Grotesque images of mayors. “Description of the city of Foolov and its mayors

V different time placed in the city of Foolov by the higher authorities (1731 — 1826)

The work is a satirical allegory about the history of the town of Foolov, which depicts numerous images of mayors, different years who led the city government.

One of the rulers of Foolov was Amadeus Clementy, who became famous first on the Italian peninsula and then in the town for his culinary talent for preparing pasta, but ended his reign with exile for treason.

Fotiy Ferapontov, who had previously been a barber, and when he was the head of the city, was an intensified fighter against tax evaders, was appointed the next city head. Ferapontov's weakness was his fascination with cruel spectacles, which he was personally present at. Fotiy Petrovich did not rule for long, as he died when he was attacked by angry dogs.

After this, Ivan Velikanov, who was distinguished by his cruelty towards officials and greed, took over the post of mayor. Two years into his reign love story with Lopukhina he was sent to prison.

Then the military officer Manyl Kildibaev, an incredibly brave man, who was dismissed from his place of honor five years later, sat in the chair of the city mayor.

Lamvrokakis, who replaced him, turned out to be a fugitive Greek who had once traded in Greek small items at the market. During his leadership in the city, he stood out for his support of classical education, but died from bedbug bites.

Another prominent representative of the city was Dementy Brudasty, nicknamed the organist due to the fact that he had an organ-shaped device in his head and uttered only two phrases. During his reign, Foolov was in constant fear, and after the end of Organchik’s power, riots began in the city.

Semyon Dvoekurov turned out to be a very active leader of Foolov, who managed to repair roads, organize the production of beer and honey, introduced the townspeople to the cultivation of mustard and bay leaves, and dreamed of opening a city academy.

Notable in the role of the mayor is the stupid batman Ferdyshchenko, who peacefully ruled the city for six years, and then allegedly lost his mind.

Distinguished by voluptuousness and frivolity, he did not care about the collection of taxes, allowed a period of famine and fires during his reign and died of gluttony.

The most inactive head was Sadness Erast, a depraved melancholy man, as a result of whose reign the townspeople plunged into the abyss of terrible debauchery and polytheism. After his death, Erast left his own idyllic works as a legacy to the city.

Most distinguished by the idiotic leadership of Foolov, Gloomy-Burcheev, who decided to remake the life of the city and direct it in a military direction. Residents were ordered to dress in military uniform, march on the parade ground every day, strictly follow the established schedule.

Describing the images of numerous mayors of Foolov, the writer, using satirical methods, reveals the true essence of autocracy based on arbitrariness and violence against people.

Characteristics of the mayors of the city of Glupov

The novel “The History of a City,” created by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin at the end of the nineteenth century, is a truly satirical work that exposes the vices of power, which at that time was absolute. That is why the main theme that is touched upon in the work is the theme common people and autocratic government, their relationships and interactions.

In each chapter of the novel “The History of a City,” Saltykov-Shchedrin shows his readers how people live during a government of absolute power, how exactly this government, in the person of city governors, disposes of its rights and how well it fulfills its duties. The famous inventory of mayors given in the book indicates that in the history of the city of Foolov there were twenty-two of them. It is easy to notice that they were all somewhat strange. For example, the first mayor of Foolov, Dementy Brudasty, was appointed to his position in a fuss, which is why no one noticed that in the head of this curious man there was a real little “organ”, and the last ruler of the city, Ugryum-Burcheev, was not a human being. the highest mental abilities, and completely destroyed the entire city in order to build a new one in its place, although it is not really clear why and why he needed this.

In his novel “The History of a City,” Saltykov-Shchedrin uses speaking names in order to better emphasize characteristics each of the mayors. For example, Erast Grustimov, one of the most reverent and gentle rulers of Foolov, died of melancholy, but before that he managed to leave behind several novels and increase the ransom tribute to five thousand rubles a year, and Onufriy Negodyaev simply destroyed all the roads, and from The resulting stone was used to build monuments. It is worth noting that all twenty-two mayors were just like that - strange, grotesque, but very well reflecting the main negative traits that almost every government is guilty of - greed, and the desire to profit from subordinates, and short-sightedness, and impracticality, and banal stupidity. After all, if you think about it, the main difference between city residents and government officials is only that the latter find themselves in right time in the right place, and the first ones simply continued to live the way they lived before, without any special ups and downs.

