A chronicle of the history of a conventional Russian city, in which the funny is mixed with the scary. Saltykov-Shchedrin writes a satire on contemporary Russia under the guise of a satire on Russian history - and creates a satire on Russian eternity.
What is this book about?
The chronicle of the history of the conventional Russian city of Foolov and the chronicle of the reign of grotesque, disgusting and terrifying mayors. Foolov is looking for a prince, suffers from mechanical cries of “I will not tolerate” and “I will ruin”, bakes pies according to the rules, goes through a period of idolatry, turns into a barracks, burns, starves and drowns. “The History of a City” is often seen as a fantastic satire on the history of Russia, but behind this meaning lies another one: Shchedrin’s book is about the “Russian inescapable”, about the ahistorical, fatal features of the national mentality. Starting as a farce, by the end “The Story of a City” reaches the scale of an eschatological dystopia.
When was it written?
Shchedrin had ideas related to “The History of a City” back in the late 1850s. The “Provincial Sketches”, approaches to the dark satire of “History,” also date back to this time. Shchedrin worked directly on “History” in 1869-1870, in parallel with “Pompadours and Pompadours.” The plan of the book changed even when publication had already begun: for example, in the first edition of the “Inventory to the City Governors” there is no Ugryum-Burcheev, the most prominent figure in the final version of “The History of a City.”
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. 1870s
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How is it written?
“The History of a City” is a historical chronicle that is consistently written by several chroniclers. The style of narration also changes in accordance with the eras described. Saltykov-Shchedrin resorts to the entire arsenal of satirical techniques: “The History of a City” is full of allusions to real events, ironic references to officially recognized historians, deliberate anachronisms, grotesque details, telling names and inserted documents that brilliantly parody bureaucratic absurdity. Saltykov-Shchedrin hides under the guise of an archive publisher, but does not try to disguise his interference with the “material.” Already during his lifetime, Shchedrin was often compared to Gogol. “The History of a City” confirms the validity of these comparisons - not only because Shchedrin ridiculed the world of bureaucracy, but also because he described disasters poetically and truly horribly.
What influenced her?
In the case of “The History of a City,” it is more appropriate to talk not about influence, but about repulsion - primarily from official historiography, which presents the history of the country as the history of rulers, and from the official style of orders, instructions and memos, with which Shchedrin became acquainted during the years his vice-government in the Ryazan and Tver provinces. The description of morals in “The History of a City” and “Pompadours and Pompadours”, and before that in “Provincial Sketches” inherits the “physiological” essay tradition natural school. The literary movement of the 1840s, the initial stage of the development of critical realism, is characterized by social pathos, everyday life, and interest in the lower strata of society. Nekrasov, Chernyshevsky, Turgenev, Goncharov are considered to be among the natural school; the formation of the school was significantly influenced by the work of Gogol. The almanac “Physiology of St. Petersburg” (1845) can be considered a manifesto of the movement. Reviewing this collection, Thaddeus Bulgarin used the term “natural school” for the first time, and in a disparaging sense. But Belinsky liked the definition and subsequently stuck. Russian humor and satire of the 1860s are also important for Shchedrin’s book - the texts of Kozma Prutkov, the publications of Iskra and Whistle.
“The History of a City” was directly influenced by Gogol’s style, and not only satirical (one can recall the infernal description of the fire in Foolov). The plan was probably influenced by Pushkin’s “History of the Village of Goryukhin”. The great European satirists indirectly influenced Shchedrin: Francois Rabelais, Jonathan Swift, Voltaire. Possibly important pretext The source text that influenced the creation of the work or served as the background for its creation. “Stories of a City” - Christoph Wieland’s novel “The History of the Abderites” (1774) is a satire on the German province, hidden behind a description of the inhabitants of the Thracian city of Abdera, who since Antiquity had a reputation as fools and simpletons, European Foolovites. However, there is no evidence that Shchedrin was familiar with Wieland’s novel; From the well-known satirical chronicles, he definitely caught the eye of Edouard Laboulaye’s pamphlet “The Little Dog Prince,” published in Otechestvennye zapiski. Ultimately, “The History of a City” is deeply original - Turgenev, who knew European literature very well, called Shchedrin’s book “strange and amazing.”
In the magazine "Domestic Notes" in 1869-1870. This magazine, whose editorial board included Shchedrin, was the only publication in Russia where such a poignant work could be published.
The first book edition of “The History of a City” was published in 1870 and was significantly different from the magazine version: Shchedrin removed from the final version many digressions and arguments - very witty, but “slowing down” the text. Subsequently, he returned to the text twice more and revised it for new publications - the last lifetime edition was published in 1883. The first scientifically verified edition appeared in 1926 in the first volume of Shchedrin's collected works; Konstantin Khalabayev and Boris Eikhenbaum were responsible for its preparation. Another scientific publication was published by Academia in 1935. Today we are reading “The History of a City” based on the text of the last lifetime edition, taking into account the work of Soviet literary scholars.
The magazine "Domestic Notes", in which "History" was published. March 1869
The first book edition of “The History of a City.” St. Petersburg, printing house of Andrei Kraevsky, 1870
How was she received?
In the criticism of most contemporaries, “The History of a City” “did not find proper assessment and general recognition" 1 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis....cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 2. : the work was considered only as a “historical satire”, an excursion into the past. Turgenev gave this assessment of the book: “...Too true, alas! picture of Russian history." Alexei Suvorin, the author of the review that offended Shchedrin in Vestnik Evropy, spoke in the same spirit. Suvorin saw in “The History of a City” “mockery of the Foolovites,” Shchedrin (who read it as “mockery of the people”) vehemently objected and even published criticism in response. Other contemporaries understood that Foolov was a satire not only on the past, but rather on Russian life in general, including its provincialism. In this context, Dostoevsky’s “The Possessed” refers not too sympathetically to “The History of a City”; It is noteworthy that in “The History of a City” there is a mayor with the surname of one of the characters in “The Idiot” - Ferdyshchenko, and post-Soviet researchers have found many parallels between these two works, mainly in terms of criticism of socialist utopianism.
Writers of subsequent generations emphasized the inescapable relevance of “The Story of a City”: “When I became an adult, a terrible truth was revealed to me. The good atamans, the dissolute Klemantinki, the rukosui and bast workers, Major Pyshch and the former scoundrel Ugryum-Burcheev outlived Saltykov-Shchedrin. Then my view of the surroundings became mournful,” wrote Mikhail Bulgakov 2 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 78. . Shchedrin's style influenced the best Soviet satirists - such as Ilf and Petrov and Yuri Olesha, the works of Bulgakov and Platonov 3 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. pp. 407-417. . At the same time, Soviet propaganda assigned Saltykov-Shchedrin a place in the pantheon of revolutionary democrats, roughly corresponding to Gogol's position in the previous era; in 1952, Stalin said the phrase “We need Gogoli. We need Shchedrins,” and for a short time “Gogols and Shchedrins” became part of the cultural agenda. The inertia of ideology persisted in Shchedrin studies even after Stalin, but gradually “The History of a City” began to be considered in the context of the world satires 4 Nikolaev D.P. Shchedrin’s satire and realistic grotesque. M.: Khud. lit., 1977. and - not without reason - to see in the last chapters skepticism towards the “revolutionary democracy" 5 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991; Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. . In 1989, director Sergei Ovcharov made the film “It” based on “The History of a City”: this film adaptation draws clear parallels with the history of not only Tsarist Russia, but also the USSR.
The genre of satirical chronicle (including chronicle of the future), replete with anachronisms, is reflected in such new works as “Rosewood” by Sasha Sokolova 6 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. pp. 61-72. and novels by Victor Pelevin of the 2010s. Finally, in the 1990s, the modern writer Vyacheslav Pietsukh published two direct continuations of “The History of a City” - the story “The History of the City of Foolov in New and Contemporary Times” and “The City of Foolov in the Last Ten Years.”
The film "It", based on "The Story of a Town". Director Sergei Ovcharov. 1989
“The History of a City” - a parody of traditional historiography?
Formally, “The History of a City” is the documents of the “Foolish Chronicler” published by Shchedrin. This is the name of the collection of historical information that Foolov’s archivists recorded (there are four of them - an obvious ironic reference to the evangelists; two of them bear Gogol’s surname Tryapichkin). Shchedrin imitates “church-book floridity” syllable" 7 Ishchenko I. T. Parodies of Saltykov-Shchedrin. Mn.: Publishing house BSU named after. V.I. Lenina, 1974. P. 51. , but at the same time - contemporary historiography: books by Nikolai Kostomarov, the “state” history of Boris Chicherin and Vladimir Solovyov. It goes to less serious “feuilletonists-historians” (Mikhail Semevsky, Pyotr Bartenev, Sergei Shubinsky) and fiction writers writing on historical topics, with mention of names. According to Dmitry Likhachev, the writer “parodies not so much the chronicle as the public school historians who used the features of the chronicle depiction of the historical process to substantiate their provisions" 8 Likhachev D.S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature. L.: Hood. lit., 1967. P. 344. . Likhachev adds that “the chronicle style of depiction provided unlimited opportunities for satirical depiction reality" 9 Likhachev D.S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature. L.: Hood. lit., 1967. P. 337. : Thus, the reference to “things of bygone days” is a cover for deeper generalizations.
