Gogol's story "Taras Bulba" is a story about Zaporozhye Cossacks- very interesting school work. If you haven’t read it or want to remember the main points, then our summary will be very useful.
Chapter 1
The novel begins with the meeting of the main character - the Cossack Taras Bulba - with his sons, Andriy and Ostap. Young people came from Kyiv, where they studied at the seminary. Taras laughs kindly at his sons’ clothes and appearance; Ostap is offended, and a small fight begins between him and his father. The kind mother tries to stop Taras, but he himself stops beating his son, happy with that that I was able to experience it. The man wants to “say hello” to Andriy in the same way, but his mother, who hugged him, did not allow Taras to do this.
Taras Bulba wants to send his sons to the Sich so that they become real Cossacks; he believes that if Ostap and Andriy are surrounded by books and maternal affection, they will become spoiled sissies. The mother does not want her sons to leave, but she cannot object to her husband. The centurions invited by Taras on the occasion of the return of Ostap and Andriy, on the contrary, approved the idea of the old Cossack; Taras Bulba himself wants to go with his sons.
At night the mother did not go to bed; she hugged her sons and dreamed that this night would last forever. After a long separation, it was difficult for the old woman to part with Ostap and Andriy again. Until the last minute, she hoped that her husband would change his decision or at least postpone his departure for a week. But he did not do this, and the next day he and his sons went to the Sich. As they drove away, the mother, with a speed unusual for her age, ran to the children and blessed them. She could not bring herself to leave her beloved sons; the Cossacks had to take her away by force twice.
Chapter 2
Three men - a father and two sons - rode in silence and thought about their own things. Taras Bulba recalled his turbulent youth and imagined how he would show off his sons to his comrades.
Ostap and Andriy were sent to study at the Kyiv Academy at the age of twelve. Ostap repeatedly tried to escape and buried the primer, but it was returned and bought new textbook. Once, after another escape attempt, his father said that he would send Ostap to a monastery if this happened again. Then the boy began to study diligently and after a while became one of the best in academic performance.
Andriy studied well, and without making any effort to do so. special effort. He often started some kind of adventure, but thanks to his ingenuity and flexible mind, he almost always avoided punishment. One day he saw a beautiful Polish girl and fell in love with her; the next night the young man snuck into her chambers. The girl was scared at first, but soon she was laughing, putting her jewelry on young man. When there was a knock on the door, the lady’s maid, a Tatar, helped Andriy leave the house.
After some time, the father and sons arrived on the island of Khortitsa. The young people, entering the Sich, felt some fear mixed with strange pleasure. The Cossacks on the island walked, fought, mended their clothes - life went on as usual.
Chapter 3
In the Sich one could meet the most different people: artisans, traders, partisans and fugitive officers. Some Cossacks were scientists, and some never studied. All these people were united by a common love for native land. Most of them spent whole days in merry revels; the young sons of Taras Bulba quickly got used to such an atmosphere. However, this did not please the old Cossack, who wanted young men to strengthen their character in battle. He began to think about how to raise the flog to battle; this led to a quarrel with the Koshevoy - he, on the contrary, did not want battles to start. Taras Bulba, who is used to everything being the way he needs it, decides to take revenge. To do this, he persuades his friends to get all the inhabitants of the Sich drunk so that they themselves overthrow the Koshevoy. Everything goes according to plan, and a new Koshevoy is elected in the Sich - Kirdyaga, an old comrade of Taras Bulba.
Chapter 4
Taras discusses a military campaign with Kirdyaga, but he says that he will not force anyone, and will start fighting only at the request of the Cossacks; The new Koshevoy does not want to be responsible for disturbing the peace. Soon a ferry carrying the fugitive Cossacks arrives at Khortitsa. They say that Catholic priests and priests ride on carts drawn by Christians, and people are not allowed to celebrate Orthodox holidays without the consent of the Jews. Such an insult to the people and faith greatly angered the Cossacks, and they decided to fight the Poles for their faith and Fatherland. There was noise and shouting, and the Cossacks immediately began to catch the Jews. But one of them - Yankel - told Taras Bulba that he knew his late brother; the old Cossack did not kill him and allowed him to go with them to Poland.
Chapter 5
The Cossacks made transitions at night and rested during the day. Rumors about their military power and new conquests spread more and more often. Taras's sons matured noticeably during the battles, and he was very proud of them. Ostap showed himself to be a brave warrior with an analytical mind. Andriy did not think much during battles, acting at the behest of his heart; however, it also helped him win various difficult fights.
Soon the army approached the city of Dubno. The Cossacks climbed the rampart, but were stopped by stones, sandbags, arrows and pots of boiling water flying from above. Then they decided to starve the city out: they trampled all the fields, destroyed the plantings in the gardens and began to wait. Ostap and Andriy did not like this battle tactics; the father consoled them: “Be patient, Cossack - you will become an ataman.” At this moment, the captain brought icons and a blessing from his mother to Ostap and Andria. Young people miss her a lot.
At night, when everyone has fallen asleep, Andriy looks at the stars, and then walks and looks at nature. Then he notices a female figure; it turns out that this is a Tatar, the lady’s servant! She tells the young man that all the people in the city are starving, and the beautiful Polish woman has not eaten anything for several days; Noticing Andriy, the lady asked her to find him and ask her to bring him some bread. The young man immediately sets out in search of food; seeing that all the prepared porridge was eaten by the Cossacks, he pulls out from under his brother the bag of supplies on which he slept. Ostap wakes up for a moment, but immediately falls asleep again. Andriy carefully sneaks up to the Tatar woman, who promised to show the underground passage to the city. Then the young man hears his father’s voice; Taras Bulba tells him that women will not lead to good things. The young man was very frightened, but the old Cossack quickly fell asleep.
