedorov, along with his closest associate Peter Mstislavets, left for the same place. Their solid wagon train was loaded to the brim with fonts, paints, foundry tools and a printing press. And now the question is: who would have allowed the disgraced hired worker to take out the state property? That's right, no one, because it was not an escape, but a mission,designed to preserve and spread Orthodoxy in the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which appeared on the political map of the world in 1569. And, I must say, the mission was successful. In 1570 Ivan Fyodorov published the Psalter with the Word of Hours, which was usually used to learn to read and write: in fact, it was the first Russian primer. And in 1581, Ivan Fyodorov published the famous Ostrog Bible, with an unprecedented circulation of 1,500 copies for those years. Without these books by Fedorov, the population of today's Ukraine and Belarus would certainly have become Catholic. And so they were able to remain Orthodox, although they lived in an openly hostile state …in fact, it was the first Russian primer. And in 1581, Ivan Fyodorov published the famous Ostrog Bible, with an unprecedented circulation of 1,500 copies for those years. Without these books by Fedorov, the population of today's Ukraine and Belarus would certainly have become Catholic. And so they were able to remain Orthodox, although they lived in an openly hostile state …in fact, it was the first Russian primer. And in 1581, Ivan Fyodorov published the famous Ostrog Bible, with an unprecedented circulation of 1,500 copies for those years. Without these books by Fedorov, the population of today's Ukraine and Belarus would certainly have become Catholic. And so they were able to remain Orthodox, although they lived in an openly hostile state …
Magazine: Steps of the Oracle No. 5, Vladimir Stroganov