If you feel that the law places an obstacle on you, then remove it from the table and place it under you.
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
The very structure of “The History of a City” is a parody of the traditional approach to the history of a people as the history of rulers. Russian readers have encountered this kind of presentation of history since childhood—for example, in “The History of Russia in Stories for Children” by Alexandra Ishimova. Almost all elements of the myth about the emergence of Russian statehood, in particular the Norman theory about the calling of the Varangians, are cruelly parodied by Shchedrin. Even the number of Foolov’s mayors “clearly hints at the number of Russians” kings" 10 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis....cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 16. . The events and terms of “big history” are projected onto the private history of provincial Foolov: high politics and military campaigns (from Benevolensky’s relations with Napoleon to the siege of the “bedbug factory” in the chapter about the six mayors). This creates a comic effect of a rather ancient nature: one can recall the ancient Greek “War of the Mice and Frogs” and “The Battle of the Books” by Jonathan Swift.
It is worth mentioning another parody of official historiography, written almost simultaneously with “The History of a City”: a poem by Alexei K. Tolstoy, the leitmotif of which is the same lack of order in Russia noted in “The Tale of Bygone Years”. The poem was not published during Tolstoy’s lifetime and was circulated in lists. According to Shchedrin scholar Dmitry Nikolaev, “The History of a City” avoided such a fate thanks to its grotesque, semi-fantastic features that confused censorship 11 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis....cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 22. .
Semyon Remezov. Brief Siberian Chronicle. Fragment. The end of the 17th century - 1703. Shchedrin writes “The History of a City” in a chronicle style. According to Dmitry Likhachev, the writer “parodies not so much the chronicle as the historians of the state school, who used the features of the chronicle depiction of the historical process to substantiate their positions”
Wikimedia Commons
What else does Saltykov-Shchedrin parody?
In “The History of a City,” parodies of the bureaucratic style of documents of the 18th-19th centuries are very important—the “Verifying Documents” collected in the appendix to the “History of a City.” Here there are “Thoughts on mayoral unanimity” written by mayor Borodavkin and “Charter on respectable baking of pies” created by mayor Benevolensky, which regulates the completely natural course of things - not without benefit for the legislator: “Upon removal from the oven, let everyone take a knife in his hand and, having cut out from the middle part, let him bring it as a gift.” Entire passages from the Code of Laws of the Russian Federation are used in the “Body Documents” empire" 12 Ishchenko I. T. Parodies of Saltykov-Shchedrin. Mn.: Publishing house BSU named after. V.I. Lenina, 1974. P. 58. . This was a matter that Shchedrin, at one time a major official himself, understood very well. In addition, before his eyes he had an example of such a parody: “Project: on the introduction of unanimity in Russia” by Kozma Prutkov.
The essay tradition of the 1860s, to which “The History of a City” adjoins, is characterized by ironic references to the Bible and other religious texts. As researcher Tatyana Golovina points out, “associations with the Old and New Testaments permeate all chapters and all levels of the text” of the book Shchedrin 13 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. P. 6. . The most obvious example is the chapter “Confirmation of Repentance. Conclusion,” which ends with Foolov’s apocalyptic catastrophe. But there are many other allusions in the book: “the beheading of Major Pimple” (a reference to John the Baptist); the construction by the Foolovites of a tower to the sky (similar to the Babylonian one); likening the depraved Ferdyshchenko and his mistress Alyonka to the Old Testament Ahab and Jezebel; a boss spits in a subordinate's eyes and heals him of blindness (similar to Christ) 14 Mk. 8:23. and so on. According to Golovina, Shchedrin develops Karamzin’s idea of history as a “sacred book of nations” and consistently compares episode after episode of Foolov’s history with biblical stories 15 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. pp. 8-13. . City governors, like kings, are not content with this: they need to “establish themselves in their role.” God" 16 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. P. 13. or feel like his authorized governors (Shchedrin calls them “installed from the highest authorities” - as G. Ivanov points out, the word “high” in the 19th century was used almost exclusively in relation to God) 17 Ivanov G.V. Comments. “The history of one city” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. Collected works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 558 . This trend reaches its apogee during the reign of Ugryum-Burcheev, which is followed by Foolov’s end of the world.
Sergey Alimov. Illustration for “The History of a City”
Did Saltykov-Shchedrin hint at any specific rulers and specific historical events?
Yes, everywhere. Even the names of the tribes, among which were the proto-Foolish bunglers, are taken from Ivan Sakharov’s “Tales of the Russian People” and parody the listing of tribes in “The Tale of Bygone Years”; from there is a story about the search for a prince, clearly hinting at the calling of the Varangians. Often in the mayors of Foolov one can recognize several historical figures at once: for example, in Gloomy-Burcheev one sees a portrait not only and not so much of the terrible Minister of War Arakcheev, but of Nicholas I, who was proud of his terrifying glance 18 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 237. . There are attempts to compare Ugryum-Burcheev even with Peter I 19 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 779-786.; Alyakrinskaya M.A. On the problem of historical consciousness of M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrina // History and culture. 2009. No. 7. pp. 181-189. .
The sentimental Dvoekurov and Grustilov, prone to mysticism, resemble Alexander I, and the German Pfeiffer resembles Peter III. “Speransky’s fellow seminary student” Benevolensky is a caricature of Speransky himself, as evidenced by his typical student A student of a theological seminary, in common parlance - a bursa. a Latin surname, and Viscount Du Chariot, “on examination turned out to be a maiden,” is a reference to the adventurer Charles d’Eon de Beaumont, the French ambassador to Russia, who had a penchant for dressing up in women’s clothing. The mayors of the 18th century come “from the dirt” - they are former barbers, stokers, cooks; all this is hints at the career of favorites and dignitaries under the Russian empresses. The chapter “The Tale of the Six Mayors” describes in caricature form the era of palace coups: Anna Ioannovna is recognized in the mayor Iraidka, and Catherine II is recognized in Amalia Karlovna. Governor Ferdyshchenko’s journey through his possessions is a reminiscence of Catherine’s trip to Taurida and numerous ostentatious voyages of Russian governors. When in 1761 a storm breaks out over Foolov, breaking the mayor Baklan in half, this is an allusion to “that political storm that agitated Russia in 1762, suddenly ending the life of the feeble-minded Peter III and enthroning his ambitious spouse" 20 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 220 . Such examples can be multiplied and multiplied.
Who are mayors?
The word “mayor” in the official language meant the head of a city, “separated from the province into an independent administrative unit due to its special significance or geographical provisions" 21 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 19 . The mayor should not be confused with the mayor - the head of the police in the district city (Gogol's mayor from The Government Inspector is the actual owner of the city, but his position is not analogous to the modern mayor or governor). The mayors were appointed personally by the emperor. This does not really correspond either to Foolov’s lack of staff or to the dubious qualities of all his rulers.
Why is Shchedrin talking specifically about mayors? Probably in order to enhance the satirical effect and give additional “unsteadiness”, vagueness to the status of Foolov - a “prefabricated city” representing all of Russia. Some of Shchedrin’s mayors demonstrate quite provincial, or even tsarist, habits. And others go even further: Mayor Wartkin secretly writes a statute “On the freedom of city governors from laws,” the only clause of which reads: “If you feel that the law poses an obstacle for you, then remove it from the table and put it under you.” G. Ivanov, commenting on this place, points to the following story by Vladimir Odoevsky: “Governor Hoven was present in the provincial government (during it), and when, in a dispute, they showed him the Code, he took it and sat on it, saying: well, where is yours now? law?" 22 Ivanov G.V. Comments. “The history of one city” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. Collected works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 572.
The building of the boarding school of the Ryazan provincial gymnasium. From the album “Ryazan in photographs of the 19th - first third of the 20th centuries.” 1868–1869. In 1858–1860, Shchedrin served as vice-governor of the Ryazan province
Why didn’t Shchedrin describe in detail all of Foolov’s mayors?
There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the fragmentation and lack of integrity of the chronicle is an element of parody of the archival chronicle, which may not have been preserved in its entirety, or of the publishing strategy of “feuilleton historians”, who chose mainly anecdotes for their writings. Secondly, parodically following these “feuilletonists”, Shchedrin exhausts the “Foolov plot”: the text describes in detail the most remarkable, the most typical, the most odious and “catastrophic” mayors; the rest of the boards are more like finishing touches to the picture. Finally, in “The History of a City” there is a direct explanation why some mayors were remembered by the Foolovites, while others were not:
“There were truly wise mayors, those who were not alien even to the thought of establishing an academy in Foolov (such, for example, as civilian adviser Dvoekurov, listed in the “inventory” as No. 9), but since they did not call the Foolovites “brothers,” neither “timid”, then their names remained in oblivion. On the contrary, there were others, although not that they were very stupid - there were no such things - but those who did average things, that is, flogged and collected arrears, but since they always said something kind, their names were not only written down on tablets, but even served as the subject of a wide variety of oral legends.”
