How Rus''s leaders can live well. Analysis of the poem "Who Lives Well in Rus'" by chapter, composition of the work

The wanderers walk and see hayfields. We haven’t mowed for a long time, I wanted to get some work done. They took the women's braids and started mowing them. Suddenly music is heard from the river. A gray-haired man named Vlas explains that it is a landowner riding in a boat. He urges the women on and says that the main thing is not to upset the landowner. Three boats moor to the shore, in them an old gray-haired landowner, hangers-on, servants, three young barons, two beautiful ladies, two mustachioed gentlemen. The old landowner walks around the hayfield, finds fault with one stack that the hay is damp, and demands that it be dried. Everyone fawns over him and tries to please him. When the landowner and his retinue leave for breakfast, the wanderers pester Vlas, who turns out to be the mayor, with questions, asking why the landowner is giving orders, although serfdom has been abolished, which means that the hay and the meadow that is being mowed are not his. Vlas says that their landowner is “special” - “all his life he was weird, fooling around, and suddenly a thunderstorm struck.” The landowner didn't believe it. The governor himself came to him, they argued for a long time, and in the evening the master had a stroke - the left half of his body was paralyzed, he lay motionless. The heirs arrived - sons, “black-mustachioed guardsmen”, with their wives. But the old man recovered, and when he heard from his sons about the abolition of serfdom, he called them traitors, cowards, etc. The sons, fearing that he would deprive them of their inheritance, decide to. everyone should indulge him. One of the “ladies” told the old man that the landowners had been ordered to return the men again. The old man was delighted and ordered a prayer service to be served and the bells to be rung. The heirs persuade the peasants to put on a show. But there were also those who didn’t have to be persuaded. One, Ipat, said: “Have fun! And I am the princes Utyatin’s slave - and that’s the whole story!” Ipat remembers with emotion how the prince harnessed him to a cart, how he bathed him in an ice hole - he dunked him into one hole, pulled him out into another and immediately gave him vodka, how he sat him on a box to play the violin. The horse stumbled, Ipat fell, the sleigh ran over him, and the prince drove away. But after a while he returned - Ipat was grateful to the prince to tears for not leaving him to freeze. Gradually everyone agrees to deception - to pretend that serfdom has not been abolished, only Vlas refuses to be a mayor. Then Klim Lavin is called to be mayor:

I visited Moscow and St. Petersburg, I went to Siberia with the merchants, It’s a pity I didn’t stay there! He's smart, but he can't keep a penny, He's cunning, but he gets into trouble! Boast man! I heard a lot of special words: Fatherland, Mother See of Moscow, Great Russian Soul. “I am a Russian peasant!” - He bawled in a wild voice And, hitting his forehead with the dishes, Drank half a glass in one gulp!

Klim has a conscience made of clay, And Minin’s beard, If you look, you’ll think that you won’t find a more dignified and sober peasant.

The old order has gone. The old prince walks around the estate, gives orders, the peasants laugh behind his back. The prince gives stupid orders: having learned that one widow’s house has fallen apart and she is making her way through alms, he orders the house to be repaired and her to be married to the neighbor’s Gavril; it later turns out that the widow is nearly seventy, and the “groom” is six years old. Only the peasant Agap Petrov did not want to obey the old order, and when the landowner caught him stealing timber, he told Utyatin everything directly, called him a fool, etc. Utyatin had a second blow. But this time the hopes of the heirs were not justified: the old man woke up and began to demand punishment for the rebel - public flogging. The heirs begin to persuade Agap, they persuade the whole world, Klim drank with him for a day, then, having persuaded him, he took him to the master’s courtyard. The old prince cannot walk - he sits on the porch. Agap was taken to the stable, a glass of wine was placed in front of him, and he was asked to shout louder. He screamed so much that even Utyatin took pity. The drunk Agap was carried home. But soon he died: “The unscrupulous Klim ruined him, anathema, blame!”

At this time, Utyatin is sitting at the table - there are obsequious servants around, lackeys drive away flies, everyone agrees with everything. Peasants are standing at the porch. Everyone is putting on a show, suddenly one guy can’t stand it and laughs. Utyatin jumps up and demands punishment for the rebel. But the laughing man is a “rich St. Petersburg resident”, he came for a while, local regulations do not apply to him. The peasants persuade one of the wanderers to obey. They open up. The mayor's godfather saves everyone - he throws himself at the master's feet, saying that her son laughed - the foolish boy. Utyatin calms down. He drinks champagne, jokes, “pinches beautiful daughters-in-law,” orders musicians to play, makes daughters-in-law and sons dance, ridicules them. He forces one of the “ladies” to sing and falls asleep. They take him away. Klim says that he would never have taken on such a case if he had not known that the “last kid” was swaggering according to his will. Vlas objects that until recently all this was in earnest, but “not as a joke and for money.” Here comes the news that Utyatin has died - a new stroke struck just after eating. The peasants breathed a sigh of relief. But their joy was premature:

With the death of the Last One, the lordly caress disappeared:

The Guardsmen did not allow the Vakhlaks to recover from their hangover! And for the land meadows the Heirs and the peasants compete to this day. Vlas is an intercessor for the peasants, Lives in Moscow... was in St. Petersburg... But there’s no point!

From 1863 to 1877 Nekrasov created “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The idea, characters, plot changed several times during the work. Most likely, the plan was not fully revealed: the author died in 1877. Despite this, “Who Lives Well in Rus'” as a folk poem is considered a completed work. It was supposed to have 8 parts, but only 4 were completed.

