ON THE. Nekrasov "Who should live well in Rus'": description, heroes, analysis of the poem

PROLOGUE

In what year - count
In what land - guess
On the pillar path
Seven men came together:
Seven temporarily liable,
tightened province,
County Terpigorev,
empty parish,
From adjacent villages:
Zaplatova, Dyryavina,
Razutova, Znobishina,
Gorelova, Neelova -
Crop failure, too,
Agreed - and argued:
Who has fun
Feel free in Rus'?

Roman said: to the landowner,
Demyan said: to the official,
Luke said: ass.
Fat-bellied merchant! -
Gubin brothers said
Ivan and Mitrodor.
Old man Pahom pushed
And he said, looking at the ground:
noble boyar,
Minister of the State.
And Prov said: to the king...

Man what a bull: vtemyashitsya
In the head what a whim -
Stake her from there
You won’t knock out: they rest,
Everyone is on their own!
Is there such a dispute?
What do passers-by think?
To know that the children found the treasure
And they share...
To each his own
Left the house before noon:
That path led to the forge,
He went to the village of Ivankovo
Call Father Prokofy
Baptize the child.
Pahom honeycombs
Carried to the market in the Great,
And two brothers Gubina
So simple with a halter
Catching a stubborn horse
They went to their own herd.
It's high time for everyone
Return your way -
They are walking side by side!
They walk like they're running
Behind them are gray wolves,
What is farther is faster.
They go - perekorya!
They shout - they will not come to their senses!
And time does not wait.

They didn't notice the controversy
As the red sun set
How the evening came.
Probably b, whole night
So they went - where not knowing,
When they meet a woman,
Crooked Durandiha,
She did not shout: “Venerable!
Where are you looking at night
Have you thought about going?..”

Asked, laughed
Whipped, witch, gelding
And jumped off...

"Where? .." - looked at each other
Here are our men
They stand, they are silent, they look down...
The night has long gone
Frequent stars lit up
In high skies
The moon surfaced, the shadows are black
The road was cut
Zealous walkers.
Oh shadows! black shadows!
Who won't you chase?
Who won't you overtake?
Only you, black shadows,
Can't be caught!

To the forest, to the path
He looked, was silent Pahom,
I looked - I scattered my mind
And he said at last:

"Well! goblin glorious joke
He played a trick on us!
After all, we are without a little
Thirty miles away!
Home now toss and turn -
We're tired - we won't get there
Sit down, there's nothing to do
Let's rest until the sun! .. "

Having dumped the trouble on the devil,
Under the forest along the path
The men sat down.
They lit a fire, formed,
Two ran away for vodka,
And the rest for a while
The glass is made
I pulled the birch bark.
Vodka soon ripened
Ripe and snack -
The men are feasting!
Kosushki drank three,
Ate - and argued
Again: who has fun to live,
Feel free in Rus'?
Roman shouts: to the landowner,
Demyan shouts: to the official,
Luke yells: ass;
Fat-bellied merchant, -
The Gubin brothers are screaming,
Ivan and Mitrodor;
Pahom shouts: to the brightest
noble boyar,
Minister of the State,
And Prov shouts: to the king!
Taken more than ever
perky men,
Cursing swearing,
No wonder they get stuck
In each other's hair...

Look - they've got it!
Roman hits Pakhomushka,
Demyan hits Luka.
And two brothers Gubina
They iron Provo hefty -
And everyone screams!

A booming echo woke up
Went for a walk, a walk,
It went screaming, shouting,
As if to tease
Stubborn men.
King! - heard to the right
Left responds:
Butt! ass! ass!
The whole forest was in turmoil
With flying birds
By swift-footed beasts
And creeping reptiles, -
And a groan, and a roar, and a rumble!

First of all, a gray bunny
From a neighboring bush
Suddenly jumped out like a disheveled
And off he went!
Behind him are small jackdaws
At the top of the birches raised
Nasty, sharp squeak.
And here at the foam
With fright, a tiny chick
Fell from the nest;
Chirping, crying chiffchaff,
Where is the chick? - will not find!
Then the old cuckoo
I woke up and thought
Someone to cuckoo;
Taken ten times
Yes, it crashed every time
And started again...
Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!
Bread will sting
You choke on an ear -
You won't poop!
Seven owls flocked,
Admire the carnage
From seven big trees
The night owls are crying!
And their eyes are yellow
They burn like burning wax
Fourteen candles!
And the raven, the smart bird,
Ripe, sitting on a tree
By the fire itself
Sitting and praying to hell
To be slammed to death
Someone!
Cow with a bell
What has strayed since the evening
From the herd, I heard a little
human voices -
Came to the fire, tired
Eyes on men
I listened to crazy speeches
And began, my heart,
Moo, moo, moo!

Silly cow mooing
Small jackdaws squeak,
The boys are screaming,
And the echo echoes everything.
He has one concern -
To tease honest people
Scare guys and women!
Nobody saw him
And everyone has heard
Without a body - but it lives,
Screams without a tongue!

wide path,
lined with birches,
stretched far,
Sandy and deaf.
Along the side of the path
The hills are coming
With fields, hayfields,
And more often with inconvenience,
abandoned land;
There are old villages
There are new villages
By the rivers, by the ponds...
Forests, floodplain meadows,
Russian streams and rivers
Good in spring.
But you, spring fields!
On your seedlings are poor
It's not fun to watch!
"No wonder in the long winter
(Our wanderers interpret)
It snowed every day.
Spring has come - the snow has affected!
He is humble for the time being:
Flies - is silent, lies - is silent,
When he dies, then he roars.
Water - wherever you look!
The fields are completely flooded
To carry manure - there is no road,
And the time is not early -
The month of May is coming!
Dislike and old,
It hurts more than that for new
Trees for them to look at.
Oh huts, new huts!
You are smart, let it build you
Not an extra penny
And the blood trouble! ..,

Wanderers met in the morning
More and more people are small:
His brother is a peasant-bast worker,
Artisans, beggars,
Soldiers, coachmen.
Beggars, soldiers
Strangers didn't ask
How are they - is it easy, is it difficult
Lives in Rus'?
Soldiers shave with an awl
Soldiers warm themselves with smoke, -
What happiness is here?

The day was already drawing to a close,
They go the way,
The pop is coming towards.
The peasants took off their hats,
bow low,
Lined up in a row
And gelding savrasoma
Blocked the way.
The priest raised his head
He looked and asked with his eyes:
What do they want?

“No way! we are not robbers!” -
Luka said to the priest.
(Luke is a squat man,
With a wide beard
Stubborn, verbose and stupid.
Luka looks like a mill:
One is not a bird mill,
What, no matter how it flaps its wings,
Probably won't fly.)

"We are men of power,
Of the temporary
tightened province,
County Terpigorev,
empty parish,
Roundabout villages:
Zaplatova, Dyryavina,
Razutova, Znobishina,
Gorelova, Neelova -
Crop failure too.
Let's go on something important:
We have a concern
Is it such a concern
What got out of the house
With work unfriended us,
Got off food.
You give us the right word
To our peasant speech
Without laughter and without cunning,
According to conscience, according to reason,
Answer truthfully
Not so with your care
We will go to another ... "

I give you the right word:
When you ask a thing
Without laughter and without cunning,
In truth and reason
How should you answer
Amen! .. -

"Thank you. Listen!
Walking the path,
We got together casually
They agreed and argued:
Who has fun
Feel free in Rus'?
Roman said: to the landowner,
Demyan said: to the official,
And I said: ass.
Fat-bellied merchant, -
Gubin brothers said
Ivan and Mitrodor.
Pahom said: to the brightest,
noble boyar,
Minister of the State,
And Prov said: to the king...
Man what a bull: vtemyashitsya
In the head what a whim -
Stake her from there
You won’t knock out: no matter how they argued,
We did not agree!
Argued - quarreled,
Quarreled - fought,
Podravshis - dressed up:
Don't go apart
Do not toss and turn in the houses,
Don't see your wives
Not with the little guys
Not with old old people,
As long as our dispute
We won't find a solution
Until we get it
Whatever it is - for sure:
Who wants to live happily
Feel free in Rus'?
Tell us in a divine way:
Is the priest's life sweet?
You are like - at ease, happily
Do you live, honest father? .. "

Downcast, thinking
Sitting in a cart, pop
And he said: - Orthodox!
It's a sin to grumble at God
Bear my cross with patience
I live ... but how? Listen!
I'll tell you the truth, the truth
And you are a peasant mind
Dare! -
"Begin!"

What is happiness, in your opinion?
Peace, wealth, honor -
Isn't that right, dear ones?

They said yes...

