The progressive role of V.F. Odoevsky in the creation of orphanages (based on the work “Instructions for persons directly in charge of orphanages”). Radishchev “Conversation about the fact that there is a son of the fatherland”
There are names in Russian literature with which the concepts of true, deep patriotism, citizenship, a high sense of duty, honor, and truth are associated. Such names include the name of Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev. This is a person of high moral qualities and deep convictions.
You want to know: who am I? what am I? where am I going? -
I am the same as I was, and will be all my life:
Not a cattle, not a tree, not a slave, but a man! -
This is what Radishchev said about himself in 1790 on the way to the Ilimsk prison, where he was sent after the death penalty was replaced by exile to Siberia. For what? For the creation of the book “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow.” This will later become a common occurrence in Russia, when writers, poets, “disturbers” of the peace, “underminers” of the foundations of the autocratic system will serve exile in the Caucasus and Vyatka, in Siberia and Astrakhan. In the meantime, Radishchev, the first Russian revolutionary, is going to the Ilimsky prison. It is always more difficult for the first one, especially if you are alone. What kind of love for the Motherland, what kind of faith in the people one had to have, what kind of personality one had to be in order to oppose the powerful autocracy! Having been born into a noble family, having received a good education, and having literary talent, Radishchev could have had an excellent career, lived comfortably and calmly. But as a person living in the interests of the Fatherland, as a true patriot, he fiercely, angrily and convincingly denounced serfdom.
After reading “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow,” the “enlightened” Empress Catherine II, known in Europe for her correspondence and personal meetings with French enlighteners, came to the conclusion and wrote: “The rebel is worse than Pugachev.” Rebel? Worse than Pugachev? But the rebel Pugachev opposed the autocracy with arms in hand, and Radishchev only wrote a book “worth the weight of gold” (D. Bedny), which he printed in his own printing house in 1790. Radishchev's word, his book in the history of the development of the revolutionary movement in
Russia played a huge role. What kind of book is this, the story of which is “...an amazing story, almost reminiscent of the story of a living creature”? (N.P. Smirnov-Sokolsky). The innocuous title - “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” - was a common description of the trip at that time; there were many of them. But let's open the book. And on the very first page: “I looked around me - my soul became wounded by the suffering of humanity.” This phrase alone is alarming and makes you think. It is unlikely that just an idle, amusing, curious traveler would become concerned with the “suffering of mankind.” And then the postal stations came one after another: Sofia, Tosna, Lyubani, Spasskaya Polest, Mednoe... Gorodnya... Pawns...
Chapter “Lyubani”: “It’s a hot time. Holiday. And the peasant plows with great diligence” - “There are six days in a week, master, and we go to corvée six times a week. Not only holidays, but the night is ours. If our brother is not lazy, he will not die of hunger.” But they were dying! And hundreds, thousands! Because not a single law could (or wanted!) to protect the serf from the arbitrariness of the landowner. A deeply thinking and strongly feeling human personality, the bearer of bold progressive thought, Radishchev exclaims: “Be afraid, hard-hearted landowner, I see your condemnation on the forehead of each of your peasants!” But evil is not in man. (“A person is born neither good nor evil!”) This means that the existing socio-political system needs to be changed. And this is already a call to revolt. Here it is - a rebel! And then, chapter by chapter, Radishchev proves that autocratic power is cruel and inhuman. “Greedy animals, insatiable leeches, what do we leave for the peasant? what we cannot take away is air. Yes, just air."
But the patience of the people is not unlimited, not eternal. “I noticed,” writes Radishchev in the chapter “Zaitsovo,” “from numerous examples that the Russian people are very patient and endure to the very extreme, but when they put an end to their patience, nothing can hold them back...”
I can already hear the voice of nature...
(Ode "Liberty")
“The gloomy firmament began to shake, and freedom shone... (chapter “Tver”),
Here it is, the pathos of freedom, love of freedom, faith in democracy and democracy.
