Who lives well in Rus'? Nikolai Nekrasovsky lives well in Rus'

Page 1 of 3

Prologue
In what year - calculate
In what land - guess
On the sidewalk
Seven men came together:
Seven temporarily obliged,
A tightened province,
Terpigoreva County,
Empty parish,
From adjacent villages:
Zaplatova, Dyryavina,
Razutova, Znobishina,
Gorelova, Neelova -
The harvest is also bad,
They came together and argued:
Who has fun?
Free in Rus'?
Roman said: to the landowner,
Demyan said: to the official,
Luke said: ass.
To the fat-bellied merchant! -
The Gubin brothers said,
Ivan and Metrodor.
Old man Pakhom pushed
And he said, looking at the ground:
To the noble boyar,
To the sovereign minister.
And Prov said: to the king...
The guy's a bull: he'll get in trouble
What a whim in the head -
Stake her from there
You can’t knock them out: they resist,
Everyone stands on their own!
Everyone left the house on business, but during the argument they did not notice how evening came. They had already gone far from their homes, about thirty miles, and decided to rest until the sunshine. They lit a fire and sat down to feast. They argued again, defending their point of view, and ended up in a fight. The tired men decided to go to bed, but then Pakhomushka caught a chick warbler and began to daydream: if only he could fly around Rus' on his wings and find out; who lives “fun and at ease in Rus'?” And every man adds that they don’t need wings, but if they had food, they would go around Rus' with their own feet and find out the truth. A flying warbler asks to let her chick go, and for this she promises a “large ransom”: she will give them a self-assembled tablecloth that will feed them on the way, and she will also give them clothes and shoes.
The peasants sat down by the tablecloth and vowed not to return home until they “found a solution” to their dispute.

Part one
Chapter I
POP

The men are walking along the road, and all around is “inconvenient”, “abandoned land”, everything is flooded with water, no wonder “it snowed every day.” Along the way they meet the same peasants, only in the evening they met a priest. The peasants took off their hats and blocked his way, the priest was afraid, but they told him about their dispute. They ask the priest to answer them “without laughter and without cunning.” Pop says:
“What do you think is happiness?
Peace, wealth, honor?
Isn’t that right, dear friends?”
“Now let's see, brothers,
What’s the peace like?”
From birth, teaching was difficult for Popovich:
Our roads are difficult,
Our parish is large.
Sick, dying,
Born into the world
They don’t choose time:
In reaping and haymaking,
In the dead of autumn night,
In winter, in severe frosts,
And in the spring flood -
Go wherever you are called!
You go unconditionally.
And even if only the bones
Alone broke, -
No! Every time it gets wet,
The soul will hurt.
Don't believe it, Orthodox Christians,
There is a limit to habit:
No heart can bear
Without any trepidation
Death rattle
Funeral lament
Orphan's sadness!
Then the priest tells how they mock the priest’s tribe, mocking priests and priests. Thus, there is no peace, no honor, no money, the parishes are poor, the landowners live in the cities, and the peasants abandoned by them are in poverty. Not like them, but the priest sometimes gives them money, because... they are dying of hunger. Having told his sad story, the priest drove off, and the peasants scolded Luka, who was shouting out to the priest. Luke stood, kept silent,
I was afraid they wouldn't hit me
Comrades, stand by.

Chapter II
RURAL FAIR

No wonder the peasants scold spring: there is water all around, there is no greenery, the cattle must be driven out to the field, but there is still no grass. They walk past empty villages, wondering where all the people have gone. The “kid” we meet explains that everyone has gone to the village of Kuzminskoye for the fair. The men also decide to go there to look for someone happy. A trading village is described, quite dirty, with two churches: Old Believer and Orthodox, there is a school and a hotel. A rich fair is noisy nearby. People drink, party, have fun and cry. The Old Believers are angry at the dressed-up peasants, they say that there is “dog blood” in the red calicoes they wear, so there will be hunger! Wanderers
walk around the fair and admire different goods. A crying old man comes across: he drank away his money and has nothing to buy his granddaughter’s shoes, but he promised, and the granddaughter is waiting. Pavlusha Veretennikov, the “master,” helped Vavila out and bought shoes for his granddaughter. The old man, out of joy, even forgot to thank his benefactor. There is also a bookshop here that sells all sorts of nonsense. Nekrasov exclaims bitterly:
Eh! eh! will the time come,
When (come, desired one!..)
They will let the peasant understand
What a rose is a portrait of a portrait,
What is the book of the book of roses?
When a man is not Blucher
And not my foolish lord -
Belinsky and Gogol
Will it come from the market?
Oh, people, Russian people!
Orthodox peasants!
Have you ever heard
Are you these names?
Those are great names,
Wore them, glorified them
People's intercessors!
Here's some portraits of them for you
Hang in your gorenki,
Read their books...
The wanderers went to the booth “...To listen, to look. // Comedy with Petrushka,.. // The resident, the policeman // Not in the eyebrow, but right in the eye!” By evening the wanderers “left the bustling village”

Chapter III
DRUNKEN NIGHT

Everywhere men see returning, sleeping drunks. Fragmentary phrases, snatches of conversations and songs rush from all sides. A drunk guy buries a zipun in the middle of the road and is sure that he is burying his mother; there men are fighting, drunk women are swearing in the ditch, in whose house it is worst - The road is crowded
What later is uglier:
More and more often they come across
Beaten, crawling,
Lying in a layer.
At the tavern, the peasants met Pavlusha Veretennikov, who bought the peasant shoes for his granddaughter. Pavlusha recorded peasant songs and said that
“Russian peasants are smart,
One thing is bad
That they drink until they are stupefied...”
But one drunk shouted: “And we work harder... // And we work more sober.”
Peasant food is sweet,
The whole century saw an iron saw
He chews but doesn't eat!
You work alone
And the work is almost over,
Look, there are three shareholders standing:
God, king and lord!
There is no measure for Russian hops.
Have they measured our grief?
Is there a limit to the work?
A man does not measure troubles
Copes with everything
No matter what, come.
A man, working, does not think,
That will strain your strength,
So really over a glass
Think about what's too much
Will you end up in a ditch?
To regret - regret skillfully,
To the master's measure
Don't kill the peasant!
Not gentle white-handed ones,
And we are great people
At work and at play!
“Write: In the village of Bosovo
Yakim Nagoy lives,
He works himself to death
He drinks until he’s half dead!..”
Yakim lived in St. Petersburg, but decided to compete with the “merchant”, so he ended up in prison. Since then, for thirty years, he has been “roasting on the strip in the sun.” He once bought pictures for his son and hung them on the walls of the house. Yakima had “thirty-five rubles” saved up. There was a fire, he should have saved money, but he began collecting pictures. The rubles have merged into a lump, now they give eleven rubles for them.
The peasants agree with Yakim:
“Drinking means we feel strong!
Great sadness will come,
How can we stop drinking!..
Work wouldn't stop me
Trouble would not prevail
Hops will not overcome us!”
Then a daring Russian song “about Mother Volga”, “about maiden beauty” burst out.
The wandering peasants refreshed themselves at the self-assembled tablecloth, left Roman on guard at the bucket, and they themselves went to look for the happy one.

Chapter IV
HAPPY

In a loud, festive crowd
The wanderers walked
They shouted the cry:
"Hey! Is there a happy one somewhere?
Show up! If it turns out
That you live happily
We have a ready-made bucket:
Drink for free as much as you like -
We'll treat you to glory!..”
Many people gathered “hunters to take a sip of free wine.”
The sexton who came said that happiness lies in “compassion,” but he was driven away. The “old woman” came and said that she was happy: in the fall, she had grown up to a thousand turnips on a small ridge. They laughed at her, but did not give her vodka. A soldier came and said that he was happy
“...What in twenty battles
I was, not killed!
I walked neither full nor hungry,
But he didn’t give in to death!
I was beaten mercilessly with sticks,
But even if you feel it, it’s alive!”
The soldier was given a drink:
You are happy - there is no word!
The “Olonchan stonemason” came to boast of his strength. They brought it to him too. A man came with shortness of breath and advised the Olonchan man not to boast about his strength. He was also strong, but he overstrained himself, lifting fourteen pounds to the second floor. A “yard man” came and boasted that he was the beloved slave of the boyar Peremetevo and was sick with a noble disease - “according to this, I am a nobleman.” “It’s called po-da-groy!” But the men did not bring him a drink. A “yellow-haired Belarusian” came and said that he was happy because he was eating plenty of rye bread. A man came “with a curled cheekbone.” Three of his comrades were broken by bears, but he is alive. They brought it to him. The beggars came and boasted of the happiness that they were served everywhere.
Our wanderers realized
That they wasted vodka for nothing.
By the way, and a bucket,
End. “Well, that will be yours!
Hey, man's happiness!
Leaky with patches,
Humpbacked with calluses,
Go home!”
They advise men to look for Yermil Girin - that’s who is happy. Yermil kept a mill. They decided to sell it, Ermila bargained, and there was only one rival - the merchant Altynnikov. But Yermil outbid the miller. You just need to pay a third of the price, but Yermil didn’t have any money with him. He Asked for a half-hour delay. The court was surprised that he would make it in half an hour; he had to travel thirty-five miles to his home, but they gave him half an hour. Yermil came to the market square, and that day there was a market. Yermil turned to the people to give him a loan:
“Shut up, listen,
I’ll tell you my word!”
“For a long time the merchant Altynnikov
Went to the mill,
Yes, I didn’t make a mistake either,
I checked in the city five times,..”
Today I arrived “without a penny”, but they appointed a bargaining and they laugh that
(outwitted:
“Cunning, strong clerks,
And their world is stronger...”
“If you know Ermila,
If you believe Yermil,
So help me out, or something!..”
And a miracle happened -
Throughout the market square
Every peasant has
Like the wind, half left
Suddenly it turned upside down!
The clerks were surprised
Altynnikov turned green,
When he's a full thousand
He put it on the table for them!..
The following Friday, Yermil “was counting on the people in the same square.” Although he did not write down how much he took from whom, “Yermil did not have to give an extra penny.” There was an extra ruble left, until the evening Yermil looked for the owner, and in the evening he gave it to the blind, because the owner could not be found. Wanderers are interested in how Yermil gained such authority among the people. About twenty years ago he was a clerk, helping peasants without extorting money from them. Then the entire estate chose Ermila as mayor. And Yermil served the people honestly for seven years, and then instead of his brother Mitri, he gave the widow’s son as a soldier. Out of remorse, Yermil wanted to hang himself. They returned the boy to the widow so that Yermil wouldn’t do anything to himself. No matter how much they asked him, he resigned from his position, rented a mill and grinded for everyone without deception. The wanderers want to find Ermila, but the priest said that he is in prison. There was a peasant revolt in the province, nothing helped, they called Ermila. The peasants believed him... but, without finishing the story, the narrator hurried home, promising to finish it later. Suddenly a bell was heard. The peasants rushed onto the road when they saw the landowner.

Chapter V
LANDLORD

This was the landowner Gavrila Afanasyevich Obolt-Obolduev. He got scared when he saw “seven tall men” in front of the troika, and, grabbing a pistol, began to threaten the men, but they told him that they were not robbers, but wanted to know if he was a happy person?
“Tell us in a divine way,
Is the life of a landowner sweet?
How are you - at ease, happily,
Landowner, are you living?”
“Having laughed his fill,” the landowner began to say that he was of ancient descent. His family began two hundred and fifty years ago through his father and three hundred years ago through his mother. There was a time, says the landowner, when everyone showed them honor, everything around was the property of the family. It used to be that holidays were held for a month at a time. What luxurious hunts there were in the fall! And he talks poetically about it. Then he remembers that he punished the peasants, but lovingly. But on Christ’s Resurrection he kissed everyone and did not disdain anyone. The peasants heard the funeral bells ringing. And the landowner said:
“They are not calling for the peasant!
Through life according to the landowner
They're calling!.. Oh, life is wide!
Sorry, goodbye forever!
Farewell to landowner Rus'!
Now Rus' is not the same!”
According to the landowner, his class has disappeared, estates are dying, forests are being cut down, the land remains uncultivated. People are drinking.
The literate people shout that they need to work, but the landowners are not used to it:
“I’ll tell you without bragging,
I live almost forever
In the village for forty years,
And from the rye ear
I can’t tell the difference between barley
And they sing to me: “Work!”
The landowner is crying because his comfortable life is over: “The great chain has broken,
Torn and splintered:
One way for the master,
Others don't care!..”