Now let's see brothers
What is the ass peace of mind?
Start, confess, it would be necessary
Almost from birth
How to get a diploma
Popov's son
At what cost popovich
The priesthood is bought
Let's better shut up!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Our roads are difficult
We have a large income.
Sick, dying
Born into the world
Do not choose time:
In stubble and haymaking,
In the dead of autumn night
In winter, in severe frosts,
And in the spring flood -
Go where you are called!
You go unconditionally.
And let only the bones
One broke,
No! every time it gets wet,
The soul will hurt.
Do not believe, Orthodox,
There is a limit to habit.
No heart to endure
Without some trepidation
death rattle,
grave sob,
Orphan sorrow!
Amen!.. Now think
What is the peace of the ass?..

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 an honor to the priest!
A tricky task
Wouldn't it make you angry?

Say, Orthodox
Who do you call
A foal breed?
Chur! respond to demand!

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

Who are you afraid to meet?
Walking the way?
Chur! respond to demand!

They groan, shift,
Silent!
- Who are you talking about?
You are fairy tales,
And obscene songs
And all the bullshit? ..

Mother will fall sedate,
Popov's innocent daughter
Seminarian of any -
How do you honor?
Who is after, like a gelding,
Shout: ho-ho-ho? ..

The kids got down
They are silent - and the pop is silent ...
The peasants thought
And pop with a big hat
Waving in my face
Yes, I looked at the sky.
In the spring, that the grandchildren are small,
With the ruddy sun-grandfather
Clouds are playing
Here is the right side
One continuous cloud
Covered - clouded
She froze and cried:
Rows of gray threads
They hung to the ground.
And closer, above the peasants,
From small, torn,
Merry clouds
Laughing red sun
Like a girl from sheaves.
But the cloud has moved
Pop hat is covered -
Be heavy rain.
And the right side
Already bright and joyful
There the rain stops.
Not rain, there is a miracle of God:
There with golden threads
Skeins scattered...

“Not by themselves ... by parents
We are so ... ”- Gubin brothers
They finally said.
And the others agreed:
“Not by themselves, by their parents!”
And the priest said: - Amen!
Sorry Orthodox!
Not in condemnation of the neighbor,
And at your request
I told you the truth.
Such is the honor of the priest
in the peasantry. And the landowners...

“You are past them, the landowners!
We know them!"

Now let's see brothers
Otkudova wealth
Popovskoe is coming?..
During the near
Russian Empire
Noble estates
It was full.
And the landowners lived there,
eminent owners,
Which are no longer there!
Be fruitful and multiply
And they let us live.
What weddings were played there,
What babies were born
On free bread!
Though often cool,
However, well-meaning
Those were the gentlemen
The parish was not alienated:
They got married with us
Our children were baptized
They came to us to repent,
We buried them.
And if it happened
That the landowner lived in the city,
So probably die
He came to the village.
When he dies by accident
And then punish firmly
Bury in the parish.
You look to the rural temple
On the funeral chariot
In six horses heirs
The deceased is being transported -
The ass is a good amendment,
For the laity, a holiday is a holiday ...
And now it's not like that!
Like a Jewish tribe
The landowners scattered
Through a distant foreign land
And in native Rus'.
No more pride now
Lie in native possession
Next to fathers, with grandfathers,
And many possessions
They went to the barryshniks.
oh damn bones
Russian, nobility!
Where are you not buried?
What land are you not in?

Then an article ... schismatics ...
I'm not sinful, I didn't live
Nothing from the schismatics.
Luckily, there was no need
In my parish is
Living in Orthodoxy
two-thirds of the parishioners.
And there are such volosts
Where almost entirely schismatics,
So how to be an ass?
Everything in the world is changeable
The world itself will pass...
Laws, formerly strict
To the dissenters softened,[ ]
And with them and priestly
Income mat came.
The landlords moved
They don't live in estates.
And die of old age
They don't come to us anymore.
Wealthy landowners
devout old ladies,
who died out
who settled down
Close to monasteries.
Nobody is now a cassock
Don't give a pop!
No one will embroider the air ...
Live from the same peasants
Collect worldly hryvnias,
Yes pies on holidays
Yes eggs oh Saint.
The peasant himself needs
And I would be glad to give, but there is nothing ...

And that's not for everyone
And sweet peasant penny.
Our favors are meager,
Sands, swamps, mosses,
The cattle walks from hand to mouth,
Bread itself will be born,
And if it gets good
Cheese land-breadwinner,
So a new problem:
Nowhere to go with bread!
Lock in need, sell it
For a real trifle
And there - crop failure!
Then pay exorbitant prices
Sell ​​the cattle.
Pray Orthodox!
Great disaster threatens
And this year:
Winter was fierce
Spring is rainy
It would be necessary to sow for a long time,
And on the fields - water!
Have mercy, Lord!
Send a cool rainbow
To our heaven!
(Taking off his hat, the shepherd is baptized,
And listeners too.)
Our poor villages
And in them the peasants are sick
Yes, sad women
Nurses, drinkers,
Slaves, pilgrims
And eternal workers
Lord give them strength!
With such works pennies
Life is hard!
It happens to the sick
You will come: not dying,
Terrible peasant family
At the moment when she has to
Lose the breadwinner!
You admonish the deceased
And support in the rest
You try your best
The spirit is awake! And here to you
The old woman, the mother of the deceased,
Look, stretching with a bony,
Callused hand.
The soul will turn
How they tinkle in this hand
Two copper coins!
Of course, it's clean
For demanding retribution,
Do not take - so there is nothing to live,
Yes, a word of comfort
Freeze on the tongue
And as if offended
Go home... Amen...

Finished the speech - and the gelding
Pop lightly slapped.
The peasants parted
bow low,
The horse moved slowly.
And six comrades
As if they were talking
Attacked with reproaches
With selected big swearing
On poor Luke:
- What did you take? stubborn head!
Rustic club!
That's where the argument gets in! -
"Nobles bell -
Priests live like princes.
They go under the sky
Popov's tower,
The priest's patrimony is buzzing -
loud bells -
To the whole world of God.
Three years I, robots,
Lived with the priest in the workers,
Raspberry - not life!
Popova porridge - with butter,
Popov pie - with filling,
Priest cabbage soup - with smelt!
Popov's wife is fat,
Popov's daughter is white,
Popov's horse is fat,
Popov's bee is full,
How the bell tolls!
- Well, here's your praise
Pop's life!
Why was he yelling, swaggering?
Get into a fight, anathema?
Didn't you think to take
What is a beard with a shovel?
So with a goat beard
Walked the world before
than the forefather Adam,
And it's considered a fool
And now the goat! ..

Luke stood silent,
I was afraid they wouldn't slap
Comrades on the side.
It would be like this
Yes, fortunately for the peasant,
The road bent
The priest's face is strict
Appeared on the hill...

Pity the poor peasant
And more sorry for the cattle;
Feeding scarce supplies,
The owner of the twig
Chased her into the meadows
What is there to take? Chernekhonko!
Only on Nicholas of the spring
The weather turned up
Green fresh grass
The cattle enjoyed.

The day is hot. Under the birches
The peasants are making their way
They chat among themselves:
"We're going through one village,
Let's go another - empty!
And today is a holiday.
Where did the people disappear to? .. "
They go through the village - on the street
Some guys are small
In the houses - old women,
And even locked up
Castle gates.
The castle is a faithful dog:
Doesn't bark, doesn't bite
He won't let you in the house!
Passed the village, saw
Mirror in green frame
With the edges of a full pond.
Swallows soar over the pond;
Some mosquitoes
Agile and skinny
Hopping, as if on dry land,
They walk on the water.
Along the banks, in the broom,
Corncrakes hide.
On a long, rickety raft
With a roll, the priest is thick
It stands like a plucked haystack,
Tucking the hem.
On the same raft
Sleeping duck with ducklings...
Chu! horse snore!
The peasants looked at once
And they saw over the water
Two heads: male,
Curly and swarthy
With an earring (the sun blinked
On that white earring)
Another - horse
With a rope, fathoms at five.
The man takes the rope in his mouth,
The man swims - and the horse swims,
The man neighed, and the horse neighed.
Float, scream! Under the grandmother
Under the little ducks
The raft is moving.

I caught up with the horse - grab it by the withers!
I jumped up and went to the meadow
Child: the body is white,
And the neck is like pitch;
Water flows in streams
From horse and rider.

“And what do you have in the village
Neither old nor small
How did the whole nation die?
- They went to the village of Kuzminskoe,
Today there is a fair
And a temple feast. -
“How far is Kuzminskoe?”

Yes, there will be three miles.

"Let's go to the village of Kuzminskoye,
Let's watch the holiday-fair!
The men decided
And they thought to themselves:
Isn't that where he hides?
Who lives happily? .. "

Kuzminsky rich,
And what's more, it's dirty.
Trading village.
It stretches along the slope,
Then it descends into the ravine,
And there again on the hill -
How can there not be dirt here?
Two churches in it are old,
One old believer
Another Orthodox
House with the inscription: school,
Empty, packed tightly
Hut in one window
With the image of a paramedic,
Bleeding.
There is a dirty hotel
Decorated with a sign
(With a big nosed teapot
Tray in the hands of the carrier,
And small cups
Like a goose with goslings,
That kettle is surrounded)
There are permanent shops
Like a county
Gostiny Dvor...!

