To whom in Russia to live well? This issue still worries many people, and this fact explains the increased attention to the legendary poem by Nekrasov. The author managed to raise a topic that has become eternal in Russia - the topic of asceticism, voluntary self-denial in the name of saving the fatherland. It is the service of a high goal that makes a Russian person happy, as the writer proved using the example of Grisha Dobrosklonov.

“Who is living well in Russia” is one of the last works of Nekrasov. When he wrote it, he was already seriously ill: he was struck by cancer. That is why it is not finished. It was collected bit by bit by the poet's close friends and arranged the fragments in random order, barely capturing the confused logic of the creator, broken by a fatal illness and endless pains. He was dying in agony, and yet he was able to answer the question posed at the very beginning: Who lives well in Russia? In a broad sense, he himself turned out to be lucky, because he faithfully and selflessly served the interests of the people. This ministry supported him in the fight against the fatal illness. Thus, the history of the poem began in the first half of the 60s of the 19th century, approximately in 1863 (serfdom was abolished in 1861), and the first part was completed in 1865.

The book was published in fragments. The prologue was already published in the January issue of Sovremennik in 1866. More chapters came out later. All this time, the work attracted the attention of censors and was mercilessly criticized. In the 70s, the author wrote the main parts of the poem: "Last Child", "Peasant Woman", "Feast for the Whole World". He planned to write much more, but due to the rapid development of the disease, he could not and stopped at "Feast ...", where he expressed his main idea regarding the future of Russia. He believed that such holy people as Dobrosklonov would be able to help his homeland, mired in poverty and injustice. Despite the fierce attacks of reviewers, he found the strength to stand up for a just cause to the end.

Genre, genre, direction

ON THE. Nekrasov called his creation “the epic of modern peasant life” and was precise in his wording: the genre of the work “Who should live well in Russia?” - epic poem. That is, at the base of the book, not one kind of literature coexists, but two whole: lyrics and epic:

1. epic component. In the history of the development of Russian society in the 1860s, there was a turning point when people learned to live in new conditions after the abolition of serfdom and other fundamental changes in the usual way of life. This difficult historical period was described by the writer, reflecting the realities of that time without embellishment and falsity. In addition, the poem has a clear linear plot and many original characters, which indicates the scale of the work, comparable only to a novel (epic genre). The book also absorbed the folklore elements of heroic songs that tell about the military campaigns of heroes against enemy camps. All these are generic features of the epic.
2. lyric component. The work is written in verse - this is the main property of lyrics, as a kind. The book also has a place for author's digressions and typical poetic symbols, means of artistic expression, features of the characters' confession.

The direction within which the poem “Who Lives Well in Russia” was written is realism. However, the author significantly expanded its boundaries by adding fantastic and folklore elements (prologue, beginnings, symbolism of numbers, fragments and heroes from folk legends). The poet chose the form of travel for his idea, as a metaphor for the search for truth and happiness, which each of us carries out. Many researchers of Nekrasov's work compare the plot structure with the structure of the folk epic.

Composition

The laws of the genre determined the composition and plot of the poem. Nekrasov finished writing the book in terrible agony, but still did not have time to finish it. This explains the chaotic composition and many branches from the plot, because the works were formed and restored from drafts by his friends. In the last months of his life, he himself was unable to clearly adhere to the original concept of creation. Thus, the composition “Who is living well in Russia?”, comparable only to the folk epic, is unique. It was developed as a result of the creative development of world literature, and not the direct borrowing of some well-known model.

1. Exposition (Prologue). The meeting of seven men - the heroes of the poem: "On the pillar path / Seven men came together."
2. The plot is the oath of the heroes not to return home until they find the answer to their question.
3. The main part consists of many autonomous parts: the reader gets to know a soldier happy that he was not beaten, a serf proud of his privilege to eat out of the master's bowls, a grandmother whose turnip was mutilated in her garden to her joy ... While the search for happiness stands still, the slow but steady growth of national self-consciousness is depicted, which the author wanted to show even more than the declared happiness in Russia. From random episodes, a general picture of Russia emerges: impoverished, drunk, but not hopeless, striving for a better life. In addition, the poem contains several large and independent interstitial episodes, some of which are even placed in autonomous chapters (“Last Child”, “Peasant Woman”).
4. Climax. The writer calls Grisha Dobrosklonov, a fighter for the people's happiness, a happy man in Russia.
5. Interchange. A serious illness prevented the author from completing his great plan. Even those chapters that he managed to write were sorted and marked by his confidants after his death. It must be understood that the poem is not finished, it was written by a very sick person, therefore this work is the most complex and confusing of Nekrasov's entire literary heritage.
6. The final chapter is called "A Feast for the Whole World". All night the peasants sing about the old and new times. Kind and hopeful songs are sung by Grisha Dobrosklonov.

What is the poem about?

Seven peasants met on the road and argued about who should live well in Russia? The essence of the poem is that they were looking for an answer to this question on the way, talking with representatives of different classes. The revelation of each of them is a separate story. So, the heroes went for a walk in order to resolve the dispute, but only quarreled, starting a fight. In the night forest, at the moment of a fight, a chick fell from the bird's nest, and one of the men picked it up. The interlocutors sat down by the fire and began to dream in order to also acquire wings and everything necessary for traveling in search of the truth. The warbler bird turns out to be magical and, as a ransom for her chick, tells people how to find a self-assembled tablecloth that will provide them with food and clothes. They find her and feast, and during the feast they vow to find the answer to their question together, but until then they will not see any of their relatives and not return home.

On the way, they meet a priest, a peasant woman, a farce Petrushka, a beggar, an overworked worker and a paralyzed former courtyard, an honest man Yermila Girin, a landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, a survivor of the mind of the Last Duck and his family, a serf Yakov the faithful, God's wanderer Ion Lyapushkin but none of them were happy people. Each of them is associated with a story full of genuine tragedy of suffering and misfortune. The goal of the journey is reached only when the wanderers stumble upon the seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov, who is happy with his selfless service to his homeland. With good songs, he instills hope in the people, and this is how the poem “Who lives well in Russia” ends. Nekrasov wanted to continue the story, but did not have time, but he gave his heroes a chance to gain faith in the future of Russia.

Main characters and their characteristics

It is safe to say about the heroes of “Who Lives Well in Russia” that they represent a complete system of images that streamlines and structures the text. For example, the work emphasizes the unity of the seven wanderers. They do not show individuality, character, they express the common features of national self-consciousness for all. These characters are a single whole, their dialogues, in fact, are a collective speech that originates from oral folk art. This feature makes Nekrasov's poem related to the Russian folklore tradition.

