Top literary heroes. Literary heroines who inspire us

In literature, men rule the roost: writers, heroes, villains. But aren't women less interesting and talented? We have chosen several heroines who inspire with intelligence, ingenuity, strong character and kindness.

Women and goddesses from ancient literature

IN Ancient Greece women knew what they wanted and how to achieve it. So, Lysistrata from the hilariously funny ancient play (yes, this happens!) by Aristophanes put an end to the war. She persuaded all the women in her policy to refuse sex with their husbands until they resolved the conflict peacefully. By the way, it helped: the men immediately stopped wanting to kill each other. “Make love, not war,” perhaps this slogan appeared in the 20th century thanks to Lysistrata.

Scheherazade. "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights"

Scheherazade overcame toxic masculinity before the term even existed. The Persian king Shahryar was faced with the infidelity of his first wife and his brother's wife and decided that all women were vicious libertines. Since he still couldn’t do without women, he decided to marry innocent girls and after the first wedding night execute them. Smart and beautiful daughter Vizier Scheherazade decided to rid the country of the tyranny of such misogyny. She came to the king as new bride. And then you know: she started telling interesting story and cut her off at the most intriguing moment. Curiosity took possession of Shahryar, and he kept the girl alive until the next night. This went on for a thousand days (almost three years!), during which time Scheherazade gave birth to three children. When she finally fell at his feet and asked to save her life for the sake of their common sons, Shahriyar replied that he had pardoned her a long time ago. This is how the narrator’s courage, intelligence and skill saved many innocent lives.

Elizabeth. "Pride and Prejudice "

Witty and observant, Elizabeth captivated not only the unapproachable and proud Mr. Darcy, but also millions of readers around the world. She loves her family very much, especially her sisters, whom she tries to protect. She is even more offended to see the shortcomings of her parents, but she does not try to change the people close to her or rebel: she only wants to find an acceptable place for herself in her contemporary society.

Scarlett O'Hara. "Gone With the Wind "

Bright, capricious and eccentric, Scarlett evokes conflicting feelings among readers. Many believe that she herself was to blame for her misfortunes and was generally an obnoxious woman. The writer Margaret Mitchell herself had an ambivalent attitude towards her heroine. But beautiful and strong women who are not used to losing often infuriate others. Unlike men: they are praised for the same qualities. Still, it’s worth admiring the strength of spirit of the green-eyed Irish woman: she survived the civil war, the death of her parents and hardships, coping with all the hardships herself.

Margarita. "Master and Margarita "

A beautiful woman who chose love with a poor artist over a profitable marriage. For his sake, she was humiliated, made a deal with the devil and took revenge on the offenders of her betrothed. Some see sacrifice in Margarita, but we know that she understood well for whom she risked everything. She inspires admiration for the strength of her love and courage.

Pippi Longstocking. Cycle of stories

Astrid Lindgren was such a prankster and did not hesitate to break the far-fetched rules of decency. For example, she made a daring attempt to walk from her native Vimmerby to Lake Vättern (a distance of 300 kilometers) in the company of five women and completely without male assistance. Believe me, for Sweden at that time it was a challenge! It's no surprise that her heroines also make boring people itch. Pippi Longstocking easily violates social norms and infuriates adults: she goes to bed whenever she wants, keeps a horse on the balcony, beats thieves, and generally lives without parental supervision. Real moms and dads are also annoyed by her: there were even complaints that because of Pippi, children “have the opportunity to find a socially acceptable outlet for aggression against their parents.” But the children like her because she can do everything they would like, but will not do for fear of the “big ones.” The fact that Pippi has become so popular only speaks of the longing for spontaneous, bright heroines, headstrong and funny.

Hermione. Series of books about Harry Potter

How can you not love Hermione? We spend our entire (and her) childhood with her. We meet her as a little girl who is very smart and wants to be as good as everyone else in her class. After all, she immediately realized that it would be more difficult for her, because she did not know those things that children of wizards know from childhood. She makes friends, falls in love, becomes stronger before our eyes. Hermione learns from her mistakes: after the story with the windbag Lockhart, she does not trust everyone, but only those who deserve her respect. She is brave and knows how to sympathize with the weak, and now she has an emotional range that is clearly wider than that of a toothpick.

Who is a literary character? We devote our article to this issue. In it we will tell you where this name came from, what literary characters and images are, and how to describe them in literature lessons according to your desire or the teacher’s request.

Also from our article you will learn what an “eternal” image is and what images are called eternal.

Literary hero or character. Who is this?

We often hear the concept of “literary character”. But few can explain what we are talking about. And even schoolchildren who have recently returned from a literature lesson often find it difficult to answer the question. What is this mysterious word “character”?

It came to us from ancient Latin (persona, personnage). The meaning is “personality”, “person”, “person”.

So, a literary character is an active person. We are mainly talking about prose genres, since images in poetry are usually called “lyrical hero”.

Without characters It is impossible to write a story or a poem, a novel or a story. Otherwise, it will be a meaningless collection of, if not words, then perhaps events. The heroes are people and animals, mythological and fantastic creatures, inanimate objects, for example, Andersen’s steadfast tin soldier, historical figures and even entire nations.

Classification of literary heroes

They can confuse any literature connoisseur with their quantity. And it’s especially hard for secondary school students. And especially those who prefer to play their favorite game instead of doing homework. How to classify heroes if a teacher or, even worse, an examiner demands it?

The most win-win option: classify the characters according to their importance in the work. According to this criterion, literary heroes are divided into main and secondary. Without the main character, the work and its plot will be a collection of words. But with the loss of minor characters, we will lose a certain branch of the storyline or the expressiveness of events. But overall the work will not suffer.

The second classification option is more limited and is not suitable for all works, but for fairy tales and fantasy genres. This is the division of heroes into positive and negative. For example, in the fairy tale about Cinderella, poor Cinderella herself is a positive hero, she evokes pleasant emotions, you sympathize with her. And here are the sisters and evil stepmother- clearly heroes of a completely different type.

Characteristics. How to write?

Heroes literary works sometimes (especially in a literature lesson at school) they need a detailed description. But how to write it? The option “once upon a time there was such a hero. He is from a fairy tale about this and that” is clearly not suitable if the assessment is important. We will share with you a win-win option for writing a characterization of a literary (and any other) hero. We offer you a plan with brief explanations what and how to write.

• Introduction. Name the work and the character you will talk about. Here you can add why you want to describe it.
• The place of the hero in the story (novel, story, etc.). Here you can write whether he is major or minor, positive or negative, a person or a mythical or historical figure.
• Appearance. It would not be amiss to include quotes, which will show you as an attentive reader, and will also add volume to your description.
• Character. Everything is clear here.
• Actions and their characteristics in your opinion.
• Conclusions.

That's all. Keep this plan for yourself, and it will come in handy more than once.