Why did Shchedrin change the plan for “The History of a City” so much?
This often happens with large works that are published in parts: for example, the beginning of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” was published under the title “1805,” and as work on the sequel progressed, the plan was radically revised. Saltykov-Shchedrin also deepened the concept of “The History of a City” and returned to this work until the end of his life. The two most noticeable changes are the appearance of Foolov's last chapter, Ugryum-Burcheev, who is not in the first published version of the Inventory of City Governors. According to researcher Vladimir Svirsky, Shchedrin decided to introduce Ugryum-Burcheev and entrust him with the actions of Intercept-Zalikhvatsky, who remained only in the “Inventory”, after solving the “Nechaev case” at the end of 1869 of the year 23 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. pp. 26-28. . Another example of a sharp change in plan is a complete reworking of the chapter about the mayor Brudast: from the “Unheard of Sausage” he becomes a mechanical “Organchik”, and the edible stuffed head goes to another mayor - Pimple. As a result, the bosses' gallery is enriched. Different types of rulers arise—brainlessly protective and brainless liberal 24 Nikolaev D.P. Shchedrin’s satire and realistic grotesque. M.: Khud. lit., 1977. C. 144-164. .
Konstantin Gorbatov. Evening in the Russian province. 1931 Historical, Architectural and Art Museum “New Jerusalem”, Istra
Mstislav Dobuzhinsky. Province of the 1830s. 1907 State Russian Museum
What is Shchedrin actually making fun of: history or modernity?
“The History of a City” is not only a satire on the past of Russia from 1731 to 1825 (dates from the advance notice). Shchedrin's satire is essentially timeless. Shchedrin himself, responding in a private letter to Suvorin’s review, stated: “I don’t care about history: I only mean the present. The historical form of the story was convenient for me because it allowed me to more freely address known phenomena of life.” Further, already in print, Shchedrin again clarified his intentions: “I did not mean “historical,” but completely ordinary satire, satire directed against those characteristic features of Russian life that make it not entirely comfortable.”
Vigilant contemporaries felt this very well. A censor who read “The History of a City” spoke of Wartkin’s project to establish an educational institute for city governors as “the application of the author’s satire to the present state of affairs, and not to the past.” time" 25 Evgeniev-Maksimov V. E. In the grip of reaction. M., L.: 1926. P. 33. . This is how Soviet commentators read “The History of a City” (turning a blind eye to the similarities between the gloomy-burcheevsky Foolov and the totalitarian social system of his time).
“If the Foolovites endured the most terrible disasters with firmness... then they owed this only to the fact that in general any disaster seemed to them as something completely independent of them, and therefore inevitable.”
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
To reinforce the feeling of “completely ordinary satire,” Shchedrin uses anachronisms throughout that hint at the very recent past. Not all such references are easy to read: “The History of a City” is magazine prose, perceived by the reader against the backdrop of the topical context of periodicals and largely built on the play on topical issues recognizable to the reader allusions" 26 Gracheva E. N., Vostrikov A. V. Tsar’s curls and lordly arrogance: from comments to “The History of a City” // Shchedrin collection. Vol. 5: Saltykov-Shchedrin in the context of time. M.: MGUDT, 2016. P. 175. . A real commentary will help the reader here. Thus, the primary source of the ideas of Foolov’s mayors about the connection between education and executions is the real official memos of governors 1860s 27 Elsberg Ya. Shchedrin and Glupov // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. History of one city. L.: Academia, 1934. pp. IX-X. . The “secret intrigue” of Lords Krzepszycyulski and Przekszycyulski reflects the mood of the patriotic press of the late 1860s, which maniacally attributed all the troubles of Russia to “ Polish The Kingdom of Poland was part of the Russian Empire from 1815 to 1915. In 1830 and 1863, the Poles rebelled, in both cases it ended in failure. The uprisings are strengthening anti-Polish sentiments in Russia - many problems in the country are attributed to the political machinations of the Poles. After the assassination attempt, Alexander II first asked Karakozov, who shot him: “Are you a Pole?” intrigue" 28 Ivanov G.V. (Comments. “The History of a City”) // Saltykov-Shchedrin M.E. Collected works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 564. . The Foolovites, who decided to worship Perun, sing contemporary “Slavophile” poems by Averkiev and Boborykin to Shchedrin, and then save themselves with the critic’s articles Nikolai Strakhov Nikolai Nikolaevich Strakhov (1828-1896) - ideologist of pochvennichestvo, a close friend of Tolstoy and the first biographer of Dostoevsky. Strakhov wrote the most important critical articles about Tolstoy’s work; we still talk about “War and Peace,” largely relying on them. Strakhov actively criticized nihilism and Western rationalism, which he contemptuously called “enlightenment.” Strakhov's ideas about man as the “central node of the universe” influenced the development of Russian religious philosophy. . The holy fool Paramon pronounces the mysterious spell “Without pracy there will be no bendy kołaczy” (distorted Polish “Bez pracy nie będzie kołaczy”, “Without labor there will be no kalachi”) - the signature phrase of the famous holy fool Ivan Koreysha, who died in 1861. His figure marked the extreme spread of foolishness in Russia; the numerous religious crazes of the Foolovites are a response to this phenomenon. The portrait of the Greek governor Lamvrokakis is related to the educational reform, after which the ancient Greek language returned to gymnasiums as compulsory subject 29 Gracheva E. N., Vostrikov A. V. Tsar’s curls and lordly arrogance: from comments to “The History of a City” // Shchedrin collection. Vol. 5: Saltykov-Shchedrin in the context of time. M.: MGUDT, 2016. pp. 178-179. . Finally, the chapter “Hungry City” reflects the real famine that struck Russia in 1868. Similar examples can be called and called.
But Shchedrin’s “present” is still not the calendar year 1869, but a historical narrative. Although Shchedrin calls it just a formal device, it is indeed full of references to Russian history. The conclusion suggests itself that history and modernity in “The History of a City” are not differentiated, but merged together: Foolov is eternal Russia.
Sergey Alimov. Illustration for “The History of a City”
What cities is Foolov like?
The city of Foolov appears in Shchedrin’s essays even before “The History of a City” - it was a typical provincial Russian city, a suitable environment for satirical exercises. Fulov’s “Stories of a City” is a much more complex place: “The city has become somehow strange, mobile, changeable,” notes Dmitry Nikolaev 30 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis....cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 9. . Foolov turns into a testing ground for experiments in concentrated Russian history, into some kind of “enchanted place”; in this respect it does not claim to be similar to any real Russian city. It turns out to be “either an unknown provincial town, or a state, empire", 31 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 458. a huge territory bordering Byzantium. In some ways it also resembles Russian capitals: “it is built on a swamp through which a river flows - like St. Petersburg, and at the same time it is located on seven hills and has three rivers - like Moscow" 32 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. SPb.: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 21. . Philologist Igor Sukhikh brings Foolov closer to the concept of a “prefabricated city,” as Gogol called the scene of action "The Inspector General" 33 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 458. .
At the same time, one real prototype of Foolov can be easily and accurately established. The self-name of the Foolovites - blockheads, according to I.P. Sakharov's "Tales of the Russian People", referred to the Yegoryevites, however, in Foolov's description much clearly refers to Vyatka (modern Kirov), where Saltykov-Shchedrin lived in exile in 1848-1855. The name “Foolish” is reminiscent of “Khlynov” (that was the name of Vyatka from 1457 to 1780), in the chapter “War of Enlightenment” Saltykov-Shchedrin refers to the legendary massacre between the Vyatichi and Ustyugans, the memory of which was celebrated with a local folk festival - Svistoplyaska. Krutogorsk from Shchedrin’s earlier work, “Provincial Sketches,” is clearly copied from Vyatka.
Tver station. From Joseph Goffert's album “Views of the Nikolaev Railway”. 1864 From 1860 to 1862 Shchedrin served as vice-governor of Tver
DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
Who is the population of Foolov?
The population of Foolov is quite homogeneous (Foolovites often do something all as one - either graze cattle, or rebel against mustard, or destroy the city) - and at the same time changeable in its composition: “then suddenly they have “favorite” citizens and a club where Boston is played; then they have intellectuals and priests, then again the differences fade away”; “classes in Foolov are a very ghostly" 34 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 34. . Foolov’s “revolt on his knees” is more reminiscent of literary descriptions of the morals of the Russian peasantry, but the unsuccessful “debut of Foolov’s liberalism” (the fate of Ionka Kozyr) is an ironic reference to the Russian perception of Voltairianism. The Foolovites are a model of a society that acts as a single mass, subject to external factors. Within itself it may be heterogeneous, but it is always opposed to power and fate. This passive opposition helps her survive: “If the Foolovites endured the most terrible disasters with firmness... then they owed this only to the fact that in general any disaster seemed to them as something completely independent of them, and therefore inevitable.” Attempts at self-organization turn into chaos: for example, during the reign of six mayors, the crowd tries to conduct a dialogue with the world, cracking down on its random representatives.
