Nekrasov why it’s good to live in Rus'. Who can live well in Rus' in our time?

The work of the great Russian poet tells us how seven peasants decided throughout Rus' to find happy person. According to the author’s idea, the men were supposed to reach St. Petersburg, but due to Nikolai Alexandrovich’s serious illness and sudden death, the poem remained unfinished.

So, at a crossroads, seven men from the Terpigorevo district meet, but each of them is from a different poor and wretched village. They all argue with each other about who lives the best life. One claims that he is a landowner, the other that he is a priest.

Everyone left home important matter, but having met, they began a conversation on this topic to such an extent that they not only forgot about everything in the world, but also began to fight during the argument.

Having reached the forest, they continued their conflict and alarmed all the animals and birds. Frightened by such noise, the chick falls out of the nest and the men pick it up, and think that it is easier for the bird to find out where it is good to live in Rus'. A frightened warbler and the chick's mother flies up to them and asks them to give her the chick. As a reward, she shows them where the treasure is buried, and there is a magic tablecloth that will always give them something to drink and feed, but you can’t ask for too much alcohol. She enchants their clothes so that they are safe and sound on the journey and fly away with her chick. Satisfied peasants, having eaten and drunk, decide not to return home until they find out who is living well.

Walking along the road they meet different people. These are both soldiers and apprentices, but from their appearance it is immediately clear that life is not sweet for them. Late in the evening they come across a priest, whom they learn about his fate. As the priest himself thinks, his happiness should lie in peace, wealth and respect for him. But in reality this is not true. The groans of dying people and long service with crying do not bring him any peace. When the father finished howling sad story, he leaves and the men attack Luka, who proved that the priest lives a rich life, but in fact, it turned out not to be so.

After a dispute, the peasants go to a fair in the village of Kuzminskoye, which is famous big amount taverns and drunken people. They also sell books here, but more and more with simple pictures. And no one knows when they will start buying and reading the literature of Russian classics. The men, being around the fair, continue on their way, but it was already night. And in the darkness they hear different people talking about their troubles and problems. One of the wanderers reproaches the peasants for this way of life. And Yakim Goly, who lives in this village, justifies his villagers. After all, they don’t drink because they have a good life.

The travelers, having filled a bucket of vodka, decide to find out who the inhabitants are in this life.

The bucket quickly emptied, but the happy man was never found.

Continuing on their way, the men come across the landowner Gavrila Afanasyevich Obolta-Obolduev, who told them his story. He was a kind master, his servants loved him, but they took away his land, squandered his farm, and ordered him to work, but he was not taught this.

Then they come across a peasant woman, Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina, who tells about her difficult life as a woman. All her life she worked for her husband’s relatives, lost her eldest son Demushka, whom she still cannot forget. And as the woman says, a woman’s happiness is unknown where it is located.

The most glorious place for our heroes seems to be the village of Vakhlachina, where festivities take place. The men also feast, joined by two seminarians who sing joyful songs and tell interesting stories. One of them, Grisha, has been firmly convinced since the age of 15 that he wants to dedicate his destiny to the happiness of the people. In the future it will be the people's intercessor. But the peasants do not hear him, otherwise they would understand that there is a happy man standing in front.

After all, it is precisely through the appearance of people like Gregory that Rus' will rise from its slave knees and national happiness will come.

The main idea of the story Who Lives Well in Rus' by Nekrasova

The work teaches us to understand what the value of true happiness is. And for this you don’t need much - it’s friendly and a strong family, work that brings joy and profit for yourself, and show yourself in this life as such a person so that others respect you.

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Written in blank verse and stylized as ancient legends, the poem tells about the long journey through the lands of Mother Rus' of seven travelers who asked the question “who can live well in Rus'.” Nekrasov wrote his work in the second half of the 19th century, as a response to the reforms of Alexander II, who abolished serfdom. The pilgrims' journey was supposed to end in St. Petersburg, but due to illness and sudden death The writer's poem remained unfinished.

