A work who lives well in Russia. Who lives well in Russia in our time? Main storyline

From 1863 to 1877, Nekrasov created "Who Lives Well in Russia". The idea, characters, plot changed several times in the course of work. Most likely, the plan was not fully revealed: the author died in 1877. Despite this, "Who Lives Well in Russia" as a folk poem is considered a complete work. It was assumed that there will be 8 parts in it, but only 4 were completed.

The poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" begins with the presentation of the characters. These heroes are seven men from the villages: Dyryavino, Zaplatovo, Gorelovo, Neurozhayka, Znobishino, Razutovo, Neelovo. They meet and start a conversation about who lives happily and well in Russia. Each of the men has his own opinion. One thinks that the landowner is happy, the other that the official. Merchants, priest, minister, noble boyar, tsar are also called happy men from the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia". The heroes began to argue, lit a fire. It even came to a fight. However, they have not been able to reach an agreement.

Self-assembled tablecloth

Suddenly Pakhom completely unexpectedly caught the chick. The little warbler, his mother, asked the peasant to let the chick free. For this she suggested where you can find a self-assembled tablecloth - a very useful thing that will certainly come in handy on a long journey. Thanks to her, the men during the trip did not experience a shortage of food.

Priest's story

The next events continue the work "Who Lives Well in Russia". The heroes decided to find out at any cost who lives happily and cheerfully in Russia. They hit the road. First, they met a priest on the way. The men turned to him with a question about whether he lives happily. Then the pop talked about his life. He believes (in which the men could not disagree with him) that happiness is impossible without peace, honor, wealth. Pop believes that if he had it all, he would be completely happy. However, he is obliged both day and night, in any weather to go wherever he is told - to the dying, to the sick. Every time the priest has to see human grief and suffering. Sometimes he even lacks the strength to take retribution for the service, since people tear the latter away from themselves. Once upon a time, everything was completely different. Pop says that rich landowners rewarded him generously for the funeral service, baptism, and wedding. However, now the rich are far away, and the poor have no money. The priest also has no honor: men do not respect him, as evidenced by many folk songs.

Wanderers go to the fair

Wanderers understand that it is impossible to call this person happy, which is noted by the author of the work "Who Lives Well in Russia". The heroes set off again and find themselves on the road in the village of Kuzminskoye, at a fair. This village is dirty, albeit rich. There are a lot of establishments in which residents indulge in drunkenness. They spend their last money on drink. For example, the old man has no money left for shoes for his granddaughter, since he drank everything. All this is observed by wanderers from the work "Who Lives Well in Russia" (Nekrasov).

Yakim Nagoy

They also notice fairground entertainment and fights and talk about the fact that the man is forced to drink: this helps to withstand hard work and eternal hardship. An example of this is Yakim Nagoy, a man from the village of Bosovo. He works to death, "drinks half to death." Yakim believes that if there were no drunkenness, there would be great sadness.

The wanderers continue their journey. In the work "Who Lives Well in Russia" Nekrasov says that they want to find happy and cheerful people, they promise to give these lucky people a drink for free. Therefore, all sorts of people are trying to pass themselves off as such - a former courtyard suffering from paralysis, who licked plates after a master for many years, exhausted workers, beggars. However, travelers themselves understand that these people cannot be called happy.

Ermil Girin

The men once heard about a man named Yermil Girin. His story is further told by Nekrasov, of course, he does not convey all the details. Yermil Girin is a burgomaster who was highly respected, a fair and honest person. He set out to buy out the mill one day. The peasants lent him money without a receipt, they trusted him so much. However, there was a peasant revolt. Now Yermil is in prison.

Obolt-Obolduev's story

Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev, one of the landowners, told about the fate of the nobles after they used to have a lot: serfs, villages, forests. On holidays, nobles could invite serfs into their homes to pray. But after that the master was no longer the rightful owner of the peasants. The pilgrims knew perfectly well how difficult life was during the days of serfdom. But it is also not difficult for them to understand that it became much harder for the nobles after the abolition of serfdom. And it’s no easier for the peasants now. The pilgrims understood that they would not be able to find a happy one among men. So they decided to go to women.