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 5

✪ Who lives well in Rus'. Nikolay Nekrasov

✪ N.A. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (content analysis) | Lecture No. 62

✪ 018. Nekrasov N.A. Poem Who Lives Well in Rus'

✪ Open lesson with Dmitry Bykov. "Misunderstood Nekrasov"

✪ Lyrics N.A. Nekrasova. Poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (analysis of the test part) | Lecture No. 63

Subtitles

History of creation

N. A. Nekrasov began work on the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” in the first half of the 60s of the 19th century. The mention of exiled Poles in the first part, in the chapter “Landowner,” suggests that work on the poem began no earlier than 1863. But sketches of the work could have appeared earlier, since Nekrasov had been collecting material for a long time. The manuscript of the first part of the poem is marked 1865, however, it is possible that this is the date of completion of work on this part.

Soon after finishing work on the first part, the prologue of the poem was published in the January issue of Sovremennik magazine for 1866. Printing lasted for four years and was accompanied, like all of Nekrasov’s publishing activities, by censorship persecution.

The writer began to continue working on the poem only in the 1870s, writing three more parts of the work: “The Last One” (1872), “Peasant Woman” (1873), “A Feast for the Whole World” (1876). The poet did not intend to limit himself to the written chapters; three or four more parts were planned. However, a developing illness interfered with the author's plans. Nekrasov, feeling the approach of death, tried to give some “completeness” to the last part, “A feast for the whole world.”

The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” was published in the following sequence: “Prologue. Part one", "Last One", "Peasant Woman".

Plot and structure of the poem

It was assumed that the poem would have 7 or 8 parts, but the author managed to write only 4, which, perhaps, did not follow one another.

The poem is written in iambic trimeter.

Part one

The only part that does not have a title. It was written shortly after the abolition of serfdom (). Judging by the first quatrain of the poem, we can say that Nekrasov initially tried to anonymously characterize all the problems of Rus' at that time.

Prologue

In what year - calculate
In what land - guess
On the sidewalk
Seven men came together.

They got into an argument:

Who has fun?
Free in Rus'?

They offered 6 possible answers to this question:

• Novel: to the landowner;
• Demyan: official;
• Gubin brothers - Ivan and Mitrodor: to the merchant;
• Pakhom (old man): minister, boyar;

The peasants decide not to return home until they find the correct answer. In the prologue, they also find a self-assembled tablecloth that will feed them, and they set off.

Chapter I. Pop

Chapter II. Rural fair.

Chapter III. Drunken night.

Chapter IV. Happy.

Chapter V. Landowner.

The last one (from the second part)

At the height of haymaking, wanderers come to the Volga. Here they witness a strange scene: a noble family sails to the shore in three boats. The mowers, who had just sat down to rest, immediately jumped up to show the old master their zeal. It turns out that the peasants of the village of Vakhlachina help the heirs hide the abolition of serfdom from the crazy landowner Utyatin. For this, the relatives of the last one, Utyatin, promise the men floodplain meadows. But after the long-awaited death of the Last One, the heirs forget their promises, and the whole peasant performance turns out to be in vain.

Peasant woman (from the third part)

In this part, the wanderers decide to continue their search for someone who can “live cheerfully and at ease in Rus'” among women. In the village of Nagotino, the women told the men that there was a “governor” in Klin, Matryona Timofeevna: “there is no more kind-hearted and smoother woman.” There, seven men find this woman and convince her to tell her story, at the end of which she reassures the men of her happiness and of women’s happiness in Rus' in general:

The keys to women's happiness,
From our free will
Abandoned, lost
From God himself!..

• Prologue
• Chapter I. Before marriage
• Chapter II. Songs
• Chapter III. Savely, hero, Holy Russian
• Chapter IV. Dyomushka
• Chapter V. She-Wolf
• Chapter VI. Difficult year
• Chapter VII. Governor's wife
• Chapter VIII. The Old Woman's Parable

A feast for the whole world (from the fourth part)

This part is a logical continuation of the second part (“The Last One”). It describes the feast that the men threw after the death of the old man Last. The adventures of the wanderers do not end in this part, but at the end one of the feasters, Grisha Dobrosklonov, the son of a priest, the next morning after the feast, walking along the river bank, finds the secret of Russian happiness, and expresses it in a short song “Rus”, by the way, used by V.I. Lenin in the article “The main task of our days.” The work ends with the words:

If only our wanderers could
Under my native roof,
If only they could know,
What happened to Grisha.
He heard in his chest
Immense forces
Delighted his ears
Blessed sounds
Radiant sounds
Noble hymn -
He sang the incarnation
People's happiness!..

Such an unexpected ending arose because the author was aware of his imminent death, and, wanting to finish the work, logically completed the poem in the fourth part, although at the beginning N. A. Nekrasov conceived 8 parts.

List of heroes

Temporarily obliged peasants who went to look for those who live happily and freely in Rus':

Ivan and Metropolitan Gubin,

Old Man Pakhom,

Peasants and serfs:

• Artyom Demin,
• Yakim Nagoy,
• Sidor,
• Egorka Shutov,
• Klim Lavin,
• Vlas,
• Agap Petrov,
• Ipat is a sensitive serf,
• Yakov is a faithful slave,
• Gleb,
• Proshka,
• Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina,
• Savely Korchagin,
• Ermil Girin.

Landowners:

• Obolt-Obolduev,
• Prince Utyatin (the last one),
• Vogel (Little information on this landowner)
• Shalashnikov.

Other heroes

• Elena Alexandrovna - the governor's wife who delivered Matryona,
• Altynnikov - merchant, possible buyer of Ermila Girin's mill,
• Grisha Dobrosklonov.

Current page: 1 (book has 13 pages in total)

Font:

100% +

Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov
Who can live well in Rus'?

© Lebedev Yu. V., introductory article, comments, 1999

© Godin I.M., heirs, illustrations, 1960

© Design of the series. Publishing house "Children's Literature", 2003

* * *

Yu. Lebedev
Russian Odyssey

In the “Diary of a Writer” for 1877, F. M. Dostoevsky noticed a characteristic feature that appeared in the Russian people of the post-reform era - “this is a multitude, an extraordinary modern multitude of new people, a new root of Russian people who need truth, one truth without conditional lies, and who, in order to achieve this truth, will give everything decisively.” Dostoevsky saw in them “the advancing future Russia.”

At the very beginning of the 20th century, another writer, V. G. Korolenko, made a discovery that struck him from a summer trip to the Urals: “At the same time as in the centers and at the heights of our culture they were talking about Nansen, about Andre’s bold attempt to penetrate in a balloon to North Pole - in the distant Ural villages there was talk about the Belovodsk kingdom and their own religious-scientific expedition was being prepared.” Among ordinary Cossacks, the conviction spread and strengthened that “somewhere out there, “beyond the distance of bad weather,” “beyond the valleys, beyond the mountains, beyond the wide seas,” there exists a “blessed country,” in which, by the providence of God and the accidents of history, it has been preserved and flourishes throughout integrity is the complete and complete formula of grace. This is a real fairy-tale country of all centuries and peoples, colored only by the Old Believer mood. In it, planted by the Apostle Thomas, true faith blooms, with churches, bishops, patriarchs and pious kings... This kingdom knows neither theft, nor murder, nor self-interest, since true faith gives birth there to true piety.”

It turns out that back in the late 1860s, the Don Cossacks corresponded with the Ural Cossacks, collected quite a significant amount and equipped the Cossack Varsonofy Baryshnikov and two comrades to search for this promised land. Baryshnikov set off through Constantinople to Asia Minor, then to the Malabar coast, and finally to the East Indies... The expedition returned with disappointing news: it failed to find Belovodye. Thirty years later, in 1898, the dream of the Belovodsk kingdom flares up with renewed vigor, funds are found, and a new pilgrimage is organized. On May 30, 1898, a “deputation” of Cossacks boarded a ship departing from Odessa for Constantinople.

“From this day, in fact, the foreign journey of the deputies of the Urals to the Belovodsk kingdom began, and among the international crowd of merchants, military men, scientists, tourists, diplomats traveling around the world out of curiosity or in search of money, fame and pleasure, three natives, as it were, got mixed up from another world, looking for ways to the fabulous Belovodsk kingdom.” Korolenko described in detail all the vicissitudes of this unusual journey, in which, despite all the curiosity and strangeness of the conceived enterprise, the same Russia of honest people, noted by Dostoevsky, “who need only the truth”, who “have an unshakable desire for honesty and truth”, appeared indestructible, and for the word of truth each of them will give his life and all his advantages.”

By the end of the 19th century, not only the top of Russian society was drawn into the great spiritual pilgrimage, all of Russia, all of its people, rushed to it. “These Russian homeless wanderers,” Dostoevsky noted in a speech about Pushkin, “continue their wanderings to this day and, it seems, will not disappear for a long time.” For a long time, “for the Russian wanderer needs precisely universal happiness in order to calm down - he will not be reconciled cheaper.”

“There was approximately the following case: I knew one person who believed in a righteous land,” said another wanderer in our literature, Luke, from M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths.” “There must, he said, be a righteous country in the world... in that land, they say, there are special people inhabiting... good people!” They respect each other, they simply help each other... and everything is nice and good with them! And so the man kept getting ready to go... to look for this righteous land. He was poor, he lived poorly... and when things were so difficult for him that he could even lie down and die, he did not lose his spirit, and everything happened, he just grinned and said: “Nothing!” I'll be patient! A few more - I’ll wait... and then I’ll give up this whole life and - I’ll go to the righteous land...” He had only one joy - this land... And to this place - it was in Siberia - they sent an exiled scientist... with books, with plans he, a scientist, with all sorts of things... The man says to the scientist: “Show me, do me a favor, where the righteous land lies and how to get there?” Now it was the scientist who opened his books, laid out his plans... he looked and looked - no nowhere is there a righteous land! “Everything is true, all the lands are shown, but the righteous one is not!”

The man doesn’t believe... There must be, he says... look better! Otherwise, he says, your books and plans are of no use if there is no righteous land... The scientist is offended. My plans, he says, are the most faithful, but there is no righteous land at all. Well, then the man got angry - how could that be? Lived, lived, endured, endured and believed everything - there is! but according to plans it turns out - no! Robbery!.. And he says to the scientist: “Oh, you... such a bastard!” You are a scoundrel, not a scientist...” Yes, in his ear - once! Moreover!.. ( After a pause.) And after that he went home and hanged himself!”

The 1860s marked a sharp historical turning point in the destinies of Russia, which henceforth broke with the legal, “stay-at-home” existence and the whole world, all the people set out on a long path of spiritual quest, marked by ups and downs, fatal temptations and deviations, but the righteous path lies precisely in passion , in the sincerity of his inescapable desire to find the truth. And perhaps for the first time, Nekrasov’s poetry responded to this deep process, which covered not only the “tops”, but also the very “bottoms” of society.

1

The poet began work on the grandiose plan of a “people's book” in 1863, and ended up mortally ill in 1877, with a bitter awareness of the incompleteness and incompleteness of his plan: “One thing I deeply regret is that I did not finish my poem “To whom in Rus' to live well". It “should have included all the experience given to Nikolai Alekseevich by studying the people, all the information about them accumulated “by word of mouth” over twenty years,” recalled G. I. Uspensky about conversations with Nekrasov.

However, the question of the “incompleteness” of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is very controversial and problematic. Firstly, the poet’s own confessions are subjectively exaggerated. It is known that a writer always has a feeling of dissatisfaction, and the larger the idea, the more acute it is. Dostoevsky wrote about The Brothers Karamazov: “I myself think that not even one tenth of it was possible to express what I wanted.” But on this basis, do we dare to consider Dostoevsky’s novel a fragment of an unrealized plan? It’s the same with “Who Lives Well in Rus'.”

Secondly, the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” was conceived as an epic, that is, a work of art depicting with the maximum degree of completeness and objectivity an entire era in the life of the people. Since folk life is limitless and inexhaustible in its countless manifestations, the epic in any of its varieties (poem-epic, novel-epic) is characterized by incompleteness and incompleteness. This is its specific difference from other forms of poetic art.

"This tricky song
He will sing to the end of the word,
Who is the whole earth, baptized Rus',
It will go from end to end."
Her Christ-pleaser himself
He hasn’t finished singing - he’s sleeping in eternal sleep -

This is how Nekrasov expressed his understanding of the epic plan in the poem “Peddlers.” The epic can be continued indefinitely, but it is also possible to put an end to some high segment of its path.

