The history of one city, complete contents, chapter by chapter. "The History of a City": chapter-by-chapter analysis of the work

"The story of one city"- a satirical novel by Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin, written in 1869-1870.

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The story of one CITY. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

Saltykov-Shchedrin "The History of a City"

2000274 11 Audiobook. Summary prod. 10th grade Saltykov-Shchedrin. The story of one city

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History of creation

Having left work on the cycle “Pompadours and Pompadours” for a while, Saltykov-Shchedrin got excited about the idea of creating “The History of a City,” thematically related to “Pompadours and Pompadours.”

In January 1869, the satirist appeared with the first chapters of “Inventory for City Governors” and “Organchik” in the magazine “Domestic Notes” (No. 1), but until the end of the year he suspended work in order to implement the idea of creating fairy tales (“The Tale of How One Man Two fed the generals”, “Conscience is gone”, “Wild landowner”). In addition, the work “Gentlemen of Tashkent” was outlined; it was necessary to bring “Signs of the Times” and “Letters about the Province” to their logical conclusion. Saltykov-Shchedrin does not leave work in the magazine: a series of journalistic and literary-critical articles and reviews appears.

Returning to work on the story, already in No. 1-4, 9 (“Notes of the Fatherland”) in 1870, he published a continuation of “The History of a City.” In 1870, the book was published as a separate edition entitled “The History of a City.” Based on original documents, it was published by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

“The History of a City” caused a lot of interpretation and indignation, which forced Saltykov-Shchedrin to respond to an article by the famous publicist A. Suvorin. The author of the critical article “Historical Satire”, which appeared in the April issue of the magazine “Bulletin of Europe” for 1871, accused the writer of mocking the Russian people and distorting the facts of Russian history, without penetrating the depth of the plan and essence artistic originality works. I. S. Turgenev called the book wonderful and believed that it reflected “the satirical history of Russian society in the second half of the last and the beginning of this century.”

But Foolov ruled the longest Basilisk Wartkin, during his power he subjected the Streletskaya and Dung settlements to destruction.

Wartkin, with his desire to carry out reforms aimed at enlightenment, resembles Peter I.

Pfeiffer (“Holstein native”) - Peter III.

Scoundrels (“former Gatchina stoker”) - Paul I.

Mikaladze (“Cherkashenin”) - possibly D. E. Tsitsianov (as well as the Georgian prince Mirian Iraklievich).

Benevolensky - M. M. Speransky (head of the “Commission for Drafting Laws” 1804-1808)

Grustilov - Alexander I.

Intercept-Zalikhvatsky - Nicholas I.

Gloomy-Burcheev - Count Arakcheev.

Satirical focus

In its focus, the novel is a satire on many historical figures of the Russian Empire and on some events indicated in Inventory of Mayors era.

Shchedrin himself said:

“If I were really writing a satire on the 18th century, then, of course, I would limit myself to “The Tale of the Six City Leaders””

But besides the obvious parallels in Tales of the Six City Leaders, which contains allusions to the 18th-century empresses Anna Ioannovna, Anna Leopoldovna, Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II and their rise to power through palace coups, the story contains a large number of parodies of other historical figures of that era - Paul I, Alexander I, Speransky Arak, Cheeva and others. In the cartoon based on the work, the real city of Kostroma appears as the city of Foolov: buildings that exist and existed in the described era are shown (for example,

Year of writing:

1869

Reading time:

Description of the work:

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote the work The History of a City in 1869. The book caused mixed reactions, including indignation. One of these indignants was the publicist Suvorin, he wrote an article addressed to Saltykov-Shchedrin, where he accused the writer of mocking the Russians, of distorting the history of Russia, without fully penetrating artistic essence works.

On the other hand, Ivan Turgenev, on the contrary, called the novel The History of a City wonderful and even emphasized that in the book Saltykov-Shchedrin well reflected the satirical history of Russian society.

Read below a summary of the satirical novel The Story of a City.

This story is the “true” chronicle of the city of Foolov, “The Foolov Chronicler,” covering the period of time from 1731 to 1825, which was “successively composed” by four Foolov archivists. In the chapter “From the Publisher,” the author especially insists on the authenticity of the “Chronicle” and invites the reader to “catch the face of the city and see how its history reflected the various changes that were simultaneously taking place in higher spheres».

“The Chronicler” opens with “An Address to the Reader from the Last Archivist-Chronicler.” The archivist sees the task of the chronicler in “being an exponent” of “touching correspondence” - the authorities, “to the extent daring,” and the people, “to the extent of giving thanks.” History, therefore, is the history of the reigns of various mayors.

First, the prehistoric chapter “On the roots of the origin of the Foolovites” is given, which tells how the ancient people of bunglers defeated the neighboring tribes of walrus-eaters, bow-eaters, scythe-bellies, etc. But, not knowing what to do to ensure order, the bunglers went to look for a prince . They turned to more than one prince, but even the stupidest princes did not want to “deal with fools” and, having taught them with a rod, released them with honor. Then the bunglers called a thief-innovator, who helped them find the prince. The prince agreed to “lead” them, but did not go to live with them, sending a thief-innovator in his place. The prince called the bunglers themselves “Fools,” hence the name of the city.

The Foolovites were a submissive people, but the novotor needed riots to pacify them. But soon he stole so much that the prince “sent a noose to the unfaithful slave.” But the novotor “and then dodged: “…› without waiting for the loop, he stabbed himself to death with a cucumber.”

The prince also sent other rulers - an Odoevite, an Orlovets, a Kalyazinian - but they all turned out to be real thieves. Then the prince “... arrived in person in Foolov and cried out: “I’ll lock it up!” With these words, historical times began.”

In 1762, Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty arrived in Glupov. He immediately struck the Foolovites with his sullenness and taciturnity. His with only words were “I won’t tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” The city was at a loss until one day the clerk, entering with a report, saw a strange sight: the body of the mayor, as usual, was sitting at the table, but his head was lying on the table completely empty. Foolov was shocked. But then they remembered about the watchmaker and organ maker Baibakov, who secretly visited the mayor, and, calling him, they found out everything. In the head of the mayor, in one corner, there was an organ that could play two musical pieces: “I’ll ruin it!” and “I won’t tolerate it!” But on the way, the head became damp and needed repairing. Baibakov himself could not cope and turned for help to St. Petersburg, from where they promised to send a new head, but for some reason the head was delayed.

Anarchy ensued, ending with the appearance of two identical mayors at once. “The impostors met and measured each other with their eyes. The crowd dispersed slowly and in silence.” A messenger immediately arrived from the province and took both impostors away. And the Foolovites, left without a mayor, immediately fell into anarchy.

The anarchy continued throughout the next week, during which the city changed six mayors. The inhabitants rushed from Iraida Lukinichna Paleologova to Klemantinka de Bourbon, and from her to Amalia Karlovna Shtokfish. The claims of the first were based on the short-term mayoral activity of her husband, the second - of her father, and the third was herself a mayor's pompadour. The claims of Nelka Lyadokhovskaya, and then Dunka the Thick-Footed and Matryonka the Nostrils were even less justified. In between hostilities, the Foolovites threw some citizens from the bell tower and drowned others. But they too are tired of anarchy. Finally, a new mayor arrived in the city - Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov. His activities in Foolov were beneficial. “He introduced mead making and brewing and made it mandatory to use mustard and bay leaves,” and also wanted to establish an academy in Foolov.

Under the next ruler, Peter Petrovich Ferdyshchenko, the city flourished for six years. But in the seventh year, “Ferdyshchenka was confused by a demon.” The city ruler was inflamed with love for the coachman's wife Alenka. But Alenka refused him. Then, with the help of a series of consistent measures, Alenka’s husband, Mitka, was branded and sent to Siberia, and Alenka came to her senses. Through the sins of the mayor, a drought fell on the Foolov, and after it came famine. People started dying. Then the end of Foolov’s patience came. At first they sent a walker to Ferdyshchenka, but the walker did not return. Then they sent a petition, but that didn’t help either. Then they finally got to Alenka and threw her off the bell tower. But Ferdyshchenko was not dozing, but wrote reports to his superiors. No bread was sent to him, but a team of soldiers arrived.