Chapter 6
Making your way through underground passage, Andriy finds himself in a monastery where priests pray. He is amazed by the beauty of the cathedral and the music sounding in it. Soon he and the Tatar woman go out into the city; on the street, a man who has gone mad from hunger approaches him; he asks for bread. Andriy gives him a piece, but the man dies after eating it, because his stomach has not received food for a very long time. Tatarka reports that the city’s residents have eaten every living thing, but, according to the governor, they only need to hold out for a couple of days, and then several Polish regiments will arrive to help.
They enter the lady's house; Andriy and the girl can’t stop looking at each other. Meanwhile, the Tatar woman brought bread; the young Cossack warned the lady that she needed to eat little so as not to die. Nothing can convey the look with which the girl looked at him. In a fit of love, Andriy renounces his faith, father and homeland - he is ready to do anything just to be close to the young lady.
Here the Tatar woman reports the news: Polish regiments have entered the city and are leading captured Cossacks. Andriy joyfully kisses the lady.
Chapter 7
The Cossacks, wanting to avenge their captured comrades, decide to organize an attack on Dubno. Yankel tells Taras Bulba that he saw him in the city of Andria on a good horse and in a new outfit. The old Cossack did not believe him; then Yankel reported that in Dubno the wedding of the master’s daughter and Andriy was being prepared, which would take place when Andriy, as part of the Polish army, drove out the Cossacks. Taras Bulba thinks that the Jew is lying.
In the morning the battle begins; The Cossacks want to break the enemy regiment into several parts. One of the atamans is killed, and Ostap bravely avenges him. For this, the Cossacks choose his atamans instead of the murdered one. Ostap's first decision was to retreat somewhat from the city walls; As soon as the Cossacks carried out this order, various items, wounding many who remained under them.
After the end of the battle, the Cossacks buried their dead comrades, and dead bodies Poles were tied to wild horses. Taras Bulba wonders why he did not see his son among the enemy warriors.
Chapter 8
Bad news comes from the Sich: the Tatars attacked Khortitsa. At a council convened by the Koshevoy, the Cossacks decided to go after the Tatars and return what was stolen. Only Taras Bulba disagrees with this. He believes that you cannot leave your comrades in Polish dungeons: you must first rescue them, and then go against the Tatars. The Cossacks believe that Taras is also right; then one old and respected Cossack Kasyan Bovdyug proposes to split up: someone with the Koshevoy goes after the Tatars, and someone with Taras Bulba goes against the Poles. After this, the Cossacks began to say goodbye to each other. It was decided to attack at night so that the opponents would not notice the decrease in the Zaporozhye army.
Chapter 9
Meanwhile, famine begins again in Dubno. Soon a battle begins, during which the Poles admire the courage of the Cossacks; but they use cannons, and the Cossacks have a difficult time. Taras Bulba encourages his comrades. Then he notices Andriy, who is part of a cavalry regiment. Seeing how his son indiscriminately killed both his own and strangers, Taras Bulba felt strong anger. He caught up with Andriy; At the sight of his father, he lost his fighting spirit. Taras kills his son with a shot, before saying: “I gave birth to you, I will kill you!” The last word spoken by Andriy was not the name of his mother or Motherland, but the name of the beautiful lady.
Ostap sees his father killing his younger brother, but does not have time to figure it out: he is captured by the Poles. Following the battle Zaporozhye army has thinned out a lot. Taras Bulba fell from his horse.
Chapter 10
Kozak Tovkach takes Taras to the Sich. After a month and a half, he recovers from his wounds. Those Cossacks who left to fight the Tatars did not return. Taras Bulba became thoughtful and indifferent; all his thoughts are occupied with the fate of his eldest son. The old Cossack asks Yankel to take him to Warsaw, not fearing that there is a reward of two thousand ducats for his head in Poland. Yankel for a certain amount hides Taras at the bottom of the cart, covering the top with bricks.
Chapter 11
Taras Bulba turns to the Jews with a request to free his son, but it is too late: the execution will take place the next day. Taras agrees to see Ostap at dawn. Yankel gives him foreign clothes; in prison, the Jew flatters the guards, but because of an offensive remark from one of them, the old Cossack reveals his incognito. Then he demands to be taken to the place of execution.
During the execution, Ostap, who was walking ahead of everyone, shouts into the crowd: “Father, where are you now: Can you hear me?” Taras replies: “I hear you!”
Chapter 12
After some time, all the Cossacks are preparing to march on Poland; they are led by Taras Bulba, whose hatred of the Poles has become very strong. The Cossacks reached Krakow; Along the way they burned eighteen cities. Hetman Pototsky promises never to attack the Cossacks, but Bulba does not believe him and convinces all the Cossacks of his regiment that the Pole is deceiving them; Bulba's regiment leaves. Soon the Poles defeat the Cossacks who believed them. A few days later they catch up with Taras’s regiment. The fierce battle lasts four days. The Cossacks were close to victory, but the Poles managed to grab Taras Bulba when he was looking for his cradle in the grass. The old Cossack is burned at the stake; before his death, he shouts to his comrades to run to the river and escape the pursuit in canoes. Until his death, the ataman thinks about the Cossack army and about its future victories. The Cossacks, sailing in their canoes, also talk about their glorious chieftain.