A brief retelling of the plot of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”

A long time ago, seven men from adjacent villages met on a country road. These were poor people who did not become happier with the abolition of serfdom in Rus'. A dispute ensued between the travelers - who lives well in their native lands? The conversation turned out to be so heated that the men walked 30 miles together and didn’t notice.

We stopped for the night, added vodka and a fire to the journey, got into a fight, but never got the truth. Apparently fate itself united these people - the men set off on a long journey in search of a happy man. We met a lot of people and listened to dozens of stories. The people of Rus' are strong and patient, but happiness seems to pass them by...

List and brief description of the characters in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”

Seven male travelers:

Novel - there is no information about it in the poem, there is no characterization;
Demyan is the most “educated” of the travelers, he can read syllables;
Luka is a stupid, bearded man;
Ivan Gubin and his brother
Metropolitan Gubin - drunkards, knowledgeable about horses;
Old Pakhom is a beekeeper, a smart old man;
Prov is a gloomy man with a strong build.

Matryona Timofeevna - Matryona’s life is difficult, she lost her parents early, survived the death of her son. She bravely faces the machinations of fate, but she certainly cannot be considered one of the lucky ones.
Bogatyr Savely - Matryona also told the travelers about the sad fate of Savely.
The priest is a priest with a difficult service in a village church.
Ermil Girin is a young, smart, kind and hardworking peasant. He was a burgomaster, but he made a mistake and could not come to terms with it.
Obold Obolduev is a landowner who really lacks serfdom.
Prince Utyatin - old prince who did not recognize the abolition of serfdom.
Grisha Dobrosklonov is the 15-year-old son of a clerk, an intelligent and kind fellow, living in poverty, forced to constantly starve.

Brief summary of Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by chapters

PART I

Prologue

We met seven men - Demyan, Roman, Luka, Mitrodor, Ivan, Pakhom and Prov - from adjacent villages in Terpigorevo district with “talking” names: Dyryaevo, Razutovo, Zaplatovo, Znobishino, Neelovo, Gorelovo, Neurozhaiko.

The men started a dispute about “who lives better: the priest, the official, the landowner, the tsar.” They argued the whole way together, reached the forest and got into a fight. And then they caught the chick. His mother, a bird, in order to “ransom” her baby, told the men where the self-assembled tablecloth was hidden and bewitched their clothes so that they would never fray. The travelers unrolled the tablecloth, ate and drank, and promised each other that they would not return home until they found someone who was living well in Rus'. Thus began their long journey...

Chapter 1. Pop

The travelers walked for a long time along the birch trees. On the way they came across poor peasants and other “small” people. It was stupid to ask them about happiness - where does it come from?!

Finally, the disputants met the priest. Luke asked him if his life was sweet. The priest considered it a sinful thing to complain about life and simply told how and with what he exists. For him, happiness is “peace, wealth and honor.” But from the clergyman’s story, the seven men concluded that all three named values were absolutely unattainable for their new acquaintance. There is nothing good about living as a priest in Rus'.

Chapter 2. Rural fair

As they continue their journey, the men encounter many deserted villages. It turns out that in one village, the richest one, there is a fair. The travelers decide to wander there and look for the happy villagers. But they don’t find anything good - only dirt, poverty and endless drinking.

Chapter 3. Drunken night

Along the hundred-voice road, the men come across drunken and talkative people. One of them, Yakin Goly, tells them his story: how he saved popular prints from a burning house and lost all his savings. Then the travelers stop to rest and again “join” the crowd to look for the lucky Russians.

Chapter 4. Happy

The wanderers resorted to a little trick. They started shouting to the people that if the “lucky” one came up to them, they would treat him with vodka for nothing. People immediately line up. And everyone is happy, as if by choice: the soldier is glad that he returned barely alive from hellish service, the grandmother is delighted with the turnip harvest, and so on. So a whole bucket of vodka was distributed, but the happy one was not found.

