Unprecedented from Alekseev. Sergey Aleksey historical stories

And for a long time Russians were considered good sailors. They made long voyages and traded with other peoples. But the enemies sought to take away access to the sea from Russia. The northern shores of the Black Sea were captured by Turkish invaders. The shores of the Baltic Sea and the adjacent lands of Latvians and Estonians were captured by the Swedes. At that time, Sweden was a very strong state. Her army was considered one of the best in the world. In addition, Sweden had a large, well-armed fleet. In 1700, the intelligent and active Russian Tsar Peter I declared war on Sweden. The war with the Swedes lasted twenty-one years and ended in complete victory for the Russians. In history it was called Northern. For Russia, the Northern War began unsuccessfully. The Russians were defeated near the Swedish fortress of Narva. You will learn about how and why this happened, as well as what needed to be done for future victories and about the first victories themselves, from the story “The Unprecedented Happens.”

Chapter first

On the Narova River

Hike

The Russian army was marching towards Narva. Tra-ta-ta, tra-ta-ta! - the regimental drums beat out the marching roll.

The troops marched through the ancient Russian cities of Novgorod and Pskov, marching with drums and songs.

It was dry autumn. And suddenly the rains began to pour. The leaves fell off the trees. The roads washed out. The cold has begun.

Soldiers are walking along roads washed out by rain, soldiers' feet are drowning in mud up to their knees.

The soldiers will be tired and wet during the day, and there will be nowhere to warm up. Villages were rare. We spent more and more nights in the open air. The soldiers light fires, huddle close to the fire, and lie down on the wet ground.

Bombardier Company Captain

It is difficult for soldiers on a campaign. A cannon got stuck on a bridge while crossing a small stream. One of the wheels was crushed by a rotten log and sank right up to the hub.

The soldiers shout at the horses and beat them with rawhide whips. The horses were skinny and bones during the long journey.

The horses are straining with all their might, but there is no benefit - the gun is not moving.

The soldiers huddled near the bridge, surrounded the cannon, trying to pull it out with their hands.

Forward! - one shouts.

“Without Narva you can’t see the sea”

Well-fed horses run merrily. He overtakes the royal cart, which stretches for many miles, and drives around convoys stuck in the mud.

A man sits next to Peter. He is as tall as a king, only wider in the shoulders. This is Menshikov.

Peter knew Menshikov from childhood.

At that time, Aleksashka Menshikov served at the pie maker as a boy. He walked around Moscow bazaars and squares, selling pies.

Hearth pies, hearth pies! - Menshikov shouted, tearing his throat.

"Talk, sir, to the soldiers"

Peter came to Narva, gathered the generals, and began asking about the condition of the army.

It is awkward for the generals to tell the Tsar the truth. They are afraid of the king's wrath. The generals report that everything is fine, that the troops arrived without losses. There are enough guns, there are cannonballs, and there is good gunpowder.

What about provisions? - asks Peter.

“And there is food,” the generals answer.

“So,” says Peter, and he leaned over to Menshikov, whispering in his ear: “I can’t believe something, Danilych, I saw something else on the way.”

“He who is a coward, go to the convoy”

Peter assigned general engineer Baron Gallart to monitor the siege of the Narva fortress. There were few knowledgeable people in Russia at that time, so they had to invite foreigners.

However, having arrived near Narva, the baron reluctantly went about his business. Gallart was irritated by everything: the Russians had few guns, their horses were skinny, and the soldiers were poorly trained. Gallart walked around dissatisfied with everything and only angered Peter.

Several times the tsar invited the foreign general to walk around the fortress and inspect the Swedish fortifications himself, but Gallart still refused.

Then Peter took a sheet of paper and a pencil and went on his own.

The Swedes saw the king and began to shoot. Swedish bullets hit Peter next to him, and he walks around, draws something on paper, pretends not to notice anything. Gallart felt ashamed. Reluctantly he went to catch up with Peter.

Chapter two

Rejoice in the little things, then the big things will come

“Sir, allow me to speak”

Winter. Freezing. Wind.

A carved cart rushes along a windy road. Throws the rider over potholes.

Snow flies out from under the horse's hooves in white cakes.

Peter rushes to Tula, goes to the arms factory to Nikita Demidov.

Peter had known Demidov for a long time, from the time when Nikita was a simple blacksmith. It used to be that Peter’s affairs would lead to Tula, he would go to Demidov and say: “Teach me, Demidych, the iron craft.”

Bells

Danilych,” Pyotr told Menshikov shortly after Narva, “we will remove the bells from the churches.”

Menshikov's eyes widen in surprise.

What are you staring at? - Peter shouted at him. - We need copper, we need cast iron, we will cast bells for cannons. To the guns, understand?

That’s right, sir, that’s right,” Menshikov began to assent, but he himself couldn’t understand whether the tsar was joking or telling the truth.

Peter wasn't joking. Soon the soldiers dispersed to different places to carry out the royal order.

“Hay, straw!”

The Russians realized after Narva that you couldn’t fight a Swede with an untrained army. Peter decided to start a regular, standing army. While there is no war, let the soldiers practice rifle techniques and get used to discipline and order.

One day Peter was driving past the soldiers' barracks. He looks - the soldiers are lined up, they are learning to walk in formation. A young lieutenant walks next to the soldiers and gives commands. Peter listened: the commands were somehow unusual.

Hay, straw! - the lieutenant shouts. - Hay, straw!

"What's happened?" - thought Peter. He stopped his horse and took a closer look: there was something tied on the soldiers’ legs. The king saw: there was hay on the left leg, straw on the right leg.

The officer saw Peter and shouted:

About boyar beards

The boyars Buynosov and Kurnosov lived in Moscow. And they had a long-standing family, and their houses were bursting with wealth, and each of them had more than one thousand serf men.

But most of all, the boyars were proud of their beards. And their beards were large and fluffy. Buynosov's is wide, like a shovel, Kurnosov's is long, like a horse's tail.

And suddenly the royal decree came out: to shave beards. Under Peter, new orders were introduced in Rus': they ordered people to shave their beards, wear foreign-made clothes, drink coffee, smoke tobacco, and much more.