Through Ferdyshchenka's next passion, the archer Domashka, fires came to the city. The Pushkarskaya Sloboda was burning, followed by the Bolotnaya and Negodnitsa settlements. Ferdyshchenko again became shy, returned Domashka to the “optery” and called the team.

Ferdyshchenko's reign ended with a journey. The mayor went to the city pasture. In various places he was greeted by townspeople and had lunch waiting for him. On the third day of the journey, Ferdyshchenko died from overeating.

Ferdyshchenko's successor, Vasilisk Semenovich Borodavkin, took up his post decisively. Having studied the history of Foolov, he found only one role model - Dvoekurov. But his achievements were already forgotten, and the Foolovites even stopped sowing mustard. Wartkin ordered that this mistake be corrected, and as punishment he added Provençal oil. But the Foolovites did not give in. Then Wartkin went on a military campaign to Streletskaya Sloboda. Not everything on the nine-day hike was successful. In the darkness they fought with their own. Many real soldiers were fired and replaced with tin soldiers. But Wartkin survived. Having reached the settlement and not finding anyone, he began to tear away the houses for logs. And then the settlement, and behind it the whole city, surrendered. Subsequently, there were several more wars for enlightenment. In general, the reign led to the impoverishment of the city, which finally ended under the next ruler, Negodyaev. It was in this state that Foolov found the Circassian Mikeladze.

There were no events held during this reign. Mikeladze pulled away from administrative measures and dealt only with the female sex, for whom he was very keen. The city was resting. “The visible facts were few, but the consequences were countless.”

The Circassian was replaced by Feofilakt Irinarkhovich Benevolensky, Speransky’s friend and comrade at the seminary. He was distinguished by his passion for legislation. But since the mayor did not have the right to issue his own laws, Benevolensky issued laws secretly, in the house of the merchant Raspopova, and scattered them around the city at night. However, he was soon fired for having relations with Napoleon.

Next was Lieutenant Colonel Pimple. He was not involved in business at all, but the city flourished. The harvests were huge. The Foolovites were wary. And the secret of Pimple was revealed by the leader of the nobility. A big fan of minced meat, the leader sensed that the mayor’s head smelled of truffles and, unable to bear it, attacked and ate the stuffed head.

After that, State Councilor Ivanov arrived in the city, but “he turned out to be so small in stature that he could not accommodate anything spacious,” and died. His successor, the emigrant Viscount de Chariot, constantly had fun and was sent abroad by order of his superiors. Upon examination, she turned out to be a girl.

Finally, State Councilor Erast Andreevich Grustilov came to Glupov. By this time, the Foolovites had forgotten the true God and clung to idols. Under him, the city was completely mired in debauchery and laziness. Relying on their own happiness, they stopped sowing, and famine came to the city. Grustilov was busy with daily balls. But everything suddenly changed when she appeared to him. The wife of the pharmacist Pfeiffer showed Grustilov the path of good. Foolish and wretched, worried hard days during the worship of idols, they became the main people in the city. The Foolovites repented, but the fields remained empty. The Foolov elite gathered at night to read Mr. Strakhov and “admire” him, which the authorities soon found out about, and Grustilov was removed.

The last Foolov mayor, Gloomy-Burcheev, was an idiot. He set a goal - to turn Foolov into “the city of Nepreklonsk, eternally worthy of the memory of Grand Duke Svyatoslav Igorevich” with straight identical streets, “companies”, identical houses for identical families, etc. Gloomy-Burcheev thought out the plan in detail and began to implement it. The city was destroyed to the ground, and construction could begin, but the river got in the way. It did not fit into Ugryum-Burcheev’s plans. The tireless mayor launched an attack on her. All the garbage was used, everything that was left of the city, but the river washed away all the dams. And then Gloomy-Burcheev turned around and walked away from the river, taking the Foolovites with him. A completely flat lowland was chosen for the city, and construction began. But something has changed. However, the notebooks with the details of this story have been lost, and the publisher provides only the denouement: “... the earth shook, the sun darkened ‹…› It it has arrived." Without explaining what exactly, the author only reports that “the scoundrel instantly disappeared, as if he had disappeared into thin air. History has stopped flowing."

The story closes with “exculpatory documents,” that is, the writings of various mayors, such as Wartkin, Mikeladze and Benevolensky, written for the edification of other mayors.

You have read the summary of the novel The Story of a City. We invite you to visit the Summary section to read other summaries of popular writers.

By creating the ironic, grotesque “History of a City,” Saltykov-Shchedrin hoped to evoke in the reader not laughter, but a “bitter feeling” of shame. The idea of the work is built on the image of a certain hierarchy: ordinary people who will not resist the instructions of often stupid rulers, and the tyrant rulers themselves. The common people in this story are the residents of the city of Foolov, and their oppressors are the mayors. Saltykov-Shchedrin ironically notes that these people need a boss, one who will give them instructions and keep a tight rein, otherwise the whole people will fall into anarchy.

History of creation

The concept and idea of the novel “The History of a City” was formed gradually. In 1867, the writer wrote a fairytale-fantastic work, “The Story of the Governor with a Stuffed Head,” which later formed the basis for the chapter “The Organ.” In 1868, Saltykov-Shchedrin began working on “The History of a City” and completed it in 1870. Initially, the author wanted to give the work the title “Foolish Chronicler.” The novel was published in the then popular magazine Otechestvennye zapiski.

The plot of the work

(Illustrations by the creative team of Soviet graphic artists "Kukryniksy")

The narration is told on behalf of the chronicler. He talks about the inhabitants of the city who were so stupid that their city was given the name “Fools”. The novel begins with the chapter “On the Roots of the Origin of the Foolovites,” which gives the history of this people. It tells in particular about a tribe of bunglers, who, after defeating the neighboring tribes of bow-eaters, bush-eaters, walrus-eaters, cross-bellied people and others, decided to find a ruler for themselves, because they wanted to restore order in the tribe. Only one prince decided to rule, and even he sent an innovative thief in his place. When he was stealing, the prince sent him a noose, but the thief was able to somehow get out of it and stabbed himself with a cucumber. As you can see, irony and grotesque coexist perfectly in the work.

After several unsuccessful candidates for the role of deputies, the prince came to the city in person. Having become the first ruler, he started the countdown of the city’s “historical time”. It is said that twenty-two rulers with their achievements ruled the city, but the Inventory lists twenty-one. Apparently, the missing one is the founder of the city.

Main characters

Each of the mayors fulfills his task in implementing the writer’s idea through the grotesque to show the absurdity of their rule. Traits are visible in many types historical figures. For greater recognition, Saltykov-Shchedrin not only described the style of their rule, comically distorted their surnames, but also gave apt characteristics pointing to the historical prototype. Some personalities of the mayors are images collected from characteristic features different faces of the history of the Russian state.

Thus, the third ruler, Ivan Matveevich Velikanov, famous for drowning the director of economic affairs and introducing taxes of three kopecks per person, was exiled to prison for an affair with Avdotya Lopukhina, the first wife of Peter I.

Brigadier Ivan Matveevich Baklan, the sixth mayor, was tall and was proud to be a follower of the line of Ivan the Terrible. The reader understands that this refers to the bell tower in Moscow. The ruler found his death in the spirit of the same grotesque image that fills the novel - the foreman was broken in half during a storm.