/ "Taras Bulba"
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol's story "Taras Bulba" is an outstanding literary work. It is part of the “Mirgorod” cycle and describes life Ukrainian Cossacks in the first half of the 17th century.
The action of the work begins with the arrival of Ostap and Andriy - the sons of Taras Bulba - after studying at the Kyiv Seminary in parents' house. Old Colonel meets yesterday's seminarians at the doorstep of the house. He doesn't greet them, but starts making fun of their outfits. The eldest son Ostap does not like this, and he shakes his fist at his father. A fist fight ensues between father and son. Taras Bulba stops waving his fists only when he realizes that Ostap is strong enough. It was a kind of test. In the same way, Bulba wanted to check Andria, but his mother covered the latter with her body.
Without thinking twice, Taras Bulba decides to send Ostap and Andriy to the Zaporozhye Sich, because there was an ideal place for a young Cossack. The old colonel informs the Cossack centurions and other commanders of his decision. Taras also decides to go with his sons.
The imminent departure of her sons saddened their mother. She spent the whole night before leaving in Ostap and Andriy's beds. She felt that she would never see her sons again. In the morning she blessed them and placed a small icon on each of their necks. They dragged her away from her sons in tears.
On the road, the Cossacks rode in silence, each thinking about his own. Taras Bulba recalled his daring wild life, his Cossack brothers, their exploits and campaigns. And although he was a man seasoned by life, Taras was touched by the tears of his wife. There were also tears in his eyes, and he rode with his gray head bowed.
Ostap was also impressed by his mother’s tears. He just drove with his head down.
Thoughts youngest son Andria were busy with a young Polish woman. He met her in Kyiv before arriving at his parents' house. A relationship began between the young people. Andriy even once snuck into the Polish woman’s bedroom through a chimney. Later he saw the young beauty in the church, after which she left.
The Zaporozhye Sich greeted Taras and his sons with a riotous life. At that time, feasting and drunkenness were considered signs of freedom. The Cossacks carried out most of your time over a glass. Ostap and Andriy plunged headlong into the life of the Sich. Taras Bulba did not like this state of affairs. He believed that his sons should not waste their prowess on drinking and fighting. The old colonel begins to plan a campaign against the enemies Zaporozhye Sich. He manages to re-elect the peace-loving Koshevoy and incite the Cossacks to go on a campaign against the Turks. But it so happened that news of oppression reached the Cossacks Ukrainian people Polish gentlemen. Without hesitation, the Cossacks decide to go on a campaign against Poland.
The Cossacks' campaign is going quite successfully. In almost a month, Ostap and Andriy became real warriors. Taras Bulba cannot help but be happy with his sons. Soon the Cossack army is trying to take the city of Dubno. A lightning-fast capture does not work; the Cossacks met desperate resistance. Then the Cossack elder decides to besiege the city. Out of idleness, the Cossacks plunder neighboring villages. Ostap and Andriy do not like this state of affairs. Bulba spruce calms his sons, promising them quick battles.
One night Andria was woken up by a woman. He immediately recognized her as the maid of his beloved Polish woman. She told Andriy that his beloved was outside the city walls and was asking for help. The young Cossack, without thinking twice, loads the bags with bread and enters the besieged city through an underground passage. Having fallen into the arms of his beloved, Andriy decides to stay in the city and protect her. Thus, he betrayed his homeland, his father and brother, and his comrades.
The Polish army, having waited for reinforcements and taking advantage of the drunkenness of the Cossacks, kills most of them. This event embitters the Cossacks, and they decide to hold the siege until the bitter end. Then Taras learns about the betrayal of his youngest son.
Later, the Cossacks receive news that the Tatars attacked the Zaporozhye Sich and plundered the Cossack treasury. The Cossack army decides to split into half and go to defend the Sich. Taras Bulba leads the siege army.
Having learned about the weakening of the Cossack army, the Poles decide to go on the offensive. Andriy also performs with them. Bulba orders the Cossacks to lure his youngest son to the forest and kills him there. In that battle, the Cossacks were defeated. Ostap is captured, and the wounded Taras is transported to the Zaporozhye Sich.
Later, having healed his wounds, Taras goes to Warsaw in search of Ostap. He finds him in the city square while being tortured. Before his death, Ostap shouts: “Father! where are you! Do you hear? Bulba answers back: “I hear you!” The crowd tries to catch the old Cossack, but they fail.
Bulba cannot come to terms with the death of her son. He again raises an army and goes to war against Poland. The Cossacks manage to defeat the army of Hetman Potocki. He swears allegiance to the Cossacks, but Bulba does not believe in this alliance. After this, part of the Cossack army retreats, and the Poles, taking advantage of the situation, attack again. Only Taras Bulba's regiment manages to escape from the Poles. They continue to “walk” around Poland, avenging Ostap’s death.
Staying at old fortress on the banks of the Dniester, the Cossacks are ambushed. The battle lasted about four days. Not many Cossacks survived, but those who remained managed to escape from the encirclement. Among them was Taras Bulba. The old colonel's little hesitation (he dropped the cradle on the grass) became fatal for him. The Poles grabbed Bulba and tied him to a huge oak tree. Before his death, the old Cossack orders his comrades to escape pursuit in boats. He predicts the imminent unification of Russian lands and brutal reprisals against the Poles.
The surviving Cossacks escape the chase in boats. On the way they remember Taras Bulba.
Here is a brief summary of the work by N.V. Gogol "Taras Bulba". The content is given chapter by chapter to make it easy for you to navigate. Moreover, we have devoted Special attention the most important points, which should not be missed if you want to get an "excellent" in the lesson.