Having learned about the new decree, Buynosov and Kurnosov sighed and groaned. They agreed not to cut their beards, but in order to avoid being seen by the Tsar, they decided to pretend to be sick. However, soon the tsar himself remembered the boyars and summoned them to him.

The boyars began to argue about who should go first.

What young boyars studied abroad

Buinosov and Kurnosov had no sooner forgotten the old tsarist grievances when a new one came along. Peter ordered to gather fifty of the noblest boyar sons and send them abroad to study. Buynosov and Kurnosov had to send their sons as well.

A cry and crying arose in the boyars' houses. Mothers are running around, servants are fussing, as if it’s not a farewell, but some kind of fight.

Buynosov's wife was breaking up.

Only son - and God knows where, into foreign lands, into the devil's mouth, into the German's mouth! I won't let you in! Will not give it back!

Tsits! - Buynosov shouted at his wife. - The sovereign's order, you fool! Did you want to go to Siberia, on the rack?

Introductory article by I. Motyashov and I. Nagaev
Fascinating - about the most important events of Russian history

The master of historical prose Alexey Yugov once exclaimed from the pages of Literaturnaya Gazeta:

“Brave author, brave publishing house! – I thought when I opened Sergei Alekseev’s book “The Unprecedented Happens.” – Peter!.. A gigantic personality of Russian history. And suddenly - for children, and even “junior school” ones! Let's see, let's see!.." And - I started reading..."

I also read the historical stories of Sergei Alekseev. I read like a boy. And thanks to the author for this.

Sergey Mikhalkov

In 1958, Sergei Alekseev’s first book, “The Unprecedented Happens,” was published in Detgiz. The book was noticed.

Next, by order of the editors, in one go - in three weeks - he writes the story “The History of a Serf Boy”. And this book comes out in the same year, 1958. So forty years ago, a new author entered literature with a firm step - children's writer Sergei Petrovich Alekseev.

In one of his first interviews, Alekseev said about himself: “My biography is unremarkable. I belong to the generation of those who immediately became soldiers from school. He was a military pilot and an instructor pilot. After demobilization from the army, he worked as an editor in a children's publishing house. Then I tried to write a book myself.”

Then, in 1959, in Detgiz they decided to re-publish “The Unprecedented Happens,” and Lev Kassil noted in the so-called “internal” review intended for the publishing house that “the writer manages ... to combine high cognition with genuine fascination. Extreme laconicism, lively ease of language, precision of findings, which allows, in their own way, to re-discover for the children very important moments... of the brightest eras in the history of our Motherland - all this makes S. Alekseev's stories... extremely valuable both from an educational and purely literary point of view vision. And the ability to convey the originality of the characters... and the magnificent, precise and figurative language give Alekseev’s works genuine charm.”

And then Lev Abramovich, admonishing the aspiring author, said truly prophetic words. He said that the stories “of Sergei Alekseev are a definite event in our children's historical fiction.” That “they are textbook simple and will become part of schoolchildren’s favorite reading, helping to create in children correct ideas about important matters of Russian history. And at the same time, they bring real pleasure to everyone who loves intelligent, clear literature, imbued with a cheerful and fresh outlook on life and history.”

The life and talent of Sergei Alekseev fully confirmed the words of the venerable writer spoken about him in advance...

However, Alekseev became a children's writer not only because he once felt the need to write for children. He has been working towards this for over thirty years. Through childhood in Pliskovo, not far from Vinnitsa, in Ukraine, and adolescence in Moscow, in the house of his scientist aunts. Through school and flying club. Through the war, and the flight school, and the history department of the evening department of the Orenburg Pedagogical Institute. Through editorial, literary-critical, organizational work in Detgiz and in the Writers' Union. Through the creation of a school textbook on the history of the USSR, which, even to the most distant extent, was the first outline of his future stories and tales. Through the great school of life in children’s literature, being for more than thirty years the editor-in-chief of the country’s only literary-critical magazine “Children’s Literature,” dedicated to the problems of literature and art for children. And one day the moment came when everything experienced, felt, understood, everything heard, and read, and done merged into one large, enormous whole, urgently demanded an outlet and poured out in the Word.

Obviously, not every literary gifted person is able to write a good book for little ones. S. Alekseev has a certain, perhaps even innate, gift for talking with younger children. And this gift is strengthened by a deeply meaningful, conscious approach to one’s work. “The main thing in a children’s book,” says S. Alekseev, “...is not explanations, but dynamics, action, character that grows out of action. The child quickly grasps and feels such an effective character.”

In two parts of this book, the best stories of Sergei Petrovich Alekseev about Tsar Peter I and Generalissimo Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov are collected.

* * *

“Stories about Peter the Great, Narva and military affairs” is the first part of the book. The reader gets acquainted here with the transformations of Peter I, with how he strove to see the expanses of the country more extensive, and the people educated and enlightened. The stories “What the young boyars studied abroad”, “Az, beeches, lead...” tell about the younger generation, caring for which is one of Peter’s primary affairs. He was stern towards those who did not want to send their children to study, and towards those young nobles who, while studying abroad, tried to shirk the sciences, adopted only the external signs of foreign culture, lost respect for their own Fatherland, or even allowed themselves to be flattered by someone else's. Guardian of the Fatherland, warrior and worker, Peter I wanted to see future generations as worthy successors to the glory of Russia.

Alekseev begins his acquaintance with the hero of the first part of the book with an external portrait, dynamic and lapidary. “The soldiers took a look - the captain of the bombardment company. The captain’s height is enormous, about two meters, his face is round, his eyes are large, and on his lip, as if glued on, is a jet-black mustache.” This is Tsar Peter.

Little by little, from novella to novella, the secret of Peter's successful activity and his statesmanship is revealed. This is the wisdom of human knowledge and experience, which Peter from a young age did not hesitate to adopt from everywhere. This is the wisdom of the people.

With all his intelligence and democracy, Peter remains the tsar, the ruler of the feudal, boyar, noble empire. He cannot help but defend his system, not suppress popular discontent with the most brutal methods, and not shift the main burden of the great state efforts he has undertaken onto the people’s shoulders. At the same time, Peter, without a doubt, is a patriot of Russia, and the whole aspiration of his state actions is patriotic...