1. Seven Wanderers are former serfs "from adjacent villages - Zaplatova, Dyryavina, Razutov, Znobishina, Gorelova, Neyolova, Neurozhayka, too." All of them put forward their own versions of who lives well in Russia: a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a noble boyar, a sovereign minister or a tsar. Perseverance is expressed in their character: they all demonstrate unwillingness to take sides. Strength, courage and the pursuit of truth - that's what unites them. They are ardent, easily succumb to anger, but the appeasement compensates for these shortcomings. Kindness and responsiveness make them pleasant interlocutors, even despite some meticulousness. Their temper is harsh and cool, but life did not spoil them with luxury: the former serfs always bent their backs, working for the master, and after the reform, no one bothered to attach them properly. So they wandered in Russia in search of truth and justice. The search itself characterizes them as serious, thoughtful and thorough people. The symbolic number "7" means a hint of good luck that awaited them at the end of the journey.
2. The protagonist- Grisha Dobrosklonov, seminarian, son of a deacon. By nature, he is a dreamer, a romantic, loves to compose songs and make people happy. In them, he talks about the fate of Russia, about her misfortunes, and at the same time about her mighty strength, which will someday come out and crush injustice. Although he is an idealist, his character is firm, as are his convictions to devote his life to the service of the truth. The character feels a calling to be a people's leader and singer of Russia. He is happy to sacrifice himself to a lofty idea and help his homeland. However, the author hints that a difficult fate awaits him: prisons, exile, hard labor. The authorities do not want to hear the voice of the people, they will try to shut them up, and then Grisha will be doomed to torment. But Nekrasov makes it clear with all his might that happiness is a state of spiritual euphoria, and it can only be known by being inspired by a lofty idea.
3. Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina- the main character, a peasant woman, whom the neighbors call lucky because she begged the wife of her husband's military leader (he, the only breadwinner of the family, was to be recruited for 25 years). However, the story of a woman's life reveals not luck or good fortune, but grief and humiliation. She knew the loss of her only child, the anger of her mother-in-law, everyday, exhausting work. Detailed and her fate is described in an essay on our website, be sure to look.
4. Savely Korchagin- the grandfather of Matryona's husband, a real Russian hero. At one time, he killed a German manager who mercilessly mocked the peasants entrusted to him. For this, a strong and proud man paid for decades of hard labor. Upon his return, he was no longer good for anything, years of imprisonment trampled on his body, but did not break his will, because, as before, he stood up for justice with a mountain. The hero always said about the Russian peasant: "And it bends, but does not break." However, without knowing it, the grandfather turns out to be the executioner of his own great-grandson. He did not notice the child, and the pigs ate it.
5. Ermil Girin- a man of exceptional honesty, a steward in the estate of Prince Yurlov. When he needed to buy the mill, he stood in the square and asked people to rush to help him. After the hero got to his feet, he returned all the borrowed money to the people. For this, he earned respect and honor. But he is unhappy, because he paid for his authority with freedom: after the peasant revolt, suspicion fell on him in his organization, and he was imprisoned.
6. Landlords in the poem“To whom in Russia to live well” are presented in abundance. The author portrays them objectively and even gives some images a positive character. For example, the governor's wife Elena Alexandrovna, who helped Matryona, appears as a people's benefactor. Also, with a note of compassion, the writer portrays Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, who also treated the peasants tolerably, even arranged holidays for them, and with the abolition of serfdom, he lost the ground under his feet: he was too accustomed to the old order. In contrast to these characters, the image of the Last Duck and his treacherous, prudent family was created. The relatives of the hard-hearted old serf-owner decided to deceive him and persuaded the former slaves to participate in the performance in exchange for profitable territories. However, when the old man died, the rich heirs brazenly deceived the common people and drove him away with nothing. The apogee of the nobility of the nobility is the landowner Polivanov, who beats his faithful servant and sends his son to the recruits for trying to marry his beloved girl. Thus, the writer is far from denigrating the nobility everywhere, he is trying to show both sides of the coin.
7. Kholop Yakov- an indicative figure of a serf, the antagonist of the hero Saveliy. Yakov absorbed the whole slavish essence of the oppressed class, downtrodden with lack of rights and ignorance. When the master beats him and even sends his son to certain death, the servant meekly and meekly endures the offense. His revenge was a match for this humility: he hanged himself in the forest right in front of the master, who was crippled and could not get home without his help.
8. Iona Lyapushkin- God's wanderer, who told the peasants several stories about the life of people in Russia. It tells about the epiphany of ataman Kudeyara, who decided to atone for sins by killing for good, and about the cunning of Gleb the headman, who violated the will of the late master and did not release the serfs on his orders.
9. Pop- a representative of the clergy, who complains about the difficult life of a priest. The constant clash with grief and poverty saddens the heart, not to mention the popular witticisms against his dignity.

The characters in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" are diverse and allow us to paint a picture of the customs and life of that time.

Subject

• The main theme of the piece is freedom- rests on the problem that the Russian peasant did not know what to do with it, and how to adapt to new realities. The national character is also “problematic”: people-thinkers, people-seekers of truth still drink, live in oblivion and empty talk. They are not able to squeeze slaves out of themselves until their poverty acquires at least the modest dignity of poverty, until they stop living in drunken illusions, until they realize their strength and pride, trampled down by centuries of humiliating state of affairs that have been sold, lost and bought.
• Happiness Theme. The poet believes that a person can get the highest satisfaction from life only by helping other people. The real value of being is to feel needed by society, to bring goodness, love and justice to the world. Selfless and selfless service to a good cause fills every moment with sublime meaning, with an idea, without which time loses color, becomes dull from inaction or selfishness. Grisha Dobrosklonov is happy not with wealth and position in the world, but with the fact that he leads Russia and his people to a brighter future.
• Homeland Theme. Although Russia appears in the eyes of readers as a poor and tortured, but still a beautiful country with a great future and a heroic past. Nekrasov pities his homeland, devoting himself entirely to its correction and improvement. The homeland for him is the people, the people are his muse. All these concepts are closely intertwined in the poem "To whom in Russia it is good to live." The author's patriotism is especially pronounced at the end of the book, when wanderers find a lucky man who lives in the interests of society. In a strong and patient Russian woman, in the justice and honor of a hero-peasant, in the sincere good-heartedness of a folk singer, the creator sees the true image of his state, full of dignity and spirituality.
• The theme of labor. Useful activity elevates the impoverished heroes of Nekrasov above the vanity and depravity of the nobility. It is idleness that destroys the Russian master, turning him into a self-satisfied and arrogant nonentity. But the common people have skills that are really important for society and genuine virtue, without them there will be no Russia, but the country will manage without noble tyrants, revelers and greedy seekers of wealth. So the writer comes to the conclusion that the value of each citizen is determined only by his contribution to the common cause - the prosperity of the motherland.
• mystical motif. Fantastic elements appear already in the Prologue and immerse the reader in the fabulous atmosphere of the epic, where you have to follow the development of the idea, and not the realism of the circumstances. Seven owls on seven trees - the magic number 7, which promises good luck. The raven praying to the devil is another guise of the devil, because the raven symbolizes death, grave decay and infernal forces. He is opposed by a good force in the form of a warbler bird, which equips the men on the road. A self-assembled tablecloth is a poetic symbol of happiness and contentment. The “Wide Path” is a symbol of the open ending of the poem and the basis of the plot, because on both sides of the road, travelers open up a multifaceted and genuine panorama of Russian life. Symbolic is the image of an unknown fish in unknown seas, which has swallowed "the keys to female happiness." A weeping she-wolf with bloody nipples also clearly demonstrates the difficult fate of a Russian peasant woman. One of the most vivid images of the reform is the “great chain”, which, having broken, “spread one end along the gentleman, the other along the peasant!”. The seven wanderers are a symbol of the entire people of Russia, restless, waiting for change and seeking happiness.