“Not everyone born in the Fatherland is worthy of majestic
the name of the son of the Fatherland (patriot),” stated Radishchev in “A Conversation about the Son of the Fatherland.” - “The Son of the Fatherland is not afraid of the difficulties encountered during his noble feat, overcomes all obstacles... sparing nothing for the good of the Fatherland.” The writer himself was a true son of the Fatherland, a patriot. Performing a noble feat for the good of the Fatherland, he did not spare life itself, until the end of his days retaining within himself the proud consciousness of being a Man (and this word has the deepest meaning).
Radishchev “saw through a whole century.” In the “Historical Song,” which ends with a “prophetic word,” the writer says that the “later descendants” of the glorious people
All barriers, all strongholds
They will crush with a strong hand.
The A.N. Radishchev Museum has announced a competition “What is the son of the Fatherland.”
Position
about the competition “What is the son of the Fatherland”
The competition “What is the Son of the Fatherland” in 2018 is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of I.S. Turgenev.
1. Organizers, competition partners, jury.
1.1. The competition was established in 1999 by decision of the State Budgetary Institution “Association
state literary and memorial museums of Penza
region".
1.2. Competition organizer: A. N. Radishchev Museum, branch of the State Budgetary Institution of Culture
“Associations of state literary and memorial
museums of the Penza region".
1.3. Competition partners: Education Department of the Kuznetsky Administration
district, education department of the Kuznetsk city administration, department
for youth affairs, culture, physical education and sports Kuznetsky
district.
1.4. The composition of the jury is approved by the organizer of the competition.
2.Goals and objectives of the competition.
2.1. The competition “What is the Son of the Fatherland-2018” is held in order to
popularization of the work of the great Russian writer I.S. Turgenev and activation of reader interest.
2.2. Competition objectives:
— identifying and supporting the creative potential of beginners
actors;
-moral education of youth.
3.Conditions and procedure of the competition.
3.1. The competition is held from 01.01.2018 to 30.11.2018.
3.2. Students are invited to participate in the competition
secondary schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, colleges and
institutions of further education.
3.3. Applications for participation in the competition “What is the Son of the Fatherland” are submitted to
Museum of A. N. Radishchev in form (see Appendix No. 1) according to
e-mail: [email protected] until November 1, 2018
4. Requirements for competition participants.
4.1. The competition was announced in the theatrical category “Chronicle of Souls”
folk" (production based on the works of I.S. Turgenev).
4.2. The competition presents productions that reveal the meaning
works through artistic images.
4.3. Only one production from one
educational institution.
4.4. All competitive productions will be assessed by a jury based on four
criteria:
- disclosure and brightness of the images of literary characters
works;
- originality of the director's decision;
— use of means of expression;
- musical and artistic design of the performance.
4.5. The production can be performed in any theatrical genre
arts (comedy, mime, musical, drama, parody).
4.6. The duration of the performance should not exceed 10 minutes.
4.7. The production must be accompanied by theatrical
program indicating at least 3 performers
pieces according to shape (see Appendix No. 2).
4.8. The production prohibits content that incites racial,
ethnic or religious hatred that violates laws
Russian Federation and of an antisocial nature.
442514, Penza region, Kuznetsk district, Radishchevo village,
Central street, 63.
Curator of the competition – Svetlana Alekseevna Galkina (8-927-362-41-82)
5. Summing up and encouraging the winners of the competition.
5.1. All competition participants are awarded certificates.
5.2. Winners who take 1st, 2nd and 3rd places are awarded diplomas and
valuable gifts.
5.4. The competition organizers have the right to establish special
prizes.
5.5. The jury's decisions are final and cannot be revised.
6. Contacts
Address: 442514, Penza region, Kuznetsk district, Radishchevo village,
Tsentralnaya street, 63.
Email: [email protected]
Tel.: 8(841-57) 5-16-25
The curator of the competition is Svetlana Alekseevna Galkina (8-927-362-41-82).