The life of Matryona Korchagina

The peasants were told that a peasant woman named Matrena Timofeevna Korchagina lived in one village, whom everyone calls a lucky woman. They found her, and Matryona told the peasants about her life. This story continues Nekrasov "Who lives well in Russia."

A summary of the life story of this woman is as follows. Her childhood was cloudless and happy. She had a hard-working, non-drinking family. Mother cared for and cherished her daughter. When Matryona grew up, she became a beauty. A stove-maker from another village, Philip Korchagin, once wooed her. Matryona told how he persuaded her to marry him. This was the only bright memory of this woman in her entire life, who was hopeless and dreary, although her husband treated her well by peasant standards: she almost never beat her. However, he went to the city to work. Matryona lived in her father-in-law's house. Everyone here treated her badly. The only one who was kind to the peasant woman was the very old grandfather Savely. He told her that for the murder of the manager he went to hard labor.

Soon Matryona gave birth to Demushka, a sweet and beautiful child. She could not part with him for a minute. However, the woman had to work in a field where her mother-in-law did not allow her to take the child. Grandfather Savely watched the baby. He once did not look after Demushka, and the child was eaten by pigs. We came to understand from the city, in front of the mother's eyes, they opened the baby. This was a hard blow for Matryona.

Then five children were born to her, all boys. Matryona was a kind and caring mother. One day Fedot, one of the children, was tending sheep. One of them was carried away by a she-wolf. This was the fault of the shepherd, who should have been punished with whips. Then Matryona begged them to beat her instead of her son.

She also said that one day they wanted to take her husband into the soldiers, although this was a violation of the law. Then Matryona went to the city, being pregnant. Here the woman met Elena Aleksandrovna, the kind governor who helped her, and Matryona's husband was released.

The peasants considered Matryona a happy woman. However, after listening to her story, the men realized that she could not be called happy. There was too much suffering and misfortune in her life. Matryona Timofeevna herself also says that a woman in Russia, especially a peasant woman, cannot be happy. Her lot is very hard.

Survivor of the mind landowner

The way to the Volga is kept by peasant wanderers. Here is mowing. People are busy with hard work. Suddenly an amazing scene: the mowers are humiliated, they please the old master. It turned out that the landowner He could not realize what had already been canceled. Therefore, his relatives persuaded the peasants to behave as if it was still in effect. They were promised for this The men agreed, but were deceived once again. When the old master died, the heirs did not give them anything.

The story of Jacob

Repeatedly along the way, pilgrims listen to folk songs - hungry, soldier's and others, as well as various stories. They remembered, for example, the story of Jacob, the faithful servant. He always tried to please and please the master, who humiliated and beat the slave. However, this led to the fact that Jacob loved him even more. The master's legs gave out in old age. Jacob continued to look after him as if he were his own child. But he received no thanks for this. Grisha, a young guy, Yakov's nephew, wanted to marry one beauty - a serf girl. Out of jealousy, the old master sent Grisha into recruits. Yakov from this grief fell into drunkenness, but then returned to the master and took revenge. He took him to the forest and hanged himself in front of the master. Since his legs were paralyzed, he could not go anywhere. The master sat all night under the corpse of Yakov.

Grigory Dobrosklonov - people's defender

This and other stories make men think that they will not be able to find happy ones. However, they learn about Grigory Dobrosklonov, a seminarian. This is the son of a sexton, who saw the suffering and hopeless life of the people from childhood. He made a choice in his early youth, decided that he would give his strength to the struggle for the happiness of his people. Gregory is educated and smart. He understands that Russia is strong and will cope with all troubles. In the future, Gregory will have a glorious path, the loud name of the people's defender, "consumption and Siberia."

The peasants hear about this intercessor, but they do not yet have an understanding that such people can make others happy. This will not happen soon.

Heroes of the poem

Nekrasov portrayed various segments of the population. Simple peasants become the protagonists of the work. They were freed by the 1861 reform. But their life after the abolition of serfdom did not change much. The same hard work, a hopeless life. After the reform, moreover, the peasants who had their own land found themselves in an even more difficult situation.

