The heroes of the poem are those who live well. Poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”

The work of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov is dedicated to the deep problems of the Russian people. The heroes of his story, ordinary peasants, go on a journey in search of a person to whom life does not bring happiness. So who can live well in Rus'? A summary of the chapters and an annotation to the poem will help you understand the main idea of ​​the work.

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The idea and history of the creation of the poem

Nekrasov’s main idea was to create a poem for the people, in which they could recognize themselves not only in the general idea, but also in the little things, everyday life, behavior, see their strengths and weaknesses, and find their place in life.

The author succeeded in his idea. Nekrasov spent years collecting the necessary material, planning his work entitled “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” much more voluminous than the one that came out at the end. As many as eight full-fledged chapters were planned, each of which was supposed to be a separate work with a complete structure and idea. The only thing unifying link- seven ordinary Russian peasants, men who travel around the country in search of the truth.

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” four parts, the order and completeness of which is a source of controversy for many scholars. Nevertheless, the work looks holistic and leads to a logical end - one of the characters finds the very recipe for Russian happiness. It is believed that Nekrasov completed the ending of the poem, already knowing about his imminent death. Wanting to bring the poem to completion, he moved the end of the second part to the end of the work.

It is believed that the author began to write “Who can live well in Rus'?” around 1863 - shortly after. Two years later, Nekrasov completed the first part and marked the manuscript with this date. The subsequent ones were ready by 72, 73, 76 years of the 19th century, respectively.

Important! The work began to be published in 1866. This process turned out to be long and lasted four years. The poem was difficult to accept by critics, the highest authorities of that time brought down a lot of criticism on it, the author, along with his work, was persecuted. Despite this, “Who can live well in Rus'?” was published and well received by ordinary people.

Abstract to the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?”: it consists of the first part, which contains a prologue introducing the reader to the main acting characters, five chapters and excerpts from the second (“Last One” of 3 chapters) and the third part (“Peasant Woman” of 7 chapters). The poem ends with the chapter “A Feast for the Whole World” and an epilogue.

Prologue

“Who can live well in Rus'?” starts with a prologue summary which is: meet seven main characters- ordinary Russian men from the people who came from the Terpigorev district.

Each one comes from their own village, the name of which, for example, was Dyryaevo or Neelovo. Having met, the men begin to actively argue with each other about who will truly live well in Rus'. This phrase will be the leitmotif of the work, its main plot.

Each offers a variant of the class that is now thriving. These were:

• butts;
• landowners;
• officials;
• merchants;
• boyars and ministers;
• tsar.

Guys argue so much it's getting out of control a fight starts- the peasants forget what they were going to do, they go to no one known direction. In the end, they wander into the wilderness, decide not to go anywhere else until the morning and wait out the night in a clearing.

Because of the noise, the chick falls out of the nest, one of the wanderers catches it and dreams that if it had wings, it would fly around all of Rus'. Others add that you can do without wings, if only you had something to drink and a good snack, then you can travel until you are old.

Attention! The bird - the mother of the chick, in exchange for her child, tells the men where it is possible find the treasure- a self-assembled tablecloth, but warns that you cannot ask for more than a bucket of alcohol per day - otherwise there will be trouble. The men actually find the treasure, after which they promise each other not to leave each other until they find the answer to the question of who should live well in this state.

First part. Chapter 1

The first chapter tells about the meeting of the men with the priest. They walked for a long time, and they met ordinary people - beggars, peasants, soldiers. The debaters did not even try to talk with those, because they knew from themselves that happiness common people No. Having met the priest's cart, the wanderers block the path and talk about the dispute, asking main question they are trying to find out who lives well in Rus', Are the priests happy?.

Pop responds as follows:

1. A person has happiness only if his life combines three features - peace, honor and wealth.
2. He explains that priests have no peace, starting from how troublesome it is for them to get the rank and ending with the fact that every day they listen to the cries of dozens of people, which does not add peace to life.
3. Lots of money now It's hard for priests to make money, since the nobles, who previously performed rituals in their native villages, now do it in the capital, and the clergy have to live off the peasants alone, from whom there is a meager income.
4. People don’t indulge priests with respect either, they make fun of them, avoid them, there is no way from anyone good words hear.

After the priest’s speech, the men shyly hide their eyes and understand that the life of priests in the world is not at all sweet. When the clergyman leaves, the debaters attack the one who suggested that the priests have a good life. Things would have come to a fight, but the priest appeared on the road again.

Chapter 2

The men walk along the roads for a long time, meeting almost no one they can ask who can live well in Rus'. In the end they find out that in the village of Kuzminskoye rich fair, since the village is not poor. There are two churches, a closed school and even a not very clean hotel where you can stay. It's no joke, there is a paramedic in the village.