Wanderers came to the square:
A lot of goods
And apparently invisible
To the people! Isn't it fun?
It seems that there is no way of the cross,
And, as if before the icons,
Men without hats.
Such a sidekick!
Look where they go
Peasant hats:
In addition to the wine warehouse,
Taverns, restaurants,
A dozen damask shops,
Three inns,
Yes, "Rensky cellar",
Yes, a couple of zucchini
Eleven zucchini
Set for the holiday
Village tents.
With each five trays;
Carriers - youngsters
Trained, poignant,
And they can't keep up with everything
Can't handle surrender!
Look what stretched out
Peasant hands with hats
With scarves, with mittens.
Oh, Orthodox thirst,
How big are you!
Just to douse the darling,
And there they will get hats,
How will the market go?

By drunken heads
The sun is playing...
Hmelly, loudly, festively,
Variegated, red all around!
The pants on the guys are plush,
striped vests,
Shirts of all colors;
The women are wearing red dresses,
The girls have braids with ribbons,
They float with winches!
And there are still tricks
Dressed in the capital -
And expands and pouts
Hem on hoops!
If you step in - they will undress!
At ease, new fashionistas,
You fishing tackle
Wear under skirts!
Looking at elegant women,
Furious Old Believer
Tovarke says:
"Be hungry! be hungry!
Marvel that the seedlings are wet,
What spring flood
Worth to Petrov!
Ever since the women started
Dress up in red chintzes, -
Forests do not rise
But at least not this bread!

Why are the chintzes red
Did you do something wrong here, mother?
I won't put my mind to it!

“And those French chintzes -
Painted with dog blood!
Well… understand now?…”

Wanderers went to the shops:
Love handkerchiefs,
Ivanovo chintz,
Harnesses, new shoes,
The product of the Kimryaks.
At that shoe store
The strangers laugh again:
Here are the goat's shoes
Grandfather traded for granddaughter
Asked about the price five times
He turned in his hands, looked around:
First class product!
"Well, uncle! Two kopecks
Pay, or get lost!" -
The merchant told him.
- And you wait! - Admire
An old man with a tiny boot
This is how he speaks:
- My son-in-law does not care, and my daughter will be silent
, Wife - do not care, let him grumble!
Sorry granddaughter! hung herself
On the neck, fidget:
"Buy a hotel, grandfather,
Buy it! - silk head
The face tickles, caresses,
Kisses the old man.
Wait, barefoot crawler!
Wait, yule! gantry
Buy boots...
Vavilushka boasted,
Both old and small
Promised gifts,
And he drank himself to a penny!
How I shameless eyes
Will I show my family?

My son-in-law does not care, and my daughter will be silent,
Wife - do not care, let him grumble!
And sorry for the granddaughter! .. - Went again
About granddaughter! Killed!..
The people gathered, listening,
Do not laugh, pity;
Happen, work, bread
He would have been helped
And take out two two-kopeck pieces,
So you will be left with nothing.
Yes, there was a man
Pavlusha Veretennikov.
(What kind of title,
The men did not know
However, they were called "master".
He was much more of a baluster,
He wore a red shirt
Cloth undershirt,
Lubricated boots;
He sang Russian songs smoothly
And I loved listening to them.
It was taken down by many
In the inns,
In taverns, in taverns.)
So he rescued Vavila -
I bought him shoes.
Vavilo grabbed them
And he was! - For joy
Thanks even to the bar
Forgot to say old man
But other peasants
So they were disappointed
So happy, like everyone
He gave the ruble!
There was also a shop
With pictures and books
Ofeny stocked up
With your goods in it.
"Do you need generals?" -
The merchant-burner asked them.
- And give the generals!
Yes, only you in conscience,
To be real -
Thicker, more ominous.

“Wonderful! how you look! -
The merchant said with a smile. -
It's not about the complexion ... "
- And in what? kidding, friend!
Rubbish, or what, it is desirable to sell?
Where are we going with her?
You're naughty! Before the peasant
All generals are equal
Like cones on a fir tree:
To sell the shabby one,
You need to get to the dock
And fat and formidable
I'll give it to everyone...
Come on big, portly,
Chest uphill, bulging eyes,
Yes, more stars!

“But you don’t want civilians?”
- Well, here's another with civilians! -
(However, they took it - cheap! -
some dignitary
For the belly with a barrel of wine
And for seventeen stars.)
Merchant - with all due respect,
Whatever, that will regale
(From Lubyanka - the first thief!) -
Dropped a hundred Blucher,
Archimandrite Photius,
Robber Sipko,
Sold the book: "Jester Balakirev"
And the "English milord" ...

Put in a box of books
Let's go for a walk portraits
By the kingdom of all Russia,
Until they settle down
In a peasant's summer goreka,
On a low wall...
God knows what for!

Eh! eh! will the time come
When (come, welcome! ..)
Let the peasant understand
What is a portrait of a portrait,
What is a book a book?
When a man is not Blucher
And not my lord stupid -
Belinsky and Gogol
Will you carry it from the market?
Oh people, Russian people!
Orthodox peasants!
Have you ever heard
Are you these names?
Those are great names
Worn them, glorified
Protectors of the people!
Here you would have their portraits
Hang in your boots,
Read their books...

“And I would be glad to heaven, but where is the door?” -
Such speech breaks
In the shop unexpectedly.
- Which door do you want? -
“Yes, to the booth. Chu! music!.."
- Come on, I'll show you!

Hearing about the farce
Come and our wanderers
Listen, stare.
Comedy with Petrushka,
With a goat with a drummer
And not with a simple hurdy-gurdy,
And with real music
They looked here.
Comedy is not smart
However, not stupid
Wishful, quarterly
Not in the eyebrow, but right in the eye!
The hut is full-full,
People crack nuts
And then two or three peasants
Spread a word -
Look, vodka has appeared:
Look and drink!
Laugh, comfort
And often in a speech to Petrushkin
Insert a well-aimed word
What you can't imagine
At least swallow a pen!

There are such lovers -
How does the comedy end?
They will go for screens,
Kissing, fraternizing
Chatting with musicians:
"From where, well done?"
- And we were gentlemen,
Played for the landowner
Now we are free people
Who will bring, treat,
He is our master!

“And the thing, dear friends,
Pretty bar you amused,
Cheer up the men!
Hey! small! sweet vodka!
Pouring! tea! half a beer!
Tsimlyansky - live! .. "

And the flooded sea
It will go, more generous than the master's
The kids will be fed.

He winds blow violent,
Not mother earth sways -
Noise, sing, swear,
sways, rolls,
Fighting and kissing
Holiday people!
The peasants seemed
How did you get to the hillock,
That the whole village is shaking
That even the old church
With a tall bell tower
It shook once or twice! -
Here sober, that naked,
Embarrassing... Our wanderers
Walked across the square
And left in the evening
Busy village...

"Step aside, people!"
(Excise officials
With bells, with plaques
They swept from the market.)

“And I’m to that now:
And the broom is rubbish, Ivan Ilyich,
And walk on the floor
Wherever it sprays!

"God forbid, Parashenka,
You don't go to St. Petersburg!
There are such officials
You are their cook for a day,
And their night is sudarkoy -
So don't care!"

"Where are you jumping, Savvushka?"
(The priest shouts to the sotsky
On horseback, with a government badge.)
- I jump to Kuzminskoye
Behind the station. Opportunity:
There ahead of the peasant
Killed ... - "Eh! ., sins! .."

“You have become thin, Daryushka!”
- Not a spindle, friend!
That's what spins more
It's getting fatter
And I'm like a day-to-day ...

"Hey boy, stupid boy,
tattered, lousy,
Hey love me!
Me, simple-haired,
A drunken woman, an old one,
Zaaa-paaaa-chkanny! .. "

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

In the very middle of the path
Some guy is quiet
Dug a big hole.
"What are you doing here?"
- And I'm burying my mother! -
"Fool! what a mother!
Look: a new undershirt
You dug into the ground!
Hurry up and grunt
Lie down in the ditch, drink water!
Perhaps the foolishness will jump off!

"Well, let's stretch!"

Two peasants sit down
Legs rest,
And live, and grieve,
Grunt - stretch on a rolling pin,
Joints are cracking!
Didn't like it on the rock
"Now let's try
Stretch your beard!"
When the order of the beard
Reduced each other
Grabbed cheekbones!
They puff, blush, writhe,
They moo, they squeal, but they stretch!
"Yes, you damned ones!"
Don't spill water!

In the ditch the women quarrel,
One shouts: "Go home
More sickening than hard labor!”
Another: - You're lying, in my house
Better than yours!
My elder brother-in-law broke a rib,
The middle son-in-law stole the ball,
A ball of spit, but the fact is -
Fifty dollars was wrapped in it,
And the younger son-in-law takes everything,
Look at him, he will kill him, he will kill him! ..