The characterization of the heroes of the work "Who lives well in Russia" can be supplemented by the fact that the author has created surprisingly reliable images of peasants. Their characters are very accurate, although contradictory. Russian people have not only kindness, strength and integrity of character. They retained at the genetic level obsequiousness, servility, readiness to obey a despot and a tyrant. The advent of Grigory Dobrosklonov, a new man, is a symbol of the fact that honest, noble, intelligent people appear among the downtrodden peasantry. Let their fate be unenviable and difficult. Thanks to them, self-awareness will arise among the peasant masses, and people will finally be able to fight for happiness. This is what the heroes and the author of the poem dream about. ON. N. A. Nekrasov "Who Lives Well in Russia" was written with such sympathy for the people that today it makes us empathize with their fate at that difficult time.

Nekrasov's poem "Who lives well in Russia", which is part of the compulsory school curriculum, is presented here in a summary, which you can find below.

Part 1

Prologue

Seven men from neighboring villages meet on the pole road. They start a dispute over who has fun in Russia. Everyone has their own answer. In their conversations, they do not notice that they have traveled thirty miles to an unknown destination. It gets dark, they make a fire. The argument gradually turns into a fight. But a definite answer still cannot be found.

A man named Pakhom catches a chick of warblers. In return, the bird promises to tell the peasants where the self-assembled tablecloth is, which will give them as much food as they want, a bucket of vodka a day, wash and mend their clothes. The heroes receive a real treasure and decide to find the final answer to the question: who lives well in Russia?

Pop

On the way to the peasants there is a pop. They ask if he is happily living. According to the priest, happiness is wealth, honor and peace. But these benefits are not available to the priest: in the cold and rain, he is forced to go to the funeral service, to look at the tears of his relatives, when it is embarrassing to take payment for the service. In addition, the priest does not see respect among the people, every now and then becomes the subject of ridicule of the men.

Rural fair

Finding out that the priest is not happy, the peasants go to the fair in the village of Kuzminskoye. Maybe there they will find the lucky one. There are many drunks at the fair. Old man Vavila grieves that he skipped money for shoes for his granddaughter. Everyone wants to help, but they do not have the opportunity. Barin Pavel Veretennikov takes pity on his grandfather and buys a gift for his granddaughter.

Towards nightfall, everyone around is drunk, the men go away.

Drunken night

Pavel Veretennikov, having talked with the common people, regrets that the Russian people drink too much. But the peasants are convinced that the peasants drink out of despair, that it is impossible to live sober in these conditions. If the Russian people give up drinking, great sadness awaits them.

These thoughts are expressed by Yakim Nagoi, a resident of the village of Bosovo. He tells how, in the event of a fire, the first thing he did was take out popular prints from the hut - that which he valued most of all.

The men settled down for lunch. Then one of them stayed to watch the bucket of vodka, and the rest again went in search of happiness.

Happy

Wanderers offer those who are happy in Russia to drink a glass of vodka. There are many such lucky ones - a strained man, a paralytic, and even beggars.

Someone points them to Yermila Girin - an honest and respected peasant. When he needed to buy out his mill at an auction, the people collected the required amount for a ruble and a pretty penny. A couple of weeks later, Jirin was distributing debt in the square. And when the last ruble was left, he continued to look for its owner until sunset. But now even Yermila has little happiness - he was accused of a popular riot and thrown into prison.

Landlord

The ruddy landowner Gavrila Obolt-Obolduev is another candidate for the "lucky man". But he complains to the peasants about the noble misfortune - the abolition of serfdom. It used to be good for him. Everyone took care of him, tried to please. And he himself was kind to the servants. The reform destroyed his usual way of life. How can he live now, because he can do nothing, is not capable of anything. The landowner began to cry, after him the peasants became sad. The abolition of serfdom is not easy for the peasants.

Part 2

The last one

The men find themselves on the banks of the Volga during haymaking. They observe an amazing picture for themselves. Three master's boats dock at the shore. The mowers, just sitting down to rest, jump up, wanting to curry favor with the master. It turned out that the heirs, having enlisted the support of the peasants, are trying to hide the peasant reform from the distraught landowner Utyatin. The peasants were promised lands for this, but when the landowner dies, the heirs forget about the agreement.