The personality of Peter III in the image of Guard Sergeant Bogdan Bogdanovich Pfeiffer is indicated by the characteristic given to him - “a Holstein native”, the style of government of the mayor and his outcome - removed from the post of ruler “for ignorance”.

Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty was nicknamed “Organchik” for the presence of a mechanism in his head. He kept the city in fear because he was gloomy and withdrawn. When trying to take the mayor's head to the capital's craftsmen for repairs, it was thrown out of the carriage by a frightened coachman. After Organchik's reign, chaos reigned in the city for 7 days.

A short period of prosperity for the townspeople is associated with the name of the ninth mayor, Semyon Konstantinovich Dvoekurov. A civilian adviser and innovator, he took up the appearance of the city and started a honey and brewing business. Tried to open an academy.

The longest reign was marked by the twelfth mayor, Vasilisk Semyonovich Borodavkin, who reminds the reader of the style of rule of Peter I. His “glorious deeds” also indicate the connection of the character with a historical figure - he destroyed Streletskaya and Dung settlements, and difficult relationship with the eradication of the ignorance of the people - he fought four wars for education in Foolov and three against it. He resolutely prepared the city for burning, but suddenly died.

By origin former peasant Onufriy Ivanovich Negodyaev, who stoked furnaces before serving as mayor, destroyed the streets paved by the former ruler and erected monuments on these resources. The image is copied from Paul I, as evidenced by the circumstances of his dismissal: he was dismissed for disagreeing with the triumvirate regarding the constitutions.

Under State Councilor Erast Andreevich Grustilov, Foolov's elite was busy with balls and nightly meetings with the reading of the works of a certain gentleman. As in the reign of Alexander I, the mayor did not care about the people, who were impoverished and starving.

The scoundrel, idiot and “Satan” Gloomy-Burcheev has a “speaking” surname and is “copied” from Count Arakcheev. He finally destroys Foolov and decides to build the city of Neprekolnsk in a new place. When attempting to implement such a grandiose project, the “end of the world” occurred: the sun went dark, the earth shook, and the mayor disappeared without a trace. This is how the story of “one city” ended.

Analysis of the work

Saltykov-Shchedrin, with the help of satire and grotesque, aims to reach human soul. He wants to convince the reader that human institutions must be based on Christian principles. Otherwise, a person's life can be deformed, disfigured, and in the end can lead to the death of the human soul.

“The History of a City” is an innovative work that has overcome the usual boundaries of artistic satire. Each image in the novel has pronounced grotesque features, but is at the same time recognizable. Which gave rise to a flurry of criticism against the author. He was accused of “slander” against the people and rulers.

Indeed, the story of Foolov is largely copied from Nestor’s chronicle, which tells about the time of the beginning of Rus' - “The Tale of Bygone Years.” The author deliberately emphasized this parallel so that it would become obvious who he means by the Foolovites, and that all these mayors are by no means a flight of fancy, but real Russian rulers. At the same time, the author makes it clear that he is not describing the entire human race, but specifically Russia, reinterpreting its history in his own satirical way. 

However, the purpose of creating the work Saltykov-Shchedrin did not make fun of Russia. The writer’s task was to encourage society to critically rethink its history in order to eradicate existing vices. The grotesque plays a huge role in creating an artistic image in the work of Saltykov-Shchedrin. The main goal of the writer is to show the vices of people that are not noticed by society.

The writer ridiculed the ugliness of society and was called a “great scoffer” among such predecessors as Griboyedov and Gogol. Reading the ironic grotesque, the reader wanted to laugh, but there was something sinister in this laughter - the audience “felt like a scourge lashing itself.”

This story is the “true” chronicle of the city of Foolov, “The Foolov Chronicler,” covering the period of time from 1731 to 1825, which was “successively composed” by four Foolov archivists. In the chapter “From the Publisher,” the author especially insists on the authenticity of the “Chronicle” and invites the reader to “catch the physiognomy of the city and follow how its history reflected the various changes that were simultaneously taking place in the highest spheres.”

In 1762, Dementy Varlamovich Brudasty arrived in Glupov. He immediately struck the Foolovites with his sullenness and taciturnity. His only words were “I will not tolerate it!” and “I’ll ruin you!” The city was at a loss until one day the clerk, entering with a report, saw a strange sight: the body of the mayor, as usual, was sitting at the table, but his head was lying on the table completely empty. Foolov was shocked. But then they remembered about the watchmaker and organ maker Baibakov, who secretly visited the mayor, and, calling him, they found out everything. In the head of the mayor, in one corner, there was an organ that could play two musical pieces: “I’ll ruin it!” and “I won’t tolerate it!” But on the way, the head became damp and needed repairing. Baibakov himself could not cope and turned for help to St. Petersburg, from where they promised to send a new head, but for some reason the head was delayed.

There were no events held during this reign. Mikeladze removed himself from administrative measures and dealt only with the female sex, for whom he was very keen. The city was resting. “The visible facts were few, but the consequences were countless.”

Finally, State Councilor Erast Andreevich Grustilov came to Glupov. By this time, the Foolovites had forgotten the true God and clung to idols. Under him, the city was completely mired in debauchery and laziness. Relying on their own happiness, they stopped sowing, and famine came to the city. Grustilov was busy with daily balls. But everything suddenly changed when she appeared to him. The wife of the pharmacist Pfeiffer showed Grustilov the path of good. The foolish and wretched, who experienced difficult days during the worship of idols, became the main people in the city. The Foolovites repented, but the fields remained empty. The Foolov elite gathered at night to read Mr. Strakhov and “admire” him, which the authorities soon found out about, and Grustilov was removed.

The story closes with “exculpatory documents,” that is, the writings of various mayors, such as Wartkin, Mikeladze and Benevolensky, written for the edification of other mayors.

A chronicle of the history of a conventional Russian city, in which the funny is mixed with the scary. Saltykov-Shchedrin writes a satire on contemporary Russia under the guise of a satire on Russian history - and creates a satire on Russian eternity.

comments: Lev Oborin

What is this book about?

Chronicle of the history of the conditional Russian city Foolov and the chronicle of the reign of grotesque, disgusting and terrifying mayors. Foolov is looking for a prince, suffers from mechanical cries of “I will not tolerate” and “I will ruin”, bakes pies according to the rules, goes through a period of idolatry, turns into a barracks, burns, starves and drowns. “The History of a City” is often seen as a fantastic satire on the history of Russia, but behind this meaning lies another one: Shchedrin’s book is about the “Russian inescapable”, about the ahistorical, fatal features of the national mentality. Starting as a farce, by the end “The Story of a City” reaches the scale of an eschatological dystopia.

When was it written?

Shchedrin had ideas related to “The History of a City” back in the late 1850s. The “Provincial Sketches”, approaches to the dark satire of “History,” also date back to this time. Shchedrin worked directly on “History” in 1869-1870, in parallel with “Pompadours and Pompadours.” The plan of the book changed even when publication had already begun: for example, in the first edition of the “Inventory to the City Governors” there is no Ugryum-Burcheev, the most prominent figure in the final version of “The History of a City.”

Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. 1870s

RIA Novosti

How is it written?

"The Story of a City" is historical chronicle, which is consistently maintained by several chroniclers. The style of narration also changes in accordance with the eras described. Saltykov-Shchedrin resorts to the entire arsenal of satirical techniques: “The History of a City” is full of allusions to real events, ironic references to officially recognized historians, deliberate anachronisms, grotesque details, telling names and inserted documents that brilliantly parody bureaucratic absurdity. Saltykov-Shchedrin hides under the guise of an archive publisher, but does not try to disguise his interference with the “material.” Already during his lifetime, Shchedrin was often compared to Gogol. “The History of a City” confirms the validity of these comparisons - not only because Shchedrin ridiculed the world of bureaucracy, but also because he described disasters poetically and truly horrifyingly.

What influenced her?

