Composition

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The great master of satire Saltykov-Shchedrin in his novel “” portrayed the social order in Tsarist Russia. All his characters are described succinctly, but very accurately. The city of Foolov, fictional by the author, is inhabited by weak-willed residents and strange mayors. In Foolov's chronicle it is written that random people with various oddities constantly come to power: with an organ instead of a head or even with a stuffed head. However, the residents are not trying to change anything, which means they deserve the power they have.

One of the most unusual mayors was Brudasty. He was already the eighth governor of the town. Dementy Varlamovich came to power thanks to some haste and confusion. Even the fact that he had an organ instead of a head did not prevent him from becoming the chief in Foolov. This simple device replaced the brain. Brudasty reproduced only a few recorded phrases, but they were enough to “restore order” in Foolov: to compensate for all arrears in the treasury.

The busty man gave the impression of a silent and gloomy man. He often locked himself in his office and “scraped with his pen.” The result of his work was money-grubbing and violence against the residents. The Foolovites were constantly in fear, but did not try to change anything.

A penchant for violence, senseless cruelty and outright stupidity - these are the traits that are characteristic of Mayor Brudasty. In this way he was like all the other managers of Foolov.

The image of Dementy Brudasty can be considered a symbol of that era. People nicknamed him Organchik, because instead of a head he had a simple writing device. The artificial contents of the organ replaced the mayor's brain. And if the head was not filled with this very content in time, then it remained absolutely empty and unnecessary. The author colorfully describes this in the novel. The body of Mayor Brudasty, dressed in a uniform, sat at his desk. And on a pile of papers lay his head, completely empty.

This description is very symbolic and hints that the rulers of the city of Foolov were just stupid puppets, driven by their base desires. Their desire for profit was the only sincere impulse. It is this feature that the author emphasizes in the image of Mayor Brudasty. “I won’t tolerate it and I’ll ruin it” - that’s the whole essence of management.

But the satirist laughs not only at the stupidity and cruelty of Brudasty, but also at the inhabitants of the city. While the manager was waiting for a new organ, chaos ensued in Foolov. Citizens needed a mayor, even one like Dementy Brudasty. And very soon they received new rulers who had iron heads. Their management methods were essentially no different from Brudasty’s methods.

The Russian writer Saltykov-Shchedrin emphasizes in the novel that all the cities of Foolov were typical: stupid, strange and greedy.

Chronicle list of mayors (based on the novel by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin “The History of a City”)

“The History of a City” by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin was an innovative work not only in form, but also in content. Based on the historical works of Karamzin, Pypin and other historians, the writer displays a gallery of Foolov’s rulers and recreates in their appearance the history of the Russian autocracy from 1731 to 1826. At the same time, Saltykov-Shchedrin does not give exact dates. It was important for the writer to create an image of the time, to reveal the essence of a particular era. Parodying historical theories and documents, the author talks about the birth of statehood by blockheads who voluntarily gave up freedom and “thwarted it.”

The residents of Foolov deliberately enslaved themselves by shifting responsibility for their fate to the prince. A line of mayors pass in front of the reader. Their images are given according to the principle of gradation: at first the chronicler shows that they are not devoid of human traits (Clementius, who deals with pasta, the fugitive Greek Lamvrokakis, the foreman Cormorant, “who descended in a direct line from the bell tower of Ivan the Great, Pfeiffer, who did nothing during his reign) . But each subsequent mayor loses his human essence. Some of them turn into an inanimate mechanism. This happened with Brudasty, who had an organ inside, and Major Pimple with a stuffed head. Others become more terrible than the mechanism in their desire to eradicate all living things. Such is the case in the novel with Ugryum-Burcheev, a former scoundrel who destroyed the city.

In the inventory preceding the main narrative, the chronicler gives full list mayors Foolov, giving each of them a vivid description. At the same time, the chronicler notes that the claims to power of each subsequent mayor become unjustified. Suffice it to recall the succession of Foolov’s rulers. Iraida Paleologova encroached on power due to the fact that her husband was once the mayor. She is followed by Clemantine de Bourbon, who refers to the fact that her gentleman was once a ruler. She is replaced by Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish, the former pompadour of the governor. The era of turmoil ends with impostors: Matryonka the nostril and Dunka the fat-footed one. In a similar allegorical form, Saltykov-Shchedrin depicted the era palace coups XVIII century with the participation of Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine, etc.