Famous literary characters

Although the very concept of a literary hero may seem completely unfamiliar to you, if you tell you the name of the hero, you will most likely remember a lot. Especially it concerns famous characters literature, for example, such as Robinson Crusoe, Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes or Robin Hood, Assol or Cinderella, Alice or Pippi Longstocking.

Such heroes are called famous literary characters. These names are familiar to children and adults from many countries and even continents. Not knowing them is a sign of narrow-mindedness and lack of education. Therefore, if you don’t have time to read the work itself, ask someone to tell you about these characters.

The concept of image in literature

Along with character, you can often hear the concept of “image”. What is this? Same as the hero or not? The answer will be both positive and negative, because a literary character may well be a literary image, but the image itself does not have to be a character.

We often call this or that hero an image, but nature can appear in the same image in a work. And then the topic of the examination paper can be “the image of nature in the story...”. What to do in this case? The answer is in the question itself: if we are talking about nature, you need to characterize its place in the work. Start with a description, add character elements, for example, “the sky was gloomy,” “the sun was mercilessly hot,” “the night was frightening with its darkness,” and the characterization is ready. Well, if you need a description of the hero’s image, then how to write it, see the plan and tips above.

What are the images?

Our next question. Here we will highlight several classifications. Above we looked at one - images of heroes, that is, people/animals/mythical creatures and images of nature, images of peoples and states.

Also, images can be so-called “eternal”. What is an "eternal image"? This concept names a hero created once by an author or folklore. But he was so “characteristic” and special that after years and eras, other authors write their characters from him, perhaps giving them different names, but without changing the essence. Such heroes include the fighter Don Quixote, the hero-lover Don Juan and many others.

Unfortunately, modern fantasy characters do not become eternal, despite the love of fans. Why? What's better than this funny Don Quixote of Spider-Man, for example? It's difficult to explain this in a nutshell. Only reading the book will give you the answer.

The concept of "closeness" of the hero, or My favorite character

Sometimes the hero of a work or movie becomes so close and loved that we try to imitate him, to be like him. This happens for a reason, and it’s not for nothing that the choice falls on this character. Often a favorite hero becomes an image that somehow resembles ourselves. Perhaps the similarity is in character, or in the experiences of both the hero and you. Or this character is in a situation similar to yours, and you understand and sympathize with him. In any case, it's not bad. The main thing is that you imitate only worthy heroes. And there are plenty of them in the literature. We wish you to meet only with good heroes and imitate only the positive traits of their character.

Men are attracted predominantly to masculine images, while women are interested in both masculine and female characters.

In the Year of Literature, the RBA Reading Section held an Internet campaign “Monument to a Literary Hero,” inviting readers of different generations to talk about literary traditions and literary preferences.

From January 15 to March 30, 2015, a questionnaire was published on the RBA website with the possibility of reprinting it. Colleagues from many libraries, regional book and reading centers, educational institutions, The media supported the action by posting a questionnaire on their resources.

More than four and a half thousand people from 63 constituent entities of the Russian Federation aged from 5 to 81 took part in the event. In the overall sample, women made up 65%, men – 35%. Answering the question “Which literary hero would you like to see a monument to in the area where you live?”, respondents named 510 heroes from 368 works created by 226 authors. Adults over 18 years old named 395 heroes. Children and teenagers 17 years old and younger – 254 heroes. Adult women named 344 heroes. Men – 145 heroes.

The top ten heroes to whom the action participants would like to see monuments are as follows:

1st place: Ostap Bender – named 135 times (including the joint monument with Kisa Vorobyaninov), totaling 179 mentions;

2nd place: Sherlock Holmes – 96 times (including the joint monument with Dr. Watson), totaling 108 mentions;

3rd place: Tom Sawyer – 68 times (including the joint monument to Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn), making 108 mentions;

4th place: Margarita – 63 (including the joint monument with the Master) is 104 mentions;

5th place: Evgeny Onegin – 58 (including the joint monument with Tatiana) is 95 mentions;

6th-7th place was shared by Vasily Terkin and Faust - 91 times each;

8th place: Romeo and Juliet – 86;

9th place: Anna Karenina – 77;

10th place: Stirlitz – 71.

Looking at male and female preferences, it can be said that men are attracted predominantly to masculine characters, while women are interested in both male and female characters. The top ten male preferences are as follows (we consider by analogy with the data for the entire array, taking into account joint monuments): 1) Ostap Bender; 2) Stirlitz; 3) Musketeers; 4-5) Sherlock Holmes and Don Quixote; 6) Margarita; 7) Fedor Eichmanis; 8) Sharikov; 9) Artyom Goryainov; 10-11) shepherd Santiago; Robinson Crusoe. So, in the top ten there is only one female image - Margarita. It should be added that very rarely Galina is present with Artyom Goryainov. Women's preferences look different: 1) Ostap Bender; 2) Tatyana Larina; 3) Anna Karenina; 4-5) Romeo and Juliet; Arseny-Lavr; 6) Sherlock Holmes; 7-8) Cat Hippo; Margarita; 9-10) Strange children; Angie Malone; 11) Mary Poppins.

Survey data provides compelling evidence of intergenerational reading preferences. The top ten preferences of girls 17 years old and younger include (in descending order): Assol, Romeo and Juliet, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, Snow Maiden, Little Red Riding Hood, Gerda, Mary Poppins, Harry Porter, Alice.

Thus, the majority are female images. At the same time, girls' orientation toward female images is not as pronounced as the preference for masculine images among boys.

The top ten preferences of boys 17 years old and younger: Tom Sawyer, Vasily Terkin, Robinson Crusoe, D'Artagnan and the Musketeers, Dunno, Sherlock Holmes, Andrei Sokolov, Mowgli, Faust, Hottabych.

Boys, like men, clearly demonstrate a preference for and need for male heroes. Boys in the top twenty have no heroes at all female images. The first of them appear only in the third ten of the ratings, and even then in company with male heroes: The Master and Margarita; Harry, Hermione, Ron; Romeo and Juliet.

According to the survey, the absolute leader in the number of preferred monuments is Ostap Bender.

A comparison of lists of preferences for different parameters shows that the image of Ostap Bender is the undisputed leader, but he is still closer to men.

Why is this image of a hero-adventurer so attractive to our contemporaries? Analyzing the most numerous and famous monuments favorite literary heroes who arose in the post-Soviet era (Ostap Bender, Munchausen, Vasily Terkin, Koroviev and Behemoth), M. Lipovetsky notes the common thing that unites them: “Apparently, the fact that they are all to one degree or another, but always quite clearly represent cultural archetype Trickster.

Looking back at Soviet culture in its various manifestations, it is not difficult to see that most of the characters who gained mass popularity in Soviet culture, represent different versions of this ancient archetype."