The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” begins with the introduction of the characters. These heroes are seven men from the villages: Dyryavino, Zaplatovo, Gorelovo, Neurozhaika, Znobishino, Razutovo, Neelovo. They meet and start a conversation about who lives happily and well in Rus'. Each of the men has his own opinion. One believes that the landowner is happy, the other - that he is an official. The peasants from the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” are also called happy by the merchant, the priest, the minister, the noble boyar, and the tsar. The heroes began to argue and lit a fire. It even came to a fight. However, they fail to come to an agreement.

Self-assembled tablecloth

Suddenly Pakhom completely unexpectedly caught the chick. The little warbler, his mother, asked the man to let the chick go free. For this, she suggested where you can find a self-assembled tablecloth - a very useful thing that will certainly come in handy on a long journey. Thanks to her, the men did not lack food during the trip.

The priest's story

The work “Who Lives Well in Rus'” continues with the following events. The heroes decided to find out at any cost who lives happily and cheerfully in Rus'. They hit the road. First, on the way they met a priest. The men turned to him with a question about whether he lived happily. Then the pope talked about his life. He believes (in which the men could not but agree with him) that happiness is impossible without peace, honor, and wealth. Pop believes that if he had all this, he would be completely happy. However, he is obliged, day and night, in any weather, to go where he is told - to the dying, to the sick. Every time the priest has to see human grief and suffering. He sometimes even lacks the strength to take retribution for his service, since people tear the latter away from themselves. Once upon a time everything was completely different. The priest says that rich landowners generously rewarded him for funeral services, baptisms, and weddings. However, now the rich are far away, and the poor have no money. The priest also has no honor: the men do not respect him, as many folk songs testify to.

Wanderers go to the fair

Wanderers understand that this person cannot be called happy, as noted by the author of the work “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” The heroes set off again and find themselves along the road in the village of Kuzminskoye, at the fair. This village is dirty, although rich. There are a lot of establishments in it where residents indulge in drunkenness. They drink away their last money. For example, an old man had no money left to buy shoes for his granddaughter, since he drank everything away. All this is observed by wanderers from the work “Who Lives Well in Rus'” (Nekrasov).

Yakim Nagoy

They also notice fairground entertainment and fights and argue that a man is forced to drink: it helps him withstand hard work and eternal hardships. An example of this is Yakim Nagoy, a man from the village of Bosovo. He works himself to death and drinks until he is half to death. Yakim believes that if there were no drunkenness, there would be great sadness.

The wanderers continue their journey. In the work “Who Lives Well in Rus',” Nekrasov talks about how they want to find happy and cheerful people and promise to give these lucky people free water. Therefore, a variety of people are trying to pass themselves off as such - a former servant suffering from paralysis, who for many years licked the master's plates, exhausted workers, beggars. However, the travelers themselves understand that these people cannot be called happy.

Ermil Girin

The men once heard about a man named Ermil Girin. Nekrasov further tells his story, of course, but does not convey all the details. Yermil Girin is a burgomaster who was very respected, a fair and honest person. He intended to one day buy the mill. The men lent him money without a receipt, they trusted him so much. However, a peasant revolt occurred. Now Yermil is in prison.

Obolt-Obolduev's story

Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, one of the landowners, spoke about the fate of the nobles after They used to own a lot: serfs, villages, forests. On holidays, nobles could invite serfs into their homes to pray. But after that the master was no longer the full owner of the men. The wanderers knew very well how difficult life was during the times of serfdom. But it is also not difficult for them to understand that things became much harder for the nobles after the abolition of serfdom. And it’s not easier for men now. The wanderers realized that they would not be able to find a happy one among the men. So they decided to go to the women.

Life of Matryona Korchagina

The peasants were told that in one village there lived a peasant woman named Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina, whom everyone called lucky. They found her, and Matryona told the men about her life. Nekrasov continues this story “Who Lives Well in Rus'.”

A brief summary of this woman's life story is as follows. Her childhood was cloudless and happy. She had a hard-working family that didn't drink. The mother cared for and cherished her daughter. When Matryona grew up, she became a beauty. One day, a stove maker from another village, Philip Korchagin, wooed her. Matryona told how he persuaded her to marry him. This was the only bright memory of this woman in her entire life, which was hopeless and dreary, although her husband treated her well by peasant standards: he almost never beat her. However, he went to the city to earn money. Matryona lived in her father-in-law's house. Everyone here treated her badly. The only one who was kind to the peasant woman was the very old grandfather Savely. He told her that he was sent to hard labor for the murder of the manager.

Soon Matryona gave birth to Demushka, a sweet and beautiful child. She could not part with him for a minute. However, the woman had to work in the field, where her mother-in-law did not allow her to take the child. Grandfather Savely was watching the baby. One day he did not take care of Demushka, and the child was eaten by pigs. They came from the city to investigate, and they opened up the baby in front of the mother’s eyes. This was the hardest blow for Matryona.

Then five children were born to her, all boys. Matryona was a kind and caring mother. One day Fedot, one of the children, was tending sheep. One of them was carried away by a she-wolf. The shepherd was to blame for this and should have been punished with whips. Then Matryona begged her to be beaten instead of her son.

She also said that they once wanted to recruit her husband as a soldier, although this was a violation of the law. Then Matryona went to the city while pregnant. Here the woman met Elena Alexandrovna, the kind governor’s wife, who helped her, and Matryona’s husband was released.