Entire chapters are devoted to the most striking images of mayors. The first chapter is called “Organchik”. It is dedicated to the reign of Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty. This mayor turned out to be a cruel deceiver. Residents of Foolov pinned considerable hopes on him for the prosperity of science, trade, and the arts. But from his first appearance, Brudasty appeared “silent” and “sullen.” He immediately began to “catch and flog” ordinary people to maintain his power. At the same time, he said the same thing every time: “I won’t tolerate it! I’ll screw it up!” Thus, the mechanicalness and automatism of this ruler is emphasized. He is busy only with writing decrees allowing the flogging of ordinary people. He enforces his will through senseless violence. It is not surprising that rumors spread throughout the city that this was not a person, but a mechanism, a doll made by master Baibakov. Grotesquely, the chronicler depicts the breakdown of the organ, which never tires of saying: “P... p... plu!” Anarchy in the city led to chaos. The climax of the chapter is the meeting of the two organ players. Both are impostors. The people are “silent” at the end. The ending of the chapter is open. It marks a series of future, even more brutal reigns.

A no less prominent representative of the authorities in Glupov was Brigadier Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko, a former orderly for Prince Potemkin. The chapter “Hungry City” is dedicated to him. In his simplicity, he did not interfere in anything for ten years. But suddenly he became an active figure. With his cruelty he satisfied greed and lust. Fires and famine raged in the city under this mayor. Power corrupted Ferdyshchenko because he never possessed moral qualities that would help him resist this. Like Prince Potemkin, he travels through his estate. It is a pasture for livestock with many dung heaps. Each time he is solemnly greeted by a crowd consisting of four people with basins and tambourines. The only thing that interests Ferdyshchenko on this trip are the dinners that the “grateful people” give on the occasion of his arrival. No wonder he dies of gluttony at one of the dinners.

The figure of Basilisk Wartkin is no less colorful. He is shown in the chapter "Wars of Enlightenment". He set himself the goal of studying the actions of his predecessors. This mayor considered it absolutely necessary to introduce civilization in Foolov with the help bay leaf and mustard. Thus, he almost starved all the inhabitants to death. In order to achieve his senseless goal, he goes on a campaign against the Foolovites. So he wanted to pacify the peasants who did not want to obey him. For the sake of the emergence of civilization, Wartkin created an armed detachment of tin soldiers and marched on Streletskaya Sloboda. His idea is so cruel and senseless that even tin soldiers They become filled with blood at the sight of looted huts and trampled fields.

Truly the most tragic thing for Foolov was the reign of Gloomy-Burcheev, a creature who only superficially resembled a man (chapter “Confirmation of repentance, conclusion”). Only to him does the chronicler give portrait characteristic, the rest of the mayors are faceless. The author especially draws attention to his “wooden face”, never blessed by a smile. In the past, this is a scoundrel - a sewage cleaner. At one time, for the sake of his boss, he cut off his finger. He constantly gave himself commands and slept on the bare ground. In all the actions of this mayor one could discern a passion for equalization. The desire to destroy life everywhere was so deeply rooted in him that he completely destroyed Old city. The worst thing is that he forced the Foolovites to destroy their huts. He even wanted to bend the flow of the river to his will. The river here symbolizes the indestructibility of life, which Ugryum-Burcheev hates. He is trying by all means to dam the river. But the “gloomy idiot” failed to achieve his insane goal. Life cannot be stopped, it is stronger than power and destruction. The river washed away the barrier. This meant the victory of life over arbitrariness. At the end of the novel, a symbolic force appears - “it”. The mysterious “it” takes away Gloomy-Burcheev and makes the people, at least for a moment, ashamed of their miserable existence. Most likely, “it” personifies a spontaneous peasant revolt, which will have tragic consequences.

Thus, the history of the city of Foolov is a series of incessant senseless violence, the only means of control for insignificant, inhuman rulers.

Outstanding Master allegorical word Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin in his novel “The History of a City” mercilessly, satirically and mercilessly depicts Russian reality. Particularly vivid and typical are the images of the mayors of the city of Foolov, whose characters and behavior summarize the features of various statesmen different historical eras. The images of mayors embody the main, most stable negative traits real rulers and mayors. To depict them, the author uses the following literary devices, like satire and grotesque, full of hints and omissions of Aesopian language, open ridicule, irony and sarcasm.