In the case of “The History of a City,” it is more appropriate to talk not about influence, but about repulsion - primarily from official historiography, which presents the history of the country as the history of rulers, and from the official style of orders, instructions and memos, with which Shchedrin became acquainted during the years his vice-government in the Ryazan and Tver provinces. The description of morals in “The History of a City” and “Pompadours and Pompadours”, and before that in “Provincial Sketches” inherits the “physiological” essay tradition natural school. Literary movement of the 1840s, initial stage development of critical realism, it is characterized by social pathos, everyday life, and interest in the lower strata of society. Nekrasov, Chernyshevsky, Turgenev, Goncharov are considered to be among the natural school; the formation of the school was significantly influenced by the work of Gogol. The almanac “Physiology of St. Petersburg” (1845) can be considered a manifesto of the movement. Reviewing this collection, Thaddeus Bulgarin first used the term “ natural school", and in a disparaging sense. But Belinsky liked the definition and subsequently stuck. ⁠ Russian humor and satire of the 1860s are also important for Shchedrin’s book - the texts of Kozma Prutkov, the publications of Iskra and Whistle.

“The History of a City” was directly influenced by Gogol’s style, and not only satirical (one can recall the infernal description of the fire in Foolov). The plan was probably influenced by Pushkin’s “History of the Village of Goryukhin”. The great European satirists indirectly influenced Shchedrin: Francois Rabelais, Jonathan Swift, Voltaire. Possibly important pretext Source, which influenced the creation of the work or served as the background for its creation. ⁠ “Stories of a City” - Christoph Wieland’s novel “The History of the Abderites” (1774) is a satire on the German province, hidden behind a description of the inhabitants of the Thracian city of Abdera, who since Antiquity had a reputation as fools and simpletons, European Foolovites. However, there is no evidence that Shchedrin was familiar with Wieland’s novel; From the well-known satirical chronicles, he definitely caught the eye of Edouard Laboulaye’s pamphlet “The Little Dog Prince,” published in Otechestvennye zapiski. Ultimately, “The History of a City” is deeply original - Turgenev, who knew European literature very well, called Shchedrin’s book “strange and amazing.”

In the magazine "Domestic Notes" in 1869-1870. This magazine, whose editorial board included Shchedrin, was the only publication in Russia where such a poignant work could be published.

The first book edition of “The History of a City” was published in 1870 and was significantly different from the magazine version: Shchedrin removed from the final version many digressions and arguments - very witty, but “slowing down” the text. Subsequently, he returned to the text twice more and revised it for new publications - the last lifetime edition was published in 1883. The first scientifically verified edition appeared in 1926 in the first volume of Shchedrin's collected works; Konstantin Khalabayev and Boris Eikhenbaum were responsible for its preparation. Other scientific publication published by Academia in 1935. Today we are reading “The History of a City” based on the text of the latter lifetime edition taking into account the work of Soviet literary scholars.

The magazine "Domestic Notes", in which "History" was published. March 1869

The first book edition of “The History of a City.” St. Petersburg, printing house of Andrei Kraevsky, 1870

How was she received?

In the criticism of most contemporaries, “The History of a City” “did not find proper assessment and general recognition" 1 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis... cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 2. ⁠ : the work was considered only as a “historical satire”, an excursion into the past. Turgenev gave this assessment of the book: “...Too true, alas! picture of Russian history." Aleksey Suvorin, the author of the review that offended Shchedrin in Vestnik Evropy, spoke in the same spirit. Suvorin saw in “The History of a City” “mockery of the Foolovites,” Shchedrin (who read it as “mockery of the people”) vehemently objected and even published criticism in response. Other contemporaries understood that Foolov was a satire not only on the past, but rather on Russian life in general, including its provincialism. In this context, Dostoevsky’s “The Possessed” refers not too sympathetically to “The History of a City”; It is noteworthy that in “The History of a City” there is a mayor with the surname of one of the characters in “The Idiot” - Ferdyshchenko, and post-Soviet researchers have found many parallels between these two works, mainly in terms of criticism of socialist utopianism.

Writers of subsequent generations emphasized the inescapable relevance of “The Story of a City”: “When I became an adult, a terrible truth was revealed to me. The good atamans, the dissolute Klemantinki, the rukosui and bast workers, Major Pyshch and the former scoundrel Ugryum-Burcheev outlived Saltykov-Shchedrin. Then my view of the surroundings became mournful,” wrote Mikhail Bulgakov 2 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. SPb.: RKhGA, 2016. P. 78. ⁠ . Shchedrin's style influenced the best Soviet satirists - such as Ilf and Petrov and Yuri Olesha, the works of Bulgakov and Platonov 3 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. pp. 407-417. ⁠ . At the same time Soviet propaganda gave Saltykov-Shchedrin a place in the pantheon of revolutionary democrats, roughly corresponding to Gogol’s position in previous era; in 1952, Stalin said the phrase “We need Gogoli. We need the Shchedrins,” and on short time“Gogol and Shchedrin” have become part of the cultural agenda. The inertia of ideology persisted in Shchedrin studies even after Stalin, but gradually “The History of a City” began to be considered in the context of the world satires 4 Nikolaev D.P. Shchedrin’s satire and realistic grotesque. M.: Khud. lit., 1977. ⁠ and - not without reason - to see in the last chapters skepticism towards the “revolutionary democracy" 5 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991; Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovsky state university, 1997. ⁠ . In 1989, director Sergei Ovcharov made the film “It” based on “The History of a City”: this film adaptation draws clear parallels with the history of not only Tsarist Russia, but also the USSR.

The genre of satirical chronicle (including chronicle of the future), replete with anachronisms, is reflected in such new works as “Rosewood” by Sasha Sokolova 6 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. pp. 61-72. ⁠ and novels by Victor Pelevin of the 2010s. Finally, in the 1990s, the modern writer Vyacheslav Pietsukh published two direct continuations of “The History of One City” - the story “The History of the City of Foolov in New and Contemporary Times” and “The City of Foolov in the Last Ten Years.”

The film “It”, based on “The Story of a Town”. Director Sergei Ovcharov. 1989

“The History of a City” - a parody of traditional historiography?

Formally, “The History of a City” is the documents of the “Foolish Chronicler” published by Shchedrin. That's the name of the meeting historical information, which were recorded by Foolov’s archivists (there are four of them - an obvious ironic reference to the evangelists; two of them bear Gogol’s surname Tryapichkin). Shchedrin imitates “church-book floridity” syllable" 7 Ishchenko I. T. Parodies of Saltykov-Shchedrin. Mn.: Publishing house BSU named after. V. I. Lenina, 1974. P. 51. ⁠ , but at the same time - contemporary historiography: books by Nikolai Kostomarov, the “state” history of Boris Chicherin and Vladimir Solovyov. It goes to less serious “feuilletonists-historians” (Mikhail Semevsky, Pyotr Bartenev, Sergei Shubinsky) and fiction writers writing in historical topics. According to Dmitry Likhachev, the writer “parodies not so much the chronicle as historians public school, who used the features of the chronicle image historical process to justify their provisions" 8 Likhachev D. S. Poetics ancient Russian literature. L.: Hood. lit., 1967. P. 344. ⁠ . Likhachev adds that “the chronicle style of depiction provided unlimited opportunities for satirical depiction reality" 9 Likhachev D.S. Poetics of Old Russian Literature. L.: Hood. lit., 1967. P. 337. ⁠ : thus, a reference to “things have been done for a long time” days gone by” is a screen for deeper generalizations.