By clicking on the desired chapter, you will go directly to its contents.
Chapter 1.
Bulba, a Cossack ataman, met his two sons - Ostap and Andriy, who had returned from the seminary. Appearance The two young men were amused by their father, and he began to ridicule the long scrolls of the seminarians. Finally, the eldest could not stand it and said that if the father laughed, he might beat him. The old man accepted the challenge, and father and son began to recklessly punch each other. Bulba expressed pride in his eldest son.
The mother stood up for the youngest, not allowing him to enter the fight. After this, the father called his son a little bastard and ordered him never to listen to the woman. Taras decided to send his sons in a week to the Zaporozhye Sich so that they could become real men.
On the occasion of the arrival of his sons, Bulba summoned the centurions and the entire regimental rank. During the feast, the old man changed his mind and announced that he was leaving for Zaporozhye the next morning.
Characteristics of Taras Bulba in the first chapter .
Taras- “one of the indigenous, old colonels: he was all created for abusive alarm and was distinguished by the rude directness of his character” . This man, a deeply religious man, considered it permissible to raise arms for the glory of Christianity.
While her sons were sleeping, the mother combed their curls and silently suffered because tomorrow she would have to part with her children. Seeing her husband only two or three days a year, this woman turned all her love to them. She was afraid that she would never see her sons alive again.
Chapter 2.
The next morning Taras and two young Cossacks left the house. The riders were silent: each thought about his own. Both boys were sent to the seminary at the age of twelve. Ostap disliked teaching and pawned his textbook four times in order to run home. He was mercilessly flogged and returned back. Finally, Bulba promised him that if he did not learn all the sciences, he would never return to the Sich. The threat had an effect - the boy sat down to his textbooks and even succeeded.
He was a tough guy with a strong character. He was indifferent to everything except war and riotous revelry. His younger brother Andriy had a lighter disposition. He had no difficulty in learning. He himself more than once became the leader of dangerous enterprises and often, with the help of his resourceful mind, was able to avoid punishment for this. Andriy was seething with a thirst for achievement, but he was also attracted to the fair sex.
He soon made acquaintance with the governor's daughter, a beautiful Pole. The girl captured the student’s heart so much that even at home he could not get rid of thoughts about her.
For three days the riders rode across the steppe, taking only short breaks for lunch and rest, until they finally saw several scattered kurens and rode out onto a vast area.
The Cossacks joyfully greeted the new arrivals, telling Bulba last news about battles and Cossacks.
Chapter 3.
Description of the Sich.
The Cossacks did not bother themselves with studying military affairs. The youth learned this science right on the battlefield. Sich "represented extraordinary phenomenon... a continuous feast, a ball that began noisily and lost its end.” Everyone who gets here “I didn’t care about my past and carefreely indulged in freedom and camaraderie” .
It was enough to say that you believe in Christ, and you were received here like an old friend. The Sich consisted of approximately sixty kurens. The household was run by the kuren ataman, who had all the money, clothes, grub, etc. in his hands. The money was given to him for safekeeping.
Quite soon, the sons of Taras found themselves in good standing with the Cossacks, which pleased Bulba. However, the old man did not like an idle life.
Koshevoy did not agree to raid Tatarva. Then Taras persuaded several Cossacks, and they replaced the Koschevoi at the general meeting.
Chapter 4.
The very next day, the Cossacks again gathered the Sich to think about how to circumvent their promise of non-aggression and fight.
From the other bank of the Dniester a ferry arrived with a crowd of Cossacks wearing tattered scrolls. Visitors began to say that the Jews were trampling Orthodox faith, they rent churches, and harness Christians to carts instead of horses.
Unrest began in the ranks of the Cossacks. Everyone was outraged by the behavior of the Jews. The crowd rushed to the outskirts of the Sich, where Jewish traders could be found, with the intention of immediately slaughtering everyone.
The Cossacks were ready for war. At the general meeting they decided to go straight to Poland.
Chapter 5.
Soon fear spread throughout the Polish southwest. The Cossacks brutally dealt with the Poles. Even old people, women and children often became victims of the Cossacks. Along with everyone else, Ostap and Andriy fought. The eldest fought with a composure uncharacteristic of a twenty-two year old. Taras dreamed that over time he would become a good colonel. Andriy, who perceived war as something like music, “did not know what it meant to think or calculate.” He always rushed into the very thick of events and with his recklessness and daring alone, and with his frantic onslaught, he brought great confusion into the ranks of his opponents.
Approaching the city of Dubno, the Cossacks decided to take it by storm. However, not only men came out to defend the city, but also everyone who could help in any way in the battle. The Cossacks had to retreat.
However, they surrounded the city on all sides, devastating its surroundings. Taras's sons got bored.
One day, Aidriy accidentally discovered a Tatar woman making her way through the Cossacks’ camp in the dead of night. He recognized her as the servant of the lady with whom he had fallen in love as a student in Kyiv. The Tatarka said that the lady herself and her father are in the city, they are starving. The girl noticed Andriy from the city embankment and sent a maid to ask him for bread. The Tatar woman left the city through an underground passage.
The young Cossack took food from the cart that belonged to his kuren and went with the Tatar woman to the underground entrance. On the way they were stopped by sleepy Taras. Seeing that there was a woman next to his son, he warned him.
Chapter 6.