Issues

• In the epic poem, Nekrasov touched on a large number of acute and topical issues of that time. The main problem is “Who is it good to live in Russia?” - the problem of happiness, both socially and philosophically. It is connected with the social theme of the abolition of serfdom, which greatly changed (and not for the better) the traditional way of life of all segments of the population. It would seem that here it is, freedom, what else do people need? Is this not happiness? However, in reality, it turned out that the people, who, due to long slavery, do not know how to live independently, turned out to be thrown to the mercy of fate. A priest, a landowner, a peasant woman, Grisha Dobrosklonov and seven peasants are real Russian characters and destinies. The author described them, relying on rich experience of communicating with people from the common people. The problems of the work are also taken from life: disorder and confusion after the reform to abolish serfdom really affected all classes. No one organized jobs for yesterday's serfs, or at least land allotments, no one provided the landowner with competent instructions and laws governing his new relationship with workers.
• The problem of alcoholism. Wanderers come to an unpleasant conclusion: life in Russia is so hard that without drunkenness a peasant will completely die. Forgetfulness and fog are necessary for him in order to somehow pull the strap of a hopeless existence and hard labor.
• The problem of social inequality. The landlords have been torturing the peasants with impunity for years, and Savelyia has been deformed for the murder of such an oppressor all her life. For the deceit, there will be nothing for the relatives of the Last, and their servants will again be left with nothing.
• The philosophical problem of the search for truth, which each of us encounters, is allegorically expressed in the campaign of seven wanderers who understand that without this discovery their life is depreciated.

The idea of ​​the work

The road skirmish of the peasants is not an everyday quarrel, but an eternal, great dispute, in which all layers of Russian society of that time appear to one degree or another. All its main representatives (priest, landowner, merchant, official, tsar) are called to the peasant court. For the first time men can and have the right to judge. For all the years of slavery and poverty, they are not looking for retribution, but for an answer: how to live? This is the meaning of Nekrasov's poem "Who is living well in Russia?" - the growth of national consciousness on the ruins of the old system. The author's point of view is expressed by Grisha Dobrosklonov in his songs: “And your burden was lightened by fate, companion of the days of the Slav! You are still a slave in the family, but the mother is already a free son! ..». Despite the negative consequences of the reform of 1861, the creator believes that behind it is a happy future for the fatherland. It is always difficult at the beginning of change, but this work will be rewarded a hundredfold.

The most important condition for further prosperity is to overcome internal slavery:

Enough! Finished with the last calculation,
Done with sir!
The Russian people gather with strength
And learning to be a citizen

Despite the fact that the poem is not finished, Nekrasov voiced the main idea. Already the first of the songs of “A Feast for the Whole World” gives an answer to the question posed in the title: “The share of the people, their happiness, light and freedom, first of all!”

End

In the finale, the author expresses his point of view on the changes that have taken place in Russia in connection with the abolition of serfdom and, finally, sums up the results of the search: Grisha Dobrosklonov is recognized as the lucky one. It is he who is the bearer of Nekrasov's opinion, and in his songs the true attitude of Nikolai Alekseevich to what he described is hidden. The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” ends with a feast for the whole world in the truest sense of the word: this is the name of the last chapter, where the characters celebrate and rejoice at the happy end of the search.

Conclusion

In Russia, the hero of Nekrasov, Grisha Dobrosklonov, is well, as he serves people, and, therefore, lives with meaning. Grisha is a fighter for the truth, a prototype of a revolutionary. The conclusion that can be drawn on the basis of the work is simple: a lucky man has been found, Russia is embarking on the path of reforms, the people, through thorns, are drawn to the title of citizen. This bright omen is the great meaning of the poem. For more than a century it has been teaching people altruism, the ability to serve high ideals, and not vulgar and passing cults. From the point of view of literary skill, the book is also of great importance: it is truly a folk epic, reflecting a controversial, complex, and at the same time the most important historical era.

Of course, the poem would not be so valuable if it only gave lessons in history and literature. She gives life lessons, and this is her most important property. The moral of the work “To whom it is good to live in Russia” lies in the fact that it is necessary to work for the good of one’s homeland, not to scold it, but to help it with deeds, because it’s easier to push around with a word, but not everyone really wants to change something. Here it is, happiness - to be in your place, to be needed not only for yourself, but also for the people. Only together can a significant result be achieved, only together can we overcome the problems and hardships of this overcoming. Grisha Dobrosklonov, with his songs, tried to unite, rally people so that they would meet changes shoulder to shoulder. This is his holy purpose, and everyone has it, it is important not to be too lazy to go out on the road and look for him, as the seven wanderers did.

Criticism

The reviewers were attentive to the work of Nekrasov, because he himself was an important person in literary circles and had great authority. Entire monographs were devoted to his phenomenal civil lyrics with a detailed analysis of the creative methodology and the ideological and thematic originality of his poetry. For example, here is how the writer S.A. spoke about his style. Andreevsky:

He retrieved the anapaest abandoned on Olympus from oblivion and for many years made this heavy, but flexible meter as walking as from the time of Pushkin to Nekrasov only the airy and melodious iambic remained. This rhythm, chosen by the poet, reminiscent of the rotational movement of a hurdy-gurdy, made it possible to stay on the borders of poetry and prose, to joke with the crowd, to speak fluently and vulgarly, to insert a cheerful and cruel joke, to express bitter truths and imperceptibly, slowing down the tact, with more solemn words, to turn into ornate.

Korney Chukovsky spoke with inspiration about the thorough preparation of Nikolai Alekseevich for work, citing this example of writing as a standard:

Nekrasov himself constantly “visited Russian huts”, thanks to which both soldier and peasant speech became thoroughly known to him from childhood: not only from books, but also in practice, he studied the common language and from his youth became a great connoisseur of folk poetic images, folk forms thinking, folk aesthetics.

The death of the poet came as a surprise and a blow to many of his friends and colleagues. As you know, F.M. Dostoevsky with a heartfelt speech inspired by the impressions of a recently read poem. Specifically, among other things, he said:

He, indeed, was highly original and, indeed, came with a "new word."

The “new word”, first of all, was his poem “Who in Russia should live well”. No one before him was so deeply aware of the peasant, simple, worldly grief. His colleague in his speech noted that Nekrasov was dear to him precisely because he bowed "to the people's truth with his whole being, which he testified to in his best creations." However, Fedor Mikhailovich did not support his radical views on the reorganization of Russia, however, like many thinkers of that time. Therefore, criticism reacted violently to the publication, and in some cases aggressively. In this situation, the honor of a friend was defended by a well-known reviewer, a master of the word Vissarion Belinsky:

N. Nekrasov in his last work remained true to his idea: to arouse the sympathy of the upper classes of society for the common people, their needs and requirements.

Quite sharply, recalling, apparently, professional disagreements, I. S. Turgenev spoke about the work:

Nekrasov's poems, collected in one trick, are burning.

The liberal writer was not a supporter of his former editor and openly expressed his doubts about his talent as an artist:

In white threads sewn together, seasoned with all sorts of absurdities, painfully hatched fabrications of the mournful muse of Mr. Nekrasov - she, poetry, is not even worth a penny ”

He really was a man of very high nobility of soul and a man of great mind. And as a poet he is, of course, superior to all poets.