Until now, researchers of Nekrasov’s work are arguing about the sequence of arrangement of parts of “Who Lives Well in Rus',” since the dying poet did not have time to make final orders in this regard.

It is noteworthy that this dispute itself involuntarily confirms the epic nature of “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The composition of this work is built according to the laws of classical epic: it consists of separate, relatively autonomous parts and chapters. Outwardly, these parts are connected by the theme of the road: seven truth-seekers wander around Rus', trying to resolve the question that haunts them: who can live well in Rus'? In the “Prologue” there seems to be a clear outline of the journey - a meeting with a landowner, an official, a merchant, a minister and a tsar. However, the epic lacks a clear and unambiguous sense of purpose. Nekrasov does not force the action and is in no hurry to bring it to an all-resolving conclusion. As an epic artist, he strives for a complete recreation of life, for revealing the entire diversity of folk characters, all the indirectness, all the meandering of folk paths, paths and roads.

The world in the epic narrative appears as it is - disordered and unexpected, devoid of linear movement. The author of the epic allows for “digressions, trips into the past, leaps somewhere sideways, to the side.” According to the definition of the modern literary theorist G.D. Gachev, “an epic is like a child walking through the cabinet of curiosities of the universe. One character, or a building, or a thought caught his attention - and the author, forgetting about everything, plunges into it; then he was distracted by another - and he gave himself up to him just as completely. But this is not just a compositional principle, not just the specificity of the plot in the epic... Anyone who, while narrating, makes “digressions”, lingers on this or that subject for an unexpectedly long time; the one who succumbs to the temptation to describe both this and that and is choked with greed, sinning against the pace of the narrative, thereby speaks of the wastefulness, the abundance of being, that he (being) has nowhere to rush. In other words: it expresses the idea that being reigns over the principle of time (while the dramatic form, on the contrary, emphasizes the power of time - it is not for nothing that a seemingly only “formal” demand for the unity of time was born there).

The fairy-tale motifs introduced into the epic “Who Lives Well in Rus'” allow Nekrasov to freely and easily deal with time and space, easily transfer the action from one end of Russia to the other, slow down or speed up time according to fairy-tale laws. What unites the epic is not the external plot, not the movement towards an unambiguous result, but the internal plot: slowly, step by step, the contradictory but irreversible growth of national self-awareness, which has not yet come to a conclusion, is still on the difficult roads of quest, becomes clear. In this sense, the plot-compositional looseness of the poem is not accidental: it expresses through its disorganization the variegation and diversity of people’s life, which thinks about itself differently, evaluates its place in the world and its purpose differently.

In an effort to recreate the moving panorama of folk life in its entirety, Nekrasov also uses all the wealth of oral folk art. But the folklore element in the epic also expresses the gradual growth of national self-awareness: the fairy-tale motifs of the “Prologue” are replaced by the epic epic, then by lyrical folk songs in “Peasant Woman” and, finally, by the songs of Grisha Dobrosklonov in “A Feast for the Whole World”, striving to become folk and already partially accepted and understood by the people. The men listen to his songs, sometimes nod in agreement, but they have not yet heard the last song, “Rus”: he has not yet sung it to them. And therefore the ending of the poem is open to the future, not resolved.

If only our wanderers could be under one roof,
If only they could know what was happening to Grisha.

But the wanderers did not hear the song “Rus”, which means they did not yet understand what the “embodiment of people’s happiness” was. It turns out that Nekrasov did not finish his song not only because death got in the way. People’s life itself did not finish singing his songs in those years. More than a hundred years have passed since then, and the song begun by the great poet about the Russian peasantry is still being sung. In “The Feast,” only a glimpse of the future happiness is outlined, which the poet dreams of, realizing how many roads lie ahead before its real embodiment. The incompleteness of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is fundamental and artistically significant as a sign of a folk epic.

“Who Lives Well in Rus'” both as a whole and in each of its parts resembles a peasant lay gathering, which is the most complete expression of democratic people's self-government. At such a gathering, residents of one village or several villages that were part of the “world” resolved all issues of common worldly life. The gathering had nothing in common with a modern meeting. The chairman leading the discussion was absent. Each community member, at will, entered into a conversation or skirmish, defending his point of view. Instead of voting, the principle of general consent was in effect. The dissatisfied were convinced or retreated, and during the discussion a “worldly verdict” matured. If there was no general agreement, the meeting was postponed to the next day. Gradually, during heated debates, a unanimous opinion matured, agreement was sought and found.

A contributor to Nekrasov’s “Domestic Notes”, the populist writer N. N. Zlatovratsky described the original peasant life this way: “This is the second day that we have had gathering after gathering. You look out the window, now at one end, now at the other end of the village, there are crowds of owners, old people, children: some are sitting, others are standing in front of them, with their hands behind their backs and listening attentively to someone. This someone waves his arms, bends his whole body, shouts something very convincingly, falls silent for a few minutes and then starts convincing again. But suddenly they object to him, they object somehow at once, their voices rise higher and higher, they shout at the top of their lungs, as befits such a vast hall as the surrounding meadows and fields, everyone speaks, without being embarrassed by anyone or anything, as befits a free a gathering of equal persons. Not the slightest sign of formality. Foreman Maxim Maksimych himself stands somewhere on the side, like the most invisible member of our community... Here everything goes straight, everything becomes an edge; If anyone, out of cowardice or calculation, decides to get away with silence, he will be mercilessly exposed. And there are very few of these faint-hearted people at especially important gatherings. I saw the most meek, most unrequited men who<…>at gatherings, in moments of general excitement, they were completely transformed and<…>they gained such courage that they managed to outdo the obviously brave men. At the moments of its apogee, the gathering becomes simply an open mutual confession and mutual exposure, a manifestation of the widest publicity.”

Nekrasov’s entire epic poem is a flaring up worldly gathering that is gradually gaining strength. It reaches its peak in the final "Feast for the Whole World." However, a general “worldly verdict” is still not passed. Only the path to it is outlined, many initial obstacles have been removed, and on many points a movement towards general agreement has been identified. But there is no conclusion, life has not stopped, gatherings have not stopped, the epic is open to the future. For Nekrasov, the process itself is important here; it is important that the peasantry not only thought about the meaning of life, but also set out on a difficult, long path of truth-seeking. Let's try to take a closer look at it, moving from the Prologue. Part one" to "The Peasant Woman", "The Last One" and "A Feast for the Whole World".

2

In the "Prologue" the meeting of seven men is narrated as a great epic event.

In what year - calculate
Guess what land?
On the sidewalk
Seven men came together...

This is how epic and fairy-tale heroes came together for a battle or a feast of honor. Time and space acquire an epic scope in the poem: the action is carried out throughout Rus'. The tightened province, Terpigorev district, Pustoporozhnaya volost, the villages of Zaplatovo, Dyryavino, Razutovo, Znobishino, Gorelovo, Neelovo, Neurozhaina can be attributed to any of the Russian provinces, districts, volosts and villages. The general sign of post-reform ruin is captured. And the question itself, which excited the men, concerns all of Russia - peasant, noble, merchant. Therefore, the quarrel that arose between them is not an ordinary event, but great debate. In the soul of every grain grower, with his own private destiny, with his own everyday interests, a question arose that concerns everyone, the entire people's world.

Each one in his own way
Left the house before noon:
That path led to the forge,
He went to the village of Ivankovo
Call Father Prokofy
Baptize the child.
Groin honeycomb
Carried to the market in Velikoye,
And the two Gubina brothers
So easy with a halter
Catch a stubborn horse
They went to their own herd.
It's high time for everyone
Return on your own way -
They are walking side by side!

Each man had his own path, and suddenly they found a common path: the question of happiness united the people. And therefore, before us are no longer ordinary men with their own individual destiny and personal interests, but guardians for the entire peasant world, truth-seekers. The number “seven” is magical in folklore. Seven Wanderers– an image of great epic proportions. The fabulous flavor of the “Prologue” raises the narrative above everyday life, above peasant life and gives the action an epic universality.

The fairy-tale atmosphere in the Prologue has many meanings. Giving events a national sound, it also turns into a convenient method for the poet to characterize national self-consciousness. Let us note that Nekrasov plays with the fairy tale. In general, his treatment of folklore is more free and relaxed compared to the poems “Peddlers” and “Frost, Red Nose”. Yes, and he treats the people differently, often makes fun of the peasants, provokes readers, paradoxically sharpens the people's view of things, and laughs at the limitations of the peasant worldview. The intonation structure of the narrative in “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is very flexible and rich: there is the author’s good-natured smile, condescension, light irony, a bitter joke, lyrical regret, grief, reflection, and appeal. The intonation and stylistic polyphony of the narrative in its own way reflects the new phase of folk life. Before us is the post-reform peasantry, which has broken with the immovable patriarchal existence, with the age-old worldly and spiritual settled life. This is already a wandering Rus' with awakened self-awareness, noisy, discordant, prickly and unyielding, prone to quarrels and disputes. And the author does not stand aside from her, but turns into an equal participant in her life. He either rises above the disputants, then becomes imbued with sympathy for one of the disputing parties, then becomes touched, then becomes indignant. Just as Rus' lives in disputes, in search of truth, so the author is in an intense dialogue with her.

In the literature about “Who Lives Well in Rus'” one can find the statement that the dispute between the seven wanderers that opens the poem corresponds to the original compositional plan, from which the poet subsequently retreated. Already in the first part there was a deviation from the planned plot, and instead of meeting with the rich and noble, truth-seekers began to interview the crowd.

But this deviation immediately occurs at the “upper” level. For some reason, instead of the landowner and the official whom the men had designated for questioning, a meeting takes place with a priest. Is this a coincidence?

Let us note first of all that the “formula” of the dispute proclaimed by the men signifies not so much the original intention as the level of national self-awareness that manifests itself in this dispute. And Nekrasov cannot help but show the reader its limitations: men understand happiness in a primitive way and reduce it to a well-fed life and material security. What is it worth, for example, such a candidate for the role of a lucky man, as the “merchant” is proclaimed, and even a “fat-bellied one”! And behind the argument between the men - who lives happily and freely in Rus'? - immediately, but still gradually, muffled, another, much more significant and important question arises, which makes up the soul of the epic poem - how to understand human happiness, where to look for it and what does it consist of?

In the final chapter, “A Feast for the Whole World,” through the mouth of Grisha Dobrosklonov, the following assessment is given of the current state of people’s life: “The Russian people are gathering their strength and learning to be citizens.”

In fact, this formula contains the main pathos of the poem. It is important for Nekrasov to show how the forces that unite them are maturing among the people and what civic orientation they are acquiring. The intention of the poem is by no means limited to forcing the wanderers to carry out successive meetings according to the program they have planned. Much more important here is a completely different question: what is happiness in the eternal, Orthodox Christian understanding and are the Russian people capable of combining peasant “politics” with Christian morality?

Therefore, folklore motifs in the Prologue play a dual role. On the one hand, the poet uses them to give the beginning of the work a high epic sound, and on the other hand, to emphasize the limited consciousness of the disputants, who deviate in their idea of ​​​​happiness from the righteous to the evil paths. Let us remember that Nekrasov spoke about this more than once for a long time, for example, in one of the versions of “Song to Eremushka,” created back in 1859.

Pleasures change
Living does not mean drinking and eating.
There are better aspirations in the world,
There is a nobler good.
Despise the evil ways:
There is debauchery and vanity.
Honor the covenants that are forever right
And learn them from Christ.

These same two paths, sung over Russia by the angel of mercy in “A Feast for the Whole World,” are now opening up before the Russian people, who are celebrating a funeral service and are faced with a choice.

In the middle of the world
For a free heart
There are two ways.
Weigh the proud strength,
Weigh your strong will:
Which way to go?

This song sounds over Russia, coming to life from the lips of the messenger of the Creator himself, and the fate of the people will directly depend on which path the wanderers take after long wanderings and meanderings along Russian country roads.

For now, the poet is pleased only by the very desire of the people to seek the truth. And the direction of these searches, the temptation of wealth at the very beginning of the journey, cannot but cause bitter irony. Therefore, the fairy-tale plot of the “Prologue” is also characterized by the low level of peasant consciousness, spontaneous, vague, with difficulty making its way to universal issues. The people's thought has not yet acquired clarity and clarity; it is still fused with nature and is sometimes expressed not so much in words as in action, in deed: instead of thinking, fists are used.