If you feel that the law places an obstacle on you, then remove it from the table and place it under you.
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

The very structure of “The History of a City” is a parody of the traditional approach to the history of a people as the history of rulers. The Russian reader has encountered this kind of presentation of history since childhood - for example, in “The History of Russia in Stories for Children” by Alexandra Ishimova. Almost all elements of the myth about the emergence of Russian statehood, in particular the Norman theory about the calling of the Varangians, are cruelly parodied by Shchedrin. Even the number of Foolov’s mayors “clearly hints at the number of Russians” kings" 10 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis... cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 16. ⁠ . Events and terms are projected onto the private history of provincial Foolov. great history": high politics and military campaigns (from Benevolensky's relations with Napoleon to the siege of the "bedbug factory" in the chapter about the six mayors). This creates a comic effect of a rather ancient nature: one can recall the ancient Greek “War of the Mice and Frogs” and “The Battle of the Books” by Jonathan Swift.

It is worth mentioning another parody of official historiography, written almost simultaneously with “The History of a City”: a poem by Alexei K. Tolstoy, the leitmotif of which is the same lack of order in Russia noted in “The Tale of Bygone Years”. The poem was not published during Tolstoy’s lifetime and was circulated in lists. According to Shchedrin scholar Dmitry Nikolaev, “The History of a City” avoided such a fate thanks to its grotesque, semi-fantastic features that confused censorship 11 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis... cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 22. ⁠ .

Semyon Remezov. Brief Siberian Chronicle. Fragment. Late XVII century - 1703. Shchedrin writes “The History of a City” in a chronicle style. According to Dmitry Likhachev, the writer “parodies not so much the chronicle as the historians of the state school, who used the features of the chronicle depiction of the historical process to substantiate their positions”

Wikimedia Commons

What else does Saltykov-Shchedrin parody?

In “The History of a City”, parodies of the bureaucratic style of documents of the 18th-19th centuries are very important - “Verifying Documents”, collected in the appendix to the “History of a City”. Here there are “Thoughts on mayoral unanimity” written by mayor Wartkin and “Charter on respectable baking of pies” created by mayor Benevolensky, which regulates the completely natural course of things - not without benefit for the legislator: “Upon removal from the oven, let everyone take a knife in his hand and, having cut out from the middle part, let him bring it as a gift.” Entire passages from the Code of Laws of the Russian Federation are used in the “Body Documents” empire" 12 Ishchenko I. T. Parodies of Saltykov-Shchedrin. Mn.: Publishing house BSU named after. V.I. Lenina, 1974. P. 58. ⁠ . This was a matter that Shchedrin, at one time a major official himself, understood very well. In addition, before his eyes he had an example of such a parody: “Project: on the introduction of unanimity in Russia” by Kozma Prutkov.

The essay tradition of the 1860s, to which “The History of a City” adjoins, is characterized by ironic references to the Bible and other religious texts. As researcher Tatyana Golovina points out, “associations with the Old and New Testaments permeate all chapters and all levels of the text” of the book Shchedrin 13 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. P. 6. ⁠ . The most obvious example is the chapter “Confirmation of Repentance. Conclusion,” which ends with Foolov’s apocalyptic catastrophe. But there are many other allusions in the book: “the beheading of Major Pimple” (a reference to John the Baptist); construction by the Foolovites of a tower to the sky (similar to the Babylonian one); likening the depraved Ferdyshchenko and his mistress Alyonka to the Old Testament Ahab and Jezebel; a boss spits in a subordinate's eyes and heals him of blindness (similar to Christ) 14 Mk. 8:23. ⁠ and so on. According to Golovina, Shchedrin develops Karamzin’s idea of history as “ holy book peoples" and consistently compares episode by episode of Foolov's history with biblical stories 15 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. pp. 8-13. ⁠ . City governors, like kings, are not content with this: they need to “establish themselves in their role.” God" 16 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. P. 13. ⁠ or feel like his authorized governors (Shchedrin calls them “installed from the highest authorities” - as G. Ivanov points out, the word “high” in the 19th century was used almost exclusively in relation to God) 17 Ivanov G.V. Comments. “The history of one city” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. Collected works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 558 ⁠ . This trend reaches its apogee during the reign of Ugryum-Burcheev, which is followed by Foolov’s end of the world.

Sergey Alimov. Illustration for “The History of a City”

Did Saltykov-Shchedrin hint at any specific rulers and specific historical events?

Yes, everywhere. Even the names of the tribes, among which were the proto-Foolish bunglers, are taken from Ivan Sakharov’s “Tales of the Russian People” and parody the listing of tribes in “The Tale of Bygone Years”; from there is a story about the search for a prince, clearly hinting at the calling of the Varangians. Often in the mayors of Foolov one can recognize several historical figures at once: for example, in Gloomy-Burcheev one sees a portrait not only and not so much of the terrible Minister of War Arakcheev, but of Nicholas I, who was proud of his terrifying glance 18 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 237. ⁠ . There are attempts to compare Ugryum-Burcheev even with Peter I 19 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 779-786.; Alyakrinskaya M.A. On the problem of historical consciousness of M.E. Saltykova-Shchedrina // History and culture. 2009. No. 7. pp. 181-189. ⁠ .

The sentimental Dvoekurov and Grustilov, prone to mysticism, resemble Alexander I, and the German Pfeiffer resembles Peter III. “Speransky’s fellow seminary student” Benevolensky is a caricature of Speransky himself, as evidenced by his typical student A student of a theological seminary, in common parlance - a bursa. ⁠ a Latin surname, and Viscount Du Chariot, “on examination turned out to be a maiden,” is a reference to the adventurer Charles d’Eon de Beaumont, the French ambassador to Russia, who had a penchant for dressing up in women’s clothing. The mayors of the 18th century come “from the dirt” - they are former barbers, stokers, cooks; all this is hints at the career of favorites and dignitaries under the Russian empresses. The chapter “The Tale of the Six City Leaders” describes the era in caricature form palace coups: in the mayor Iraidka one can recognize Anna Ioannovna, in Amalia Karlovna - Catherine II. Governor Ferdyshchenko’s journey through his possessions is a reminiscence of Catherine’s trip to Taurida and numerous ostentatious voyages of Russian governors. When in 1761 a storm breaks out over Foolov, breaking the mayor Baklan in half, this is an allusion to “that political storm that agitated Russia in 1762, suddenly ending the life of the feeble-minded Peter III and enthroning his ambitious spouse" 20 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 220 ⁠ . Such examples can be multiplied and multiplied.

Prototypes

Emperor Alexander I. Engraving by Pierre Tardieu from a painting by Gerhard von Kügelgen. 1801

Empress Anna Ioannovna. Unknown artist. XVIII century. State Hermitage Museum

Count Mikhail Speransky. Painting by Ivan Reimers. 1839 State Hermitage Museum

Empress Catherine II. Painting by Ivan Sablukov. 1770 Nizhny Novgorod art museum

Emperor Nicholas I. Engraving by Konstantin Afanasyev. 1852 State Hermitage Museum

Emperor Peter III. Painting by Balthasar Denner. 1740 National Museum Sweden

Minister of War Alexey Arakcheev. Painting by George Dow. 1824 State Hermitage Museum

Who are mayors?

The word “mayor” in the official language meant the head of a city, “separated from the province into an independent administrative unit due to his special significance or geographical provisions" 21 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 19 ⁠ . The mayor should not be confused with the mayor - the head of the police in the district city (Gogol's mayor from The Government Inspector is the actual owner of the city, but his position is not analogous to the modern mayor or governor). The mayors were appointed personally by the emperor. This does not really correspond either to Foolov’s inferiority or to the dubious qualities of all his rulers.