The most important thing is that there are as many as 11 taverns here who do not have time to pour drinks for the merry people. All peasants drink a lot. There is an upset grandfather standing at the shoe store, who promised to bring boots to his granddaughter, but drank the money away. The master Pavlusha Veretennikov appears and pays for the purchase.

Books are also sold at the fair, but people are interested in the most mediocre books, neither Gogol nor Belinsky are in demand or interesting to the common people, despite the fact that these writers defend interests ordinary people . At the end, the heroes get so drunk that they fall to the ground, watching as the church “shakes.”

Chapter 3

In this chapter, the debaters again find Pavel Veretennikov, who actually collects folklore, stories and expressions of the Russian people. Pavel tells the peasants around him that they drink too much alcohol, and for them a drunken night is happiness.

Yakim Golyy objects to this, arguing that a simple the peasant drinks a lot not from own desire, and because he works hard, he is constantly haunted by grief. Yakim tells his story to those around him - having bought his son pictures, Yakim loved them no less, so when the fire happened, he was the first to take these pictures out of the hut. In the end, the money he had saved throughout his life was gone.

After listening to this, the men sit down to eat. Afterwards, one of them remains to watch the bucket of vodka, and the rest again head into the crowd to find a person who considers himself happy in this world.

Chapter 4

Men walk the streets and promise to treat the happiest person among the people with vodka in order to find out who lives well in Rus', but only deeply unhappy people who want to drink to console themselves. Those who want to brag about something good find that their petty happiness does not answer the main question. For example, a Belarusian is happy that they make rye bread here, which doesn’t give him stomach cramps, so he’s happy.

As a result, the bucket of vodka runs out, and the debaters understand that they will not find the truth this way, but one of those who came says to look for Ermila Girin. We respect Ermil very much in the village, the peasants say that it is very good man. They even tell the story that when Girin wanted to buy a mill, but there was no money for a deposit, he raised a whole thousand in loans from the common people and managed to deposit the money.

A week later, Yermil gave away everything he had borrowed, and until the evening he asked those around him who else to approach and give the last remaining ruble.

Girin earned such trust by the fact that, while serving as a clerk for the prince, he did not take money from anyone, but on the contrary, ordinary people helped, so when they were going to choose a burgomaster, they chose him, Yermil justified the appointment. At the same time, the priest says that he is unhappy, since he is already in prison, and he does not have time to tell why, since a thief is discovered in the company.

Chapter 5

Next, the travelers meet a landowner, who, in response to the question of who can live well in Rus', tells them about his noble roots- the founder of his family, Tatar Oboldui, was skinned by a bear for the laughter of the empress, who in return presented many expensive gifts.

The landowner complains that the peasants were taken away, so no more than the law on its lands, forests are cut down, drinking establishments are multiplying - the people do what they want, and as a result they become poor. He goes on to say that he was not used to working since childhood, but here he has to do it because the serfs were taken away.

Contritely, the landowner leaves, and the men feel sorry for him, thinking that on the one hand, after the abolition of serfdom, the peasants suffered, and on the other, the landowners, that this whip lashed all classes.

Part 2. The last one - summary

This part of the poem talks about the extravagant Prince Utyatin, who, having learned that serfdom canceled, fell ill with a heart attack and promised to disinherit his sons. Those, frightened by such a fate, persuaded the men to play along with the old father, bribing them with a promise to donate the meadows to the village.

Important! Characteristics of Prince Utyatin: a selfish person who loves to feel power, therefore he is ready to force others to do completely meaningless things. He feels complete impunity and thinks that this is where the future of Russia lies.

Some peasants willingly played along with the lord’s request, while others, for example Agap Petrov, could not come to terms with the fact that they had to bow before someone in the wild. Finding yourself in a situation in which it is impossible to achieve the truth, Agap Petrov dies from pangs of conscience and mental anguish.

At the end of the chapter, Prince Utyatin rejoices at the return of serfdom, speaks of its correctness at his own feast, which is attended by seven travelers, and at the end calmly dies in the boat. At the same time, no one is giving the meadows to the peasants, and the trial on this issue is not over to this day, as the men found out.

Part 3. Peasant woman

This part of the poem is dedicated to the search for female happiness, but ends with the fact that there is no happiness and such happiness will never be found. The wanderers meet the peasant woman Matryona - a beautiful, stately woman of 38 years old. Wherein Matryona is deeply unhappy, considers himself an old woman. She has a difficult fate; she had joy only in childhood. After the girl got married, her husband went to work, leaving his pregnant wife behind. big family husband

The peasant woman had to feed her husband's parents, who only mocked her and did not help her. Even after giving birth, they were not allowed to take the child with them, since the woman did not work enough with him. The baby was looked after by an elderly grandfather, the only one who treated Matryona normally, but due to his age, he did not take care of the baby; he was eaten by pigs.