Moreover, the author proves that the significance of such images remains in post-Soviet culture. Both men and women are also interested in the image of Sherlock Holmes, who, according to M. Lipovetsky, also belongs to the trickster archetype.

Traditionally, in the structure of women’s preferences, the share of domestic and foreign classics, as well as melodrama. Men, especially young men, have a clear interest in the heroes of adventure literature.

The survey clearly showed other preferences related to the age and gender of readers. Each new generation wants to see its heroes, corresponding to their time, acting in books created at the present time. Thus, “The Home for Peculiar Children” by R. Riggs is of interest mainly to 20-year-olds and mostly girls. Also, mostly 20-year-olds are interested in “A Street Cat Named Bob” by J. Bowen.

According to online stores, both books are in great reader demand. Their high rating in youth environment Various online reading communities also note this. And the image of Katerina from the story by V. Chernykh for the film “Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears” gathers a female audience aged 40-50 years and is not found among those under 30 and over 60 years old.

The undisputed hero of the older generation is Stirlitz. Among 20-year-olds it is not mentioned once, among 30-year-olds - once, 40-year-olds - 7 times, 50-year-olds - 26 times, among 60-year-olds it is the absolute leader among men, it is also found among women and is the leader overall. in the older age group. The Yulian Semyonov Cultural Foundation has already held an Internet voting “Monument to Stirlitz. What should he be like?

However, a monument to one of the most iconic heroes Soviet literature and the movie never appeared.

The results of a study by the FOM “Idols of Youth”, conducted in 2008, noted: “It is significant that the relative majority of people who had idols in their youth remain faithful to them throughout adult life: two-thirds (68%) of such people (that’s 36% of all respondents) admitted that they can still call their idol the one who was them in their youth.” Probably, this can partly explain the attitude of older people towards Stirlitz.

According to the survey, readers would like to erect monuments to heroes different books: including the heroes of Homer and Sophocles, Aristophanes, G. Boccaccio, as well as L.N. Tolstoy, A.S. Pushkina, I.S. Turgeneva, N.V. Gogol, F.M. Dostoevsky, I.A. Goncharova, M.Yu. Lermontov, A.P. Chekhov. Among foreign literature The heroes of the books of G. Hesse, G. García Márquez, R. Bach were named in the 20th century; among domestic ones are the heroes of books by K. Paustovsky, V. Astafiev, B. Mozhaev, V. Zakrutkin, V. Konetsky, V. Shukshin and many others.

If we talk about works latest literature, then the survey participants showed significant interest in the heroes of D. Rubina’s trilogy “Russian Canary” and the heroes of the novel “The Abode” by Z. Prilepin.

It should be noted one more work of modern fiction, which has earned a fairly high reader rating is E. Vodolazkin’s novel “Laurel,” which received the “ Big Book"in 2013. There is one main character here - Arseny-Lavr, to whom they would like to erect a monument.

Among the works whose heroes would like to have a monument erected, thus, the obvious leaders are noted:

The diversity of the presented literature is noteworthy. The top ten books include Russian and foreign classic literature, classics of world adventure literature, the best Russian literature created during the Soviet period, modern bestsellers.

To the question about which existing monuments to literary heroes do they like and where they are located, 690 people answered, which is 16.2% of the number of participants. In total, 355 monuments were named, dedicated to 194 heroes. These heroes act in 136 works created by 82 authors.

The rating of heroes whose monuments are well known and liked is headed by: The Little Mermaid; Ostap Bender; Pinocchio; White Bim Black Ear; Chizhik-Pyzhik; Baron Munchausen; Mu Mu; Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson; The Bremen Town Musicians…

The overall ranking of monuments is headed by: The Little Mermaid from Copenhagen; White Bim Black Ear from Voronezh; Samara Buratino; St. Petersburg Chizhik-Pyzhik, Ostap Bender, Mumu; Baron Munchausen from Kaliningrad; Moscow Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson; The Bremen Musicians from Bremen; monument to the Cat Behemoth and Koroviev from Moscow.

The named monuments are located in 155 cities, including 86 domestic cities (55.5%) and 69 foreign ones (44.5%). Among foreign cities the leaders are: Copenhagen, Odessa, London, Kyiv, Bremen, Kharkov, New York, Osh, Nikolaev. Among domestic ones: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Samara, Kaliningrad, Ramenskoye, Tobolsk, Tomsk. It should be said that in fact two cities in the country top the list in terms of the number of mentions of monuments: monuments in Moscow were named 174 times, and monuments in St. Petersburg – 170 times. In third place is Copenhagen with a single monument to the Little Mermaid - 138 times, in fourth place is Voronezh - 80 times.

During the survey, the participants of the action also named their region of residence. Comparison of the region of residence of the survey participant with the hero to whom they would like to erect a monument (and we were talking specifically about a monument for their place of residence), as well as with those existing monuments which they like showed that respondents from less than half of the regions named real or desired monuments where the hero, the author of the work, or the location of the action were associated with the participant’s place of residence.

IN modern Russia a tradition has formed outdoor sculptures literary heroes, architecture of small forms is being developed. Literary heroes can and do become local cultural symbols.

The social demand for this kind of symbols is quite large. Literary monuments create comfortable conditions for city residents to spend their time, aim at a reciprocal emotional response, and form the unity of local self-awareness.

A series of events develops around them, that is, they are included in traditional commemorative or everyday practices, they become accustomed to the urban environment.

The appearance of objects of decorative urban sculpture, monuments to literary heroes, monuments dedicated to books and reading can contribute not only to the aesthetic education of the population, but also to the formation of a personal perception of their small homeland, new traditions.

Sculptures, especially street sculptures that are close to people, play and entertain townspeople, form unofficial practices for handling such an object and a personal attitude towards it.

Filling public spaces with such symbols undoubtedly carries a positive emotional load and contributes to the humanization of the public environment.

Russian literature has given us a cavalcade of both positive and negative characters. We decided to remember the second group. Beware, spoilers.

20. Alexey Molchalin (Alexander Griboedov, “Woe from Wit”)

Molchalin is the hero “about nothing”, Famusov’s secretary. He is faithful to his father’s behest: “to please all people without exception - the owner, the boss, his servant, the janitor’s dog.”

In a conversation with Chatsky, he sets out his life principles, consisting in the fact that “at my age I should not dare to have my own judgment.”

Molchalin is sure that you need to think and act as is customary in “Famus” society, otherwise they will gossip about you, and, as you know, “ gossips worse than pistols."

He despises Sophia, but in order to please Famusov, he is ready to sit with her all night long, playing the role of a lover.

19. Grushnitsky (Mikhail Lermontov, “Hero of Our Time”)

Grushnitsky has no name in Lermontov's story. He is the “double” of the main character - Pechorin. According to Lermontov’s description, Grushnitsky is “... one of those people who have ready-made pompous phrases for all occasions, who are not touched by simply beautiful things and who are importantly draped in extraordinary feelings, sublime passions and exceptional suffering. Producing an effect is their pleasure...”