The peasants considered Matryona a happy woman. However, after listening to her story, the men realized that she could not be called happy. There was too much suffering and troubles in her life. Matryona Timofeevna herself also says that a woman in Rus', especially a peasant woman, cannot be happy. Her lot is very difficult.

Crazy landowner

Men-wanderers are on their way to the Volga. Here comes the mowing. People are busy with hard work. Suddenly an amazing scene: the mowers humiliate themselves and please the old master. It turned out that the landowner He could not understand what had already been abolished. Therefore, his relatives persuaded the men to behave as if it was still in effect. They were promised for this. The men agreed, but were deceived once again. When the old master died, the heirs gave them nothing.

The story of Jacob

Repeatedly along the way, wanderers listen to folk songs - hungry, soldier's and others, as well as various stories. They remembered, for example, the story of Yakov, the faithful slave. He always tried to please and appease the master, who humiliated and beat the slave. However, this led to Yakov loving him even more. The master's legs gave out in old age. Yakov continued to look after him as if he were his own child. But he received no gratitude for this. Grisha, a young guy, Jacob's nephew, wanted to marry a beauty - a serf girl. Out of jealousy, the old master sent Grisha as a recruit. Yakov fell into drunkenness from this grief, but then returned to the master and took revenge. He took him to the forest and hanged himself right in front of the master. Since his legs were paralyzed, he could not escape anywhere. The master sat all night under Yakov's corpse.

Grigory Dobrosklonov - people's defender

This and other stories make men think that they will not be able to find happy people. However, they learn about Grigory Dobrosklonov, a seminarian. This is the son of a sexton, who has seen the suffering and hopeless life of the people since childhood. He made a choice in his early youth, he decided that he would give his strength to fight for the happiness of his people. Gregory is educated and smart. He understands that Rus' is strong and will cope with all troubles. In the future, Gregory will have a glorious path ahead, the great name of the people's intercessor, “consumption and Siberia.”

The men hear about this intercessor, but they do not yet understand that such people can make others happy. This will not happen soon.

Heroes of the poem

Nekrasov depicted various segments of the population. Simple peasants become the main characters of the work. They were freed by the reform of 1861. But their life did not change much after the abolition of serfdom. The same hard work, hopeless life. After the reform, peasants who had their own lands found themselves in an even more difficult situation.

The characteristics of the heroes of the work “Who Lives Well in Rus'” can be supplemented by the fact that the author created surprisingly reliable images of peasants. Their characters are very accurate, although contradictory. Not only kindness, strength and integrity of character are found in Russian people. They have preserved at the genetic level servility, servility, and readiness to submit to a despot and tyrant. The coming of Grigory Dobrosklonov, a new man, is a symbol of the fact that honest, noble, intelligent people are appearing among the downtrodden peasantry. May their fate be unenviable and difficult. Thanks to them, self-awareness will arise among the peasant masses, and people will finally be able to fight for happiness. This is exactly what the heroes and the author of the poem dream about. ON THE. Nekrasov (“Who Lives Well in Rus'”, “Russian Women”, “Frost, and Other Works”) is considered a truly national poet, who was interested in the fate of the peasantry, their suffering, problems. The poet could not remain indifferent to his difficult lot. The work of N. A. Nekrasov’s “Who Lives Well in Rus'” was written with such sympathy for the people that today it makes us sympathize with their fate in that difficult time.

PROLOGUE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They said: "Yes"...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let it be three miles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Come on, let’s stretch!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes, God is merciful!”

Well, have a glass with us!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Who lives well in Rus'”: summary. First and second parts

It should be understood that a summary of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” by N. Nekrasov will not give such an idea of ​​the work as reading it in full. The poem was written shortly after serfdom was abolished, and has an acute social character. It consists of four parts. The first has no name: in it, on the road, seven men from different villages meet, the names of which speak about the situation of the peasants in them - Dyryavino, Zaplatovo, Neelovo, etc. They discuss who lives well in Rus'.

The men offer different options: priests, landowners, officials, merchants, ministers, the tsar. Not coming to a consensus, they set off to look for who can live well in Rus'. A brief summary will not allow us to reveal all the events and dialogues, but it is worth saying that along the way they meet representatives of different classes - a priest, a soldier, a merchant, peasants, but none of them can say that they live wonderfully. Everyone has their own sorrows. This part also examines the age-old issue of drunkenness in Rus': one of the men he met argues that people don’t drink because they have a good life. In the second part, which is called “The Last One,” the peasants meet the landowner Utyatin: the old man could not believe that serfdom had been abolished. This deprived him of all privileges. The landowner's relatives ask the local men to behave respectfully as before, take off their hats and bow, promising them land for this after the master's death. However, people remain deceived and receive nothing for their efforts.

"Who lives well in Rus'." "Peasant Woman": summary

In the second part, the peasants go to seek their fortune among the female population of Rus'. Rumor leads them to Matryona Timofeevna, who tells the men the story of her life, which began in serfdom. She completely disabuses them of the possibility of happiness for a Russian woman: after hearing her story, is it even worth asking about who can live well in Rus'? The summary of Matryona's story is as follows. She was married against her will to a hard-working man who beat his wife.