One of the guys in the queue told the story of Ermila Girina, who may be the lucky one. Ermila managed to rise to the ruling rank, he is respected and loved by all the common people. But where is he? “Lucky” is in prison, and the priest promised to tell him why, but the thief was caught in the crowd and everyone rushed to the screams.

Chapter 5. Landowner

Next on the path of the seekers happy people met the landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev. And he told casual acquaintances about his fate. How well he lived under serfdom and how hard it was without it. At the end of the story, the landowner burst into tears.

PART II

Last One

The men celebrated the new day on the banks of the Volga River. A huge meadow with mown hay stretched out in front of them. Three boats moored to the shore, and in them was a family of nobles. The oldest of them was fawned over by everyone around him, including the peasants freed from serfdom.

It turned out that this was not easy. Prince Utyatin, or the Last One (nickname), when he learned that the serfs were being freed, promised to deprive his sons of their inheritance, since they did not defend the ideals of the landowners. The boyar children persuaded the peasants to play along with them and soon announced to the priest that everything had returned to normal. The peasants were promised a lot of lordly land for the performance. The old man died, the peasants were left with nothing.

PART III

Peasant woman

The wanderers visit the governor Matryona Korchagina, who is 38 years old, but she calls herself an old woman. The woman tells them her difficult fate. She was happy for a long time and only when she lived as a girl with her father and mother. Then she got married, her husband went to work, and she stayed with his family to live. I served everyone, but only regretted it old grandfather Savely. Matryonin’s first-born was eaten by pigs, then there were more children, and they even managed to beg her husband to come home from military service. Summing up her speech, Matryona admitted to the travelers that the concept of “female happiness” simply does not exist in Rus'.

PART IV

Feast for the whole world

There is a feast for the entire village of Vakhlacheno. Here: Klim Yakovlich, Vlas the headman and young seminary students Savvushka and Grisha, who sing good songs. Stories are told again at the table, for example, about the faithful servant Yakov. He served the master and loved him, endured everything until he gave his nephew to military service. The slave started drinking, and when he got over it, he returned to the master and after a while took cruel revenge. Gradually the conversations turn to sad ones, bloody stories, people begin to sing sad songs.

But the day will come when Rus' will sing only good songs and there will be no need to look for the happy - everyone will be happy. The first bricks for this day have been laid and they are two seminarians at a common table. Grisha, son of a clerk, from the very youth decided to devote himself to the fight for the happiness of the people. He loves his native village as deeply as his mother. And walks around native land with a song on my lips. His plans and dreams will come true, a difficult but noble life awaits this boy. It’s a pity that the travelers don’t hear Grisha singing about Rus'; then they wouldn’t have gone further, but would have gone home, because they would have realized that they had found the one they were going to look for.

This is how Nekrasov’s poem ended, but even from its unfinished chapters it becomes clear to the reader how difficult it was for the people after the reforms in Rus'.

The history of the creation of Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”

The plot of the poem was conceived by the author in the 1850s, and the final point was set by him in 1877. Nekrasov worked closely on this work for almost 15 years and, unfortunately, death did not allow him to complete his work. The editors and publishers received the manuscript in scattered form, since the writer did not have time to combine it into in the right order. Known to contemporaries a version of the poem was prepared for publication by K. Chukovsky, relying on Nekrasov’s notes, diaries and drafts.

The poem by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'” has its own unique feature. All the names of the villages and the names of the heroes clearly reflect the essence of what is happening. In the first chapter, the reader can meet seven men from the villages “Zaplatovo”, “Dyryaevo”, “Razutovo”, “Znobishino”, “Gorelovo”, “Neelovo”, “Neurozhaiko”, who argue about who has a good life in Rus', and in no way cannot come to an agreement. No one is even going to give in to another... This is how the work begins in an unusual way, which Nikolai Nekrasov conceived in order, as he writes, “to present in a coherent story everything that he knows about the people, everything that happened to be heard from their lips...”