Appendix No. 1
Application for participation
Total number of participants in the production ______________________________
FULL NAME. participant, age, class, role: ________________________
Title of production, genre of performance ___________________________
Supervisor ______________________________________________
Name of the organization representing the competitor ____________
___________________________________________________________
Contact number: ________________________________________
Address:_____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
A. N. RADISHCHEV.
CONVERSATION ABOUT THE SON OF THE FATHERLAND
Not everyone born in the fatherland is worthy of the majestic title of son of the fatherland (patriot). Those under the yoke of slavery are not worthy to be adorned with this name. - Resist, sensitive heart, do not pronounce your judgment on such sayings while you stand at the threshold.
Enter and wait! Who doesn’t know that the name of the son of the fatherland belongs to a person, and not to a beast or cattle or other dumb animal? It is known that man is a free being, since he is gifted with intelligence, reason and free will; that his freedom consists in choosing the best, that he knows and chooses this best through reason, comprehends it with the help of his mind and always strives for the beautiful, majestic, high. He acquires all this in a single adherence to natural and revealed laws, otherwise called divine, and derived from divine and natural civil or communal laws.
But in whom these abilities, these human feelings are suppressed, can he be adorned with the majestic name of the son of the fatherland?
He's not human, but what? he is lower than cattle; for even cattle follow their own laws, and no departure from them has yet been noticed in them. But the discussion about those is not relevant here; the unfortunate ones, whom deceit or violence have deprived of this majestic advantage of man, who are made such that without coercion and fear they no longer produce anything from such feelings, who are likened to draft cattle, who do not do higher than a certain work, from which they cannot be freed; which are likened to a horse condemned to carry a cart for life, and having no hope of freeing himself from his yoke, receiving equal rewards with the horse and suffering equal blows; not about those who do not see the end of their yoke except death, where their labors and their torment will end, although it sometimes happens that cruel sadness, having declared their spirit to be a meditation, kindles the weak light of their mind and makes them curse their disastrous state and seek to this end; We are not talking about those here who do not feel anything other than their humiliation, who crawl and move in the sleep of death (lethargy), who resemble a person only in appearance, otherwise they are burdened with the weight of their chains, deprived of all benefits, excluded from the entire heritage of people , oppressed, humiliated, despised; which are nothing more than dead bodies buried one against the other; work necessary for a person out of fear; they do not want anything other than death, and to whom the slightest desire is denied and the most unimportant undertakings are executed; they are only allowed to grow, then die; about whom it is not asked what they have done worthy of humanity? what commendable deeds, traces of their past lives, did they leave? What good, what benefit did this great number of hands bring to the state?
This is not what we are talking about here; they are not members of the state, they are not human beings, when they are nothing more than machines driven by the tormentor, dead corpses, draft animals!
Man, man is needed to bear the name of the son of the fatherland! But where is he? where is this one, worthily adorned with this majestic name?
Are you in the arms of bliss and lust? Are you not engulfed in the flames of pride, lust, violence? Is he buried in evil profitability, envy, malice, enmity and discord with everyone, even those who feel the same with him and strive for the same thing? or not sunk in the mire of laziness, gluttony and drunkenness? A helipad, flying around from midday (for then he begins his day) the whole city, all the streets, all the houses for the most senseless and empty conversation, to seduce chastity, to infect good morals, to catch simplicity and sincerity, making his head a flour store, his eyebrows a receptacle of soot , cheeks with boxes of white and red lead, or, better to say, a picturesque palette, the skin of his body with an elongated drum skin, looks more like a monster in his attire than a man, and his dissolute life, marked by the stench emanating from his lips and his whole body, is smothered a whole pharmacy of fragrant sprays - in a word, he is a fashionable man, completely fulfilling all the rules of dandy high society science: he eats, sleeps, wallows in drunkenness and lust, despite his exhausted strength; He changes clothes, talks all sorts of nonsense, shouts, runs from place to place, in short - he is a dandy.
