"Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" contains three main themes: criticism of the autocracy and serfdom, the question of the inevitability of the revolution. Radishchev in this work goes beyond sentimentalism and approaches the realistic principle of depicting reality. The book is unique in that it combines various genres: from short stories to philosophical discourses, from letters to allegories. All these "pieces" are assembled into a single whole with the help of the general idea of ​​the archaism of the autocratic system and serfdom. In addition, the traveler is a cross-cutting character, despite the fact that each chapter has its own plot and its own compositional completeness.

Spasskaya Polist is considered one of the sharpest socially critical chapters. It sums up Radishchev's thoughts about the dangers of autocracy. What is worth only the story of the governor who used cash not for the purposes of public service, but for personal purposes (acquired oysters). And his assistant, thanks to "obedient" service, was promoted. That is, there is embezzlement and nepotism. The traveler's dream is a satirical allegory of the entire reign of Catherine II. According to the writer, it was during her reign that the rottenness and depravity of the autocracy reached its climax. This is especially clearly seen in the chapter "Spasskaya Polist".

Radishchev is a Russian democrat of the 18th century, who made an invaluable contribution to Russian culture, literature and social thought. In the chapter Spasskaya Polist, as in the entire Journey, the author speaks on behalf of the humiliated and tired peasants in order to have his say in response to the oppressors. There was no other writer with such a consistent and revolutionary mind as the author of a large-scale work, which also included the chapter "Spasskaya Polist" (an analysis will confirm this).

Censorship

It was not possible to print the work, although Konstantin Ryleev missed it without even reading it. Then the writer equipped his printing house and put 25 copies on sale. The remaining 600 he kept. But even twenty-five pieces were enough for the city to “buzz”. Rumor reached Catherine. The Empress was angry. Despite the anonymity of the authorship of Journey, Radishchev was quickly found. The investigation went on for a long time. The writer had three tasks: not to betray accomplices, protect children and save his life. It ended up that the death penalty was replaced by exile to Siberia. So the "rebel, worse than Pugachev" remained alive. Radishchev committed suicide when, after returning from exile, he realized that the persecution had not ended.

reality

In Radishchev's book (and in separate chapters, such as "Spasskaya Polist"), the main idea is the denunciation of serfdom. Catherine saw in it echoes of the French Revolution, although by and large all the events were inspired by Russian reality. Each meeting of the traveler only increases his confidence in the arbitrariness and scale of bribery prevailing in the country. The writer was not afraid to openly condemn serfdom. He calls it violence against a person both physically and morally. "Spasskaya Polist" is built on a bright contrast between the external grandeur of the kingdom and its internal decay, despotism. The author draws a sharp line between the court, immersed in luxury, and impoverished Russia. The author openly says that people in power are capable of meanness. The images of embezzlers and swindlers, bureaucrats and petty tyrants are multifaceted. Everyone is tied up and thinks only about how to increase their fortune and rob the peasants more. The story "Spasskaya Polist" paints this in a bright light.

Looking for an exit

Radishchev and, along with him, the clergy and the church are criticized. They, according to Radishchev, are the main assistants of the sovereign in the oppression of the serfs. Revolution is the only way out of this situation. The writer says that the people have gone to the extreme. The moment has come when violence will overthrow violence.

According to Radishchev, republican government is possible in Russia, based on private property. Every person has a right to it. That is, as a result of the overthrow of the monarchy, the land will go to the peasants. Of course, he knew perfectly well that all this would not come tomorrow. First, the revolution must take place in the minds of the peasants, and then in deeds.

The chapter "Spasskaya Polist" tells how the traveler's companion tells him his story on the way to Polist. Everything was fine with him, he had a wife, but not for long. The fellow traveler was deceived by his companion, as a result of which he remained on the beans, and even all in debt. The pregnant wife from a nervous shock gave birth ahead of time. Neither the baby nor the mother survived. And the most deceived had to hide. The traveler sincerely sympathizes with his companion and even imagines himself in the place of the supreme ruler, just and kind, under whom the country flourishes, the people are happy. But then suddenly the veil falls from the eyes of the ruler, and he sees that in fact the country is devastated, and those in power are outrageous. This is the head of Spasskaya Polist, summary which is presented above.

Traveler

The "journey" genre allows the hero to evolve to the end of the work, as well as to find the truth. Who is the traveler Radishcheva? It cannot be said for certain that he is a writer himself. In principle, from the work we learn practically nothing about the facts of his biography. They are scattered in separate chapters in quite a small amount. He is an official and a poor representative of the nobility. From the work it becomes clear that he does not have a wife, but has children. At the beginning of the Journey, the hero himself recalls his shameful act, when he beat his coachman for no reason. This recollection of his suggests that he used to be an ordinary serf master. The traveler came to an understanding of the negative basis of autocracy later. He repented and even wanted to commit suicide, as he understood his powerlessness to change anything. Despite the negative events and pictures, by the end the story still becomes more optimistic. Radishchev believes that this will not continue for long.

three ways

The traveler, and Radishchev along with him, come to the conclusion that there are three possible ways to rid Russia of serfdom. These are the reform (“Khotilov”), the enlightenment of the nobles (“Kresttsy”), the rebellion (“Zaitsevo”). Many contemporaries believed that the author himself was a supporter of the rebellion. But it's not. Radishchev considers all three methods, and gives each of them their due.