The first mayor the reader encounters on the pages of the work in the chapter “Organchik” is D. V. Brudasty. The Foolovites greet him joyfully and enthusiastically, declaring that “the new ruler should already be given priority because he is new.” The Foolovites saw Brudasty uttering only two words: “I’ll ruin” and “I won’t tolerate,” and they were overcome by fear, completely subjugating them to the narrow-minded city ruler.

Under the leadership of this chief, the city is in full swing with unprecedented activity: “The private bailiffs galloped, the police officers galloped, the assessors galloped, the guards forgot what it meant to eat, and since then they have acquired the harmful habit of grabbing pieces on the fly. They grab and catch, flog and flog, describe and sell... And the mayor still sits and scrapes out new compulsions.” His activity is senseless and absolutely useless, insane and despotic, it brings no good, no order, no prosperity to the inhabitants of the city - nothing but harm, but everything stops when everyone knows that Brudasty has a completely empty head, in which there is an organ with two melodies.

The next satirical portrait is that of the mayor Dvoekurov - a man undoubtedly different from Brudasty, but despite the difference, his activities in the position of authority are as senseless and absurd as the activities of his predecessor. “He introduced mead making and brewing, and made the use of mustard and bay leaves mandatory. I began to distinguish between two types of sections: a section without consideration and a section with consideration.” All his innovations are sheer nonsense that brings no practical benefit.

Further, Saltykov-Shchedrin’s indignation falls on next hero- Vasilisk Wartkin. “During the day, he flitted around the city like a fly, making sure that the townsfolk looked cheerful and cheerful; at night he put out fires, made false alarms and generally took him by surprise. When there was absolutely nothing to do, he either made laws or marched around the office, watching the game of a shoe sock.” This active and restless boss began the “wars for enlightenment,” which became the pinnacle of his limited, stupid activities. The first was for the compulsory use of mustard, the second had as its goal to explain to the Foolovites the benefits of installing stone foundations under houses, the third arose as a result of the refusal of ordinary people to grow Persian chamomile, and the fourth, finally, was caused by the spread of rumors about the establishment of an academy. It is quite natural that a boarding house was founded instead of the academy. This is where all the “wars for enlightenment” ended.

The image of the next mayor - Pimple - is no less interesting in its worthlessness and unsuitability for any action. His character and behavioral characteristics are fully revealed in his own words: “I a simple man, sir And I didn’t come here to make laws, sir. My duty is to make sure that the laws are intact and not lying on the tables, sir. Of course, I have a campaign plan, but this plan is this: rest, sir.” The boss turns out to be a slacker and a parasite, and under his leadership the people become exactly the same.

To top it off, it should be said that Pimple ended up with a stuffed head, which the leader of the nobility ate with great appetite a little later.

The symbolic images of the empty head of Brudasty with an organ and the stuffed head of Pimple, used by the author, serve to emphasize the age-old Russian misfortune: from the head, from the bosses, rulers and leaders, comes the evil that befalls the common people, making their life unbearably empty and painful.

The series of portraits of mayors is completed by the Gloomy-Burcheevs - the “apotheosis” of all negative traits and qualities.

Gloomy-Burcheev appears in the work the clearest example stupidity, narrow-mindedness and idiocy. The main features of his nature are inhumanity and callousness. He leads an ascetic lifestyle, he is surprised by any manifestations of feelings and emotions. The mayor Gloomy-Burcheev is impersonality itself, “an outcast and completely at peace with himself idiocy.” This active ruler carries out all his reforms in accordance with his theory of leveling, equalization, which clearly goes against people and nature. Implementing his innovations, Ugryum-Burcheev destroys the city and builds a new one, based on a straight line, and tries to stop the river. The ideal of the world order for him is a large barracks; he would like to make people’s lives strictly monotonous, planned to the limit, meaningless and completely devoid of joy. Of course, contemporaries immediately realized that behind the description of Ugryum-Burcheev there was a completely real prototype- Arakcheev...