The history of the poem

Nikolai Nekrasov began working on his work in the early 1860s and completed the first part five years later. The prologue was published in the January issue of Sovremennik magazine for 1866. Then painstaking work began on the second part, which was called “The Last One” and was published in 1972. The third part, entitled “Peasant Woman,” was published in 1973, and the fourth, “A Feast for the Whole World,” was published in the fall of 1976, that is, three years later. It’s a pity that the author of the legendary epic was never able to fully complete his plans - the writing of the poem was interrupted by his untimely death in 1877. However, even after 140 years, this work remains important for people; it is read and studied by both children and adults. The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is included in the required school curriculum.

Part 1. Prologue: who is the happiest in Rus'

So, the prologue tells how seven men meet on a highway and then go on a journey to find a happy man. To whom on Rus' lives freely, happily and cheerfully - here main question curious travelers. Everyone, arguing with another, believes that he is right. Roman shouts that the most a good life at the landowner's, Demyan claims that the official has a wonderful life, Luka proves that after all, the priest, the rest also express their opinion: “to the noble boyar”, “to the fat-bellied merchant”, “to the sovereign’s minister” or to the tsar.

Such a disagreement leads to an absurd fight, which is observed by birds and animals. It is interesting to read how the author reflects their surprise at what is happening. Even the cow “came to the fire, fixed her eyes on the men, listened to crazy speeches and began, dear heart, to moo, moo, moo!..”

Finally, having kneaded each other's sides, the men came to their senses. They saw a tiny chick of a warbler fly up to the fire, and Pakhom took it in his hands. The travelers began to envy the little birdie, which could fly wherever it wanted. They were talking about what everyone wanted, when suddenly... the bird spoke in a human voice, asking to release the chick and promising a large ransom for it.

The bird showed the men the way to where the real self-assembled tablecloth was buried. Wow! Now you can definitely live without having to worry. But the smart wanderers also asked that their clothes not wear out. “And this will be done by a self-assembled tablecloth,” said the warbler. And she kept her promise.

The men began to live a well-fed and cheerful life. But they haven’t yet resolved the main question: who lives well in Rus' after all? And the friends decided not to return to their families until they found the answer to it.

Chapter 1. Pop

On the way, the men met a priest and, bowing low, asked him to answer “in good conscience, without laughter and without cunning,” whether life was really good for him in Rus'. What the priest said dispelled the ideas of seven curious people about him. happy life. No matter how harsh the circumstances may be - a dead autumn night, or a severe frost, or a spring flood - the priest has to go where he is called, without arguing or contradicting. The work is not easy, and besides, the groans of people leaving for another world, the cries of orphans and the sobs of widows completely upset the peace of the priest’s soul. And only outwardly it seems that the priest is held in high esteem. In fact, he is often a target for ridicule. common people.

Chapter 2. Rural fair

Further, the road leads purposeful wanderers to other villages, which for some reason turn out to be empty. The reason is that all the people are at the fair in the village of Kuzminskoye. And it was decided to go there to ask people about happiness.

The life of the village gave the men some not very pleasant feelings: there were a lot of drunks around, everything was dirty, dull, and uncomfortable. They also sell books at the fair, but they are of low quality; Belinsky and Gogol cannot be found here.

By evening everyone becomes so drunk that even the church with its bell tower seems to be shaking.

Chapter 3. Drunken night

At night the men are on the road again. They hear drunk people talking. Suddenly attention is drawn to Pavlusha Veretennikov, who is making notes in a notebook. He collects peasant songs and sayings, as well as their stories. After everything that has been said is captured on paper, Veretennikov begins to reproach the assembled people for drunkenness, to which he hears objections: “the peasant drinks mainly because he is in grief, and therefore it is impossible, even a sin, to reproach him for this.