Attitude towards the church

The man Radishchev believed that the decline in morality, rampant debauchery and vice are interconnected with each other. At the head of everything is the church and the autocracy. The writer touched on everything: censorship, and the royal court, and the immorality of those in power. The source of joy for the author is that healthy beginning that the people have not yet lost. It is in him that the writer seeks and finds support and hope for the brighter best. After all, in spite of everything, the people work, live and rejoice. It is in ordinary peasants that the author sees the future of the country. Not only did Radishchev speak out against the autocracy, but also against reactionary tendencies, such as freemasonry. They distracted a person from public affairs and occupied his mind with delirium. The ideal for Radishchev is a brave man who lives the life of Russia, who cares for the truth. Of course, Radishchev was a hundred years ahead of his age. Today we highly appreciate his service to the fatherland.

Among the hero's fellow travelers on the way from St. Petersburg to Moscow there are:

1. officials;
2. peasants;
3. merchants;
4. old friends and acquaintances.

Departure

The hero, on behalf of whom the story is being told, goes to Moscow from St. Petersburg. He gets into the wagon, but, unfortunately, falls asleep in it and wakes up only at Sofia station - the post office.

Since he got here late at night, it was not easy to get horses and continue the trip. The postmaster refused to carry out orders, so the coachmen had to be bribed with vodka.

Tosna

The way to Moscow from St. Petersburg used to seem pleasant to the hero. But soon the washed out road turned into a sticky slurry. It became unbearable to ride along it, so the hero decided to take a break in Tosna.

In the postal hut, he meets the archival registrar. He became famous for compiling pedigrees for every taste, which the nobles were happy to acquire. This stupid person is engaged, according to the hero, in a very stupid business.

Meeting with a peasant

The narrator decides to continue his journey on foot. On the way to Lyuban, he passes a field where he sees a peasant plowing the land. The hero suspects the peasant of schismatics, because it is a sin to work on Sunday.

But in reality, it turns out that the peasant is forced to work in the field on the only day off in order to feed his family. After all, the other six days a week, he works for the landowner. This story made the hero think about the inhumanity of the landlord and his attitude towards the servants.

Meeting with friend C.

In Chudovo, the hero meets his friend Ch. He tells why he had to leave St. Petersburg. Resting in Peterhof, Ch. and his friends decided on a dangerous trip by water to Kronstadt and Sestroretsk.

Everything started well, but soon the travelers were overtaken by a storm. Their boat got into a narrow passage between the stones, got stuck there and began to sink. One of the rowers managed to swim to the shore. There he rushed for help to the local chief, but he was sleeping, and the guy did not wake him up.

Finally, the remaining shipwreck victims made it to land. Ch. went with a complaint to the chief, to which he received an answer, as if he was not supposed to save drowning people.

Insulted, Ch. realized that in such an insensitive city, he had nothing more to do and left him. The hero tried to dissuade Ch. in his hasty conclusions, but he did not listen and quickly left.

Spasskaya field

Bad weather prevents the hero from continuing his journey. He has to stop at the station to dry off and sleep. Here he hears an interesting conversation between a husband and wife about a high-ranking official who is very fond of oysters.

The love for these seafood was so great that he even sent his subordinates on campaigns for oysters. Upon their return, they received promotions and various honors.

In the morning, a passenger joins the hero and tells his story. He was subject to bureaucratic deceit. As a result of this, the hero's companion lost all his money and position in society, his family. Only friends remained, who, saving him from prison, put him in a wagon and sent him to all four directions.

The hero is very touched by this story. He decides that only an impartial person could help his fellow traveler. Supreme Court. The hero falls into a dream, where he sees himself as such a supreme judge, praised by society. But he suddenly sees the light, and it turns out that the people in his state are unhappy, and the government is dishonorable.

Conversation with a seminarian

In Podberezye, the hero meets a young man who has just graduated from a theological seminary. He complains to the hero about the education he received: it is unsuitable for life, knowledge has not increased. And where can they come from if subjects are taught only in Latin. The seminarian cherishes the hope of getting a good education in St. Petersburg.

This meeting makes the hero think about science and Martinism.

Novgorod

Arriving in Novgorod, the narrator reflects on its history. He recalls that initially a system of popular government was established here. The city itself and the entire Novgorod principality flourished.

But Ivan the Terrible came and, with his aggressive actions, in fact, ruined it. The hero wonders if the king had the right to do so. And are rights needed if there is power and strength?

The hero goes to dinner to his friend Karp Dementievich. This respected citizen used to be a merchant. He was engaged in scams: he took money, but did not give the goods to the buyer. In a dishonest way, he also managed to escape justice. The hero understands that there are a lot of similar cases throughout Russia.

Thoughts on God

In Bronnitsy, the narrator makes another stop. He goes to the place where the pagan temple used to stand. Here he is visited by thoughts about God and about life.

Meeting with Mr. Krestyankin

At Zaitsovo station, the hero meets his old friend. Mr. Krestyankin used to serve in the Criminal Chamber. He talks about the case of a cruel landowner. His son dishonored a peasant woman.

The bridegroom of the girl, in a fit of rage, beat the offender to death with other peasants. By order of the court, Krestyankin was forced to either sentence everyone to death or resign. He chose the latter. After his story, Krestyankin says goodbye to the hero.

Farewell scene of father and children

At the Kresttsy station, the narrator sees a peasant saying goodbye to his departing sons. Kind, touching and correct words make the hero think about the theme of parental love and family relationships.

funeral scene

In Yazhelbitsy, the hero drives past a cemetery where a funeral is taking place. The father buries his son, weeping, blaming himself for his death, saying that he created the child sick. The hero is afraid of such words.