“Well, full, full, dear!
Well, don't be angry! - behind the roller
In the distance, one hears
I'm fine...let's go!"
Such a bad night!
Is it right, is it left
Look from the road:
Couples go together
Isn't it right to that grove?
That grove attracts everyone,
In that grove vociferous
Nightingales sing...

The road is crowded
What later is uglier:
More and more often come across
Beaten, crawling
Lying in a layer.
Without swearing, as usual,
Word won't be spoken
Crazy, indecent,
She is the most heard!
The taverns are confused
The leads got mixed up
Frightened horses
They run without riders;
Little children are crying here
Wives and mothers yearn:
Is it easy to drink
Call the men?

At the road post
A familiar voice is heard
Our wanderers are coming
And they see: Veretennikov
(That the goat's shoes
Vavila gave)
Talks with peasants.
Peasants open up
Milyaga likes:
Pavel will praise the song -
They will sing five times, write it down!
Like the proverb -
Write a proverb!
Having recorded enough
Veretennikov told them:
"Smart Russian peasants,
One is not good
What they drink to stupefaction
Falling into ditches, into ditches -
It's a shame to look!"

The peasants listened to that speech,
They agreed with the barin.
Pavlusha something in a book
I wanted to write
Yes, the drunk turned up
Man - he is against the master
Lying on his stomach
looked into his eyes,
Was silent - but suddenly
How to jump! Directly to the barin -
Grab the pencil!
- Wait, empty head!
Crazy news, shameless
Don't talk about us!
What did you envy!
What is the fun of the poor
Peasant soul?
We drink a lot in time
And we work more
We see a lot of drunks
And more sober us.
Did you visit the villages?
Take a bucket of vodka
Let's go to the huts:
In one, in the other they will pile up,
And in the third they will not touch -
We have a drinking family
Non-drinking family!
They don’t drink, but they also toil,
It would be better to drink, stupid,
Yes, conscience is...
It's wonderful to watch how it falls
In such a hut sober
Man's trouble -
And I would not have looked! .. I saw
Russians in the village suffering?
In the pub, what, people?
We have vast fields
And not much generous
Tell me, whose hand
In the spring they will dress
Will they undress in the fall?
Did you meet a man
After work in the evening?
Good mountain on the reaper
Put, ate from a pea:
"Hey! hero! straw
I'll knock you off!"

The peasants noticed
What is not offensive to the master
Yakimov's words
And they agreed
With Yakim: - The word is true:
We need to drink!
We drink - it means we feel the power!
Great sadness will come
How to stop drinking!
Work would not fail
Trouble would not prevail
Hops will not overcome us!
Is not it?

"Yes, God is merciful!"

Well, have a drink with us!

We got vodka and drank.
Yakim Veretennikov
He raised two scales.

Hey sir! didn't get angry
Smart head!
(Yakim told him.)
Reasonable little head
How not to understand the peasant?
And pigs walk on earth -
They do not see the sky for centuries! ..

Suddenly the song burst out in chorus
Deleted, consonant:
A dozen or three youngsters
Khmelnenki, not falling down,
They walk side by side, they sing,
They sing about Mother Volga,
About the prowess of the youth,
About girlish beauty.
The whole road was quiet
That one song is foldable
Wide, freely rolling,
As rye spreads under the wind,
According to the heart of the peasant
Goes with fire-longing! ..
To the song of that remote
Thinking, crying
Youth alone:
“My age is like a day without the sun,
My age is like a night without a month,
And I, baby,
What a greyhound horse on a leash,
What is a swallow without wings!
My old husband, jealous husband,
Drunk drunk, snoring snoring,
Me, baby,
And sleepy guards!
So the young woman cried
Yes, she suddenly jumped off the cart!
"Where?" - shouts the jealous husband,
I got up - and a woman for a braid,
Like a radish for a tuft!

Oh! night, night drunk!
Not bright, but stellar
Not hot, but with affectionate
Spring breeze!
And our good fellows
You didn't pass for nothing!
They were sad for their wives,
It's true: with his 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 chest.

One, why God knows
Between field and road
The dense linden has grown.
Wanderers sat under it
And they said carefully:
"Hey! self-assembled tablecloth,
Treat the men!”

And the tablecloth unrolled
Where did they come from
Two hefty hands:
A bucket of wine was placed
Bread was laid on a mountain
And they hid again.

The peasants fortified themselves
A novel for a sentry
Left by the bucket
Others intervened
In the crowd - look for a happy one:
They strongly wanted
Get home soon...

Year of writing:

1877

Reading time:

Description of the work:

The widely known poem Who Lives Well in Rus' was written in 1877 by the Russian writer Nikolai Nekrasov. It took many years to create it - Nekrasov worked on the poem from 1863-1877. It is interesting that some ideas and thoughts arose from Nekrasov back in the 50s. He thought to capture in the poem Whom in Rus' to live well as much as possible everything that he knew about the people and heard from the lips of people.

Read below summary poems To whom it is good to live in Rus'.

One day, seven men converge on the high road - recent serfs, and now temporarily liable "from adjacent villages - Zaplatova, Dyryavin, Razutov, Znobishina, Gorelova, Neyolova, Neurozhayka, too." Instead of going their own way, the peasants start a dispute about who in Rus' lives happily and freely. Each of them judges in his own way who is the main lucky man in Rus': a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a noble boyar, a minister of sovereigns or a tsar.

During the argument, they do not notice that they gave a detour of thirty miles. Seeing that it is too late to return home, the men make a fire and continue to argue over vodka - which, of course, little by little turns into a fight. But even a fight does not help to resolve the issue that worries the men.

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

The first possible "lucky man" they met along the way is a priest. (It was not for the oncoming soldiers and beggars to ask about happiness!) But the priest's answer to the question of whether his life is sweet disappoints the peasants. They agree with the priest that happiness lies in peace, wealth and honor. But the pop does not possess any of these benefits. In haymaking, in stubble, in a dead autumn night, in severe frost, he must go where there are sick, dying and being born. And every time his soul hurts at the sight of grave sobs and orphan sorrow - so that his hand does not rise to take copper nickels - a miserable reward for the demand. The landlords, who formerly lived in family estates and got married here, baptized children, buried the dead, are now scattered not only in Rus', but also in distant foreign land; there is no hope for their reward. Well, the peasants themselves know what honor the priest is: they feel embarrassed when the priest blames obscene songs and insults against priests.

Realizing that the Russian pop is not among the lucky ones, the peasants go to the festive fair in the trading village of Kuzminskoye to ask the people about happiness there. In a rich and dirty village there are two churches, a tightly boarded-up house with the inscription "school", a paramedic's hut, a dirty hotel. But most of all in the village of drinking establishments, in each of which they barely manage to cope with the thirsty. Old man Vavila cannot buy his granddaughter goat's shoes, 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 a treasured gift for him.

Wandering peasants watch the farcical Petrushka, watch how the women are picking up book goods - but by no means Belinsky and Gogol, but portraits of fat generals unknown to anyone and works about "my lord stupid." They also see how a busy trading day ends: rampant drunkenness, fights on the way home. However, the peasants are indignant at Pavlusha Veretennikov's attempt to measure the peasant by the master's measure. In their opinion, it is impossible for a sober person to live in Rus': he will not endure either overwork or peasant misfortune; without drinking, bloody rain would have poured out of the angry peasant soul. These words are confirmed by Yakim Nagoi from the village of Bosovo - one of those who "work to death, drink half to death." Yakim believes that only pigs walk the earth and do not see the sky for a century. During a fire, he himself did not save money accumulated over a lifetime, but useless and beloved pictures that hung in the hut; he is sure that with the cessation of drunkenness, great sadness will come to Rus'.

Wandering men do not lose hope of finding people who live well in Rus'. But even for the promise to give water to the lucky ones for free, they fail to find those. For the sake of gratuitous booze, both an overworked worker, and a paralyzed former courtyard, who for forty years licked 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 Ermil Girin, a steward in the estate of Prince Yurlov, who has earned universal respect for his justice and honesty. When Girin needed money to buy the mill, the peasants lent it to him without even asking for a receipt. But Yermil is now unhappy: after the peasant revolt, he is in jail.

About the misfortune that befell the nobles after the peasant reform, the ruddy sixty-year-old landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev tells the peasant wanderers. He recalls how in the old days everything amused the master: villages, forests, fields, serf actors, musicians, hunters, who belonged undividedly to him. Obolt-Obolduev tells with emotion how on the twelfth holidays he invited his serfs to pray in the manor's house - despite the fact that after that they had to drive women from all over the estate to wash the floors.

And although the peasants themselves know that life in serf times was far from the idyll drawn by Obolduev, they nevertheless understand: the great chain of serfdom, having broken, hit both the master, who at once lost his usual way of life, and the peasant.