Is this not the son of the fatherland? - or he who lifts his singing gaze in a majestic manner to the firmament of heaven, trampling under his feet all who are before him, tormenting his neighbors with violence, persecution, oppression, imprisonment, deprivation of rank, property, torture, deception, deception and murder itself, in a word, tearing apart those who dare to utter the words: humanity, freedom, peace, honesty, holiness, property and others like them, by all means known to him alone? Streams of tears, rivers of blood not only do not touch, but delight his soul. He who dares to oppose his speeches, opinions, deeds and intentions should not exist! Is this the son of the fatherland?
Or the one who stretches out his arms to seize the wealth and possessions of his entire fatherland, and if it were possible, the whole world, and who with composure is ready to take away from his unfortunate compatriots the last crumbs that support their dull and languid life, to rob, to plunder their specks of dust property; who delights in joy if an opportunity for a new acquisition opens up for him, let it be paid with rivers of the blood of his brethren, let him deprive people like him of the last shelter and food, let them die of hunger, serving, in the heat; let them weep, let them kill their children in despair, let them risk their lives for thousands of deaths; none of this will shake his heart; all this means nothing to him - he multiplies his property, and that’s enough. - And so this is not where the name of the son of the fatherland belongs?
Or is it not the same one, sitting at a table filled with the works of all four elements, to whose delight the taste and belly are sacrificed by several people taken away from serving the fatherland, so that, when he is full, he can be transferred to bed and there he can calmly engage in the consumption of other works that he pleases? until sleep takes away the strength to move his jaws? And so, of course, this one or one of the four mentioned above? (for we rarely find the fifth addition separately). The mixture of these four is visible everywhere, but the son of the fatherland is not yet visible if he is not one of these!
The voice of reason, the voice of the laws written in nature and the hearts of people, does not agree to call the calculated people sons of the fatherland! The very ones who are truly such will pronounce judgment (not on themselves, for they do not find themselves like that), but on those like themselves and will sentence them to exclude such from the number of sons of the fatherland, since there is no man, no matter how depraved and blinded he is by himself, so as not to feel at all the rightness and beauty of things and deeds.
There is no person who would not feel sorrow when he sees himself humiliated, reviled, enslaved by violence, deprived of all means and ways to enjoy peace and pleasure and not finding his consolation anywhere. Doesn't this prove that he loves honor, without which he is like without a soul. There is no need to explain here that this is true honor, for false, instead of deliverance, subjugates everything that has been said above and will never calm the human heart.
Everyone has an innate sense of true honor; but it illuminates the deeds and thoughts of a person as he approaches it, following the lamp of reason, which guides him through the darkness of passions, vices and prejudices to its quiet light, that is, honor. There is not a single mortal who is rejected by nature, who does not have that spring embedded in the heart of every person, directing him to love honor. Everyone wants to be respected rather than reviled, everyone strives for his further improvement, fame and glory: as if the caresser of Alexander the Great, Aristotle, tried to prove the opposite, arguing that nature itself has already disposed the mortal race so that one, and moreover a much larger part of them must certainly be in a slave state and, therefore, not feel that there is honor? and the other in the dominant, because not many have noble and majestic feelings.
It is not in dispute that the much nobler part of the mortal race is immersed in the darkness of barbarity, brutality and slavery; but this does not in the least prove that man was not born with a feeling that directs him to greatness and to self-improvement and, consequently, to the love of true glory and honor. The reason for this is either the type of life led, circumstances, or in which to be forced, or lack of experience, or the violence of the enemies of the righteous and lawful exaltation of human nature, who by force and deceit subject it to blindness and slavery, which weakens the human mind and heart, imposing the heaviest shackles of contempt and oppression , overwhelming the strength of the eternal spirit.