He reflects on his life, fears for the health of his future children, because in his youth he was treated for venereal diseases. Reasoning leads the hero into the area of ​​debauchery legalized by the state (the creation of brothels).

Valdai

Valdai is famous for the abundance of loving, shameless women. Here the hero recalls the legend of a monk in love who swam across Lake Valdai to meet his beloved. One of these swims ended in tragedy - the monk died in a storm.

Peasant Anyuta

Edrovo attracts the hero with the nobility of its inhabitants. A young peasant woman Anyuta lives here. She is getting married, but the young do not yet have money to live on. The hero offers his financial assistance, but Anyuta's fiancé refuses, declaring that he can raise a new household with his own hands.

Discourses on serfdom

At the Khotilov station, the hero finds a bundle. After reading it, he begins to think about serfdom, calling it evil and atrocity. The hero continues to talk about the hard lot of peasants in Vyshny Volochek and Vydropusk.

On the abolition of censorship

The hero meets in Torzhok with a man seeking to achieve the abolition of censorship. For this he goes to St. Petersburg. This person believes that the people, not the state, should monitor the quality and content of books.

Bargaining

In Medny, the hero goes to the auction. They sell the debtor peasants, separating families and creating a real tragedy among the people.

In Tver, the hero meets a young poet, there is a conversation about liberty.

Seeing the army

In the village of Gorodnya, the hero sees how an old mother escorts her only breadwinner son to the army. Crying stands throughout the village, where there are many wives, brides, mothers. But not for all recruits, the army is hard labor. Some seek to be free from domestic pressures.

Peasant hut

The narrator stops at Pawns. Here he is faced with the hard life of serfs who cannot even afford to buy sugar, so they are forced to live on bread alone. The hero is sincerely amazed by this state of affairs. He accuses the landowner and the whole world of cruelty.

Article about Lomonosov

Final chapter. The hero admires Lomonosov, speaks of his importance in the history of Russian literature and literature.

Finally, the narrator says goodbye to the readers. He drives up to Moscow.

In the chapter "Sofia" the traveler reflects on the peculiarities of the Russian national character: "A barge hauler, going to a tavern hanging his head and returning bloodied from slaps in the face, can solve a lot, hitherto guessing in the history of Russia."

"Lyubani": the author describes his meeting with a peasant who plows a field on a holiday. Six days a week he works in the corvee. To the author's question, when does he have time to get bread to feed a large family, he answers: “Not only holidays, and our night. Do not be lazy, our brother, then he will not die of hunger. You see, one horse is resting, and when this one gets tired, I will take on another; it's a matter of controversy." The traveler is shocked by the peasant's confessions. He ends his reflections with the words: “Fear, hard-hearted landowner, I see your condemnation on the forehead of each of your peasants.”

At Chudovo station, the hero meets a friend who tells him a story that happened to him. Having set off on a small ship on a journey by sea, he and his companions got into a storm. The ship was stuck one and a half kilometers from the shore between two stones and did not move. Twelve men barely had time to pump out the water. One brave man, risking his life, managed to get to the shore, ran to the nearest village and came to the chief, asking for help. The boss was asleep, but the sergeant did not dare to wake him up and pushed the man out the door. He turned to ordinary fishermen who saved the rest. Returning to the village, the narrator went to the chief. He thought he would punish his sergeant for not being awakened when twelve men were in danger. But the boss only replied: "It's not my job." Then the narrator turned to the higher authorities, and "someone" answered him: "But in his position he is not prescribed to save you." “Now I will say goodbye to the city forever,” exclaims the narrator. “I will never enter this tiger dwelling. Their only joy is to gnaw at each other; their consolation is to torment the weak to the point of exhaustion and servility to the authorities.

In Spasskaya Polest, the hero gets caught in the rain and is forced to spend the night in a hut. There he hears a whisper: a husband and wife are talking, who also spent the night on the way to Novgorod. The husband tells his wife a story worthy of the pen of Saltykov-Shchedrin. We see Radishchev from a new angle: we have a sharp satirist in front of us, telling how the governor spends state money on his own whims (he loves “usters”, that is, oysters), and couriers and officers receive money and ranks for fulfilling -yut these whims.

Reflecting on the former greatness of Novgorod (chapter “Novgorod”), the author writes with bitter irony about the right of peoples: “When enmity arises between them, when hatred or self-interest directs them against each other, their judge is a sword. Whoever fell dead or disarmed is guilty; obeys unquestioningly this decision, and there is no appeal against it. “That's why Novgorod belonged to Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich. That's why he ruined it and appropriated its smoking remnants for himself.

Anticipating Tolstoy's thought, Radishchev says that during war "great violence is covered by the law of war" ("Zaitsovo"); reflects on the greed of the authorities, on the lack of rights of the peasants, touches on economic problems, issues of education and relationships between husband and wife - both in a peasant and in a noble family.

In the chapter "Edrovo" the traveler meets the girl Anyuta and talks to her. He admires not only her beauty, but the nobility in her way of thinking. Anyuta is about to get married, and the hero wholeheartedly offers her mother a hundred rubles as dowry for her daughter. The mother refuses, although for a peasant family this is a lot of money. Anyuta's chastity and innocence delight the hero, and he thinks about her for a long time.

In the same chapter, he tells an episode of the Pugachev uprising. Pugachev's name was forbidden even to be mentioned, but Radishchev boldly talks about the arbitrariness of the landowner and the massacre of the peasants, who were later convicted, and sums up his thoughts: "But the peasant is dead in law ..."