Part 3

Peasant woman

The seekers of happiness thought about asking about the happiness of women. All the people we meet call the name of Matryona Korchagina, whom people see as a lucky woman.

Matryona, however, claims that there are many troubles in her life, and devotes the pilgrims to her story.

As a girl, Matryona had a good, non-drinking family. When the stove-maker Korchagin looked after her, she was happy. But after marriage, the usual painful village life began. She was beaten by her husband only once, because he loved her. When he left to work, the stove-maker's family continued to mock her. Only grandfather Savely - a former convict who was imprisoned for the murder of the manager - felt sorry for her. Savely looked like a hero, confident that the Russian man could not be defeated.

Matryona was happy when her first son was born. But while she was at work in the field, Savely fell asleep, and the pigs ate the child. In front of her grief-stricken mother, the county doctor performed an autopsy on her first child. To this day, a woman cannot forget the child, although after him she gave birth to five.

From the outside, everyone considers Matryona lucky, but no one understands what pain she carries inside, what mortal unavenged grievances gnaw at her, how she dies every time she remembers a dead child.

Matryona Timofeevna knows that a Russian woman simply cannot be happy, because she has no life, she has no will.

Part 4

A feast for the whole world

Wanderers near the village of Vakhlachina hear folk songs - hungry, salty, soldier's and corvee's. Sings Grisha Dobrosklonov - a simple Russian guy. Stories about serfdom are heard. One of them is the story of Yakim the faithful. He was devoted to the master to the extreme. He rejoiced at cuffs, fulfilled any whims. But when the landowner gave his nephew to the soldier's service, Yakim left, and soon returned. He figured out how to take revenge on the landlord. Having become depleted, he brought him to the forest and hanged himself on a tree over the master.

A dispute begins about the worst sin. Elder Jonah tells the parable “about two sinners”. The sinner Kudeyar prayed to God for forgiveness, and he answered him. If Kudeyar knocks down a huge tree with only one knife, then his sins will subside. The oak fell down only after the sinner washed it with the blood of the cruel Pan Glukhovsky.

The clerk's son Grisha Dobrosklonov thinks about the future of the Russian people. Russia for him is a wretched, abundant, powerful and powerless mother. In his soul he feels immense strength, he is ready to give his life for the good of the people. In the future, the glory of the people's defender, hard labor, Siberia and consumption awaits him. But if the pilgrims knew what feelings filled the soul of Gregory, they would realize that the goal of their search has been achieved.

One of the most famous works of Nikolai Nekrasov is the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia", which is distinguished not only by its deep philosophical meaning and social acuteness, but also by bright, distinctive characters - these are seven simple Russian men who got together and argued about who " he lives freely and cheerfully in Russia. " The poem was first published in 1866 in the Sovremennik magazine. The publication of the poem was resumed after three years, but the tsarist censorship, seeing in the content of attacks on the autocracy regime, did not allow it to be published. The poem was published in full only after the revolution in 1917.

The poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" became the central work in the work of the great Russian poet, it is his ideological and artistic peak, the result of his thoughts and reflections on the fate of the Russian people and on the roads leading to its happiness and well-being. These questions worried the poet throughout his life and ran like a red thread through all his literary activities. Work on the poem lasted 14 years (1863-1877), and in order to create this "folk epic" as the author himself called it, useful and understandable for the common people, Nekrasov put in a lot of effort, although in the end it was never finished (8 chapters were conceived, 4 were written). A serious illness and then the death of Nekrasov disrupted his plans. The plot incompleteness does not prevent the work from having an acute social character.

Main storyline

The poem was started by Nekrasov in 1863 after the abolition of serfdom, therefore its content touches upon many problems that arose after the Peasant Reform of 1861. There are four chapters in the poem, they are united by a common plot about how seven ordinary men argued about who lives well in Russia and who is really happy. The plot of the poem, which touches upon serious philosophical and social problems, is built in the form of a journey through Russian villages, their “speaking” names perfectly describe the Russian reality of that time: Dyryavina, Razutov, Gorelov, Zaplatov, Neurozhaikin, etc. In the first chapter, entitled "The Prologue," the men meet on the high road and start their own dispute, in order to resolve it, they are taken on a journey across Russia. On the way, the peasants-disputants meet with a variety of people, these are peasants, and merchants, and landowners, and priests, and beggars, and drunkards, they see a variety of pictures from people's lives: funerals, weddings, fairs, elections, etc. ...