The Cossack entered the city through an underground passage. Outside the city walls, hunger reigned. Bodies of dead or dying people lay everywhere. The maid took the young man into one of the houses, where he met his old love. The feelings of the young people flared up with new strength. Andriy confessed his love to the lady, vowing that for her sake he would renounce everything in the world - the Cossacks, his parents, his homeland. Then a maid ran into the room and shouted that “ours” had entered the city and brought food.
The fact is that the Pereyaslavsky kuren, located in front of the side city gates, was dead drunk, so the troops were able to enter the city almost unhindered. When the Cossacks of other kurens came to their senses, the last convoys were already in the city.
Chapter 7
Koshevoy gathered the Cossacks to discuss everything that was happening. The Cossacks promised to beat the enemy even more furiously. Leaving for his regiment, Taras was surprised that he did not see Andriy there. He was not among those killed, and he would not have been captured alive. Bulba was brought out of his thoughts by the merchant Yankel, who reported that he had seen Andriy in the city. He also said that Taras’s son was not in poverty: the governor gave him the best horse and uniform, i.e. Andriy became a real lord. For a long time Bulba did not believe that Andriy voluntarily went over to the enemy side. Yankel also told the reason for the young man’s transition to the Poles - he spoke about the beautiful lady. The Jew also conveyed the words of Andriy that he would renounce the Cossacks and would fight against them. Out of rage, Taras almost hacked the merchant to death on the spot, but he managed to escape.
Bulba remembered that in last time I saw Andriy next to a woman. The chieftain, still not believing in his son’s betrayal, led his regiment into an ambush - the next attack on the city was being prepared.
The Cossacks lined up under the walls of the besieged city and began to tease the Poles with caustic remarks. Buckshot rang out from the shaft. The Cossacks moved aside. The gates opened, and the governor himself rode out at the head of the Polish army. The battle began, in which Ostap again proved himself to be a brave fighter. Even the Koshevoi praised his son Taras. After the end of the battle, Bulba thought for a long time about why Andriy was not visible in the enemy ranks: either his son was ashamed to go against his own, or the Jew deceived him.
Chapter 8.
In the morning news came that the Tatars, taking advantage of the absence of the Cossacks, robbed the Sich. It was the custom of the Cossacks to pursue the kidnappers to the last, to rescue the prisoners, since they could soon end up in the slave markets of Asia Minor. The Koshevoy was in favor of immediately setting off in pursuit. However, Taras was against such a decision. He reminded the Cossacks that the Poles also captured many Cossacks, who were also waiting for help from their comrades. The Cossacks hesitated.
As a result, they decided to split up. Koshevoy and part of the army went after the Tatars, and Bulba was put in charge among those who remained.
Taras saw that despondency began to take hold of his army, and he ordered the Cossacks to be treated to good old wine.
Chapter 9
No one in the city knew that some of the Cossacks had gone after the Tatars, and the besieged perceived the movement in the enemy camp as just another military maneuver.
The Poles made a sortie, and many of them were immediately killed by the Cossacks. However, the survivors found out that the enemy army had decreased. Taras gathered the Cossacks and gave them a speech that for a real Cossack there is nothing more sacred than comradeship. No one can even die more worthily than a Cossack devoted to comradeship.
Another battle began. The Cossacks began to lose, but the Cossacks fought hard. One by one, both ordinary Cossacks and atamans left. Suddenly the gates of the city opened, and a hussar regiment flew out. The most daring knight rushed ahead of everyone. Taras recognized him as his son Andriy. The same one, not noticing anything, carried away by the heat of battle, cut down his own men left and right. Bulba ordered to lure his son to the forest. There Taras grabbed the reins of the horse with his strong hand.
“Andriy looked around: Taras was in front of him! He shook all over and suddenly became pale..."
Taras began to ask whether the Poles helped his son. Andriy could not answer anything; he stood neither alive nor dead in front of his father. Taras, saying that he himself gave birth to him and would kill him himself, took the gun off his shoulder. Andriy stood as pale as a sheet and only repeated the name of the beautiful Polish woman. Bulba fired. The young man fell as if knocked down.
After what happened, Taras only regretted that the good Cossack had disappeared like a mean dog. When Ostap suggested burying his brother, the ataman did not allow it to be done. He said that even without them there would be mourners.
Meanwhile the battle continued. The best of the Cossacks perished. Bulba and Ostap rushed into battle again. Six Poles attacked the young man at once. He fought back as best he could, but he didn’t have enough strength, and Ostap was tied up. They took him prisoner. Taras wanted to help his son, but lost consciousness.
Chapter 10.
When he woke up, Bulba discovered that he was seriously wounded, and learned that his old friend Tovkach had been taking him to Sich for two weeks. Taras remembered that his son had been taken prisoner by the Poles, then he tore off the bandages from his wounds and lost consciousness again. old friend, like on a child, he straightened his bandages, tied him into splints and rushed on, wanting to bring Bulba to Zaporozhye, even though he was still alive. Already in the Sich, Tovkach found Taras a healer who fed the warrior with herbs. After a month and a half, the chieftain was on his feet. The Sich became another. Many old Cossacks died: both those who remained with Bulba and those who went after the Tatar. The old chieftain greatly missed his son. Finally, he decided to go to Poland himself to find out about Ostap’s fate.
A week later, Bulba was in the city of Uman, where his old acquaintance Yankel lived. Taras, showing the money, persuaded the Jew to take him in a cart under bricks to Warsaw.
Chapter 11.