It is impossible not to notice the fact that the work “The History of a City” is filled with many absolutely fantastic and implausible moments, but one can guess that behind this grotesque lies the truth - the way Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin sees it. Convicting the mayors of their ignorance and their sins, the writer does not hesitate to resort to means artistic expression, because with their help the novel becomes much more visual and understandable for the perception of readers - it’s not hard to imagine fantastic image a mayor with a stuffed head or a ruler with an organ instead of a head. This accessibility for everyone to understand lies the strength of this work.

I believe that Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin’s novel “The History of a City” very clearly reflects reality, everything that happened during the reign of absolute power. It is not entirely clear what the previous rulers were guided by when looking for what they thought was a worthy replacement, as well as why such chaos and self-will reigned, but one thing is obvious - the years go by, generations change, and in many ways this work remains relevant and understandable today. Human factor it is difficult to neglect, so we are all people with our sins, desires to find our own benefit and arrange our lives better. It’s just important not to forget that first of all you need to remain a person with capital letters- respect other people’s work, learn lessons from history, analyze and approach life rationally and judiciously, then life will delight you in return, and not bring unexpected disappointments and grief, which, in fact, could have been foreseen if you carefully relate to life.

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“The History of a City” by Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin was called by his contemporaries “a lampoon on the history of the Russian state.” This book remains relevant in our time, being, in fact, not a merciless verdict on “Russian reality”, but a merciless surgical operation that reveals and heals the “ulcers” of society.

A series: List school literature 10-11 grade

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by liters company.

INDUSTRY OF CITY GOVERNERS, AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN THE CITY OF GLUPOV FROM HIGH AUTHORITIES DELIVERED (1731–1826)

1) Clementy, Amadeus Manuilovich. Exported from Italy by Biron, Duke of Courland, for his skillful preparation of pasta; then, having suddenly been promoted to the proper rank, he was sent by the mayor. Arriving in Glupov, he not only did not give up pasta making, but even strongly forced many to do so, which is how he glorified himself. For treason he was whipped in 1734 and, after his nostrils were torn out, he was exiled to Berezov.

2) Ferapontov, Fotiy Petrovich, foreman. Former barber of the same Duke of Courland. He made numerous campaigns against debtors and was so eager for spectacles that he did not trust anyone to flog him without himself. In 1738, while in the forest, he was torn to pieces by dogs.

3) Velikanov, Ivan Matveevich. He imposed a tribute of three kopecks per head on the residents in his favor, having previously drowned the director in the river of savings. He killed many police captains. In 1740, during the reign of the meek Elizabeth, he was caught in a love affair with Avdotya Lopukhina, beaten with a whip and, after cutting his tongue, exiled to imprisonment in the Cherdyn prison.

4) Urus-Kugush-Kildibaev, Manyl Samylovich, captain-lieutenant from the Life Campanians. He was distinguished by his insane courage and even once took the city of Foolov by storm. When this was brought to his attention, he did not receive praise and in 1745 he was dismissed with publication.

5) Lamvrokakis, a fugitive Greek, without a name or patronymic and even without a rank, caught by Count Kirila Razumovsky in Nizhyn, at the bazaar. He sold Greek soap, sponges and nuts; Moreover, he was a supporter of classical education. In 1756 he was found in bed, eaten by bedbugs.

6) Baklan, Ivan Matveevich, foreman. He was three arshins and three inches tall and boasted that he came in a direct line from Ivan the Great (the famous bell tower in Moscow). Broken in half during a storm in 1761.

7) Pfeiffer, Bogdan Bogdanovich, guard sergeant, Holstein native. Having accomplished nothing, he was replaced in 1762 for ignorance.

8) Brudasty, Dementy Varlamovich. He was appointed in a hurry and had some special device in his head, for which he was nicknamed “Organchik”. This did not prevent him, however, from putting in order the arrears left behind by his predecessor. During this reign, a disastrous anarchy occurred that lasted seven days, as will be described below.