She also survived the harassment of her master's manager, from whom there was no way to save her. And when her first child was born, disaster struck. The mother-in-law strictly forbade Matryona to take the child with her to mowing, since he interfered with her work, and ordered her to leave her decrepit grandfather under the supervision. The grandfather did not pay enough attention - the child was eaten by pigs. And the grieving mother had to endure not only the loss of her son, but also accusations of complicity. Matryona later gave birth to other children, but she was very sad about her firstborn. After some time, she lost her parents and was left completely alone, without protection. Then the husband was taken into the recruits out of turn, and Matryona remained in her husband’s family, who did not love her, with a bunch of children and the only worker - the rest literally sat on her neck. Once she had to watch how her young son was punished for an insignificant offense - they punished him cruelly and mercilessly. Unable to bear such a life, she went to the governor’s wife to ask for the return of her breadwinner. There she lost consciousness, and when she came to her senses, she learned that she had given birth to a son, whom the governor’s wife baptized. Matryona’s husband was returned, but she never saw happiness in her life, and everyone began to tease her about the governor’s wife.

“Who lives well in Rus'”: summary. Part 4: "A feast for the whole world"

Plot-wise, the fourth part is a continuation of the second: the landowner Utyatin dies, and the men throw a feast where they discuss plans for the lands that were previously promised to them by the owner’s relatives. In this part, Grisha Dobrosklonov appears: a young man at fifteen is deeply confident that he will, without any doubt, sacrifice himself for the sake of his homeland. However, he does not shy away from simple work: he mows and reaps together with the peasants, to which they respond to him with affection and help. Grisha, being a democratic intellectual, ultimately becomes the one who lives well. Dobrolyubov is recognized as its prototype: there is a consonance of surnames, and one disease for both - consumption, which will overtake the hero of the poem before Russia reaches a bright future. In the image of Grisha, Nekrasov sees a man of the future, in whom the intelligentsia and the peasantry will unite, and such people, by joining forces, will lead their country to prosperity. The summary does not make it possible to understand that this is an unfinished work - the author initially planned eight parts, not four. For what reason Nekrasov finished the poem in this way is unknown: he probably felt that he might not have time to finish it, so he brought it to the ending earlier. Despite its incompleteness, the poem became a hymn to the love for the people that Nekrasov was full of. Contemporaries noted that this love became the source of Nekrasov’s poetry, its basis and content. The defining character trait of the poet was his willingness to live for others - loved ones, people, homeland. It was these ideas that he put into the actions and actions of his heroes.

Retelling plan

1. A dispute between men about “who lives happily and freely in Rus'.”
2. Meeting with the priest.
3. A drunken night after the fair.
4. History of Yakima Nagogo.
5. Searching for a happy person among men. A story about Ermil Girin.
6. The men meet the landowner Obolt-Obolduev.
7. Searching for a happy man among women. The story of Matryona Timofeevna.
8 Meeting with an eccentric landowner.
9. The parable about the exemplary slave - Jacob the faithful.
10. A story about two great sinners - Ataman Kudeyar and Pan Glukhovsky. The story of the "peasant sin".
11. Thoughts of Grisha Dobrosklonov.
12. Grisha Dobrosklonov - “people's defender.”

Retelling

Part I

Prologue

The poem begins with the fact that seven men met on a pillar path and argued about “who lives happily and freely in Rus'.” “Roman said: to the landowner, Demyan said: to the official, Luka said: to the priest. To the fat-bellied merchant! - said the Gubin brothers, Ivan and Mitrodor. Old man Pakhom strained and said, looking at the ground: to the noble boyar, to the sovereign’s minister. And Prov said: to the king.” They argued all day and didn’t even notice how night had fallen. The men looked around, realized that they had gone far from home, and decided to rest before heading back. As soon as they had time to settle down under a tree and drink vodka, their argument began with renewed vigor, it even came to a fight. But then the men saw that a small chick had crawled up to the fire and had fallen out of the nest. Pakhom caught it, but then a warbler appeared and began to ask the men to let her chick go, and for this she told them where the self-assembled tablecloth was hidden. The men found a tablecloth, had dinner and decided that they would not return home until they found out “who lives happily and at ease in Rus'.”

Chapter I. Pop

The next day the men set off on their journey. At first they met only peasants, beggars and soldiers, but the men did not ask them “how is it for them - is it easy or difficult to live in Rus'.” Finally, in the evening, they met a priest. The men explained to him that they had a concern that “kept us out of our homes, made us estranged from work, kept us away from food”: “Is the priest’s life sweet? How are you living freely and happily, honest father?” And the priest begins his story.

It turns out that there is no peace, no wealth, no honor in his life. There is no peace, because in a large district “the sick, the dying, the one born into the world does not choose time: for harvesting and haymaking, in the dead of autumn night, in winter, in severe frosts and in spring floods.” And the priest must always go to fulfill his duty. But the most difficult thing, the priest admits, is to watch how a person dies and how his relatives cry over him. There is no priest and no honor, because the people call him “the foal breed”; meeting a priest on the road is considered a bad omen; they make up “jokey tales, obscene songs, and all sorts of blasphemy” about the priest, and they make a lot of jokes about the priest’s family. And it’s hard to get rich as a butt. If in former times, before the abolition of serfdom, there were many landowner estates in the district, in which weddings and christenings were constantly celebrated, now only poor peasants remain who cannot generously pay the priest for his work. The priest himself says that his “soul will turn over” to take money from the poor, but then he will have nothing to feed his family. With these words the priest leaves the men.