Yankel brought Bulba to a small Jewish street. The merchant learned that Ostap was in the city dungeon. Yankel promised the chieftain to arrange a meeting with his son. Three more Jews gathered in the room where Taras was, and they began to discuss something in their own language. The Zaporozhian Cossack offered them money and gold in exchange for his son's escape from prison. The Jews decided to ask the old Jew Mordecai for advice. They told Taras to lock himself in the house and not let anyone in, and they themselves went outside. There they shouted something in their own language for a long time until they finally entered the room. The old Jew told Taras: “When we and God want to do it, it will already be as it should be,” which calmed Bulba a little.
The chieftain waited all day. When the Jews returned, it became clear that the escape had failed, since the prison was surrounded by troops, and the execution was scheduled for the next day. However, Yankel promised to still arrange a date. Taras had to dress up as a foreign count and go to the right place early in the morning.
Bulba blackened his mustache and eyebrows, put a small dark cap on the crown of his head, and no one would recognize this thirty-five-year-old man as an old chieftain. Yankel took Taras to prison, but he spoke to the haiduk and showed imprudence. The Pole suspected him of being a Cossack. Yankel saved the situation by giving money to the guard, but the meeting still did not take place.
Taras decided to go to the square to watch his son being executed. Ostap was the first to be taken to the place of execution. The young Cossack passed all the tests with honor. Even brutal torture They couldn’t get a scream or a groan out of him. Bulba stood among the crowd, head down, and repeated: “Good, son, good!”
Only during his last death throes did Ostap exclaim: “Father! where are you? Can you hear?
Suddenly, in the midst of general silence, a voice rang out: “I hear you.”
The military began to examine the crowd. The pale Yankel looked back, but Taras was no longer near him.
Chapter 12.
The entire Sich has gathered under the leadership of Taras Bulba, the Cossacks are marching towards Poland. They fled Polish garrisons. The Taras regiment was distinguished by the greatest ferocity and cruelty. Only fire and the gallows awaited his enemies. When peace was concluded with the Poles. Bulba alone did not agree to pacify his hatred. Together with his regiment, where everyone dissatisfied with the shameful truce had gathered, he walked around Poland, plundering and burning the richest castles.
Hetman Pototsky was tasked with capturing Taras Bulba. The Poles overtook Bulba at the very steepest point near the Dniester River. The chieftain ordered the Cossacks to break through the ranks. The Cossacks made their way, but as he ran, Taras’s cradle of tobacco fell out. A Cossack stopped to look for faithful companion and was captured by a gang of Poles. The Poles decided to burn Taras alive at the stake. They immediately found a tall tree. They pulled the Cossack with iron chains to a tree post, nailed Bulba’s hands, pulling him higher so that everyone could see them. They began to build a fire. However, Taras did not think about himself. He looked at the battlefield that was in front of him, clearly in the palm of his hand. Taras looked to where the retreating Cossacks were shooting back.
Bulba saw that four sterns were approaching the shore, and loudly shouted at the top of his lungs for his comrades to retreat to the river. The Cossacks heard and followed the ataman’s advice. They rode straight off the cliff onto their horses into the Dniester. Only two died before reaching the water. The rest managed to escape. Seeing that the Cossacks were already in their canoes, Taras was delighted and shouted so that they would remember him and every spring the Cossacks would come for a walk in Poland. Then he addressed his tormentors:
“Wait, the time will come, the time will come, you will find out what the Orthodox Russian faith is!”
The fire shot up from the fire, engulfing the prisoner's legs. The Cossacks sailed quickly on narrow canoes, talking about their chieftain.
Those who returned after graduation from the Kyiv Bursa. Two strapping, hefty young men arrive, whose faces have not yet been touched by a razor. The father makes fun of the young seminarians and their clothes, which confuses them a little. The eldest son, Ostap, does not tolerate ridicule and promises to beat his father in the future. Then, instead of a warm meeting after a long separation, father and son start a fight with cuffs and punch each other well. The thin and pale mother tries to stop them and bring her husband to reason. But he stops the fight anyway and remains satisfied with his son. When he tries to greet his youngest son with the same test, his mother hugs him, protecting him from his father.
The mother cannot stop looking at her pets. However, Taras has a different plan. In the morning he is going to send both sons to the Zaporozhye Sich, where they will be able to pass real school life. Having drunk quite a lot, the father got angry and started breaking pots. He decided that they would all go together, because they were Cossacks, they had nothing to do at home, their place was outside. The mother, accustomed to her husband’s drunken antics, secretly hoped that he would sleep well and delay the day of departure, because she so did not want to say goodbye to her children again. But Taras remained adamant and in the morning he and his sons got ready to set off. At parting, the mother hugged her sons and cried, and they held back their tears so as not to anger their father.
We drove along the road in silence, everyone thinking about something different. Taras Bulba was thinking about how he would bring his sons to Zaporozhye and introduce them to friends. Ostap was a young man with a stubborn character. He was only interested in fights and feasts. Andriy was more inventive and loved women. Now he had on his mind a beautiful Polish girl whom he had met in Kyiv. One day he even snuck into her bedroom through the chimney, but a knock on the door forced him to hide under the bed. When the trouble was over, the Tatar woman, the lady's maid, secretly took him into the garden, from where he was able to escape. Once again he saw his beloved Polish girl in the church, but then she left. Andriy was thinking about her, looking down into the mane of his horse. The father, waking up from his thoughts, suggested stopping and having a smoke.