The chapters "Khotilov" and "Vydropusk" are subtitled "Project in the future". This is the most important document of social thought - whether the first Russian utopia. What can a state become when, “enjoying inner silence, having no external enemies,” society will be brought “to the highest bliss of civil coexistence”? The only guardian of society will be the law: “Under its sovereign protection, our heart is also free,” Radishchev wants to believe in this.

What is needed for this? The author answers us in the chapter "Torzhok". The beginning of civil society is freedom, and the first element of freedom is "free printing", when censorship does not stand at the printing press "to nurse reason, wit, imagination, everything great and elegant." But "the freedom of thought of governments is terrible for you."

The traveler, whom the traveler meets, gives to read a notebook with an essay, the title of which is “A Brief Narrative of the Origin of Censorship”. The notebook contains the history of the struggle between power and social thought from the time of Socrates to the latest European events.

In the chapter "Copper" there is a tragic scene of the sale of a family of serfs at auction. Who has the power to establish freedom for the peasants in Russia? “But the freedom of the villagers will offend, as they say, the right to property. And all those who could fight for freedom are all great otchinniki, and freedom should not be expected from their advice, but from the very severity of enslavement.

In Tver, the traveler meets a poet who reflects on the meaning of poetry in society and reads the ode "Liberty" to him. How to understand liberty? “Liberty should be called that everyone equally obeys the laws.” The ode was written by Radishchev himself and had a huge influence on Pushkin. Pushkin admitted this in the draft edition of the "Monument": "In the wake of Radishchev, I glorified freedom ...".

Now we are struck by phrases that sound like prophecies: “I wished that the farmer would not be a prisoner in his field ...”; “The next 8 stanzas contain predictions about the future lot of the fatherland, which will be divided into parts, and the sooner, the more extensive it will be. But the time has not yet come. When it comes, then

The rivets of a hard night will meet.

The resilient power, with its last gasp, will put the guard to the word and gather all its strength in order to crush the emerging liberty with the last stroke ... (...) But humanity will roar in fetters and, guided by the hope of freedom and indestructible natural law, will move. .."

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“It is possible for everyone to be an accomplice in the prosperity of their own kind” - it was this thought that prompted Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev to write a story called “Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow”. The one, “whose soul has become wounded by the sufferings of mankind,” wished to pour out his thoughts on paper in order to depict the life of the simple Russian people in all its ugliness in one book.

The main characters of the story

The narrator, or traveler, is a person who travels the world in search of the truth. Alas, passing through the villages and cities, he sees the extreme poverty of the common people, their oppression by the nobles and the nobility. With all his heart wishing to help the unfortunate, he, however, does not have the authority to do so. The hero of the story is a kind, honest man, his heart is open to the needs of the people. Recall at least the episode with Annushka, who could not marry her loved one if the ransom was not paid. The traveler willingly wanted to help the girl. In the image of his hero, the thoughts that disturb him are expressed by the author himself, who is fighting for a fair attitude towards the peasants.
The author of the “project in the future” is a person with even more progressive views than the narrator himself. He left papers in which he outlined brilliant ideas on how to help the poor and suffering people.

Departure

The story is told in the first person. After dinner with his friends, the narrator left the city. Sad thoughts overwhelmed him. Finally, he and the cab driver drove into the post office. "Where are we?" - he asked. – In Sofia! was the answer.

Sofia

We arrived in Sofia at night. The sleepy commissar flatly refused to give out the new horses needed to continue the journey, lying that there were none. The author had no choice but to turn to the coachmen for help, and they harnessed the horses for a small tip. The narrator is on the road again.

Tosna

At first, the road from St. Petersburg seemed smooth and even, but later the travelers were convinced of the opposite: it was absolutely impossible to drive along the streets, washed out from the rains. So I had to stop at the post office. Here the narrator met a man who was sorting through some papers. It was a lawyer who was going to Petersburg. During a conversation with an official, it turned out that, while serving as a registrar at a discharge archive, he collected the genealogy of Russian clans, which he was very proud of and boasted about, thinking that “the Great Russian nobility should have bought this work, paying for it as much as they pay for any product ... ”However, the hero of the novel considers all this nonsense and recommends selling these papers to peddlers for wrappers.

Lyubani

The narrator went on and on, perhaps in winter and summer. One day, tired of the wagon, he decided to take a walk. And suddenly I saw a peasant plowing his field in hot weather, and even on Sunday.

The hero of the story was surprised: is there really no time to work on weekdays, and leave the day off for rest? It turned out that the peasant had six children who needed to be fed, and since he worked all week for the landowner, the time to provide for his family's necessities remained only at night, on holidays and Sundays. “The most diabolical invention is to give your peasants to a stranger to work,” the peasant laments, but he cannot do anything. The narrator, who witnessed a flagrant injustice, is also upset. Suddenly he remembered that he himself sometimes acts badly with his servant Petrusha - and was ashamed.

Chudovo

The sound of a postal bell rang out, and the threshold of the hut, where the hero of the story had just entered, was crossed by his friend Ch, who had previously remained in St. Petersburg. He began to talk about an unsuccessful sea voyage, because the ship on which they sailed almost drowned. In the face of death, the boundaries separating people into rich and poor disappeared. The ruler of the ship proved himself especially heroic, deciding either to save everyone or die himself. He got out of the boat and, "moving from stone to stone, directed his procession to the shore," accompanied by the sincere prayers of the passengers. Soon another joined him, but "with his feet he stopped on a motionless stone." Fortunately, the first managed to get ashore, but indifferent people refused to help: the boss was sleeping, and the subordinate was afraid to wake him up. Moreover, Paul - that was the name of the man who saved people on the ship - was struck by the answer of the commander: "This is not my position." Then, in desperation, Pavel ran to the guardhouse, where the soldiers were. And I wasn't wrong. Thanks to the disposition of these people, who immediately agreed to give boats to save the drowning, everyone survived.
But Ch., deeply indignant at the chief's act, retired from the city forever.