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

Before her marriage, Matryona lived in a non-drinking and prosperous peasant family. She married Philip Korchagin, a stove-maker from a foreign village. 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 Saveliy, who lived out his life in the family after hard labor, where he ended up for the murder of the hated German manager. Savely told Matryona what Russian heroism is: a peasant cannot be defeated, because he "bends, but does not break."

The birth of the first-born Demushka brightened up the life of Matryona. But soon her mother-in-law forbade her to take the child into the field, and old grandfather Savely did not follow the baby and fed him to the pigs. In front of Matryona, the judges who arrived from the city performed an autopsy on her child. Matryona could not forget her first child, although after she had five sons. One of them, the shepherd Fedot, once allowed a she-wolf to carry away a sheep. Matrena took upon herself 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 to the soldiers. Matryona was then helped by the governor Elena Alexandrovna, for whom the whole family is now praying.

By all peasant standards, the life of Matryona Korchagina can be considered happy. But it is impossible to tell about the invisible spiritual storm that passed through this woman - just like about unrequited mortal insults, 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 from God himself.

In the midst of haymaking, wanderers come to the Volga. Here they witness a strange scene. A noble family swims up to the shore in three boats. The mowers, who have just sat down to rest, immediately jump up to show the old master their zeal. It turns out that the peasants of the village of Vakhlachina help the heirs to hide the abolition of serfdom from the landowner Utyatin, who has lost his mind. For this, the relatives of the Last Duck-Duck promise the peasants floodplain meadows. But after the long-awaited death of the Afterlife, the heirs forget their promises, and the whole peasant performance turns out to be in vain.

Here, near the village of Vakhlachin, wanderers listen to peasant songs - corvée, hungry, soldier's, salty - and stories about serf times. One of these stories is about a serf exemplary Jacob faithful. Yakov's only joy was to please his master, the petty landowner Polivanov. Samodur Polivanov, in gratitude, beat Yakov in the teeth with his heel, which aroused even greater love in the lackey's soul. By old age, Polivanov lost his legs, and Yakov began to follow him as if he were a child. But when Yakov's nephew, Grisha, decided to marry the serf beauty Arisha, out of jealousy, Polivanov sent the guy to the recruits. Yakov began to drink, but soon returned to the master. And yet he managed to take revenge on Polivanov - the only way available to him, in a lackey way. Having brought 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 serf, driving away birds and wolves with groans of horror.

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

Wandering men also listen to the story of another sinner - Gleb the headman, who hid last will the late widower admiral who decided to free his peasants.

But not only wandering peasants think about the happiness of the people. The son of a sacristan, seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov, lives in Vakhlachin. In his heart, love for the deceased mother merged with love for the whole of Vahlachina. For fifteen years, Grisha knew for sure whom he was ready to give his life, for whom he was ready to die. He thinks of everything mysterious Rus', as about a wretched, plentiful, powerful and powerless mother, and expects that the indestructible strength that he feels in his own soul will still affect her. Such strong souls, like those of Grisha Dobrosklonov, the angel of mercy himself calls for an honest path. Fate prepares Grisha "a glorious path, a loud name people's protector, consumption and Siberia.

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

Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov's poem "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 get acquainted with seven men from the villages of Zaplatovo, Dyryaevo, Razutovo, Znobishino, Gorelovo, Neyolovo, Neurozhayko, who argue about who lives well in Rus', and in no way cannot come to an agreement. No one is even going to yield to another ... So unusually begins the work that 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 his lips ..."

The history of the creation of the poem

Nikolai Nekrasov began working on his work in the early 1860s and finished the first part five years later. The prologue was published in the January issue of the Sovremennik magazine for 1866. Then painstaking work began on the second part, which was called "Last Child" and was published in 1972. The third part, entitled "Peasant Woman", was released in 1973, and the fourth, "A Feast for the Whole World" - in the fall of 1976, that is, three years later. It is a pity that the author of the legendary epic did not manage to fully complete his plan - the writing of the poem was interrupted by an 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 "To whom it is good to live in Rus'" is included in the compulsory school curriculum.

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

So, the prologue tells how seven men meet on a high road, and then go on a journey to find a happy man. Who in Rus' lives freely, happily and cheerfully - that's main question curious travelers. Each, arguing with the other, believes that he is right. Roman screams that the most a good life with the landowner, Demyan claims that the official lives wonderfully, Luka proves that, after all, the priest, the rest also express their opinion: “the noble boyar”, “the fat-bellied merchant”, “the minister of the sovereign” or the tsar.

Such a disagreement leads to a ridiculous fight, which is observed by birds and animals. It is interesting to read how the author displays their surprise at what is happening. Even the cow “came to the fire, stared at the peasants, listened to crazy speeches and began, cordially, to moo, moo, moo! ..”

At last, having kneaded each other's sides, the peasants came to their senses. They saw a tiny warbler chick flying up to the fire, and Pahom took it in his hands. The travelers began to envy the little bird that could fly wherever it wanted. They talked about what everyone wants, 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 peasants the way to where the real tablecloth was buried. Wow! Now you can definitely live, not grieve. But the quick-witted 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 life of the peasants began to be full and cheerful. But they have not yet resolved the main question: who still lives well in Rus'. And friends decided not to return to their families until they find the answer to it.

Chapter 1. Pop

On the way, the peasants met the priest and, bowing low, asked him to answer “in conscience, without laughter and without cunning,” whether he really lives well in Rus'. What the pop said dispelled the ideas of the seven curious about his happy life. No matter how severe the circumstances are - 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, besides, the groans of people leaving for another world, the weeping of orphans and the sobs of widows completely upset the peace of the priest's soul. And only outwardly it seems that pop is held in high esteem. In fact, he is often the target of ridicule. common people.

Chapter 2

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 evoked not very pleasant feelings among the peasants: there were a lot of drunks around, everywhere it was dirty, dull, uncomfortable. Books are also sold at the fair, but low-quality books, Belinsky and Gogol are not to be found here.

By evening, everyone becomes so drunk that it seems that even the church with the bell tower is shaking.

Chapter 3

At night, the men are on their way again. They hear the conversations of drunk people. Suddenly, attention is attracted by Pavlush Veretennikov, who makes 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 has grief, and therefore it is impossible, even a sin, to reproach for it.

Chapter 4

Men do not deviate from their goal - by all means to find a happy person. They promise to reward with a bucket of vodka the one who tells that it is he who lives freely and cheerfully in Rus'. Drinkers peck at such a "tempting" offer. But no matter how hard they try to colorfully paint the gloomy everyday life of those who want to get drunk for free, nothing comes out of them. Stories of an old woman who has born up to a thousand turnips, a sexton rejoicing when they pour him a pigtail; the paralyzed former courtyard, who for forty years licked the master's plates with the best French truffle, does not impress the stubborn seekers of happiness on Russian soil.

Chapter 5

Maybe luck will smile on them here - the searchers assumed a happy Russian person, having met the landowner Gavrila Afanasich Obolt-Obolduev on the road. At first he was frightened, thinking that he saw the robbers, but after learning about the unusual desire of the seven men who blocked his path, he calmed down, laughed and told his story.

Maybe before the landowner considered himself happy, but not now. After all, in old days Gavriil Afanasyevich was the owner of the entire district, a whole regiment of servants and arranged holidays with theatrical performances and dancing. Even the peasants did not hesitate to invite the peasants to pray in the manor house on holidays. Now everything has changed: family estate Obolt-Obolduev was sold for debts, because, left without peasants who knew how to cultivate the land, the landowner, who was not accustomed to work, suffered heavy losses, which led to a deplorable outcome.

Part 2

The next day, the travelers went to the banks of the Volga, where they saw a large hay meadow. Before they could talk to local residents, as noticed at the pier three boats. 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 travelers, occurs according to such a scenario, as if there was no abolition of serfdom. It turns out that Utyatin was very angry when he found out that the peasants were given freedom and came down with a stroke, 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. As a reward, they promised the best meadows after the death of the master.

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 the shameful fate and told the landowner everything to his face. For this, the prince sentenced him to flogging. The peasants also played a role here: they took the “rebellious” to the stable, put wine in front of him and asked him to shout louder, for appearances. Alas, Agap could not bear such humiliation, got very drunk and died the same night.

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

Part 3. Peasant woman.

No longer hoping to find a happy man among the men, the wanderers decided to ask the women. And from the lips of a peasant woman named Korchagina Matryona Timofeevna they hear a very sad and, one might say, terrible story. Only in parental home she was happy, and then, when she married Philip, a ruddy and strong guy, a hard life began. Love did not last long, because the husband went to work, leaving his young wife with his family. Matryona works tirelessly and sees no support from anyone except old Savely, who lives a century after hard labor, which lasted twenty years. Only one joy appears in her hard fate- Demushka's son. But suddenly a terrible misfortune befell the woman: it is impossible to even imagine what happened to the child because the mother-in-law did not allow her daughter-in-law to take him into the field with her. Due to an oversight of the boy's grandfather, the pigs eat him. What grief for a mother! 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 upon herself the punishment when they want to flog her son Fedot for a sheep that was carried away by wolves. When Matryona was carrying another son, Lidor, in her womb, her husband was unfairly taken into the army, and his wife had to go to the city to look for the truth. It’s good that the governor’s wife, Elena Alexandrovna, helped her then. By the way, in the waiting room Matryona gave birth to a son.