Matryona also gave birth to children afterwards, but she could not forget her first son. The peasant woman forgave the old man who had gone to the monastery out of grief and took him home, where he soon died. She herself, pregnant, came to the governor’s wife, asked to return my husband because of plight. Since Matryona gave birth right in the waiting room, the governor’s wife helped the woman, which is why people began to call her happy, which in fact was far from the case.

In the end, the wanderers, having not found female happiness and having not received an answer to their question - who can live well in Rus', moved on.

Part 4. A feast for the whole world - the conclusion of the poem

It happens in the same village. The main characters have gathered at a feast and are having fun, telling different stories to find out which of the people in Rus' will live well. The conversation turned to Yakov, a peasant who revered the master very much, but did not forgive him when he gave his nephew as a soldier. As a result, Yakov took his owner into the forest and hanged himself, but he could not get out because his legs did not work. What follows is a long debate about who is more sinful in this situation.

Men share different stories about the sins of peasants and landowners, deciding who is more honest and righteous. The crowd as a whole is quite unhappy, including the men - the main characters, only the young seminarian Grisha wants to devote himself to serving the people and their well-being. He loves his mother very much and is ready to pour it out on the village.

Grisha walks and sings that a glorious path awaits ahead, a resounding name in history, he is inspired by this, and is not even afraid of the expected outcome - Siberia and death from consumption. The debaters do not notice Grisha, but in vain, because this the only one happy man in the poem, having understood this, they could find the answer to their question - who can live well in Russia.

When finishing the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?”, the author wanted to finish his work differently, however near death forced add optimism and hope at the end of the poem, to give “light at the end of the road” to the Russian people.

N.A. Nekrasov, “Who Lives Well in Rus'” - summary

What is the happiness of the heroes of N. A. Nekrasov’s poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”?

The poem by N. A. Nekrasov “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is a broad epic canvas that depicts the consequences of one of the most significant events in the history of Russia - the abolition of serfdom. The peasantry expected liberation, but, having been released without land, they fell into even more severe bondage. Nekrasov talks about this in his poem. He wrote it over the course of twenty years, collecting material “word by word”, wanting to cover all social strata of post-reform Russia: from the simple peasant to the tsar. The poem is not finished - Nekrasov died without completing his plans. The title itself (“Who lives well in Rus'”) already poses the main problem of the entire work - this is the problem of happiness.

The poem begins with the words: “In what year - calculate, in what land - guess,” but the reader can easily guess the time of action of the poem - 1861. And immediately the poet shows the result of the reform, naming the “adjacent villages” in which the peasants who met on the main road live: Zaplatovo, Dyryavino, Razutovo, Znobishino, Gorelovo, Neelovo, Neurozhaika, belonging to the Pustoporozhnaya volost of Terpigorev district. The names are quite transparent, giving a reason to judge life in them. The peasants argue, trying to find an answer to the question: “Who lives happily and freely in Rus'?” Where can you find a happy person in Russia, which consists entirely of such villages, and is there such a person?

The main characters of the work are seven wandering men: Roman, Demyan, Luka, brothers Ivan and Mitrodor Gubin, old man Pakhom and Prov, who set off on a journey in order to find out who “lives well in Rus'”:

Who has fun?

Free in Rus'?

The form of travel helps Nekrasov show the life of all layers of society in all its diversity and throughout Russia. In the poem, the reader will find an idea of ​​happiness among both ordinary peasants and landowners.

The wanderers decided to start searching for those living “freely” at the village fair. They call out to see if anyone is present in the festive crowd. happy people, and promise to pour vodka for them. The first to come talk about his happiness is a skinny, fired sexton, who assures that happiness “is not in sables, not in gold, not in expensive stones,” but in “compassion” and faith in the kingdom of heaven, and says that he is happy with that. The old woman comes next and claims that in her garden there were “up to a thousand turnips,” tasty and large. They laughed at the grandmother, didn’t give her any vodka and said: “Drink at home, old lady, eat that turnip.” Then a soldier with medals appears to the wanderers and says that he is happy, because he was in twenty battles, and was not killed, they beat him with sticks, starved him, but he did not die. The stonecutter claims that his happiness lies in his great strength - he can jokingly handle a huge hammer. Thus, we see that the common people find “freedom” in simple things, in everyday phenomena - in the harvest, in bread, in strength, even in “noble diseases”. But all this is a rather pathetic semblance of happiness. The wanderers realized that they wasted vodka:

Hey, man's happiness!

Leaky with patches,

Humpbacked with calluses,

Go home.

Male travelers are advised to ask the landowner Ermila Girin, who owned the mill, about happiness. The court decides to sell it. Ermila wins the trade with the merchant, but the clerks needed the money right away, but Girin doesn’t have it. He had to appeal to the people, promising to return them all, which he did. And people believed him. Having met the landowner, the wanderers listen to his story about how kind he was, how “on Easter Sunday with all his patrimony he himself was Christed,” claims that peasants were allowed into his house for prayer on holidays. However, a good life ended with the abolition of serfdom, although the peasants sympathize with the landowner, they first of all think to themselves:

The great chain has broken,

Torn and splintered:

One end for the master

Others don't care!...