Chapter 4. Happy

The men do not deviate from their goal - to find a happy person at any cost. They promise to reward with a bucket of vodka the one who tells that he is the one who lives freely and cheerfully in Rus'. Drinkers fall for such a “tempting” offer. But no matter how colorfully they try to paint the gloomy everyday life Those who want to get drunk for nothing, nothing comes of it. The stories of an old woman who had up to a thousand turnips, a sexton who rejoices when someone pours a drink for him; the paralyzed former servant, who for forty years licked the master's plates with the best French truffle, does not at all impress the stubborn seekers of happiness on Russian soil.

Chapter 5. Landowner.

Maybe luck will smile on them here - the seekers of the happy Russian man assumed when they met the landowner Gavrila Afanasyich Obolt-Obolduev on the road. At first he was frightened, thinking that he had seen robbers, but having learned about the unusual desire of the seven men who blocked his way, he calmed down, laughed and told his story.

Maybe before the landowner considered himself happy, but not now. After all, in old times Gabriel Afanasyevich was the owner of the entire district, a whole regiment of servants and organized holidays with theatrical performances and dancing. He didn’t even hesitate to invite peasants to the manor’s house to pray on holidays. Now everything has changed: the family estate of Obolta-Obolduev was sold for debts, because, left without peasants who knew how to cultivate the land, the landowner, who was not used to working, suffered heavy losses, which led to a disastrous outcome.

Part 2. The Last One

The next day, the travelers went to the banks of the Volga, where they saw a large hay meadow. Before they had time to talk to local residents, as we noticed three boats at the pier. It turns out that this is a noble family: two gentlemen with their wives, their children, servants and a gray-haired old gentleman named Utyatin. Everything in this family, to the surprise of the travelers, happens according to such a scenario, as if the abolition of serfdom had never happened. It turns out that Utyatin became very angry when he learned that the peasants had been given free rein and fell ill with a blow, threatening to deprive his sons of their inheritance. To prevent this from happening, they came up with a cunning plan: they persuaded the peasants to play along with the landowner, posing as serfs. They promised the best meadows as a reward after the master’s death.

Utyatin, hearing that the peasants were staying with him, perked up, and the comedy began. Some even liked the role of serfs, but Agap Petrov could not come to terms with his shameful fate and expressed everything to the landowner’s face. For this the prince sentenced him to flogging. The peasants played a role here too: they took the “rebellious” one to the stable, put wine in front of him and asked him to shout louder, for visibility. Alas, Agap could not bear such humiliation, got very drunk and died that same night.

Next, the Last One (Prince Utyatin) arranges a feast, where, barely moving his tongue, he makes a speech about the advantages and benefits of serfdom. After this, he lies down in the boat and gives up the ghost. Everyone is glad that they finally got rid of the old tyrant, however, the heirs are not even going to fulfill their promise, given to those who played the role of serfs. The hopes of the peasants were not justified: no one gave them any meadows.

Part 3. Peasant woman.

No longer hoping to find a happy person among men, the wanderers decided to ask women. And from the lips of a peasant woman named Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina they hear a very sad and, one might say, scary story. Only in her parents' house was she happy, and then, when she married Philip, rosy-cheeked and strong guy, a hard life began. The love did not last long, because the husband left to work, leaving his young wife with his family. Matryona works tirelessly and sees no support from anyone except the old man Savely, who lives a century after hard labor that lasted twenty years. Only one joy appears in her difficult fate - her son Demushka. But suddenly a terrible misfortune befell the woman: it is impossible to even imagine what happened to the child due to the fact that the mother-in-law did not allow her daughter-in-law to take him with her to the field. Due to an oversight by his grandfather, the boy is eaten by pigs. What a mother's grief! She mourns Demushka all the time, although other children were born in the family. For their sake, a woman sacrifices herself, for example, she takes punishment when they want to flog her son Fedot for a sheep that was carried away by wolves. When Matryona was pregnant with another son, Lidor, her husband was unjustly taken into the army, and his wife had to go to the city to seek the truth. It’s good that the governor’s wife, Elena Alexandrovna, helped her then. By the way, Matryona gave birth to a son in the waiting room.