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PROLOGUE

Seven men meet on the high road in the Pustoporozhnaya Volost: Roman, Demyan, Luka, Prov, the old man Pakhom, the brothers Ivan and Mitrodor Gubin. They come from neighboring villages: Neurozhayki, Zaplatova, Dyryavina, Razutova, Znobishina, Gorelova and Neelova. The men are arguing about who is good in Russia, who lives freely. Roman believes that the landowner, Demyan - the official, and Luka - the priest. The old man Pakhom claims that the minister lives best, the Gubin brothers - a merchant, and Prov thinks that the king.

It starts to get dark. The peasants understand that, carried away by the dispute, they have traveled thirty miles and now it is too late to return home. They decide to spend the night in the forest, make a fire in the clearing and start arguing again, and then even fighting. From their noise, all the forest animals scatter, and a chick falls out of the nest of a warbler, which Pahom picks up. The mother warbler flies up to the fire and asks in a human voice to let her chick go. For this, she will fulfill any desire of the peasants.

The men decide to go ahead and find out which of them is right. Chiffchaff tells where you can find a self-assembled tablecloth that will feed and water them on the road. The men find a self-assembled tablecloth and sit down to feast. They agree not to return home until they find out who has the best life in Russia.

Chapter I. Pop

Soon the travelers meet the priest and tell the priest that they are looking for "who lives happily, freely in Russia." They ask the minister of the church to honestly answer: is he satisfied with his fate?

Pop replies that he bears his cross with humility. If men believe that a happy life is peace, honor and wealth, then he has nothing of the kind. People don't choose the time of their death. So the priest is called to the dying man, even in pouring rain, even in severe frost. Yes, and the heart sometimes can not stand the widow's and orphan's tears.

There is no honor to speak of. They make up all sorts of tales about priests, laugh at them and consider meeting with a priest a bad omen. And the wealth of the priests is not the same now. Before, when noble people lived in their family estates, the incomes of the priests were not bad. The landowners made rich gifts, were baptized and married in the parish church. Here they were buried and buried. Those were the traditions. And now the nobles live in the capitals and "foreign countries", where they celebrate all church rites. And you can't take a lot of money from poor peasants.

The men respectfully bow to the priest and go on.

CHAPTER II. country fair

Travelers pass through several empty villages and ask: where have all the people gone? It turns out that there is a fair in the neighboring village. The men decide to go there. A lot of well-dressed people walk at the fair, they sell everything: from plows and horses to scarves and books. There is a lot of goods, but even more drinking establishments.

Old man Vavila is crying near the shop. He drank all the money, and promised his granddaughter goat shoes. Pavlusha Veretennikov comes up to the grandfather and buys shoes for the girl. The overjoyed old man grabs his shoes and hurries home. Veretennikov is known in the district. He loves to sing and listen to Russian songs.

CHAPTER III. drunken night

After the fair, there are drunks on the way. Who wanders, who crawls, and who even rolls in a ditch. Groans and endless drunken conversations are heard everywhere. Veretennikov is talking to the peasants at the road post. He listens and writes down songs, proverbs, and then begins to reproach the peasants for drinking a lot.

A well drunk man named Yakim enters into an argument with Veretennikov. He says that the common people have accumulated many grievances against the landlords and officials. If they didn’t drink, then it would be a big disaster, otherwise all anger dissolves in vodka. There is no measure for peasants in drunkenness, but is there any measure in grief, in hard work?

Veretennikov agrees with such reasoning and even drinks with the peasants. Here the travelers hear a beautiful valiant song and decide to look for the lucky ones in the crowd.

CHAPTER IV. Happy

Men walk around and shout: “Come out happy! We'll pour some vodka!" The people crowded. Travelers began to ask about who and how happy. One is poured, others are only laughed at. But the conclusion from the stories is this: a peasant's happiness lies in the fact that he sometimes ate his fill, and God protected him in difficult times.

The peasants are advised to find Yermila Girin, whom the whole district knows. Once the cunning merchant Altynnikov decided to take away his mill. He conspired with the judges, and declared that Yermila should immediately pay a thousand rubles. Girin did not have that kind of money, but he went to the marketplace and asked the honest people to chip in. The peasants responded to the request, and bought Yermila the mill, and then returned all the money to the people. For seven years he was a steward. During that time, he did not appropriate a single penny for himself. Only once he shielded his younger brother from the recruits, then he repented before all the people and left his post.

The wanderers agree to look for Girin, but the local priest says that Yermil is in jail. Then a troika appears on the road, and a master is in it.

CHAPTER V. Landowner

The men stop the troika, in which the landowner Gavrila Afanasyevich Obolt-Obolduev is traveling, and ask how he lives. The landowner with tears begins to recall the past. Previously, he owned the whole district, he kept a whole regiment of servants and gave holidays with dances, theatrical performances and hunting. Now the great chain is broken. The landowners have land, but there are no peasants who would cultivate it.

Gavrila Afanasyevich was not accustomed to work. This is not a noble business - to deal with the economy. He only knows how to walk, hunt, and steal from the treasury. Now his ancestral home has been sold for debts, everything is stolen, and the peasants drink day and night. Obolt-Obolduev bursts into tears, and the travelers sympathize with him. After this meeting, they understand that it is necessary to seek happiness not among the rich, but in the "Unwhacked province, Ungutted volost ...".

PEASANT WOMAN

PROLOGUE

Wanderers decide to look for happy people among women. In one village, they are advised to find Matryona Timofeevna Korchagina, nicknamed the "governor". Soon the men find this beautiful, portly woman of about thirty-seven. But Korchagina does not want to talk: suffering, we urgently need to clean up the bread. Then the travelers offer their help in the field in exchange for a story about happiness. Matryona agrees.

Chapter I. Before Marriage

Korchagina's childhood passes in a non-drinking friendly family, in an atmosphere of love from her parents and brother. Cheerful and agile Matryona works a lot, but she also likes to take a walk. A stranger wooed her - a stove-maker Philip. Playing a wedding. Now Korchagina understands: only she was happy in childhood and girlhood.

Chapter II. Songs

Philip brings his young wife to his large family. It's not easy for Matryona. Her mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law do not give her life, they constantly reproach her. Everything happens exactly as it is sung in the songs. Korchagin is patient. Then her firstborn Demushka is born - like the sun in the window.

The master's steward molests a young woman. Matryona avoids him as best she can. The manager threatens that he will give Philip to the soldiers. Then the woman goes for advice to her grandfather Savely, the father of her father-in-law, who is one hundred years old.

Chapter III. Saveliy, Holy Russian hero

Savely looks like a huge bear. He spent a long time serving hard labor for murder. The cunning German manager sucked all the juice out of the serfs. When he ordered four hungry peasants to dig a well, they pushed the manager into the pit and covered it with earth. Among these killers was Savely.

CHAPTER IV. Demushka

The old man's advice was useless. The manager, who did not give Matryona a pass, suddenly died. But then another problem happened. The young mother was forced to leave Demushka under the supervision of her grandfather. Once he fell asleep, and the pigs ate the child.

The doctor and judges arrive, do an autopsy, interrogate Matryona. She is accused of intentionally killing a child, in collusion with an old man. The poor woman's mind almost goes haywire with grief. And Savely goes to the monastery to atone for his sin.