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

Part 4. A feast for the whole world.

At the end of the village of Valakhchina, a feast was held, where everyone was gathered: the wandering peasants, and Vlas the headman, and Klim Yakovlevich. Among the celebrating - two seminarians, simple, kind guys - Savvushka and Grisha Dobrosklonov. They sing funny songs and tell different stories. They do it because ordinary people ask for it. From the age of fifteen, Grisha knows for sure that he will devote his life to the happiness of the Russian people. He sings a song about a great and mighty country called Rus'. Isn't this the lucky one that the travelers were so stubbornly looking for? After all, he clearly sees the purpose of his life - in serving the disadvantaged people. Unfortunately, Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov died untimely, before he had time to finish the poem (according to the author's plan, the peasants were to go to St. Petersburg). But the reflections of the seven wanderers coincide with the thought of Dobrosklonov, who thinks that every peasant should live freely and cheerfully in Rus'. This was the main intention of the author.

The poem of 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 reflections on the fate of the peasantry.

History of creation

Nekrasov gave many years of his life to work on a poem, which he called his "favorite brainchild." “I decided,” said Nekrasov, “to state in a coherent story everything that I know about the people, everything that I happened to hear from their lips, and I started “Who should live well in Rus'.” It will be the epic of modern peasant life.” The writer accumulated material for the poem, according to his confession, "word by word for twenty years." Death interrupted this gigantic work. The poem remained unfinished. Shortly before his death, the poet said: “One thing that I deeply regret is that I did not finish my poem “Who should live well in Rus'.” N. A. Nekrasov began work on the poem “To whom it is good to live in Rus'” in the first half of the 60s of the XIX century. The mention of the exiled Poles in the first part, in the chapter "The Landowner", suggests that work on the poem was started no earlier than 1863. But the 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 when work on this part was completed.

Shortly after finishing work on the first part, the prologue of the poem was published in the January issue of the Sovremennik magazine for 1866. Printing stretched out for four years and was accompanied, like all publishing activity Nekrasov, censorship persecution.

The writer began to continue working on the poem only in the 1870s, writing three more parts of the work: “The Last Child” (1872), “Peasant Woman” (1873), “Feast - for the whole world” (1876). The poet was not going to limit himself to the written chapters, three or four more parts were conceived. However, the developing disease interfered with the ideas of the author. Nekrasov, feeling the approach of death, tried to give some "completion" to the last part, "Feast - for the whole world."

In the last lifetime edition of "Poems" (-) the poem "To whom it is good to live in Rus'" was printed in the following sequence: "Prologue. Part One”, “Last Child”, “Peasant Woman”.

The plot and structure of the poem

Nekrasov assumed that the poem would have seven or eight parts, but managed to write only four, which, perhaps, did not follow one after another.

Part one

The only one has no name. It was written shortly after the abolition of serfdom ().

Prologue

"In what year - count,
In what land - guess
On the pillar path
Seven men came together ... "

They got into an argument:

Who has fun
Feel free in Rus'?

They offered six answers to this question:

• Roman: landowner
• Demyan: to an official
• Gubin brothers - Ivan and Mitrodor: merchant;
• Pahom (old man): to the minister

The peasants decide not to return home until they find the right answer. They find a self-assembled tablecloth that will feed them and set off on their journey.

Peasant woman (from the third part)

Last (from the second part)

Feast - for the whole world (from the second part)

The chapter “A Feast for the Whole World” is a continuation of “Last Child”. It depicts a fundamentally different state of the world. This is already awake and talking at once folk Rus'. New heroes are being drawn into the festive feast of spiritual awakening. All the people sing songs of liberation, judge the past, evaluate the present, begin to think about the future. Sometimes these songs contrast with each other. For example, the story “About an exemplary servant - Jacob the faithful” and the legend “About two great sinners”. Yakov takes revenge on the master for all the bullying in a servile way, committing suicide in front of him. The robber Kudeyar atones for his sins, murders and violence not by humility, but by the murder of the villain - Pan Glukhovsky. This is how popular morality justifies righteous anger against oppressors and even violence against them.

List of heroes

Temporarily obligated peasants who went to look for someone who lives happily at ease in Rus'(Main characters)

• Novel
• Demyan
• Ivan and Mitrodor Gubin
• Pahom old man

Peasants and serfs

• Ermil Girin
• Yakim Nagoi
• Sidor
• Egorka Shutov
• Klim Lavin
• Agap Petrov
• Ipat - sensitive slave
• Jacob is a faithful servant
• Proshka
• Matryona
• Savely

landowners

• Utyatin
• Obolt-Obolduev
• Prince Peremetiev
• Glukhovskaya

Other heroes

• Altynnikov
• Vogel
• Shalashnikov

see also

Links

• Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov: textbook. allowance / Yaroslavl. state un-t im. P. G. Demidova and others; [ed. Art.] N. N. Paikov. - Yaroslavl: [b. and.], 2004. - 1 el. opt. disk (CD-ROM)

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Nikolay Alekseevich Nekrasov
Who lives 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

* * *

Y. Lebedev
Russian odyssey

In the "Diary of a Writer" for 1877, F. M. Dostoevsky noticed salient feature, which appeared in the Russian people of the post-reform period - "this is a multitude, an extraordinary modern multitude of new people, a new root of Russian people who need the truth, one truth without conditional lies, and who, in order to achieve this truth, will give everything resolutely." 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: North Pole - in the distant Ural villages there were rumors about the Belovodsk kingdom and their own religious and scientific expedition was being prepared. Among the ordinary Cossacks, the conviction spread and grew stronger that “somewhere out there, “beyond the distance of bad weather”, “beyond the valleys, behind the mountains, behind the wide seas” there is a “blissful country”, in which, by the providence of God and the accidents of history, it has been preserved and flourishes throughout inviolability is a complete and whole formula of grace. This is real Dreamland of all ages and peoples, painted only with the Old Believer mood. In it, planted by the Apostle Thomas, the true faith flourishes, with churches, bishops, a patriarch and pious kings ... This kingdom knows neither punishment, nor murder, nor self-interest, since true faith gives rise to true piety there.

It turns out that back in the late 1860s, the Don Cossacks were written off with the Urals, collected a fairly significant amount and equipped Cossack Varsonofy Baryshnikov and two comrades to search for this promised land. Baryshnikov set out on his journey through Constantinople to Asia Minor, then to the Malabar coast, and finally to the East Indies ... The expedition returned with disappointing news: they could not find Belovodye. Thirty years later, in 1898, the dream of the Belovodsk kingdom flares up with renewed vigor, funds are found, a new pilgrimage is equipped. On May 30, 1898, a "deputation" of the Cossacks boarded a steamboat departing from Odessa for Constantinople.

“From that day, in fact, the foreign trip 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 people got mixed up, as it were from another world, who were looking for ways to the fabulous Belovodsk kingdom. Korolenko described in detail all the vicissitudes of this unusual journey, in which, for all the curiosity and strangeness of the planned enterprise, the same Russia noted by Dostoevsky stood out. honest people, “who need only the truth”, who have “the desire for honesty and truth is unshakable and 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, but all of Russia, all of its people, rushed to it. “These Russian homeless wanderers,” Dostoevsky noted in a speech about Pushkin, “continue their wandering to this day and, it seems, will not disappear for a long time.” For a long time, “for the Russian wanderer needs precisely world happiness in order to calm down - he will not reconcile cheaper.”

“There was, approximately, such a case: I knew one person who believed in a righteous land,” said another wanderer in our literature, Luka, from M. Gorky's play “At the Bottom”. “There must be, he said, a righteous country in the world ... in that, they say, land - special people inhabit ... good people! They respect each other, they help each other - without any difficulty - and everything is nice and good with them! And so the man was going to go ... to look for this righteous land. He was poor, he lived badly ... and when it was already so difficult for him that at least lie down and die, he did not lose his spirit, but everything happened, he only smiled and said: “Nothing! I will endure! A few more - I’ll wait ... and then I’ll give up this whole life and go to the righteous land ... “He had one joy - this land ... And in this place - in Siberia, it was something - they sent an exiled scientist ... with books, with plans he, a scientist, and with all sorts of things ... A man says to a scientist: “Show me, do me a favor, where is the righteous land and how is the road there?” Now the scientist opened the books, spread out the plans ... looked, looked - no nowhere righteous land! “That's right, all the lands are shown, but the righteous one is not!”