Yes, life was not easy for the one who was nicknamed “lucky” in the village: she constantly had to fight for herself, and for her children, and for her husband.

Part 4. A feast for the whole world.

At the end of the village of Valakhchina there was a feast, where everyone was gathered: the wandering men, Vlas the elder, and Klim Yakovlevich. Among those celebrating are two seminarians, simple, kind guys - Savvushka and Grisha Dobrosklonov. They sing funny songs and tell stories various stories. They do this because ordinary people ask for it. From the age of fifteen, Grisha firmly knows that he will devote his life to the happiness of the Russian people. He sings a song about a great and powerful country called Rus'. Is this not the lucky one whom the travelers were so persistently looking for? After all, he clearly sees the purpose of his life - in serving the disadvantaged people. Unfortunately, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov died untimely, without having time to finish the poem (according to the author’s plan, the men were supposed to go to St. Petersburg). But the thoughts of the seven wanderers coincide with the thoughts of Dobrosklonov, who thinks that every peasant should live freely and cheerfully in Rus'. This was the main intention of the author.

The poem by Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov became legendary, a symbol of the struggle for happy everyday life ordinary people, as well as the result of the author’s thoughts about the fate of the peasantry.

“Who Lives Well in Rus'” - a summary of the poem by N.A. Nekrasova

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One day, seven men - recent serfs, and now temporarily obliged "from adjacent villages - Zaplatova, Dyryavina, Razutova, Znobishina, Gorelova, Neyolova, Neurozhaika, etc." meet on the main road. Instead of going their own way, the men start an argument about who lives happily and freely in Rus'. Each of them judges in his own way who is the main lucky person in Rus': a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a noble boyar, a minister of sovereigns or a tsar.

While arguing, they do not notice that they have taken a detour of thirty miles. Seeing that it is too late to return home, the men light a fire and continue the argument over vodka - which, of course, little by little develops into a fight. But a fight does not help resolve the issue that worries the men.

The solution is found unexpectedly: one of the men, Pakhom, catches a warbler chick, and in order to free the chick, the warbler tells the men where they can find a self-assembled tablecloth. Now the men are provided with bread, vodka, cucumbers, kvass, tea - in a word, everything they need for long journey. And besides, a self-assembled tablecloth will repair and wash their clothes! Having received all these benefits, the men make a vow to find out “who lives happily and freely in Rus'.”

The first possible “lucky person” they meet along the way turns out to be a priest. (It was not right for the soldiers and beggars they met to ask about happiness!) But the priest’s answer to the question of whether his life is sweet disappoints the men. They agree with the priest that happiness lies in peace, wealth and honor. But the priest does not possess any of these benefits. In the haymaking, in the harvest, in the dead of autumn night, in the bitter frost, he must go to where there are the sick, the dying and those being born. And every time his soul hurts at the sight of funeral sobs and orphan sadness - so much that his hand does not rise to take copper nickels- a pitiful reward for the demand. The landowners, who previously lived in family estates and got married here, baptized children, buried the dead, are now scattered not only throughout Rus', but also in distant foreign lands; there is no hope for their retribution. Well, the men themselves know how much respect the priest deserves: they feel embarrassed when the priest reproaches him for obscene songs and insults towards priests.

Realizing that the Russian priest is not one of the lucky ones, the men go to a holiday fair in the trading village of Kuzminskoye to ask people about happiness. In a rich and dirty village there are two churches, a tightly boarded up house with the sign “school”, a paramedic’s hut, a dirty hotel. But most of all in the village there are drinking establishments, in each of which they barely have time to cope with thirsty people. Old man Vavila cannot buy goatskin shoes for his granddaughter because he drank himself to a penny. It’s good that Pavlusha Veretennikov, a lover of Russian songs, whom everyone calls “master” for some reason, buys him the treasured gift.