Do not justify yourself here, oppressors, villains of humanity, that these terrible bonds are an order that requires submission. Oh, if you would penetrate the chain of all nature as much as you can, and you can do a lot! then you would feel different thoughts in yourself; would find that love as well. It is not violence that maintains such beautiful order and subordination in the world. All nature is subject to it, and where it is, there are no terrible disgraces that draw tears of compassion from sensitive hearts and at which the true friend of humanity shudders.
What would nature be then, other than a discordant mixture (chaos), if it were deprived of this spring? Truly, she would be deprived of the greatest way to both preserve and improve herself. Everywhere and with every person this fiery love for gaining honor and praise from others is born. Sleep comes from a person’s innate sense of limitation and dependence. The feeling of sleep is so strong that it always encourages people to acquire for themselves those abilities and advantages through which they deserve love both from people and from the highest being, evidenced by the pleasure of conscience; and having earned the favor and respect of others, a person becomes trustworthy in the means of preserving and improving himself.
And if this is so, then who doubts that this strong love of honor and the desire to acquire the pleasure of one’s conscience with the favor and praise of others is the greatest and most reliable means, without which human well-being and improvement cannot exist? For what then remains for a person to overcome those difficulties that are inevitable on the path leading to the achievement of blissful peace, and to refute that cowardly feeling that makes one tremble when looking at one’s shortcomings? What is the remedy for getting rid of the fear of falling forever under the most terrible burden of these? if you take away, firstly, refuge filled with sweet hope in the highest being, not as an avenger, but as the source and beginning of all good things; and then to those like ourselves, with whom nature has united us for the sake of mutual assistance and who inwardly bow to the readiness to provide it and, with all the muffling of this inner voice, feel that they should not be those sacrileges who interfere with the righteous human desire to improve themselves.
Who planted this feeling in man to seek refuge? - An innate feeling of dependence, clearly showing us this dual means of salvation and pleasure for us. And what finally prompts him to take this path? What drives him to unite with these two means of human bliss and to care to please them? - Truly nothing more than an innate fiery urge to acquire for oneself those abilities and beauty through which one deserves the favor of God and the love of one’s fellow humans, the desire to become worthy of their favor and protection.
He who examines human deeds will see that this is one of the main springs of all the greatest works in the world! And this is the beginning of that impulse to love honor, which was sown in man at the beginning of his creation! This is the reason for feeling that pleasure that is usually always associated with a person’s heart, how quickly God’s favor is poured out on it, which consists in sweet silence and pleasure of conscience, and how quickly he acquires the love of those like himself, which is usually depicted by joy at the sight of him, praises, exclamations. This is the object to which true people strive and where they find their true pleasure! It has already been proven that a true man and a son of the fatherland are one and the same; therefore, it will be a sure distinguishing sign of him if he is thus ambitious.
With this, he begins to decorate the majestic name of the son of the fatherland, the monarchy. For this he must honor his conscience, love his neighbors; for love is acquired by love alone; one must fulfill one’s calling as prudence and honesty dictate, without caring in the least about giving honor, exaltation and glory, which is a companion, or rather a shadow, always following virtue, illuminated not by the evening sun of truth; for those who pursue fame and praise not only do not acquire it for themselves from others, but even more so are deprived of it.
A true man is a true executor of all the laws ordained for his bliss; he religiously obeys them. Noble modesty, free from empty talk and hypocrisy, accompanies all his feelings, words and deeds. With reverence he submits to everything that order, improvement and general salvation require; for him there is no low state in serving the fatherland; By serving him, he knows that he is promoting the healthy circulation, so to speak, of the blood of the state body. He would rather agree to perish and disappear than to set an example of bad behavior for others and thereby take away children from the fatherland, who could be an adornment and support for it; he is afraid of contaminating the well-being of his fellow citizens; he flames with the most tender love for the integrity and tranquility of his compatriots, he yearns to see nothing so much as mutual love between them; he kindles this beneficial flame in all hearts; is not afraid of the difficulties encountered in this noble feat of his; overcomes all obstacles, tirelessly watches over maintaining honesty, gives good advice and instructions, helps the unfortunate, delivers from the dangers of error and vices, and if he is confident that his death will bring strength and glory to the fatherland, then he is not afraid to sacrifice his life; if it is needed for the fatherland, then it is preserved for the full observance of natural and domestic laws; to the best of his ability, he averts everything that could tarnish the purity and weaken the good intentions of them, as a detriment to the bliss and improvement of his compatriots. In a word, he well-behaved! Here is another sure sign of a son of the fatherland!