Why is Shchedrin talking specifically about mayors? Probably in order to enhance the satirical effect and give additional “unsteadiness”, vagueness to the status of Foolov - a “prefabricated city” representing all of Russia. Some of Shchedrin’s mayors demonstrate quite provincial, or even tsarist, habits. And others go even further: Mayor Wartkin secretly writes a statute “On the freedom of mayors from laws,” the only clause of which reads: “If you feel that the law puts an obstacle on you, then remove it from the table and put it under you.” G. Ivanov, commenting on this place, points to the following story by Vladimir Odoevsky: “Governor Hoven was present in the provincial government (during it), and when, in a dispute, they showed him the Code, he took it and sat on it, saying: well, where is yours now law?" 22 Ivanov G.V. Comments. “The history of one city” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. Collected works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 572. ⁠

The building of the boarding school of the Ryazan provincial gymnasium. From the album “Ryazan in photographs of the 19th - first third of the 20th centuries.” 1868–1869. In 1858–1860, Shchedrin served as vice-governor of the Ryazan province

Why didn’t Shchedrin describe in detail all of Foolov’s mayors?

There are several reasons for this. Firstly, the fragmentation and lack of integrity of the chronicle is an element of parody of the archival chronicle, which may not have been preserved in its entirety, or of the publishing strategy of “feuilleton historians”, who chose mainly anecdotes for their writings. Secondly, parodically following these “feuilletonists”, Shchedrin exhausts the “Foolov plot”: the text describes in detail the most remarkable, the most typical, the most odious and “catastrophic” mayors; the rest of the boards are more like finishing touches to the picture. Finally, in “The History of a City” there is a direct explanation why some mayors were remembered by the Foolovites, while others were not:

“There were truly wise mayors, those who were not alien even to the thought of establishing an academy in Foolov (such, for example, as civilian adviser Dvoekurov, listed in the “inventory” as No. 9), but since they did not call the Foolovites “brothers,” neither “timid”, then their names remained in oblivion. On the contrary, there were others, although not that they were very stupid - there were no such things - but those who did average things, that is, flogged and collected arrears, but since they always said something kind, their names were not only written down on tablets, but even served as the subject of a wide variety of oral legends.”

Why did Shchedrin change the plan for “The History of a City” so much?

This often happens with large works, which are published in parts: for example, the beginning of Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” was published under the title “1805,” and as work on the continuation progressed, the plan was radically revised. Saltykov-Shchedrin also deepened the concept of “The History of a City” and returned to this work until the end of his life. The two most noticeable changes are the appearance of Foolov's last chapter, Ugryum-Burcheev, who is not in the first published version of the Inventory of City Governors. According to researcher Vladimir Svirsky, Shchedrin decided to introduce Ugryum-Burcheev and entrust him with the actions of Intercept-Zalikhvatsky, who remained only in the “Inventory”, after solving the “Nechaev case” at the end of 1869 year 23 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. pp. 26-28. ⁠ . Another example sudden change The plan is a complete reworking of the chapter about the mayor Brudast: from the “Unheard of Sausage” he becomes a mechanical “Organchik”, and the edible stuffed head goes to another mayor - Pimple. As a result, the bosses' gallery is enriched. Different types of rulers arise—brainlessly protective and brainless liberal 24 Nikolaev D.P. Shchedrin’s satire and realistic grotesque. M.: Khud. lit., 1977. C. 144-164. ⁠ .

Konstantin Gorbatov. Evening in the Russian province. 1931 Historical, Architectural and Art Museum “New Jerusalem”, Istra

Mstislav Dobuzhinsky. Province of the 1830s. 1907 State Russian Museum

What is Shchedrin actually making fun of: history or modernity?

“The History of a City” is not only a satire on the past of Russia from 1731 to 1825 (dates from the advance notice). Shchedrin's satire is essentially timeless. Shchedrin himself, responding in a private letter to Suvorin’s review, stated: “I don’t care about history: I only mean the present. Historical form the story was convenient for me because it allowed me to more freely address known phenomena life." Further, already in print, Shchedrin again clarified his intentions: “I did not have “historical” satire, but completely ordinary satire, satire directed against those characteristic features of Russian life that make it not entirely comfortable.”

Vigilant contemporaries felt this very well. A censor who read “The History of a City” spoke of Wartkin’s project to establish an educational institute for city governors as “the application of the author’s satire to the present state of affairs, and not to the past.” time" 25 Evgeniev-Maksimov V. E. In the grip of reaction. M., L.: 1926. P. 33. ⁠ . This is how Soviet commentators read “The History of a City” (turning a blind eye to the similarities between the gloomy-burcheevsky Foolov and the totalitarian social system of his time).

“If the Foolovites endured the most terrible disasters with firmness... then they owed this only to the fact that in general any disaster seemed to them as something completely independent of them, and therefore inevitable.”
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin

To reinforce the feeling of “completely ordinary satire,” Shchedrin uses anachronisms throughout that hint at the very recent past. Not all such references are easy to read: “The History of a City” is magazine prose, perceived by the reader against the backdrop of the topical context of periodicals and largely built on the play on topical issues recognizable to the reader allusions" 26 Gracheva E. N., Vostrikov A. V. Tsar’s curls and lordly arrogance: from comments to “The History of a City” // Shchedrinsky collection. Vol. 5: Saltykov-Shchedrin in the context of time. M.: MGUDT, 2016. P. 175. ⁠ . A real commentary will help the reader here. Thus, the primary source of the ideas of Foolov’s mayors about the connection between education and executions is real memos governors 1860s 27 Elsberg Ya. Shchedrin and Glupov // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. History of one city. L.: Academia, 1934. pp. IX-X. ⁠ . « Secret intrigue" of Lords Krzepszyculski and Przeszyculski reflects the sentiments of the patriotic press of the late 1860s, which maniacally attributed all the troubles of Russia to " Polish The Kingdom of Poland was part of Russian Empire from 1815 to 1915. In 1830 and 1863, the Poles rebelled, in both cases it ended in failure. The uprisings strengthen anti-Polish sentiments in Russia - many problems in the country are attributed to the political machinations of the Poles. After the assassination attempt, Alexander II first asked Karakozov, who shot him: “Are you a Pole?” ⁠ intrigue" 28 Ivanov G.V. (Comments. “The History of a City”) // Saltykov-Shchedrin M.E. Collected Works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 564. ⁠ . The Foolovites, who decided to worship Perun, sing contemporary “Slavophile” poems by Averkiev and Boborykin to Shchedrin, and then save themselves with the critic’s articles Nikolai Strakhov Nikolai Nikolaevich Strakhov (1828-1896) - ideologist of pochvennichestvo, a close friend of Tolstoy and the first biographer of Dostoevsky. Strakhov wrote the most important critical articles about Tolstoy’s work; we still talk about “War and Peace,” largely relying on them. Strakhov actively criticized nihilism and Western rationalism, which he contemptuously called “enlightenment.” Strakhov's ideas about man as the “central node of the universe” influenced the development of Russian religious philosophy. ⁠ . The holy fool Paramon pronounces the mysterious spell “Without pracy there will be no bendy kołaczy” (distorted Polish “Bez pracy nie będzie kołaczy”, “Without labor there will be no kalachi”) - the signature phrase of the famous holy fool Ivan Koreysha, who died in 1861. His figure marked the extreme spread of foolishness in Russia; the numerous religious crazes of the Foolovites are a response to this phenomenon. The portrait of the Greek governor Lamvrokakis is related to the educational reform, after which the ancient Greek language returned to gymnasiums as compulsory subject 29 Gracheva E. N., Vostrikov A. V. Tsar’s curls and lordly arrogance: from comments to “The History of a City” // Shchedrinsky collection. Vol. 5: Saltykov-Shchedrin in the context of time. M.: MGUDT, 2016. pp. 178-179. ⁠ . Finally, the chapter “Hungry City” reflects the real famine that struck Russia in 1868. Similar examples You can still call it and call it.

But Shchedrin’s “present” is still not the calendar year 1869, but a historical narrative. Although Shchedrin calls it only a formal device, it is indeed full of references to Russian history. The conclusion suggests itself that history and modernity in “The History of a City” are not differentiated, but merged together: Foolov is eternal Russia.