Male wanderers watch the farcical Petrushka, watch how the ladies stock up on books - but not Belinsky and Gogol, but portraits of unknown fat generals and works about “my lord stupid”. They also see how a busy trading day ends: widespread drunkenness, fights on the way home. However, the men are indignant at Pavlusha Veretennikov’s attempt to measure the peasant against the master’s standard. In their opinion, it is impossible for a sober person to live in Rus': he will not withstand either backbreaking labor or peasant misfortune; without drinking, bloody rain would pour out of the angry peasant soul. These words are confirmed by Yakim Nagoy from the village of Bosovo - one of those who “works until they die, drinks until they die.” Yakim believes that only pigs walk on the earth and never see the sky. During the fire, he himself did not save the money he had accumulated throughout his life, but the useless and beloved pictures hanging in the hut; he is sure that with the cessation of drunkenness, great sadness will come to Rus'.

Male wanderers do not lose hope of finding people who live well in Rus'. But even for the promise of giving free water to the lucky ones, they fail to find them. For the sake of free booze, both the overworked worker, the paralyzed former servant who spent forty years licking the master’s plates with the best French truffle, and even ragged beggars are ready to declare themselves lucky.

Finally, someone tells them the story of Yermil Girin, the mayor in the estate of Prince Yurlov, who earned universal respect for his justice and honesty. When Girin needed money to buy the mill, the men lent it to him without even requiring a receipt. But Yermil is now unhappy: after the peasant revolt, he is in prison.

The ruddy sixty-year-old landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev tells the wandering peasants about the misfortune that befell the nobles after the peasant reform. He remembers how in the old days everything amused the master: villages, forests, fields, serf actors, musicians, hunters, who completely belonged to him. Obolt-Obolduev talks with emotion about how on the twelve holidays he invited his serfs to pray in the master's house - despite the fact that after this he had to drive the women away from the entire estate to wash the floors.

And although the peasants themselves know that life in serfdom was far from the idyll depicted by Obolduev, they still understand: the great chain of serfdom, having broken, hit both the master, who was immediately deprived of his usual way of life, and the peasant.

Desperate to find someone happy among the men, the wanderers decide to ask the women. The surrounding peasants remember that Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina lives in the village of Klin, whom everyone considers lucky. But Matryona herself thinks differently. In confirmation, she tells the wanderers the story of her life.

Before her marriage, Matryona lived in a teetotal and wealthy peasant family. She married a stove-maker from a foreign village, Philip Korchagin. But the only happy night for her was that night when the groom persuaded Matryona to marry him; then the usual hopeless life of a village woman began. True, her husband loved her and beat her only once, but soon he went to work in St. Petersburg, and Matryona was forced to endure insults in her father-in-law’s family. The only one who felt sorry for Matryona was grandfather Savely, who was living out his life in the family after hard labor, where he ended up for the murder of a hated German manager. Savely told Matryona what Russian heroism is: it is impossible to defeat a peasant, because he “bends, but does not break.”

The birth of Demushka's first child brightened Matryona's life. But soon her mother-in-law forbade her to take the child into the field, and the old grandfather Savely did not keep an eye on the baby and fed him to pigs. In front of Matryona's eyes, judges who had arrived from the city performed an autopsy on her child. Matryona could not forget her firstborn, although after that she had five sons. One of them, the shepherd boy Fedot, once allowed a she-wolf to carry away a sheep. Matryona accepted the punishment assigned to her son. Then, being pregnant with her son Liodor, she was forced to go to the city to seek justice: her husband, bypassing the laws, was taken into the army. Matryona was then helped by the governor Elena Alexandrovna, for whom the whole family is now praying.