Men still live by the fairy-tale formula: “go there - I don’t know where, bring that - I don’t know what.”

They walk as if they are being chased
Behind them are gray wolves,
What's further is quick.
…
I would probably kiss you the night
So they walked - where, not knowing...

Is this why the disturbing, demonic element grows in the Prologue? “The woman you meet,” “the clumsy Durandikha,” turns into a laughing witch in front of the men’s eyes. And Pakhom wanders his mind for a long time, trying to understand what happened to him and his companions, until he comes to the conclusion that the “goblin played a nice joke” on them.

The poem makes a comic comparison of a men's argument with a bullfight in a peasant herd. And the cow, which had gotten lost in the evening, came to the fire, fixed its eyes on the men,

I listened to crazy speeches
And began, my heart,
Moo, moo, moo!

Nature responds to the destructiveness of the dispute, which develops into a serious fight, and in the person of not so much good as its sinister forces, representatives of folk demonology, classified as forest evil spirits. Seven eagle owls flock to watch the arguing wanderers: from seven large trees “the midnight owls laugh.”

And the raven, a smart bird,
Arrived, sitting on a tree
Right by the fire,
Sits and prays to the devil,
To be slapped to death
Which one!

The commotion grows, spreads, covers the entire forest, and it seems that the “forest spirit” itself laughs, laughs at the men, responds to their squabble and massacre with malicious intentions.

A booming echo woke up,
Let's go for a walk,
Let's go scream and shout
As if to tease
Stubborn men.

Of course, the author's irony in the Prologue is good-natured and condescending. The poet does not want to judge men harshly for the wretchedness and extreme limitations of their ideas about happiness and a happy person. He knows that this limitation is associated with the harsh everyday life of a peasant, with such material deprivations in which suffering itself sometimes takes on unspiritual, ugly and perverted forms. This happens whenever the people are deprived of their daily bread. Let us remember the song “Hungry” heard in “The Feast”:

The man is standing -
It's swaying
A man is coming -
Can't breathe!
From its bark
It's unraveled
Melancholy-trouble
Exhausted...

3

And in order to highlight the limitations of the peasant understanding of happiness, Nekrasov brings the wanderers together in the first part of the epic poem not with a landowner or an official, but with a priest. The priest, a spiritual person, closest to the people in his way of life, and due to his duty called upon to guard a thousand-year-old national shrine, very accurately compresses the vague ideas about happiness for the wanderers themselves into a capacious formula.

– What do you think is happiness?
Peace, wealth, honor -
Isn't that right, dear friends? -

They said: “Yes”...

Of course, the priest himself ironically distances himself from this formula: “This, dear friends, is happiness according to you!” And then, with visual convincingness, he refutes with all his life experience the naivety of each hypostasis of this triune formula: neither “peace,” nor “wealth,” nor “honor” can be placed as the basis of a truly human, Christian understanding of happiness.

The priest's story makes men think about a lot. The common, ironically condescending assessment of the clergy here reveals itself to be untrue. According to the laws of epic storytelling, the poet trustingly surrenders to the priest’s story, which is constructed in such a way that behind the personal life of one priest, the life of the entire clergy rises and stands tall. The poet is in no hurry, does not rush with the development of the action, giving the hero full opportunity to express everything that lies in his soul. Behind the life of the priest, the life of all of Russia in its past and present, in its different classes, is revealed on the pages of the epic poem. Here are dramatic changes in the noble estates: the old patriarchal-noble Rus', which lived sedentarily and was close to the people in morals and customs, is becoming a thing of the past. The post-reform waste of life and the ruin of the nobles destroyed its centuries-old foundations and destroyed the old attachment to the family village nest. “Like the Jewish tribe,” the landowners scattered throughout the world, adopting new habits that were far from Russian moral traditions and legends.

In the priest’s story, a “great chain” unfolds before the eyes of savvy men, in which all the links are firmly connected: if you touch one, it will respond in the other. The drama of the Russian nobility brings with it drama into the life of the clergy. To the same extent, this drama is aggravated by the post-reform impoverishment of the peasant.

Our villages are poor,
And the peasants in them are sick
Yes, women are sad,
Nurses, drinkers,
Slaves, pilgrims
And eternal workers,
Lord give them strength!

The clergy cannot be at peace when the people, their drinker and breadwinner, are in poverty. And the point here is not only the material impoverishment of the peasantry and nobility, which entails the impoverishment of the clergy. The priest's main problem lies elsewhere. The man’s misfortunes bring deep moral suffering to sensitive people from the clergy: “It’s hard to live on pennies with such labor!”

It happens to the sick
You will come: not dying,
The peasant family is scary
At that hour when she has to
Lose your breadwinner!
Give a farewell message to the deceased
And support in the remaining
You try your best
The spirit is cheerful! And here to you
The old woman, the mother of the dead man,
Look, he's reaching out with the bony one,
Calloused hand.
The soul will turn over,
How they jingle in this little hand
Two copper coins!

The priest’s confession speaks not only about the suffering that is associated with social “disorders” in a country that is in a deep national crisis. These “disorders” that lie on the surface of life must be eliminated; a righteous social struggle against them is possible and even necessary. But there are also other, deeper contradictions associated with the imperfection of human nature itself. It is these contradictions that reveal the vanity and slyness of people who strive to present life as sheer pleasure, as a thoughtless intoxication with wealth, ambition, and complacency that turns into indifference to one’s neighbor. The priest in his confession deals a crushing blow to those who profess such morality. Talking about parting words for the sick and dying, the priest speaks about the impossibility of peace of mind on this earth for a person who is not indifferent to his neighbor:

Go where you are called!
You go unconditionally.
And even if only the bones
Alone broke, -
No! gets wet every time,
The soul will hurt.
Don't believe it, Orthodox Christians,
There is a limit to habit:
No heart can bear
Without any trepidation
Death rattle
Funeral lament
Orphan's sadness!
Amen!.. Now think,
What's the peace like?..

It turns out that a person completely free from suffering, living “freely, happily” is a stupid, indifferent person, morally defective. Life is not a holiday, but hard work, not only physical, but also spiritual, requiring self-denial from a person. After all, Nekrasov himself affirmed the same ideal in the poem “In Memory of Dobrolyubov,” the ideal of high citizenship, surrendering to which it is impossible not to sacrifice oneself, not to consciously reject “worldly pleasures.” Is this why the priest looked down when he heard the question of the peasants, which was far from the Christian truth of life - “is the priest’s life sweet” - and with the dignity of an Orthodox minister addressed the wanderers:

... Orthodox!
It is a sin to grumble against God,
I bear my cross with patience...

And his whole story is, in fact, an example of how every person who is ready to lay down his life “for his friends” can bear the cross.

The lesson taught to the wanderers by the priest has not yet benefited them, but nevertheless brought confusion into the peasant consciousness. The men unitedly took up arms against Luka:

- What, did you take it? stubborn head!
Country club!
That's where the argument gets into!
"Nobles of the bell -
The priests live like princes."
…
Well, here's what you've praised
A priest's life!

The author’s irony is not accidental, because with the same success it was possible to “finish” not only Luka, but also each of them separately and all of them together. The peasant scolding here is again followed by the shadow of Nekrasov, who laughs at the limitations of the people’s original ideas about happiness. And it is no coincidence that after meeting with the priest, the behavior and way of thinking of the wanderers changes significantly. They become more and more active in dialogues, and intervene more and more energetically in life. And the attention of wanderers is increasingly beginning to be captured not by the world of masters, but by the people’s environment.

Who can live well in Rus'? This question still worries many people, and this fact explains the increased attention to Nekrasov’s legendary poem. The author managed to raise a topic that has become eternal in Russia - the topic of asceticism, voluntary self-denial in the name of saving the fatherland. It is the service of a high goal that makes a Russian person happy, as the writer proved with the example of Grisha Dobrosklonov.

“Who Lives Well in Rus'” is one of Nekrasov’s last works. When he wrote it, he was already seriously ill: he was struck by cancer. That's why it's not finished. It was collected bit by bit by the poet’s close friends and arranged the fragments in random order, barely catching the confused logic of the creator, broken by a fatal illness and endless pain. He was dying in agony and yet was able to answer the question posed at the very beginning: Who lives well in Rus'? He himself turned out to be lucky in a broad sense, because he faithfully and selflessly served the interests of the people. This service supported him in the fight against his fatal illness. Thus, the history of the poem began in the first half of the 60s of the 19th century, around 1863 (serfdom was abolished in 1861), and the first part was ready in 1865.

The book was published in fragments. The prologue was published in the January issue of Sovremennik in 1866. Later other chapters were published. All this time, the work attracted the attention of censors and was mercilessly criticized. In the 70s, the author wrote the main parts of the poem: “The Last One,” “The Peasant Woman,” “A Feast for the Whole World.” He planned to write much more, but due to the rapid development of the disease he was unable to and settled on “The Feast...”, where he expressed his main idea regarding the future of Russia. He believed that such holy people as Dobrosklonov would be able to help his homeland, mired in poverty and injustice. Despite the fierce attacks of reviewers, he found the strength to stand up for a just cause to the end.

Genre, genus, direction

ON THE. Nekrasov called his creation “the epic of modern peasant life” and was precise in his formulation: the genre of the work is “Who can live well in Rus'?” - epic poem. That is, at the heart of the book, not one type of literature coexists, but two: lyricism and epic:

1. Epic component. There was a turning point in the history of the development of Russian society in the 1860s, when people learned to live in new conditions after the abolition of serfdom and other fundamental transformations of their usual way of life. This difficult historical period was described by the writer, reflecting the realities of that time without embellishment or falsehood. In addition, the poem has a clear linear plot and many original characters, which indicates the scale of the work, comparable only to a novel (epic genre). The book also incorporates folklore elements of heroic songs telling about the military campaigns of heroes against enemy camps. All these are generic signs of the epic.
2. Lyrical component. The work is written in verse - this is the main property of lyrics as a genre. The book also contains space for the author's digressions and typically poetic symbols, means of artistic expression, and features of the characters' confessions.

The direction within which the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” was written is realism. However, the author significantly expanded its boundaries, adding fantastic and folklore elements (prologue, opening, symbolism of numbers, fragments and heroes from folk legends). The poet chose the form of travel for his plan, as a metaphor for the search for truth and happiness that each of us carries out. Many researchers of Nekrasov’s work compare the plot structure with the structure of a folk epic.

Composition

The laws of the genre determined the composition and plot of the poem. Nekrasov finished writing the book in terrible agony, but still did not have time to finish it. This explains the chaotic composition and many branches from the plot, because the works were shaped and restored from drafts by his friends. In the last months of his life, he himself was unable to clearly adhere to the original concept of creation. Thus, the composition “Who Lives Well in Rus'?”, comparable only to the folk epic, is unique. It was developed as a result of the creative development of world literature, and not the direct borrowing of some well-known example.

1. Exposition (Prologue). The meeting of seven men - the heroes of the poem: “On a pillared path / Seven men came together.”
2. The plot is the characters' oath not to return home until they find the answer to their question.
3. The main part consists of many autonomous parts: the reader gets acquainted with a soldier, happy that he was not killed, a slave, proud of his privilege to eat from the master's bowls, a grandmother, whose garden yielded turnips to her delight... While the search for happiness stands still, depicts the slow but steady growth of national self-awareness, which the author wanted to show even more than the declared happiness in Rus'. From random episodes, a general picture of Rus' emerges: poor, drunk, but not hopeless, striving for a better life. In addition, the poem has several large and independent inserted episodes, some of which are even included in autonomous chapters (“The Last One,” “The Peasant Woman”).
4. Climax. The writer calls Grisha Dobrosklonov, a fighter for people's happiness, a happy person in Rus'.
5. Denouement. A serious illness prevented the author from completing his great plan. Even those chapters that he managed to write were sorted and designated by his proxies after his death. You must understand that the poem is not finished, it was written by a very sick person, therefore this work is the most complex and confusing of Nekrasov’s entire literary heritage.
6. The final chapter is called “A Feast for the Whole World.” All night long the peasants sing about the old and new times. Grisha Dobrosklonov sings kind and hopeful songs.

What is the poem about?