Thus, the reader understands that the landowners do not live happily in Rus' either. Travelers come to the conclusion that they need to look for female happiness among the people. But, contrary to their expectations, Matryona Timofeevna’s story is full of drama. The life of a “happy” peasant woman is dominated by losses, grief, and hard work. The words of a woman’s confession are bitter:

The keys to women's happiness,

From our free will

Abandoned, lost

From God himself!

Isn't this situation dramatic? Is it really impossible for men to find a truly happy person, satisfied with his life in the vast expanses? Great Rus'? The wanderers became despondent. Will they ever see their families?

Having met Grisha Dobrosklonov, travelers understand that in front of them is a truly happy person. But his happiness is not in wealth, contentment, peace, but in the respect of the people, who see Grisha as their intercessor:

Fate had in store for him

The path is glorious, the name is loud

People's Defender,

Consumption and Siberia.

During the search for a happy person, the wanderers grew spiritually. In the image of Grisha, whom they unanimously call happy, the features of Russian democrats are visible: Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov.

The poem ends with the following warning:

The army rises -

Countless!

The strength in her will affect

Indestructible!

The Russian people are capable of much if they are led by a leader like Grisha Dobrosklonov.

IN Once again Nekrasov proves that happiness for a Russian person lies not in material wealth, but in strength of spirit. The question posed in the poem can be answered as follows: it is good to live in Rus' for those people who look for good in the environment and strive to do something good for the sake of the happiness of others. Ordinary peasants are happy about the rich harvest, and such people's defenders, like Grisha Dobrosklonov, will be “at ease” only when he sees a happy sparkle in the eyes of others.

N. A. Nekrasov worked on his poem for a long time - from the 1860s until the end of his life. In life individual chapters the works were published, but it was fully published only in 1920, when K. I. Chukovsky decided to release full meeting works of the poet. In many ways, the work “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is built on elements of Russian folk art, the language of the poem is close to that which was understandable to the peasants of that time.

Main characters

Despite the fact that Nekrasov planned to highlight the life of all classes in his poem, the main characters of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” are still peasants. The poet paints their life in gloomy tones, especially sympathizing with women. The most bright images works are Ermila Girin, Yakim Nagoy, Saveliy, Matryona Timofeevna, Klim Lavin. At the same time, not only the world of the peasantry appears before the reader’s eyes, although the main emphasis is placed on it.

Often schoolchildren receive as homework briefly describe the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” and their characteristics. To get a good grade, you must mention not only the peasants, but also the landowners. This is Prince Utyatin with his family, Obolt-Obolduev, the generous governor’s wife, and the German manager. The work as a whole is characterized by the epic unity of all acting heroes. However, at the same time, the poet presented many personalities and individualized images.

Ermila Girin

This hero “Who Lives Well in Rus'”, according to those who know him, is a happy person. The people around him appreciate him, and the landowner shows respect. Ermila is engaged in social activities useful thing- contains a mill. He works on it without deceiving ordinary peasants. Girin enjoys the trust of everyone. This manifests itself, for example, in the situation of collecting money for an orphan mill. Ermila finds herself in the city without money, and the mill is put up for sale. If he does not have time to return for the money, then it will go to Altynnikov - this will not hurt anyone. Then Girin decides to appeal to the people. And people come together to do a good thing. They believe that their money will be used for good.

This hero of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” was a clerk and helped those who do not know it learn to read and write. However, the wanderers did not consider Ermila happy, because he did not pass the most difficult test - power. Instead of his sibling Girin ends up among the soldiers. Ermila repents of what she did. He can no longer be considered happy.

Yakim Nagoy

One of the main characters of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is Yakim Nagoy. He defines himself this way: “he works himself to death and drinks until he is half to death.” The story of Nagogo is simple and at the same time very tragic. He once lived in St. Petersburg, but went to prison and lost his estate. After that, he had to settle in the village and take up exhausting work. In the work, he is entrusted with protecting the people themselves.

Human spiritual needs are ineradicable

During a fire, Yakim loses most of his possessions, as he begins to save the pictures that he acquired for his son. However, even in his new home, Nagoy returns to his old ways and buys other pictures. Why does he decide to save these things, which at first glance are simple trinkets? A person tries to preserve what is most dear to him. And these pictures turn out to be for Yakima more expensive than money, acquired by hellish labor.

The life of the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is an ongoing work, the results of which fall into the wrong hands. But the human soul cannot be content with an existence in which there is only room for endless hard labor. The spirit of the Naked requires something high, and these pictures, oddly enough, are a symbol of spirituality.