* * *

“Stories about Suvorov and Russian soldiers” are closely related to the continuity of military-patriotic traditions and the characterization of the great Russian commander Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. “Eat, eat, get. Don’t disdain the soldier’s in future. Don't disdain the soldier's. A soldier is a man. A soldier is dearer to me than himself,” says Suvorov in the story “Soup and Porridge,” addressing generals who are squeamish about everything soldierly, be it food or anything else. For Suvorov, unity with the soldiers is the key to success in achieving military superiority.

In Suvorov, the writer looks for and notes, first of all, the traits that allowed him to win victories with minimal expenditure of human strength and lives. This Suvorov science of effective leadership of large masses of people can, to a large extent, be perceived by today’s reader as the science of leadership in general, as an example of successful government activity based on impeccable competence and humanistic care for those directly involved.

But, showing a harsh reality that does not distinguish whether it is a child or an adult, Alekseev understands as the most sacred duty the responsibility of an adult to protect a child’s soul and child’s life, even at the cost of his own life.

It is precisely this organic dependence of the “children’s” and “adult” worlds that is the essence of continuity, the guarantee of the continuation and multiplication of human culture, the growth of goodness on earth. Suvorov never parted with his father’s old overcoat on any of his campaigns. But when the overcoat, along with the convoy, fell to the Turks and the soldiers, seeing the grief of their beloved marshal, got this overcoat back, Suvorov was indignant: “Risk people! Because of the overcoat, soldiers’ heads are exposed to Turkish bullets!” This is what Suvorov is all about: in anger at the lieutenant who forced the soldiers to risk it for him. And in touching joy, which replaced anger: “Then he took the overcoat in his hands, looked at the worn floors, at the patched side and suddenly began to cry...”

* * *

“I rewrite each of my books six to seven times,” says S. Alekseev. – I work slowly, returning to the text again and again. I try to ensure that there are no edits in the final version. The slightest correction or insertion forces me to rewrite the story again. I’ve been thinking for a long time about how to start and how to finish the book. I try to listen attentively to the phrase, trying to achieve its musicality... When starting a new work, I usually make a plan, but from experience I know that the plan undergoes changes, and quite unexpected ones.”

Yes, it’s not easy to be a historical writer, and even to present this story in a fascinating and interesting way, so that a young reader would believe in the existence of the heroes of your books, would believe you as a truthful historian...

In the life of Sergei Alekseev there were several fateful, as in a fairy tale, transformations. It would seem that Sergei is a brave pilot and his fate is destined to be a general, a hero, as happened with his fellow pilots... But life takes a sharp turn: he, the “Stalinist falcon,” goes into a tailspin, crashes into mother earth and, like a fairy-tale finisher, - a clear falcon, turns into a children's writer. A fairy tale is told quickly, but things are not done quickly! This wonderful transformation takes a lot of time, effort and years.

Having become a writer, and quite famous, he also dares to take on a magazine. His fate zigzags again - and again successfully. Alekseev moves from Kyiv to Moscow, editorship adds to his social weight and position.

And he is a writer from God! And he knows and understands his reader – a junior schoolchild – thoroughly. That is, it so captures the nuances of perception and spiritual needs, the age-related psychology of young readers, their genuine interest in history and lively figurative storytelling with elements of humor and folk speech, that it achieves a complete merging of souls.

What ideals should we educate the younger generations in these difficult times? What remains? And here the writer Sergei Petrovich Alekseev is a happy exception, for he wrote his historical books not only about Lenin and Soviet power, but also about our past and ancient history. And these books live and will live!

I will name the most famous of them: “One Hundred Stories from Russian History”, “Son of a Giant”, “Terrible Horseman”, “There is a People’s War”, “October is Marching across the Country”, “Decembrists”, “Secret Request”, “Brother”; three books of stories about marshals: Zhukov, Rokossovsky and Konev; “Five bows to Stalingrad”; series of books: “Peter the Great”, “Alexander Suvorov”, “Mikhail Kutuzov”, “One Hundred Stories about the War”, “Historical Stories of Russian Victories”, “The Harsh Age”.

According to reviews of young readers collected in the 70-80s by the House of Children's Books, Sergei Alekseev often shared first and second places with Nikolai Nosov, the most popular in those years. The total circulation of Sergei Alekseev's books in the 80s was more than fifty million copies. His books were published in forty-nine languages of the peoples of the USSR and foreign countries.

Sergei Petrovich Alekseev is a laureate of the USSR State Prize, the State Prize of the RSFSR, and the Lenin Komsomol Prize. He was awarded the International Honorary Diploma of H. C. Andersen and the International Prize named after. M. Gorky. Has a number of pedagogical awards.

Now Sergei Petrovich is in good shape. I recently finished the book “Stories about the Time of Troubles”, I have new plans. Many of S.P. Alekseev’s stories were included in anthologies and “reading books” for elementary schools. Sergei Alekseev’s books continue to be published even in our difficult times. Sergei Petrovich Alekseev remains a sought-after writer...

Igor Motyashov, Igor Nagaev

The unprecedented happens
Stories about Peter the Great, Narva and military affairs

Chapter first
On the Narova River

Hike

The Russian army was marching towards Narva. Tra-ta-ta, tra-ta-ta! - the regimental drums beat out the marching beat.

The troops marched through the ancient Russian cities of Novgorod and Pskov, marching with drums and songs.

It was dry autumn. And suddenly the rains began to pour. The leaves fell off the trees. The roads washed out. The cold has begun.

Soldiers are walking along roads washed out by rain, soldiers' feet are drowning in mud up to their knees.

Along with everyone else, Ivan Brykin, a quiet, inconspicuous soldier, was walking towards Narva. Like everyone else, Brykin kneaded the impassable mud, carried a heavy flintlock gun - a fusee, dragged a large soldier's bag, like everyone else, went to bed on the damp ground.

Only Brykin was timid. Whoever is braver will sit closer to the fire, but Brykin lies on the side, tossing and turning from the cold until the morning.

There will be a good soldier who will say:

- What are you doing, Ivan? Is life not dear to you?

- What a life! - Brykin will answer. - Our life is a penny. Who needs a soldier's life!

The soldiers became emaciated, broke off along the way, got sick, lagged behind the army, died on long roads and in foreign villages.