Meeting different people, the peasants ask them the same question: how happy they are, but both the priest and the landowner complain about the deterioration of life after the abolition of serfdom, only a few of all the people they meet at the fair recognize themselves as truly happy.

In the second chapter, entitled "The Last One," wanderers come to the village of Bolshie Vakhlaki, whose inhabitants, after the abolition of serfdom, so as not to upset the old count, continue to pose as serfs. Nekrasov shows the readers how they were then cruelly deceived and robbed by the count's sons.

The third chapter, entitled "The Peasant Woman," describes the search for happiness among women of that time, the pilgrims meet with Matryona Korchagina in the village of Klin, she tells them about her long-suffering fate and advises them not to look for happy people among Russian women.

In the fourth chapter, entitled "A Feast for the Whole World," itinerant seekers of truth find themselves at a feast in the village of Valakhchina, where they understand that the questions they ask people about happiness excite all Russian people, without exception. The ideological finale of the work is the song "Rus", which originated in the head of the participant in the feast, the son of the parish deacon Grigory Dobrosklonov:

« You and wretched

you are abundant,

you and omnipotent

Mother Russia!»

Main characters

The question of who is the main character of the poem remains open, formally these are the men who argued about happiness and decided to go on a trip to Russia in order to decide who is right, but the poem clearly states that the main character of the poem is the entire Russian people perceived as a whole. The images of peasant wanderers (Roman, Demyan, Luka, brothers Ivan and Mitrodor Gubins, old Pakhom and Prova) are practically not disclosed, their characters are not drawn, they act and express themselves as a single organism, while the images of the people they meet are, on the contrary, painted very carefully, with a lot of details and nuances.

One of the brightest representatives of the people of the people can be called the son of the parish clerk Grigory Dobrosklonov, who was served by Nekrasov as a people's defender, educator and savior. He is one of the key characters and the entire final chapter is given to the description of his image. Grisha, like no one else, is close to the people, understands their dreams and aspirations, wants to help them and composes wonderful “good songs” for people that bring joy and hope to others. Through his lips, the author proclaims his views and beliefs, gives answers to the acute social and moral questions raised in the poem. Characters such as the seminarian Grisha and the honest steward Yermil Girin are not looking for happiness for themselves, they dream of making all people happy at once and devote their whole lives to this. The main idea of ​​the poem follows from Dobrosklonov's understanding of the very concept of happiness, this feeling can only be fully felt by those who, without reasoning, give their life for a just cause in the struggle for people's happiness.

The main female character of the poem is Matryona Korchagina; the entire third chapter is devoted to describing her tragic fate, typical for all Russian women. Drawing her portrait, Nekrasov admires her straight, proud posture, uncomplicated attire and the amazing beauty of a simple Russian woman (eyes are large, stern, eyelashes are richest, stern and dark). Her whole life is spent in hard peasant work, she has to endure the beatings of her husband and the insolent encroachments of the manager, she was destined to survive the tragic death of her first child, hunger and deprivation. She lives only for the sake of her children, without hesitation accepts the punishment with rods for her guilty son. The author is delighted with the strength of her mother's love, endurance and strong character, sincerely pity her and sympathizes with all Russian women, for the fate of Matryona is the fate of all women peasants of that time, suffering from powerlessness, poverty, religious fanaticism and superstition, lack of qualified medical care.

Also, the poem describes the images of landowners, their wives and sons (princes, nobles), depicts landlord servants (lackeys, servants, courtyard servants), priests and other clergy, good governors and cruel German managers, artists, soldiers, wanderers, a huge number secondary characters that give the folk lyric-epic poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" that unique polyphony and epic breadth, making this work a real masterpiece and the pinnacle of Nekrasov's entire literary work.