Spasskaya Poles'

The narrator, no matter how hard he tried, failed to return his friend. While spending the night at the station due to inclement weather, he overheard a conversation between two spouses. The husband was a juror and told about an official who, for the fulfillment of a whim - the delivery of oysters - was awarded from the state treasury.

In the meantime, the rain has passed. The hero of the story decided to go further, but an unfortunate man asked to be his fellow travelers, who told a very sad story on the way: he was a merchant, however, having trusted wicked people, he was put on trial. The wife gave birth from experiences ahead of schedule and died three days later. The newborn also died. And the former merchant was almost taken into custody, it's good that kind people helped to escape.

This story so shocked the narrator that he pondered how to bring what had happened to the supreme authority. However, an unexpected dream interfered with good intentions. The hero of the story first sees himself as a great ruler, and is sure that things are going well in the state. However, in the crowd he notices a woman who calls herself Truth, who removes the veil from the eyes of the ruler, and he is horrified at how bad and terrible everything really is. Alas, this is only a dream. In fact, there are no good kings.

Podberezie

When the hero woke up from a dream, he could not continue on his way. The head was heavy, and since there was no suitable medicine, the narrator decided to drink coffee. But it turned out to be a lot of drink, and he wanted to treat a young man sitting next to him to it. They started talking. The new acquaintance studied at the Novgorod seminary and went to St. Petersburg to see his uncle. During the conversation, from the complaints of the student, the hero of the story realized that the level of education leaves much to be desired. Saying goodbye, the seminarian did not notice how he dropped a small bunch of paper. The traveler took advantage of this, because the young man's thoughts were interesting to him.

Here, for example, are words worth thinking about: “Christian society at first was humble, meek, hiding in deserts and dens, then it intensified, lifted up its head, stepped aside from its path, succumbed to superstition ...”

The seminarian is distressed by the fact that the truth is being trampled upon among the people, and ignorance and extreme error reign in its place. The author fully agrees with him.

Novgorod

Tormented by sad thoughts, the hero of the story drove into Novgorod. Despite the greatness, the many monasteries, the success in trade, the author understood the deplorable state of this city, captured by Ivan the Terrible. But before Novgorod was ruled by the people, had its own letter and bell, and although they had princes, however, they had little influence. What right did the neighboring king have to ruin a prosperous city to the ground? Why can the one who is stronger control the fate of others? These thoughts haunt the author.

After dinner at the merchant Karp Dementievich, the hero of the story is convinced of the futility of the bill system, which by no means guarantees honesty, but, on the contrary, promotes theft and enrichment in easy ways.

Bronnitsy

Here the wanderer prays to God: “…I can't believe it, O Almighty! so that a person sends the prayer of his heart to some other creature, and not to You ... "

He bows before His might, understands that the Lord gave life to man. “You are looking, O all-generous Father, for a sincere heart and an immaculate soul; they are open everywhere for your coming…” exclaims the narrator.

Zaitsevo

At the post yard in Zaitsevo, the hero of the work meets with an old friend named Krestyankin. Conversations with a friend, though rare, were nevertheless frank. And now Krestyankin opened his soul to someone whom he had not seen for so many years. The injustice towards ordinary peasants was so blatant that after one incident, he, who was called a philanthropic boss, was forced to resign. And here's what happened. One man of low fortune, who, however, received the rank of collegiate assessor, bought a village where he settled with his family. He cruelly mocked the peasants, treating them as cattle. But a more inhuman act was committed by the son of this newly-minted nobleman, when he tried to rape the bride of one of the peasants just on the eve of her wedding. The embittered groom rescued the girl, but one of the sons had his skull broken, which was the impetus for a new aggression of the father, who decided to severely punish the perpetrators. And then the peasants rebelled against such injustice, rebelling against a family of fanatics and killing everyone. Naturally, after that they were subjected to trial, execution, or eternal hard labor. When passing the sentence, no one, except Krestyankin, took into account the circumstances that led to such a crime.

sacrums

In Kresttsy, the hero of the story witnessed the separation of the father from his sons, who were going to military service. The narrator talks about who the children of the nobles become after the army, because you need to start the service with mature morals, otherwise "... what good can be expected from such a commander or mayor?"

It is hard for a father to let go of young offspring, but he considers it a necessity, giving instructions on how to act correctly in a given situation. The sons listen for a long time to this speech, uttered with a feeling of great anxiety for them. Finally, it's time to part. The young men sobbed loudly, sitting in the wagon, and the old man knelt down and began to fervently pray to the Lord that He would keep them and strengthen them in the ways of virtue.

Yazhelbitsy

In Yazhelbitsy, the narrator drove past the cemetery, but, hearing the cry of a man tearing his hair, he stopped. It was the father of the deceased son. In great despair, he said that he himself was the murderer of the young man, because “he prepared his death before his birth, giving him a poisoned life ...” Alas, the child of this man was born sick. The author laments that "a stinking disease makes great havoc," and this happens all too often.