Ivan Brykin couldn’t stand the hike either. I reached Novgorod and fell ill. Brykin began to feel feverish and his bones began to ache. The soldiers laid their comrade on a baggage cart. So Ivan got to Lake Ilmen. The carts stopped at the very shore. The soldiers unharnessed their horses, gave them water to drink, and went to bed.

Brykin was also dozing. In the middle of the night the patient woke up. I felt a terrible cold, opened my eyes, got to the edge of the cart, and looked - there was water all around. The wind blows, carries the waves. Brykin hears distant soldiers' voices. And this is what happened. Lake Ilmen played out at night. The water swelled from the wind, became raging, and rushed ashore. The soldiers rushed to the carts, but it was too late. They had to leave the convoy on the shore.

- Save me! - Brykin shouted.

But at that moment a wave came and the cart was thrown on its side.

- Save me! – Brykin shouted again and choked.

The water covered the soldier's head, picked him up, and dragged him into the lake.

By morning the water subsided. The soldiers collected the remaining goods and moved on.

But no one remembered Ivan. He was not the first, he was not the last - many soldiers died on the way to Narva.

Bombardier Company Captain

It is difficult for soldiers on a campaign. A cannon got stuck on a bridge while crossing a small stream. One of the wheels was crushed by a rotten log and sank right up to the hub.

The soldiers shout at the horses and beat them with rawhide whips. The horses were skinny and bones over the long journey.

The horses are straining with all their might, but there is no benefit - the gun is not moving.

The soldiers huddled near the bridge, surrounded the cannon, trying to pull it out with their hands.

- Forward! - one shouts.

- Back! - the other commands.

The soldiers make noise and argue, but things don’t move forward. A sergeant is running around the gun. He doesn’t know what to come up with.

Suddenly the soldiers look - a carved cart is rushing along the road.

The well-fed horses galloped up to the bridge and stopped. The officer got out of the cart. The soldiers took a look - the captain of the bombardment company. The captain is enormous, about two meters tall, with a round face, large eyes, and a jet-black mustache on his lip, as if glued on.

The soldiers got scared, stretched out their arms at their sides, and froze.

“Things are bad, brothers,” said the captain.

- That's right, bombardier-captain! - the soldiers barked in response.

Well, they think the captain will start swearing now.

This is true. The captain approached the cannon and examined the bridge.

-Who is the eldest? – asked.

“I am, Mr. Bombardier-Captain,” said the sergeant.

- This is how you take care of military goods! – the captain attacked the sergeant. – You don’t look at the road, you don’t spare the horses!

“Yes, I... yes, we...” the sergeant began to speak.

But the captain didn’t listen, he turned around and there was a slap on the sergeant’s neck!

Then he went back to the cannon, took off his smart caftan with red lapels and crawled under the wheels. The captain strained himself and picked up the cannon with his heroic shoulder. The soldiers grunted in surprise. They ran up and piled on. The cannon trembled, the wheel came out of the hole and stood on level ground.

The captain straightened his shoulders, smiled, shouted to the soldiers: “Thank you, brothers!” – he patted the sergeant on the shoulder, got into the cart and rode on.

The soldiers opened their mouths and looked after the captain.

- Gee! - said the sergeant.

And soon the general and his officers caught up with the soldier.

“Hey, servants,” the general shouted, “didn’t the sovereign’s cart pass here?”

“No, Your Highness,” the soldiers answered, “the bombardier captain was the only one passing through here.”

- Bomber captain? – the general asked.

- Yes sir! - the soldiers answered.

- Fool, what kind of captain is this? This is Tsar Peter Alekseevich himself.

“Without Narva you can’t see the sea”

Well-fed horses run merrily. He overtakes the royal cart, which stretches for many miles, and drives around convoys stuck in the mud.

A man sits next to Peter. He is as tall as a king, only wider in the shoulders. This is Mentikov.

Peter knew Menshikov from childhood.

At that time, Aleksashka Menshikov served at the pie maker as a boy. He walked around Moscow bazaars and squares, selling pies.

- Hearth pies, hearth pies! - Menshikov shouted, tearing his throat.

One day Aleksashka was fishing on the Yauza River, opposite the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Suddenly Menshikov looks - a boy is coming. I guessed from his clothes that he was a young king.

- Do you want me to show you a trick? – Aleksashka turned to Peter.

Menshikov grabbed a needle and pierced his cheek, so deftly that he pulled the thread through, but there was not a single blood on his cheek.

Peter even screamed in surprise.

More than ten years have passed since that time. Menshikov is unrecognizable now. The king has his first friend and adviser. “Alexander Danilovich,” they now respectfully call the former Alexashka.

- Hey Hey! - shouts the soldier sitting on the box.

The horses rush at full speed. They toss the royal cart over potholes. Dirt flies to the sides.

Peter sits silently, looks at the soldier’s back, remembers his childhood, games and amusing army.

Peter lived then near Moscow, in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Most of all I loved war games. They recruited guys for him, brought rifles and cannons. Only there were no real nuclei. They shot steamed turnips. Peter gathers his army, divides it into two halves, and the battle begins. Then they count the losses: one had his arm broken, another had his side knocked off, and the third was sent to the next world.

It used to be that boyars would arrive from Moscow, start scolding Peter for his amusing games, and he would point a cannon at them - bang! - and the steamed turnips fly into fat bellies and bearded faces. The boyars will grab the skirts of their embroidered caftans and run away. And Peter draws his sword and shouts:

- Victoria! Victoria! Victory! The enemy showed his back!

Now the funny army has grown. These are two real regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. The Tsar calls them the guard. Together with everyone else, the regiments go to Narva, together they knead the impassable mud. “How will old friends show themselves now? - Peter thinks. “It’s not for you to fight the boyars.”

- Sovereign! - Menshikov brings the Tsar out of his thoughts. - Sir, Narva is visible.

Peter is looking. There is a fortress on the left steep bank of the Narova River. There is a stone wall around the fortress. Near the river you can see Narva Castle - a fortress within a fortress. The main tower of the castle, Long Herman, stretched high into the sky.

And opposite Narva, on the right bank of the Narova, there is another fortress: Ivangorod. And Ivangorod is surrounded by an impregnable wall.