9) Dvoekurov, Semyon Konstantinovich, civilian adviser and gentleman. He paved Bolshaya and Dvoryanskaya streets, started brewing and mead making, introduced mustard and bay leaves into use, collected arrears, patronized the sciences and petitioned for the establishment of an academy in Foolov. Wrote an essay: “Lives of the Most Remarkable Monkeys.” Being of a strong constitution, he had eight amantas in succession. His wife, Lukerya Terentyevna, was also very lenient and thereby greatly contributed to the splendor of this reign. He died in 1770 by natural causes.

10) Marquis de Sanglot, Anton Protasyevich, French native and friend of Diderot. He was frivolous and loved to sing obscene songs. He was flying through the air in the city garden and almost flew away completely, when he caught his coattails on a spitz, and was removed from there with great difficulty. For this undertaking he was fired in 1772, and the next year, not losing heart, he gave performances at Isler’s mineral waters.

11) Ferdyshchenko, Petr Petrovich, foreman. Former orderly of Prince Potemkin. Although his mind was not very broad, he was tongue-tied. Launched arrears; loved to eat boiled pork and goose with cabbage. During his leadership, the city suffered famine and fire. He died in 1779 from overeating.

12) Wartkin, Vasilisk Semenovich. This mayorship was the longest and most brilliant. He led the campaign against arrears, and burned thirty-three villages and, with the help of these measures, collected arrears of two rubles and a half. Introduced the game of lamouche and Provençal oil; paved the market square and planted the street leading to public places with birch trees; again applied for the establishment of an academy in Foolov, but, having received a refusal, built a house for rent. He died in 1798 during an execution, with parting words from the police captain.

13) Scoundrels, Onufriy Ivanovich, former Gatchina stoker. He paved the streets paved by his predecessors and built monuments from the quarried stone. Replaced in 1802 for disagreement with Novosiltsev, Czartoryski and Stroganov (the famous triumvirate in their time) regarding the constitution, in which the consequences justified him.

14) Mikaladze, prince, Ksavery Georgievich, Cherkashenin, descendant of the voluptuous princess Tamara. He had a seductive appearance and was so eager for the female sex that he almost doubled the Foolov population. I left a useful guide on this subject. He died in 1814 from exhaustion.

15) Benevolensky, Feofilakt Irinarkhovich, state councilor, Speransky’s friend at the seminary. He was wise and had a penchant for legislation. He predicted public courts and zemstvo. He had a love affair with a merchant's wife Raspopova, from whom he ate pies with filling on Saturdays. In his free time, he composed sermons for city priests and translated from the Latin works of Thomas a à Kempis. He reintroduced mustard, bay leaf and Provençal oil into use as being beneficial. The first imposed tribute on the farm-out, from which he received three thousand rubles a year. In 1811, Bonaparte was called to account for his connivance and exiled to prison.

16) Pimple, Major, Ivan Panteleich. He ended up with a stuffed head, which the local leader of the nobility caught him doing.

17) Ivanov, state councilor, Nikodim Osipovich. He was so small in stature that he could not accommodate extensive laws. He died in 1819 from strain, trying to comprehend a certain Senate decree.

18) Du-Chariot, Viscount, Angel Dorofeevich, French native. He loved to dress up in women's clothes and feast on frogs. Upon examination, she turned out to be a girl. Sent abroad in 1821.

19) Grustilov, Erast Andreevich, state councilor. Karamzin's friend. He was distinguished by his tenderness and sensitivity of heart, loved to drink tea in the city grove and could not see black grouse mating without tears. He left behind several works of idyllic content and died of melancholy in 1825. The tribute from the farm raised to five thousand rubles a year.

20) Gloomy-Burcheev, a former scoundrel. He destroyed the old city and built another in a new place.

21) Interception-Zalikhvatsky, Arkhistrateg Stratilatovich, major. I won’t say anything about this. He rode into Foolov on a white horse, burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.