Chapter 2. Rural fair

The men continued their journey and ended up in the village of Kuzminskoye, at the fair, and decided to look for a happy one here. “Wanderers went to the shops: they admired the handkerchiefs, Ivanovo calicoes, harnesses, new shoes, and the products of the Kimryaks.” At the shoe shop they meet old man Vavila, who admires the goat shoes, but does not buy them: he promised his little granddaughter to buy shoes, and other family members - various gifts, but drank all the money. Now he is ashamed to appear in front of his granddaughter. The gathered people listen to him, but cannot help, because no one has extra money. But there was one person, Pavel Veretennikov, who bought boots for Vavila. The old man was so emotional that he ran away, forgetting to even thank Veretennikov, “but the other peasants were so comforted, so happy, as if he had given each one a ruble.” The wanderers go to a booth where they watch a comedy with Petrushka.

Chapter 3. Drunken night

Evening comes, and the travelers leave the “turbulent village”. They walk along the road, and everywhere they meet drunken people who are returning home after the fair. From all sides, the wanderers can hear drunken conversations, songs, complaints about a hard life, and the screams of those fighting.

At the road pillar, travelers meet Pavel Veretennikov, around whom peasants have gathered. Veretennikov writes down in his little book the songs and proverbs that the peasants sing to him. “Russian peasants are smart,” says Veretennikov, “the only thing that’s not good is that they drink until they become stupefied, they fall into ditches and ditches—it’s a shame to see!” After these words, a man approaches him, who explains that the peasants drink because of a hard life: “There is no measure for Russian hops. Have you measured our grief? Is there a limit to the work? Wine brings down the peasant, but grief does not bring down? Is work not going well? And the peasants drink to forget themselves, to drown their grief in a glass of vodka. But then the man adds: “For our family, we have a non-drinking family!” They don’t drink, and they also struggle, it would be better if they drank, they’re stupid, but that’s their conscience.” To Veretennikov’s question what his name is, the man replies: “Yakim Nagoy lives in the village of Bosovo, he works himself to death, drinks until he’s half to death!..”, and the rest of the men began to tell Veretennikov the story of Yakim Nagoy. He once lived in St. Petersburg, but he was sent to prison after he decided to compete with a merchant. He was stripped to the last thread, and so he returned to his homeland, where he took up the plow. Since then, he has been “roasting on the strip under the sun” for thirty years. He bought pictures for his son, which he hung around the hut, and he himself loved to look at them. But then one day there was a fire. Yakim, instead of saving the money he had accumulated throughout his life, saved the pictures, which he then hung in the new hut.

Chapter 4. Happy

People who called themselves happy began to gather under the linden tree. A sexton came, whose happiness consisted “not in sables, not in gold,” but “in complacency.” A pockmarked old woman came. She was happy that she had a large turnip. Then the soldier came, happy because “he was in twenty battles and not killed.” The mason began to say that his happiness lies in the hammer with which he earns money. But then another mason approached. He advised not to brag about his strength, otherwise grief might come out of it, as happened to him in his youth: the contractor began to praise him for his strength, but one day he put so many bricks on his stretcher that the man could not bear such a burden and after that he became completely ill. A servant, a servant, also came to the travelers. He stated that his happiness lies in the fact that he has a disease that only noble people suffer from. Various other people came to boast of their happiness, and in the end the wanderers pronounced their verdict on peasant happiness: “Eh, peasant happiness! Leaky, with patches, hunchbacked, with calluses, go home!”

But then a man approached them and advised them to ask Ermila Girin about happiness. When the travelers asked who this Ermila was, the man told them. Ermila worked at a mill that did not belong to anyone, but the court decided to sell it. An auction was held, in which Ermila began to compete with the merchant Altynnikov. In the end, Ermila won, only they immediately demanded money from him for the mill, and Ermila did not have that kind of money with her. He asked to give him half an hour, ran to the square and turned to the people with a request to help him. Ermila was a man respected by the people, so every peasant gave him as much money as he could. Yermila bought the mill, and a week later he came back to the square and gave back all the money he had lent. And everyone took as much money as they lent him, no one misappropriated anything extra, there was even one more ruble left. Those gathered began to ask why Ermila Girin was held in such esteem. The narrator said that in his youth Ermila was a clerk in the gendarmerie corps and helped every peasant who turned to him with advice and deeds and did not take a penny for it. Then, when a new prince arrived in the estate and dispersed the gendarme office, the peasants asked him to elect Yermila as mayor of the volost, since they trusted him in everything.

But then the priest interrupted the narrator and said that he was not telling the whole truth about Yermila, that he also had a sin: instead of his younger brother, Yermila, he recruited the only son of the old woman, who was her breadwinner and support. Since then, his conscience haunted him, and one day he almost hanged himself, but instead demanded to be tried as a criminal in front of all the people. The peasants began to ask the prince to take the old woman’s son from the recruits, otherwise Yermila would hang himself from conscience. In the end, their son was returned to the old woman, and Ermila’s brother was sent as a recruit. But Ermila’s conscience still tormented him, so he abandoned his position and began working at the mill. During a riot in the estate, Yermila ended up in prison... Then the cry of a footman, who was flogged for theft, was heard, and the priest did not have time to tell the story to the end.