The third and, as it seems, the last distinctive sign of the son of the fatherland, when he noble. Noble is the one who has made himself famous for his wise and philanthropic qualities and actions; who shines in society with reason and virtue and, being inflamed by truly wise curiosity, directs all his strength and efforts towards this only, so that, obeying the laws and the guardians thereof, the authorities who control both himself and everything that he has, not to be revered otherwise than as belonging to the patronymic. to use it as a pledge of the goodwill of his compatriots and his sovereign, who is the father of the people, entrusted to him, sparing nothing for the good of the fatherland. He is truly noble, whose heart cannot help but tremble with tender joy at the single name of the fatherland and who feels no differently at that memory (which is incessant in him), as if it were said about the most precious part of him in the world. He does not sacrifice the good of the fatherland to prejudices, which rush like brilliant ones into his eyes; sacrifices everything for its good: his supreme reward consists of virtue, that is, in that inner harmony of all inclinations and desires, which the wise creator pours into the immaculate heart and to which, in its silence and pleasure, nothing in the world can be compared. For true nobility There are virtuous deeds, animated by true honor, which is not found anywhere else, as in continuous beneficence to the human race, but mainly to one’s compatriots, rewarding each according to his dignity and according to the prescribed laws of nature and democracy. Decorated with these only qualities, both in enlightened antiquity, and now they are honored with true praise. And here is the third distinctive sign of the son of the fatherland!
Those will be very mistaken who consider the reasoning to be that Platonic system of public education, the events of which we will never see, when even before our eyes, a kind of education exactly like this and based on these rules was introduced by the godly monarchs, and enlightened Europe sees with amazement its successes, going back to the intended goal with gigantic steps!
This is a revolutionary journalistic article (1789), published in the magazine “Conversing Citizen”. When discussing who can be awarded the title of true son of the Fatherland, Radishchev puts forward the main condition: he can only be a “free being.” Hence he refuses this title to a peasant in serfdom, and refuses it with great pity. But how angrily does his denunciation sound against the oppressors, those feudal landowners, “tormentors” and “oppressors” who are accustomed to consider themselves sons of the Fatherland. In the article we see a whole series of satirical portraits of evil, insignificant, frivolous landowners. But who is worthy to be the true son of the Fatherland? And Radishchev answers that a true patriot can be a person full of honor, nobility, capable of sacrificing everything for the good of the people, and if necessary, if he knows that “his death will bring strength and glory to the Fatherland, then he is not afraid to sacrifice his life.” This is one of the strongest political speeches of Radishchev the revolutionary, demanding freedom for the people.
Ode "Liberty"
For the first time, the theory of the people's revolution receives journalistic and artistic embodiment in the book written by Radishchev in 1781-1783. ode "Liberty", excerpts from which were included in "Journey".
The fate of the homeland and people is the focus of the author, a progressive person who is able to compare historical facts and events with modern times and come to general philosophical conclusions about the pattern of the emergence of a revolution in Russia, whose people are capable of responding to violence with violence. The ode “Liberty” is a work of enormous poetic and oratorical passion, testifying to the maturity of Radishchev’s revolutionary worldview. “The Diviner of Liberty” proves “that man is free in everything from birth.” Starting with the apotheosis of freedom, which is recognized as “a priceless gift of man,” “the source of all great deeds,” the poet further discusses what interferes with this. Unlike the enlighteners of the 18th century. Radishchev, speaking about freedom, means not only natural, but also social equality, which must be achieved through the struggle for the rights of the people. He passionately denounces slavery and despotism, the laws established by autocratic power, which are “an obstacle to freedom.” He exposes the dangerous alliance between royal power and the Church for the people, speaking out against the monarchy as such.