Valdai

Valdai is a town that was inhabited during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich by captive Poles, where flushed girls indulge in debauchery without shame, enticing travelers into the network of amorous pleasures. The narrator, having described the local customs, parted with this extremely dissolute city with pain in his heart.

Edrovo

Having reached the city of Edrovo, the narrator saw a crowd of thirty women. Their attractiveness did not escape his gaze, but he was disturbed by thoughts about the bleak future of these beautiful peasant women.

Suddenly, the hero of the story met one of them on the way and decided to start a conversation. Anna - that was the name of the girl - at first cautiously answered his questions, thinking that the traveler, like others, wished harm, but when she saw that the stranger was disposed towards her, she was very surprised, because she was not used to polite treatment. Finally, believing in the sincere intentions of the traveler, she opened up and told her sad story. It turned out that Annushka's father had recently died, and she was left with her mother and little sister. The girl has a fiancé, Vanya, but it is not possible to marry him until a ransom is paid - one hundred rubles. Then the narrator decides to help the young couple. He asks Anya to take him to her mother, but, having entered their house, he sees Ivan. It turns out that the ransom is no longer needed, because the groom's father decided to let him go, and the wedding is expected on Sunday. No matter how Anna's new acquaintance tried to give money for the needs of the future family, nothing was accepted from him.

The narrator admires the chastity of a peasant girl and reflects on this on the way to Khotilov, the next city.

Khotilov (project in the future)

It is written from the point of view of another traveler who is even more progressive in his views. A traveler, passing by, finds papers left by his old friend in front of the post office. In them, serfdom is called evil, crime, slavery, because "to the lack of food and clothing, they added work to the point of exhaustion." The author of the letter calls for the abolition of serfdom, for all people to honor each other as brothers, so that they inwardly feel how generous the Father of all - God is to them.

Vyshny Volchok

“In Russia, many farmers do not work for themselves; and so the abundance of land in many parts of Russia proves the burdened lot of its inhabitants ”- this thought frightens the narrator, who, passing through a city called Vyshny Volchok, is surprised at its wealth. It is impossible to build happiness on the tears and blood of oppressed peasants, the author is convinced. The prosperity of some at the expense of the misfortune of others is a flagrant injustice.

release

The narrator again undertakes to reread the papers of his friend, who wrote the "project in the future" and fully agrees that the consequences of the deeds of kings who surround themselves with luxury are detrimental. The author uses amazing turns of phrase in this regard: “in place of the nobility of the soul and generosity, servility and self-distrust were sown”, “true misers for the great” ... He sincerely regrets this state of affairs and calls in moderation of desires to be an example to future offspring.

Torzhok

Here the narrator is met by a man who wants to achieve the right to free printing in the city, free from censorship, and in connection with this he sends a petition. He is indignant at the fact that censorship harms free thought, and expresses it bluntly: it is necessary that writers be controlled by society. The author also talks about the history of censorship.

Copper

On the way to Mednoe, the narrator rereads his friend's papers over and over again. And, delving into the text, he sees a glaring problem: if some landowner goes bankrupt, his peasants are sold at auction, and forced people cannot even know what fate awaits them. This is great evil.

Tver

The author, together with his friend, argue that versification was crushed in the bud, preventing it from coming into force. They talk about poetry and gradually come to the topic of liberty. A friend of the narrator, who travels to St. Petersburg to ask for the publication of the author's book of poems, reads excerpts from an ode of his own composition with a similar title.

Gorodnya

There was a weeping in this city, the cause of which was recruitment. Shedding tears of mother, wife, bride. One of the serfs goes to the army, forced to leave his mother alone; the girl, his bride, is also crying, not wanting to part with the groom, because they were not even allowed to get married. Hearing their cry, the guy tries to comfort the people he loves. And only one man of about thirty named Ivan rejoices at such a change in circumstances. He is a slave to his mistress, and hopes that the army will be a liberation from the heavy oppression of an imperious and cruel mistress, who forced her to marry a pregnant maid by force.

Zavidovo

A sad picture was seen by a traveler in Zavidovo. The poor headman groveled before the warrior in the grenadier cap, hearing angry shouts: "Hurry up the horses!" and seeing the whip hanging over him. The arrival of His Excellency was expected. However, there were not enough horses. Finally, they ordered the narrator's horses to be straightened, despite his indignation. Many who imagine themselves to be the highest ranks are unworthy of the respect and reverence that they receive - the traveler is sure.

Wedge

Here the traveler meets a blind old man sitting at the post yard, who sings a sad song. Everyone around him gives him alms. The hero of the story also took pity, giving a ruble to the unfortunate man and was surprised by what he said: “... What is he to me now? I don't see where to put it; maybe he will give a case for a crime ... ”He refused such a generous alms and told the story of his life. The blind man is convinced that he lost his sight for his sins, because during the war he “did not give forgiveness to the unarmed”.

Pawns

At the end of the journey, the wanderer went into one of the huts, wanting to have lunch. Seeing that the guest puts sugar in coffee, the poor peasant woman asked to give some of this delicacy to the child. They began to talk, and the unfortunate woman began to lament that the bread they eat consisted of three-quarters of chaff and one part of wholemeal flour. The traveler was struck by the extremely poor furnishings of the woman's dwelling: walls covered with soot, a wooden cup and mugs called plates. Alas, in such poverty lived those whose sweat and blood was obtained by the boyars White bread. The hero of the story is outraged by what is happening and says that their atrocities are seen by the Fair Heavenly Judge, who is impartial.

black mud

And finally, the traveler witnessed a wedding, but a very unusual one, because those entering into marriage were very dull and joyless. Why did this happen? Why were the newlyweds, although they hated each other, forced to enter into an alliance? Because this was done not at their will, but at the whim of the same nobles.