Analysis of the poem

The problems raised in the work are diverse and complex, they affect the life of various strata of society, this is a difficult transition to a new way of life, the problems of drunkenness, poverty, obscurantism, greed, cruelty, oppression, the desire to change something, etc.

However, all the same, the key problem of this work is the search for simple human happiness, which each of the characters understands in his own way. For example, rich people, such as priests or landowners, think only about their own well-being, this is happiness for them, people who are poorer, such as ordinary peasants, are also happy with the simplest things: staying alive after a bear attack, surviving a beating at work, etc. ...

The main idea of ​​the poem is that the Russian people deserve to be happy, they deserve it with their suffering, blood and sweat. Nekrasov was convinced that it is necessary to fight for one's happiness and it is not enough to make one person happy, because this will not solve the entire global problem as a whole, the poem calls on to think and strive for happiness for everyone without exception.

Structural and compositional features

The compositional form of the work is distinguished by its originality, it is built in accordance with the laws of the classical epic, i.e. each chapter can exist autonomously, and all together they represent a single whole work with a large number of characters and storylines.

The poem, according to the author himself, belongs to the genre of a folk epic, it is written with a three-legged non-rhymed iambic, at the end of each line, after stressed syllables, there are two unstressed syllables (the use of dactylic casula), in some places to emphasize the folklore style of the work there is an iambic tetrameter.

In order for the poem to be understandable to an ordinary person, many common words and expressions are used in it: villages, breeches, yarmonka, empty dance, etc. The poem contains a large number of different samples of folk poetry, these are both fairy tales and epics, and various proverbs and sayings, folk songs of various genres. The language of the work was stylized by the author in the form of a folk song to improve the ease of perception, while the use of folklore was considered the best way of communication between the intelligentsia and the common people.

In the poem, the author used such means of artistic expression as epithets (“the sun is red”, “shadows are black”, the heart is free ”,“ poor people ”), comparisons ( “The earth is lying”, “the warbler is crying”, “the village is seething”). There is also a place for irony and sarcasm, various stylistic figures are used, such as appeals: "Hey, uncle!", "Oh people, Russian people!", Various exclamations "Chu!", "Eh, Eh!" etc.

The poem "Who Lives Well in Russia" is the highest example of a work performed in the folk style of the entire literary heritage of Nekrasov. The elements and images of Russian folklore used by the poet give the work a vivid originality, colorfulness and juicy national flavor. The fact that the search for happiness Nekrasov made the main theme of the poem is not at all accidental, because the whole Russian people have been looking for him for many thousands of years, this is reflected in his tales, epics, legends, songs and other various folklore sources as a search for a treasure, a happy land, priceless treasure. The theme of this work expressed the most cherished desire of the Russian people throughout its entire existence - to live happily in a society where justice and equality rule.

(351 words) 140 years ago, an epic poem was written by N.A. Nekrasov "Who Lives Well in Russia?", Describing the hard life of the people. And if the poet were our contemporary, how would he answer the question posed in the title? In the original poem, the peasants were going to look for the happy among the landowners, officials, priests, merchants, noble boyars, sovereign ministers, and, in the end, they intended to reach the tsar. During the search, the heroes' plan changed: they learned the stories of many peasants, townspeople, even robbers. And the seminarian Grisha Dobrosklonov was the lucky one among them. He saw his happiness not in peace and contentment, but in intercession for his beloved homeland, for the people. It is not known how his life will turn out, but it was not lived in vain.

After almost a century and a half, who is happy? If you follow the original plan of the heroes, it turns out that almost all of these paths also remain thorny. It is extremely unprofitable to be a farmer, because it is more expensive to grow agricultural products than to sell them. Businessmen are constantly maneuvering in the changing market situation, risking bankruptcy every day. The bureaucratic work remained dull, it is free only in areas close to the government. The presidential service is difficult, responsible, because the lives of millions depend on it. The priests received quite comfortable conditions, in contrast to the 19th century, but the respect became even less.