CHAPTER V. She-wolf

Four years later, the grandfather returns, and Matryona forgives him. When the eldest son of Korchagina Fedotushka turns eight years old, the boy is given into the shepherd. One day, the she-wolf manages to steal the sheep. Fedot chases after her and pulls out the already dead prey. The she-wolf is terribly thin, she leaves behind a trail of blood: she cut her nipples on the grass. The predator looks doomed at Fedot and howls. The boy feels sorry for the she-wolf and her cubs. He leaves the carcass of a sheep to the hungry beast. For this, the villagers want to flog the child, but Matryona takes the punishment for her son.

CHAPTER VI. Difficult year

There comes a hungry year in which Matryona is pregnant. Suddenly the news comes that her husband is being taken to the soldiers. The eldest son from their family is already serving, so the second one should not be taken away, but the landowner does not care about the laws. Matryona is horrified, before her there are pictures of poverty and lawlessness, because her only breadwinner and protector will not be around.

CHAPTER VII. Governor

The woman goes on foot to the city and in the morning arrives at the governor's house. She asks the porter to arrange a meeting with the governor. For two roubles, the porter agrees and lets Matryona into the house. At this time, the governor's wife comes out of the chambers. Matryona falls at her feet and falls into unconsciousness.

When Korchagina comes to, she sees that she has given birth to a boy. The kind, childless governor's wife takes care of her and the child until Matryona recovers. Together with her husband, who was released from service, the peasant woman returns home. Since then, she has not tired of praying for the health of the governor.

Chapter VIII. woman's parable

Matryona ends her story with an appeal to wanderers: do not look for happy people among women. The Lord dropped the keys to female happiness into the sea, they were swallowed by a fish. Since then, they have been looking for those keys, but they can’t find them in any way.

LATER

Chapter I

I

Travelers come to the banks of the Volga to the village of Vakhlaki. There are beautiful meadows and haymaking in full swing. Suddenly music sounds, boats moor to the shore. It was the old prince Utyatin who arrived. He examines the mowing and swears, and the peasants bow and ask for forgiveness. The peasants wonder: everything is like under serfdom. For clarification, they turn to the local steward Vlas.

II

Vlas gives an explanation. The prince was terribly angry when he found out that the peasants had been given freedom, and he had a blow. After that, Utyatin began to act weird. He does not want to believe that he no longer has power over the peasants. He even promised to curse and disinherit his sons if they say such nonsense. So the heirs of the peasants asked that they, under the master, pretend that everything was the same as before. And for this they will be granted the best meadows.

III

The prince sits down to have breakfast, which the peasants are going to stare at. One of them, the biggest loafer and drunkard, had long volunteered to play the steward in front of the prince instead of the recalcitrant Vlas. So it spreads before Utyatin, and the people can hardly restrain their laughter. One, however, can not cope with himself and laughs. The prince turns blue with anger, orders to flog the rebel. One brisk peasant woman helps out, who tells the master that her foolish son laughed.

The prince forgives everyone and sails away in a boat. Soon the peasants learn that Utyatin died on the way home.

PIR - FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

Dedicated to Sergei Petrovich Botkin

Introduction

The peasants rejoice at the death of the prince. They walk and sing songs, and the former servant of Baron Sineguzin, Vikenty, tells an amazing story.

About the exemplary serf - Yakov Verny

There lived one very cruel and greedy landowner Polivanov, he had a faithful serf Yakov. The man endured a lot from the master. But Polivanov's legs were taken away, and the faithful Yakov became an indispensable person for the disabled person. The master is not overjoyed with the serf, he calls him his own brother.

Somehow, Yakov's beloved nephew decided to marry, he asks the master to marry the girl that Polivanov looked after for himself. The master, for such impudence, gives his opponent to the soldiers, and Yakov, out of grief, goes into a binge. Polivanov feels bad without an assistant, but the serf returns to work in two weeks. Again the master is pleased with the servant.

But a new problem is already on the way. On the way to the master's sister, Yakov unexpectedly turns into a ravine, harnesses his horses, and hangs himself on the reins. All night the master drives away the crows from the poor body of the servant with a stick.

After this story, the peasants argued about who is more sinful in Russia: landowners, peasants or robbers? And the pilgrim Ionushka tells such a story.

About two great sinners

Somehow a band of robbers led by ataman Kudeyar hunted. The robber ruined many innocent souls, and the time has come - he began to repent. And he went to the Holy Sepulcher, and accepted the schema in the monastery - everyone does not forgive sins, his conscience torments. Kudeyar settled in a forest under a hundred-year-old oak, where he dreamed of a saint who showed the way to salvation. The murderer will be forgiven when he cuts this oak with the knife that killed people.

Kudeyar began to cut oak in three girths with a knife. Things go slowly, because the sinner is already at a respectable age and weak. One day, the landowner Glukhovsky drives up to the oak tree and begins to mock the old man. He beats slaves as much as he wants, tortures and hangs him, and sleeps peacefully. Here Kudeyar falls into a terrible rage and kills the landowner. The oak immediately falls, and all the sins of the robber are immediately forgiven.

After this story, the peasant Ignatius Prokhorov begins to argue and prove that the gravest sin is the peasant. Here is his story.

Peasant sin

For military merit, the admiral receives from the empress eight thousand souls of serfs. Before his death, he calls the headman Gleb and hands him a casket, and in it - free for all the peasants. After the death of the admiral, the heir began to pester Gleb: he gives him money, free, just to get the coveted casket. And Gleb trembled, agreed to give important documents. So the heir burned all the papers, and eight thousand souls remained in the fortress. The peasants, after listening to Ignatius, agree that this sin is the most serious.

Year: 1877 Genre: poem

Russia is a country in which even poverty has its charms. After all, the poor, who are a slave to the power of the landowners of that time, have time to reflect and see what the fat landowner will never see.

Once upon a time, on the most ordinary road, where there was a crossroads, men, of whom there were as many as seven, accidentally met. These men are the most ordinary poor men who were brought together by fate itself. The peasants have recently left the serfs, now they are temporarily liable. They, as it turned out, lived very close to each other. Their villages were adjacent - the village of Zaplatov, Razutov, Dyryavin, Znobishina, as well as Gorelova, Neelova and Neurozhayka. The names of the villages are very peculiar, but to some extent, they reflect their owners.

The men are simple people, and willing to talk. That is why, instead of just continuing their long journey, they decide to talk. They argue about which of the rich and noble people lives better. A landowner, an official, an al boyar or a merchant, or maybe even a sovereign father? Each of them has their own opinions, which they cherish and do not want to agree with each other. The dispute flares up more strongly, but nevertheless, I want to eat. You can't live without food, even if you feel bad and sad. When they argued, without noticing it themselves, they walked, but in the wrong direction. They suddenly noticed it, but it was too late. The peasants gave the maz a full thirty versts.

It was too late to return home, and therefore we decided to continue the dispute right there on the road, surrounded by wild nature. They quickly build a fire to keep warm, because it is already evening. Vodka - to help them. The argument, as it always happens with ordinary men, develops into a brawl. The fight ends, but it does not give any result. As always happens, the decision to be here is unexpected. One of the company of men, sees a bird and catches it, the bird's mother, in order to free her chick, tells them about the self-assembly tablecloth. After all, the peasants on their way meet many people who, alas, do not have the happiness that the peasants are looking for. But they do not despair of finding a happy person.