“It’s not easy, sir, to fight such a fortress,” says Menshikov.

“It’s not easy,” Peter answers. - But it is necessary. We can't live without Narva. Without Narva you cannot see the sea.

“Talk, sir, to the soldiers!”

Peter came to Narva, gathered the generals, and began asking about the condition of the army.

– What about provisions? - asks Peter.

“And there is food,” the generals answer.

“So,” says Peter, and he leaned over to Menshikov, whispering in his ear: “I can’t believe something, Danilych, I saw something else on the way.”

- They're lying. By God, they're lying! - Menshikov answers. - Go talk, sir, with the soldiers.

Peter went. He looks - the soldiers are standing, cleaning their guns.

- How are you, servants? - asks Peter.

“It’s nothing, sir, God is merciful,” the soldiers answer.

- Well, did many people die along the way? - asks Peter.

- Lay down, sir. That’s why the road is long; rains, sir, bad weather.

Peter looked at the soldiers and said nothing, only Peter’s thin, awl-like mustache twitched.

- How are you, scorers? - asks Peter.

“It’s nothing, sir, God is merciful,” the bombardiers answer.

- Well, what about the guns, how about gunpowder?

The gunners are silent, shifting from foot to foot.

- So what about gunpowder? – Peter asks again.

“It’s nothing, sir,” the bombardiers answer.

And again they are silent, again shifting from foot to foot.

- What nothing? Where are the convoys, where is the gunpowder? – Peter, unable to bear it, shouted.

“The carts have fallen behind, sir,” the soldiers answer. - But the road is long, the mud is impassable. But there is gunpowder, sir. How can you go to war without gunpowder? They'll give you tea and gunpowder.

And again Peter’s mustache twitched, his huge hands clenched into fists.

- How are you, guys? - asks Peter.

“It’s nothing, sir, God is merciful,” the dragoons answer.

- What about grub?

- It’s only bad with grub. “It’s okay, sir,” the dragoons answer, “the people tolerate it.” I feel sorry for the horses.

Peter's face twisted with anger. The king realized that the generals were telling lies. Peter returned to the general's hut and again gathered the council.

- How are we going to fight the Swedes? - the king spoke. -Where is the gunpowder, where are the convoys? Why did the soldiers die on the way, how will we feed the living? Why were they lying and not telling the truth?!

The generals are silent, look at the Tsar from under their brows, and are afraid to speak.

Finally, the senior man, Avtamon Golovin, stood up:

- Pyotr Alekseevich, don’t be angry. The Russian man is hardy. God is merciful, somehow.

- Fool! - Peter barked. – You won’t get far on God’s mercy! We need guns, cannonballs, food for horses and people. This is no joke. I'll skin it if there's no order! Got it?

And he went out and slammed the door so hard that it sent shivers down the generals’ spines.

As you know, a phenomenon similar to slavery existed in the Russian Empire for many centuries. It was called serfdom. At the same time, serfs were the most ordinary people who were simply unlucky to be born into peasant families.

The famous writer dedicated his story “The Story of a Serf Boy” to this topic. Let's find out a brief summary of this work, and also get acquainted with the biography of its creator.

Russian writer S. Alekseev

Sergei devoted most of his life to writing children's and historical books. And it’s not surprising, because he was born into an intelligent doctor’s family (1922).

Thanks to the fact that his father had an internship in the village of Pliskov, Kyiv province (today it is the territory of Ukraine), the future writer was accustomed to communicating with peasants from childhood and knew first-hand about their hardships.

When Alekseev turned 10, his parents moved to Moscow, where he graduated from school. The purposeful young man dreamed of becoming a pilot, for which he entered the aviation school in the city of Postav (today the territory of Belarus) in 1940.

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Sergei Alekseev, along with other cadets, was transferred to the Orenburg Flight School. While living in Orenburg, Alekseev became interested in history and, in parallel with the school, began taking evening courses at the history department of the local pedagogical institute.

After graduating from college, the young man began teaching there. However, due to an injury received during a training flight, he was soon forced to quit flying and took up literature.

At first, the future writer edited other people's works, and in 1955 he began publishing his own. His works were awarded many awards (USSR State Prize, Lenin Komsomol Prize, International Diploma of H. H. Andersen) and translated into 50 languages of the world.

The main theme of Sergei Alekseev’s work was the military history of the Russian Empire, starting from the mid-16th century.

Sergei Petrovich died in May 2008 at the age of 86 years. His grave is located at the Peredelkinskoye cemetery, where connoisseurs of creativity can still lay flowers today.

The story “The Story of a Serf Boy”

In Alekseev’s works, historical events are often shown through children’s perception. For example, the book “The Life and Death of Grishatka Sokolov” tells about the Pugachev uprising through the story of a boy who took part in it.

However, the most striking story of this type is “The Story of a Serf Boy” (a summary is in paragraphs VI - IX).

Story structure

This book consists of 4 chapters. Each of them describes the period of stay of the main character with the next owner. Moreover, each of the chapters is divided into several parts: “Mistress Mavra Ermolaevna” (7), “Dasha” (12), “Guards Lieutenant” (8), “Good Master” (7).

Background of the story

Before considering the summary of the book “The History of a Serf Boy,” it is worth learning about the historical period during which all the events take place.

The time frame can be limited to the period of the late 80s - early 90s. XVIII century. This is evidenced by the fact that Mitya Myshkin meets with a former rebel from the army of Emelyan Pugachev, as well as with the great commander Alexander Suvorov during the capture of Izmail. There are still about 70 years before the abolition of serfdom (1861), which means that the slave-owning class of Tsarist Russia (barely calmed down after the Pugachev era) not only does not perceive serfs as people, but also treats them with increased severity. Most likely, this is why this period was chosen by Alekseev to show the abomination of serfdom.

The main character of the book

Before reading the summary of the story “The Story of a Serf Boy,” it is worth learning more about its main character.

The plot focuses on the fate of a ten-year-old boy named Dmitry (Mitya) Myshkin from the village of Zakopanka. Despite his young age and lack of education, he is smart, resourceful and brave. At the same time, the boy has a heightened sense of self-esteem and justice. He is ready to help a loved one, even risking his own life.