Sergey Alimov. Illustration for “The History of a City”

What cities is Foolov like?

The city of Foolov appears in Shchedrin’s essays even before “The History of a City” - it was a typical provincial Russian city, a suitable environment for satirical exercises. Glupov’s “Stories of a City” is a much more complex place: “The city has become somehow strange, mobile, changeable,” notes Dmitry Nikolaev 30 Nikolaev D. P. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (grotesque as a principle of satirical typification). Author's abstract. dis... cand. Philol. Sci. M.: Moscow University Publishing House, 1975. P. 9. ⁠ . Foolov is turning into a testing ground for experiments in concentrated Russian history, into some kind of “ enchanted place"; in this respect it does not claim to be similar to any real Russian city. It turns out to be “either a provincial unknown town, or a state, empire", 31 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 458. ⁠ huge territory bordering Byzantium. In some ways it also resembles Russian capitals: “it is built on a swamp through which a river flows - like St. Petersburg, and at the same time it is located on seven hills and has three rivers - like Moscow" 32 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. SPb.: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 21. ⁠ . Philologist Igor Sukhikh brings Foolov closer to the concept of a “prefabricated city,” as Gogol called the scene of action "The Inspector General" 33 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 458. ⁠ .

At the same time, one real prototype of Foolov can be easily and accurately established. The self-name of the Foolovites - blockheads, according to I. P. Sakharov's "Tales of the Russian People", referred to the Yegoryevites, however, in Foolov's description, much clearly refers to Vyatka (modern Kirov), where Saltykov-Shchedrin lived in exile in 1848-1855. The name “Foolish” is reminiscent of “Khlynov” (that was the name of Vyatka from 1457 to 1780); in the chapter “War of Enlightenment” Saltykov-Shchedrin refers to the legendary massacre between the Vyatichi and Ustyugans, the memory of which was celebrated with a local folk festival - Svistoplyaska. Krutogorsk from Shchedrin’s earlier work, “Provincial Sketches,” was clearly copied from Vyatka.

Tver station. From Joseph Goffert's album “Views of Nikolaevskaya railway" 1864 From 1860 to 1862 Shchedrin served as vice-governor of Tver

DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University

Who is the population of Foolov?

The population of Foolov is quite homogeneous (Foolovites often do something all as one - either graze cattle, or rebel against mustard, or destroy the city) - and at the same time changeable in its composition: “then suddenly they have “favorite” citizens and a club where Boston is played; then they have intellectuals and priests, then again the differences fade away”; “classes in Foolov are a very ghostly" 34 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 34. ⁠ . Foolov’s “revolt on his knees” is more reminiscent of literary descriptions of the morals of the Russian peasantry, but the unsuccessful “debut of Foolov’s liberalism” (the fate of Ionka Kozyr) is an ironic reference to the Russian perception of Voltairianism. The Foolovites are a model of a society that acts as a single mass, obeying external factors. Within itself it may be heterogeneous, but it is always opposed to power and fate. This passive opposition helps her survive: “If the Foolovites endured the most terrible disasters with firmness... then they owed this only to the fact that in general any disaster seemed to them something completely independent of them, and therefore inevitable.” Attempts at self-organization turn into chaos: for example, during the reign of six mayors, the crowd tries to conduct a dialogue with the world, cracking down on its random representatives.

Sergey Alimov. Illustrations for “The History of a City”

Was Saltykov-Shchedrin himself a good official?

Civil service for Shchedrin was a predetermined matter: since he studied at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum at state expense, he had to spend six years in the service. years 35 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. pp. 8-9. ⁠ . In 1844 he entered the office of the War Ministry. His career was soon interrupted: the young Shchedrin was a member of the circle of Mikhail Butashevich-Petrashevsky (the same one in which Dostoevsky almost paid with his life), and after leaving it, he wrote the satirical story “A Confused Affair,” in which he brought out the radical Petrashevists. Nikolaev censorship, scared revolutionary events in Europe in 1848, mistook Shchedrin’s satire for genuine propaganda - and the writer went into exile in Vyatka (the features of this city are recognizable in Foolov). There, governor Akim Sereda brought him closer to him: the exiled Shchedrin received the position of adviser to the Vyatka provincial government and, in particular, “regularly testified to the trustworthiness of the myself" 36 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. SPb.: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 11. ⁠ . “The Vyatka experience of government activity was painful and paradoxical,” writes researcher Elena Gracheva. - On the one hand, Saltykov the official, in the fight against lawlessness, rushed to restore order and used all his strength to bring life in accordance with the Law. On the other hand, every single day he was convinced that Order in its Russian version is violence no less than lawlessness.” This belief is presented in an exaggerated form in “The History of a City.”

I saw how listeners doubled over with laughter when reading some of Saltykov’s essays. There was something almost scary in this laughter, because the audience, while laughing, at the same time felt like a scourge was lashing itself.
Ivan Turgenev

In 1855, Shchedrin received a pardon from the new Emperor Alexander II, returned to St. Petersburg and entered service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Soon he began to publish “Provincial Sketches,” in which he summarized his administrative experience. The essays became very popular - and, according to legend, Alexander II, having read them, said: “Let him go to serve, let him do as he writes.” So Shchedrin became the vice-governor of the Ryazan province - it was a high, but unostentatious position, which forced him to enter into the private circumstances of the residents and audit the work of local departments. His further career was connected with the Ministry of Finance, he worked in Penza and Tula. Gracheva characterizes Shchedrin the official as follows: “Saltykov... eradicated abuses everywhere day and night, redid all poorly drawn up papers with his own hands, audited the negligent and inspired awe and admiration in his subordinates. He was an excellent official: smart, honest and competent, but at the same time a monstrous boss and subordinate: rude, constantly irritated and swearing like a cab driver, regardless of their faces.<…>Having spat with all the authorities as possible, in 1868 Saltykov entered into final and irrevocable retirement. When M.I. Semevsky talks with Saltykov on February 6, 1882, Saltykov will tell him: “I try to forget about the time of my service. And don't print anything about her. I'm a writer, that's my thing vocation" 37 Gracheva E. N. “The history of one city” by M. E. Saltykov (Shchedrin), or “A complete image of historical progress with continuously moving reptiles” // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. The history of one city. SPb.: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2016. P. 16. ⁠ . Soviet literary critic Yakov Elsberg, an odious person in the history of Russian philology, writes that “Shchedrin’s most acute hatred of Foolov is ... hatred of such elements of ideology, politics and everyday life that, in one form or another, existed in his own past.” Saltykov" 38 Elsberg Ya. Shchedrin and Glupov // Saltykov-Shchedrin M. E. History of one city. L.: Academia, 1934. P. XIV. ⁠ .

Vyatka. Cathedral and spiritual consistory. Late XIX century. In 1848, Shchedrin was exiled to Vyatka (modern Kirov), where he spent seven years. The features of this city are recognizable in Foolov

Paul Fearn/Alamy/TASS

What techniques is “The History of a City” based on? Can we call it grotesque?

The grotesque, strictly speaking, is not necessary for satire, but is often present in it. He is characterized by attention to the ugly and fantastic at the same time - and “The History of a City,” especially its first chapters, is entirely built on this combination. From Brusty's mechanized head we move on to Pimple's stuffed (and disgustingly devoured) head. One mayor’s brains were shriveled “from unnecessary use,” another’s “legs were turned with their feet back.” Tin soldiers fill with blood, come to life and destroy the huts. People's anger manifests itself in large-scale and unmotivated killings. And so on, and so on. Such events do not turn “The History of a City” into a deliberate fairy tale: like the fantastic realists of the 20th century, they amaze, but are built into the logic of the work, into the atmosphere of the place.