Grushnitsky loves pathos very much. There is not an ounce of sincerity in him. Grushnitsky is in love with Princess Mary, and she initially answers him special attention, but then falls in love with Pechorin.

The matter ends in a duel. Grushnitsky is so low that he conspires with his friends and they do not load Pechorin’s pistol. The hero cannot forgive such outright meanness. He reloads the pistol and kills Grushnitsky.

18. Afanasy Totsky (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Idiot”)

Afanasy Totsky, having taken Nastya Barashkova, the daughter of a deceased neighbor, as his upbringing and dependent, eventually “became close to her,” developing a suicidal complex in the girl and indirectly becoming one of the culprits of her death.

Extremely averse to the female sex, at the age of 55 Totsky decided to connect his life with the daughter of General Epanchin Alexandra, deciding to marry Nastasya to Ganya Ivolgin. However, neither one nor the other case burned out. As a result, Totsky “was captivated by a visiting Frenchwoman, a marquise and a legitimist.”

17. Alena Ivanovna (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)

The old pawnbroker is a character who has become a household name. Even those who have not read Dostoevsky’s novel have heard about it. Alena Ivanovna, by today’s standards, is not that old, she is “about 60 years old,” but the author describes her like this: “... a dry old woman with sharp and angry eyes with a small pointed nose... Her blond, slightly gray hair was greasy with oil. Some kind of flannel rag was wrapped around her thin and long neck, similar to a chicken leg...”

The old woman pawnbroker is engaged in usury and makes money from people's misfortune. She takes valuable things at huge interest rates, abuses her younger sister Lizaveta, beats her.

16. Arkady Svidrigailov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)

Svidrigailov is one of Raskolnikov’s doubles in Dostoevsky’s novel, a widower, at one time he was bought out of prison by his wife, he lived in the village for 7 years. A cynical and depraved person. On his conscience is the suicide of a servant, a 14-year-old girl, and possibly the poisoning of his wife.

Due to Svidrigailov's harassment, Raskolnikov's sister lost her job. Having learned that Raskolnikov is a murderer, Luzhin blackmails Dunya. The girl shoots at Svidrigailov and misses.

Svidrigailov is an ideological scoundrel, he does not experience moral torment and experiences “world boredom,” eternity seems to him like a “bathhouse with spiders.” As a result, he commits suicide with a revolver shot.

15. Kabanikha (Alexander Ostrovsky, “The Thunderstorm”)

In the image of Kabanikha, one of central characters Ostrovsky's play "The Thunderstorm" reflected the outgoing patriarchal, strict archaism. Kabanova Marfa Ignatievna, “a rich merchant’s wife, widow,” mother-in-law of Katerina, mother of Tikhon and Varvara.

Kabanikha is very domineering and strong, she is religious, but more outwardly, since she does not believe in forgiveness or mercy. She is as practical as possible and lives by earthly interests.

Kabanikha is sure that the family way of life can be maintained only through fear and orders: “After all, out of love your parents are strict with you, out of love they scold you, everyone thinks to teach you good.” She perceives the departure of the old order as a personal tragedy: “This is how the old times come to be... What will happen, how the elders will die... I don’t know.”

14. Lady (Ivan Turgenev, “Mumu”)

We all know the sad story about how Gerasim drowned Mumu, but not everyone remembers why he did it, but he did it because a despotic lady ordered him to do so.

The same landowner had previously given the washerwoman Tatyana, with whom Gerasim was in love, to the drunken shoemaker Capiton, which ruined both of them.
The lady, at her own discretion, decides the fate of her serfs, without regard at all to their wishes, and sometimes even to common sense.

13. Footman Yasha (Anton Chekhov, “The Cherry Orchard”)

Footman Yasha in Anton Chekhov's play " The Cherry Orchard" - an unpleasant character. He openly worships everything foreign, but at the same time he is extremely ignorant, rude and even boorish. When his mother comes to him from the village and waits for him in the people’s room all day, Yasha dismissively declares: “It’s really necessary, she could come tomorrow.”

Yasha tries to behave decently in public, tries to seem educated and well-mannered, but at the same time alone with Firs he says to the old man: “I'm tired of you, grandfather. I wish you would die soon.”

Yasha is very proud that he lived abroad. With his foreign polish, he wins the heart of the maid Dunyasha, but uses her location for his own benefit. After the sale of the estate, the footman persuades Ranevskaya to take him with her to Paris again. It is impossible for him to stay in Russia: “the country is uneducated, the people are immoral, and, moreover, boredom...”.

12. Pavel Smerdyakov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”)

Smerdyakov is a character with a telling surname, according to rumors, the illegitimate son of Fyodor Karrmazov from the city holy fool Lizaveta Stinking. The surname Smerdyakov was given to him by Fyodor Pavlovich in honor of his mother.

Smerdyakov serves as a cook in Karamazov’s house, and he cooks, apparently, quite well. However, this is a “foulbrood man.” This is evidenced at least by Smerdyakov’s reasoning about history: “In the twelfth year there was a great invasion of Russia by Emperor Napoleon French first, and it would be good if these same French had conquered us then, a smart nation would have conquered a very stupid one, sir, and annexed it to itself. There would even be completely different orders.”

Smerdyakov is the killer of Karamazov's father.

11. Pyotr Luzhin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment”)

Luzhin is another one of Rodion Raskolnikov’s doubles, a business man of 45 years old, “with a cautious and grumpy physiognomy.”

Having made it “from rags to riches,” Luzhin is proud of his pseudo-education and behaves arrogantly and primly. Having proposed to Dunya, he anticipates that she will be grateful to him all her life for the fact that he “brought her into the public eye.”

He also wooes Duna out of convenience, believing that she will be useful to him for his career. Luzhin hates Raskolnikov because he opposes his alliance with Dunya. Luzhin puts one hundred rubles in Sonya Marmeladova's pocket at her father's funeral, accusing her of theft.

10. Kirila Troekurov (Alexander Pushkin, “Dubrovsky”)

Troekurov is an example of a Russian master spoiled by his power and environment. He spends his time in idleness, drunkenness, and voluptuousness. Troekurov sincerely believes in his impunity and limitless possibilities (“This is the power to take away property without any right”).

The master loves his daughter Masha, but marries her to an old man she doesn’t love. Troekurov's serfs are similar to their master - Troekurov's hound is insolent to Dubrovsky Sr. - and thereby quarrels old friends.

9. Sergei Talberg (Mikhail Bulgakov, “The White Guard”)

Sergei Talberg is the husband of Elena Turbina, a traitor and an opportunist. He easily changes his principles, beliefs, without special effort and remorse. Talberg is always where it is easier to live, so he runs abroad. He leaves his family and friends. Even Talberg’s eyes (which, as we know, are the “mirror of the soul”) are “two-story”; he is the complete opposite of Turbin.