Chapter 5. Landowner

The next morning we met the landowner Obolt-Obolduev and decided to ask if he lived happily. The landowner began to tell him that he was “of an eminent family”; his ancestors were known three hundred years ago. This landowner lived in the old days “like Christ in his bosom,” he had honor, respect, a lot of land, several times a month he organized holidays that “any Frenchman” could envy, and went hunting. The landowner kept the peasants strict: “Whoever I want, I will have mercy on, and whomever I want, I will execute. The law is my desire! The fist is my police! But then he added that “he punished with love,” that the peasants loved him, they celebrated Easter together. But the travelers only laughed at his words: “He knocked them down with a stake, or are you going to pray in the manor’s house?..” Then the landowner began to sigh that such a carefree life had passed after the abolition of serfdom. Now the peasants no longer work on the landowners' lands, and the fields have fallen into disrepair. Instead of a hunting horn, the sound of an ax is heard in the forests. Where previously there were manor houses, drinking establishments are now being built. After these words, the landowner began to cry. And the travelers thought: “The great chain has broken, it has broken and it has sprung: one end is hitting the master, the other is hitting the peasant!”

Peasant woman
Prologue

The travelers decided to look for a happy man among women. In one village they were advised to find Matryona Timofeevna and ask her around. The men set off and soon reached the village of Klin, in which lived “Matryona Timofeevna, a dignified woman, broad and dense, about thirty-eight years old. Beautiful: gray hair, large, stern eyes, rich eyelashes, stern and dark. She’s wearing a white shirt, a short sundress, and a sickle over her shoulder.” The men turned to her: “Tell me in divine terms: what is your happiness?” And Matryona Timofeevna began to tell.

Chapter 1. Before marriage

As a girl, Matryona Timofeevna lived happily in a large family where everyone loved her. No one woke her up early; they allowed her to sleep and gain strength. From the age of five she was taken out into the fields, she followed the cows, brought breakfast to her father, then she learned how to harvest hay, and so she got used to work. After work, she and her friends sat at the spinning wheel, sang songs, and went dancing on holidays. Matryona was hiding from the guys; she didn’t want to end up in captivity as a girl. But still she found a groom, Philip, from distant lands. He began to woo her. Matryona did not agree at first, but she liked the guy. Matryona Timofeevna admitted: “While we were bargaining, it must have been, so I think, then there was happiness. And it’s unlikely ever again!” She married Philip.

Chapter 2. Songs

Matryona Timofeevna sings a song about how the groom’s relatives attack his daughter-in-law when she arrives at a new house. Nobody likes her, everyone forces her to work, and if she doesn’t like the work, they can beat her. The same thing happened with Matryona Timofeevna’s new family: “The family was huge, grumpy. I ended up in hell from my maiden will!” Only in her husband could she find support, and it sometimes happened that he beat her. Matryona Timofeevna started singing about a husband who beats his wife, and his relatives do not want to stand up for her, but only order them to beat her even more.

Soon Matryona's son Demushka was born, and now it was easier for her to endure the reproaches of her father-in-law and mother-in-law. But trouble happened to her again. The master's manager began to pester her, and she did not know where to escape from him. Only grandfather Savely helped Matryona cope with all her troubles, only he loved her in her new family.

Chapter 3. Savely, the Holy Russian hero

“With a huge gray mane, tea, twenty years uncut, with a huge beard, the grandfather looked like a bear,” “grandfather had an arched back,” “he was already a hundred years old, according to fairy tales.” “Grandfather lived in a special room, he didn’t like families, he didn’t let them into his corner; and she was angry, barking, his own son called him “branded, a convict.” When the father-in-law began to get very angry with Matryona, she and her son went to Savely and worked there, and Demushka played with his grandfather.

One day Savely told her the story of his life. He lived with other peasants in impenetrable swampy forests, where neither the landowner nor the police could reach. But one day the landowner ordered them to come to him and sent the police after them. The peasants had to obey. The landowner demanded quitrent from them, and when the men began to say that they had nothing, he ordered them to be flogged. Again the peasants had to obey, and they gave the landowner their money. Now every year the landowner came to collect rent from them. But the landowner died, and his heir sent a German manager to the estate. At first, the German lived calmly and became friends with the peasants. Then he began to order them to work. Before the men even had time to come to their senses, they had cut a road from their village to the city. Now you could easily visit them. The German brought his wife and children to the village and began to rob the peasants even more viciously than the previous landowner had robbed. The peasants tolerated him for eighteen years. During this time, the German managed to build a factory. Then he ordered to dig a well. He did not like the work and began to scold the peasants. And Savely and his comrades buried him in a hole dug for a well. For this he was sent to hard labor, where he spent twenty years. Then he returned to his homeland and built a house. The men asked Matryona Timofeevna to continue talking about her life as a woman.

Chapter 4. Demushka

Matryona Timofeevna took her son to work. But the mother-in-law told her to leave it to grandfather Savely, since you won’t earn much with a child. And so she gave Demushka to her grandfather, and she went to work. When I returned home in the evening, it turned out that Savely dozed off in the sun, did not look after the baby, and he was trampled by pigs. Matryona “rolled around like a ball”, “coiled like a worm, called, woke up Demushka - but it was too late to call.” The gendarmes arrived and began to interrogate, “Did you not kill the child in agreement with the peasant Savely?” Then a doctor came to autopsy the child's corpse. Matryona began to ask him not to do this, sent curses on everyone, and everyone decided that she had lost her mind.

At night Matryona came to her son’s tomb and saw Savely there. At first she shouted at him, blaming him for Dema’s death, but then the two of them began to pray.