Endless adversity only strengthens him life position. In Chapter III, he pronounces a monologue in which he describes his life in detail - it is hard labor, the results of which end up in the hands of three shareholders, disasters and hopeless poverty. And with these disasters he justifies his drunkenness. It was the only joy for the peasants, whose only occupation was hard work.

The place of a woman in the poet's work

Women also occupy a significant place in Nekrasov’s work. The poet considered their lot to be the most difficult - after all, it was on the shoulders of Russian peasant women that the duty of raising children, preserving the hearth and love in the harsh Russian conditions fell. In the work “Who Lives Well in Rus',” the heroes (or rather, heroines) bear the heaviest cross. Their images are described in more detail in the chapter entitled “ drunken night" Here you can encounter the difficult fate of women working as servants in cities. The reader meets Daryushka, who is emaciated from back-breaking work, women whose situation in the house is worse than hell - where the son-in-law constantly takes up the knife, “look, he’ll kill him.”

Matryona Korchagina

The climax feminine theme in the poem there is a part called “Peasant Woman”. Her main character- this is Matrena Timofeevna, whose last name is Korchagina, whose life is a generalization of the life of a Russian peasant woman. On the one hand, the poet demonstrates the severity of her fate, but on the other, the unbending will of Matryona Korchagina. The people consider her “happy,” and wanderers set off to see this “miracle” with their own eyes.

Matryona gives in to their persuasion and talks about her life. She considers her childhood to be the most happy times. After all, her family was caring, no one drank. But soon the moment came when it was necessary to get married. Here she seemed to be lucky - her husband loved Matryona. However, she becomes the youngest daughter-in-law and has to please everyone. Count on kind word she couldn't even.

Only with grandfather Savely Matryona could open her soul and cry. But even her grandfather, although not of his own free will, caused her terrible pain - he did not look after the child. After this, the judges accused Matryona herself of murdering the baby.

Is the heroine happy?

The poet emphasizes the heroine’s helplessness and in the words of Savelya tells her to endure, because “we won’t find the truth.” And these words become a description of Matryona’s entire life, who had to endure losses, grief, and insults from the landowners. Only once does she manage to “find the truth” - to “beg” her husband from the unfair soldiery from the landowner Elena Alexandrovna. Perhaps this is why Matryona began to be called “happy.” Or perhaps because she, unlike some of the other heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus',” did not break down, despite any adversity. According to the poet, a woman’s share is the hardest. After all, she has to suffer from lack of rights in the family, and worry about the lives of loved ones, and do backbreaking work.

Grisha Dobrosklonov

This is one of the main characters of “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” He was born into the family of a poor clerk, who was also lazy. His mother was the image of a woman that was described in detail in the chapter entitled “Peasant Woman.” Grisha managed to understand his place in life at a young age. This was facilitated by hard work, a hungry childhood, a generous character, resilience and perseverance. Grisha became a fighter for the rights of all the humiliated, he stood for the interests of the peasants. What came first for him was not personal needs, but public values. The main features of the hero are unpretentiousness, high efficiency, the ability to sympathize, education and a sharp mind.

Who can find happiness in Rus'

Throughout the entire work, the poet tries to answer the question about the happiness of the heroes “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” Perhaps it is Grisha Dobrosklonov who is the most happy character. After all, when a person does a good deed, he has a pleasant feeling of his own worth. Here the hero saves an entire people. Since childhood, Grisha has seen unhappy and oppressed people. Nekrasov considered the ability to compassion to be the source of patriotism. For the poet, a person who sympathizes with the people starts a revolution is Grisha Dobrosklonov. His words reflect the hope that Rus' will not perish.

Landowners

Among the heroes of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” as was indicated, there are many landowners. One of them is Obolt-Obolduev. When the peasants ask him if he is happy, he only laughs in response. Then, with some regret, he recalls the past years, which were full of prosperity. However, the reform of 1861 abolished serfdom, although it was not completed. But even the changes that have occurred in public life, cannot force the landowner to work and honor the results of the work of other people.

Matching him is another hero of Nekrasov’s “Who Lives Well in Rus'” - Utyatin. All his life he “been weird and foolish,” and when social reform came, he was struck down. His children, in order to receive an inheritance, put on a real performance together with the peasants. They convince him that he will not be left with anything, and serfdom still reigns in Rus'.

Grandfather Savely

The characterization of the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” would be incomplete without a description of the image of grandfather Savely. The reader gets to know him already when he has lived a long and hard life. In his old age, Savely lives with his son’s family; he is Matryona’s father-in-law. It is worth noting that the old man does not like his family. After all, household members do not have the best characteristics.