Sergey Alimov. Illustrations for “The History of a City”
Was Saltykov-Shchedrin himself a good official?
Civil service for Shchedrin was a predetermined matter: since he studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum at state expense, he had to spend six years in the service. years 35 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. pp. 8-9. . In 1844 he entered the office of the War Ministry. His career was soon interrupted: the young Shchedrin was a member of the circle of Mikhail Butashevich-Petrashevsky (the same one in which Dostoevsky almost paid with his life), and after leaving it, he wrote the satirical story “A Confused Affair,” in which he brought out the radicals-Petrashevsky. The Nikolaev censorship, frightened by the revolutionary events in Europe in 1848, mistook Shchedrin’s satire for genuine propaganda - and the writer went into exile in Vyatka (the features of this city are recognizable in Foolov). There, governor Akim Sereda brought him closer to him: the exiled Shchedrin received the position of adviser to the Vyatka provincial government and, in particular, “regularly testified to the trustworthiness of the myself" 36 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 11. . “The Vyatka experience of government activity was painful and paradoxical,” writes researcher Elena Gracheva. - On the one hand, Saltykov the official, in the fight against lawlessness, rushed to restore order and used all his strength to bring life in accordance with the Law. On the other hand, every single day he was convinced that Order in its Russian version is violence no less than lawlessness.” This belief is presented in an exaggerated form in “The History of a City.”
I saw how listeners doubled over with laughter when reading some of Saltykov’s essays. There was something almost scary in this laughter, because the audience, while laughing, at the same time felt like a scourge was lashing itself.
Ivan Turgenev
In 1855, Shchedrin received a pardon from the new Emperor Alexander II, returned to St. Petersburg and entered service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Soon he began to publish “Provincial Sketches,” in which he summarized his administrative experience. The essays became very popular - and, according to legend, Alexander II, having read them, said: “Let him go to serve, let him do as he writes.” So Shchedrin became the vice-governor of the Ryazan province - it was a high, but unostentatious position, which forced him to enter into the private circumstances of the residents and audit the work of local departments. His further career was connected with the Ministry of Finance, he worked in Penza and Tula. Gracheva characterizes Shchedrin the official as follows: “Saltykov... eradicated abuses everywhere day and night, redid all poorly drawn up papers with his own hands, audited the negligent and inspired awe and admiration in his subordinates. He was an excellent official: smart, honest and competent, but at the same time a monstrous boss and subordinate: rude, constantly irritated and swearing like a cab driver, regardless of their faces.<…>Having spat with all the authorities as possible, in 1868 Saltykov entered into final and irrevocable retirement. When M.I. Semevsky talks with Saltykov on February 6, 1882, Saltykov will tell him: “I try to forget about the time of my service. And don't print anything about her. I'm a writer, that's my thing vocation" 37 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. SPb.: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 16. . Soviet literary critic Yakov Elsberg, an odious personality in the history of Russian philology, writes that “Shchedrin’s most acute hatred of Foolov is ... hatred of such elements of ideology, politics and everyday life that, in one form or another, existed in the past of himself Saltykov" 38 Elsberg Ya. Shchedrin and Glupov // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. History of one city. L.: Academia, 1934. P. XIV. .
Vyatka. Cathedral and ecclesiastical consistory. End of the 19th century. In 1848, Shchedrin was exiled to Vyatka (modern Kirov), where he spent seven years. The features of this city are recognizable in Foolov
Paul Fearn/Alamy/TASS
What techniques is “The History of a City” based on? Can we call it grotesque?
The grotesque, strictly speaking, is not necessary for satire, but is often present in it. He is characterized by attention to the ugly and the fantastic at the same time - and “The History of a City,” especially its first chapters, is entirely built on this combination. From Brusty's mechanized head we move on to Pimple's stuffed (and disgustingly devoured) head. One mayor’s brains were shriveled “from unnecessary use,” another’s “legs were turned with their feet back.” The tin soldiers fill with blood, come to life and destroy the huts. Popular anger manifests itself in large-scale and unmotivated killings. And so on and so forth. Such events do not turn “The History of a City” into a deliberate fairy tale: like the fantastic realists of the 20th century, they amaze, but are built into the logic of the work, into the atmosphere of the place.
Another technique that provides grotesqueness is the literalization of metaphor. For example, Elena Gracheva points out that “Organchik” Brudasty “was generated rather by circulation speech" 39 Gracheva E. N., Vostrikov A. V. Tsar’s curls and lordly arrogance: from comments to “The History of a City” // Shchedrin collection. Vol. 5: Saltykov-Shchedrin in the context of time. M.: MGUDT, 2016. P. 45. : Saltykov’s correspondence includes “fools with music and just fools”; “with music” - that is, those who repeat the same thing over and over again. In late Soviet uncensored literature, this technique was actively used by conceptualists, especially Vladimir Sorokin. His “Norma” is full of literalized language clichés: a literal understanding of banal and vulgar metaphors from Soviet official poetry creates a grotesque effect. Both Sorokin and Saltykov-Shchedrin pay special attention to language, which is ideologized in one way or another, providing a social atmosphere.
In the story of Ugryum-Burcheev, a timeless plot is played out again. Thus, in his desire to “calm the river,” whose flow is not subject to his geometric ideals, echoes of ancient history are felt (the Babylonian king Cyrus punishes the Gind River by shallowing it with the help of completely straight channels; his grandson Xerxes orders to carve out the sea in which his soldiers drowned) . A hundred years after Shchedrin, Alexander Galich’s retired Stalinist investigator wants to send him to the Black Sea stage: “Oh, you are the sea, sea, sea, Black Sea, / It’s a pity that it’s not under investigation, it’s not a prisoner! / I would bring you to Intu for the cause, / You would turn from black to white!”
“God, how sad our Russia is!” - said, according to Gogol, Pushkin, after listening to the first chapters of Dead Souls. “God, how funny and scary she is,” one might add after reading “The Story of a City”
Igor Sukhikh
Historical legends are not the only source of gloomy-burcheevsky plot. The barracks city of Ugryum-Burcheev is a mirror reflection of the socialist utopias of Tommaso Campanella, Charles Fourier and Henri Saint-Simon, in which freedom and rationalism turn into their own opposites 40 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. pp. 40-55; Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. P. 46. . If these utopians' bosses live on a hill in the center of the city, then in Shchedrin's grotesque the mayors literally soar above the city. According to Vladimir Svirsky, the absurd cruelty of Glupov’s gloomy-burcheevsky is Shchedrin’s reaction “to the idea of barracks communism of Nechaev’s sense" 41 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. . (Soviet interpreters preferred not to notice this; for example, Evgraf Pokusaev writes that Shchedrin’s criticism of communism and socialism is a hidden accusation of imperial power: “...The very bestial regime that you attribute to socialism is your regime, there is your order, it is precisely this way of life follows from the principles of despotic monarchism, tsarist autocracy, from the principles of any other anti-national state Illustration for “The City of the Sun,” the utopian work of Tommaso Campanella in 1602. The basis of this utopia is the abolition of private property and the institution of the family. The birth and education of solarians, the inhabitants of the City of the Sun. controls the state in accordance with biological and astrological indications. The Shchedrin barracks city is a mirror reflection of such a socialist utopia.
The phalanster, in the teachings of the utopian socialist Charles Fourier, is a special building in which a commune of 1600-1800 people lives and works. In “The History of a City,” the chronicler notes: “In general, it is clear that Wartkin was a utopian and that if he had lived longer, he would probably have ended up either being exiled to Siberia for freethinking, or building a phalanstery in Foolov.”
What is “it”?
The idiotic will of Gloomy-Burcheev, as in modern dystopias about zombies, infects all the inhabitants of Foolov: they demolish their city, and then seem to see the light and begin to rebel - but there is no citizenship here, but, according to commentator G.V. Ivanov, only "natural protection life" 44 Ivanov G.V. (Comments. “The History of a City”) // Saltykov-Shchedrin M.E. Collected works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 584. . After this, Foolov experiences his apocalypse (many details here refer to the plot of the last biblical book).
If you believe the “Inventory of City Governors”, after Gloomy-Burcheev, Archangel Stratilatovich Intercept-Zalikhvatsky rides into the city on a white (again, apocalyptic) horse (archangel is the name of the archangels, in ancient Greek this word meant a military leader). He carries out his judgment on Foolov, which is expressed quite ordinaryly by Foolov’s standards: “he burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.” But in the finale of the last chapter there is no Intercept-Zalikhvatsky.