Word about Lomonosov

In the very last chapter, the author talks about the significant contribution of Mikhail Lomonosov to science and culture. This brilliant man, born in poverty, was able to decisively leave the house and get the education he needed beyond its walls. “Persistent diligence in learning languages ​​made Lomonosov a fellow citizen of Athens and Rome…” And such diligence was richly rewarded.

“Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow” - A. N. Radishchev. Brief content

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Alexander Nikolaevich Radishchev

"Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow"

Having gone to Moscow after dinner with friends, the hero woke up only at the next postal station - Sofia. With difficulty waking the caretaker, he demanded horses, but was refused because of the night time. I had to give vodka to the coachmen, they harnessed it, and the journey continued.

In Tosna, the hero meets a solicitor who was busy compiling ancient genealogies for young nobles. On the way from Tosna to Lyuban, the traveler sees a peasant who plowed "with great care", despite the fact that it was Sunday. The plowman said that six days a week his family cultivates the land of the masters and, in order not to die of hunger, he is forced to work on a holiday, although this is a sin. The hero reflects on the cruelty of the landlords and at the same time reproaches himself for the fact that he also has a servant over whom he has power.

In Chudov, the hero is overtaken by his friend Ch. and tells why he had to hastily leave Petersburg. Ch., for the sake of entertainment, sailed on a twelve-oared boat from Kronstadt to Sisterbek. On the way, a storm broke out, and the boat was squeezed between two stones by raging waves. It filled with water, and it seemed that death was inevitable. But two brave rowers made an attempt to swim over the rocks and swim to the shore, which was a mile and a half away. One succeeded, and, having got ashore, he ran to the house of the local chief, so that he urgently detached boats to save the rest. But the chief deigned to rest, and the sergeant, his subordinate, did not dare to wake him up. When, through the efforts of others, the unfortunate were nevertheless saved, Ch. tried to reason with the chief, but he said: "That is not my position." Indignant, Ch. “almost spat in his face and went out.” Not finding sympathy for his act among his Petersburg acquaintances, he decided to leave this city forever.

On the way from Chudovo to Spassky Polest, a fellow traveler sits next to the hero and tells him his sad story. Having trusted a partner in matters of ransom, he was deceived, lost his entire fortune and was brought under criminal court. His wife, surviving what had happened, gave birth prematurely and died three days later, and the premature baby also died. Friends, seeing that they had come to take him into custody, put the unfortunate man in a wagon and ordered him to go "wherever his eyes look." The hero was touched by what his fellow traveler told, and he is thinking about how to bring this case to the ears of the supreme authority, "for it can only be impartial." Realizing that he is unable to help the unfortunate man in any way, the hero imagines himself to be the supreme ruler, whose state seems to be prospering, and everyone sings his praise. But here the wanderer of Direct-look removes the thorn in the eyes of the ruler, and he sees that his reign was unjust, that bounties were poured out on the rich, flatterers, traitors, unworthy people. He understands that power is the duty to observe the law and right. But it all turned out to be just a dream.

At the Podberezye station, the hero meets a seminarian who complains about modern education. The hero reflects on the science and work of the writer, whose task he sees as enlightenment and praise of virtue.

Arriving in Novgorod, the hero remembers that this city in ancient times had people's rule, and questions the right of Ivan the Terrible to annex Novgorod. “But what is the right when force is at work?” he asks. Distracted from his thoughts, the hero goes to dine with his friend Karp Dementievich, formerly a merchant, and now an eminent citizen. The conversation turns to trade affairs, and the traveler understands that the introduced bill system does not guarantee honesty, but, on the contrary, promotes easy enrichment and theft.

In Zaitsev, at the post office, the hero meets an old friend of Mr. Krestyankin, who served in the criminal chamber. He retired, realizing that in this position he could not benefit the fatherland. He saw only cruelty, bribery, injustice. Krestyankin told the story of a cruel landowner whose son raped a young peasant woman. The bridegroom of the girl, protecting the bride, broke the rapist's head. Together with the groom there were several more peasants, and according to the Code of the Criminal Chamber, the narrator had to sentence them all to death or life imprisonment. He tried to justify the peasants, but none of the local nobles supported him, and he was forced to resign.

In Krestsy, the hero witnesses the separation of his father from his children, who are going to serve. The father reads them instructions on the rules of life, urges them to be virtuous, to comply with the prescriptions of the law, to restrain passions, and not to servility to anyone. The hero shares his father’s thoughts that the power of parents over children is negligible, that the union between parents and children should be “based on tender feelings of the heart” and that a father should not see his son as his slave.

In Yazhelbitsy, passing by a cemetery, the hero sees that a burial is taking place there. At the grave, the father of the deceased is crying, saying that he is the murderer of his son, because he "poured poison into his head." It seems to the hero that he hears his condemnation. He, in his youth, indulging in lust, had been ill with a "stinking disease" and is afraid

Will it pass on to his children? Reflecting on who is the cause of the spread of the "stinking disease", the traveler blames the state for this, which opens the way to vices and protects public women.

In Valdai, the hero recalls a legend about a monk of the Iversky Monastery who fell in love with the daughter of a Valdai resident. As Leander swam across the Hellespont, so this monk swam across Lake Valdai to meet his beloved. But one day the wind rose, the waves raged, and in the morning the body of a monk was found on a distant shore.