The images of all city governors are described by Saltykov-Shchedrin with contempt, sarcasm and hatred. All bosses are typical and unremarkable, they are stupid, stupid, limited, selfish. Their mental abilities are minimal, and their activities in positions of authority bring nothing but harm, destruction and chaos. It is not for nothing that the work ends in a deeply symbolic image - the image of the mystical “It”, a kind of tornado that sweeps away everything in its path. “The earth shook, the sun darkened... An inscrutable horror appeared on all faces, gripped all hearts... It came...” “It”, which attacked the Foolov, wiped out Gloomy-Burcheev from the face of the earth, from which we can conclude that the nature of the Russian soul will still overcome the inertia and stupidity of any mayors.

Composition

Since Foolov is a generalized, collective city, personifying autocracy, the mayor is also a collective concept this time, denoting an autocratic ruler. Since Foolov is a grotesque image, in which the characteristics of district, provincial, capital cities and in general the whole country are fused together, the figures of city governors are also grotesque: they are contaminated with the features of mayors, governors, royal, temporary workers and the tsars themselves.

Since the boundaries of Gluiova are changeable, sometimes the city expands to the limits of the entire Russian Empire, and sometimes appears in its provincial or district guise, so the concept of “mayor” seems to change its scope. In all cases, however, it retains its certainty: the mayor is not just a ruler, but an absolute, unlimited, omnipotent ruler. And no matter what is under his control - the whole country, region, province or district, he is always an autocrat.

As we see, Shchedrin truly brilliantly came out of the seemingly hopeless situation into which the censorship tried to put him. The grotesque has once again come to the aid of the satirist! By replacing governors with “city governors” in “The History of a City,” the writer only apparently demoted his heroes in rank. In fact, the figures of city governors he created were of a grotesque nature and “combined” rulers of various ranks: from mayors, under whose control the district was, and ending with emperors, who controlled the destinies of the entire country. The term “mayor” could not be more suitable for designating this kind of grotesque figure, because - unlike a number of other similar administrative terms (mayor, governor, etc.) - it could designate the head of any city (district, provincial, capital), and in addition, perform in pure conventional meaning- the ruler of a grotesque city born of the writer’s imagination.
We will not list here all those who ruled the city of Foolov throughout its almost century-long history. We will not analyze their biographies, their inclinations, their various undertakings and campaigns, because this would take up too much space. In this case, it is enough for us to emphasize that the diversity of city leaders, temperaments and inclinations, upon closer examination, turns out to be insignificant. It turns out that her mayors are similar to each other in the main thing, that their most varied plans and endeavors ultimately boiled down to one thing - to extract “arrears” and suppress “sedition.”

In the chapter “Wars for Enlightenment,” the writer forces the mayor Wartkin to subject “to a strict examination of the intentions and deeds of his predecessors.” And what? “A line of people passed in front of him: Clementy, and Velikanov, and Lamvrokakis, and Baklan, and the Marquis de Sanglot, and Ferdyshchepko, but what these people were doing, what they were thinking about, what tasks they were pursuing - this is exactly what was impossible define under no circumstances. It seemed that this whole row was nothing more than a sleepy dream, in which images without faces flashed, in which some vague cries rang out, similar to the distant hubbub of an intoxicated crowd.

images without faces flash in a torch, in which some vague cries ring, similar to the distant clamor of an inebriated crowd... Then one shadow came out of the darkness, slammed: once! and disappeared to God knows where; you look, in its place another darkness appears, and it also claps haphazardly, and disappears... I will destroy!, “I will not tolerate!” is heard from all sides, and what I will destroy, what I will not tolerate, is impossible to make out. corner, but it’s impossible to move away or press closer, because from every corner the same “I’ll destroy!” is heard, which drives the one hiding to another corner and there, in turn, overtakes him again.”

Of course, this inspired judgment does not belong to Borodavkin, but to Shchedrin himself. It is he, the satirist, who sees only shadows and images without faces to the string of city governors... It is he who hears their cries heard from all sides: “I will destroy!” and “but I will be patient!” It is he who understands that there is nowhere for a person to escape from these screams, for no matter what corner he goes to, the same thing overtakes him everywhere.