Knowing that Shchedrin changed the outlines of the concept of “The History of a City” as it was written and published, we can assume that Zalikhvatsky was ultimately rejected by him. Gloomy-Burcheev - this inflexible idiot - prophesies in an unexpectedly clear voice: “Someone is coming after me, who will be even more terrible than me” - and at the very end, before disappearing with a crash: “It will come...” And indeed, a certain catastrophe is coming, which Shchedrin calls the word “it” familiar to viewers of modern horror:
“The north became dark and covered with clouds; From these clouds something was rushing towards the city: either a downpour, or a tornado. Full of anger, it rushed, drilling the ground, roaring, humming and groaning, and from time to time spewing out some dull, croaking sounds. Although it was not yet close, the air in the city began to vibrate, the bells began to hum on their own, the trees were ruffled, the animals went crazy and rushed across the field, not finding the way to the city. It was getting closer, and as it got closer, time stopped running. Finally the earth shook, the sun darkened... the Foolovites fell on their faces. An inscrutable horror appeared on all faces and gripped all hearts.
It has arrived...
History has stopped flowing."
In Soviet literary criticism 45 Kirpotin V. Ya. Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin. M.: Soviet writer, 1955. P. 12; Pokusaev E.I. Revolutionary satire of Saltykov-Shchedrin. M.: GIHL, 1963. P. 115-120; Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 248. the prevailing interpretation of “it” as a revolutionary storm, after which “a new existence began for the people who took power into their own hands" 46 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. P. 97. . But with the same success one can imagine “it” as a counter-revolutionary storm, a terrible revenge on the rebels, the like of which has never been seen in Foolov. There are attempts to present “it” as the reign of Nicholas I, which eclipsed the Arakcheev reaction. However, the eschatological intensity of the previous pages is such that the political interpretation seems too weak. Most likely, we are once again facing a transhistorical phenomenon. Foolov, having gone through a full cycle, perhaps having exhausted his demonstration resource within the work, ceases to exist; something similar will happen in the 20th century with the city of Macondo under Gabriel García Márquez. The researcher is left with only an archive that allows him to reconstruct the chronicles of the movement towards disaster and draw conclusions from them.
In the 1862 essay “Fools and Foolovites,” which is not included in “The History of a City,” Shchedrin writes: “Foolov has no history.” Researcher Vladimir Svirsky believes that the timeless Foolov turns out to be a “failure” in the history of world civilization,” a model of Russia isolated from world civilization in the understanding Chaadaeva 47 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991 C. 108-109. . In this case, the end of Foolov is a kind of physical revenge of history, which does not tolerate “nowhere places.” It is indicative in this sense to compare with “The Story of a City” Alfred Kubin’s novel “The Other Side” (1909), in which another “city of nowhere”, conceived as a utopia, perishes. The catastrophic “it” (options: “she”, “IT”, etc.) is anticipated and destroys cities in the works of Russian followers of Shchedrin: Vasily Aksenov, Alexander Zinoviev, Boris Khazanov, Dmitry Lipskerova 48 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S.F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. SPb.: RKhGA, 2016. P. 644-645. .
Full list of references
In 1870, after a series of publications of individual chapters, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin’s work “The History of a City” was published. This event received a wide public response - the writer was accused of ridiculing the Russian people and denigrating the facts of Russian history. The genre of the work is a satirical story, exposing morals, relationships between government and people in an autocratic society.
The story “The History of a City” is full of such techniques as irony, grotesque, Aesopian language, and allegory. All this allows the author, in some episodes bringing what is described to the point of absurdity, to vividly depict the absolute submission of the people to any arbitrary rule of power. The vices of the author’s contemporary society have not been eliminated even today. After reading “The History of a City” in a chapter-by-chapter summary, you will become familiar with the most important moments of the work, which clearly demonstrate the satirical nature of the story.
The main characters of the story are the mayors, each of whom managed to be remembered for something in the history of the city of Foolov. Since the story describes many portraits of mayors, it is worth dwelling on the most significant characters.
Busty- shocked the residents with his categoricalness, with his exclamations on any occasion, “I’ll ruin it!” and “I won’t tolerate it!”
Dvoekurov with his “great” reforms regarding bay leaves and mustard, seems completely harmless compared to subsequent mayors.
Wartkin– fought with his own people “for enlightenment.”
Ferdyshchenko– his greed and lust almost destroyed the townspeople.
Acne- the people were not ready for a ruler like him - people lived too well under him, who did not interfere in any affairs.
Gloomy-Burcheev- with all his idiocy, he managed not only to become the mayor, but also to destroy the entire city, trying to bring his crazy idea to life.
If the main characters are the mayors, the secondary ones are the people with whom they interact. The common people are shown as a collective image. The author generally portrays him as obedient to his ruler, ready to endure all oppression and various oddities of his power. Shown by the author as a faceless mass that rebels only when there is a massive death toll from hunger or fires around them.
“The History of a City” tells about the city of Foolov and its history. The chapter “From the Publisher,” in the author’s voice, assures the reader that “The Chronicler” is genuine. He invites the reader to “catch the face of the city and follow how its history reflected the various changes that were simultaneously taking place in the highest spheres.” The author emphasizes that the plot of the story is monotonous, “almost exclusively limited to biographies of mayors.”
Appeal to the reader from the last archivist-chronicler
In this chapter, the author sets himself the task of conveying the “touching correspondence” of the city authorities, “to the extent of daring” to the people, “to the extent of giving thanks.” The archivist says that he will present to the reader the history of the reign of mayors in the city of Foolov, one after another succeeding in the highest post. The narrators, four local chroniclers, set out one by one the “true” events that took place in the city from 1731 to 1825.
This chapter tells about prehistoric times, about how the ancient tribe of bunglers won a victory over the neighboring tribes of bow-eaters, thick-eaters, walrus-eaters, frogs, scythe-bellies, etc. After the victory, the bunglers began to think about how to restore order in their new society, since things were not going well for them: either “they kneaded the Volga with oatmeal,” or “they dragged a calf to the bathhouse.” They decided that they needed a ruler. To this end, the bunglers went to look for a prince who would rule them. However, all the princes to whom they turned with this request refused, since no one wanted to rule stupid people. The princes, having “taught” with the rod, released the bunglers in peace and with “honor.” Desperate, they turned to the innovative thief, who managed to help find the prince. The prince agreed to manage them, but did not live with the bunglers - he sent an innovative thief as his governor.
Golovoyapov renamed it “Foolovtsy”, and the city, accordingly, began to be called “Foolov”.
It was not at all difficult for the novotoro to manage the Foolovites - these people were distinguished by their obedience and unquestioning execution of the orders of the authorities. However, their ruler was not happy about this; the novotor wanted riots that could be pacified. The end of his reign was very sad: the innovative thief stole so much that the prince could not stand it and sent him a noose. But Novotor managed to get out of this situation - without waiting for the noose, he “stabbed himself to death with a cucumber.”
Then other rulers, sent by the prince, began to appear in Foolov one by one. All of them - Odoevets, Orlovets, Kalyazinians - turned out to be unscrupulous thieves, even worse than the innovator. The prince was tired of such events and personally came to the city shouting: “I’ll screw it up!” With this cry the countdown of “historical time” began.
Inventory of the mayors appointed at different times to the city of Foolov by the higher authorities (1731 - 1826)
This chapter lists Foolov's mayors by name and briefly mentions their “achievements.” It speaks of twenty-two rulers. So, for example, about one of the city governors the document says: “22) Intercept-Zalikhvatsky, Arkhistrateg Stratilatovich, major. I won’t say anything about this. He rode into Foolov on a white horse, burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.” (the meaning of the chapter is unclear)
The year 1762 was marked by the beginning of the reign of mayor Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty. The Foolovites were surprised that their new ruler was gloomy and did not say anything except two phrases: “I will not tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” They didn’t know what to think until Brudasty’s secret was revealed: his head was completely empty. The clerk accidentally saw a terrible thing: the mayor’s body, as usual, was sitting at the table, but his head was lying separately on the table. And there was nothing in it at all. The townspeople did not know what to do now. They remembered Baibakov, a master of watchmaking and organ making, who had recently come to Brudasty. After questioning Baibakov, the Foolovites found out that the mayor’s head was equipped with a musical organ that played only two pieces: “I won’t tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” The organ failed, having become damp on the road. The master was unable to fix it on his own, so he ordered a new head in St. Petersburg, but the order was delayed for some reason.
Anarchy set in, ending with the unexpected appearance of two absolutely identical impostor rulers at the same time. They saw each other, “measured each other with their eyes,” and the residents who watched this scene silently and slowly dispersed. A messenger who arrived from the province took both “city governors” with him, and anarchy began in Foolov, which lasted a whole week.
This time was very eventful in the sphere of city government - the city experienced as many as six mayors. Residents watched the struggle of Iraida Lukinichna Paleologova, Klemantinka de Bourbon, Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish. The first insisted that she was worthy of being a mayor because her husband was engaged in mayoral activities for some time, the second’s father was engaged in mayor’s work, the third was once a mayor herself. In addition to those named, Nelka Lyadokhovskaya, Dunka the Thick-Footed and Matryonka the Nostril also laid claim to power. The latter had no grounds at all to claim the role of mayors. Serious battles broke out in the city. The Foolovites drowned and threw their fellow citizens from the bell tower. The city is tired of anarchy. And then finally a new mayor appeared - Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov.