In Yedrovo, the hero meets a young peasant girl, Anyuta, and talks to her about her family and fiancé. He wonders how much nobility in the way of thinking of the villagers. Wishing to help Anyuta get married, he offers her fiancé money for acquiring. But Ivan refuses to take them, saying: "I, master, have two hands, I will run the house with them." The hero reflects on marriage, condemning the customs that still exist, when an eighteen-year-old girl could be married to a ten-year-old child. Equality is the foundation family life, he believes.

On the way to Khotilovo, the hero is visited by thoughts about the injustice of serfdom. The fact that one person can enslave another, he calls "a brutal custom": "enslavement is a crime," he says. Only those who cultivate the land have rights to it. And a state where two-thirds of its citizens are deprived of their civil status cannot "be called blessed." The hero of Radishchev understands that work under compulsion yields fewer fruits, and this prevents the "multiplication of the people." In front of the post station, he picks up a paper that expresses the same thoughts, and learns from the postman that one of his friends was the last person passing by. He, apparently, forgot his compositions at the post station, and the hero takes the forgotten papers for some reward. They defined a whole program for the liberation of peasants from serfdom, and also contained a provision on the destruction of court officials.

In Torzhok, the hero meets a man who sends a petition to St. Petersburg for permission to start printing in the city, free from censorship. They talk about the harmfulness of censorship, which "like a nanny, leads a child on the harness", and this "child", that is, the reader, will never learn to walk (think) on his own. Society itself must serve as censorship: it either recognizes the writer or rejects it, just as recognition is provided for a theatrical performance by the public, and not by the theater director. Here the author, referring to the notebook received by the hero from the person he met, tells about the history of censorship.

On the way to Mednoe, the traveler continues to read the papers of his acquaintance. It tells about the auctions that take place if any landowner goes bankrupt. And among other property from the auction are people. An old man of seventy-five, the uncle of a young gentleman, an old woman of eighty, his wife, a nurse, a widow of forty, a young woman of eighteen, her daughter and granddaughter of the old people, her baby - they all do not know what fate awaits them, into whose hands they will fall.

The conversation about Russian versification, which the hero has with a friend at the tavern table, brings them back to the theme of liberty. A friend reads excerpts from his ode with that title.

In the village of Gorodnya, recruitment is taking place, which has caused the sobbing of the crowding people. Cry mothers, wives, brides. But not all recruits are dissatisfied with their fate. One "lord's man", on the contrary, is glad to get rid of the power of his masters. He was brought up by a kind gentleman together with his son, went abroad with him. But the old master died, and the young one got married, and the new lady put the serf in his place.

In Peshki, the hero surveys a peasant's hut and is surprised at the poverty prevailing here. The hostess asks him for a piece of sugar for the child. The author in a lyrical digression addresses the landowner with a condemning speech: “Hard-hearted landowner! look at the children of the peasants who are subject to you. They are almost naked." He promises him God's punishment, because he sees that there is no righteous judgment on earth.

The "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" ends with "The Tale of Lomonosov". The hero refers to the fact that these notes were given to him by the "Parnassian judge", with whom he dined in Tver. The author focuses on the role of Lomonosov in the development of Russian literature, calling him "the first in the path of Russian literature."

The novel "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" by Alexander Radishchev is one of the most important works of Russian literature of the 18th century. The writer works in the genre of travel, which was discovered by L. Stern. It is known that he was a prominent representative of sentimentalism, so he assessed a person accordingly. He believed that a person is not so cruel, unlike a beast, therefore he can regret and sympathize.

The main feature of the novel "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" is that the writer, resorting to the travel genre, filled the work with rich content. In the novel main character does not have a special sensitivity, he is concerned about public issues. The main task of the narrator is to serve the public good.

So, the reader is presented with one of the first Russian ideological novels. The author especially focuses the reader's attention on the political tasks of the hero, but not on the artistic ones. This is a certain type of ideology. The book "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" laid the historical foundation, which was directly connected with the Russian reality of the last third of the 18th century.

The appearance of this work was not without reason, the writer got the idea to create it, thanks to the “Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility”. It is known that Catherine II mainly supported the rights and interests of the nobility, later the merchants. Alexander Radishchev, on the other hand, argued that as long as the peasant is burdened by the law, he is dead. And this is a fact, because such instructions were given by the government, and the peasants were used as slaves. Their treatment was rude and even inhuman.

In the chapter "Lyubani" the writer many times makes his reader turn to lack of rights, where there was no law that would speak about the size of the corvée and dues of the peasant. On the following pages of the novel Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, the writer talks about himself and other characters who have become unhappy. Now, the reader is seriously thinking about the injustice of the world, about its cruelties between people. The ability to understand and accept this fact is characteristic only of an honest person, which is what the author-narrator appears to the reader.

In each new chapter of the novel "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" the reader becomes a witness to pictures of the usual disgrace, lies and arbitrariness. However, the most important thing is that all offenders remain unpunished. Absolutely all their illegal actions get away with them: the feudal landowners rob and torture their peasants. Now the reader's impressions are not so rosy and naive. The novel is filled with a huge amount of suffering and pain of the enslaved peasantry.

In Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, the reader does not observe "prosperous villages". Of course, sometimes the positive qualities of some heroes slip through, but their qualities cannot change anything in the current situation. Radishchev is on the side of the serfs, who started a revolt against the landowners. The reader sees how the author himself urges them to fight against serfdom and not retreat.

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