Thalberg was the first to wear the red bandage at the military school in March 1917 and, as a member of the military committee, arrested the famous General Petrov.

8. Alexey Shvabrin (Alexander Pushkin, “The Captain's Daughter”)

Shvabrin is the antipode of the main character of Pushkin’s story “ Captain's daughter» Petra Grinev. IN Belogorsk fortress he was exiled for murder in a duel. Shvabrin is undoubtedly smart, but at the same time he is cunning, impudent, cynical, and mocking. Having received Masha Mironova’s refusal, he spreads dirty rumors about her, wounds him in the back in a duel with Grinev, goes over to Pugachev’s side, and, having been captured by government troops, spreads rumors that Grinev is a traitor. In general, he is a rubbish person.

7. Vasilisa Kostyleva (Maxim Gorky, “At the Depths”)

In Gorky's play "At the Bottom" everything is sad and sad. This atmosphere is diligently maintained by the owners of the shelter where the action takes place - the Kostylevs. The husband is a nasty, cowardly and greedy old man, Vasilisa’s wife is a calculating, resourceful opportunist who forces her lover Vaska Pepel to steal for her sake. When she finds out that he himself is in love with her sister, he promises to give her up in exchange for killing her husband.

6. Mazepa (Alexander Pushkin, “Poltava”)

Mazepa is a historical character, but if in history Mazepa’s role is ambiguous, then in Pushkin’s poem Mazepa is unambiguous negative character. Mazepa appears in the poem as an absolutely immoral, dishonest, vindictive, evil person, as a treacherous hypocrite for whom nothing is sacred (he “does not know the sacred,” “does not remember charity”), a person accustomed to achieving his goal at any cost.

The seducer of his young goddaughter Maria, he puts her father Kochubey to public execution and - already sentenced to death - subjects brutal torture to find out where he hid his treasures. Without equivocation, Pushkin also denounces Mazepa’s political activity, which is determined only by the lust for power and the thirst for revenge on Peter.

5. Foma Opiskin (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants”)

Foma Opiskin is an extremely negative character. A hanger-on, a hypocrite, a liar. He diligently pretends to be pious and educated, tells everyone about his supposedly ascetic experience and sparkles with quotes from books...

When he gets power into his hands, he shows his true essence. “A low soul, having come out from under oppression, oppresses itself. Thomas was oppressed - and he immediately felt the need to oppress himself; They broke down over him - and he himself began to break down over others. He was a jester and immediately felt the need to have his own jesters. He boasted to the point of absurdity, broke down to the point of impossibility, demanded bird's milk, tyrannized beyond measure, and it came to the point that good people, not yet having witnessed all these tricks, but listening only to stories, considered all this to be a miracle, an obsession, were baptized and spat..."

4. Viktor Komarovsky (Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago)

Lawyer Komarovsky is a negative character in Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago. In the destinies of the main characters - Zhivago and Lara, Komarovsky is " evil genius" and "gray eminence". He is guilty of the ruin of the Zhivago family and the death of the protagonist's father; he cohabits with Lara's mother and Lara herself. Finally, Komarovsky tricks Zhivago into separating him from his wife. Komarovsky is smart, calculating, greedy, cynical. Overall, a bad person. He understands this himself, but this suits him quite well.

3. Judushka Golovlev (Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, “The Golovlev Lords”)

Porfiry Vladimirovich Golovlev, nicknamed Judas and Blood Drinker, is “the last representative of an escapist family.” He is hypocritical, greedy, cowardly, calculating. He spends his life in endless slander and litigation, drives his son to suicide, and at the same time imitates extreme religiosity, reading prayers “without the participation of the heart.”

At the end of my life dark life Golovlev gets drunk and runs wild, goes into the March snowstorm. In the morning, his frozen corpse is found.

2. Andriy (Nikolai Gogol, “Taras Bulba”)

Andriy - younger son Taras Bulba, the hero of the story of the same name by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. Andriy, as Gogol writes, from early youth began to feel the “need for love.” This need fails him. He falls in love with the lady, betrays his homeland, his friends, and his father. Andriy admits: “Who said that my homeland is Ukraine? Who gave it to me in my homeland? The Fatherland is what our soul is looking for, what is dearer to it than anything else. My fatherland is you!... and I will sell, give away, and destroy everything that I have for such a fatherland!”
Andriy is a traitor. He is killed by his own father.

1. Fyodor Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, “The Brothers Karamazov”)

He is voluptuous, greedy, envious, stupid. By maturity, he became flabby, began to drink a lot, opened several taverns, made many fellow countrymen his debtors... He began to compete with his eldest son Dmitry for the heart of Grushenka Svetlova, which paved the way for the crime - Karamazov was killed by his illegitimate son Pyotr Smerdyakov.

They are real heroes. Not just book characters, but heroes: they fight evil. And even if they don’t win, they embody the ideas of the era about what is good and what is bad. Views on justice and goodness change, enemies take on new guises, but, despite all the conventions and inconstancy of the rules of the game, even in our ironic era, books appear about those who fight injustice. Of course, yesterday's heroes can look comical today. But the same thing could happen tomorrow to the heroes of our time.

1. Ilya Muromets

Epics about Ilya Muromets

HeroIlya Muromets, son of Ivan Timofeevich and Efrosinya Yakovlevna, peasants of the village of Karacharova near Murom. The most popular character in epics, the second most powerful (after Svyatogor) Russian hero and the first Russian superman.

Sometimes a real person, the Venerable Ilya of Pechersk, nicknamed Chobotok, buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra and canonized in 1643, is identified with the epic Ilya of Muromets.

Years of creation. XII–XVI centuries

What's the point? Until the age of 33, Ilya lay, paralyzed, on a stove in parental home, until he was miraculously healed by wanderers (“walking kaliki”). Having gained strength, he equipped his father’s farm and went to Kyiv, along the way capturing the Nightingale the Robber, who was terrorizing the surrounding area. In Kyiv, Ilya Muromets joined the squad of Prince Vladimir and found the hero Svyatogor, who gave him a treasure sword and mystical “real power”. In this episode, he demonstrated not only physical strength, but also high moral qualities, without responding to the advances of Svyatogor’s wife. Later, Ilya Muromets defeated the “great force” near Chernigov, paved the direct road from Chernigov to Kiev, inspected the roads from the Alatyr-stone, tested the young hero Dobrynya Nikitich, saved the hero Mikhail Potyk from captivity in the Saracen kingdom, defeated Idolishche, and walked with his squad to Constantinople, one defeated the army of Tsar Kalin.

Ilya Muromets was not alien to simple human joys: in one of the epic episodes, he walks around Kyiv with “tavern heads,” and his son Sokolnik was born out of wedlock, which later leads to a fight between father and son.