Having reached the Dnieper, all three took the ferry to the Sich. There were crowds of people gathered in small heaps. Taras took his sons to the square where the Cossack Rada was meeting. There he met familiar faces and the greetings began. The Sich greeted them with wild life. Andriy and Ostap threw themselves headlong into this idleness. However, the old Cossack did not like this way of life. He wanted to encourage the Cossacks to go on a campaign and therefore did not want them to waste their Cossack prowess on feasts and drinking. He set them up for the re-election of the Koschevo, since the current one was on the side of the Cossack enemies. And when a new Koschevoi was elected, under pressure from the old warriors, including Taras, he decided to march on Poland. Soon the entire southwest of Poland began to live in fear.
Taras was pleased to see how his sons matured in battle. They were now among the first. In their attempts to take the city of Dubno, which has many wealthy inhabitants and a full treasury, the Cossacks encounter desperate resistance, but do not retreat. They decide to besiege the city and starve its inhabitants. At the same time, out of nothing to do, they plunder the surrounding villages and burn out the grain fields. Ostap and Andriy don’t like this kind of life, but their father calms them down and says that fierce battles will soon begin. So two weeks passed, but the matter did not move forward. One dark night, Andriy thought that the ghost of a woman was approaching him.
Having looked closely, he recognized her as a Tatar - the servant of the Polish lady with whom he was in love. The Tatar woman whispered to him that his beloved was in the city, she saw him from the city rampart and asked him to come and help her dying mother with at least a piece of bread. Andriy, without thinking twice, collected food supplies and went to his beloved. The Tatar woman led him along an underground passage so that no one would see them. He understood that by this act he had renounced his father, brother, comrades and homeland. But she was his “fatherland” - a young lady who was dearer to his heart than anyone else. He was ready to protect her until his last breath from his own comrades. For her sake, he took the side of the Poles. When Taras Bulba found out about his son’s betrayal, he was beside himself with rage.
They were sent to help the besieged Polish troops. Passing by the drunken Cossacks, they killed and captured many. This event prompted the Cossacks to decisive action. Began bloody battles. In the crowd of fighting Poles, Taras saw his son. He also saw his father, but only cowardly hid in the crowd of soldiers and gave orders. The army of Taras, like himself, fought a fierce battle and the Poles rushed to flee, thinking that they were dealing with the devil himself. When the commander found himself face to face with his son, he did not budge. The father kills his son, and before his death he utters only one word - the name of the beautiful lady. Reinforcements arrive to the Poles and they still manage to defeat the Cossacks. Ostap is captured, and Taras Bulba is rescued by his comrades and taken to Zaporozhye.
Taras was severely beaten and wounded. He woke up in the hut of the Cossack Tovkach, who told him that they were giving a lot of money for his head. Soon Taras got to his feet and went to the Sich. He missed his son greatly. Having paid a lot of money to the Jew Yankel, he crossed over to Warsaw, where the captured Cossacks were to be executed. The action took place in the city square. Taras was present at the execution of his son and heard him last words. He didn’t utter a single groan during the torture, he only asked: “Father! where are you! do you hear all this? The father replied: “I hear you!” The crowd rushed to catch him, but there was no trace of him. Taras vowed to avenge his son's death.
More than one hundred thousand Cossacks rose to fight the Poles. Among them was the regiment of Taras Bulba. This was not an isolated struggle, but the cry of an entire nation that fought for its religion, honor and for its rights. Taras himself became extremely cruel and ferocious towards the enemy. For the offenders he had only fire and extermination in store. When the defeated Polish hetman Nikolai Pototsky proposed to make peace and swore an oath never to cause harm Cossack troops, only Colonel Bulba did not agree with this “peace”. He was sure that the Poles would not keep their word and would still strike a treacherous blow. As a result, he led his regiment away, and his predictions came true: the Poles gathered new forces and finally attacked the Cossacks.
Taras and his army at this time were walking throughout Poland and continued to avenge their son. Soon Potocki's regiments overtook his detachment. It was on the banks of the Dniester when the Cossacks stopped at a ruined fortress to rest. The battle lasted four days. The surviving Cossacks make their way, but their chieftain stops for a minute on the way, and then his enemies overtake him. Taras was tied to an oak tree with iron chains, his hands were nailed to the tree, and a fire was lit under him. Before his death, he shouted to his comrades to leave along the river. The Cossacks managed to escape. And the old chieftain and last minute thought about friends and their future victories.
They come to the old Cossack Colonel Taras Bulba after graduating from Kyiv Academy his two sons - Ostap and Andriy. Two stalwart young men, whose healthy and strong faces have not yet been touched by a razor, are embarrassed by their meeting with their father, who makes fun of their clothes as recent seminarians. The eldest, Ostap, cannot stand his father’s ridicule: “Even though you’re my dad, if you laugh, then, by God, I’ll beat you!” And father and son, instead of greeting each other after a long absence, seriously hit each other with blows. Pale, thin and kind mother tries to reason with her violent husband, who already stops himself, glad that he tested his son. Bulba wants to “greet” the younger one in the same way, but his mother is already hugging him, protecting him from his father.
On the occasion of the arrival of his sons, Taras Bulba convenes all the centurions and the entire regimental rank and announces his decision to send Ostap and Andriy to the Sich, because no best science for a young Cossack, like the Zaporozhye Sich. At the sight of the young strength of his sons, the military spirit of Taras himself flares up, and he decides to go with them to introduce them to all his old comrades. The poor mother sits all night over her sleeping children, without closing her eyes, wanting the night to last as long as possible. Her dear sons are taken from her; they take it so that she will never see them! In the morning, after the blessing, the mother, desperate with grief, is barely torn away from the children and taken to the hut.