Seven men met on the road and argued about who would live well in Rus'? The essence of the poem is that they looked for the answer to this question on the way, talking with representatives of different classes. The revelation of each of them is a separate story. So, the heroes went for a walk in order to resolve the dispute, but they only quarreled and started a fight. In the night forest, during a fight, a bird's chick fell from its nest, and one of the men picked it up. The interlocutors sat down by the fire and began to dream of also acquiring wings and everything necessary for their journey in search of the truth. The warbler turns out to be magical and, as a ransom for her chick, tells people how to find a self-assembled tablecloth that will provide them with food and clothing. They find her and feast, and during the feast they vow to find the answer to their question together, but until then not to see any of their relatives and not to return home.

On the road they meet a priest, a peasant woman, the showroom Petrushka, beggars, an overextended worker and a paralyzed former servant, an honest man Ermila Girin, the landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, the insane Last-Utyatin and his family, the servant Yakov the faithful, God's wanderer Jonah Lyapushkin , but none of them were happy people. Each of them is associated with a story of suffering and misadventures full of genuine tragedy. The goal of the journey is achieved only when the wanderers stumbled upon seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov, who is happy with his selfless service to his homeland. With good songs, he instills hope in the people, and this is where the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” ends. Nekrasov wanted to continue the story, but did not have time, but he gave his heroes a chance to gain faith in the future of Russia.

The main characters and their characteristics

About the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” we can say with confidence that they represent a complete system of images that organizes and structures the text. For example, the work emphasizes the unity of the seven wanderers. They do not show individuality or character; they express common features of national self-awareness for all. These characters are a single whole; their dialogues, in fact, are collective speech, which originates from oral folk art. This feature makes Nekrasov’s poem similar to the Russian folklore tradition.

1. Seven wanderers represent former serfs “from adjacent villages - Zaplatova, Dyryavina, Razutov, Znobishina, Gorelova, Neelova, Neurozhaika and also.” They all put forward their versions of who should live well in Rus': a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a noble boyar, a sovereign minister or a tsar. Their character is characterized by persistence: they all demonstrate a reluctance to take someone else's side. Strength, courage and the desire for truth are what unites them. They are passionate and easily angered, but their easygoing nature compensates for these shortcomings. Kindness and responsiveness make them pleasant interlocutors, even despite some meticulousness. Their disposition is harsh and harsh, but life did not spoil them with luxury: the former serfs always bent their backs working for the master, and after the reform no one bothered to provide them with a proper home. So they wandered around Rus' in search of truth and justice. The search itself characterizes them as serious, thoughtful and thorough people. The symbolic number “7” means a hint of luck that awaited them at the end of the journey.
2. Main character– Grisha Dobrosklonov, seminarian, son of a sexton. By nature he is a dreamer, a romantic, loves to compose songs and make people happy. In them he talks about the fate of Russia, about its misfortunes, and at the same time about its mighty strength, which will one day come out and crush injustice. Although he is an idealist, his character is strong, as are his convictions to devote his life to the service of truth. The character feels a calling to be the people's leader and singer of Rus'. He is happy to sacrifice himself to a high idea and help his homeland. However, the author hints that a difficult fate awaits him: prison, exile, hard labor. The authorities do not want to hear the voice of the people, they will try to silence them, and then Grisha will be doomed to torment. But Nekrasov makes it clear with all his might that happiness is a state of spiritual euphoria, and you can only know it by being inspired by a lofty idea.
3. Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina- the main character, a peasant woman, whom her neighbors call lucky because she begged her husband from the wife of the military leader (he, the only breadwinner of the family, was supposed to be recruited for 25 years). However, the woman's life story reveals not luck or fortune, but grief and humiliation. She experienced the loss of her only child, the anger of her mother-in-law, and everyday, exhausting work. Her fate is described in detail in an essay on our website, be sure to check it out.
4. Savely Korchagin- grandfather of Matryona’s husband, a real Russian hero. At one time, he killed a German manager who mercilessly mocked the peasants entrusted to him. For this, a strong and proud man paid with decades of hard labor. Upon his return, he was no longer good for anything; the years of imprisonment trampled his body, but did not break his will, because, as before, he stood up for justice. The hero always said about the Russian peasant: “And it bends, but does not break.” However, without knowing it, the grandfather turns out to be the executioner of his own great-grandson. He did not look after the child, and the pigs ate him.
5. Ermil Girin- a man of exceptional honesty, mayor in the estate of Prince Yurlov. When he needed to buy the mill, he stood in the square and asked people to chip in to help him. After the hero got back on his feet, he returned all the borrowed money to the people. For this he earned respect and honor. But he is unhappy, because he paid for his authority with freedom: after a peasant revolt, suspicion fell on him about his organization, and he was imprisoned.
6. Landowners in the poem“Who lives well in Rus'” are presented in abundance. The author portrays them objectively and even gives some images a positive character. For example, governor Elena Alexandrovna, who helped Matryona, appears as a people's benefactor. Also, with a touch of compassion, the writer portrays Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, who also treated the peasants tolerably, even organized holidays for them, and with the abolition of serfdom, he lost ground under his feet: he was too accustomed to the old order. In contrast to these characters, the image of the Last-Duckling and his treacherous, calculating family was created. The relatives of the old, cruel serf owner decided to deceive him and persuaded the former slaves to participate in the performance in exchange for profitable territories. However, when the old man died, the rich heirs brazenly deceived the common people and drove him away with nothing. The apogee of noble insignificance is the landowner Polivanov, who beats his faithful servant and gives his son as a recruit for trying to marry his beloved girl. Thus, the writer is far from denigrating the nobility everywhere; he is trying to show both sides of the coin.
7. Serf Yakov- an indicative figure of a serf peasant, an antagonist of the hero Savely. Jacob absorbed the entire slavish essence of the oppressed class, overwhelmed by lawlessness and ignorance. When the master beats him and even sends his son to certain death, the servant humbly and resignedly endures the insult. His revenge was consistent with this humility: he hanged himself in the forest right in front of the master, who was crippled and could not get home without his help.
8. Jonah Lyapushkin- God's wanderer who told the men several stories about the life of people in Rus'. It tells about the epiphany of Ataman Kudeyara, who decided to atone for his sins by killing for good, and about the cunning of Gleb the elder, who violated the will of the late master and did not release the serfs on his orders.
9. Pop- a representative of the clergy who complains about the difficult life of a priest. The constant encounter with grief and poverty saddens the heart, not to mention the popular jokes addressed to his rank.

The characters in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” are diverse and allow us to paint a picture of the morals and life of that time.

Subject

• The main theme of the work is Liberty- rests on the problem that the Russian peasant did not know what to do with it, and how to adapt to new realities. The national character is also “problematic”: people-thinkers, people-seekers of truth still drink, live in oblivion and empty talk. They are not able to squeeze slaves out of themselves until their poverty acquires at least the modest dignity of poverty, until they stop living in drunken illusions, until they realize their strength and pride, trampled upon by centuries of humiliating state of affairs that were sold, lost and bought.
• Theme of happiness. The poet believes that a person can get the highest satisfaction from life only by helping other people. The real value of being is to feel needed by society, to bring goodness, love and justice into the world. Selfless and selfless service to a good cause fills every moment with sublime meaning, an idea, without which time loses its color, becomes dull from inaction or selfishness. Grisha Dobrosklonov is happy not because of his wealth or his position in the world, but because he is leading Russia and his people to a bright future.
• Homeland theme. Although Rus' appears in the eyes of readers as a poor and tortured, but still a beautiful country with a great future and a heroic past. Nekrasov feels sorry for his homeland, devoting himself entirely to its correction and improvement. For him, his homeland is the people, the people are his muse. All these concepts are closely intertwined in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The author's patriotism is especially clearly expressed at the end of the book, when the wanderers find a lucky man who lives in the interests of society. In the strong and patient Russian woman, in the justice and honor of the heroic peasant, in the sincere good-heartedness of the folk singer, the creator sees the true image of his state, full of dignity and spirituality.
• Theme of labor. Useful activity elevates Nekrasov's poor heroes above the vanity and depravity of the nobility. It is idleness that destroys the Russian master, turning him into a self-satisfied and arrogant nonentity. But the common people have skills and true virtue that are really important for society, without them there will be no Russia, but the country will manage without noble tyrants, revelers and greedy seekers of wealth. So the writer comes to the conclusion that the value of each citizen is determined only by his contribution to the common cause - the prosperity of the homeland.
• Mystical motive. Fantastic elements appear already in the Prologue and immerse the reader in the fabulous atmosphere of the epic, where one must follow the development of the idea, and not the realism of the circumstances. Seven eagle owls on seven trees - the magic number 7, which promises good luck. A raven praying to the devil is another mask of the devil, because the raven symbolizes death, grave decay and infernal forces. He is opposed by a good force in the form of a warbler bird, which equips the men for the journey. A self-assembled tablecloth is a poetic symbol of happiness and contentment. “The Wide Road” is a symbol of the open ending of the poem and the basis of the plot, because on both sides of the road travelers are presented with a multifaceted and authentic panorama of Russian life. The image of an unknown fish in unknown seas, which has absorbed “the keys to female happiness,” is symbolic. The crying she-wolf with bloody nipples also clearly demonstrates the difficult fate of the Russian peasant woman. One of the most striking images of the reform is the “great chain”, which, having broken, “split one end over the master, the other over the peasant!” The seven wanderers are a symbol of the entire people of Russia, restless, waiting for change and seeking happiness.

Issues

• In the epic poem, Nekrasov touched on a large number of pressing and topical issues of the time. The main problem in “Who can live well in Rus'?” - the problem of happiness, both socially and philosophically. It is connected with the social theme of the abolition of serfdom, which greatly changed (and not for the better) the traditional way of life of all segments of the population. It would seem that this is freedom, what else do people need? Isn't this happiness? However, in reality, it turned out that the people, who, due to long slavery, do not know how to live independently, found themselves thrown to the mercy of fate. A priest, a landowner, a peasant woman, Grisha Dobrosklonov and seven men are real Russian characters and destinies. The author described them based on his rich experience of communicating with people from the common people. The problems of the work are also taken from life: disorder and confusion after the reform to abolish serfdom really affected all classes. No one organized jobs or at least land plots for yesterday's slaves, no one provided the landowner with competent instructions and laws regulating his new relations with workers.
• The problem of alcoholism. The wanderers come to an unpleasant conclusion: life in Rus' is so difficult that without drunkenness the peasant will completely die. He needs oblivion and fog in order to somehow pull the burden of a hopeless existence and hard labor.
• The problem of social inequality. The landowners have been torturing the peasants with impunity for years, and Savelia has had her whole life ruined for killing such an oppressor. For deception, nothing will happen to the relatives of the Last One, and their servants will again be left with nothing.
• The philosophical problem of searching for truth, which each of us encounters, is allegorically expressed in the journey of seven wanderers who understand that without this discovery their lives become worthless.

Idea of ​​the work

A road fight between men is not an everyday quarrel, but an eternal, great dispute, in which all layers of Russian society of that time figure to one degree or another. All its main representatives (priest, landowner, merchant, official, tsar) are summoned to the peasant court. For the first time, men can and have the right to judge. For all the years of slavery and poverty, they are not looking for retribution, but for an answer: how to live? This expresses the meaning of Nekrasov’s poem “Who can live well in Rus'?” - growth of national self-awareness on the ruins of the old system. The author’s point of view is expressed by Grisha Dobrosklonov in his songs: “And fate, the companion of the Slav’s days, lightened your burden! You are still a slave in the family, but the mother of a free son!..” Despite the negative consequences of the reform of 1861, the creator believes that behind it lies a happy future for his homeland. At the beginning of change it is always difficult, but this work will be rewarded a hundredfold.

The most important condition for further prosperity is overcoming internal slavery:

Enough! Finished with past settlement,
The settlement with the master has been completed!
The Russian people are gathering strength
And learns to be a citizen

Despite the fact that the poem is not finished, Nekrasov voiced the main idea. Already the first of the songs in “A Feast for the Whole World” gives an answer to the question posed in the title: “The share of the people, their happiness, light and freedom, above all!”

End

In the finale, the author expresses his point of view on the changes that have occurred in Russia in connection with the abolition of serfdom and, finally, sums up the results of the search: Grisha Dobrosklonov is recognized as the lucky one. It is he who is the bearer of Nekrasov’s opinion, and in his songs Nikolai Alekseevich’s true attitude to what he described is hidden. The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” ends with a feast for the whole world in the literal sense of the word: this is the name of the last chapter, where the characters celebrate and rejoice at the happy completion of the search.