Man - does not believe ... Should, he says, be ... look better! And then, he says, your books and plans are useless if there is no righteous land ... The scientist is offended. My plans, he says, are the most correct, but there is no righteous land at all. Well, then the man got angry - how so? Lived, lived, endured, endured and believed everything - there is! but according to the 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 - one! And more!.. ( After a pause.) And after that he went home - and strangled himself!”

The 1860s marked a sharp historical turning point in the destinies of Russia, which from now on broke away from a sub-legal, "home-bound" existence and the whole world, all the people set off on a long path of spiritual quest, marked by ups and downs, fatal temptations and deviations, but the righteous path is 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 embraced not only the "tops", but also the very "lower classes" of society.

1

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

However, the question of the “incompleteness” of “Who should live well in Rus'” is highly controversial and problematic. First, the confessions of the poet himself are subjectively exaggerated. It is known that a writer always has a feeling of dissatisfaction, and the larger the idea, the sharper it is. Dostoevsky wrote about The Brothers Karamazov: "I myself think that even one tenth of it was not possible to express what I wanted." But on this basis, do we dare to consider Dostoevsky's novel a fragment of an unfulfilled plan? The same is with "Who in Rus' to live well."

Secondly, the poem "To whom it is good to live in Rus'" was conceived as an epic, that is piece of art, depicting with the maximum degree of completeness and objectivity an entire era in the life of the people. Since folk life is boundless and inexhaustible in its countless manifestations, the epic in any of its varieties (epic poem, epic novel) is characterized by incompleteness, incompleteness. This is its specific difference from other forms of poetic art.

"This song is tricky
He will sing to the word
Who is the whole earth, Rus' baptized,
It will go from end to end."
Her own saint of Christ
Not finished singing - sleeping eternal sleep -

this is how Nekrasov expressed his understanding of the epic plan in the poem "Peddlers". The epic can be continued indefinitely, but you can also put an end to some high segment of its path.

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

It is noteworthy that this dispute itself involuntarily confirms the epic nature of "Who should live well in Rus'." The composition of this work is built according to the laws of the classical epic: it consists of separate, relatively autonomous parts and chapters. Outwardly, these parts are connected by the theme of the road: seven men-truth-seekers wander around Rus', trying to resolve the question that haunts them: who lives well in Rus'? In the Prologue, a clear outline of the journey seems to be outlined - meetings with the landowner, official, merchant, minister and tsar. However, the epic is devoid of a clear and unambiguous purposefulness. Nekrasov does not force the action, he is in no hurry to bring it to an all-permissive result. As an epic artist, he strives for the completeness of the reconstruction of life, for revealing all the diversity folk characters, all indirectness, all the winding of folk paths, paths and roads.

The world in the epic narrative appears as it is - disordered and unexpected, devoid of rectilinear motion. The author of the epic allows "retreats, visits to the past, jumps somewhere sideways, to the side." According to the definition of the modern literary theorist G. D. Gachev, “the epic is like a child walking through the cabinet of curiosities of the universe. Here his attention was attracted by one hero, or a building, or a thought - and the author, forgetting about everything, plunges into him; then he was distracted by another - and he just as fully surrenders to him. But this is not just a compositional principle, not just the specifics of the plot in the epic ... The one who, while narrating, makes “digressions”, unexpectedly long lingers on one or another subject; he who succumbs to the temptation to describe both this and that and chokes with greed, sinning against the pace of the narration - he thereby speaks of the extravagance, abundance of being, that he (being) has nowhere to hurry. Otherwise: it expresses the idea that being reigns over the principle of time (whereas the dramatic form, on the contrary, sticks out the power of time - it was not without reason that, it would seem, only the “formal” demand for the unity of time was born there too).

The fairy-tale motifs introduced into the epic “Who Lives Well in Rus'” allow Nekrasov to freely and naturally handle 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 an external plot, not a movement towards an unambiguous result, but an internal plot: slowly, step by step, the contradictory, but irreversible growth of people's self-consciousness, which has not yet come to a conclusion, is still on difficult roads of search, becomes clear in it. In this sense, the plot-compositional friability of the poem is not accidental: it expresses, by its lack of assembly, the variegation and diversity folk life who thinks about herself differently, evaluates her place in the world, her destiny in different ways.

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 expresses the gradual growth of people's self-consciousness: the fairy tale motifs of the Prologue are replaced by epic epic, then lyrical folk songs in "Peasant Woman" and, finally, the songs of Grisha Dobrosklonov in "A Feast for the Whole World", striving to become popular 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. That is why the finale of the poem is open to the future, not resolved.

Would our wanderers be under the same roof,
If only they could know what happened to Grisha.

But the wanderers did not hear the song "Rus", which means they did not yet understand what the "embodiment of the happiness of the people" is. It turns out that Nekrasov did not finish his song, not only because death interfered. In those years, people's life itself did not sing his songs. 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 until his real incarnation. The incompleteness of “Who is to live well in Rus'” is fundamental and artistically significant as a sign of a folk epic.

“Who should live well in Rus'” both in general and in each of its parts resembles a peasant secular gathering, which is the most complete expression of democratic people's self-government. At such a meeting, the inhabitants of one village or several villages that were part of the "world" decided all the issues of joint secular life. The meeting had nothing to do with the modern meeting. There was no chairperson leading the discussion. 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 used. The dissatisfied were persuaded or retreated, and in the course of the discussion, a “worldly sentence” ripened. If there was no general agreement, the meeting was postponed to the next day. Gradually, in the course of heated debates, a unanimous opinion matured, agreement was sought and found.

An employee of the Nekrasov " Domestic notes”, the populist writer H. N. Zlatovratsky described the original peasant life: “This is the second day that we have gathering after gathering. You look out the window, then at one end of the village, then at the other end of the village crowds of owners, old people, children: some are sitting, others are standing in front of them, with their hands behind their backs and attentively listening to someone. This someone waves his arms, bends his whole body, shouts something very convincingly, falls silent for a few minutes and then again begins to convince. But then suddenly they object to him, they object somehow at once, the voices rise higher and higher, they shout at the top of their lungs, as befits for such a vast hall as the surrounding meadows and fields, everyone speaks, not embarrassed by anyone or anything, as befits a free gathering of equals. Neither slightest sign officiality. Sergeant Major Maksim Maksimych himself is standing somewhere on the side, like the most invisible member of our community... Here everything goes straight, everything becomes an edge; if someone, out of cowardice or out of calculation, takes it into his head to get away with silence, he will be ruthlessly taken to clean water. Yes, and there are very few of these faint-hearted, at especially important gatherings. I have seen the humblest, most unrequited men who<…>at gatherings, in moments of general excitement, completely transformed and<…>they gained such courage that they managed to outdo the obviously brave men. In the moments of its apogee, the gathering becomes simply an open mutual confession and mutual exposure, a manifestation of the widest publicity.

The whole epic poem by Nekrasov is a flaring up, gradually gaining strength, worldly gathering. It reaches its pinnacle in the final "Feast for the World". However, the general "worldly sentence" is still not pronounced. Only the path to it is outlined, many of the initial obstacles have been removed, and on many points there has been movement towards a common agreement. But there is no result, life has not stopped, gatherings have not been 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 off 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 "Peasant Woman", "Last Child" and "Feast for the Whole World".

2

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

In what year - count
In what land - guess
On the pillar path
Seven men got together...

So epic converged and fairy-tale heroes to battle or to a feast of honor. The epic scale acquires time and space in the poem: the action is carried out to the whole of 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 the post-reform ruin is captured. Yes, and the very question that excited the peasants concerns the whole of Russia - peasant, noble, merchant. Therefore, the quarrel that arose between them is not an ordinary event, but great controversy. In the soul of every grain grower, with his own private destiny, with his worldly interests, a question has awakened that concerns everyone, the entire people's world.

To each his own
Left the house before noon:
That path led to the forge,
He went to the village of Ivankovo
Call Father Prokofy
Baptize the child.
Pahom honeycombs
Carried to the market in the Great,
And two brothers Gubina
So simple with a halter
Catching a stubborn horse
They went to their own herd.
It's high time for everyone
Return your way -
They are walking side by side!

Each peasant had his own path, and suddenly they found a common path: the question of happiness united the people. And therefore, we are no longer ordinary men with their own individual fate and personal interests, but guardians of the whole peasant world, truth seekers. The number "seven" in folklore is magical. Seven Wanderers- an image of a large epic scale. The fabulous coloring 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 is ambiguous. Giving the events a nationwide sound, it also turns into a convenient device for the poet to characterize the national self-consciousness. Note that Nekrasov playfully manages with a fairy tale. In general, his handling of folklore is more free and uninhibited in comparison with the poems "Pedlars" 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, makes fun of the limitations of the peasant worldview. The intonation structure of the narrative in “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is very flexible and rich: here is the author’s good-natured smile, and indulgence, and light irony, and bitter joke, and lyrical regret, and sorrow, and meditation, and appeal. The intonational and stylistic polyphony of the narration in its own way reflects a new phase of folk life. Before us is the post-reform peasantry, which has broken with the immovable patriarchal existence, with centuries of worldly and spiritual settledness. This is already wandering Rus' with awakened self-awareness, noisy, discordant, prickly and uncompromising, 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 he is imbued with sympathy for one of the disputing parties, then he is touched, then he is indignant. As Rus' lives in disputes, in search of truth, so the author is in a tense dialogue with her.