Read the summary To whom in Russia to live well Nekrasov chapter by chapter

Part 1. Prologue

Met on the road seven temporarily assigned men. They began to argue who lives funny, very freely in Russia. While they were arguing, evening came, they went for vodka, lit a fire and began to argue again. The argument turned into a fight, while Pahom caught a small chick. A mother bird arrives and asks to let her child go in exchange for a story about where to get a self-assembled tablecloth. The comrades decide to go wherever they look until they find out who in Russia has a good life.

Chapter 1. Pop

The men go on a hike. Steppes, fields, abandoned houses pass, they meet both the rich and the poor. They asked the soldier they met about whether he lives happily, in response the soldier said that he shaves with an awl and warms himself with smoke. They passed by the priest. We decided to ask how he lives in Russia. Pop argues that happiness is not in well-being, luxury and tranquility. And he proves that he does not have peace, at night and during the day they can call to the dying, that his son cannot learn to read and write, that he often sees sobs with tears at the coffins.

The priest asserts that the landlords have scattered over their native land, and now there is no wealth from this, as the priest used to have wealth. In the old days, he attended the weddings of rich people and made money on it, but now everyone has left. He told that he would come to a peasant family to bury the breadwinner, and there was nothing to take from them. The priest went on his way.

Chapter 2

Wherever men go, they see stingy housing. The pilgrim washes his horse in the river, the men ask him where the people from the village have disappeared. He replies that the fair is today in the village of Kuzminskaya. The men, having come to the fair, watch how honest people dance, walk, drink. And they look at how one old man asks the people for help. He promised his granddaughter to bring a gift, but he does not have two hryvnias.

Then a gentleman appears, as they call a young man in a red shirt, and buys shoes for the old man's granddaughter. At the fair you can find everything your heart desires: books by Gogol, Belinsky, portraits and so on. Travelers watch a performance with Petrushka, people give the actors drinks and a lot of money.

Chapter 3

Returning home after the holiday, people from drunkenness fell into ditches, the women fought, complaining about life. Veretennikov, the one who bought the shoes for his granddaughter, was walking, arguing that the Russian people are good and smart, but drunkenness spoils everything, being a big minus for people. The men told Veretennikov about Nagoi Yakim. This guy lived in St. Petersburg and after a quarrel with a merchant ended up in prison. Once he gave his son different pictures, hung on the walls and he admired them more than his son. Once there was a fire, so instead of saving money, he began to collect pictures.

His money melted, and then only eleven rubles were given by merchants for them, and now pictures are hanging on the walls in the new house. Yakim said that the peasants did not lie and said that sadness would come and the people would be sad if they stopped drinking. Then the young people began to sing a song, and they sang so well that one girl passing by could not even hold back her tears. She complained that her husband was very jealous and she was sitting at home as if on a leash. After the story, the men began to remember their wives, realized that they were missing them and decided to quickly find out who lives well in Russia.

Chapter 4

Travelers, passing by the idle crowd, are looking for happy people in it, promising them a drink. The clerk was the first to come to them, knowing that happiness is not in luxury and wealth, but in faith in God. He told me that he believes and that he is happy. Following the old woman talks about her happiness, the turnip in her garden has grown huge and appetizing. In response, she hears ridicule and advice to go home. After the soldier tells the story that after twenty battles he remained alive, that he survived the famine and did not die, that he was happy with this. Gets a glass of vodka and leaves. Stonecutter wields a large hammer, his strength is immeasurable.

In response, the thin man ridicules him, advising him not to show off his strength, otherwise God will take away that strength. The contractor boasts that he carried objects weighing fourteen pounds with ease to the second floor, but recently he lost his strength and was about to die in his native city. A nobleman came to them, told them that he lived with the mistress, ate very well with them, he drank drinks from other people's glasses and developed a strange illness. He was mistaken several times in the diagnosis, but in the end it turned out that it was gout. The wanderers drive him out so that he does not drink wine with them. Then the Belarusian told that happiness is in bread. The beggars see happiness in large alms. The vodka is running out, but they haven’t really found a happy one, they are advised to seek happiness from Ermila Girin, who runs the mill. Yermil is ordered to sell it, wins the auction, but he has no money.

He went to ask the people in the square for a loan, collected money, and the mill became his property. The next day, he returned to all the kind people who helped him in difficult times, their money. Travelers were amazed that the people believed in the words of Yermila and helped. Good people said that Yermila was a clerk for the colonel. He worked honestly, but he was driven away. When the colonel died and it was time to choose a steward, everyone unanimously chose Yermila. Someone said that Yermila did not correctly judge the son of a peasant woman, Nenila Vlasyevna.

Yermila was very sad that he could let down a peasant woman. He ordered the people to judge him, the young man was fined. He quit his job and rented a mill, determined his own order on it. Travelers were advised to go to Kirin, but the people said that he was in jail. And then everything is interrupted because, on the side of the road, a lackey is whipped for theft. The wanderers asked to continue the story, in response they heard a promise to continue at the next meeting.

Chapter 5

The wanderers meet a landowner who takes them for thieves and even threatens them with a gun. Obolt Obolduev, having understood people, started a story about the antiquity of his family, that while serving the sovereign he had a salary of two rubles. He recalls feasts rich in various foods, servants, which he had a whole regiment. Regrets the lost unlimited power. The landowner told how kind he was, how people prayed in his house, how spiritual purity was created in his house. And now their gardens have been cut down, houses have been dismantled brick by brick, the forest has been plundered, there is not a trace left of the former life. The landowner complains that he was not created for such a life, having lived in the village for forty years, he will not be able to distinguish barley from rye, but they demand that he work. The landowner weeps, the people sympathize with him.

Part 2

Wanderers, walking past the hayfield, decide to mow a bit, they are bored with work. The gray-haired man Vlas drives the women from the fields, asking them not to interfere with the landowner. In the river in boats the landowners are catching fish. We moored and went around the hayfield. The wanderers began to ask the peasant about the landowner. It turned out that the sons, in collusion with the people, deliberately indulge the master so that he does not deprive them of their inheritance. The sons beg everyone to play along with them. One peasant Ipat, without playing along, serves, for the salvation that the master gave him. Over time, everyone gets used to the deception and live like that. Only the peasant Agap Petrov did not want to play these games. Utyatin grabbed the second blow, but again he woke up and ordered Agap to be flogged in public. The sons put the wine in the stable and asked to shout loudly so that the prince could hear up to the porch. But soon Agap died, they say from the prince's wine. The people stand in front of the porch and play a comedy, one rich man breaks down and laughs out loud. The peasant woman saves the situation, falls at the feet of the prince, claiming that her stupid little son was laughing. As soon as Utyatin died, all the people breathed freely.

Part 3. Peasant woman

To ask about happiness, they send to the neighboring village to Matryona Timofeevna. There is hunger and poverty in the village. Someone in the river caught a small fish and talks about the fact that once the fish were caught larger.

Theft is rampant, someone is dragging something away. Travelers find Matryona Timofeevna. She insists that she does not have time to rant, it is necessary to clean the rye. Wanderers help her, during the work Timofeevna begins to willingly talk about her life.

Chapter 1

The girl in her youth had a strong family. She lived in her parents' house without knowing the troubles, there was enough time to have fun and work. One day, Philip Korchagin appeared, and the father promised to marry his daughter. Matrena resisted for a long time, but eventually agreed.