The newly-minted ruler Dvoekurov ruled Foolov for eight years. He is noted as a man of progressive views. Dvoekurov developed activities that became beneficial for the city. Under him, they began to engage in honey and beer brewing, and he ordered that mustard and bay leaves be consumed in food. His intentions included the establishment of an academy in Foolov.
Pyotr Petrovich Ferdyshchenko replaced Dvoekurov's reign. The city lived for six years in prosperity and prosperity. But in the seventh year, the city governor fell in love with Alena Osipova, the wife of the coachman Mitka. However, Alenka did not share Pyotr Petrovich’s feelings. Ferdyshchenko took all sorts of actions to make Alenka fall in love with him, even sent Mitka to Siberia. Alenka became receptive to the mayor’s advances.
A drought began in Foolov, and after it hunger and human deaths began. The Foolovites lost patience and sent an envoy to Ferdyshchenko, but the walker did not return. The submitted petition also did not find an answer. Then the residents rebelled and threw Alenka from the bell tower. A company of soldiers came to the city to suppress the riot.
Pyotr Petrovich’s next love interest was the archer Domashka, whom he recaptured from the “optists.” Along with new love, fires caused by drought came to the city. Pushkarskaya Sloboda burned down, then Bolotnaya and Negodnitsa. The Foolovites accused Ferdyshchenko of a new misfortune.
Ferdyshchenko’s new stupidity hardly brought a new misfortune to the townspeople: he went on a journey through the city pasture, forcing the residents to give themselves food supplies. The journey ended three days later with the death of Ferdyshchenko from gluttony. The Foolovites were afraid that they would be accused of deliberately “fostering the foreman.” However, a week later, the fears of the townspeople dissipated - a new city governor arrived from the province. The decisive and active Wartkin marked the beginning of the “golden age of Foolov.” People began to live in complete abundance.
Vasilisk Semyonovich Borodavkin, the new mayor of Foolov, studied the history of the city and decided that the only previous ruler worth emulating was Dvoyekurov, and what struck him was not even the fact that his predecessor paved the streets of the city and collected arrears, but the fact that they sowed under him mustard. Unfortunately, people have already forgotten it and even stopped sowing this crop. Wartkin decided to remember the old days, resume sowing mustard and eating it. But the residents stubbornly did not want to return to the past. The Foolovites rebelled on their knees. They were afraid that if they obeyed Wartkin, in the future he would force them “to eat any more abomination.” The mayor undertook a military campaign against Streletskaya Sloboda, “the source of all evil,” to suppress the rebellion. The campaign lasted nine days and it is difficult to call it completely successful. In absolute darkness, they fought with their own. The mayor suffered betrayal from his supporters: one morning he discovered that more soldiers had been fired and replaced by tin soldiers, citing a certain resolution. However, the city governor managed to survive, organizing a reserve of tin soldiers. He reached the settlement, but found no one there. Wartkin began to dismantle houses log by log, which forced the settlement to surrender.
The future brought three more wars, which were also fought for “enlightenment.” The first of three subsequent wars was fought to educate the city residents about the benefits of stone foundations for houses, the second was due to the residents’ refusal to grow Persian chamomile, and the third was against the establishment of an academy in the city.
The result of Wartkin's reign was the impoverishment of the city. The mayor died at the moment when he once again decided to burn the city.
In short, subsequent events look like this: the city finally became impoverished under the next ruler, Captain Negodyaev, who replaced Wartkin. The scoundrels were very soon fired for disagreeing with the imposition of the constitution. However, the chronicler considered this reason to be formal. The real reason was the fact that the mayor at one time served as a stoker, which to a certain extent was regarded as belonging to the democratic principle. And wars for and against enlightenment were not needed by the battle-weary city. After the dismissal of Negodyaev, “Circassian” Mikeladze took the reins of government into his own hands. However, his reign did not in any way affect the situation in the city: the mayor was not concerned with Foolov at all, since all his thoughts were connected exclusively with the fair sex.
Benevolensky Feofilakt Irinarkhovich became Mikeladze's successor. Speransky was a friend from the seminary of the new city governor, and from him, obviously, Benevolensky passed on his love for legislation. He wrote the following laws: “Let every man have a contrite heart,” “Let every soul tremble,” and “Let every cricket know the pole corresponding to its rank.” However, Benevolensky did not have the right to write laws; he was forced to publish them secretly, and scatter his works around the city at night. This did not last long - he was suspected of having connections with Napoleon and was fired.
Lieutenant Colonel Pyshch was appointed next. What was surprising was that under him the city lived in abundance, huge harvests were harvested, despite the fact that the mayor was not at all concerned with his direct responsibilities. The townspeople again suspected something. And they were right in their suspicions: the leader of the nobility noticed that the mayor’s head exuded the smell of truffles. He attacked Pimple and ate the ruler's stuffed head.
In Foolov, a successor to the eaten Pimple appeared - State Councilor Ivanov. However, he soon died, since “he turned out to be so small in stature that he could not contain anything spacious.”
He was succeeded by the Viscount de Chariot. This ruler did not know how to do anything except have fun all the time and organize masquerades. He “didn’t do business and didn’t interfere in the administration. This last circumstance promised to prolong the well-being of the Foolovites endlessly...” But the emigrant, who allowed the residents to convert to paganism, was ordered to be sent abroad. Interestingly, he turned out to be a special female.
The next to appear in Foolov was State Councilor Erast Andreevich Grustilov. By the time of his appearance, the inhabitants of the city had already become absolute idolaters. They forgot God, plunging into debauchery and laziness. They stopped working, sowing fields, hoping for some kind of happiness, and as a result, famine came to the city. Grustilov cared very little about this situation, since he was busy with balls. However, changes soon occurred. The wife of the pharmacist Pfeier influenced Grustilov, showing the true path of good. And the main people in the city became the wretched and holy fools, who, in the era of idolatry, found themselves on the sidelines of life.
The residents of Foolov repented of their sins, but that was the end of the matter - the Foolovites never started working. At night, the city elite gathered to read the works of Mr. Strakhov. This soon became known to the higher authorities and Grustilov had to say goodbye to the position of mayor.
The last mayor of Foolov was Ugryum-Burcheev. This man was a complete idiot - “the purest type of idiot,” as the author writes. For himself, he set the only goal - to make the city of Nepreklonsk from the city of Glupov, “eternally worthy of the memory of the Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich.” Nepreklonsk should have looked like this: city streets should be identically straight, houses and buildings should also be identical to each other, people too. Each house should become a “settled unit”, which will be watched by him, Ugryum-Burcheev, a spy. The townspeople called him “Satan” and felt a vague fear of their ruler. As it turned out, this was not unfounded: the mayor developed a detailed plan and began to implement it. He destroyed the city, leaving no stone unturned. Now came the task of building the city of his dreams. But the river disrupted these plans, it got in the way. Gloomy-Burcheev started a real war with her, using all the garbage that was left as a result of the destruction of the city. However, the river did not give up, washing away all the dams and dams being built. Gloomy-Burcheev turned around and, leading the people behind him, walked away from the river. He chose a new place to build the city - a flat lowland, and began to build the city of his dreams. However, something went wrong. Unfortunately, it was not possible to find out what exactly prevented the construction, since records with the details of this story have not been preserved. The denouement became known: “...time stopped running. Finally, the earth shook, the sun darkened... the Foolovites fell on their faces. An inscrutable horror appeared on all faces and gripped all hearts. It has arrived...” What exactly came remains unknown to the reader. However, the fate of Ugryum-Burcheev is as follows: “the scoundrel instantly disappeared, as if he had disappeared into thin air. History has stopped flowing."
At the end of the story, “Exculpatory Documents” are published, which are the works of Wartkin, Mikeladze and Benevolensky, written for the edification of other mayors.
A brief retelling of “The Story of a City” clearly demonstrates not only the satirical direction of the story, but also ambiguously indicates historical parallels. The images of the mayors are copied from historical figures; many events also refer to palace coups. The full version of the story will certainly provide an opportunity to become familiar with the content of the work in detail.
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About the work The Story of a City:
The genre of the work The story of one city is a satirical story exposing morals, the relationship between government and people in an autocratic society.
The work “The History of a City” is full of such techniques as irony, grotesque, and allegory. All this allows the author to vividly depict the absolute submission of the people to any arbitrary rule of power. The vices of the author’s contemporary society have not been eliminated even today. After reading “The History of a City” in a summary chapter by chapter and in full, you will become familiar with the most important moments of the work, which clearly demonstrate not only the history of Russia, but also its present-day reality.
The main characters of the story- mayors, each of whom managed to be remembered for something in the history of the city of Foolov. Since the story describes many portraits of mayors, it is worth dwelling on the most significant characters.
Busty - shocked the residents with his categoricalness, with his exclamations on any occasion, “I’ll ruin it!” and “I won’t tolerate it!”
Dvoekurov, with his “great” reforms regarding bay leaves and mustard, seems completely harmless compared to subsequent mayors.
