Nikolai Nekrasov had a complex character. In gymnasium, he often clashed with teachers, and during his studies at St. Petersburg University, lacking support from his parents, he wandered and took on the dirtiest jobs. He was also fond of gambling. His early poems were deemed talentless, but despite this, Nekrasov remained in the memory of the Russian people as a great poet and singer of the people's sufferings.

Nekrasov's childhood was spent in a harsh, even despotic atmosphere. His father was a cruel man, and the poet often witnessed the oppression of peasants. His mother, Elena Zakrevskaya, was the complete opposite of his father, and Nekrasov carried his love for her throughout his life, making her the heroine of his lyrical works. However, Nekrasov sometimes allowed himself liberties: he skipped classes and wrote satirical poems about his teachers. In his youth, his father wanted to send him to a military school, but Nekrasov ran away and enrolled in the philological faculty of St. Petersburg University.

It was there that his difficult path to literary fame began. The first edition of his poems, "Dreams and Sounds," was a failure. Nekrasov was so ashamed of it that he bought up and burned the entire print run. However, this fiasco did not stop him. Subsequently, he published two more collections that were successful.

In 1848, Nekrasov acquired the magazine "Sovremennik," which became an important phenomenon in Russian literature. Authors such as Belinsky, Dobrolyubov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Goncharov, Turgenev, and Ostrovsky were published there. Nekrasov himself also published his works there, such as "Grandfather Mazai and the Hares," "Who Can Live Well in Russia?" and "Frost, Red Nose."

At Nekrasov's funeral, Dostoevsky delivered a speech. A large crowd gathered, and when Dostoevsky placed Nekrasov third in Russian literature after Pushkin and Lermontov, cries rang out: "Higher, higher than Pushkin!" Such is the complex fate of the poet, the voice of the people's hopes and experiences.