Each time he moves to a new master, he evolves, learning from past mistakes. Thanks to this, in the last chapters Mitya actually chooses his own owners.

It is especially worth noting the devotion of which this boy is capable. So, avenging the death of his friend Dasha, he burns alive the person responsible for this. And having become attached to Lieutenant Vyazemsky, the boy pulls him out of the battlefield. However, when this man breaks his word and loses the guy to his cruel and narrow-minded friend, Myshkin leaves the owner without a twinge of conscience.

With all this, despite his valor and resourcefulness, Mitya remains a child who dreams of returning to his parents. But by the end of the story, Myshkin turns into a kind of potential Pugachev, who realized that there are no good masters.

“The Story of a Serf Boy”: a summary of the chapter “Lady Mavra Ermolaevna”

At the beginning of the story, Mitya is a happy, carefree child who is not fully aware of what it means to be a serf. The unexpected news for him is that he and his parents are being taken to be sold.

Due to the fact that the auction took place in the fall (when serfs were not particularly valued), none of the Zakopane people were bought. However, before the fair closed, the old lady had her eye on the boy and bargained for him for 3 rubles.

The new owner, the widow of an army officer, was very poor. Her only source of income was her husband's pension. However, the money was barely enough to maintain a tiny house with 3 rooms, a barn, a barn and a bathhouse.

In addition to Mitya, the mistress had 2 more serfs: Varvara and Arkhip.

They lived poorly and boringly on Mavra Ermolaevna’s estate. This woman's main entertainment was flogging slaves on Saturdays. This was done not for duty, but for order. The child did not like this attitude, and, trying to protect himself and others, he hid the rods.

In order for the boy to admit where they were, the lady put him in the goose barn. Frightened, Mitya accidentally killed one of the geese. For this, the mistress severely whipped him when she found the rods.

In the future, Myshkin’s life only worsened, so he decided to run away.

Summary of the story “The Story of a Serf Boy”: chapter two (“Dasha”)

Next to the modest possessions of Mitya’s lady was the luxurious Novgorod estate of Count Alexei Gushchin (Barabikha). This nobleman rarely appeared there, so the German manager Franz Neumann was in charge of the estate almost all the time.

One day the count demanded that the manager prepare the serf orchestra and theater for the New Year. Neumann began to gather peasants inclined to play music throughout the area. One day he happened to hear Mitya (who by that time had been assigned to herd geese) play the pipe. Assessing the guy’s talent, Franz bought him from Mavra Ermolaevna for 2 bags of oats and an old feather bed.

The estate in Barabikha was large. Many serfs lived there, and the attitude towards them was several times better than that of the previous owner. Gradually the boy got used to it and became friends with a young artist named Dasha.

Despite all the good things, Mitya went on the run. He was overtaken by the terrible mute huntsman Fyodor, who was sent in pursuit. However, he did not give the fugitive to the Germans, but hid him in his kennel for a long time. Soon the boy became friends with the man and learned that his tongue had been torn out because of his participation in the Pugachev crime.

When Myshkin was discovered by Franz, the guy got a lot of trouble. But Dasha and Fedor came out.

The New Year was approaching, and a dress rehearsal was underway at the theater. Dasha played one of the main roles and accidentally fell. The manager wanted to beat her, but Mitya interceded. Fleeing from the German's wrath, the children ran out into the cold. The girl, dressed in light theatrical clothes, caught a cold and died of the disease a few days later.

In an effort to avenge her, Mitya set fire to the house in which the German lived. The servants did not particularly try to save the manager, and those who tried were stopped by the mute Fyodor, who, through a misunderstanding, was considered the culprit of the fire.

Myshkin, taking advantage of the situation, escaped.

"Guards Lieutenant"

Having examined the summary of the first two chapters of “The Story of a Serf Boy,” it is worth finding out what the third is about.

Finding himself on the road after escaping, the main character almost froze to death - it was winter, after all. He was rescued by a passing officer. He wanted to hand over the fugitive to the authorities, but Mitya managed to win over the military man, and he kept the boy with him.

The new owner, Alexander Vasilyevich Vyazemsky, was a lieutenant in the Imperial Life Guards regiment. The boy became his orderly and became very attached to him.

Because of the duel, Vyazemsky was sent to war with the Turks. Fearing for the life of the young servant, he wanted to leave him on his estate, but Mitya decided to stay with the master.

Taking part in the battle for the capture of Ishmael, the young officer showed courage, but was injured and almost died. Fortunately, Myshkin made his way to the battlefield and pulled out the wounded owner. Suvorov himself found out about this and awarded the young hero a medal.

Returning to St. Petersburg, Vyazemsky, in gratitude for the rescue, vowed never to sell the boy. But one day, while playing cards, the officer bet Mitya. The disappointed boy did not wait for the outcome of the game and ran away.

"Good gentleman"

Having learned the summary of three chapters of “The Stories of a Serf Boy,” it’s time to figure out how this book ended.

After his escape, Myshkin wandered around the capital in search of food. At the market, he accidentally met a serf from Zakopanka - the crooked Savva. He said that the former owners went bankrupt and sold almost all the peasants and land. The boy's parents are now owned by General Yusupovsky, who is known for his good disposition.

Savva took the boy to his father and mother, who considered him dead.

The new master had some mental problems due to a head wound. Therefore, he constantly forced the boy to play his strange games and pretend to be either a soldier or a queen. Despite this, Mitya lived well.

A year later, the master remembered that he had never completed the documents for the purchase of Myshkin and sent his manager to Count Gushchin. A soldier came from there to arrest the boy for arson. Realizing that things would not end well, the boy ran away on his master's sled.

Problems of the story

Having familiarized yourself with the summary of Alekseev’s “The History of a Serf Boy,” it is worth considering the problems of this work.

In addition, the social difference between rich and poor landowners is clearly visible in the story. The author tells how cruelly the ruined landowners took revenge on their serfs. So Mavra Ermolaevna flogged the slaves every week, and the first owners of Mitya sold the peasants without regret, without fear of separating families.

The cruelty provoked by permissiveness is no less vividly depicted. If the old lady punished the hero for his attempts to escape, then the boy’s would-be owner planned to humiliate and insult him simply because Mitya had a medal for courage, but he did not.