What it looks like. Superman. Epic stories describe Ilya Muromets as a “remote, portly, kind fellow,” he fights with a “ninety pounds” (1,440 kilograms) club!

What is he fighting for? Ilya Muromets and his squad very clearly formulate the purpose of their service:

“...to stand alone for the faith for the fatherland,

...to stand alone for Kyiv-grad,

...to stand alone for the churches for the cathedrals,

...he will take care of Prince and Vladimir.”

But Ilya Muromets is not only a statesman - he is at the same time one of the most democratic fighters against evil, as he is always ready to fight “for widows, for orphans, for poor people.”

Way of fighting. A duel with an enemy or a battle with superior forces enemy.

With what result? Despite the difficulties caused by the enemy's numerical advantage or disdainful attitude Prince Vladimir and the boyars, invariably wins.

What is it fighting against? Against internal and external enemies Rus' and their allies, violators of law and order, illegal migrants, invaders and aggressors.

2. Archpriest Avvakum

"The Life of Archpriest Avvakum"

Hero. Archpriest Avvakum worked his way up from a village priest to the leader of the resistance to the church reform of Patriarch Nikon and became one of the leaders of the Old Believers, or schismatics. Avvakum is the first religious figure of such magnitude who not only suffered for his beliefs, but also described it himself.

Years of creation. Approximately 1672–1675.

What's the point? A native of a Volga village, Avvakum from his youth was distinguished by both piety and violent disposition. Having moved to Moscow, he accepted Active participation in church educational activities, he was close to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, but sharply opposed the church reforms carried out by Patriarch Nikon. With his characteristic temperament, Avvakum led a fierce struggle against Nikon, advocating for the old order of church rites. Habakkuk, not at all shy in his expressions, conducted a public and journalistic activities, for which he was repeatedly imprisoned, was cursed and defrocked, and was exiled to Tobolsk, Transbaikalia, Mezen and Pustozersk. From the place of his last exile, he continued to write appeals, for which he was imprisoned in an “earth pit.” He had many followers. Church hierarchs tried to persuade Habakkuk to renounce his “delusions,” but he remained adamant and was eventually burned.

What it looks like. One can only guess: Avvakum did not describe himself. Maybe the way the priest looks in Surikov’s painting “Boyarina Morozova” - Feodosia Prokopyevna Morozova was a faithful follower of Avvakum.

What is he fighting for? For the purity of the Orthodox faith, for the preservation of tradition.

Way of fighting. Word and deed. Avvakum wrote accusatory pamphlets, but he could personally beat the buffoons who entered the village and break them musical instruments. He considered self-immolation a form of possible resistance.

With what result? Avvakum's passionate preaching against church reform made resistance to it widespread, but he himself, along with three of his comrades-in-arms, was executed in 1682 in Pustozersk.

What is it fighting against? Against the desecration of Orthodoxy by “heretical novelties”, against everything foreign, “external wisdom”, that is scientific knowledge, against entertainment. Suspects the imminent coming of the Antichrist and the reign of the devil.

3. Taras Bulba

"Taras Bulba"

Hero.“Taras was one of the indigenous, old colonels: he was all about scolding anxiety and was distinguished by the brutal directness of his character. Then the influence of Poland was already beginning to exert itself on the Russian nobility. Many had already adopted Polish customs, had luxury, magnificent servants, falcons, hunters, dinners, courtyards. Taras did not like this. He loved simple life Cossacks and quarreled with those of his comrades who were inclined to the Warsaw side, calling them slaves of the Polish lords. Always restless, he considered himself the legitimate defender of Orthodoxy. He arbitrarily entered villages where they only complained about the harassment of tenants and the increase in new duties on smoke. He himself carried out reprisals against them with his Cossacks and made it a rule that in three cases one should always take up the saber, namely: when the commissars did not respect the elders in any way and stood before them in their caps, when they mocked Orthodoxy and did not respect the ancestral law and, finally, when the enemies were the Busurmans and the Turks, against whom he considered in any case permissible to raise arms for the glory of Christianity.”

Year of creation. The story was first published in 1835 in the collection “Mirgorod”. The 1842 edition, in which, in fact, we all read Taras Bulba, differs significantly from the original version.

What's the point? All his life, the dashing Cossack Taras Bulba has been fighting for the liberation of Ukraine from its oppressors. He, the glorious chieftain, cannot bear the thought that his own children, flesh of his flesh, may not follow his example. Therefore, Taras kills Andria’s son, who betrayed the sacred cause, without hesitation. When another son, Ostap, is captured, our hero deliberately penetrates into the heart of the enemy camp - but not in order to try to save his son. His only goal is to make sure that Ostap, under torture, does not show cowardice and does not renounce high ideals. Taras himself dies like Joan of Arc, having previously given Russian culture the immortal phrase: “There is no bond holier than comradeship!”

What it looks like. He is extremely heavy and fat (20 pounds, equivalent to 320 kg), gloomy eyes, very white eyebrows, mustache and forelock.

What is he fighting for? For the liberation of the Zaporozhye Sich, for independence.

Way of fighting. Hostilities.

With what result? With deplorable. Everyone died.

What is it fighting against? Against the oppressor Poles, the foreign yoke, police despotism, old-world landowners and court satraps.

4. Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov

“Song about Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich, a young guardsman and swashbuckling merchant Kalashnikov"

Hero. Stepan Paramonovich Kalashnikov, merchant class. Trades silks - with varying success. Moskvich. Orthodox. Has two younger brothers. He is married to the beautiful Alena Dmitrievna, because of whom the whole story came out.

Year of creation. 1838

What's the point? Lermontov was not keen on the theme of Russian heroism. He wrote romantic poems about nobles, officers, Chechens and Jews. But he was one of the first to find out that the 19th century was rich only in the heroes of its time, but heroes for all times should be sought in the deep past. There, in Moscow, Ivan the Terrible was found (or rather, invented) a hero with the now common name Kalashnikov. The young guardsman Kiribeevich falls in love with his wife and attacks her at night, persuading her to surrender. The next day, the offended husband challenges the guardsman to a fist fight and kills him with one blow. For the murder of his beloved guardsman and for the fact that Kalashnikov refuses to name the reason for his action, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich orders the execution of the young merchant, but does not leave his widow and children with mercy and care. Such is royal justice.

What it looks like.

“His falcon eyes are burning,

He looks intently at the guardsman.

He becomes opposite to him,

He pulls on his combat gloves,

He straightens his mighty shoulders.”

What is he fighting for? For the honor of his woman and family. Neighbors saw Kiribeevich’s attack on Alena Dmitrievna, and now she cannot be seen honest people. Although, going into battle with the oprichnik, Kalashnikov solemnly declares that he is fighting “for the holy mother truth.” But the heroes sometimes distort.