Chapter 2. Songs

Further, the story is already about life in the house of the father-in-law and mother-in-law, which is interrupted by sad songs. They beat her once for her slowness. The husband leaves for work, and she has a child. She calls him Demushka. Her husband's parents began to scold often, but she endures everything. Only the father-in-law, old man Savely, felt sorry for his daughter-in-law.

Chapter 3

He lived in the upper room, did not like his family and did not let him into his house. He told Matryona about his life. In his youth, he was a Jew in a serf family. The village was deaf, through thickets and swamps it was necessary to get there. The landowner in the village was Shalashnikov, only he could not get to the village, and the peasants did not even go to him when called. The quitrent was not paid, the police were given fish and honey as tribute. They went to the master, complained that there was no quitrent. Threatened with a flogging, the landowner nevertheless received his tribute. After some time, a notification arrives that Shalashnikov has been killed.

The rogue came instead of the landowner. He ordered to cut trees if there is no money. When the workers came to their senses, they realized that they had cut a road to the village. The German robbed them to the last penny. Vogel built a factory and ordered a ditch to be dug. The peasants sat down to rest at lunch, the German went to scold them for their idleness. They pushed him into a ditch and buried him alive. He went to hard labor, twenty years later he escaped from there. During hard labor he saved up money, built a hut and now lives there.

Chapter 4

The daughter-in-law scolded the maiden for not working much. She began to leave her son to his grandfather. Grandfather ran to the field, told about what he overlooked and fed Demushka to the pigs. The grief of the mother was not enough, but also the police began to come often, they suspected that she had killed the child on purpose. She mourned for a long time. And Savely calmed her down.

Chapter 5

As you die, so the work got up. The father-in-law decided to teach a lesson and beat the bride. She began to beg to kill her, the father took pity. Around the clock, the mother mourned at the grave of her son. In winter, the husband returned. Grandfather went out of grief from the beginning to the forest, then to the monastery. After Matryona gave birth every year. And again came a series of troubles. Timofeevna's parents died. Grandfather returned from the monastery, asked for forgiveness from his mother, said that he had prayed for Demushka. But he did not live long, he died very hard. Before his death, he spoke about three ways of life for women and two ways for men. Four years later, a praying man came to the village.

She talked about some beliefs, advised not to breastfeed babies on fast days. Timofeevna did not listen, then she regretted it, says God punished her. When her child, Fedot, was eight years old, he began to pasture sheep. And somehow they came to complain about him. It is said that he fed the sheep to the she-wolf. Mother began to question Fedot. The child said that he did not have time to blink an eye, as out of nowhere, a she-wolf appeared and grabbed a sheep. He ran after him, caught up, but the sheep was dead. The she-wolf howled, it was clear that somewhere in the hole she had babies. He took pity on her and handed over the dead sheep. They tried to flog Fethod, but the mother took all the punishment upon herself.

Chapter 6

Matryona Timofeevna said that it was not easy for her son to see the she-wolf then. Believes that it was a harbinger of hunger. The mother-in-law spread all the gossip around the village about Matryona. She said that her daughter-in-law croaked hunger because she knew how to do such things. She said that her husband was protecting her.

After the hunger strike, they began to take the guys from the villages to the service. First they took her husband's brother, she was calm that in difficult times her husband would be with her. But in no queue they took away her husband. Life becomes unbearable, mother-in-law and father-in-law begin to mock her even more.

Picture or drawing Who lives well in Russia

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ON THE. Nekrasov was always not just a poet - he was a citizen who was deeply concerned about social injustice, and especially about the problems of the Russian peasantry. The cruel treatment of the landowners, the exploitation of women's and children's labor, a bleak life - all this was reflected in his work. And in 18621, the seemingly long-awaited liberation comes - the abolition of serfdom. But was it actually liberation? It is to this topic that Nekrasov devotes “To whom it is good to live in Russia” - the sharpest, most famous - and his last work. The poet wrote it from 1863 until his death, but the poem still came out unfinished, so it was prepared for printing based on fragments of the poet's manuscripts. However, this incompleteness turned out to be significant in its own way - after all, for the Russian peasantry, the abolition of serfdom did not become the end of the old and the beginning of a new life.

“Who should live well in Russia” is worth reading in full, because at first glance it may seem that the plot is too simple for such a complex topic. The dispute of seven peasants about who is happy to live in Russia cannot be the basis for revealing the depth and complexity of the social conflict. But thanks to Nekrasov's talent in revealing characters, the work is gradually revealed. The poem is quite difficult to understand, so it is best to download its full text and read it several times. It is important to pay attention to how different the understanding of happiness is shown by a peasant and a gentleman: the first believes that this is his material well-being, and the second - that this is the least possible number of troubles in his life. At the same time, in order to emphasize the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe spirituality of the people, Nekrasov introduces two more characters who come from his environment - these are Yermil Girin and Grisha Dobrosklonov, who sincerely want happiness for the entire peasant class, and that no one be offended.

The poem “To whom it is good to live in Russia” is not idealistic, because the poet sees problems not only in the nobility, which is mired in greed, arrogance and cruelty, but also among the peasants. This is primarily drunkenness and obscurantism, as well as degradation, illiteracy and poverty. The problem of finding happiness personally for oneself and for the whole people as a whole, the struggle against vices and the desire to make the world a better place are relevant today. So even in its unfinished form, Nekrasov's poem is not only a literary, but also a moral and ethical model.

In January 1866, another issue of the Sovremennik magazine was published in St. Petersburg. It opened with lines that are now familiar to everyone:

In what year - count

In what land - guess ...

These words, as it were, promised to introduce the reader into an entertaining fairy-tale world, where a chiffchaff bird, speaking a human language, and a magic self-assembly tablecloth would appear ... So, with a sly smile and ease, N.

A. Nekrasov his story about the adventures of seven men who argued about "who lives happily, freely in Russia."

Already in the "Prologue" one could see a picture of peasant Russia, the figure of the protagonist of the work, the Russian peasant, stood up, as he was in reality: in bast shoes, onuchs, an Armenian, unsatisfied, suffering grief.

Three years later, the publication of the poem was resumed, but each part met with severe persecution from the tsarist censorship, which believed that the poem "is distinguished by its extreme disgrace of content." The last of the written chapters - "Feast - for the whole world" - was subjected to especially sharp attacks. Unfortunately, Nekrasov was not destined to see either the publication of The Feast or a separate edition of the poem. Without abbreviations and distortions, the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" was published only after the October Revolution.

The poem occupies a central place in Nekrasov's poetry, is its ideological and artistic pinnacle, the result of the writer's thoughts about the fate of the people, about their happiness and the paths that lead to it. These thoughts worried the poet throughout his life, passed like a red thread through all his poetic work.

By the 1860s, the Russian peasant became the main character in Nekrasov's poetry. "Pedlars", "Orina, the Soldier's Mother", "Railway", "Frost, Red Nose" are the most important works of the poet on the way to the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia".

He devoted many years to work on the poem, which the poet called his "beloved brainchild". He set himself the goal of writing a "people's book", useful, understandable to the people and truthful. “I decided,” said Nekrasov, “to state in a coherent story everything that I know about the people, everything that I happened to hear from their lips, and I started “Who should live well in Russia.” It will be the epic of peasant life.” But death interrupted this gigantic work, the work remained unfinished. However, despite this, it retains its ideological and artistic integrity.