The monarchy should be replaced by a democratic system based on social equality and freedom. In the “kingdom of freedom,” the land will belong to those who cultivate it.
Faith in the future victory of the people's revolution animates the poet; it is based both on the study of the experience of his country (the peasant uprising led by Pugachev) and on examples taken from the English and American revolutions. Historical events, historical names of revolutionaries Cromwell and Washington can be instructive for other nations. Recreating the controversial image of Cromwell, Radishchev gives him credit for the fact that “... You taught from generation to generation how peoples can take revenge on themselves: you executed Charles at the trial.”
The ode ends with a description of the “chosen day” when the revolution will win and renew the “dear fatherland.” The pathos of the ode is faith in the victory of the people's revolution, although the historically minded Radishchev understands that “there is still time to come.” The philosophical and journalistic content of the ode finds appropriate stylistic forms of expression. The traditional genre of ode is filled with revolutionary pathos, and the use of Slavicisms, which give a solemn sound to the ideas expressed, only emphasizes the unity of artistic form and content. The success of the ode was enormous.
The theme of revolution in “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” by Radishchev. (printed in 1790)
Radishchev began writing “Journey” in the mid-80s. There is no calm narrator, immersed in the world of his own feelings and experiences, but there is a man, a citizen, a revolutionary, filled with sympathy for the powerless and indignation towards the oppressors. The theme of revolution is heard in many chapters of the Journey. Pictures of inhumane treatment of the people and awareness of social injustice evoke in Radishchev passionate calls for the overthrow of the power of the serf owners. Since the majority of people in an autocratic state are “likened to draft animals”, humiliated, the constantly insulted person, “drawn by a sense of his safety, is forced to repel the insult” (“Miracle”).
The cruelty and greed of the “bloodsucker” landowner, whose actions are described in the chapter “Vyshny Volochok,” arouses the anger of the traveler, who calls on the people to respond to violence with violence.
Everything that the traveler sees on his way: road meetings, observations of the life of different classes, makes him deeply sympathize with the oppressed people and fills him with a feeling of irreconcilable hostility towards the oppressors, an awareness of the need for a revolutionary struggle for the liberation of the people, the struggle of the people themselves. Revolution arises as the inevitable result of oppression.
An open call for an uprising is also heard in the chapter “Gorodnya”, where there is a dramatic story about recruitment, about the illegal sale of people as recruits only because their landowner “needed money for a new carriage.”
Radishchev believes that the time will come when new people will emerge from the people and freedom will come not from above - “from the great patriots”, but from below - “from the very severity of enslavement,” but he understands that “the time has not yet come.” Historic thinking told him that the revolution in Russia would take place, but it would take time. Russian reality, the peculiarities of the Russian national character are the guarantee of the inevitability of revolution.
Radishchev’s experience of the Pugachev uprising also convinces him of the people’s ability to rebel. However, the revolutionary writer understands that the spontaneous nature of the uprising cannot lead to fundamental changes in Russian reality or to the victory of the people. In this regard, the chapter “Khotilov” is complex and controversial, in which Radishchev gives an assessment of the Pugachev uprising and proposes a possible project for future transformations through reforms.
The basis of the “Journey” is a call for revolution, but Radishchev knew that victory was possible only after decades, and therefore it was quite possible for him to search for a solution to the most pressing issue - the liberation of the peasants in other ways, one of which was a project as an attempt to alleviate the lot of the people at least in the near future time.
In parallel with the work on “Put. From St. Petersburg to Moscow" Radishchev writes a revolutionary journalistic article "A Conversation about the Son of the Fatherland" (1789), published in the Masonic magazine "Conversation Citizen", and at one time there were even doubts that the author of the "Conversation" was Radishchev , despite the direct evidence of one of the publishers of “BG” Tuchkov, and also despite the fact that the style of “Conversation” corresponds to Radishchev’s letter.