In the literature about “Who is to live well in Rus'”, one can find the assertion that the dispute of 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 intended plot, and instead of meeting with the rich and noble, the truth-seekers began to question the crowd.

But after all, this deviation immediately takes place at the “upper” level. Instead of a landowner and an official, scheduled by the peasants for questioning, for some reason there is a meeting with a priest. Is it by chance?

First of all, we note that the “formula” of the dispute proclaimed by the peasants signifies not so much the original intention as the level of national self-consciousness, manifested in this dispute. And Nekrasov cannot but show the reader his limitations: peasants understand happiness in a primitive way and reduce it to a well-fed life, material security. What is worth, for example, such a candidate for the role of a lucky man, who is proclaimed "merchant", and even "fat-bellied"! And behind the argument of the peasants - who lives happily, freely in Rus'? - immediately, but still gradually, muffled, another, much more significant and important question arises, which is 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", Grisha Dobrosklonov gives such an assessment current state people's life: "The Russian people are gathering strength and learning to be a citizen."

In fact, this formula contains the main pathos of the poem. It is important for Nekrasov to show how the forces that unite him are ripening among the people and what kind of civic orientation they are acquiring. The idea of ​​the poem is by no means reduced to making the wanderers carry out successive meetings according to the program they have outlined. A completely different question turns out to be much more important here: what is happiness in the eternal, Orthodox Christian understanding of it, and is 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 ways. Recall that Nekrasov spoke about this more than once a long time ago, for example, in one of the versions of the "Song of Eremushka", created back in 1859.

change pleasure,
To live does not mean to drink and eat.
There are better aspirations in the world,
There is a nobler good.
Despise wicked ways:
There is debauchery and vanity.
Honor the covenants forever right
And learn from Christ.

The 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 the wake of the fortress and facing a choice.

In the middle of the world
For a free heart
There are two ways.
Weigh the proud strength
Weigh your firm will:
How to go?

This song resounds 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 will take after long wanderings and windings along the Russian country roads.

In the meantime, the poet is pleased only with 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 path cannot but cause bitter irony. Therefore, the fabulous plot of the Prologue also characterizes the low level of peasant consciousness, spontaneous, vague, with difficulty making its way to universal questions. People's thought has not yet acquired clarity and clarity, it is still merged with nature and is sometimes expressed not so much in words as in action, in deeds: instead of thinking, fists are used.

The men still live according to the fabulous formula: "go there - I don't know where, bring that - I don't know what."

They walk like they're running
Behind them are gray wolves,
What is further - then sooner.
…
Probably b, whole night
So they went - where, not knowing ...

Isn't that why the disturbing, demonic element grows in the Prologue. “The woman on the other side”, “the clumsy Durandikha”, turns into a laughing witch before the eyes of the peasants. And Pahom scatters 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's glorious joke" played a trick on them.

In the poem, a comic comparison of the dispute between the peasants with the fight of bulls in a peasant herd arises. And the cow, lost in the evening, came to the fire, stared at the peasants,

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 sinister forces, representatives of folk demonology, enrolled in the category of forest evil spirits. Seven eagle owls flock to look at the arguing wanderers: from seven large trees “midnight owls laugh”.

And the raven, the smart bird,
Ripe, sitting on a tree
By the fire itself
Sitting and praying to hell
To be slammed to death
Someone!

The commotion grows, spreads, covers the entire forest, and it seems that the “spirit of the forest” itself laughs, laughs at the peasants, responds to their skirmish and carnage with malicious intentions.

A booming echo woke up
Went for a walk, a walk,
It went screaming, shouting,
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 strictly judge the peasants for the wretchedness and extreme limitation of their ideas about happiness and happy person. He knows that this limitation is connected with harsh everyday life the life of a peasant, with such material deprivations, in which the suffering itself sometimes takes unspiritual, ugly-perverted forms. This happens every time a people is deprived of their daily bread. Recall the song "Hungry" that sounded in "Feast":

The man is standing
swaying
A man is walking
Don't breathe!
From its bark
swelled up,
Longing trouble
Exhausted…

3

And in order to shade the limited peasant understanding of happiness, Nekrasov brings the wanderers in the first part of the epic poem not with the landowner and not with the official, but with the priest. A priest, a spiritual person, closest to the people in his way of life, and called upon to keep a thousand-year-old national shrine by duty, very accurately compresses ideas of happiness, vague for the wanderers themselves, into a capacious formula.

What is happiness, in your opinion?
Peace, wealth, honor -
Isn't that right, dear ones? -

They said yes...

Of course, the priest himself ironically distances himself from this formula: “This, dear friends, is happiness in your opinion!” And then, with visual persuasiveness, he refutes to everyone life experience the naivety of each hypostasis of this triune formula: neither "peace", nor "wealth", nor "honor" can be put at the foundation of a truly human, Christian understanding of happiness.

The priest's story makes the men think about a lot. The commonplace, ironically condescending assessment of the clergy reveals its untruth here. According to the laws of epic narration, 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 rises to its full height. The poet is in no hurry, in no hurry with the development of the action, giving the hero a full opportunity to utter everything that lies on his soul. Behind the life of a priest, the life of all of Russia in its past and present, in its various estates, opens on the pages of the epic poem. Here are dramatic changes in the estates of the nobility: the old patriarchal-noble Rus', which lived settled, in customs and customs close to the people, is fading into the past. The post-reform burning of life and the ruin of the nobles destroyed its age-old foundations, destroyed the old attachment to the family village nest. "Like a Jewish tribe," the landowners scattered around the world, learned new habits, far from the Russians moral traditions and legends.

In the story, the priest unfolds before the eyes of the savvy peasants a “great chain”, in which all the links are firmly connected: if you touch one, it will respond in another. The drama of the Russian nobility drags drama into the life of the clergy. To the same extent this drama is exacerbated by the post-reform impoverishment of the muzhik.

Our poor villages
And in them the peasants are sick
Yes, sad women
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 main trouble of the priest is something else. The misfortunes of the peasant bring deep moral suffering to sensitive people from the clergy: “It’s hard to live on such pennies!”

It happens to the sick
You will come: not dying,
Terrible peasant family
At the moment when she has to
Lose the breadwinner!
You admonish the deceased
And support in the rest
You try your best
The spirit is awake! And here to you
The old woman, the mother of the deceased,
Look, stretching with a bony,
Callused hand.
The soul will turn
How they tinkle in this hand
Two copper coins!

The priest's confession speaks not only of 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 is possible and even necessary against them. But there are other, deeper contradictions connected with the imperfection of human nature itself. It is precisely these contradictions that reveal the vanity and cunning of people who seek to present life as sheer pleasure, as thoughtless intoxication with wealth, ambition, complacency, which turns into indifference to one's neighbor. Pop in his confession deals a crushing blow to those who profess such a morality. Talking about parting words to 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 let only the bones
One broke,
No! every time it gets wet,
The soul will hurt.
Do not believe, Orthodox,
There is a limit to habit.
No heart to endure
Without some trepidation
death rattle,
grave sob,
Orphan sorrow!
Amen!.. Now think
What is the peace of the ass?..

It turns out that a completely free from suffering, “freely, happily” living person is a stupid, indifferent, morally flawed person. Life is not a holiday, but hard labour, 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”. Isn’t that why the priest looked down when he heard the question of the peasants, far from the Christian truth of life - “Is the priestly life sweet,” and with the dignity of an Orthodox minister turned to the wanderers:

… Orthodox!
It's a sin to grumble at God
Bear my cross with patience...

And his whole story is, in fact, an example of how every person can carry the cross, ready life put "for your friends."

The lesson taught to the wanderers by the priest has not yet gone to their benefit, but nevertheless brought confusion into the peasant consciousness. The men unanimously took up arms against Luka:

- What did you take? stubborn head!
Rustic club!
That's where the argument gets in!
"Nobles bell -
The priests live like princes.”
…
Well, here's your praise
Pop's life!

The irony of the author is not accidental, because with the same success it was possible to “finish” not only Luka, but each of them individually and all of them together. The peasant scolding is again followed by the shadow of Nekrasov, who makes fun of the limitedness of the people's initial ideas about happiness. And it is no coincidence that after meeting with the priest, the nature of the behavior and way of thinking of wanderers change significantly. They become more and more active in dialogues, more and more energetically intervene in life. And the attention of the wanderers is beginning to capture more and more powerfully not the world of masters, but the people's environment.