Nekrasov revived the folk epic genre in poetry. “Who Lives Well in Russia” is a truly folk work: both in its ideological sound, and in the scale of the epic depiction of modern folk life, in posing the fundamental questions of the time, and in heroic pathos, and in the widespread use of the poetic traditions of oral folk art, the closeness of the poetic language to live speech everyday forms and song lyricism.

At the same time, Nekrasov's poem has features that are characteristic of critical realism. Instead of one central character, the poem depicts, first of all, the people's environment as a whole, the life situation of different social circles. The popular point of view on reality is expressed in the poem already in the very development of the theme, in that all of Russia, all events are shown through the perception of wandering peasants, presented to the reader as if in their vision.

The events of the poem unfold in the first years after the reform of 1861 and the emancipation of the peasants. The people, the peasantry - the true positive hero of the poem. Nekrasov connected his hopes for the future with him, although he was aware of the weakness of the forces of peasant protest, the immaturity of the masses for revolutionary action.

In the poem, the author created the image of the peasant Saveliy, “the hero of the Holy Russian”, “the hero of the homespun”, which personifies the gigantic strength and stamina of the people. Savely is endowed with the features of the legendary heroes of the folk epic. This image is associated by Nekrasov with the central theme of the poem - the search for ways to people's happiness. It is no coincidence that Matryona Timofeevna says about Savely to wanderers: "There was also a lucky man." Saveliy's happiness lies in love of freedom, in understanding the need for an active struggle of the people, who can achieve a “free” life only in this way.

There are many memorable images of peasants in the poem. Here is the clever old steward Vlas, who has seen a lot in his lifetime, and Yakim Nagoi, a characteristic representative of the working agricultural peasantry. However, Yakim Nagoi is portrayed as a poet who does not at all look like a downtrodden, dark peasant of a patriarchal village. With a deep consciousness of his dignity, he ardently defends the honor of the people, delivers a fiery speech in defense of the people.

An important role in the poem is occupied by the image of Yermila Girin - a pure and incorruptible "protector of the people", who takes the side of the rebellious peasants and ends up in jail.

In the beautiful female image of Matrena Timofeevna, the poet draws the typical features of a Russian peasant woman. Nekrasov wrote many exciting poems about the harsh “women’s share”, but he has not yet written about a peasant woman so fully, with such warmth and love, with which Matryonushka is described in the poem.

Along with the peasant characters of the poem, who evoke love and participation, Nekrasov also draws other types of peasants, mostly yard servants, lordly hangers-on, sycophants, obedient slaves and direct traitors. These images are drawn by the poet in the tones of satirical denunciation. The more clearly he saw the protest of the peasantry, the more he believed in the possibility of his emancipation, the more irreconcilably he condemned slavish humiliation, servility and servility. Such are the “exemplary serf” Jacob in the poem, who in the end realizes the humiliation of his position and resorts to pitiful and helpless, but in his slavish consciousness of terrible revenge - suicide in front of his tormentor; the "sensitive lackey" Ipat, who talks about his humiliations with disgusting relish; scammer, "a spy from his own" Egor Shutov; elder Gleb, seduced by the promises of the heir and agreed to destroy the will of the deceased landowner about the release of eight thousand peasants (“Peasant sin”).

Showing ignorance, rudeness, superstition, backwardness of the Russian village of that time, Nekrasov emphasizes the temporary, historically transient nature of the dark sides of peasant life.

The world poetically recreated in the poem is a world of sharp social contrasts, clashes, sharp life contradictions.

In the “round”, “ruddy”, “pot-bellied”, “mustachioed” landowner Obolt-Obolduev, whom the wanderers met, the poet exposes the emptiness and frivolity of a person who is not accustomed to seriously think about life. Behind the guise of a good-natured man, behind the gracious courtesy and ostentatious hospitality of Obolt-Obolduev, the reader sees the arrogance and anger of the landowner, barely restrained disgust and hatred for the "muzhik", for the peasants.

Satire and grotesque marked the image of the landowner-tyrant Prince Utyatin, nicknamed by the peasants the Last. A predatory look, "a nose with a beak like a hawk", alcoholism and voluptuousness complement the disgusting appearance of a typical representative of the landowner's environment, an inveterate serf-owner and despot.

At first glance, the development of the plot of the poem should consist in resolving the dispute between the peasants: which of the persons named by them lives happier - a landowner, an official, a priest, a merchant, a minister or a king. However, developing the action of the poem, Nekrasov goes beyond the plot framework set by the plot of the work. Seven peasants are looking for a happy man not only among the representatives of the ruling classes. Going to the fair, in the midst of the people, they pose the question: “Isn’t he hiding there, who lives happily?” In "Last Child" they directly say that the purpose of their journey is to search for the people's happiness, the best peasant lot:

We are looking for, Uncle Vlas,

unworn province,

Not gutted volost,

Surplus village!..

Starting the story in a half-fairy joking tone, the poet gradually deepens the meaning of the question of happiness, giving it an ever sharper social sound. The most visibly the author's intentions are manifested in the censored part of the poem - "Feast - for the whole world." The story about Grisha Dobrosklonov begun here was to take a central place in the development of the theme of happiness-struggle. Here the poet speaks directly about that path, about that "path" that leads to the embodiment of people's happiness. Grisha's happiness lies in the conscious struggle for a happy future for the people, for "every peasant to live freely and cheerfully in all of holy Russia."

The image of Grisha is the final one in the series of "people's defenders" depicted in Nekrasov's poetry. The author emphasizes in Grisha his closeness to the people, live communication with the peasants, in whom he finds complete understanding and support; Grisha is depicted as an inspired dreamer-poet composing his “good songs” for the people.

The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" is the highest example of the folk style of Nekrasov's poetry. The folk-song and fairy-tale element of the poem gives it a bright national flavor and is directly connected with Nekrasov's faith in the great future of the people. The main theme of the poem - the search for happiness - goes back to folk tales, songs and other folklore sources, which spoke about the search for a happy land, truth, wealth, treasure, etc. This theme expressed the most cherished thought of the masses, their desire for happiness, the age-old dream of the people of a just social order.

Nekrasov used in the poem almost all the genre diversity of Russian folk poetry: fairy tales, epics, legends, riddles, proverbs, sayings, family songs, love songs, wedding songs, historical songs. Folk poetry gave the poet the richest material for judging the peasant life, way of life, customs of the village.

The style of the poem is characterized by a richness of emotional sounds, a variety of poetic intonation: the sly smile and slowness of the narration in the "Prologue" is replaced in subsequent scenes by the sonorous polyphony of the seething fair crowd, in the "Last Child" - by satirical mockery, in "The Peasant Woman" - by deep drama and lyrical excitement, and in "A Feast - for the Whole World" - with heroic tension and revolutionary pathos.

The poet subtly feels and loves the beauty of the native Russian nature of the northern strip. The landscape is also used by the poet to create an emotional tone, for a more complete and vivid characterization of the character's state of mind.

The poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia" has a prominent place in Russian poetry. In it, the fearless truth of the pictures of folk life appears in a halo of poetic fabulousness and the beauty of folk art, and the cry of protest and satire merged with the heroism of the revolutionary struggle.