Even in his own circle, Savely is called “branded, a convict.” But he is not offended by this and gives a worthy answer: “Branded, but not a slave.” Such is the character of this hero “Who Lives Well in Rus'.” Short description Savely's character can be supplemented by the fact that he is not averse to sometimes making fun of members of his family. The main thing that is noted when meeting this character is his difference from the others, both from his son and from the other inhabitants of the house.

In the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus',” a series of characters pass before the reader. These are people of different classes, ages and interests. “Who lives well in Rus'” - a brief description of heroes will help create a generalized image of a Russian peasant. The author's heroes are divided into groups: those who went to look for the happy in Rus', landowners, serfs and peasants. There is a group that is not included in those listed. They stand apart from the main characters. It is impossible to say who is more important. Everyone is important and valuable.

Travelers in Rus'

• Temporarily required: in the past all peasants were serfs;
• Power: men have a reserved character;
• Poor;
• Unpretentious: they are not afraid to travel around the country without food and water: they drink from puddles, wash themselves there, and refresh themselves with dew;
• Uneducated: men don’t understand everything, it’s difficult to talk to them about scientific topics;
• Family: all heroes have families. The men left their wives, children, and parents at home;
• Sincere: on the road they are sad for their wives and children. They can barely hold back their tears from what they saw along the way.
• Purposeful: all the characters want to find the answer, find out the solution to the dispute;
• Hardworking: They can easily cope with any work, they miss the scythe. The habit of working is not forgotten.

Appearance of wanderers

• Half a pound of bread (8kg);
• A dozen cucumbers;
• A jug of cold kvass;
• A kettle of hot tea.

Character of wanderers

“The guy is like a bull: some crazy thing gets stuck in your head - you can’t knock it out of there with a stake...”

Stubborn debaters defend their opinions and find many arguments to prove them. It is difficult, almost impossible, to turn them off the path. Only they themselves can change their mind if they see the mistake. Russian people are brave by nature. Having decided to set out on a journey, wanderers are not afraid of possible obstacles. They work deftly with their hands. Nekrasov compares hands to teeth:

“Knocking from hunger...”

Other characteristics of peasants:

Love for vodka: men dream of a bucket of vodka. They easily fall for her, run after her to the nearest villages, drink 3 “kosushki” each, eat and talk.

Fervor: courage flares up gradually, enthusiasm takes over and turns into swearing, scolding and fighting. A riot of characters is the hallmark of the Russian nation. THEIR ardor is described by the author with humor:

“...They almost spat in my beard...”

Faith and conscience: The peasants have no education, but they feel where the grief, lies and deceit are. The men sympathize with the priest, believe in God and his help.

Love for songs, fairy tales and legends. On the way, the men sing, tell stories, and listen to the stories of those they meet. From each story they choose the very essence, reason and draw the right conclusions.

Modest peasants are attentive to everyone they meet. They believe that there are happy people in Rus'; they cannot refuse to search for an answer to the question of the dispute.

Individual characteristics

Novel. There is no information about him.

Demyan. Somewhere a peasant managed to learn to read syllables. He can only simple words, “intricate titles” remain a mystery. But even this little thing confirms the desire of men to gain knowledge.

Luke. A peasant once worked for a priest for 3 years. Outwardly it looks like a mill. He waves his arms, but cannot take off. Stubborn, talkative and stupid.

Gubin brothers. It is interesting how the peasants are named: the most common name is Ivan, and the rare one is Mitrodor. Who joked like that about the brothers? Is this not the whim of the extravagant owners? Men love to drink and are ready to drink a bucket of the intoxicating drink. My second interest is horses. They were going to return the stubborn horse to the herd when they met men who started an argument.

Prov. The peasant is gloomy and stern. You can only deal with it by piling on it in a heap. The Gubin brothers “iron” him, but he endures everything and remains silent, standing his ground.

Different opinions at those who met on the pillar path. Not everyone was able to meet along the way, but the peasants gained faith. The songs of Grigory Dobrosklonov are the path to light, hope for a happy future for all peasants.

“Who Lives Well in Rus'” is one of the most famous works ON THE. Nekrasova. In the poem, the writer managed to reflect all the hardships and torments that the Russian people endure. The characteristics of the heroes are especially significant in this context. “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is a work rich in bright, expressive and original characters, which we will consider in the article.

The meaning of the prologue

The beginning of the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'” plays a special role in understanding the work. The prologue resembles a fairy tale opening like “In a Certain Kingdom”:

In what year - calculate

In what land - guess...

The following tells about the men who came from different villages (Neelova, Zaplatova, etc.). All titles and names are telling; with them Nekrasov gives a clear description of places and characters. In the prologue, the men's journey begins. This is where the fairy-tale elements in the text end, the reader is introduced to the real world.

List of heroes

All the heroes of the poem can be divided into four groups. The first group consists of the main characters who went for happiness:

• Demyan;
• Novel;
• Prov;
• Groin;
• Ivan and Mitrodor Gubin;
• Luke.