Wartkin - fought with his own people “for enlightenment.”
Ferdyshchenko - his greed and lust almost destroyed the townspeople.
Pimple - the people were not ready for a ruler like him - people lived too well under him, who did not interfere in any matters.
Gloomy-Burcheev - with all his idiocy, he managed not only to become the mayor, but also to destroy the entire city, trying to bring his crazy idea to life.
If the main characters are the mayors, then the secondary ones are the people with whom they interact. The common people are shown as a collective image. The author generally portrays him as obedient to his ruler, ready to endure all oppression and various oddities of his power.
Summary (by chapter):
From the publisher
“The History of a City” tells about the city of Foolov and its history.
The chapter “From the Publisher,” in the author’s voice, assures the reader that “The Chronicler” is genuine. He invites the reader to “catch the face of the city and follow how its history reflected the various changes that were simultaneously taking place in the highest spheres.” The author emphasizes that the plot of the story is monotonous, “almost exclusively limited to biographies of mayors.”
The history of one city (text in full chapters)
Published by M.E. Saltykov (Shchedrin)
From the publisher
For a long time I had the intention of writing the history of some city (or region) in a given period of time, but various circumstances prevented this undertaking. The main obstacle was the lack of material that was at all reliable and plausible. Now, while rummaging through Foolov's city archives, I accidentally came across a rather voluminous bunch of notebooks bearing the general title of "Foolov's Chronicler", and, having examined them, I found that they could serve as an important aid in the implementation of my intention. The content of the Chronicler is rather monotonous; it is almost exclusively exhausted by the biographies of the mayors, who for almost a century controlled the destinies of the city of Foolov, and a description of their most remarkable actions, such as: fast riding on postal vehicles, energetic collection of arrears, campaigns against the inhabitants, the construction and disorder of pavements, the imposition of tribute to tax farmers, etc. . Nevertheless, even from these meager facts it is possible to grasp the physiognomy of the city and follow how its history reflected the various changes that were simultaneously taking place in the highest spheres *. So, for example, the mayors of Biron's time are distinguished by their recklessness, the mayors of Potemkin's time by their stewardship, and the mayors of Razumovsky's time by unknown origins and knightly courage. All of them flog the townsfolk*, but the first flog the townsfolk absolutely, the latter explain the reasons for their management by the requirements of civilization, the third want the townsfolk to rely on their courage in everything. Such a variety of events, of course, could not help but influence the innermost structure of philistine life; in the first case, the inhabitants trembled unconsciously, in the second they trembled with the consciousness of their own benefit, in the third they rose to awe filled with trust*. Even energetic riding on postal horses was bound to have a certain amount of influence, strengthening the philistine spirit with examples of horse vigor and restlessness.
The chronicle was kept successively by four city archivists and covers the time period from 1731 to 1825.* This year, apparently, even for archivists, literary activity ceased to be accessible.* The appearance of the “Chronicler” has a very real appearance, that is, one that is not allows you to doubt its authenticity for a minute; its leaves are just as yellow and speckled with scribbles, just as eaten away by mice and soiled by flies, as the leaves of any monument from the Pogodin ancient repository*. One can almost feel how some archival Pimen* was sitting over them, illuminating his work with a reverently burning tallow candle and in every possible way protecting it from the inevitable curiosity of the gentlemen. Shubinsky, Mordovtsev and Melnikov*. The chronicle is preceded by a special code, or “inventory,” apparently compiled by the last chronicler; In addition, in the form of supporting documents, several children's notebooks are attached to it, containing original exercises on various topics of administrative and theoretical content. Such, for example, are the arguments: “On the administrative unanimity of all mayors”, “On the plausible appearance of mayors”, “On the salutary value of pacification (with pictures)”, “Thoughts when collecting arrears”, “The perverse flow of time” and, finally, a rather voluminous dissertation "About rigor." It can be said affirmatively that these exercises owe their origin to the writings of various mayors (many of them are even signed) and have the precious property that, firstly, they give a completely correct idea of the current situation in Russian orthography and, secondly, they depict their authors much more complete, more conclusive and more imaginative than even the stories of the Chronicler.
As for the internal content of the Chronicler, it is mostly fantastic and in some places even almost incredible in our enlightened times. Such, for example, is a completely incongruous story about a mayor with music. In one place, the Chronicler tells how the mayor flew through the air, in another - how another mayor, whose legs were turned with his feet back, almost escaped from the boundaries of the mayor. The publisher did not, however, consider himself entitled to conceal these details; on the contrary, he thinks that the possibility of similar facts in the past will even more clearly indicate to the reader the abyss that separates us from him. Moreover, the publisher was also guided by the idea that the fantastic nature of the stories does not in the least eliminate their administrative and educational significance, and that the reckless arrogance of the flying mayor can even now serve as a saving warning for those modern administrators who do not want to be prematurely dismissed from office.
In any case, in order to prevent malicious interpretations, the publisher considers it his duty to stipulate that all his work in this case consists only in the fact that he corrected the heavy and outdated syllable of the “Chronicle” and had proper supervision over spelling, without in the least affecting the content of the chronicle itself . From the first minute to the last, the publisher was haunted by the formidable image of Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin*, and this alone can serve as a guarantee of the respectful trepidation with which he treated his task.
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Classics of literature (satires) from the collection of works for reading (stories, novellas) of the best, famous satirical writers: Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin.
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Still from the movie “It” (1989)
This story is the “true” chronicle of the city of Foolov, “The Foolov Chronicler,” covering the period of time from 1731 to 1825, which was “successively composed” by four Foolov archivists. In the chapter “From the Publisher,” the author especially insists on the authenticity of the “Chronicle” and invites the reader to “catch the face of the city and follow how its history reflected the various changes that were simultaneously taking place in the highest spheres.”
The Chronicler opens with an “Address to the Reader from the Last Chronicler Archivist.” The archivist sees the task of the chronicler in “being an exponent” of “touching correspondence” - the authorities, “to the extent daring,” and the people, “to the extent of thanking.” History, therefore, is the history of the reigns of various mayors.
First, the prehistoric chapter “On the roots of the origin of the Foolovites” is given, which tells how the ancient people of bunglers defeated the neighboring tribes of walrus-eaters, bow-eaters, scythe-bellies, etc. But, not knowing what to do to ensure order, the bunglers went to look for a prince . They turned to more than one prince, but even the stupidest princes did not want to “deal with fools” and, having taught them with a rod, released them with honor. Then the bunglers called a thief-innovator, who helped them find the prince. The prince agreed to “lead” them, but did not go to live with them, sending a thief-innovator in his place. The prince called the bunglers themselves “Fools,” hence the name of the city.
The Foolovites were a submissive people, but the novotor needed riots to pacify them. But soon he stole so much that the prince “sent a noose to the unfaithful slave.” But the novotor “and then dodged: “…› without waiting for the loop, he stabbed himself to death with a cucumber.”
The prince also sent other rulers - an Odoevite, an Orlovets, a Kalyazinian - but they all turned out to be real thieves. Then the prince “... arrived in person in Foolov and cried out: “I’ll lock it up!” With these words, historical times began."
In 1762, Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty arrived in Glupov. He immediately struck the Foolovites with his sullenness and taciturnity. His only words were “I will not tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” The city was at a loss until one day the clerk, entering with a report, saw a strange sight: the body of the mayor, as usual, was sitting at the table, but his head was lying on the table completely empty. Foolov was shocked. But then they remembered about the watchmaker and organ maker Baibakov, who secretly visited the mayor, and, calling him, they found out everything. In the head of the mayor, in one corner, there was an organ that could play two musical pieces: “I’ll ruin it!” and “I won’t tolerate it!” But on the way, the head became damp and needed repairing. Baibakov himself could not cope and turned for help to St. Petersburg, from where they promised to send a new head, but for some reason the head was delayed.
Anarchy ensued, ending with the appearance of two identical mayors at once. “The impostors met and measured each other with their eyes. The crowd dispersed slowly and in silence.” A messenger immediately arrived from the province and took both impostors away. And the Foolovites, left without a mayor, immediately fell into anarchy.
The anarchy continued throughout the next week, during which the city changed six mayors. The inhabitants rushed from Iraida Lukinichna Paleologova to Clementinka de Bourbon, and from her to Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish. The claims of the first were based on the short-term mayoral activity of her husband, the second - of her father, and the third was herself a mayor's pompadour. The claims of Nelka Lyadokhovskaya, and then Dunka the Thick-Footed and Matryonka the Nostrils were even less justified. In between hostilities, the Foolovites threw some citizens from the bell tower and drowned others. But they too are tired of anarchy. Finally, a new mayor arrived in the city - Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov. His activities in Foolov were beneficial. “He introduced mead making and brewing and made it mandatory to use mustard and bay leaves,” and also wanted to establish an academy in Foolov.