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The given introductory fragment of the book The history of one city (M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, 1869) provided by our book partner -

description of the mayor "the history of one city" Saltykov-Shchedrin

1. Thanks, helped me out
2. In the History of a City, the genre features of a political pamphlet are clearly expressed. This is noticeable already in the Inventory of mayors, especially in the description of the causes of their death. So, one was eaten by bedbugs, another was torn to pieces by dogs, the third died from gluttony, the fourth - from damage to the head instrument, the fifth - from strain, trying to comprehend the commanding decree, the sixth - from efforts to increase the population of Foolov. In this row stands the mayor Pyshch, whose stuffed head was bitten off by the leader of the nobility.
   The techniques of political pamphlet are enhanced by such means artistic image like fantasy and grotesque.
   Almost main feature This work, which certainly deserves attention, is a gallery of images of city governors who do not care about the fate of the city given to them, thinking only about their own good and benefit, or not thinking about anything at all, since some are simply not capable of the thought process. Showing images of the mayors of Foolov, Saltykov-Shchedrin often describes the real rulers of Russia, with all their shortcomings. Among Foolov's mayors one can easily recognize A. Menshikov, Peter I, Alexander I, and Peter III, and Arakcheev, whose unsightly essence was shown by the writer in the image of Gloomy-Burcheev, who ruled during the most tragic time of Foolov’s existence.
   But Shchedrin’s satire is unique in that it does not spare not only the ruling circles, right up to the emperors, but also the ordinary, ordinary, gray person who submits to tyrant rulers. In this dullness and ignorance, a simple citizen of Foolov is ready to blindly obey any, the most ridiculous and absurd orders, recklessly believing in the Tsar-Father. And nowhere does Saltykov-Shchedrin condemn love of bosses and veneration of rank as much as in the History of a City. In one of the first chapters of the work, the Foolovites, also called blockheads, are knocked off their feet in search of slave shackles, in search of a prince who will rule them. Moreover, they are not looking for just anyone, but for the most stupid person. But even the stupidest prince cannot fail to notice the even greater stupidity of the people who came to worship him. He simply refuses to govern such a people, only by graciously accepting the tribute and installing an innovative thief in his place as mayor. Thus, Saltykov-Shchedrin shows the inactivity of Russian rulers, their unwillingness to do anything useful for the state. Saltykov-Shchedrin's satire exposes the henchmen of the sovereign, the flatterers who plunder the country and the treasury. The writer’s satirical talent manifested itself with particular force in the chapter dedicated to Brudasty-Organchik. This mayor, day and night, wrote more and more new orders, according to which they were grabbed and caught, beaten and flogged, described and sold. He explained himself to the Foolovites using only two lines: I’ll ruin you! and I won’t tolerate it! . This is precisely why an empty vessel was needed instead of a head. But the apotheosis of the boss’s idiocy is in the History of one city, Gloomy-Burcheev. This is the most sinister figure in the entire gallery of Foolov's mayors. Saltykov-Shchedrin calls him a gloomy idiot, a gloomy scoundrel, and a slow-witted person to the core. He recognizes neither schools nor literacy, but only the science of numbers taught on the fingers. the main objective of all his labors - to turn the city into a barracks, to force everyone to march, to unquestioningly carry out absurd orders. According to his plan, even brides and grooms should be of the same height and build. A tornado strikes and carries away Ugryum-Burcheev. Such an end to the idiot mayor was perceived by Saltykov-Shchedrin’s contemporaries as a cleansing force, as a symbol of popular anger.
   This gallery of all kinds of scoundrels causes not just Homeric laughter, but also anxiety for the country, in which a headless mannequin can rule a huge country.
   Certainly, literary work cannot resolve the political issues raised in it. But the fact that these questions were asked means that someone thought about them and tried to correct something.

Composition

One of the most famous works M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin - “The History of a City.” Despite the title, this work is not an allegorical historical chronicle, but satirical novel, which embodied the state of society under autocracy.

This condition arose in Russia much earlier than 1731, designated as the beginning of the story, and did not stop in 1825, although the chronicler’s story ends there. The situation in the country did not change at all in the 60s of the 19th century, when the book was written. This situation typical not only for Tsarist Russia, but also for any society experiencing the yoke of autocracy.