Then come the landowners: Obolt-Obolduev; Glukhovskaya; Utyatin; Shalashnikov; Peremetev.

Slaves and peasants met by travelers: Yakim Nagoy, Egor Shutov, Ermil Girin, Sidor, Ipat, Vlas, Klim, Gleb, Yakov, Agap, Proshka, Savely, Matryona.

And heroes who do not belong to the main groups: Vogel, Altynnikov, Grisha.

Now let's look at the key characters in the poem.

Dobrosklonov Grisha

Grisha Dobrosklonov appears in the episode “A Feast for the Whole World”; the entire epilogue of the work is dedicated to this character. He himself is a seminarian, the son of a clerk from the village of Bolshiye Vakhlaki. Grisha's family lives very poorly, only thanks to the generosity of the peasants they managed to raise him and his brother Savva to their feet. Their mother, a farm laborer, died early from overwork. For Grisha, her image merged with the image of her homeland: “With love for the poor mother, love for all the Vakhlachina.”

While still a fifteen-year-old child, Grisha Dobrosklonov decided to devote his life to helping the people. In the future, he wants to go to Moscow to study, but for now, together with his brother, he helps the men as best he can: he works with them, explains new laws, reads documents to them, writes letters for them. Grisha composes songs that reflect observations of poverty and suffering of the people, and thoughts about the future of Russia. The appearance of this character enhances the lyricism of the poem. Nekrasov’s attitude towards his hero is clearly positive; the writer sees in him a revolutionary from the people who should become an example for the upper strata of society. Grisha voices the thoughts and position of Nekrasov himself, decisions of social and moral problems. N.A. is considered the prototype of this character. Dobrolyubova.

Ipat

Ipat is a “sensitive serf,” as Nekrasov calls him, and in this characteristic one can hear the poet’s irony. This character also makes travelers laugh when they learn about his life. Ipat is a grotesque character; he became the embodiment of a faithful lackey, a lordly slave who remained faithful to his master even after the abolition of serfdom. He is proud and considers it a great blessing for himself how the master bathed him in an ice hole, harnessed him to a cart, and saved him from death, to which he himself doomed. Such a character cannot even evoke sympathy from Nekrasov; only laughter and contempt are heard from the poet.

Korchagina Matryona Timofeevna

The peasant woman Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina is the heroine to whom Nekrasov dedicated the entire third part of the poem. This is how the poet describes her: “A dignified woman, about thirty-eight years old, broad and dense. Beautiful... big eyes... stern and dark. She’s wearing a white shirt and a short sundress.” Travelers are led to the woman by her words. Matryona agrees to talk about her life if the men will help in the harvest. The title of this chapter (“Peasant Woman”) emphasizes the typicality of Korchagina’s fate for Russian women. And the author’s words “it’s not a matter for women to look for a happy woman” emphasize the futility of the wanderers’ search.

Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina was born into a good, non-drinking family, and she lived happily there. But after marriage, she found herself “in hell”: her father-in-law was a drunkard, her mother-in-law was superstitious, and she had to work for her sister-in-law without straightening her back. Matryona was lucky with her husband: he only beat her once, but all the time, except winter, he was at work. Therefore, there was no one to stand up for the woman; the only one who tried to protect her was grandfather Savely. The woman endures the harassment of Sitnikov, who has no authority because he is the master’s manager. Matryona's only consolation is her first child, Dema, but due to Savely's oversight, he dies: the boy is eaten by pigs.

Time passes, Matryona has new children, parents and grandfather Savely die of old age. The most difficult years are the lean years, when the whole family has to go hungry. When her husband, the last intercessor, is taken into the army out of turn, she goes to the city. He finds the general's house and throws himself at the feet of his wife, asking for intercession. Thanks to the help of the general's wife, Matryona and her husband return home. It was after this incident that everyone considered her lucky. But in the future, the woman will face only troubles: her eldest son is already a soldier. Nekrasov, summing up, says that the key to female happiness has long been lost.

Agap Petrov

Agap is an inflexible and stupid man, according to the peasants who know him. And all because Petrov did not want to put up with the voluntary slavery that fate was pushing the peasants into. The only thing that could calm him down was wine.

When he was caught carrying a log from the master's forest and accused of theft, he could not stand it and told the owner everything he thought about the real state of affairs and life in Russia. Klim Lavin, not wanting to punish Agap, stages a brutal reprisal against him. And then, wanting to console him, he gives him something to drink. But humiliation and excessive drunkenness lead the hero to die in the morning. This is the price the peasants pay for the right to openly express their thoughts and desire to be free.