Another episode illustrating the inhumanity of the masters was the story of the lordly treatment of Fyodor (“The Story of a Serf Boy”: a summary of the second chapter).

In addition to all of the above, Sergei Alekseev in his book talks about how talent and nobility do not depend on titles. The story draws a parallel between Suvorov and Mitya, whom St. Petersburg staff officers considered upstarts. Meanwhile, they are both brave and noble people, despite their not entirely noble origins.

Sergei Alekseev’s story “The History of a Serf Boy” (summary in paragraphs VI - IX) is one of the pearls of Soviet and Russian literature. In it, the author managed not only to talk about the everyday life of serfs, but also to make it so interesting that even modern schoolchildren continue to read this book.

On May 18, 1703, a Russian detachment defeated the ships of the Swedish squadron of Vice Admiral Numers. This day is considered the founding date of the Baltic Fleet. This victory forced the Swedish command to withdraw the squadron and leave the mouth of the Neva forever. Russia took control of the entire course of the Neva and gained access to the Gulf of Finland. To protect it, Tsar Peter I founded a fortress on the island of Yanni-Sari (Hare Island) on May 27, 1703. This is how the Peter and Paul Fortress and the city of St. Petersburg, the first Russian port on the Baltic Sea, were founded.

During the Northern War, the successful actions of Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal Boris Sheremetev allowed Russia to establish itself in Ingria and begin to cleanse Lake Ladoga and Lake Peipus, where Swedish ships were cruising. The Swedish Naval Forces assisted their ground forces and impeded the advance of Russian troops. The Russians made up for the lack of funds (warships were just being built) with courage and resourcefulness. An invaluable role in the fight against the Swedish naval forces was played by detachments of small river vessels (boats, karbas, boats, etc.); they were used before the war as transport, transporting various cargoes along rivers and lakes. Teams of soldiers were boarded on river boats. It is clear that in terms of their fighting qualities they could not withstand the Swedish warships, which were armed with 10-20 cannons and had crews of well-trained sailors. The Swedish command was confident in its abilities and did not expect serious opposition from the Russians on the water. But the Swedes underestimated the ingenuity, courage and tenacity of the Russians.

So, in May 1702, in a narrow strait that connected lakes Peipus and Pskov, a detachment of Russian ships came across a Swedish squadron led by Commander Leshern. A fierce battle began: the Swedes showered the Russian karbas with cannonballs, gun salvos were heard. Several Russian ships were broken. However, the Russians did not retreat in their small boats and stubbornly went on the attack. They were able to board the yacht “Flundran”, and then “Vivat” and “Wachtmeister”. The Russian detachment broke into Lake Peipsi.

There were also battles on Lake Ladoga. On June 15, 1702, Russian ships under the command of Colonel Ostrovsky attacked the squadron of Vice Admiral Numers at the mouth of the Vorona River. The Swedes went ashore and plundered the surrounding villages. Russian soldiers damaged the flagship brigantine Joya and forced the Swedes to retreat. Soon, a Russian detachment under the leadership of Colonel Tyrtov of 30 ships attacked Numers’ squadron at Kexholm (Korela). The Swedish squadron lost several ships and up to 300 people killed and wounded. Vice Admiral Numers was forced to leave Lake Ladoga and go to the Gulf of Finland. Russian troops were able to begin the siege of the Noteburg fortress (Old Russian: Oreshek). Noteburg closed the route from Lake Ladoga to the Neva. In October, with the participation of naval forces (the fortress was located on an island), Noteburg was taken. The Russian army was given the opportunity to go to the coast of the Gulf of Finland.

In the spring of 1703, Sheremetev's army, having captured the territory of the middle reaches of the Neva, reached the lower reaches of the river, to the Nyenschanz fortress. After a short battle, this Swedish stronghold was also taken. The Swedish command had not yet received information about the fall of Nyenskans, so a few days after the fall of the fortress, Numers' squadron appeared at the mouth of the Neva. Not knowing that the fortress had fallen, the Swedes calmly anchored off the shore. Two ships of the Swedish squadron - "Gedan" and "Astrild" - were located closest to all the others. The Russians carefully watched the enemy's movements. Even before the enemy ships entered the river, a detachment of 30 ships with soldiers of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments was advanced to the mouth. The detachment was led by bombardier captain Pyotr Mikhailov (Tsar) and Alexander Menshikov. At dawn on May 7 (18), taking advantage of the fog, rainy weather and the fact that the Swedes did not expect an attack, the Russian detachment went to board the enemy ships. The Swedes, noticing the Russian boats, raised anchors and began to raise sails in order to break through to their squadron. The Russian boats were showered with grapeshot - the Swedes had 18 cannons. But the Russian soldiers did not allow the Swedes to leave; they were able to get close to the ships and went to board them. 8 boats managed to take part in the battle and were the first to get close to the Swedes. After a fierce battle, both ships were taken by storm. The fierceness of the battle is evidenced by the fact that out of 77 Swedish sailors and commanders, only 19 people remained alive. As Tsar Peter wrote: “The enemies, sorry, screamed too late.” "Gedan" and "Astrild" were included in the Russian fleet. After this battle, Peter ordered a medal with the inscription “Unprecedented things happen,” which was awarded to all soldiers and officers who took part in this battle.

A few years later, when the intensity of the Northern War subsided a little in the northwestern direction and the city of St. Petersburg, founded in the delta of the Neva River, began to grow rapidly, Tsar Peter decided, in memory of his first naval victory, to build a summer palace for his wife and daughters and surround it with a park “ in Dutch taste." In honor of the queen, the entire complex was named Ekateringhof.

Sergey Petrovich Alekseev

The unprecedented happens

Chapter first

ON THE NAROVA RIVER

The Russian army was marching towards Narva. Tra-ta-ta, tra-ta-ta! - the regimental drums beat out the marching roll.

The troops marched through the ancient Russian cities of Novgorod and Pskov, marching with drums and songs.

It was dry autumn. And suddenly the rains began to pour. The leaves fell off the trees. The roads washed out. The cold has begun.

Soldiers are walking along roads washed out by rain, soldiers' feet are drowning in mud up to their knees.