Three horsemen ride in silence. Old Taras remembers his wild life, a tear freezes in his eyes, his gray head droops. Ostap, who has a stern and strong character, although hardened during the years of studying at the bursa, retained his natural kindness and was touched by the tears of his poor mother. This alone confuses him and makes him lower his head thoughtfully. Andriy is also having a hard time saying goodbye to his mother and home, but his thoughts are occupied with memories of the beautiful Polish woman whom he met just before leaving Kyiv. Then Andriy managed to get into the beauty’s bedroom through the fireplace chimney; a knock on the door forced the Pole to hide the young Cossack under the bed. Tatarka, the lady's servant, as soon as the anxiety passed, took Andriy out into the garden, where he barely escaped from the awakened servants. He saw the beautiful Polish girl again in the church, soon she left - and now, with his eyes cast down into the mane of his horse, Andriy thinks about her.
After long journey The Sich meets Taras and his sons with his wild life - a sign of the Zaporozhye will. Cossacks do not like to waste time on military exercises, collecting military experience only in the heat of battle. Ostap and Andriy rush with all the ardor of young men into this riotous sea. But old Taras does not like an idle life - this is not the kind of activity he wants to prepare his sons for. Having met all his comrades, he is still figuring out how to rouse the Cossacks on a campaign, so as not to waste the Cossack prowess on a continuous feast and drunken fun. He persuades the Cossacks to re-elect the Koschevoy, who keeps peace with the enemies of the Cossacks. The new Koshevoy, under the pressure of the most warlike Cossacks, and above all Taras, decides to go to Poland to celebrate all the evil and disgrace of faith and Cossack glory.
And soon the entire Polish southwest becomes the prey of fear, the rumor running ahead: “Cossacks! The Cossacks have appeared! In one month, the young Cossacks matured in battle, and old Taras loves to see that both of his sons are among the first. The Cossack army is trying to take the city of Dubna, where there is a lot of treasury and wealthy inhabitants, but they encounter desperate resistance from the garrison and residents. The Cossacks besiege the city and wait for famine to begin in it. Having nothing to do, the Cossacks devastate the surrounding area, burning defenseless villages and unharvested grain. The young, especially the sons of Taras, do not like this life. Old Bulba calms them down, promising hot fights soon. To one of dark nights Andria wakes up from sleep strange creature like a ghost. This is a Tatar, a servant of the same Polish woman with whom Andriy is in love. The Tatar woman whispers that the lady is in the city, she saw Andriy from the city rampart and asks him to come to her or at least give a piece of bread for his dying mother. Andriy loads the bags with bread, as much as he can carry, and the Tatar woman leads him along the underground passage to the city. Having met his beloved, he renounces his father and brother, comrades and homeland: “The homeland is what our soul seeks, what is dearer to it than anything else. My homeland is you.” Andriy remains with the lady to protect her until his last breath from his former comrades.
Polish troops, sent to reinforce the besieged, march into the city past drunken Cossacks, killing many while sleeping and capturing many. This event embitters the Cossacks, who decide to continue the siege to the end. Taras, searching for his missing son, receives terrible confirmation of Andriy's betrayal.
The Poles are organizing forays, but the Cossacks are still successfully repelling them. News comes from the Sich that in the absence main force The Tatars attacked the remaining Cossacks and captured them, seizing the treasury. The Cossack army near Dubno is divided in two - half goes to the rescue of the treasury and comrades, half remains to continue the siege. Taras, leading the siege army, makes a passionate speech in praise of comradeship.
The Poles learn about the weakening of the enemy and move out of the city for a decisive battle. Andriy is among them. Taras Bulba orders the Cossacks to lure him to the forest and there, meeting Andriy face to face, he kills his son, who even before his death utters one word - the name of the beautiful lady. Reinforcements arrive to the Poles, and they defeat the Cossacks. Ostap is captured, the wounded Taras, saved from pursuit, is brought to Sich.
Having recovered from his wounds, Taras, with a lot of money and threats, forces the Jew Yankel to secretly transport him to Warsaw in order to try to ransom Ostap there. Taras is present at terrible execution son in the city square. Not a single groan escapes from Ostap’s chest under torture, only before death he cries out: “Father! where are you! do you hear all this? - “I hear!” - Taras answers above the crowd. They rush to catch him, but Taras is already gone.
One hundred and twenty thousand Cossacks, including the regiment of Taras Bulba, rise up on a campaign against the Poles. Even the Cossacks themselves notice Taras’s excessive ferocity and cruelty towards the enemy. This is how he takes revenge for the death of his son. The defeated Polish hetman Nikolai Pototsky swears not to inflict any offense on the Cossack army in the future. Only Colonel Bulba does not agree to such a peace, assuring his comrades that the asked Poles will not keep their word. And he leads his regiment away. His prediction comes true - having gathered their strength, the Poles treacherously attack the Cossacks and defeat them.
And Taras walks throughout Poland with his regiment, continuing to avenge the death of Ostap and his comrades, mercilessly destroying all living things.
Five regiments under the leadership of that same Pototsky finally overtake the regiment of Taras, who had taken rest in an old collapsed fortress on the banks of the Dniester. The battle lasts four days. The surviving Cossacks make their way, but the old chieftain stops to look for his cradle in the grass, and the haiduks overtake him. They tie Taras to an oak tree with iron chains, nail his hands and lay a fire under him. Before his death, Taras manages to shout to his comrades to go down to the canoes, which he sees from above, and escape from pursuit along the river. And at the last terrible minute the old chieftain thinks about his comrades, about their future victories, when old Taras is no longer with them.
The Cossacks escape from the chase, row their oars together and talk about their chieftain.