The uniqueness of the images of city governors lies precisely in the fact that in appearance they seem to be completely “people”. And it is precisely the fact that their monotonous, mechanical essence inhabits seemingly “human” figures that produces a particularly strong satirical impression. When a doll is mechanical and soulless, then this is to some extent even natural: one cannot expect anything else from a doll. When rulers with a “human” appearance are mechanical and monotonous, this is so contrary to our idea of ​​life and man that it gives us a keen sense of anger and contempt for these humanoid bearers of the idea of ​​autocratic statehood.
The string of mayors who were honored with a detailed image begins with Brudasty, who represented the true essence of the mayorship, purified from all “impurities,” and ends with Gloomy-Burcheev, who represents the same essence, multiplied by a strict plan for the leveling of life and dull inflexibility. That is why before us is a figure that is not only more significant, but also more terrible.

There were different mayors in Foolov. Active and inactive. "Liberal" and conservative. “Those who introduced enlightenment” and those who eradicated it. But Gloomy-Burcheov surpassed them all. He surpassed him with his boundless idiocy and inexhaustible energy aimed at implementing the ideals he professed. These ideals were: straight line, absence of diversity, simplicity brought to the point of nakedness.
It was the combination of such qualities as narrow-mindedness reaching the point of idiocy, inflexibility and the presence of barracks ideals that gave birth to this sinister figure.

Take away at least one of the named ("components") from Gloomy-Burcheev - and in front of you there will be someone else...

Take away, for example, his idiocy, and his ideals, in all likelihood, will be different... Take away his inflexibility, and then what will be left of him? Idiot ideals, which, of course, are also not very pleasant, but are still relatively safe as long as they remain a mere theory, until they begin to be implemented in reality.

while they remain mere theory, until they begin to be implemented in reality... Finally, take away from him the very need for large-scale ideals, and you will see a rather ordinary idiot, differing from all other idiots only in his inflexibility. Of course, even in this case, he would bring a lot of evil: however, this evil would concern individual aspects of life, and not its very foundations.

The combination of these qualities turns out to be especially terrible, because their bearer is in power. “Usually, certain measures are taken against idiots,” writes Shchedrin, “so that they, in their unreasonable swiftness, do not overturn everything that comes their way. But these measures almost always concern only simple idiots; when the appendage to idiocy is authority, then the matter of protecting society becomes much more complicated.”

An idiot who finds himself in power in an autocratic state can cause so many misfortunes that their size cannot even be measured. Why? Yes, because he is a sovereign, sole ruler, and no reasons can interfere with the implementation of his intentions. “Where a simple idiot breaks his head or jumps on a horn, an imperious idiot crushes all sorts of horns in half and commits his, so to speak, unconscious atrocities quite unhindered. Even in the very futility or obvious harm of these atrocities, he does not draw any lessons for himself. He doesn’t care about any results, because these results are not revealed on him (he is too petrified for anything to be reflected on him), but on something else, with which he has no relationship. organic connection. If, as a result of intensified idiotic activity, even the whole world turned into a desert, then this result would not frighten the idiot. Who knows, perhaps the desert represents in his eyes exactly the environment that represents the ideal of human coexistence? »

Throughout the entire book, Shchedrin does not provide portrait sketches of any of the mayors. The only exception is Ugryum-Burcheev.
“In the city archive,” writes the satirist, “a portrait of Ugryum-Burcheev is still preserved. This is a man of average height, with a kind of wooden face, obviously never illuminated by a smile. Thick, comb-cut, jet-black hair covers the conical skull and tightly, like a yarmulke, frames the narrow and sloping forehead. The eyes are gray, sunken, overshadowed by somewhat swollen eyelids; the look is clear, without hesitation; the nose is dry, descending from the forehead almost straight down; lips are thin, pale, covered with trimmed mustache stubble; the jaws are developed, but without an outstanding expression of carnivory, but with some inexplicable bouquet of readiness to crush or bite in half. The whole figure is lean with narrow shoulders raised upward, with an artificially protruded chest and long, muscular arms. He is dressed in a military-style frock coat, buttoned up with all the buttons, and holds right hand Wartkin’s “Charter on a Steady Cut,” but apparently doesn’t read it, but seems to be surprised that there can be people in the world who even consider it necessary to ensure this consistency with some kind of statutes.

Apparently, he doesn’t read it, but seems to be surprised that there can be people in the world who consider it necessary to ensure even this steadfastness by some kind of statutes. All around is a landscape depicting a desert, in the middle of which there is a prison; above, instead of the sky, hung a gray soldier's overcoat..."

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