Along with everyone else, Ivan Brykin, a quiet, inconspicuous soldier, was walking towards Narva. Like everyone else, Brykin kneaded the impassable mud, carried a heavy flintlock rifle to his fusée, dragged a large soldier's bag, and, like everyone else, went to bed on the damp ground.

Only Brykin was timid. Whoever is braver will sit closer to the fire, but Brykin lies on the side, tossing and turning from the cold until the morning.

There will be a good soldier who will say:

What are you doing, Ivan? Is life cheap for you?

What a life! - Brykin will answer. - Our life is a penny. Who needs a soldier's life!

The soldiers became emaciated, broke off along the way, got sick, lagged behind the army, died on long roads and in foreign villages.

Save! - Brykin shouted.

But at that moment a wave came and the cart was thrown on its side.

Save me! - Brykin shouted again and choked.

The water covered the soldier's head, picked him up, and dragged him into the lake.

By morning the water subsided. The soldiers collected the remaining goods and moved on.

But no one remembered Ivan. He was not the first, he was not the last - many soldiers died on the way to Narva.

CAPTAIN OF THE BOMBARDER COMPANY

It is difficult for soldiers on a campaign. A cannon got stuck on a bridge while crossing a small stream. One of the wheels was crushed by a rotten log and sank right up to the hub.

The soldiers shout at the horses and beat them with rawhide whips. The horses were skinny and bones during the long journey.

The horses are straining with all their might, but there is no benefit - the gun is not moving.

The soldiers huddled near the bridge, surrounded the cannon, trying to pull it out with their hands.

Forward! - one shouts.

Back! - the command is given by another.

The soldiers make noise and argue, but things don’t move forward. A sergeant is running around the gun. He doesn’t know what to come up with.

Suddenly the soldiers look - a carved cart is rushing along the road.

The well-fed horses galloped up to the bridge and stopped. The officer got out of the cart. The soldiers looked - the captain of the bombardment company. The captain is enormous, about two meters tall, with a round face, large eyes, and a jet-black mustache on his lip, as if glued on.

The soldiers got scared, stretched out their arms at their sides, and froze.

Things are bad, brothers,” said the captain.

That's right, bombardier-captain! - the soldiers barked in response.

Well, they think the captain will start swearing now.

This is true. The captain approached the cannon and examined the bridge.

Who's the eldest? - asked.

“I am, Mr. Bombardier-Captain,” said the sergeant.

This is how you take care of military goods! - the captain attacked the sergeant. You don't look at the road, you don't spare the horses!

Yes, I... yes, we... - the sergeant began to speak.

But the captain did not listen, he turned around - and there was a slap on the sergeant’s neck!

Then he went back to the cannon, took off his elegant caftan with red lapels and crawled under the wheels. The captain strained himself and picked up the cannon with his heroic shoulder. The soldiers grunted in surprise. They ran up and piled on. The cannon trembled, the wheel came out of the hole and stood on level ground.

The captain straightened his shoulders, smiled, shouted to the soldiers: “Thank you, brothers!” - he patted the sergeant on the shoulder, got into the cart and rode on.

The soldiers opened their mouths and looked after the captain.

Gee! - said the sergeant.

And soon the general and his officers caught up with the soldier.

“Hey, servants,” the general shouted, “didn’t the sovereign’s cart pass here?”

No, Your Highness,” the soldiers answered, “the bombardier’s captain was just passing through here.”

Bomber captain? - the general asked.

Yes sir! - the soldiers answered.

Fool, what kind of captain is this? This is Tsar Peter Alekseevich himself!

“WITHOUT NARVA YOU CAN’T SEE THE SEA”

Well-fed horses run merrily. He overtakes the royal cart, which stretches for many miles, and drives around convoys stuck in the mud.

A man sits next to Peter. He is as tall as a king, only wider in the shoulders. This is Menshikov.

Peter knew Menshikov from childhood.

At that time, Aleksashka Menshikov served at the pie maker as a boy. He walked around Moscow bazaars and squares, selling pies.

Hearth pies, hearth pies! - Menshikov shouted, tearing his throat.

One day Aleksashka was fishing on the Yauza River, opposite the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Suddenly Menshikov looks - a boy is coming. I guessed from his clothes that he was a young king.

Do you want me to show you a trick? - Aleksashka turned to Peter.

Menshikov grabbed a needle and thread and pierced his cheek, so deftly that he pulled the thread through, but there was not a single blood on his cheek.

Peter even screamed in surprise.

More than ten years have passed since that time. Menshikov is unrecognizable now. The king has his first friend and adviser. “Alexander Danilovich,” they now respectfully call the former Alexashka.

Hey Hey! - shouts the soldier sitting on the box.

The horses rush at full speed. They toss the royal cart over potholes. Dirt flies to the sides.

Peter sits silently, looks at the soldier’s back, remembers his childhood, games and amusing army.

Unprecedented from Alekseev. Sergey Aleksey historical stories

Chapter first

On the Narova River

Hike

Bombardier Company Captain

“Without Narva you can’t see the sea”

"Talk, sir, to the soldiers"

“He who is a coward, go to the convoy”

Chapter two

Rejoice in the little things, then the big things will come

“Sir, allow me to speak”

Bells

“Hay, straw!”

About boyar beards

What young boyars studied abroad

Introductory article by I. Motyashov and I. Nagaev Fascinating - about the most important events of Russian history

* * *

* * *

* * *

The unprecedented happens Stories about Peter the Great, Narva and military affairs

Chapter first On the Narova River

Hike

Bombardier Company Captain

“Without Narva you can’t see the sea”

“Talk, sir, to the soldiers!”

Russian writer S. Alekseev

The story “The Story of a Serf Boy”

Story structure

Background of the story

The main character of the book

“The Story of a Serf Boy”: a summary of the chapter “Lady Mavra Ermolaevna”

Summary of the story “The Story of a Serf Boy”: chapter two (“Dasha”)

"Guards Lieutenant"

"Good gentleman"

Problems of the story

Introductory article by I. Motyashov and I. Nagaev
Fascinating - about the most important events of Russian history

The unprecedented happens
Stories about Peter the Great, Narva and military affairs

Chapter first
On the Narova River