What are the people? The townspeople, basically, live from paycheck to paycheck, being in constant time pressure. They sit out their working day, go home, sit down at the TV, then go to bed. And so every day, all my life. Existence is not so poor (at least in comparison with the 19th century), but it is becoming more and more standardized. The villagers live more gloomily, because the villages are bent: there are no roads, hospitals, schools. Only old people live there, others have nothing to do - either run or drink.

If material goods are taken as the criterion of happiness, then in our time it is good for the deputies to live. Their business is to receive a salary of 40 living wages and periodically come to meetings. But if the criterion of happiness is intangible, then the happiest person today is a person who is free from routine and fuss. You cannot completely get rid of this, but you can build your inner world in such a way that the "slime of little things" will not drag out: achieve some goals, love, communicate, be interested. You don't need to be specific for this. In order to live well, you need to be able to sometimes look around and think about something insubstantial.

The work of Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov is devoted to the deep problems of the Russian people. The heroes of his story, ordinary peasants, go on a journey in search of a person to whom life brings happiness. So who lives well in Russia? A chapter summary and an abstract to the poem will help you understand the main idea of ​​the work.

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The idea and history of the creation of the poem

The main idea of ​​Nekrasov was to create a poem for the people, in which they could recognize themselves not only in the general idea, but also in the little things, everyday life, behavior, see their advantages and disadvantages, find their place in life.

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

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

It is believed that the author began to write "Who lives well in Russia?" in about 1863 - shortly after. Two years later, Nekrasov completed the first part and marked the manuscript with this date. Subsequent were ready for 72, 73, 76 years of the 19th century, respectively.

Important! The work began to be published in 1866. This process turned out to be long, lasted four years... The poem was difficult to accept by critics, the highest of that time brought down a lot of criticism on it, the author, along with his work, was persecuted. Despite this, "Who lives well in Russia?" was printed and well received by the common people.

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

Prologue

"Who lives well in Russia?" begins with a prologue, the summary of which is as follows: meet seven main characters- ordinary Russian men from the people who came from the Terpigorev district.

Each one comes from his own village, the name of which, for example, was like this - Dyryaevo or Neelovo. Having met, the men begin to actively argue with each other about who really lives well in Russia. This phrase will be the leitmotif of the work, its main plot.

Each offers a variant of the estate, which is now flourishing. These were:

• priests;
• landlords;
• officials;
• merchants;
• boyars and ministers;
• Tsar.

The men argue so much the situation is getting out of hand a fight starts- the peasants forget what deeds they were going to do, they go in an unknown direction. In the end, they wander into the wilderness, decide not to go anywhere else until morning and wait out the night in a clearing.

Because of the noise raised, the chick falls out of the nest, one of the wanderers catches it and dreams that if it had wings, it would fly all over Russia. Others add that you can do without wings, there would be something to drink and a good snack, then you can travel until old age.

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

First part. Chapter 1

The first chapter tells about the meeting of men with a priest. They walked for a long time, ordinary people came across - beggars, peasants, soldiers. The disputants did not even try to talk to those, because they knew from themselves that the common people did not have happiness. Having met the priest's cart, the wanderers block the path and talk about the dispute, asking the main question, who lives well in Russia, Are the priests happy.

Pop replies with the following:

1. A person has happiness only if his life combines three features - calmness, honor and wealth.
2. Explains that the priests have no peace, from how troublesome they get to the rank and ending with the fact that every day he listens to the cry of dozens of people, which does not add peace in life.
3. A lot of money now priests find it hard to make money, since the nobles, who used to carry out ceremonies in their native villages, now do it in the capital, and the clergy have to live off the peasants alone, from whom a meager income.
4. The people of the priests also do not pamper them with respect, make fun of them, avoid them, there is no way to hear a good word from anyone.

After the priest's speech, the peasants bashfully hide their eyes and understand that the life of the priests in the world is by no means sweet. When the clergyman leaves, the debaters attack the one who suggested that the priests would live well. It would have come to a fight, but the pop reappeared on the road.

Chapter 2

The peasants walk along the roads for a long time, almost no one meets them, who can be asked who lives well in Russia. In the end, they learn that in the village of Kuzminskoye rich fair as the village is not poor. There are two churches, a closed school and even a not very clean hotel where you can stay. No joke, there is a paramedic in the village.