Chapter 5. She-Wolf

After Demushka’s death, Matryona Timofeevna did not talk to anyone, she could not see Savelia, she did not work. And Savely went to repentance at the Sand Monastery. Then Matryona and her husband went to her parents and got to work. Soon she had more children. So four years passed. Matryona’s parents died, and she went to cry at her son’s grave. He sees that the grave has been tidied up, there is an icon on it, and Savely is lying on the ground. They talked, Matryona forgave the old man and told him about her grief. Soon Savely died and was buried next to Dema.

Another four years passed. Matryona came to terms with her life, worked for the whole family, but did not harm her children. A praying mantis came to their village and began to teach them how to live correctly, in a divine way. She forbade breastfeeding on fasting days. But Matryona did not listen to her; she decided that it would be better for God to punish her than for her to leave her children hungry. So grief came to her. When her son Fedot was eight years old, his father-in-law gave him to be a shepherdess. One day the boy did not take care of the sheep, and one of them was stolen by a she-wolf. For this, the village elder wanted to flog him. But Matryona threw herself at the landowner’s feet, and he decided to punish his mother instead of his son. Matryona was flogged. In the evening she came to see how her son slept. And the next morning she did not show herself to her husband’s relatives, but went to the river, where she began to cry and call for protection from her parents.

Chapter 6. Difficult year

Two new troubles came to the village: first came a lean year, then a recruitment drive. The mother-in-law began to scold Matryona for causing trouble by wearing a clean shirt on Christmas. And then they wanted to send her husband as a recruit. Matryona didn’t know where to go. She herself did not eat, she gave everything to her husband’s family, and they also scolded her and looked angrily at her children, since they had extra mouths to feed. So Matryona had to “send the children around the world” so that they would ask strangers for money. Finally, her husband was taken away, and pregnant Matryona was left all alone.

Chapter 7. Governor's wife

Her husband was recruited at the wrong time, but no one wanted to help him return home. Matryona, who had been carrying her child to term for the last few days, went to seek help from the governor. She left home at night without telling anyone. I arrived in the city in the early morning. The doorman at the governor's palace told her to try to come in two hours, then maybe the governor would receive her. On the square, Matryona saw a monument to Susanin, and it reminded her of Savely. When the carriage drove up to the palace and the governor’s wife got out, Matryona threw herself at her feet with pleas for intercession. Then she felt bad. The long journey and fatigue affected her health, and she gave birth to a son. The governor's wife helped her, baptized the baby herself and gave him a name. Then she helped save Matryona’s husband from being recruited. Matryona brought her husband home, and his family bowed at her feet and apologized to her.

Chapter 8. The Woman's Parable

Since then they nicknamed Matryona Timofeevna the governor. She began to live as before, worked, raised children. One of her sons has already been recruited. Matryona Timofeevna said to the travelers: “It’s not a matter of looking for a happy woman among women”: “The keys to women’s happiness, to our free will, are abandoned, lost to God himself!”

Last One

The travelers went to the banks of the Volga and saw peasants working in haymaking. “We haven’t worked for a long time, let’s mow!” - the wanderers asked the local women. After work they sat down to a haystack to rest. Suddenly they see: three boats are floating along the river, in which music is playing, beautiful ladies, two mustachioed gentlemen, children and an old man are sitting. As soon as the peasants saw them, they immediately began to work even harder.

The old landowner went ashore and walked around the entire hay field. “The peasants bowed low, the mayor fussed before the landowner, like a demon before matins.” And the landowner scolded them for their work and ordered them to dry out the already harvested hay, which was already dry. The travelers were surprised why the old landowner behaved this way with the peasants, because they are now free people and are not under his authority. Old Vlas began to tell them.

“Our landowner is special, his wealth is exorbitant, his rank is important, his family is noble, he has been a weirdo and a fool all his life.” But then serfdom was abolished, but he didn’t believe it, decided that he was being deceived, even argued with the governor about this, and by the evening he had a stroke. His sons were afraid that he might disinherit them, and they agreed with the peasants to live as before, as if the landowner were still their master. Some peasants happily agreed to continue serving the landowner, but many could not agree. For example, Vlas, who was then the mayor, did not know how he would have to carry out the “stupid orders” of the old man. Then another peasant asked to be made mayor, and “the old order went.” And the peasants gathered together and laughed at the master’s stupid orders. For example, he ordered a seventy-year-old widow to be married to a six-year-old boy so that he would support her and build her a new house. He ordered the cows not to moo when they passed the manor's house, because they woke up the landowner.

But then there was a peasant Agap who did not want to obey the master and even reproached other peasants for obedience. One day he was walking with a log, and a gentleman met him. The landowner realized that the log was from his forest and began to scold Agap for theft. But the peasant could not stand it and began to laugh at the landowner. The old man was struck again, they thought that he would now die, but instead he issued a decree to punish Agap for disobedience. Young landowners, their wives, the new mayor and Vlas went to Agap all day, persuaded Agap to pretend, and gave him wine to drink all night. The next morning they locked him in the stable and told him to scream as if he was being beaten, but in fact he was sitting and drinking vodka. The landowner believed it, and he even felt sorry for the peasant. Only Agap, after so much vodka, died in the evening.