Way of fighting. Fatal fist fight. Essentially a murder in broad daylight in front of thousands of witnesses.

With what result?

“And they executed Stepan Kalashnikov

A cruel, shameful death;

And the little head is mediocre

She rolled onto the chopping block covered in blood.”

But they buried Kiribeevich too.

What is it fighting against? Evil in the poem is personified by the guardsman with the foreign patronymic Kiribeevich, and also a relative of Malyuta Skuratov, that is, the enemy squared. Kalashnikov calls him “son of Basurman,” hinting at his enemy’s lack of Moscow registration. And this person of Eastern nationality delivers the first (aka last) blow not to the merchant’s face, but to Orthodox cross with relics from Kyiv that hangs on the brave chest. He says to Alena Dmitrievna: “I am not some kind of thief, a forest murderer, / I am a servant of the Tsar, the terrible Tsar...” - that is, he hides behind the highest mercy. So heroic deed Kalashnikov is nothing more than a deliberate murder motivated by national hatred. Lermontov, who himself participated in the Caucasian campaigns and wrote a lot about the wars with the Chechens, was close to the theme of “Moscow for Muscovites” in its anti-Basurman context.

5. Danko “Old Woman Izergil”

Hero Danko. Biography unknown.

“In the old days, there lived only people in the world; impenetrable forests surrounded the camps of these people on three sides, and on the fourth there was the steppe. They were cheerful, strong and brave people… Danko is one of those people...”

Year of creation. The short story “Old Woman Izergil” was first published in Samara Gazeta in 1895.

What's the point? Danko is the fruit of the uncontrollable imagination of the same old woman Izergil, after whom Gorky’s short story is named. A sultry Bessarabian old woman with a rich past tells a beautiful legend: during Ona’s time there was a redistribution of property - there was a showdown between two tribes. Not wanting to stay in the occupied territory, one of the tribes went into the forest, but there the people experienced mass depression, because “nothing - neither work nor women, exhausts the bodies and souls of people as much as sad thoughts exhaust.” At a critical moment, Danko did not allow his people to bow to the conquerors, but instead offered to follow him - in an unknown direction.

What it looks like.“Danko... a handsome young man. Beautiful people are always brave.”

What is he fighting for? Go figure. In order to get out of the forest and thereby ensure freedom for his people. It is unclear where the guarantee is that freedom is exactly where the forest ends.

Way of fighting. An unpleasant physiological operation, indicating a masochistic personality. Self-dismemberment.

With what result? With duality. He got out of the forest, but died immediately. Sophisticated abuse of one’s own body is not in vain. The hero did not receive gratitude for his feat: his heart, torn out of his chest with his own hands, was trampled under someone’s heartless heel.

What is it fighting against? Against collaboration, conciliation and sycophancy before conquerors.

6. Colonel Isaev (Stirlitz)

A body of texts, from “Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat” to “Bombs for the Chairman,” the most important of the novels is “Seventeen Moments of Spring”

Hero. Vsevolod Vladimirovich Vladimirov, aka Maxim Maksimovich Isaev, aka Max Otto von Stirlitz, aka Estilitz, Bolzen, Brunn. An employee of the press service of the Kolchak government, an underground security officer, an intelligence officer, a history professor, exposing a conspiracy of Nazi followers.

Years of creation. Novels about Colonel Isaev were created over 24 years - from 1965 to 1989.

What's the point? In 1921, security officer Vladimirov freed Far East from the remnants of the White Army. In 1927, they decided to send him to Europe - it was then that the legend of the German aristocrat Max Otto von Stirlitz was born. In 1944, he saves Krakow from destruction by helping the group of Major Whirlwind. At the very end of the war, he was entrusted with the most important mission - to disrupt separate negotiations between Germany and the West. In Berlin, the hero carries out his difficult task, simultaneously saving the radio operator Kat, the end of the war is already close, and the Third Reich is collapsing to the song “Seventeen Moments of April” by Marika Rekk. In 1945, Stirlitz was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

What it looks like. From the party description of von Stirlitz, a member of the NSDAP since 1933, SS Standartenführer (VI Department of the RSHA): “A true Aryan. Character - Nordic, seasoned. Supports workmates a good relationship. Fulfills his official duty impeccably. Merciless towards the enemies of the Reich. An excellent athlete: Berlin tennis champion. Single; he was not noticed in any connections that discredited him. Recognized with awards from the Fuhrer and commendations from the Reichsfuhrer SS..."

What is he fighting for? For the victory of communism. It’s unpleasant to admit this to yourself, but in some situations - for the homeland, for Stalin.

Way of fighting. Intelligence and espionage, sometimes the deductive method, ingenuity, dexterity and camouflage.

With what result? On the one hand, he saves everyone who needs it and successfully carries out subversive activities; reveals secret intelligence networks and defeats the main enemy - Gestapo chief Müller. However, the Soviet country, for whose honor and victory he is fighting, thanks its hero in its own way: in 1947, he, who had just arrived in the Union on a Soviet ship, was arrested, and by order of Stalin, his wife and son were shot. Stirlitz leaves prison only after Beria's death.

What is it fighting against? Against whites, Spanish fascists, German Nazis and all enemies of the USSR.

7. Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov “Look into the eyes of monsters”

Hero Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev, symbolist poet, superman, conquistador, member of the Order of the Fifth Rome, maker of Soviet history and fearless dragon slayer.

Year of creation. 1997

What's the point? Nikolai Gumilyov was not shot in 1921 in the dungeons of the Cheka. He was saved from execution by Yakov Wilhelmovich (or James William Bruce), a representative of the secret order of the Fifth Rome, created in the 13th century. Having acquired the gift of immortality and power, Gumilyov strides through the history of the 20th century, generously leaving his traces in it. Puts Marilyn Monroe to bed, simultaneously building chickens for Agatha Christie, gives valuable advice Ian Fleming, due to his absurd character, starts a duel with Mayakovsky and, abandoning his cold corpse in Lubyansky Proezd, runs away, leaving the police and literary scholars to compose a version of suicide. He takes part in a writers' convention and becomes addicted to xerion, a magical drug based on dragon blood that gives immortality to members of the order. Everything would be fine - the problems begin later, when evil dragon forces begin to threaten not only the world in general, but the Gumilyov family: his wife Annushka and son Styopa.

What is he fighting for? First for goodness and beauty, then he no longer has time for lofty ideas - he simply saves his wife and son.

Way of fighting. Gumilyov participates in an unimaginable number of battles and battles, masters hand-to-hand combat techniques and all types firearms. True, to achieve special sleight of hand, fearlessness, omnipotence, invulnerability and even immortality, he has to throw in xerion.