The most important thing is that there are as many as 11 innkeepers here, which do not have time to pour the merry people. All the peasants drink a lot. An upset grandfather stands by the shop with shoes, who promised to bring his boots to his granddaughter, but he drank the money. Barin Pavlusha Veretennikov appears and pays for the purchase.

Books are also sold at the fair, but people are interested in the most mediocre books, neither Gogol nor Belinsky are in demand and are not interesting to the common people, despite the fact that these writers are just protecting interests of ordinary people... In the end, the heroes get drunk to such a state that they fall to the ground, watching the church “stagger”.

CHAPTER 3

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

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

Having heard this, the men sit down to eat. After one of them is left to follow the bucket of vodka, and the rest again head into the crowd to find a person who considers himself happy in this world.

Chapter 4

Men walk the streets and promise to treat the happiest person of the people with vodka in order to find out who lives well in Russia, but only deeply unhappy people who want a drink to be comforted. Those who want to show off something good find that their petty happiness doesn't answer the basic question. For example, a Belarusian is happy that rye bread is made here, from which he does not have a stomach ache, so he is happy.

As a result, the bucket of vodka runs out, and the disputants understand that they will not find the truth in this way, but one of those who came says to look for Yermila Girin. Yermil is highly respected in the village, the peasants say that he is a very good person. They even tell a case that when Girin wanted to buy a mill, but there was no money for a deposit, he collected a whole thousand loans from the common people and managed to deposit money.

A week later, Yermil handed out everything he borrowed, until the evening he tried to find out from those around him who else to go to and give the last remaining ruble.

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

CHAPTER 5

Further, the travelers meet a landowner, who, in response to the question of who lives well in Russia, tells them about his noble roots - the founder of his family, the Tatar Obolduy, was skinned by a bear for the laughter of the empress, who in return presented many expensive gifts.

The landlord complains that the peasants were taken away, so there is no longer a law on his lands, forests are being cut down, drinking establishments multiply - the people do what they want, because of this they become poor. Further, he says that he was not used to working since childhood, but here he has to do it due to the fact that the serfs were taken away.

In distress, the landowner leaves, and the peasants feel sorry for him, thinking that on the one hand, after the abolition of serfdom, the peasants suffered, and on the other, the landowners, that this whip whipped all the estates.

Part 2. The last - summary

This part of the poem tells about the extravagant Prince Utyatin, who, having learned that serfdom had been abolished, fell ill with a heart attack and promised to deprive his sons of the inheritance. Those, frightened of such a fate, persuaded the peasants to play along with the old father, bribing them with a promise to give the meadows to the village.

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

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

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

Part 3. Peasant woman

This part of the poem is devoted to the search for female happiness, but it ends with the fact that there is no happiness and you will never find such a thing. The wanderers meet the peasant woman Matryona - a beautiful, stately woman of 38 years old. Wherein Matryona is deeply unhappy, considers himself an old woman. She has a difficult fate, joy was only in childhood. After the girl got married, her husband left to work, leaving her pregnant wife in her husband's large family.

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

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

In the end, the pilgrims, not finding women's happiness and not receiving an answer to their question - who lives well in Russia, went on.

Part 4. Feast for the whole world - the conclusion of the poem

It takes place in the same village. The main characters gathered for a feast and have fun, tell different stories to find out which of the people in Russia live well. They talked about Yakov, a peasant who greatly respected the master, but did not forgive when he gave his nephew to the soldier. As a result, Jacob brought the owner into the forest and hanged himself, but he could not get out, since his legs did not work. Then there is a long debate about who is more sinful in this situation.

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

Grisha goes and sings that a glorious path awaits ahead, a sonorous name in history, he is inspired by this, he is not even afraid of the supposed outcome - Siberia and death from consumption. The disputants do not notice Grisha, but in vain, because this the only happy person in the poem, realizing this, they could find the answer to their question - who lives well in Russia.

When the poem "Who Lives Well in Russia?" add optimism and hope at the end of the poem, to give "the light at the end of the road" to the Russian person.

N.A. Nekrasov, "Who lives well in Russia" - a summary