The wanderers went to look at the old landowner. And he sits surrounded by sons, daughters-in-law, peasants and has dinner. He began to ask whether the peasants would soon collect the master's hay. The new mayor began to assure him that the hay would be removed in two days, then he declared that the men would not escape from the master, that he was their father and god. The landowner liked this speech, but suddenly he heard that one of the peasants in the crowd laughed, and ordered to find and punish the culprit. The mayor went, and he himself thought about what to do. He began to ask the wanderers to have one of them confess: they are not from here, the master cannot do anything to them. But the travelers did not agree. Then the mayor's godfather, a cunning woman, fell at the master's feet, began to lament, saying that it was her only stupid son who laughed, and begged the master not to scold him. The master took pity. Then he fell asleep and died in his sleep.

Feast for the whole world

Introduction

The peasants organized a holiday, to which the entire estate came, they wanted to celebrate their newfound freedom. The peasants sang songs.

I. Bitter times - bitter songs

Cheerful. The song says that the master took the cow from the peasant, the zemstvo court took the chickens, the tsar took his sons as recruits, and the master took his daughters to himself. “It is glorious to live in holy Rus'!”

Corvee. The poor peasant of Kalinushka has wounds all over his back from beatings, he has nothing to wear, nothing to eat. Everything he earns has to be given to the master. The only joy in life is to go to a tavern and get drunk.

After this song, the peasants began to tell each other how hard it was under corvee. One recalled how their mistress Gertrude Alexandrovna ordered them to be beaten mercilessly. And the peasant Vikenty told the following parable.

About an exemplary slave - Yakov the faithful. Once upon a time there lived a landowner who was very stingy; he even drove away his daughter when she got married. This master had a faithful servant, Yakov, who loved him more than his own life, and did everything to please the master. Yakov never asked his master for anything, but his nephew grew up and wanted to get married. Only the master also liked the bride, so he did not allow Yakov’s nephew to marry, but gave him as a recruit. Yakov decided to take revenge on his master, only his revenge was as servile as his life. The master's legs hurt and he could not walk. Yakov took him into a dense forest and hanged himself in front of his eyes. The master spent the whole night in the ravine, and the next morning hunters found him. He did not recover from what he saw: “You, master, will be an exemplary slave, faithful Yakov, remembered until the day of judgment!”

II. Wanderers and pilgrims

There are different kinds of pilgrims in the world. Some of them only hide behind the name of God in order to profit at the expense of others, since it is customary to receive pilgrims in any home and feed them. Therefore, they most often choose rich houses where they can eat well and steal something. But there are also real pilgrims who bring the word of God to a peasant house. Such people go to the poorest house so that God’s mercy may fall on them too. Such pilgrims include Ionushka, who wrote the story “About Two Great Sinners.”

About two great sinners. Ataman Kudeyar was a robber and during his life he killed and robbed many people. But his conscience tormented him, so much so that he could neither eat nor sleep, but only remembered his victims. He disbanded the whole gang and went to pray at the Holy Sepulcher. He wanders, prays, repents, but it doesn’t get any easier for him. The sinner returned to his homeland and began to live under a century-old oak tree. One day he hears a voice that tells him to cut down an oak tree with the same knife with which he used to kill people, then all his sins will be forgiven. The elder worked for several years, but could not cut down the oak tree. Once he met Pan Glukhovskoy, about whom they said that he was a cruel and evil person. When the master asked what the elder was doing, the sinner said that he wanted to atone for his sins. Pan began to laugh and said that his conscience did not torment him at all, even though he had ruined many lives. “A miracle happened to the hermit: he felt furious anger, rushed to Pan Glukhovsky, and plunged a knife into his heart! As soon as the bloody gentleman fell with his head on the saddle, a huge tree collapsed, the echo shook the whole forest.” So Kudeyar prayed for his sins.

III. Both old and new

“Great is the noble sin,” the peasants began to say after Jonah’s story. But the peasant Ignatius Prokhorov objected: “He is great, but he will not be against the sin of the peasant.” And he told the following story.

Peasant sin. For his courage and bravery, the widower admiral received eight thousand souls from the empress. When the time came for the admiral to die, he called the headman to him and handed him a casket containing free food for all the peasants. After his death, a distant relative came and, promising the elder mountains of gold and freedom, begged him for that casket. So eight thousand peasants remained in lordly bondage, and the headman committed the most serious sin: he betrayed his comrades. “So this is the peasant’s sin! Indeed, a terrible sin! - the men decided. Then they sang the song “Hungry” and again started talking about the sin of the landowners and peasants. And so Grisha Dobrosklonov, the son of the sexton, said: “The snake will give birth to baby snakes, and the fortress will give birth to the sins of the landowner, the sin of the unfortunate Yakov, and the sin of Gleb! There is no support - there is no landowner who brings a zealous slave to a noose, there is no support - there is no yard servant taking revenge on his villain by suicide, there is no support - there will be no new Gleb in Rus'! Everyone liked the boy’s speech, they began to wish him wealth and an intelligent wife, but Grisha replied that he did not need wealth, but so that “every peasant could live freely, cheerfully throughout all holy Rus'.”

IV. Good times - good songs

In the morning the travelers fell asleep. Grisha and his brother took their father home, and they sang songs along the way. When the brothers put their father to bed, Grisha went for a walk around the village. Grisha studies at the seminary, where he is poorly fed, so he is thin. But he doesn't think about himself at all. All his thoughts are occupied only with his native village and peasant happiness. “Fate had prepared for him a glorious path, a great name as a people’s intercessor, consumption and Siberia.” Grisha is happy that he can be an intercessor and take care of ordinary people, about his homeland. Seven men finally found someone happy, but they didn’t even know about this happiness.