When discussing who can be awarded the title of true son of the fatherland, Radishchev puts forward the main condition: he can only be a “free being.” Hence he refuses this title to a peasant in serfdom, and refuses it with great pity. But how angrily does his denunciation sound against the oppressors, those feudal landowners, tormentors and oppressors who are accustomed to consider themselves sons of the fatherland. In the article we see a whole series of satirical portraits of evil, insignificant, frivolous landowners. But who is worthy to be the true son of the fatherland? And Radishchev answers that he can be a person full of honor, nobility, capable of sacrificing everything for the good of the people, and if necessary, if he knows that his death will bring strength and glory to the Fatherland, then he is not afraid to sacrifice his life. This is one of Radishchev’s strongest political speeches.
Retelling:
Man, man is needed to bear the name of the son of the Fatherland! - But where is he? Where is this one worthily adorned with this majestic name? Serfs are likened to a horse, condemned to pull a cart for life, and having no hope of freeing themselves from their yoke, receiving equal retribution with the horse, and suffering equal blows; not about those who do not see the end of their yoke, except for death, where their labors and their torment will end, although it sometimes happens that cruel sadness, having enveloped their spirit with reflection, ignites the weak light of their mind, and makes them curse their disastrous state and search.
Or the overfed landowner looks more like a monster in his attire than a man, and his dissolute life, marked by the stench from his mouth and his whole body, is suffocated by a whole pharmacy of fragrant sprays, in a word, he is a fashionable person, completely fulfilling all the rules of the dandy big world science ; - he eats, sleeps, wallows in drunkenness and lust, despite his exhausted strength; He changes clothes, talks all sorts of nonsense, shouts, runs from place to place, in short, he is a dandy. - Isn’t this the son of the Fatherland?
Or the one who stretches out his arms to seize the wealth and possessions of his entire Fatherland, and if it were possible, the whole world, and who with composure is ready to take away from his most unfortunate compatriots the last crumbs that support their dull and languid life, to rob, to steal their specks of dust property; who delights in joy if an opportunity for a new acquisition opens up for him;
Discussion about honor.
It has already been proven that a true man and a son of the Fatherland are one and the same; therefore there will be a sure distinctive sign of him if he thus Ambitious.
those who chase fame and praise not only do not acquire it for themselves from others, but even more so are deprived of it. A true man is a true executor of all the laws ordained for his bliss; he religiously obeys them.
He (the son of the Fatherland) would rather agree to perish and disappear than to set an example of bad behavior for others, and thereby take away from the Fatherland children who could be its adornment and support; he is afraid of contaminating the well-being of his fellow citizens; he burns with the most tender love for the integrity and tranquility of his compatriots; there is nothing so eager to ripen as mutual love between them; he kindles this beneficial flame in all hearts; - is not afraid of the difficulties encountered in this noble feat of his; overcomes all obstacles, tirelessly watches over maintaining honesty, gives good advice and instructions, helps the unfortunate, delivers from the dangers of error and vices, and if he is confident that his death will bring strength and glory to the Fatherland, then he is not afraid to sacrifice his life; if it is needed for the Fatherland, then it is preserved for the full observance of natural and domestic laws; to the extent possible, he averts everything that could tarnish the purity and weaken the good intentions of them, as a detriment to the bliss and improvement of his compatriots. In a word, he well-behaved! Here is another sure sign of a son of the Fatherland! The third and, it seems, the last distinctive sign of the son of the Fatherland, when he noble. Noble is the one who has made himself famous for his wise and philanthropic qualities and actions; who shines in Society with reason and Virtue, and being inflamed with truly wise curiosity, directs all his strength and efforts towards this one thing, so that, obeying the laws and the guardians thereof, the authorities who hold him, both himself and everything that he has, will not read differently