Under the next ruler, Peter Petrovich Ferdyshchenko, the city flourished for six years. But in the seventh year, “Ferdyshchenka was confused by a demon.” The city ruler was inflamed with love for the coachman's wife Alenka. But Alenka refused him. Then, with the help of a series of consistent measures, Alenka’s husband, Mitka, was branded and sent to Siberia, and Alenka came to her senses. Through the sins of the mayor, drought fell on the Foolov, and after it came famine. People started dying. Then the end of Foolov’s patience came. At first they sent a walker to Ferdyshchenka, but the walker did not return. Then they sent a petition, but that didn’t help either. Then they finally got to Alenka and threw her off the bell tower. But Ferdyshchenko was not dozing, but wrote reports to his superiors. No bread was sent to him, but a team of soldiers arrived.
Through Ferdyshchenka's next passion, the archer Domashka, fires came to the city. The Pushkarskaya Sloboda was burning, followed by the Bolotnaya and Negodnitsa settlements. Ferdyshchenko again became shy, returned Domashka to the “optery” and called the team.
Ferdyshchenko's reign ended with a journey. The mayor went to the city pasture. In various places he was greeted by townspeople and had lunch waiting for him. On the third day of the journey, Ferdyshchenko died from overeating.
Ferdyshchenko's successor, Vasilisk Semenovich Borodavkin, took up his post decisively. Having studied the history of Foolov, he found only one role model - Dvoekurov. But his achievements were already forgotten, and the Foolovites even stopped sowing mustard. Wartkin ordered that this mistake be corrected, and as punishment he added Provençal oil. But the Foolovites did not give in. Then Wartkin went on a military campaign to Streletskaya Sloboda. Not everything on the nine-day hike was successful. In the darkness they fought with their own. Many real soldiers were fired and replaced with tin soldiers. But Wartkin survived. Having reached the settlement and not finding anyone, he began to tear away the houses for logs. And then the settlement, and behind it the whole city, surrendered. Subsequently, there were several more wars for enlightenment. In general, the reign led to the impoverishment of the city, which finally ended under the next ruler, Negodyaev. It was in this state that Foolov found the Circassian Mikeladze.
There were no events held during this reign. Mikeladze removed himself from administrative measures and dealt only with the female sex, for whom he was very keen. The city was resting. “The visible facts were few, but the consequences were countless.”
The Circassian was replaced by Feofilakt Irinarkhovich Benevolensky, Speransky’s friend and comrade at the seminary. He was distinguished by his passion for legislation. But since the mayor did not have the right to issue his own laws, Benevolensky issued laws secretly, in the house of the merchant Raspopova, and scattered them around the city at night. However, he was soon fired for having relations with Napoleon.
Next was Lieutenant Colonel Pimple. He was not involved in business at all, but the city flourished. The harvests were huge. The Foolovites were wary. And the secret of Pimple was revealed by the leader of the nobility. A big fan of minced meat, the leader sensed that the mayor’s head smelled of truffles and, unable to bear it, attacked and ate the stuffed head.
After that, State Councilor Ivanov arrived in the city, but “he turned out to be so small in stature that he could not accommodate anything spacious,” and died. His successor, the emigrant Viscount de Chariot, was constantly having fun and was sent abroad by order of his superiors. Upon examination, she turned out to be a girl.
Finally, State Councilor Erast Andreevich Grustilov came to Glupov. By this time, the Foolovites had forgotten the true God and clung to idols. Under him, the city was completely mired in debauchery and laziness. Relying on their own happiness, they stopped sowing, and famine came to the city. Grustilov was busy with daily balls. But everything suddenly changed when she appeared to him. The wife of the pharmacist Pfeiffer showed Grustilov the path of good. The foolish and wretched, who experienced difficult days during the worship of idols, became the main people in the city. The Foolovites repented, but the fields remained empty. The Foolov elite gathered at night to read Mr. Strakhov and “admire” him, which the authorities soon found out about, and Grustilov was removed.
The last Foolov mayor, Gloomy-Burcheev, was an idiot. He set a goal - to turn Foolov into “the city of Nepreklonsk, eternally worthy of the memory of Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich” with straight identical streets, “companies”, identical houses for identical families, etc. Ugryum-Burcheev thought out the plan in detail and began to implement it. The city was destroyed to the ground, and construction could begin, but the river got in the way. It did not fit into Ugryum-Burcheev’s plans. The tireless mayor launched an attack on her. All the garbage was used, everything that was left of the city, but the river washed away all the dams. And then Gloomy-Burcheev turned around and walked away from the river, taking the Foolovites with him. A completely flat lowland was chosen for the city, and construction began. But something has changed. However, the notebooks with the details of this story have been lost, and the publisher provides only the denouement: “... the earth shook, the sun darkened ‹…› It it has arrived." Without explaining what exactly, the author only reports that “the scoundrel instantly disappeared, as if he had disappeared into thin air. History has stopped flowing."
The story closes with “exculpatory documents,” that is, the writings of various mayors, such as Wartkin, Mikeladze and Benevolensky, written for the edification of other mayors.
Retold
“The History of a City” was written (1870) in the so-called “era of scalding.” Many people were arrested, and the reaction developed very strongly. These are times of strong political and ideological terror. The question of moral status and definition arose.
“I don’t care at all about history, and I only mean the present... I’m not ridiculing history at all, but the known order of things,” this is what the author himself, Mikhail Evgrafovich, said about his work. And indeed, despite the fact that the work clearly traces the passage of time, there are certain dates, but these events did not happen, the author does not care what was happening at that time, what is important to him is the present, all these mayors are not representatives of this or that era , this is all that is present now.
The genre of the work is dystopia. This is a world in which you don’t want to live; you can feel its doom. This is a genre of prophecy, warning. The writer seems to never give up hope for the best, but this hope lives in the reader’s soul.
Let's return to the origins of the city. It was around 1730, before which there was only an absurd world in which scattered tribes lived, named after the main quality of their inhabitants, for example, slow-witted, stubborn, dunces, etc. But the moment came when they decided to change their lives, they wanted to put everything in order, create civilization, call for a ruler, because they saw their inability to govern. Prehistoric Foolovites lived in the kingdom of inverted logic, and now they began to live in the kingdom of perverted logic.
Throughout history, the city had 22 mayors, all of them were like dolls, puppets, their appearance and actions make you laugh, Saltykov-Shchedrin makes fun of them. What is Organchik alone worth... At a meeting with Foolov's intelligentsia, he went to the porch, wanted to scream, as he usually did, but he just smiled crookedly, he broke down... The state machine broke down. The idea of statehood and humanity are incompatible. But the Foolovites did not experience happiness when the mayor disappeared; they were worried that they would not be able to cope without a higher power.
Next comes the story “about six mayors”. And on the seventh day the conflict was resolved. In general, Saltykov-Shchedrin often uses biblical motifs. The Bible is an eternal book. There was a seven-day confrontation, all the dirt of society was shown. Well, then the rest of the mayors went... A pimple with a stuffed head, a foreman who started a trip through the Foolov region... which was visible from one corner to the other. All corrupt morals are on display. The last one turned out to be Gloomy-Burcheev, he was not from the intelligentsia and elite layer, like the previous ones, he was an ordinary soldier who, as a sign of loyalty to the supreme ruler, cut off his finger. In the portrait of Ugrum-Burcheev there is an idea of universal equality, he is dressed in a gray overcoat, because the ideas of communism and barracks are in his head, but he also demonstrated the asceticism of power, he almost did not enjoy privileges. But his idea of equality turns into egalitarianism, and the idea of unanimity into unanimity. This is all a strong deviation from the ideas of true equality. Total denunciations arise...
(Saltykov-Shchedrin seemed to foresee the events of the early 20th century) To top it all off, he decided to remove the river, as it interfered with his idea of the future, but the river turned out to be an overwhelming obstacle, because it was alive, he even imagined its conversations.
The appearance of Gloomy-Burcheev leads to the end of the story, “it” has appeared. But what is it? At all times, interpretations were different, everything depended on the political situation in the country:
1) Revolution of the people.
2) The occurrence of a strong reaction.
3) Threat from the west.
It was always something alarming. Also in the work there is a very mysterious creature that always drives up to the city, getting closer and closer, making “turu-turu” sounds... The first time dust appeared on the road along with someone who was there was after Alenka was torn to pieces (Foolovites had a custom of throwing someone off a cliff or simply tearing them to pieces). But this time the appearance of the unusual was mistaken for the usual delivery of bread and they did not pay attention. As if, just like in life, something dangerous and alarming is stupidly mistaken for some familiar thing, because they are too lazy to pay attention to what is happening. The second time they were afraid of this, well, indeed, as the danger became closer, they paid attention... But then this “it” entered the city, “and history stopped its course.” But what does this mean if a new governor has appeared who “entered the city on a white horse”? Perhaps there will be a new history, from a clean, white slate, like the horse of a new governor... but maybe history has really stopped moving... and the last mayor turned out to be this destroyer, who built something new, but not the same... Saltykov-Shchedrin in In his characteristic manner, he leaves an open ending, nothing is known, will there be a revival, will there not be one? The author does not know this, but he hopes for him, although he does not leave the reader hope...