Another technique that provides grotesqueness is the literalization of metaphor. For example, Elena Gracheva points out that “Organchik” Brudasty “was generated rather by circulation speech" 39 Gracheva E. N., Vostrikov A. V. Tsar’s curls and lordly arrogance: from comments to “The History of a City” // Shchedrinsky collection. Vol. 5: Saltykov-Shchedrin in the context of time. M.: MGUDT, 2016. P. 45. ⁠ : Saltykov’s correspondence includes “fools with music and just fools”; “with music” - that is, those who repeat the same thing over and over again. In late Soviet uncensored literature, this technique was actively used by conceptualists, especially Vladimir Sorokin. His “Norma” is full of literalized language clichés: a literal understanding of banal and vulgar metaphors from Soviet official poetry creates a grotesque effect. Both Sorokin and Saltykov-Shchedrin convert special attention into a language, one way or another ideologized, providing a social atmosphere.

In the story of Gloomy-Burcheev, a timeless plot is played out again. Thus, in his desire to “calm the river,” whose flow is not subject to his geometric ideals, echoes are felt ancient history(Babylonian king Cyrus punishes the Gind River by shallowing it using completely straight channels; his grandson Xerxes orders the sea to be carved out, in which his soldiers drowned). A hundred years after Shchedrin, Alexander Galich’s retired Stalinist investigator wants to send him to the Black Sea stage: “Oh, you are the sea, sea, sea, Black Sea, / It’s a pity that it’s not under investigation, it’s not a prisoner! / I would bring you to Intu for the cause, / You would turn from black to white!”

“God, how sad our Russia is!” - said, according to Gogol, Pushkin, after listening to the first chapters of Dead Souls. “God, how funny and scary she is,” one might add after reading “The Story of a City”
Igor Sukhikh

Historical legends are not the only source of gloomy-burcheevsky plot. Barracks town of Ugryum-Burcheeva - mirror image socialist utopias Tommaso Campanella, Charles Fourier and Henri Saint-Simon, in which freedom and rationalism turn into their own opposites 40 Golovina T. N. “The History of a City” by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: literary parallels. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University, 1997. pp. 40-55; Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. P. 46. ⁠ . If these utopians' bosses live on a hill in the center of the city, then in Shchedrin's grotesque the mayors literally soar above the city. According to Vladimir Svirsky, the absurd cruelty of Glupov’s gloomy-burcheevsky is Shchedrin’s reaction “to the idea of barracks communism of Nechaev’s sense" 41 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. ⁠ . (Soviet interpreters preferred not to notice this; for example, Evgraf Pokusaev writes that Shchedrin’s criticism of communism and socialism is a hidden accusation of imperial power: “...The very bestial regime that you attribute to socialism is your regime, there is your order, it is precisely this way of life follows from the principles of despotic monarchism, tsarist autocracy, from the principles of any other anti-people state Illustration for The City of the Sun, Tommaso Campanella's 1602 utopian work. This utopia is based on the abolition private property and the institution of family. The birth and upbringing of solariums, residents of the City of the Sun, is controlled by the state in accordance with biological and astrological indications. Shchedrinsky barracks city is a mirror reflection of such a socialist utopia.

The phalanster, in the teachings of the utopian socialist Charles Fourier, is a special building in which a commune of 1600-1800 people lives and works. In “The History of a City,” the chronicler notes: “In general, it is clear that Wartkin was a utopian and that if he had lived longer, he would probably have ended up either being exiled to Siberia for freethinking, or building a phalanstery in Foolov.”

What is “it”?

The idiotic will of Gloomy-Burcheev, as in modern dystopias about zombies, infects all the inhabitants of Foolov: they demolish their city, and then seem to see the light and begin to rebel - but there is no citizenship here, but, according to commentator G.V. Ivanov, only "natural protection life" 44 Ivanov G.V. (Comments. “The History of a City”) // Saltykov-Shchedrin M.E. Collected Works: in 20 volumes. T. 8. M.: Khud. lit., 1969. P. 584. ⁠ . After this, Foolov experiences his apocalypse (many details here refer to the plot of the last biblical book).

If you believe the “Inventory of City Governors”, after Gloomy-Burcheev, Archangel Stratilatovich Perekvat-Zalikhvatsky rides into the city on a white (again, apocalyptic) horse. ancient Greek this word meant a military leader). He carries out his judgment on Foolov, which is expressed quite ordinaryly by Foolov’s standards: “he burned the gymnasium and abolished the sciences.” But in the finale of the last chapter there is no Intercept-Zalikhvatsky.

Knowing that Shchedrin changed the outlines of the concept of “The History of a City” as it was written and published, we can assume that Zalikhvatsky was ultimately rejected by him. Gloomy-Burcheev - this inflexible idiot - prophesies in an unexpectedly clear voice: “Someone is coming after me, who will be even more terrible than me” - and at the very end, before disappearing with a crash: “It will come...” And indeed, a certain catastrophe is coming, which Shchedrin calls the word “it” familiar to viewers of modern horror:

“The north became dark and covered with clouds; From these clouds something was rushing towards the city: either a downpour, or a tornado. Full of anger, it rushed, drilling the ground, roaring, humming and groaning, and from time to time spewing out some dull, croaking sounds. Although it was not yet close, the air in the city began to vibrate, the bells began to hum on their own, the trees became ruffled, the animals went crazy and rushed across the field, not finding the way to the city. It was getting closer, and as it got closer, time stopped running. Finally the earth shook, the sun darkened... the Foolovites fell on their faces. An inscrutable horror appeared on all faces and gripped all hearts.
It has arrived...
History has stopped flowing."

In Soviet literary criticism 45 Kirpotin V. Ya. Mikhail Evgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin. M.: Soviet writer, 1955. P. 12; Pokusaev E.I. Revolutionary satire of Saltykov-Shchedrin. M.: GIHL, 1963. P. 115-120; Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S. F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. St. Petersburg: RKhGA, 2016. P. 248. ⁠ the prevailing interpretation of “it” as a revolutionary storm, after which “a new existence began for the people who took power into their own hands" 46 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991. P. 97. ⁠ . But with the same success one can imagine “it” as a counter-revolutionary storm, terrible revenge rebels, the strength of which has never been equal in Foolov. There are attempts to present “it” as the reign of Nicholas I, which eclipsed the Arakcheev reaction. However, the eschatological intensity of the previous pages is such that the political interpretation seems too weak. Most likely, we are once again facing a transhistorical phenomenon. Foolov, having gone through a full cycle, perhaps having exhausted his demonstration resource within the work, ceases to exist; something similar will happen in the 20th century with the city of Macondo under Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The researcher is left with only an archive that allows him to reconstruct the chronicles of the movement towards disaster and draw conclusions from them.

In the 1862 essay “Fools and Foolovites,” which is not included in “The History of a City,” Shchedrin writes: “Foolov has no history.” Researcher Vladimir Svirsky believes that the timeless Foolov turns out to be a “failure” in the history of world civilization,” a model of Russia isolated from world civilization in the understanding Chaadaeva 47 Svirsky V. Demonology: A Guide for Democratic Self-Education of Teachers. Riga: Zvaigzne, 1991 C. 108-109. ⁠ . In this case, the end of Foolov is a kind of physical revenge of history, which does not tolerate “nowhere places.” It is indicative in this sense to compare with “The Story of a City” Alfred Kubin’s novel “The Other Side” (1909), in which another “city of nowhere”, conceived as a utopia, perishes. The catastrophic “it” (options: “she”, “IT”, etc.) is anticipated and destroys cities in the works of Russian followers of Shchedrin: Vasily Aksenov, Alexander Zinoviev, Boris Khazanov, Dmitry Lipskerova 48 Soviet writers about Shchedrin // M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Pro et Contra. Anthology: in 2 books. / Comp., intro. art., comm. S.F. Dmitrenko. Book 2. SPb.: RKhGA, 2016. P. 644-645. ⁠ .

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Full list of references