With what result? Nobody knows this. The novel “Look into the Eyes of Monsters” ends without giving an answer to this burning question. All the continuations of the novel (both “The Hyperborean Plague” and “The March of the Ecclesiastes”), firstly, where in to a lesser extent are recognized as fans of Lazarchuk - Uspensky, and secondly, and this is the most important thing, they also do not offer the reader a solution.

What is it fighting against? Having learned about real reasons disasters that befell the world in the 20th century, he fights primarily against these misfortunes. In other words, with a civilization of evil lizards.

8. Vasily Terkin

"Vasily Terkin"

Hero. Vasily Terkin, reserve private, infantryman. Originally from near Smolensk. Single, no children. He has an award for the totality of his feats.

Years of creation. 1941–1945

What's the point? Contrary to popular belief, the need for such a hero appeared even before the Great Patriotic War. Tvardovsky came up with Terkin during the Finnish campaign, where he, together with the Pulkins, Mushkins, Protirkins and other characters in newspaper feuilletons, fought with the White Finns for the Motherland. So Terkin entered 1941 as an experienced fighter. By 1943, Tvardovsky was tired of his unsinkable hero and wanted to send him into retirement due to injury, but letters from readers returned Terkin to the front, where he spent another two years, was shell-shocked and was surrounded three times, conquered high and low heights, led battles in the swamps, liberated villages, took Berlin and even spoke with Death. His rustic but sparkling wit invariably saved him from enemies and censors, but it definitely did not attract girls. Tvardovsky even appealed to his readers to love his hero - just like that, from the heart. Still don't have Soviet heroes the dexterity of James Bond.

What it looks like. Endowed with beauty He was not excellent, Not tall, not that small, But a hero - a hero.

What is he fighting for? For the cause of peace for the sake of life on earth, that is, his task, like that of any liberator soldier, is global. Terkin himself is sure that he is fighting “for Russia, for the people / And for everything in the world,” but sometimes, just in case, he mentions the Soviet government - no matter what happens.

Way of fighting. In war, as you know, any means are good, so everything is used: a tank, a machine gun, a knife, a wooden spoon, fists, teeth, vodka, the power of persuasion, a joke, a song, an accordion...

With what result?. He came close to death several times. He was supposed to receive a medal, but due to a typo in the list, the hero never received the award.

But imitators found it: by the end of the war, almost every company already had its own Terkin, and some had two.

What is it fighting against? First against the Finns, then against the Nazis, and sometimes also against Death. In fact, Terkin was called upon to fight depressive moods at the front, which he did with success.

9. Anastasia Kamenskaya

A series of detective stories about Anastasia Kamenskaya

Heroine. Nastya Kamenskaya, Major of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department, Petrovka’s best analyst, a brilliant operative, investigating serious crimes in the manner of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot.

Years of creation. 1992–2006

What's the point? The work of an operative involves difficult everyday life (the first evidence of this is the television series “Streets of Broken Lights”). But Nastya Kamenskaya finds it difficult to rush around the city and catch bandits in dark alleys: she is lazy, in poor health and loves peace more than anything else. Because of this, she periodically has difficulties in relations with management. Only her first boss and teacher, nicknamed Kolobok, had unlimited faith in her analytical abilities; to others, she has to prove that she best investigates bloody crimes by sitting in her office, drinking coffee and analyzing, analyzing.

What it looks like. Tall, thin blonde, expressionless facial features. He never wears cosmetics and prefers discreet, comfortable clothes.

What is he fighting for? Definitely not for a modest police salary: knowing five foreign languages and having some connections, Nastya could leave Petrovka at any moment, but she does not. It turns out that he is fighting for the triumph of law and order.

Way of fighting. First of all, analytics. But sometimes Nastya has to change her habits and go out on the warpath on her own. In this case, they use acting skills, the art of transformation and feminine charm.

With what result? Most often - with brilliant results: criminals are exposed, caught, punished. But in in rare cases some of them manage to escape, and then Nastya does not sleep at night, smokes one cigarette after another, goes crazy and tries to come to terms with the injustice of life. However, there are clearly more successful endings so far.

What is it fighting against? Against crime.

10. Erast Fandorin

A series of novels about Erast Fandorin

Hero. Erast Petrovich Fandorin, a nobleman, the son of a small landowner who lost his family fortune at cards. He began his career in the detective police with the rank of collegiate registrar, managed to attend Russian-Turkish War 1877–1878, serve in the diplomatic corps in Japan and displease Nicholas II. He rose to the rank of state councilor and resigned. Private detective and consultant to various influential people since 1892. Phenomenally lucky in everything, especially in gambling. Single. Has a number of children and other descendants.

Years of creation. 1998–2006

What's the point? The turn of the 20th–21st centuries once again turned out to be an era that is looking for heroes in the past. Akunin found his defender of the weak and oppressed in the gallant XIX century, but in that professional field that is becoming especially popular right now - in the intelligence services. Of all Akunin's stylizing endeavors, Fandorin is the most charming and therefore enduring. His biography begins in 1856, the action of the last novel dates back to 1905, and the end of the story has not yet been written, so you can always expect new achievements from Erast Petrovich. Although Akunin, like Tvardovsky before, since 2000 everyone has been trying to do away with his hero and write about him last novel. "Coronation" is subtitled "The Last of the Romances"; “Death's Lover” and “Death's Mistress,” written after it, were published as a bonus, but then it became clear that Fandorin’s readers would not let go so easily. The people need, the people need, an elegant detective, knowledgeable of languages and enjoying wild success among women. Not all “Cops”, indeed!

What it looks like.“He was a very handsome young man, with black hair (of which he was secretly proud) and blue (alas, it would have been better if he had also been black) eyes, quite tall, with white skin and a damned, ineradicable blush on his cheeks.” After the misfortune he experienced, his appearance acquired an intriguing detail for ladies - gray temples.

What is he fighting for? For an enlightened monarchy, order and legality. Fandorin dreams of new Russia- ennobled in the Japanese style, with firmly and reasonably established laws and their scrupulous implementation. About Russia, which did not go through the Russo-Japanese and the First World War, revolution and civil war. That is, about Russia, which could be if we had enough luck and common sense build it.

Way of fighting. A combination of the deductive method, meditation techniques and Japanese martial arts with almost mystical luck. By the way, there is also female love, which Fandorin uses in every sense.

With what result? As we know, the Russia that Fandorin dreams of did not happen. So globally he suffers a crushing defeat. And in small things too: those whom he tries to save most often die, and the criminals never end up behind bars (they die, or pay off the trial, or simply disappear). However, Fandorin himself invariably remains alive, as does the hope for the final triumph of justice.

What is it fighting against? Against the unenlightened monarchy, bombing revolutionaries, nihilists and socio-political chaos, which can occur in Russia at any moment. Along the way, he has to fight bureaucracy, corruption in the highest echelons of power, fools, roads and ordinary criminals.

Illustrations: Maria Sosnina