Conclusion

In Rus', it is good for Nekrasov’s hero Grisha Dobrosklonov, since he serves people, and, therefore, lives with meaning. Grisha is a fighter for truth, a prototype of a revolutionary. The conclusion that can be drawn based on the work is simple: the lucky one has been found, Rus' is embarking on the path of reform, the people are reaching through thorns to the title of citizen. The great meaning of the poem lies in this bright omen. For more than a century now, it has been teaching people altruism, the ability to serve high ideals, and not vulgar and passing cults. From the point of view of literary excellence, the book is also of great importance: it is truly a folk epic, reflecting a controversial, complex, and at the same time the most important historical era.

Of course, the poem would not be so valuable if it only taught lessons in history and literature. She gives life lessons, and this is her most important property. The moral of the work “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is that it is necessary to work for the good of your homeland, not to scold it, but to help it with deeds, because it is easier to push around with a word, but not everyone can and really wants to change something. This is happiness - to be in your place, to be needed not only by yourself, but also by the people. Only together can we achieve significant results, only together can we overcome the problems and hardships of this overcoming. Grisha Dobrosklonov tried to unite and unite people with his songs so that they would face change shoulder to shoulder. This is his holy purpose, and everyone has it; it is important not to be lazy to go out on the road and look for it, as the seven wanderers did.

Criticism

The reviewers were attentive to Nekrasov’s work, because he himself was an important person in literary circles and had enormous authority. Entire monographs were devoted to his phenomenal civic lyricism with a detailed analysis of the creative methodology and ideological and thematic originality of his poetry. For example, here is how the writer S.A. spoke about his style. Andreevsky:

He brought the anapest, abandoned on Olympus, out of oblivion and for many years made this heavy but flexible meter as common as the airy and melodious iambic had remained from the time of Pushkin to Nekrasov. This rhythm, favored by the poet, reminiscent of the rotational movement of a barrel organ, allowed him to stay on the boundaries of poetry and prose, joke around with the crowd, speak smoothly and vulgarly, insert a funny and cruel joke, express bitter truths and imperceptibly, slowing down the beat, in more solemn words, move into floridity.

Korney Chukovsky spoke with inspiration about Nikolai Alekseevich’s thorough preparation for work, citing this example of writing as a standard:

Nekrasov himself constantly “visited Russian huts,” thanks to which both soldier and peasant speech became thoroughly known to him from childhood: not only from books, but also in practice, he studied the common language and from a young age became a great connoisseur of folk poetic images and folk forms thinking, folk aesthetics.

The poet's death came as a surprise and a blow to many of his friends and colleagues. As you know, F.M. spoke at his funeral. Dostoevsky with a heartfelt speech inspired by impressions from a poem he recently read. In particular, among other things, he said:

He, indeed, was highly original and, indeed, came with a “new word.”

First of all, his poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” became a “new word”. No one before him had understood so deeply the peasant, simple, everyday grief. His colleague in his speech noted that Nekrasov was dear to him precisely because he bowed “to the people’s truth with all his being, which he testified to in his best creations.” However, Fyodor Mikhailovich did not support his radical views on the reorganization of Russia, however, like many thinkers of that time. Therefore, criticism reacted to the publication violently, and in some cases aggressively. In this situation, the honor of his friend was defended by the famous reviewer, master of words Vissarion Belinsky:

N. Nekrasov in his last work remained true to his idea: to arouse the sympathy of the upper classes of society for the common people, their needs and wants.

Quite caustically, recalling, apparently, professional disagreements, I. S. Turgenev spoke about the work:

Nekrasov's poems, collected into one focus, are burned.

The liberal writer was not a supporter of his former editor and openly expressed his doubts about his talent as an artist:

In the white thread stitched, seasoned with all sorts of absurdities, painfully hatched fabrications of the mournful muse of Mr. Nekrasov - there is not even a penny of it, poetry.”

He truly was a man of very high nobility of soul and a man of great intelligence. And as a poet, he is, of course, superior to all poets.

PROLOGUE

In what year - calculate
In what land - guess
On the sidewalk
Seven men came together:
Seven temporarily obliged,
A tightened province,
Terpigoreva County,
Empty parish,
From adjacent villages:
Zaplatova, Dyryavina,
Razutova, Znobishina,
Gorelova, Neelova -
There is also a poor harvest,
They came together and argued:
Who has fun?
Free in Rus'?

Roman said: to the landowner,
Demyan said: to the official,
Luke said: ass.
To the fat-bellied merchant! -
The Gubin brothers said,
Ivan and Metrodor.
Old man Pakhom pushed
And he said, looking at the ground:
To the noble boyar,
To the sovereign minister.
And Prov said: to the king...

The guy's a bull: he'll get in trouble
What a whim in the head -
Stake her from there
You can’t knock them out: they resist,
Everyone stands on their own!
Is this the kind of argument they started?
What do passers-by think?
You know, the kids found the treasure
And they share among themselves...
Each one in his own way
Left the house before noon:
That path led to the forge,
He went to the village of Ivankovo
Call Father Prokofy
Baptize the child.
Groin honeycomb
Carried to the market in Velikoye,
And the two Gubina brothers
So easy with a halter
Catch a stubborn horse
They went to their own herd.
It's high time for everyone
Return on your own way -
They are walking side by side!
They walk as if they are being chased
Behind them are gray wolves,
What's next is quick.
They go - they reproach!
They scream and they won’t come to their senses!
But time doesn’t wait.

They didn’t notice the dispute
As the red sun set,
How evening came.
I would probably kiss you the night
So they went - where, not knowing,
If only they met a woman,
Gnarled Durandiha,
She didn’t shout: “Reverends!
Where are you looking at night?
Have you decided to go?..”

She asked, she laughed,
Whipped, witch, gelding
And she rode off at a gallop...

“Where?..” - they looked at each other
Our men are here
They stand, silent, looking down...
The night has long since passed,
The stars lit up frequently
In the high skies
The moon has surfaced, the shadows are black
The road was cut
Zealous walkers.
Oh shadows! black shadows!
Who won't you catch up with?
Who won't you overtake?
Only you, black shadows,
You can't catch and hug!

To the forest, to the path-path
Pakhom looked, remained silent,
I looked - my mind scattered
And finally he said:

"Well! goblin nice joke
He played a joke on us!
No way, after all, we are almost
We've gone thirty versts!
Now tossing and turning home -
We're tired - we won't get there,
Let's sit down - there's nothing to do,
Let's rest until the sun!..”

Blaming the trouble on the devil,
Under the forest along the path
The men sat down.
They lit a fire, formed a formation,
Two people ran for vodka,
And the others as long as
The glass was made
The birch bark has been touched.
The vodka will soon arrive,
The snack has arrived -
The men are feasting!
They drank three kosushki,
We ate and argued
Again: who has fun living?
Free in Rus'?
Roman shouts: to the landowner,
Demyan shouts: to the official,
Luka shouts: ass;
Kupchina fat-bellied, -
The Gubin brothers are shouting,
Ivan and Mitrodor;
Pakhom shouts: to the brightest
To the noble boyar,
To the sovereign minister,
And Prov shouts: to the king!
It took more than before
Perky men,
They swear obscenely,
No wonder they grab it
In each other's hair...

Look - they've already grabbed it!
Roman is pushing Pakhomushka,
Demyan pushes Luka.
And the two Gubina brothers
They iron the hefty Provo -
And everyone shouts his own!

A booming echo woke up,
Let's go for a walk,
Let's go scream and shout
As if to tease
Stubborn men.
To the king! - heard to the right,
To the left responds:
Ass! ass! ass!
The whole forest was in commotion
With flying birds
Swift-footed beasts
And creeping reptiles, -
And a groan, and a roar, and a roar!

First of all, little gray bunny
From a nearby bush
Suddenly he jumped out as if disheveled
And he ran away!
Small jackdaws are behind him
Birch trees were raised at the top
A nasty, sharp squeak.
And then there’s the warbler
Tiny chick with fright
Fell from the nest;
The warbler chirps and cries,
Where is the chick? - he won’t find it!
Then the old cuckoo
I woke up and thought
Someone to cuckoo;
Accepted ten times
Yes, I got lost every time
And started again...
Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!
The bread will begin to spike,
You'll choke on an ear of corn -
You won't cuckoo!
Seven eagle owls flew together,
Admiring the carnage
From seven big trees,
The night owls are laughing!
And their eyes are yellow
They burn like burning wax
Fourteen candles!
And the raven, a smart bird,
Arrived, sitting on a tree
Right by the fire,
Sits and prays to the devil,
To be slapped to death
Which one!
Cow with a bell
That I've been off since the evening
From the herd, I heard a little
Human voices -
She came to the fire and stared
Eyes on the men
I listened to crazy speeches
And began, my heart,
Moo, moo, moo!

The stupid cow moos
Small jackdaws squeak,
The boys are screaming,
And the echo echoes everyone.
He has only one concern -
Teasing honest people
Scare the boys and women!
Nobody saw him
And everyone has heard,
Without a body - but it lives,
Screams without a tongue!

Wide path
Furnished with birch trees,
Stretches far
Sandy and deaf.
On the sides of the path
There are gentle hills
With fields, hayfields,
And more often with an uncomfortable
Abandoned land;
There are old villages,
There are new villages,
By the rivers, by the ponds...
Forests, flood meadows,
Russian streams and rivers
Good in spring.
But you, spring fields!
On your shoots the poor
Not fun to watch!
“It’s not for nothing that in the long winter
(Our wanderers interpret)
It snowed every day.
Spring has come - the snow has had its effect!
He is humble for the time being:
It flies - is silent, lies - is silent,
When he dies, then he roars.
Water - everywhere you look!
The fields are completely flooded
Carrying manure - there is no road,
And the time is not too early -
The month of May is coming!”
I don’t like the old ones either,
It’s even more painful for new ones
They should look at the villages.
Oh huts, new huts!
You are smart, let him build you up
Not an extra penny,
And blood trouble!..,

In the morning we met wanderers
More and more small people:
Your brother, a peasant-basket worker,
Craftsmen, beggars,
Soldiers, coachmen.
From the beggars, from the soldiers
The strangers did not ask
How is it for them - is it easy or difficult?
Lives in Rus'?
Soldiers shave with an awl,
Soldiers warm themselves with smoke, -
What happiness is there?..

The day was already approaching evening,
They go along the road,
A priest is coming towards me.
The peasants took off their caps,
bowed low,
Lined up
And the gelding Savras
They blocked the way.
The priest raised his head
He looked and asked with his eyes:
What do they want?

“I suppose! We are not robbers! -
Luke said to the priest.
(Luka is a squat guy,
With a wide beard,
Stubborn, vocal and stupid.
Luke looks like a mill:
One is not a bird mill,
That, no matter how it flaps its wings,
Probably won't fly.)

“We are sedate men,
Of those temporarily obliged,
A tightened province,
Terpigoreva County,
Empty parish,
Nearby villages:
Zaplatova, Dyryavina,
Razutova, Znobishina,
Gorelova, Neelova -
Bad harvest too.
Let's go on something important:
We have concerns
Is it such a concern?
That she left home,
She made us friends with work,
I stopped eating.
Give us the right word
To our peasant speech
Without laughter and without cunning,
According to conscience, according to reason,
To answer truthfully
Not so with your care
We'll go to someone else..."

I give you my true word:
If you ask the matter,
Without laughter and without cunning,
In truth and in reason,
How should one answer?
Amen!.. -

"Thank you. Listen!
Walking the path,
We came together by chance
They came together and argued:
Who has fun?
Free in Rus'?
Roman said: to the landowner,
Demyan said: to the official,
And I said: ass.
Kupchina fat-bellied, -
The Gubin brothers said,
Ivan and Metrodor.
Pakhom said: to the brightest,
To the noble boyar,
To the sovereign minister,
And Prov said: to the king...
The guy's a bull: he'll get in trouble
What a whim in the head -
Stake her from there
You can’t knock it out: no matter how much they argue,
We did not agree!
Having argued, we quarreled,
Having quarreled, they fought,
Having caught up, they changed their minds:
Don't go apart
Don't toss and turn in the houses,
Don't see your wives
Not with the little guys
Not with old people,
As long as our dispute
We won't find a solution
Until we find out
Whatever it is - for certain:
Who likes to live happily?
Free in Rus'?
Tell us in a divine way:
Is the priest's life sweet?
How are you - at ease, happily
Are you living, honest father?..”