By all peasant standards, Matryona Korchagina’s life can be considered happy. But about the invisible mental storm It is impossible to tell the story that passed through this woman - just like about unpaid mortal grievances, and about the blood of the firstborn. Matrena Timofeevna is convinced that a Russian peasant woman cannot be happy at all, because the keys to her happiness and free will are lost to God himself.

At the height of haymaking, wanderers come to the Volga. Here they witness a strange scene. A noble family swims 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. The relatives of the Last-Duckling promise the men floodplain meadows for this. 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.

Here, near the village of Vakhlachina, wanderers listen to peasant songs - corvée, hunger, soldier, salty - and stories about serfdom. One of these stories is about the exemplary slave Yakov the Faithful. Yakov's only joy was pleasing his master, the small landowner Polivanov. Tyrant Polivanov, in gratitude, hit Yakov in the teeth with his heel, which aroused even more in the lackey’s soul. great love. As Polivanov grew older, his legs became weak, and Yakov began to follow him like a child. But when Yakov’s nephew, Grisha, decided to marry the beautiful serf Arisha, Polivanov, out of jealousy, gave the guy as a recruit. Yakov started drinking, but soon returned to the master. And yet he managed to take revenge on Polivanov - the only way available to him, the lackey. Having taken the master into the forest, Yakov hanged himself right above him on a pine tree. Polivanov spent the night under the corpse of his faithful servant, driving away birds and wolves with groans of horror.

Another story - about two great sinners - is told to the men by God's wanderer Jonah Lyapushkin. The Lord awakened the conscience of the chieftain of the robbers Kudeyar. The robber atoned for his sins for a long time, but all of them were forgiven him only after he, in a surge of anger, killed the cruel Pan Glukhovsky.

The wandering men also listen to the story of another sinner - Gleb the elder, who hid for money last will the late widower admiral who decided to free his peasants.

But it is not only wandering men who think about the people’s happiness. The sexton’s son, seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov, lives on Vakhlachin. In his heart, love for his late mother merged with love for all of Vakhlachina. For fifteen years Grisha knew for sure who he was ready to give his life to, for whom he was ready to die. He thinks of all the mysterious Rus' as a wretched, abundant, powerful and powerless mother, and expects that the indestructible power that he feels in his own soul will still be reflected in it. Such strong souls, like Grisha Dobrosklonov, the angel of mercy himself calls to an honest path. Fate is preparing Grisha “a glorious path, a great name people's defender, consumption and Siberia."

If the wandering men knew what was happening in the soul of Grisha Dobrosklonov, they would probably understand that they could already return to their native shelter, because the goal of their journey had been achieved.

Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” tells about the journey of seven peasants across Russia in search of a happy person. The work was written in the late 60s to mid 70s. XIX century, after the reforms of Alexander II and the abolition of serfdom. It tells about a post-reform society in which not only many old vices have not disappeared, but many new ones have appeared. According to the plan of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov, the wanderers were supposed to reach St. Petersburg at the end of the journey, but due to the illness and imminent death of the author, the poem remained unfinished.

The work “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is written in blank verse and stylized as Russian folk tales. We invite you to read online a summary of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by Nekrasov, chapter by chapter, prepared by the editors of our portal.

Main characters

Novel, Demyan, Luke, Gubin brothers Ivan and Mitrodor, Groin, Prov- seven peasants who went to look for a happy man.

Other characters

Ermil Girin- the first “candidate” for the title of lucky man, an honest mayor, very respected by the peasants.

Matryona Korchagina(Governor's wife) - a peasant woman, known in her village as a “lucky woman”.

Savely- grandfather of Matryona Korchagina’s husband. A hundred year old man.

Prince Utyatin(The Last One) is an old landowner, a tyrant, to whom his family, in agreement with the peasants, does not talk about the abolition of serfdom.

Vlas- peasant, mayor of a village that once belonged to Utyatin.

Grisha Dobrosklonov- seminarian, son of a clerk, dreaming of the liberation of the Russian people; the prototype was the revolutionary democrat N. Dobrolyubov.