Veretennikov Pavlusha

Veretennikov was met by men in the village of Kuzminskoye, at a fair; he is a collector of folklore. Nekrasov gives a poor description of his appearance and does not talk about his origin: “The men did not know what family and rank.” However, for some reason everyone calls him master. This uncertainty is necessary for the image of Pavlusha to be generalized. Compared to people, Veretennikov stands out for his concern about the fate of the Russian people. He is not an indifferent observer, like the participants in the many inactive committees that Yakim Nagoy denounces. Nekrasov emphasizes the hero’s kindness and responsiveness by the fact that his first appearance is marked selfless act: Pavlusha helps out a peasant buying shoes for his granddaughter. Genuine concern for the people also attracts travelers to the “master”.

The prototype of the image was the ethnographers-folklorists Pavel Rybnikov and Pavel Yakushkin, who participated in the democratic movement of the 60s of the 19th century. The surname belongs to the journalist P.F. Veretennikov, who visited rural fairs and published reports in Moskovskie Vedomosti.

Yakov

Yakov is a faithful servant, a former servant, he is described in the part of the poem called “A Feast for the Whole World.” The hero was loyal to his master, endured any punishment and performed even the most difficult work without complaint. This continued until the master, who liked his nephew’s bride, sent him to recruit service. Yakov started drinking, but still returned to his owner. However, the man wanted revenge. One day, when he was taking Polivanov (the master) to his sister, Yakov turned off the road into Devil’s Ravine, unharnessed his horse and hanged himself in front of the owner, wanting to leave him alone with his conscience all night. Similar cases revenge was indeed common among the peasants. Nekrasov based his story on a true story he heard from A.F. Horses.

Ermila Girin

Characteristics of the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is impossible without a description of this character. It is Ermila who can be considered one of the lucky ones whom the travelers were looking for. The prototype of the hero was A.D. Potanin, a peasant, manager of the Orlovs' estate, famous for his unprecedented justice.

Girin is revered among the peasants because of his honesty. For seven years he was burgomaster, but only once allowed himself to abuse his power: he did not give up his younger brother Mitriya as a recruit. But the unrighteous act tormented Yermil so much that he almost killed himself. The intervention of the master saved the situation, he restored justice, returned the peasant who had been unfairly sent to the recruits and sent Mitri to serve, but personally took care of him. Girin then left the service and became a miller. When the mill that he rented was sold, Ermila won the auction, but he did not have the money with him to pay the deposit. The people helped out the peasant: in half an hour, men who remembered kindness collected a thousand rubles for him.

All of Girin’s actions were driven by the desire for justice. Despite the fact that he lived in prosperity and had a considerable household, when a peasant revolt broke out, he did not stand aside, for which he ended up in prison.

Pop

The characterization of the heroes continues. “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is a work rich in characters of different classes, characters and aspirations. Therefore, Nekrasov could not help but turn to the image of a clergyman. According to Luke, it is the priest who should “live cheerfully and freely in Rus'.” And the first on their way, the seekers of happiness meet the village priest, who refutes Luke’s words. The priest has no happiness, wealth or peace of mind. And getting an education is very difficult. The life of a clergyman is not at all sweet: he sees off last way those who die, blesses those who are born, and his soul hurts for the suffering and tormented people.

But the people themselves do not particularly honor the priest. He and his family are constantly the subject of superstitions, jokes, obscene ridicule and songs. And all the wealth of the priests consisted of donations from parishioners, among whom were many landowners. But with cancellation most of rich flock scattered around the world. In 1864, the clergy was deprived of another source of income: schismatics, by decree of the emperor, came under the tutelage of the civil authorities. And with the pennies that the peasants bring, “it’s hard to live.”

Gavrila Afanasyevich Obolt-Obolduev

Our description of the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Rus'” is coming to an end; of course, we could not give descriptions of all the characters in the poem, but we included the most important ones in the review. The last of them significant heroes became Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev - a representative of the lordly class. He is round, pot-bellied, mustachioed, ruddy, stocky, and sixty years old. One of the famous ancestors of Gavrila Afanasyevich is a Tatar who entertained the Empress wild animals, stole from the treasury and plotted the arson of Moscow. Obolt-Obolduev is proud of his ancestor. But he is sad because now he can no longer make money from peasant labor, like before. The landowner covers up his sorrows with concern for the peasant and the fate of Russia.

This idle, ignorant and hypocritical man is convinced that the purpose of his class is one thing - “to live by the labor of others.” When creating an image, Nekrasov does not skimp on shortcomings and endows his hero with cowardice. This trait is manifested in a comical incident when Obolt-Obolduev mistakes unarmed peasants for robbers and threatens them with a pistol. Great work the men should have dissuaded the former owner.

Conclusion

Thus, N. A. Nekrasov’s poem is filled with a number of bright, original characters, designed from all sides to reflect the position of the people in Russia, the attitude of different classes and government officials towards them. It is precisely thanks to such a number of descriptions of human destinies, often based on real stories, the work leaves no one indifferent.