So, power and people - this is the cardinal problem that is the internal core of the book and makes it whole, despite the external independence of the chapters.

All chapters, except the first - “On the roots of the origin of the Foolovites” - are devoted to the life of the people under the yoke of autocracy. Moreover, each of them reveals some new facet of the embodiment of arbitrariness and violence against people. No matter what measures the autocrat carried out, no matter what intentions he was guided by, the result was always the same: endless fear of the inhabitants and new disasters and misfortunes falling on their heads.

Foolov's power is represented in the book by a whole gallery of mayors. The satirist introduces the reader to the variety of persons who “ruled Foolov at different times” in the chapter “Inventory of the mayors.” Brief characteristics the rulers listed in it are truly impressive. Who didn’t control the fate of the Foolovites! And Amadeus Manuilovich Clementy, taken from Italy by Biron “for his skillful preparation of pasta,” and promoted to the proper rank; and Lamvrokakis - “a runaway Greek, without a name or patronymic and even without rank, caught by Count Kirila Razumovsky in Nezhin, at the bazaar”; and Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko - the former orderly of Prince Potemkin; and Onufriy Ivanovich Negodyaev, a former Gatchina stoker...

The biographies of many of the city rulers may seem implausible. Meanwhile, they reflect the real state of affairs. Under an autocratic system, completely random people often found themselves at the top of power. But somehow the emperor or his entourage “liked” them. So, for example, Biron, who took Clementius out of Italy, was himself taken out of Courland by Empress Anna Ioannovna and received unlimited power during her reign. And Kirill Razumovsky, who allegedly caught Lamvrokakis, became a count and even the ruler of all of Ukraine only thanks to his brother Alexei, the favorite of Elizabeth I. As for Ferdyshchenko and Negodyaev, their rise resembles some actual facts. Suffice it to say that Catherine II granted count's title to his hairdresser, and Paul I elevated his valet to count. Therefore, the writer sometimes did not even need to resort to exaggeration: reality gave him a lot of material.

And yet there is a lot in “The History of a City” that is frankly fantastic in nature. The mayor with an organ instead of a head... The mayor with a stuffed head... Tin soldiers, filled with blood and frantically breaking huts...

Why does a writer need these and other similar examples? How to understand all these “inconsistencies”? The satirist himself said: “There are miracles in which, upon careful examination, one can notice a fairly clear real basis.”

Indeed, with the help of the image of Mayor Brudasty, whose activities are described in the chapter “Organchik,” the satirist shows: in order to rule Foolov, it is not at all necessary to have a head. To do this, it is enough to have a simple mechanism capable of reproducing just two phrases - “I’ll ruin you!” and “I won’t tolerate it!”

Busty represents, as it were, the very essence of “government,” “cleared of everything extraneous.” With the help of the grotesque, Shchedrin makes it extremely clear what is characteristic of all “city governors” in general, regardless of their personal inclinations, character, and beliefs.

There were different mayors in Foolov: “active” and “inactive”, liberal and conservative, introducing education and eradicating it. However, all their diverse “projects” and endeavors ultimately boiled down to one thing: to extract “arrears” and suppress “sedition.”

The gallery of mayors begins with Brudasty, who is a kind of “common denominator of all mayors,” and ends with Gloomy-Burcheev, who is a more significant figure, and therefore more ominous. The prototype of Ugryum-Burcheev was Arakcheev. But it would be wrong to limit the broad generalizing meaning of this figure. It concentrates and sharpens the features characteristic of a special type of ruler. For what type?

Gloomy-Burcheev surpassed all his predecessors with boundless idiocy and inexhaustible energy. But this energy was aimed at turning the city, or rather the whole country, into a barracks and forcing them to march from morning to evening. His ideals are “straight line, absence of variegation, simplicity brought to the point of nakedness.” The anti-human essence of autocracy is shown here by Shchedrin with stunning force.

It is thanks to such extraordinary images of mayors that “The History of a City” lives on today. This wonderful book is known not only in our country, but throughout the world and stands firmly among the greatest achievements of world satire.

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