I looked down and thought,
Sitting in a cart, pop
And he said: - Orthodox!
It is a sin to grumble against God,
I bear my cross with patience,
I live... how? Listen!
I'll tell you the truth, the truth,
And you have a peasant mind
Be smart! -
“Begin!”

What do you think is happiness?
Peace, wealth, honor -
Isn't that right, dear friends?

They said: "Yes"...

Now let's see, brothers,
What is butt peace like?
I have to admit, I should start
Almost from birth itself,
How to get a diploma
To the priest's son,
At what cost to Popovich
The priesthood is bought
Let's better keep quiet!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our roads are difficult,
Our parish is large.
Sick, dying,
Born into the world
They don’t choose time:
In reaping and haymaking,
In the dead of autumn night,
In winter, in severe frosts,
And in the spring flood -
Go - wherever you are called!
You go unconditionally.
And even if only the bones
Alone broke, -
No! gets wet every time,
The soul will hurt.
Don't believe it, Orthodox Christians,
There is a limit to habit:
No heart can bear
Without any trepidation
Death rattle
Funeral lament
Orphan's sadness!
Amen!.. Now think,
What's the peace like?..

The peasants thought little.
Letting the priest rest,
They said with a bow:
“What else can you tell us?”

Now let's see, brothers,
What honor to the priest!
The task is delicate
Wouldn't it make you angry?..

Tell me, Orthodox,
Who do you call
Foal breed?
Chur! respond to demand!

The peasants hesitated
They are silent - and the priest is silent...

Who are you afraid of meeting?
Walking the path?
Chur! respond to demand!

They groan, shift,
They are silent!
- Who are you writing about?
You are joker fairy tales,
And the songs are obscene
And all sorts of blasphemy?..

I'll get a sedate mother,
Popov's innocent daughter,
Every seminarian -
How do you honor?
To catch whom, like a gelding,
Shout: ho-ho-ho?..

The boys looked down
They are silent - and the priest is silent...
The peasants thought
And pop with a wide hat
I waved it in my face
Yes, I looked at the sky.
In the spring, when the grandchildren are small,
With the ruddy sun-grandfather
The clouds are playing:
Here's the right side
One continuous cloud
Covered - clouded,
It got dark and cried:
Rows of gray threads
They hung to the ground.
And closer, above the peasants,
From small, torn,
Happy clouds
The red sun laughs
Like a girl from the sheaves.
But the cloud has moved,
Pop covers himself with a hat -
Be in heavy rain.
And the right side
Already bright and joyful,
There the rain stops.
It's not rain, it's a miracle of God:
There with golden threads
Hanging skeins...

“Not ourselves... by parents
This is how we..." - Gubin brothers
They finally said.
And others echoed:
“Not by ourselves, by our parents!”
And the priest said: - Amen!
Sorry, Orthodox!
Not in judging your neighbor,
And at your request
I told you the truth.
Such is the honor of a priest
In the peasantry. And the landowners...

“You’re passing them, the landowners!
We know them!

Now let's see, brothers,
Where does the wealth come from?
Is Popovskoye coming?..
At a time not far away
Russian Empire
Noble estates
It was full.
And the landowners lived there,
Famous owners
There are none now!
Been fruitful and multiply
And they let us live.
What weddings were played there,
That children were born
On free bread!
Although often tough,
However, willing
Those were the gentlemen
They did not shy away from the arrival:
They got married here
Our children were baptized
They came to us to repent,
We performed the funeral service for them.
And if it did happen,
That a landowner lived in the city,
That's probably how I'll die
Came to the village.
If he dies accidentally,
And then he will punish you firmly
Bury him in the parish.
Look, to the village temple
On a mourning chariot
Six horse heirs
The dead man is being transported -
Good correction for the butt,
For the laity, a holiday is a holiday...
But now it’s not the same!
Like the tribe of Judah,
The landowners dispersed
Across distant foreign lands
And native to Rus'.
Now there's no time for pride
Lie in native possession
Next to fathers, grandfathers,
And there are many properties
Let's go to the profiteers.
Oh sleek bones
Russian, noble!
Where are you not buried?
In what land are you not?

Then the article... schismatics...
I'm not a sinner, I haven't lived
Nothing from the schismatics.
Fortunately, there was no need:
In my parish there are
Living in Orthodoxy
Two thirds of the parishioners.
And there are such volosts,
Where there are almost all schismatics,
So what about the butt?
Everything in the world is changeable,
The world itself will pass away...
Laws formerly strict
To the schismatics, softened,[ ]
And with them the priest
The income has come.
The landowners moved away
They don't live in estates
And die in old age
They don't come to us anymore.
Rich landowners
Pious old ladies,
Which died out
Who have settled down
Near monasteries.
Nobody wears a cassock now
He won’t give you your butt!
No one will embroider air...
Live with only peasants,
Collect worldly hryvnias,
Yes, pies on holidays,
Yes, eggs, oh Holy One.
The peasant himself needs
And I would be glad to give, but there’s nothing...

And then not everyone
And the peasant's penny is sweet.
Our benefits are meager,
Sands, swamps, mosses,
The little beast goes from hand to mouth,
Bread will be born on its own,
And if it gets better
The damp earth is the nurse,
So a new problem:
There is nowhere to go with the bread!
There's a need, you'll sell it
For sheer trifle,
And there is a crop failure!
Then pay through the nose,
Sell ​​the cattle.
Pray, Orthodox Christians!
Great trouble threatens
And this year:
The winter was fierce
Spring is rainy
It should have been sowing long ago,
And there is water in the fields!
Have mercy, Lord!
Send a cool rainbow
To our heavens!
(Taking off his hat, the shepherd crosses himself,
And the listeners too.)
Our villages are poor,
And the peasants in them are sick
Yes, women are sad,
Nurses, drinkers,
Slaves, pilgrims
And eternal workers,
Lord give them strength!
With so much work for pennies
Life is hard!
It happens to the sick
You will come: not dying,
The peasant family is scary
At that hour when she has to
Lose your breadwinner!
Give a farewell message to the deceased
And support in the remaining
You try your best
The spirit is cheerful! And here to you
The old woman, the mother of the dead man,
Look, he's reaching out with the bony one,
Calloused hand.
The soul will turn over,
How they jingle in this little hand
Two copper coins!
Of course, it's a clean thing -
I demand retribution
If you don’t take it, there’s nothing to live with,
Yes a word of comfort
Freezes on the tongue
And as if offended
You will go home... Amen...

Finished the speech - and the gelding
Pop lightly whipped.
The peasants parted
bowed low,
The horse trudged slowly.
And six comrades,
It's like we agreed
They attacked with reproaches,
With selected large swearing
To poor Luka:
- What, did you take it? stubborn head!
Country club!
That's where the argument gets into! -
"Nobles of the bell -
The priests live like princes.
They're going under the sky
Popov's tower,
The priest's fiefdom is buzzing -
Loud bells -
For God's whole world.
For three years I, little ones,
He lived with the priest as a worker,
Raspberries are not life!
Popova porridge - with butter,
Popov pie - with filling,
Popov's cabbage soup - with smelt!
Popov's wife is fat,
The priest's daughter is white,
Popov's horse is fat,
The priest's bee is well-fed,
How the bell rings!”
- Well, here's what you've praised
A priest's life!
Why were you yelling and showing off?
Getting into a fight, anathema?
Wasn't that what I was thinking of taking?
What's a beard like a shovel?
Like a goat with a beard
I walked around the world before,
Than the forefather Adam,
And he is considered a fool
And now he’s a goat!..

Luke stood, kept silent,
I was afraid they wouldn't hit me
Comrades, stand by.
It would have happened that way
Yes, fortunately for the peasant,
The road is bent -
The face is priestly stern
Appeared on the hill...

I feel sorry for the poor peasant
And I’m even more sorry for the cattle;
Having fed meager supplies,
The owner of the twig
He drove her into the meadows,
What should I take there? Chernekhonko!
Only on St. Nicholas of the spring
The weather has cleared up
Green fresh grass
The cattle feasted.

It's a hot day. Under the birch trees
The peasants are making their way
They chatter among themselves:
“We’re going through one village,
Let's go another - empty!
And today is a holiday.
Where have the people gone?..”
They are walking through the village - on the street
Some guys are small
There are old women in the houses,
Or even completely locked
Lockable gates.
Castle - a faithful dog:
Doesn't bark, doesn't bite,
But he doesn’t let me into the house!
We passed the village and saw
Mirror in green frame:
The edges are full of ponds.
Swallows are flying over the pond;
Some mosquitoes
Agile and skinny
Leaping, as if on dry land,
They walk on the water.
Along the banks, in the broom,
The corncrakes are creaking.
On a long, shaky raft
Thick blanket with roller
Stands like a plucked haystack,
Tucking the hem.
On the same raft
A duck sleeps with her ducklings...
Chu! horse snoring!
The peasants looked at once
And we saw over the water
Two heads: a peasant's,
Curly and dark,
With an earring (the sun was blinking
On that white earring),
The other is horse
With a rope, five fathoms.
The man takes the rope in his mouth,
The man swims and the horse swims,
The man neighed - and the horse neighed.
They're swimming and screaming! Under the woman
Under the small ducklings
The raft moves freely.

I caught up with the horse - grab it by the withers!
He jumped up and rode out into the meadow
Baby: white body,
And the neck is like tar;
Water flows in streams
From the horse and from the rider.

“What do you have in your village?
Neither old nor small,
How did all the people die out?”
- We went to the village of Kuzminskoye,
Today there is a fair
And the temple holiday. -
“How far is Kuzminskoye?”

Let it be three miles.

“Let's go to the village of Kuzminskoye,
Let's watch the fair!"
The men decided
And you thought to yourself:
"Isn't that where he's hiding?
Who lives happily?..”

Kuzminskoe rich,
And what's more, it's dirty
Trading village.
It stretches along the slope,
Then he descends into the ravine,
And there again on the hill -
How can there not be dirt here?
There are two ancient churches in it,
One Old Believer,
Another Orthodox
House with the inscription: school,
Empty, packed tightly,
A hut with one window,
With the image of a paramedic,
Drawing blood.
There is a dirty hotel
Decorated with a sign
(With a big nosed teapot
Tray in the hands of the bearer,
And small cups
Like a goose with goslings,
That kettle is surrounded)
There are permanent shops
Like a district
Gostiny Dvor...!

Strangers came to the square:
There are a lot of different goods
And apparently-invisibly
To the people! Isn't it fun?
It seems there is no godfather,
And, as if in front of icons,
Men without hats.
Such a side thing!
Look where they go
Peasant shliks:
In addition to the wine warehouse,
Taverns, restaurants,
A dozen damask shops,
Three inns,
Yes, “Rensky cellar”,
Yes, a couple of taverns,
Eleven zucchinis
Set for the holiday
Tents in the village.
Each has five carriers;
The carriers are young guys
Trained, mature,
And they can’t keep up with everything,
Can't cope with change!
Look what's stretched out
Peasant hands with hats,
With scarves, with mittens.
Oh Orthodox thirst,
How great are you!
Just to shower my darling,
And there they will get the hats,
When the market leaves.

Over the drunken heads
The spring sun is shining...
Intoxicatingly, vociferously, festively,
Colorful, red all around!
The guys' pants are corduroy,
Striped vests,
Shirts of all colors;
The women are wearing red dresses,
The girls have braids with ribbons,
The winches are floating!
And there are still some tricks,
Dressed like a metropolitan -
And it expands and sulks
Hoop hem!
If you step in, they will dress up!
At ease, newfangled women,
Fishing gear for you
Wear under skirts!
Looking at the smart women,
The Old Believers are furious
Tovarke says:
“Be hungry! be hungry!
Marvel that the seedlings are wet,
That the spring flood is worse
It's up to Petrov!
Since women began
Dress up in red calico, -
The forests don't rise
At least not this bread!”

Why are the calicoes red?
Have you done something wrong here, mother?
I can't imagine!

“And those French calicoes -
Painted with dog blood!
Well... do you understand now?..”

The wanderers went to the shops:
They admire handkerchiefs,
Ivanovo chintz,
Harnesses, new shoes,
A product of the Kimryaks.
At that shoe shop
The strangers laugh again:
There are goat shoes here
Grandfather traded with granddaughter
I asked about the price five times,
He turned it over in his hands and looked around:
The product is first class!
“Well, uncle! Two two hryvnia
Pay up or get lost!” -
The merchant told him.
- Wait a minute! - Admires
An old man with a tiny shoe,
This is what he says:
- I don’t care about my son-in-law, and my daughter will keep silent
, The wife doesn’t care, let her grumble!
I feel sorry for my granddaughter! Hanged herself
On the neck, fidget:
“Buy a hotel, grandpa,
Buy it!” - Silk head
The face is tickled, caressed,
Kisses the old man.
Wait, barefoot crawler!
Wait, spinning top! Goats
I'll buy boots...
Vavilushka boasted,
Both old and young
He promised me gifts,
And he drank himself to a penny!
How my eyes are shameless
Will I show it to my family?..

I don’t care about my son-in-law, and my daughter will remain silent,
The wife doesn't care, let her grumble!
I feel sorry for my granddaughter!.. - I went again
About my granddaughter! Killing himself!..
The people have gathered, listening,
Don't laugh, feel sorry;
Happen, work, bread
They would help him
And take out two two-kopeck pieces,
So you will be left with nothing.
Yes, there was a man here
Pavlusha Veretennikov.
(What kind of rank,
The men didn't know
However, they called him “master”.
He was very good at making jokes,
He wore a red shirt,
Cloth girl,
Grease Boots;
Sang Russian songs smoothly
And he loved listening to them.
Many have seen him
In the inn courtyards,
In taverns, in taverns.)
So he helped Vavila -
I bought him boots.
Vavilo grabbed them
And so he was! - For joy
Thanks even to the master
Old man forgot to say
But other peasants
So they were consoled
So happy, as if everyone
He gave it in rubles!
There was also a bench here
With pictures and books,
Ofeni were stocking up
Your goods in it.
“Do you need generals?” -
The burning merchant asked them.
- And give me generals!
Yes, only you, according to your conscience,
To be real -
Thicker, more menacing.

“Wonderful! the way you look! -
The merchant said with a grin. -
It’s not a matter of complexion...”
- What is it? You're kidding, friend!
Rubbish, perhaps, is it desirable to sell?
Where are we going to go with her?
You're naughty! Before the peasant
All generals are equal
Like cones on a spruce tree:
To sell the ugly one,
You need to get to the dock,
And fat and menacing
I'll give it to everyone...
Come on big, dignified ones,
Chest as high as a mountain, eyes bulging,
Yes, for more stars!

“Don’t you want civilians?”
- Well, here we go again with the civilians! -
(However, they took it - cheaply! -
Some dignitary
For a belly the size of a wine barrel
And for seventeen stars.)
Merchant - with all respect,
Whatever he likes, he treats him to it
(From Lubyanka - the first thief!) -
He sent down a hundred Bluchers,
Archimandrite Photius,
Robber Sipko,
Sold the book: “The Jester Balakirev”
And "English my lord"...

The books went into the box,
Let's go for a walk portraits
According to the All-Russian kingdom,
Until they settle down
In a peasant's summer cottage,
On a low wall...
God knows why!

Eh! eh! will the time come,
When (come, desired one!..)
They will let the peasant understand
What a rose is a portrait of a portrait,
What is the book of the book of roses?
When a man is not Blucher
And not my foolish lord -
Belinsky and Gogol
Will it come from the market?
Oh people, Russian people!
Orthodox peasants!
Have you ever heard
Are you these names?
Those are great names,
Wore them, glorified them
People's intercessors!
Here's some portraits of them for you
Hang in your gorenki,
Read their books...

“And I would be glad to go to heaven, but where is the door?” -
This kind of speech breaks in
To the shop unexpectedly.
- Which door do you want? -
“Yes, to the booth. Chu! music!.."
- Let's go, I'll show you!

Having heard about the farce,
Our wanderers have also gone
Listen, look.
Comedy with Petrushka,
With a goat and a drummer
And not with a simple barrel organ,
And with real music
They looked here.
Comedy is not wise
However, not stupid either
Resident, quarterly
Not in the eyebrow, but straight in the eye!
The hut is full,
People are cracking nuts
Or two or three peasants
Let's exchange a word -
Look, vodka has appeared:
They'll watch and drink!
They laugh, they are consoled
And often in Petrushkin’s speech
Insert an apt word,
Which one you can't think of
At least swallow a feather!

There are such lovers -
How will the comedy end?
They'll go behind the screens,
Kissing, fraternizing,
Chatting with musicians:
“Where from, good fellows?”
- And we were masters,
They played for the landowner,
Now we are free people,
Who will bring it, treat it,
He is our master!

“And that’s it, dear friends,
Quite a bar you entertained,
Amuse the men!
Hey! small! sweet vodka!
Liqueurs! some tea! half a beer!
Tsimlyansky - come alive!..”

And the flooded sea
It will do, more generous than the lord's
The kids will be treated to a treat.

The winds do not blow violently,
It is not mother earth that sways -
He makes noise, sings, swears,
Swaying, lying around,
Fights and kisses
People are celebrating!
It seemed to the peasants
How we reached the hillock,
That the whole village is shaking,
That even the church is old
With a high bell tower
It shook once or twice! -
Here, sober and naked,
Awkward... Our wanderers
We walked around the square again
And by evening they left
Stormy village...

“Move aside, people!”
(Excise officials
With bells, with plaques
They rushed from the market.)

“And I mean this now:
And the broom is rubbish, Ivan Ilyich,
And he will walk on the floor,
It will spray wherever!

“God forbid, Parashenka,
Don't go to St. Petersburg!
There are such officials
You are their cook for a day,
And their night is crazy -
So I don’t care!”

“Where are you going, Savvushka?”
(The priest shouts to the sotsky
On horseback, with a government badge.)
- I’m galloping to Kuzminskoye
Behind the stanov. Occasion:
There's a peasant ahead
Killed... - “Eh!.., sins!..”

“You’ve become thinner, Daryushka!”
- Not a spindle, friend!
That's what the more it spins,
It's getting potbellied
And I’m like every day...

"Hey guy, stupid guy,
Tattered, lousy,
Hey, love me!
Me, bareheaded,
Drunk old woman,
Zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally!

Our peasants are sober,
Looking, listening,
They go their own way.

In the middle of the road
Some guy is quiet
I dug a big hole.
“What are you doing here?”
- And I’m burying my mother! -
"Fool! what a mother!
Look: a new undershirt
You buried it in the ground!
Go quickly and grunt
Lie down in the ditch and drink some water!
Maybe the crap will come off!”

“Come on, let’s stretch!”

Two peasants sit down
They rest their feet,
And they live, and they push,
They groan and stretch on a rolling pin,
Joints are cracking!
Didn't like it on the rolling pin:
"Let's try now
Stretch your beard!”
When the beard is in order
They reduced each other,
Grabbing your cheekbones!
They puff, blush, writhe,
They moo, squeal, and stretch!
“Be it to you, damned ones!”
You won't spill the water!

Women are quarreling in the ditch,
One shouts: “Go home
More sick than hard labor!”
Another: - You're lying, in my house
Worse than yours!
My eldest son-in-law broke my rib,
The middle son-in-law stole the ball,
A ball of spit, but the thing is -
Fifty dollars was wrapped in it,
And the younger son-in-law keeps taking the knife,
Look, he'll kill him, he'll kill him!..

“Well, that’s enough, that’s enough, dear!
Well, don't be angry! - behind the roller
You can hear it nearby -
I’m okay... let’s go!”
Such a bad night!
Is it right or left?
From the road you can see:
Couples are walking together
Isn't it the right grove that they're going to?
That grove attracts everyone,
In that grove the vociferous
The nightingales are singing...

The road is crowded
What later is uglier:
More and more often they come across
Beaten, crawling,
Lying in a layer.
Without swearing, as usual,
Not a word will be uttered,
Crazy, obscene,
She is the loudest!
The taverns are in turmoil,
The leads are mixed up
Scared horses
They run without riders;
Little children are crying here,
Wives and mothers grieve:
Is it easy from drinking
Should I call the men?..

At the traffic post
A familiar voice is heard
Our wanderers are approaching
And they see: Veretennikov
(What goatskin shoes
Gave it to Vavila)
Talks with peasants.
The peasants are opening up
The gentleman likes:
Pavel will praise the song -
They will sing it five times, write it down!
Like the proverb -
Write a proverb!
Having written down enough,
Veretennikov told them:
“Russian peasants are smart,
One thing is bad
That they drink until they are stupefied,
They fall into ditches, into ditches -
It’s a shame to see!”

The peasants listened to that speech,
They agreed with the master.
Pavlusha has something in a book
I already wanted to write,
Yes, he turned up drunk
Man, he is against the master
Lying on his stomach
I looked into his eyes,
I kept silent - but suddenly
How he will jump up! Straight to the master -
Grab the pencil from your hands!
- Wait, empty head!
Crazy news, shameless
Don't talk about us!
What were you jealous of!
Why is the poor thing having fun?
Peasant soul?
We drink a lot from time to time,
And we work more
You see a lot of us drunk,
And there are more of us sober.
Have you walked around the villages?
Let's take a bucket of vodka,
Let's go through the huts:
In one, in the other they will pile up,
And in the third they won’t touch -
We have a drinking family
Non-drinking family!
They don’t drink, but they also toil,
It would be better if they drank, stupid ones,
Yes, conscience is like that...
It’s wonderful to watch how he bursts in
In such a sober hut
A man's trouble -
And I wouldn’t even look!.. I saw it
Are Russian villages in the midst of suffering?
In a drinking establishment, what, people?
We have vast fields,
And not much generous,
Tell me, by whose hand
In the spring they will dress,
Will they undress in the fall?
Have you met a guy
After work in the evening?
To reap a good mountain
I set it down and ate a pea-sized piece:
"Hey! hero! straw
I’ll knock you over, move aside!”

The peasants, as they noted,
Why are you not offended by the master?
Yakimov's words,
And they themselves agreed
With Yakim: - The word is true:
We should drink!
We drink - it means we feel strong!
Great sadness will come,
How can we stop drinking!..
Work wouldn't stop me
Trouble would not prevail
Hops will not overcome us!
Is not it?

“Yes, God is merciful!”

Well, have a glass with us!

We got some vodka and drank it.
Yakim Veretennikov
He brought two scales.

Hey master! didn't get angry
Smart little head!
(Yakim told him.)
Smart little head
How can one not understand a peasant?
And pigs walk on the ground -
They can't see the sky for ages!..

Suddenly the song rang out in chorus
Daring, consonant:
Ten three young men,
They're tipsy and don't lie down,
They walk side by side, sing,
They sing about Mother Volga,
About valiant prowess,
About girlish beauty.
The whole road became silent,
That one song is funny
Rolls wide and freely
Like rye spreading in the wind,
According to the peasant's heart
It goes with fire and melancholy!..
I'll go away to that song
I lost my mind and cried
Young girl alone:
“My age is like a day without the sun,
My age is like a night without a month,
And I, young and young,
Like a greyhound horse on a leash,
What is a swallow without wings!
My old husband, jealous husband,
He's drunk and drunk, he's snoring,
Me, when I was very young,
And the sleepy one is on guard!”
That's how the young girl cried
Yes, she suddenly jumped off the cart!
"Where?" - the jealous husband shouts,
He stood up and grabbed the woman by the braid,
Like a radish for a cowlick!

Oh! drunken night!
Not light, but starry,
Not hot, but with affectionate
Spring breeze!
And to our good fellows
You weren't in vain!
They felt sad for their wives,
It's true: with my wife
Now it would be more fun!
Ivan shouts: “I want to sleep,”
And Maryushka: - And I’m with you! -
Ivan shouts: “The bed is narrow,”
And Maryushka: - Let's settle down! -
Ivan shouts: “Oh, it’s cold,”
And Maryushka: - Let's get warm! -
How do you remember that song?
Without a word - agreed
Try your casket.

One, why God knows,
Between the field and the road
A thick linden tree has grown.
Strangers crouched under it
And they said carefully:
"Hey! self-assembled tablecloth,
Treat the men!”

And the tablecloth unrolled,
Where did they come from?
Two hefty arms:
They put a bucket of wine,
They piled up a mountain of bread
And they hid again.

The peasants refreshed themselves
Roman for the guard
Stayed by the bucket
And others intervened
In the crowd - look for the happy one:
They really wanted
Get home soon...